Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > Air Canada | Aeroplan
Reload this Page >

Tracking the ridiculous inconsistency of AC's OLCI reminder e-mails

Tracking the ridiculous inconsistency of AC's OLCI reminder e-mails

Old Jul 27, 2017, 11:00 pm
  #1  
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,622
Tracking the ridiculous inconsistency of AC's OLCI reminder e-mails

Any appetite to start keeping a database of when we receive OLCI e-mails so that AC can start to understand just how useless and broken their system is?

I was prompted to think about this during a recent glut of travel where the e-mails ranged from the sublime (T-23:59 or so) to the simply non-existent. Sometimes both on the same flight (my wife and I were on separate PNRs on one of these trips).

Before anyone says AC IT already knows when we get these, please, this is AC IT. I highly doubt they have any idea when the OLCI e-mails get sent out, otherwise they wouldn't arrive in such a haphazard fashion.

Perhaps a public database of their failures might help them realize how broken their system is.

But obviously no one of us (even the mighty yyznomad) flies enough to create a meaningful sample size, so it would need to be a community effort.

I have two ideas for format, neither of which would require a lot of work from any one individual:
  • Create a wiki in this thread. Broad categories, e.g. received between T-24 and T-20, between T-19:59 and T-16, etc. Just a running total of which time period the e-mails were received in. Simplest way to do it.
  • I could built a spreadsheet on Google Sheets with a bit more detail. It would allow for more detailed tracking but take a bit more time for everyone to update all the time.

Post with your thoughts on whether it's worthwhile and whether you'd contribute, as well as which format you think is more useful.
Adam Smith is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2017, 11:04 pm
  #2  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,187
I liked the word "database".

Not so much the word "wiki" or "spreadsheet".

I'm sure we could get something up in short order that satisfied all needs.
canadiancow is online now  
Old Jul 27, 2017, 11:08 pm
  #3  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: AC SE100K-1MM, NH, DL, AA, BA, Global Entry/Nexus, APEC..
Posts: 18,877
@Adam Smith

What about the ones I receive 6 hours after I've checked in?

Also, are you interested in tracking them to find a pattern or ....
24left is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2017, 11:08 pm
  #4  
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,622
Originally Posted by canadiancow
I liked the word "database".

Not so much the word "wiki" or "spreadsheet".

I'm sure we could get something up in short order that satisfied all needs.

A wiki or a spreadsheet is a database, albeit more crude than something that an IT expert like yourself might create. If you would like to program something, by all means, have at it, I'm sure it will be a superior solution to anything I could create. I would run circles around you when it came to financing oil and gas companies though
Adam Smith is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2017, 11:11 pm
  #5  
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,622
Originally Posted by 24left
@Adam Smith

What about the ones I receive 6 hours after I've checked in?

Also, are you interested in tracking them to find a pattern or ....
There would be a space for those, as well as a space for e-mails received for flights that one had cancelled.
Adam Smith is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2017, 11:13 pm
  #6  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: AC SE100K-1MM, NH, DL, AA, BA, Global Entry/Nexus, APEC..
Posts: 18,877
Originally Posted by Adam Smith
There would be a space for those, as well as a space for e-mails received for flights that one had cancelled.
I see on the reminder email this line:

"Please note: If you have made changes or cancelled your booking in the last 24 hours, the flight details below may not be up to date."

I've often wondered why not.
24left is offline  
Old Jul 27, 2017, 11:15 pm
  #7  
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,622
Originally Posted by 24left
I see on the reminder email this line:

"Please note: If you have made changes or cancelled your booking in the last 24 hours, the flight details below may not be up to date."

I've often wondered why not.
Because the system sucks?

I've had bookings cancelled well over 24 hours before OLCI opened that I still got e-mails for.

I also get e-mails when I've listed my e-mail as an additional e-mail on an Aeroplan redemption, even when I'm neither the primary passenger nor account owner (e.g. I use my dad's miles to book a ticket for my cousin). What's really funny is when the account owner and I both receive the OLCI e-mail but the primary passenger doesn't.
Adam Smith is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2017, 12:09 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: YYC
Programs: AC-E50K, *G, WS-Gold, Nexus, HH-Diamond, Marriott-Gold, Hertz-PC
Posts: 181
Originally Posted by Adam Smith
Any appetite to start keeping a database of when we receive OLCI e-mails so that AC can start to understand just how useless and broken their system is?
To what end? Is your goal to get AC to improve the timeliness and reliability of these emails? Do you actually rely upon these to prompt you to OLCI?

If you need a consistent, reliable reminder go with the mobile app -- it can place a notification in your calendar for all booked flights. This is but one of a myriad of ways you can set your own reminder, in a format that works with whatever system you prefer to help organize and plan your days.

Really not trying to be sarcastic...I completely agree AC IT can and needs to improve, I just don't think this is an issue for anyone but you.
TravellingGypsy is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2017, 1:15 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: sqrt(-united states of apologist)
Programs: *$ Green
Posts: 5,403
Data points:

Received OLCI for a recent flight at T-23:03.

T-23:01 for the return.

International flight booked with an AC agent, and specifically asked to set up my email and phone number for notifications.


​​​​I prefer ANA's automatic check in feature, if you provide full API before departure.
SparseFlyer is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2017, 2:57 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: YYZ, MNL, WAW
Programs: Marriott Plat, (now an AC nobody)
Posts: 1,978
Data point

March 11, 2017. YYZ-SFO - I received an online check-in email at 10:24 for a flight that had a scheduled departure of 10:10.

Yes that's right. The email was received 14 minutes after departure.
CanRulez is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2017, 2:59 am
  #11  
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,622
Originally Posted by TravellingGypsy
To what end? Is your goal to get AC to improve the timeliness and reliability of these emails?
That would be ideal. AC reads FT. Maybe it has an impact, maybe it doesn't. Worst case, it's another opportunity to vent frustration at AC on FT.

Do you actually rely upon these to prompt you to OLCI?

If you need a consistent, reliable reminder go with the mobile app -- it can place a notification in your calendar for all booked flights. This is but one of a myriad of ways you can set your own reminder, in a format that works with whatever system you prefer to help organize and plan your days.
I fly a lot and I lead a busy life. I'm not a FOTSG eagerly counting down the days, hours and minutes to my next flight. If I'm busy enjoying my weekend vacation or in the midst of a 16-hour work day, dropping what I'm doing to OLCI isn't necessarily top of mind without a prompt from somewhere.

The other problem I have is that ac.com frequently doesn't want me to check in online based on my Aeroplan number, necessitating a PNR, which I may or may not have handy at the time I'm trying to OLCI. The PNR is included in the e-mail.

I try to never rely on AC's crappy IT for anything. But it would be nice to have an OLCI e-mail system that worked and simplified my life.

As for the app, it's not much better. Only flights booked on ac.com show up there, others need to be added manually. Not all ac.com-booked flights show up correctly. Some alerts may come at T-24. Some may not come at all. OLCI also may not work properly through the app, or a paper BP may be required.

Yes, there are other ways to set this up, like adding reminders to one's calendar, but why should one need to bother when other airlines get features like this to work properly and consistently? (UA even lets you auto check-in for a return leg on your outbound, on certain itineraries, and you will just get an e-mail with a BP when check-in opens on the return!) I spend as much, if not more money, on AC than on any other airline. Why should I hold them to a lower standard?

Really not trying to be sarcastic...I completely agree AC IT can and needs to improve, I just don't think this is an issue for anyone but you.
That's a ludicrous statement given how often the poor quality of the OLCI reminders has been criticized or mocked around here. Some have even commented that the OLCI e-mails help them remember to cancel bookings they would have otherwise forgotten about.
Adam Smith is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2017, 6:29 am
  #12  
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: OGG, YYC
Programs: AA, AC
Posts: 3,696
Originally Posted by Adam Smith
Some have even commented that the OLCI e-mails help them remember to cancel bookings they would have otherwise forgotten about.
That's what I use them for and I posted that some time ago. It's a useful reminder and a few times it's saved me from losing FP credits.

Without exaggeration I would estimate that for 90% of my flights I do not receive an OLCI email. And 90% of the time when I do actually receive one it's for a flight that's been cancelled or changed.
After Burner is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2017, 6:46 am
  #13  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: EXT, sometimes NYC/LON/YQT
Programs: Aeroplan, SPG/Marriott, Radisson Rewards
Posts: 774
Originally Posted by Adam Smith
As for the app, it's not much better. Only flights booked on ac.com show up there, others need to be added manually. Not all ac.com-booked flights show up correctly. Some alerts may come at T-24. Some may not come at all. OLCI also may not work properly through the app, or a paper BP may be required.
This this the Android or iPhone app? The Android app most definitely does show AC flights booked elsewhere, as long as my AE# was added to the booking.
D404 is online now  
Old Jul 28, 2017, 10:02 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE 1MM, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 3,392
Originally Posted by D404
This this the Android or iPhone app? The Android app most definitely does show AC flights booked elsewhere, as long as my AE# was added to the booking.
It doesn't always work, but the iPhone app shows AE bookings automatically. Some of the time.
ridefar is offline  
Old Jul 28, 2017, 12:41 pm
  #15  
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,622
Originally Posted by D404
This this the Android or iPhone app? The Android app most definitely does show AC flights booked elsewhere, as long as my AE# was added to the booking.
​​​​​​
Android app. Currently showing 1 valid booking made on ac.com. Also showing 1 cancelled booking that was originally made on ac.com.

Not showing an AE booking made from my account. But last weekend it did show my AE booking.

A couple weeks ago I had a trip on 2x one-way FP credits. One was in the app, one wasn't.

So, sometimes stuff is there, sometimes it's not.
Adam Smith is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.