Victims of lost luggage settle with Air Canada

A Whitehorse couple unable to compete in an international sporting competition in Spain in March 2007 due to lost luggage have reached an out-of-court settlement with Air Canada.

A Whitehorse couple unable to compete in an international sporting competition in Spain in March 2007 due to lost luggage have reached an out-of-court settlement with Air Canada.

The details have not been made public.

Greg and Denise McHale sued Air Canada for $9,152.99 in small claims court last year, but have since withdrawn the case.

A spokeswoman for Air Canada said this week the airline will not disclose details about the out-of-court settlement.

The McHales did not return the Star’s phone calls on the matter.

John Dowler represented Air Canada in the case, and the couple represented themselves.

The McHales are part of a professional adventure racing team called Team Supplierpipeline.

Members of this adventure racing team “will trek, mountain bike, paddle, climb and swim unmarked race courses in some of the most rugged, untamed wilderness in the world in the pursuit of one thing to cross the finish line in the shortest amount of time possible,“ according to Supplierpipeline’s website.

In March 2007, the McHales travelled to Spain to compete in an adventure race called Bimbauche Extreme with their two other teammates.

The McHales left Whitehorse on March 17 and arrived in Paris on March 18, after stops in Vancouver and Montreal.

When they touched down in Paris, however, they discovered that three of the five bags they had checked in Whitehorse were missing.

These bags contained equipment essential to the race, including two bikes, climbing gear, inline skates, canyoneering equipment and paddling equipment.

The McHales filed a lost baggage claim in Paris and provided the address of the hotel they would be staying at in Jaen, Spain, the location for the start of the race.

According to court documents, the McHales explained to an Air Canada employee the importance of receiving the baggage before the start of the race on March 20. They were reassured that the bags were on a later flight, but would be flown from Paris to Madrid and subsequently couriered to the McHales’ hotel in Jaen.

The McHales then took their connecting flight to Madrid and arrived at their hotel in Jaen.

The next day, March 19, the couple spent “an extremely frustrating day back and forth on the phone between Air Canada and Iberia Airlines.“

“Air Canada assured us our luggage was en route to the hotel, yet Iberia would not confirm this,“ the couple wrote in a letter to Air Canada.

“We asked Air Canada to please call Iberia Airlines to ensure that the courier had been arranged, and that our luggage was on the way, but they would not do this.“

The luggage did not arrive in time for the start of the race.

“Our entire trip was a waste of time and money for all four team members,“ the McHales wrote in the letter to Air Canada.

“We spent thousands of dollars on airfare, race entry cost, accommodation, as well as lost wages, and loss of potential prize money.“

The McHales rented a car and drove to Madrid, where they subsequently recovered their luggage at the airport.

“Thankfully, we were able to retrieve our luggage, but not without huge expense to our team. We assume, because of the expenses we incurred due to Air Canada’s incompetence with our luggage, that we will be reimbursed for all costs associated with this event,“ the McHales wrote.

Air Canada said it cannot be held responsible for the mixup.

In their reply to the motion the McHales filed last July, Air Canada wrote it “denies all of the allegations of fact contained in the plaintiffs’ claim,“ with the exception of their flight reservation on Air Canada Flight Number AC 8442 to Paris.

“Air Canada denies that the plaintiffs suffered any loss or damage as alleged, or at all,“ states the document, dated Sept. 19, 2007.

Air Canada claims the McHales’ own actions were responsible for the incident.

“Particulars of the plaintiffs’ (actions) include, but are not limited to, failing to make the proper arrangements with respect to the shipment of the plaintiffs’ luggage.“