Potential issue when E75k members select Preferred Seats

As you may know, we have recently introduced an expanded Preferred Seats product. It has come to our attention that certain Altitude Elite 75K members, when travelling on a Flex fare and attempting to select a Preferred Seat, are being prompted for a fee. We will be proactively refunding any affected eligible customers, however should this affect your ability to reserve Preferred Seats, you can contact Air Canada.

We are actively working on fixing this error, and are confident it will be resolved by the beginning of next week. For more information regarding Preferred Seats eligibility, please visit:


http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/traveller/seatselection/preferredseats.html

Starting April 7, 2014, Air Canada expanded the number of Preferred Seats offered across its narrow-body fleet, that is, the E75, E90, A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.

With more Preferred Seats being available, customers can:
• Enjoy more comfort, with up to 4” (more in the exit row) of additional leg room, more legroom to stretch out, relax and work
• Easily identify Preferred Seats in the cabin with the dedicated head tidies
• Deplane quickly as most Preferred Seats are located to the front of the cabin seats with additional leg room
• Ask your travel agent to make Preferred Seat selection for GDS bookings

Air Canada’s entire mainline narrow-body fleet, as well as Embraer 175 aircraft, operating on behalf of SkyRegional, has now been re-configured with additional Preferred Seats.

Air Canada will implement the following changes to the Preferred Seat program in phases:

Phase 1:
• Starting August 15, 2014, eligibility for Preferred Seats will be streamlined based on status or fare paid.

• Preferred Seats purchased on/after August 15, will be calculated by segment vs by bound (i.e. from origin to destination). Therefore if a customer has an itinerary YYZ-YYC-YVR, the Preferred Seat fee will be calculated based on the amount for each segment. (Prior to August 15, the fee would have been calculated for the entire YYZ-YVR journey as one fee.) This ensures better access to Preferred Seats on each segment, as it's not always easy to guarantee seating on an an entire journey, especially if there is an IROP or aircraft downgauge.

• Preferred Seats will remain accessible to everyone when the flight is open for check-in, as it is today.

Phase 2:
• Later this summer, Preferred Seats will be sold during the check-in window at kiosk, web and mobile applications.

Also, as of today, you can now book Preferred Seats for Flight Pass bookings.

Eligibility for Complimentary Preferred Seat Selection:



Fees for Preferred Seats:
North American & Caribbean: $19 to $99
International: $69 to $199

Note the price will differ based on Tango vs Flex fares. With regards to the previous fee table, some routes offer less expensive Preferred Seats while others have gone up in price.