[apoplectic]

I shall be civil in my response. I posted this as I believed that it was one possible route for making a complaint known to the airlines. Perhaps in this I was incorrect.

To be clear, because obviously reading is not a forte of several posters. I live in Ottawa. I took my mother, who is not demented and not suffering from Alzheimer s to the airport in Ottawa, and put her on a plane to Calgary and thence to Castlegar. Now the problem is that Castlegar is a notoriously unreliable destination as it is in the Kootenays and often clouded in.

She was stuck in Calgary, and unable to make her connecting flight to Castlegar. Now for the geographically challenged Calgary is about 3,000 km from Ottawa. I was in Ottawa, when she called.

Subsequently --which means after the fact-- I learned that Air Canada has a program called "On my way" which costs $35.00. Now my mother because she lives in Castlegar, which is 4,000 kilometers from Ottawa booked her ticket through a travel agent. It is too bad they didn't tell her about the option, as I would have advised her to take it. Indeed if she would have had this option, then Air Canada would have been obliged to make some accomodation for her.

However, in saying this, I would still hold that when a passenger purchases a ticket which involves more than one leg --hence a transfer, that the airline should have some responsibility to fulfill their commitment to get them to their destination.

Now, my anger, which was never directly expressed to a single soul personally, because Air Canada does not have a complaint line, was expressed through the message I posted here. Ergo, I did not react negatively toward anyone.

My point however, is that old people, for those who obviously understand little about the aging process, tire more easily than young people. Given a sufficient degree of fatique and anxiety we can all become confused. This is what occured with my mother.

Further, I recognize that the problem does not rest solely with the airline staff but rather with the executives and managers who have created airlines which are cruelly indifferent to the situations faced by passengers who are unable to make connecting flights.

Finally, I would add that my mother did manage to catch a bus, and to get home the next day, no thanks to Air Canada.