Hello fellow Canadians – I just had the worst airport experience of my life with Porter Airlines, and I need to warn you all. Booked a direct YYZ to SFO flight through BudgetAir for $921 CAD (2 passengers). Showed up on time with all docs, proof of payment, IDs – everything.
At the gate, agent Dandre (employee #7706) denied us boarding because the ticket wasn't bought with my physical credit card. News to me – BudgetAir handled payment (standard for 3rd-party sites). We begged, showed receipts, but nope. Missed our flight. Had to scramble for United tickets at $1,555 CAD with stops both ways.
Called BudgetAir support from the airport – dismissive rep hung up, no manager available. Porter? Zero help. Not sure if I will even get refund for the flight since they denied boarding.
What They Did Wrong
- No advance warning about their weird credit card rule.
- Zero accommodations despite it being their policy BS.
- Left us stranded during a crisis.
Under APPR, this smells like denied boarding compensation ($900+ per person?), but good luck getting it.
Has this happened to anyone else? Porter victims unite – what's your story? Upvote if you've been screwed by them too.
I am thinking about taking a legal action, do you guys think we can sue them for inconvenience and added cost?
UPDATE: Just FYI, lot of people mentioned its budget air problem but the ticket was confirmed. The porter agent said there was no issue with payment. They said they randomly select some passengers to verify payment.
On porter website it clearly says you can book flightfor someone else. (See photo)