WestJet CEO apologizes for accessibility failures, defends airline's record

WestJet CE Alexis von Hoensbroech apologized for incidents where the airline failed to accommodate people living with disabilities, saying he hopes to improve travel accessibility. “To our guests who didn't have a good travel experience with us, we are sincerely sorry, and we are committed in doing better,” von Hoensbroech said during a House of Commons transport committee hearing on accessible transportation on Thursday. More than 99.9% of the carrier's 260,000-plus customers who required support last year - roughly 700 each day, the vast majority of whom used mobility aids - had a good experience, he said. “Every case that goes wrong is one too many,” the CEO said. The appearance followed a committee hearing last week that saw lawmakers take Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau to task over “shocking” failures around accessibility. Rousseau acknowledged mistakes, and pointed to an expedited accessibility scheme announced in November along with new measures to improve the travel experience for hundreds of thousands of passengers living with a disability. Multiple incidents have surfaced at Canadian airlines over the past year. A B.C. man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an Air Canada plane in Las Vegas. Canada's chief accessibility officer Stephanie Cadieux arrived in Toronto to find the airline had left her wheelchair behind in Vancouver. Former Paralympian Sarah Morris-Probert hauled herself up WestJet aircraft stairs rather than being able to board using her wheelchair. “Everyone's always very sorry and very committed to doing better whenever these things happen, but these high-profile incidents continue to plague Canadian airlines,” Conservative MP Mark Strahl told von Hoensbroech.<br/>