Question: Standard procedure on Invol Reroutes?

[Deckard]

Greetings

AC n00b here - normally VS/BA - and I'd appreciate feedback from more regular AC peeps...

Just had to fly YVR-YYZ-MKE and received warning from TripIt that the first leg was running late so we'd miss the second leg. Called AC CS and they agreed and set about rerouting us. We were in Tango Plus with preallocated seats.

Firstly they offered us the same flight 24 hours later with an overnight in YYZ. Earlier flights were full in coach but had availability in business. I explained that missing the first day of a conference wasn't really optimal. They wouldn't entertain upgrading us to business or endorsing our flight coupons to WestJet.

Eventually I suggested a reroute to ORD (73 miles from MKE so within their 75 mile limit) and hiring a car to drive from there. Again the connection would be missed so we'd have to do a very early morning flight but this was doable and was ticketed.

The YVR-YYZ leg was a dream - the exit row seats we'd booked had infinite legroom. As we began our final descent we heard the pursur announce that people with missed connections should go to the customer services desk at B20. We're not familiar with layout of YYZ so this made as much sense as anything else to us.

On landing we looked for B gate signs but none were readily apparent so we went to collect our luggage. My partner waited whilst I went off in search of B20. I found it in a different terminal but couldn't clear security as I had no boarding card. I couldn't find an AC rep so I returned to baggage collection in T1. We then considered the possibility tha the pursur had actually announced D20 BUT couldn't clear security to find out.

With < 8 hours to eat and sleep we just checked into the Sheraton at T3.

So a number of questions... first and most obvious - what is AC's position going to be on the hotel bills/food/car hire? (Yes - I do have travel insurance and I will be making a claim), Second, d vs b. The phonetic alphabet was invented for a reason - why isn't it used? Third - does anyone know if if WAS meant to be D20 or were they just assuming that people with missed connections woudl have their onward boarding passes so woudl be able to clear security?

Thanks in advance.

[benjybl]

Originally Posted by Deckard

So a number of questions... first and most obvious - what is AC's position going to be on the hotel bills/food/car hire? (Yes - I do have travel insurance and I will be making a claim), Second, d vs b. The phonetic alphabet was invented for a reason - why isn't it used? Third - does anyone know if if WAS meant to be D20 or were they just assuming that people with missed connections woudl have their onward boarding passes so woudl be able to clear security?

Can't speak to the first part, but I can tell you that the FA did mean D20. AC flies out of T1, which identifies gates as D/E/F for domestic/US/Int'l respectively. The B gates are in T3, where AC has no presence. Too bad about the miscommunication.

[Deckard]

Colour me stupid . I did get that sense of dread as I arrived at T3 thinking it all seemed a bit weird . Local knowledge is a useful thing - we'll know for next time. Thanks for the clarification.

[arf04]

Originally Posted by Deckard

Second, d vs b. The phonetic alphabet was invented for a reason - why isn't it used?

I hate this too. At YQR, the gates are lettered rather than numbered. I've seen people panic more than once when they hear that it is last call for Gate B, but they heard E or D or vice versa (or even C, but that's not so bad). B to D or E requires a bit of a walk and in the morning's the area is congested and it can be hard to get through quickly. It is one of the stupider things I've seen and it makes a relatively small airport a bit tricky for some people to get through. For FF it's not a big deal as the same gates are used almost all the time for the same flights and airlines--you don't even need to look at the board to know where to go.