A New York dream tour turns into a Montreal airport nightmare for NL teens

Air Canada apologizes for a situation in which nearly three dozen teenagers from Conception Bay North, along with their five adult chaperones, were stranded in Montreal for three days, dashing their hopes of visiting New York City.

The travel company that arranged the tour has not commented in the meantime.

But despite the bad experience, the students remain determined to one day visit the city famous for its art scene and iconic landmarks.

In a statement to CBC News, an unnamed Air Canada spokesman blamed adverse weather conditions and a shortage of flight crews for what the airline described as a regrettable situation.

And since most flights are booked due to the busy summer season, the airline said the ability to rebook customers after a flight cancellation is limited, especially for large groups.

“As a result, we were unable to transport these customers as planned and we apologize for not providing our normal customer service,” the statement read.

Stress and confusion

The 34 students — all ages 14 and 15 — from Amalgamated Academy in Bay Roberts and Holy Redeemer in Spaniard’s Bay took off on an Air Canada flight from St. John’s airport on Saturday. They were accompanied by five teacher counselors from their schools.

The educational tour was organized by a company called Brightspark by WorldStrides. The trip was a year in the making, and came with a price tag of nearly $4,000 per student.

New York City is one of the most famous cities in the world, and the four-day itinerary included everything from a Broadway musical and shopping to visits to landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center.

The plan was to fly to Montreal and connect another flight to New York.

But a dream adventure at the end of the school year turned into three days and two nights of stress, confusion and discomfort, said Port de Grave’s Emma Gifford, one of the students on the trip.

“It was very challenging because we were all there without our parents. For many of us it was the first time we traveled without our parents,” she said.

A cascade of problems

After landing in Montreal, the tour group had to wait on the plane for two hours before learning that their connecting flight to New York had been cancelled.

That started with a series of problems, including long waits at the airport terminal, late night and early morning taxi rides to and from a nearby hotel, eating from vending machines, and becoming increasingly tired and frustrated as delays piled up.

It was a challenging introduction to air travel for students like Kairah March or Bareneed.

“It was a little disappointing that the first time I left Newfoundland, I spent most of my time in an airport. On an airport floor. It was pretty bad,” said March.

On Sunday, the message came down that the trip to New York was cancelled. It was a heartbreaking outcome for students who used the trip as motivation as they prepared and wrote their final exams.

‘We just wanted to go home’

But that was not the end of their travel turmoil. The students had to endure several more delays and hours of uncertainty before finally arriving back at St. John’s International Airport on Monday night.

“I felt helpless, and I know many of us did too. It was scary. We just wanted to go home,” said student Sarah Holmes.

While the students sweated it out in the humid and smoke-filled air of Montreal, where wildfires in northern Quebec had dramatically reduced air quality, the parents back home in Newfoundland searched for answers.

“Brightspark told you to call Air Canada. And when we contacted Air Canada, Air Canada told you to talk to Brightspark. So we had both companies transfer the liabilities to someone else,” says Stephanie Gifford, Emma’s mother.

“From Saturday when she left, until Monday night, I didn’t know how she got home, I didn’t know where she slept at night, I didn’t know how she ate.”

Some parents were getting ready to board a plane and fly to Montreal, she said.

“(Emma) was very upset. She had nosebleeds. She felt sick. I know it’s embarrassing for her now. But she just wanted her mom. She wanted her family. She just wanted to be home and not on a floor in an airport.”

Brightspark says Air Canada ‘not helping much’

A message to Brightspark parents obtained by CBC News cited “unforeseen circumstances” for the travel turbulence. But the company also drew criticism for Air Canada, saying the airline was “not much help in making alternative arrangements for the group”.

The message read: “Brightspark has done our best at short notice, hampered by (a) provincial holiday (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day) over the weekend, to ensure the safety of the students in the first place.”

Air Canada and Brightspark covered hotel accommodation costs, while Air Canada also provided daily food stamps to the group. Brightspark also hired a bus on Monday to transport the group from the hotel to a morning meal, to a shopping center and then to the airport.

Breakfast was the students’ first hot meal since Saturday morning, says Stephanie Gifford.

The students praise their counselors for helping to make the situation bearable, noting that the setback helped cement old and new friendships.

“I’m much closer to each of them because we spent a lot of time together,” North River’s Ally Bennett said.

Many of the students are involved in their school’s drama program, which is largely why they were so drawn to Broadway’s famous theaters.

Meanwhile, the travelers were insured, but it is not yet clear how much of their expenses will be reimbursed.

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