A couple from Beauce have resigned themselves to never finding the first pictures of their child’s life, while four months ago Air Canada lost their luggage on their return from New Zealand, where their son was born.
“Today we lost hope, especially when we saw that the airline made no effort,” Maxime Gendron lamented in an interview with the Journal.
On September 6, the 32-year-old man was preparing to return to the countryside with his wife and their newborn. She had just given birth to her first child in her family who live in New Zealand.
Fearing luggage being loaded due to multiple stopovers, the couple claim they have twice contacted Australian airline Qantas and Air Canada to confirm the amount of bags allocated for the planes.
“But when we arrived to take the first plane, we were told the plane was smaller than expected and that we would have to declare two of our heaviest bags,” the new dad said.
Photo courtesy of Maxime Gendron
Maxime Gendron and Jessica Hogwood returned from New Zealand on September 9 after the latter gave birth to her family.
A sentimental value
For the duration of the trip, Maxime Gendron therefore had to part with the hard drives containing the videos and photos of his son’s birth and a hand-woven blanket for the infant’s discharge from the hospital.
Not to mention his camera, his wife’s makeup kit, gifts for their newborn and clothes of all kinds.
But when they arrived in Montreal three flights later, the couple found that the luggage they sent in the hold never reached its destination.
When he received no response several weeks after completing a report, Mr. Gendron had to go to Quebec Airport himself to learn that Air Canada had lost his luggage somewhere between Vancouver and Montreal.
“The material is what it is, but there were items of inestimable sentimental value. It wasn’t easy emotionally,” he said.
A lengthy process
On Oct. 19, the airline offered the couple $2,250 in compensation, almost the maximum amount one can get for a single lost bag.
However, the organization had misplaced two of the suitcases, the contents of which were estimated at around $4,700, according to Mr Gendron. But all emails and calls sent after that went unanswered.
Two months later, the couple finally received compensation that was roughly twice the amount originally offered. But he had to send a formal notice to Air Canada to get there.
“We will be able to create new memories, but we will never regain them. We must mourn,” concluded Maxime Gendron.
Air Canada declined our request for an interview, content to confirm the loss of Mr Gendron’s luggage and claiming that it would “do everything possible to locate it” if such an “extraordinary” situation arises.
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