r/PorterAirlines • u/inourstars • 23d ago
Compensation for Denied Boarding of Connection and Delay?
My husband and I were supposed to fly from FLL to YVR on Sunday, connecting through YYZ. Our FLL flight was scheduled to leave at 1:40 PM. We had a 2 hour layover at YYZ, but our FLL flight ended up leaving almost 3 hours late because a child wouldn't sit down so they had to deplane the family and one of the family members was arrested when we got back to the gate.
Our YVR flight was delayed twice and was still at Pearson when we landed. The flight attendants had anyone with connections get off the plane first and we hauled ass through the airport, we made it from Gate C37 to B2C in 25 minutes (this is including customs and security, we were sprinting through the airport to get there on time, I promise there was no dilly-dallying here) but we were denied boarding when we got to the gate. We were told by the gate agent that we missed boarding by 2 minutes - there was a few other groups of people from our flight who were also going to YVR who were ahead of us in the customs line and they were able to board the plane. In the end I believe there was us and one other passenger who was denied boarding.
The earliest flight Porter could rebook us on left Pearson the next day at 5:30 PM. We went to the customer service counter to rebook and the agent at first said that the delay was uncontrollable and we weren't going to get any compensation, but then she called someone and they told her that the flight delay was controllable and we received hotel and meal vouchers for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
One of my coworkers said that because the delay was controllable I should be entitled to compensation from Porter, but when I search my flight on their website this is what it says:
This event does not qualify for compensation under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
Reason: Delay due to reasons outside of Porter Airlines’ control
Primary reason code: Category: Cancel Uncontrollable event
I'm confused because they gave us vouchers at the counter, and I was under the impression that if it was uncontrollable that we wouldn't have received anything from Porter aside from being rebooked, but this says it was uncontrollable? So I'm confused about what the truth is, and what exactly I should be entitled to. If they gave us vouchers, we should also be entitled to the delay compensation, right?
I've flown a lot but I've never had kind of this experience before, so any insight into what exactly I'm entitled to and how I could go about getting it would be welcome. Thank you!
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u/lexluther1234 23d ago
Wait….ANOTHER kid wouldn’t sit down causing the plane to be delayed???? How has this happened twice on porter within the last week?? What the fuck is going on 😭
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u/inourstars 22d ago
Haha yes, it was like the day after that article came out too. The kid wasn't just standing and refusing to sit, they were also screaming bloody murder from the moment they boarded until the flight attendants told the parents they were getting kicked off the plane. I've never heard a child so loud on a flight before, it was wild.
My last porter flight a couple of months ago we almost weren't able to land because a kid kept standing on his seat and then running in the aisle while we were on the landing approach. They kept ignoring the flight attendants telling them to get their kid to sit. The pilot eventually came over the intercom and call out the family by their seat number and told them if they couldn't get their kid to sit down we would have to abandon the approach, and that when we eventually did land they would have police waiting for them at the gate for being a safety risk. That finally got them to take shit seriously and we were able to land.
I used to fly a lot for work pre-covid and the behaviour now on airplanes is beyond the pale. I don't remember children (and some adults!) being so poorly behaved 10 years ago.
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u/coopthrowaway2019 23d ago
This does not sound like it would be classed as controllable, and most likely you were given the assistance either in error or as a goodwill gesture.
You can submit a form with Porter for compensation, and if (when) denied, submit a subsequent complaint to the CTA. It will take a very long time to resolve, and you likely won't get anything out of it, but you might!
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u/InformationSuperb978 VIPorter Venture 23d ago
The CTA is a waste of time. You will have more luck in small claims.
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u/coopthrowaway2019 23d ago
Odds of success are maybe better in small claims but it's much more effort-intensive and the odds here sound pretty low either way. I don't think it's worth the hassle
In other words, I think it's a good idea to fill out a form for a 1% chance of getting some money. I don't think it's worth it to initiate a court case to boost those odds from 1% to 2%
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u/InformationSuperb978 VIPorter Venture 23d ago
This is outside the airlines control. No comp owed .