In the recent cold snap, when temperatures in Yukon plunged to below -40 Celsius for several days, Air Canada suspended flights between Vancouver and Whitehorse.  Air Canada’s major local competitor, Air North, however, maintained its service despite the cold weather.  Understandably, some Air Canada customers were not pleased.

A passenger who began preparing a lawsuit against Air Canada was threatened by the airline.  News of the threat has now become public, and airline officials are stonewalling.

Threatening to label a Yukon passenger a flight risk for collecting names of dissatisfied Air Canada/Air Canada Jazz customers is not something the airlines can comment on.

Air Canada Jazz officials say the incident is the responsibility of Air Canada.

Air Canada says it’s Jazz’s baby.

Neither company’s officials would comment on the issue or explain their corporate policies.

The passenger, Peter Coates, doesn’t understand why an Air Canada employee threatened to label him a troublemaker and list him as a flight risk two weeks ago for attempting to collect the names and numbers of people willing to join a class-action lawsuit against Air Canada Jazz.

Coates was threatening the lawsuit because he and other passengers were grounded for three days in Vancouver when temperatures in Whitehorse were below minus 40 Celsius.

The frustrated passengers were forced to pay for hotel accommodations while Air Canada’s competitor, Air North, continued to fly.

This is another PR disaster for Air Canada, which has had an abysmal reputation in Whitehorse since shortly after it took over the route from now-defunct Canadian Airlines.

Air Canada (or is that Air Canada Jazz?) flies Bombardier CRJ aircraft on its Yukon route, even though the CRJ cannot fly when the mercury dips to -40.  This guarantees service interruptions every winter.  (And why does Bombardier, a Canadian company, make airplanes that can’t fly in typical winter conditions?)

Air North, by contrast, flies Boeing 737 aircraft that are not hindered by Yukon winter weather.

Read the whole story for the pathetic and ludricous efforts of Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz to pass the buck.  Air Canada Jazz states that its policies are set by Air Canada, while Air Canada insists that Air Canada Jazz is a separate corporate entity.  The Air Canada Jazz spokeswoman even refused to answer a reporter’s questions on the grounds that the reporter had tried to ask the same questions of an Air Canada employee!

The two spokeswomen also refused to discuss their respective company policies regarding circumstances under which individuals may be banned as flight risks.