Missing A Connecting Flight

Travelling is fun when everything goes as planned and there is no unexpected surprises.  I’ve had previous issues with weather delays over the years and it always worked itself out.  On my last flight last month to Orlando, my friend and I had problems with our initial flight that was connecting to Toronto then flying to Orlando.

Mechanical Issues

Once my friend and I boarded our Air Canada flight from our home city to our connecting flight in Toronto, we thought nothing of it.  Travellers in wheelchairs are boarded first because we need to use an aisle wheelchair to get onto the seats.  We then patiently sat on our seats waiting as the rest of the passengers boarded the plane.

boarded on plane, not knowing it will have mechanical issues

Once everyone was boarded, the pilot on the intercom said that due to mechanical issues, there will be a delay in taking off because technicians were going to board the plane to fix whatever issue that was.  We were expecting only a short delay but then the voice came on again informing us that the problem could not be fixed and that we need to deplane and board a new plane at a different gate number.

By this time, over 2 hours have already passed and we only had just over 2 hours total layover in Toronto.  We knew that once we land in Toronto, there would be no more Air Canada flights to Orlando and that we would have to leave the next morning.

Compensation

Once we landed in Toronto, it was now over 3 hours late and the both of us were pretty tired and hungry.  We still had to talk to a customer agent about compensation and about finding us a new flight for the next morning.  Two of our Air Canada flight attendants Lorraine and Karen stood by us to make sure we were fully taken care of and were satisfied with our experience.

our Air Canada flight attendants Lorraine and Karen made sure we were taken care of

It took about an hour, but we got $20 food vouchers for each of us, 2 vouchers for a porter to help us with our luggage, a hotel voucher to the Alt hotel directly located at the Toronto Pearson airport.  We were both so tired, we quickly went to the food court area to get some Thai express and to eat it quickly before heading to the hotel.  I opted to retrieve my luggage and commode for our hotel stay while my friend left it to be transferred to our new flight.

our food, porter and hotel vouchers

quick stop here before heading to our hotel

We then had to get a porter to bring us to the airport terminal link train to get to the Alt hotel.  It was actually very nice and we got the accessible room with a roll in shower in the bathroom.  We couldn’t even go to bed to sleep yet as I had to do my shower routine that night instead of early in the morning before our early flight to Orlando.

porter helping bring our luggage on the train link and to our hotel

nice hotel room with roll in shower

Rebooked Flight

We both woke up early to ensure we had enough time to get to our gate of the rebooked flight.  Somehow our remaining food voucher credits were transferred to the hotel so we grabbed a few things before leaving on the train link.  Our porter also never came so my friend had to bring me and all the luggage himself on the train and throughout the airport terminal.

waiting for my luggage, my friend never got his until the next day

Everything went smoothly until we landed in Orlando.  My friend could not get his checked luggage as it was forgotten to be transferred to our new connecting flight.  Thank goodness it was found the next day and brought to our hotel for free.

Final Thoughts

Even though missing our connecting flight was quite a hassle on our travel plans, this incident does not deter me from flying anytime soon.  I think Air Canada did a decent job of trying to make us comfortable during the stressful time.  We were even happy to discover they emailed each of us a $100 credit for a future flight.  I am happy to move on and look forward to planning my next trip sometime in 2022.