Did Grounding 737 Max 8s Ruin Your Holiday Plans?

Airlines Struggling to Rebook Flights Affected By Transport Minister's Ban

Ottawa banned Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 planes from Canadian skies today, putting a few airlines’ call centres into chaos.

Related: Transport Minister Bans 737 Max 8 Jets from Canadian Airspace

Three airlines out of Pearson airport fly the affected aircraft. Air Canada has the lion’s share at 24 737 Max 8s, while Westjet Airlines flies twelve. Sunwing Airlines has four in its compliment, but took the step to voluntarily ground its affected planes Tuesday evening before the feds did.

Air Canada Relied on twenty-four 737 Max 8s, carrying nine to twelve thousand people a day

To find out if you’re affected by this, check with your travel agent to find out what sort of craft you were booked on. Alternatively, sites like seatguru.com can tell you what craft you’re flying, just by entering the flight number, or origin and destination.

An example from Seatguru.com showing a Toronto-Mexico flight on a Boeing 737 Max 8 that will now have to be rebooked

Air Canada is waiving all rebooking or cancellation fees for affected customers for now. It asks that anyone with upcoming flights to check on aircanada.com prior to going to the airport.

Meanwhile, Westjet is planning for the immediate future for its passengers, limiting the scope of what it can comment on to flights until the 16th. It says anyone booked on these flights should prepare to adjust their travel itinerary as it also works to rebook flights.

A Westjet Boeing 737 Max 8 on the ground, where it will stay for the foreseeable future

Sunwing Airlines has a jump start in rebooking its passengers, having voluntarily pulled its 737 Max craft from use Tuesday evening.

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