'Who wants pizza?': WestJet pilot buys food for stranded Air Canada passengers

© Copyright: (C) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/termsofuse.htm... A statement from Air Canada said "we should have done better for our customers," after an employee told stranded passengers getting food delivered wasn't an option. Travis Pereira/CBC

A WestJet pilot is earning high praise after paying for pizza for passengers that got re-routed while travelling to St. John's — on an Air Canada flight. 

"There was outwards applause when it happened," says John Samms, who lives in St. John's.

It started after an Air Canada plane couldn't land on Feb. 8 due to bad weather and ended up going back to Fredericton. 

Samms said passengers were told by an Air Canada staff member in the airport at midnight that ultimately, it wasn't possible to get food delivered.

"Out of nowhere, a WestJet pilot emerged and said, 'Hey ... I am from WestJet and we do things differently. Who wants pizza?'" Samms told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

"Within 20 minutes to half an hour the pizza had arrived and I think he paid for it out of his own pocket."

Air Canada says sorry

Samms said it was especially surprising, since all of the passengers were travelling on a competing airline. 

"That was the irritating part for me ... I had taken it as perhaps a lack of effort on Air Canada staff, " said Samms, who had lived in Fredericton for a few years and knew there were at least a few pizza places open. 

For its part, Air Canada is apologizing to customers for the incident, and acknowledging the efforts of the WestJet employee.

"Unfortunately the food service was closed but thankfully, a caring customer, an airline employee himself, so truly empathetic to the situation, stepped up," Air Canada said in a statement provided to CBC News. 

"Clearly we should have done better for our customers."

Samms said no airline is perfect all the time, but people remember when staff go out of their way, especially for these passengers that weren't even flying with WestJet. 

"A little bit of effort can go a long way when it comes to customer service."

CBC News asked WestJet for comment and the mystery pilot's name, but had not heard from that airline as of Monday. 

Source: 'Who wants pizza?': WestJet pilot buys food for stranded Air Canada passengers