Airline passenger spent a total of 11 hours on hold to customer service before giving up and booking new tickets for $800

• A passenger meant to fly home from Phoenix to Edmonton on Swoop had her flight canceled.
• Jody Caskey says she spent more than 11 hours on calls trying to reach a customer service agent.

An airline passenger spent a total of 11 hours trying to get through to a customer service agent after her flight was cancelled.

Jody Caskey had flown on Swoop Airlines to Phoenix, Arizona from Edmonton in Canada but her return flight was canceled by the Canadian airline on June 28.

After being told by email that she could either obtain a refund or book new flights with Swoop's owner WestJet, she emailed to opt for rebooking.

However, two emails went unanswered so Caskey decided to ring the airline. "I called six times – four times on hold for at least two hours. Every time the phone disconnected right over the two-hour mark," she told Insider.

After spending more than 11 hours trying to get through, she gave up and booked a new flight on WestJet on July 8 for herself and her family at a cost of $800.

The Phoenix to Edmonton flight normally takes three and a half hours, but her return journey now includes a connection in Calgary, adding seven hours to the trip.

Caskey has been forced to cut her vacation a day short as well and said her break had been "upended" by the disruption.

She hoped Swoop will give her a refund and pay for the new flights due to the inconvenience. "I am willing to take Swoop to court – $800 is not a huge sum but the principle of it is that they are doing it on purpose."

Caskey had used Swoop three times previously but vowed never to fly with them again as it had been a "terrible experience."

It comes after an American Airlines passenger drove to Denver airport to rebook his tickets after its customer service center left him on hold for nearly four hours.

US airlines have canceled at least 35,000 flights since June 16, leaving passengers frustrated amid rising travel disruption due to lack of staff and high demand.

Swoop was contacted for comment.