It was a trip to mark their 10-year anniversary, and their first time travelling without their three young daughters.
But Matt and Sarah Krakowski’s return journey from San Francisco was so chaotic due to the WestJet strike that they got home to Calgary three days late — and missed their youngest’s second birthday because of it.
“We missed a milestone that we’ll never get back,” Matt Krakowski told CBC News Thursday, the morning after he’d made it back home after three days of cancellations, delays, layovers, a flight to another city just to be flown back again, and zero communication from the airline.
“That’s something no travel credit or reimbursement can replace.”
WestJet and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) reached a tentative deal early Monday, ending a strike that led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
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CUPE, which represents 4,400 flight attendants with the Calgary-based airline, sought pay for its members from the time they check in until they clock out, instead of mostly just for time when their aircraft is in motion.
The work stoppage left passengers stranded and in limbo during the busy summer travel season after flight attendants walked off the job last Sunday. Between Aug. 1 and Aug. 6, WestJet cancelled 929 flights, or about a third of them, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium.
On Aug. 2, all 494 of WestJet’s flights were cancelled. Cirium notes that in May 2026, the latest data available, WestJet flew around 50,000 passengers per day.
CBC News has reached out to WestJet about the Krakowski’s case, but the airline did not provide a response before publication.
The couple booked their anniversary trip to San Francisco back in January. They flew from Calgary on July 29 and were scheduled to return from San Francisco on Aug. 2.
They felt a little sad to leave their kids — ages eight, three and nearly two — with grandparents, Krakowskis said, but at the same time, it was the couple’s first time doing something special just for themselves.
They were aware of the possibility of a looming strike the week before they left, Krakowski said, but the 72-hour notice didn’t come until July 30. Plus, they’d already made deposits on tours and activities in San Francisco that they’d lose out on, and had booked their flights using a combination of points and purchase.
“So if we cancelled we wouldn’t get that much back,” Krakowski, 36, said.
So they went and had a great time.
They checked in for their return flight the night before and upgraded their seats as a final treat. Then, at 7 a.m. on Aug. 2, they woke up to an email that their direct flight to Calgary had been cancelled.
WestJet automatically rebooked them a new itinerary, Krakowski said: a United Airlines flight to Anaheim, Calif., later that day, followed by a connecting WestJet flight that would get them home to Calgary late that night. It was inconvenient, Krakowski said, but at least would get them home the same day.
But before they could leave for Anaheim, WestJet sent them another email: their connecting WestJet flight had also been cancelled. And then, the company sent them another new itinerary that Krakowski describes as “almost unbelievable.”
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They were still booked on the Aug. 2 flight from San Francisco to Anaheim, but then they would have to remain in Anaheim for two days, paying for their own accommodations and food, Krakowski said. Then, on Aug. 4, they would fly right back to San Francisco for another connecting flight.
“It was a little crazy,” Krakowski said. “Why are we going somewhere just come back to the same starting destination?”
“I don’t want to travel somewhere just because they want to put me on a plane.”
From there, they were booked to fly to Seattle, followed by a nine-hour overnight layover, then finally they would fly to Calgary on Aug. 5.
They tried to cancel the flights to and from Anaheim, Krakowski said, but couldn’t get through to anyone with WestJet due to high call volume. The website’s chatbot wasn’t working, he added, and because they were in the U.S., there weren’t many WestJet counters at the airport.
So they had no choice but to board their flight to Anaheim or risk their entire reservation being cancelled, Krakowski said.
To make things worse, their daughter’s birthday was Aug. 3. The girls celebrated with cupcakes at Krakowski‘s parents’ house.
“We missed out on that, we missed celebrating on the day,” Krakowski said, adding they plan to throw a make-up party for their daughter soon to make it special for her.
They finally made it back to Calgary Wednesday just in time to pick up their daughters from daycare. He describes their reunion as “pure joy.” But he’s exhausted from his extra travel days and the stress of trying to get home.
He hasn’t added up all the costs, but Krakowski says he probably spent at least an extra $1,000 on the two days they were stuck in Anaheim. On top of that, he and Sarah each missed two extra full days of work.
“I’m really frustrated with the whole situation,” Krakowski said.
“I’m all for the flight attendants and their cause to want to be paid for what they’re not being paid for, but the fact is that it’s impacting a lot of people and it impacted my wife and I.”
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Domestic travel in Canada falls under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. In the case of cancellations due to labour disputes, airlines are only on the hook for covering air travel, either via rebooking or providing a refund.
They don’t have a regulatory obligation to help domestic passengers with other expenses accrued during delays and cancellations. That’s because labour disruption due to strikes or lockouts is considered to be outside the airline’s control.
Travellers who’ve been stranded internationally, however, are typically entitled to more compensation, such as hotels and meals. This includes the U.S., notes the Air Passenger Rights website.
“The airline is liable for your damages incurred as a result of a delay,” notes the website.
Krakowski says he still hasn’t heard anything from WestJet, but contacting them again is on his “to-do list.”
