“My wife and I were inside Ukraine during the war and we heard the air raid sirens and it changes you,” Garnett said from his home in Calgary. Garnett and his wife, Rebecca Rider, who is a WestJet pilot, say their charity, Help from Canada, helps alleviate poverty and resettle refugees from Ukraine. “Europe is completely saturated with Ukrainian refugees and I feel a moral responsibility … to take some of that burden off Europe,” Garnett said. The couple asked their WestJet colleagues to donate friend cards to help bring refugees from parts of Europe to Canada. So far, 198 have been flown by the charity on these cards. But the company says it’s against its guidelines. “We thought we were complying with their policies. That’s still our position,” Garnett said. WestJet spokeswoman April Crane says the passes are for personal leisure travel only for employees’ friends and families. “(Buddy passes) are standby trips, they’re not guaranteed,” Crane said. “At any point, you can’t make the flight, you could be removed during a segment, you could even be asked to get up and leave a seat if there’s a revenue paying guest before the doors close.” It says employee travel benefits are not designed to support charitable or nonprofit efforts. “When WestJetters transfer their Friends cards to their friends and family, it’s our responsibility to make sure those people understand all of these risks and all the things that go on around using the Friends card,” Crane said. Garnett says he had to stop accepting requests from refugees who wanted to come to Canada because of WestJet’s policy. Twenty-nine people are expected in the coming weeks. Garnett says he and his wife will comply with that requirement, not by detaining refugees with buddy cards, but hopes to work with the airline or others. “I will personally guarantee, we will bring these people here. If it’s my money, we’re not going to leave anyone hanging,” he said. “We would like to find a way for them to join (WestJet’s) policies in their charitable arm to continue and bring as many people, Ukrainian refugees, as we can.” Garnett says late Monday, WestJet responded to his email asking for clarification. In it, the company is offering 50 percent promo codes for Ukrainian refugees if flights and travel are booked and completed by September 30. The codes are only available on WestJet flights from Europe to Canada and must have proof of their visa to enter Canada through the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Authorization for Travel (CUAET) program.
