CAL passengers complain of 'poor treatment' during disruption

Passengers left stranded in TT following the cancellation of flights by Caribbean Airlines on Saturday and Sunday are slowly making their way back home. They told Newsday of their dissatisfaction with the situation.

A family of five from New York gave up entirely on getting home through CAL and booked a flight through United Airlines to fly to Houston, and to New York’s LaGuardia airport from there.

Adrian Crichlow said he and his family – wife Allison Bondell (middle school teacher in NYC), their 22-month-old son Ardin Crichlow, mother-in-law Frieda Bondell (retired), and father-in-law Jay Bondell (retired) – came to TT to celebrate his 40th birthday. He said normally they would travel with Jet Blue but had redeemed points from his wife’s credit card to travel on CAL.

“On Saturday, my family and I arrived at Piarco Airport to check in for flight BW520 to JFK International Airport, New York, which was delayed until 8 am Sunday. We were put up in a horrible hotel adjacent to the hotel. We checked in for the rescheduled flight only to be informed it was cancelled. We were then taken to the Radisson Hotel where we remained until Tuesday, hosted on a sub-par budget via Caribbean Airlines.”

Crichlow said the situation became critical when his father-in-law ran out of his chemotherapy medication on Monday. He said they reached out to CAL multiple times and were eventually told the family could be placed on a flight next Monday.

“Of course this was highly unacceptable, so we decided to be proactive and we have confirmed a flight on United Airlines leaving at 12.30 am on Wednesday, landing in Houston and from there we’re going to go to La Guardia, New York. I need my father-in-law to be back in the States so he can get his medication.”

Crichlow, who was born and raised in TT, said the experience had soured his family’s vacation experience, as they had come to Trinidad to celebrate his 40th birthday.

“I wanted to bring my family home so I could really have a wholesome celebration, which was enjoyed until the last three hours up to departure and after that it turned into a desperate status for us. This was supposed to be a spirit lifting opportunity for my father-in-law after being diagnosed with cancer, and this has dampened his spirits.

“It also frustrated my wife, because we had a beautiful vacation and now for this to happen, it’s turned into a hostage situation. They put us in a hotel, we had a limited options of food to eat based on the budget they negotiated with the hotel. My son is in good spirits, it’s just the nature of the situation where we are greatly impaired in further enjoying ourselves.”

CAL contacted Crichlow at 6.30 pm on Tuesday to advise him that there was space for the group on a flight to JFK on Thursday.

Grenadian Asha Robertson said she had come to TT on Friday to attend her grandmother’s funeral and was expecting to travel back to Grenada on Sunday night so she could be at work on Monday.

She checked in online at 4 pm but received a text message after 5 pm saying the flight had been cancelled. She said it took over an hour to get through to CAL’s customer service line, where agents couldn’t give a reason for the cancellation or any further update.

“I explained to them that I had no place to stay as I only came in for a funeral and had to vacate where I was that same night. I told them I was asthmatic and could not stay in the cold atmosphere of the airport. I said I had young children at home, and I had to be at work the next day. The agent said they were not accommodating people, I should seek my own accommodation and then provide proof to CAL for reimbursement.”

Robertson said she also explained the situation to clerks at the CAL counter, and was told she would be contacted with information of an accommodating flight by Sunday night or Monday morning. She said the contact was never received. A friend in TT was able to find her a place to stay for the night and she continued to speak to CAL agents online.

“I was told there was a flight on Monday at 7.30 am, BW430, so I went to the airport and stood in the line for 1.5 hours, only to be told when I got to the counter that my name was not on the list. I asked the agent what I was supposed to do when I didn’t hear from the airline. I said to her I need to go home and I do not understand why a flight is scheduled to my homeland but I cannot be on it.”

She was told she should be accommodated as she was a foreigner and referred to another clerk who she claimed initially ignored her, and then told her she could not be accommodated at that time and should wait to be contacted by CAL before returning to the airport.

Robertson began experiencing asthma attacks and migraine headaches owing to the frustration she was experiencing. She said after midnight on Monday, she was told by agents online that they were trying to seat her on a 10.30 am recovery flight on Tuesday.

“They said I would get e-mail confirmation in two hours. That never happened. I was not able to speak with an agent until after 8 am who told me I was supposed to show up for check-in three hours before the scheduled time. I made my way to the airport and checked in to flight BW3432 which left Port of Spain and arrived in Grenada on Tuesday morning after 11 am.”

Robertson said her job had called her in for a meeting in Wednesday for disciplinary action.

“I am still uncertain if CAL will even compensate me for all the stress and trauma I have been through and the repercussions. Having me not pay for my luggage is considerate but at the same time what about my mental and psychological status?

“The way these agents spoke it is as if Caribbean people are nothing, but their international passengers are Kings and Queens. Can you imagine being in a foreign country with no money, no place to stay, and no information? That is mind wrecking.”