It should have been a relaxing holiday vacation in Mexico for Dave Rogers and his wife, but an unexpected encounter on the flight there made the sunny days feel gloomy.
Things started normal enough for the Christmas Eve vacationers.
“It was a real stormy day that day. We wondered whether we were going or not, but the flight was on time and it was just a normal flight,” said Rogers.
Toward the end of the flight, operated by WestJet, a flight attendant kindly offered the couple a small gesture.
“The stewardess had given us two cans of pop instead of your normal little plastic cup and ice and a measure of pop, which was very nice.”
Soon after, around the time passengers were asked to put on their seatbelts and stow electronic devices for the final descent Rogers says a different flight attendant came around to collect garbage.
“I held up the two cans, ready for him to collect.”
This is when Rogers says the flight changed from comfortable and friendly to awkward and embarrassing.
“As he came close, he had the bag there and he looked at me and sort of gestured, two? Then, I nodded and he puffed up his cheeks like this and then with his hand he gestured like a large stomach, a large tummy.
“I thought, ‘Oh my what’s he trying to say?’ Then he reached in and tapped me on my stomach and said, ‘That’s the result.’”
Completely caught off-guard, Rogers, a 23-year military veteran, says he was genuinely offended.
“You hear about it a lot these days that people get offended and not much happened. I never thought I’d be in that position myself,” said Rogers.
Trying to reason with himself as to why the flight attendant would have done it, Rogers says it may have been an odd attempt at humour, but there was no prelude to suggest he would be open to such a comment.
“I didn’t make a joke towards him, I didn’t make a joke towards either of the (other flight attendants) either that were working with us. So it’s not as if perhaps something was said, ‘watch out for the joker in (row) 21,’ you know what I mean?”
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In fact, Rogers claims to have only interacted once with this specific flight attendant — when he first boarded.
“As we got on I wished him a Merry Christmas and he said back to me, I think it was happy holidays or something along those lines, and then we went (to our seats).”
Following the flight, Rogers says he, his wife, and another passenger discussed the strange act. However, he says they ultimately left, unsure how to process what occurred.
“I kind of thought, well, what do I do now? So, we travelled the short distance to relatives in Mazatlán. We were talking about it and everyone I spoke to, because it was a family gathering, they were in total shock and dismay and said, ‘You should contact WestJet yourself,’” said Rogers.
He did email the airline, who quickly responded and apologized for the situation.
However, Rogers says he was told that, because there was no evidence of the event, no compensation could be provided.
Global News followed up with WestJet, who sent a statement saying they are looking into the alleged situation.
“WestJet takes matters of this nature very seriously; the guest’s allegations have been escalated for internal review to ensure appropriate action is taken. We hope to resolve this situation directly with the guest.”
Rogers says he flies the airline multiple times every year and has never had an experience like this.
On the contrary, he says most WestJet employees are great to deal with, but this one brief moment was enough to ruin his vacation.
“Even a couple of days later when we were laid around the pool, I wasn’t my normal, jovial happy self. The wife was like, ‘It’s still upsetting you, isn’t it?’ I said, ‘It is. I’m just in total dismay that kind of thing could happen.’”
Above all, Rogers just hopes nobody else experiences the same thing in the future.
“I wouldn’t want somebody to feel the way I felt. Taking Christmas out of it, any day of the year, to be upset over someone else’s contact and words, I’ve never been offended like that in my life. Now I’ve experienced it, I don’t want that to happen to anybody,” said Rogers.
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