A fishy snafu: Alberta lobster fest left lobster-less by Air Canada delay

Air Canada has reimbursed the organizers of an Alberta festival after a boatload of lobsters from Newfoundland was lost in transit, spoiling an event meant to celebrate the coveted crustaceans.

Jackie Panasiuk, one of the organizers of the Northern Alberta Lobster Festival in the community of Cotillion, told CBC News on Monday that they have accepted Air Canada's offer to pay for the shipping and the cost of the seafood. 

The settlement came after the festival was left lobster-less by a travel snafu with the airline.

Instead of soaring thousands of kilometres to their final destination at the Grande Prairie airport, the lobsters were grounded in Toronto, then sidelined in Edmonton.

One hundred live lobsters — 145 pounds of the delectable meat — were delayed.

We had people come from all over Alberta, and unfortunately the lobster weren't among the attendees.- Jackie Panasiuk

By the time the shipment arrived, 18 hours after the end of the festival, much of the lobster had spoiled.

"We had people come from all over Alberta, and unfortunately the lobster weren't among the attendees," said Panasiuk, who helped her sister organize the event.

"It was a very disappointing event. We ate hot dogs at a lobster fest."

Crustacean complication 

On Aug. 13, the day of the festival, Air Canada's cargo-tracking system indicated the lobster shipment had arrived at Grande Prairie airport at 4 p.m.

But when the organizers reached the customer service desk, they were told the shipment hadn't arrived.

Severe weather had grounded the flight in Toronto, and there was no guarantee the lobster would arrive in Alberta before the end of day.

Panasiuk said she spent hours on the phone, dealing with agents who refused to apologize or answer her questions.  

The lost lobsters turned up at the Edmonton airport two hours later, but Panasiuk said the airline wasn't accommodating in getting them to their final destination.

Instead of letting the lobster rot, Panasiuk said Air Canada could have transferred the crates to a different flight or offered to pay for alternative transport.

"Air Canada offered to allow us to pay to taxi them up to Cotillion — and a cab ride just to get them up to Grande Prairie would have cost $750. And we were supposed to pay for it."

The seafood finally arrived in Grande Prairie around 10 a.m. the day after the festival.

"We cooked and froze them and distributed them to community members, because nobody has enough freezer space for that many lobsters," Panasiuk said.

Lost in transit 

In a statement to CBC Edmonton, Air Canada representative Isabelle Arthur said "very bad weather" was to blame for the delays.

The shipment missed the last connecting flight in Toronto and was sent the next morning on the first available flight. A "complex itinerary" made it challenging to provide real-time tracking information.

She also noted that Air Canada cannot transfer shipments to another airline unless it has been pre-approved through the shipping company, something which "cannot be a last-minute solution."

Agents 'did their very best to assist.'- Isabelle Arthur, Air Canada spokeswoman

Arthur, after a review of the file, said Air Canada agents "did their very best to assist" in shipment delivery.

With files from Mark Harvey