Ellen and Dom sprinted through the Denver airport wearing matching bride and groom shirts, desperately trying to rebook their flights to Italy in time for their honeymoon cruise departing Venice on July 3.
They would miss two flights to Montreal and Venice because of the delayed first flight. They told Insider that without Air Canada employees in sight and a call hold time of over two hours, their dream vacation quickly turned into a nightmare.
They boarded the cruise in Venice after an American Airlines crew member gave them a stand-by ticket. The good memories of the honeymoon are ruined when friends and family ask about it.
Ellen asked for her last name to be blacked out because she was emotional. It stinks that this happened on such a big day.
Air Canada did not reply immediately. In an email reviewed by Insider, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau said the company is working in close cooperation with airports, government, and its thirdparty service providers to return the industry to normal.
"Unfortunately, things are not business as usual in our industry globally, and this is affecting our operations and our ability to serve you with our normal standards of care," Rousseau wrote. There are recurring incidents of flight delays and airport congestion due to a complex array of persistent factors.
The newlyweds, a teacher and firefighter from Colorado, are just two of thousands who have had their plans upended as understaffed airlines struggle to handle this summer's demand.
Insider spoke to airline passengers who were traveling to family vacations, weddings, funerals, birthdays, and memorial events and they said the flight chaos this summer has made it hard to return to a normal travel routine.
The mother-daughter vacation was booked in the spring of 2019.
The 10-day tour of Europe that would finally take place this June was pushed back over the next three years because of the Pandemic.
The flights from Charlotte to Rome were delayed over the next two days.
In the airport hotel, she asked to give up on the trip and go home, according to her mother. She didn't get her luggage until after 32 days.
She said that she spent almost $6,000 on replacement clothes, items and the airport hotel room because she was so sad. We would like a do-over.
We apologize for the poor experience our customers have with Delta. A Delta spokesman told Insider that their teams are reaching out to this customer.
Meggin Hurlburt, a business owner from San Diego, was going to fly to Costa Rica to scatter her brother's ashes.
The trip was planned in honor of him. Hurlburt said that he loved Costa Rica a lot. When we planned it, it was the only thing that we were looking forward to.
She told Insider that when Southwest Airlines canceled their flights, the family spent $5,000 on new flights, hotels, and taxis. Hurlburt said that Southwest returned the taxes and sent flight vouchers worth $300.
Hurlburt said that they should be given more respect for what they went through and what the cancellation did to them.
"It seems like they're so overwhelmed with these issues that they're just saying 'No, we're not going to do anything to help you or make up for your loss and you just have to deal with it.'
Southwest apologized for disrupted travel plans, according to a statement shared with Insider.
We work directly with customers who have been impacted by disruptions in order to make things right. When a flight is canceled by Southwest, the customer can retain their travel funds from the ticket for future travel or request a refunds of the ticket.
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