COPENHAGEN | The crisis that is shaking the Air Canada carrier resonated until the Tour de France when Quebecer Guillaume Boivin revealed that he was missing three bicycles as well as his personal effects.
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Worse still, the professional cyclist also claimed that he had done the first stage of the Tour de France in the streets of Copenhagen with the bike of another member of his team.
“It was not my bike. Thanks to Air Canada, my bikes and suitcase still haven’t arrived. I feel like I’m going to get them after the Tour because we’re leaving here [du Danemark] in two days. I took another guy’s bike for the time trial,” mentioned Boivin, unhappy with the situation, but relatively relaxed under the circumstances.
After the initial announcement that he had been kicked out of the Grande Boucle by Israel-Premier Tech last week, the Montrealer quickly left Europe for Canada to compete in the two main events of the Canadian Road Championship in Edmonton.
Urgently recalled to the Old Continent, Boivin transited through Montreal before landing in Denmark on Wednesday. It’s hard to say where exactly his equipment is.
new clothes
A public relations officer from the team, Phoebe Haymes, finally went to buy her some clothes to continue the adventure.
Off the race, the cyclists are dressed head to toe in athletic tracksuits, but there must certainly be a few less visible bits missing.
“We are used to Air Canada. That’s twice in a week without a suitcase. In Edmonton the flights were late and I arrived at night without a suitcase too. It’s not ideal. I’m lucky here, I have other bikes,” added the 33-year-old athlete.
Of course, the mechanics have the necessary sizes and the specific adjustments for each member of the formation, but the cyclists like to have peace of mind on the biggest race in the world.
Canceled flights
The country’s largest carrier announced Wednesday evening that it will cancel more than 15% of its flights in July and August amid the country’s air network awash in the overwhelming upsurge in travel.
Consumer rights advocates are demanding compensation from Air Canada for hundreds of thousands of passengers, but the airline’s intentions on the matter remain unclear.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau has apologized for flight cancellations and customer service lapses. He also said in an email to travelers that the reduced schedules stemmed from tensions in the global aviation system — potentially beyond Air Canada’s control — calling them unprecedented and unforeseen.
Not easy at Montreal-Trudeau
At Montréal-Trudeau airport, travelers are not at the end of their troubles. Monster traffic, queues, lost luggage and canceled flights could last until August according to CEO Philippe Rainville.
Several discouraged passengers notably shared photos of the baggage chaos at the Montreal airport.