An interesting thing happened this morning. Through the PM feature I was invited to contact a representative of AC’s Customer Relations Department to discuss my original post. I was initially apprehensive about being “outed”, but after receiving an assurance I took the plunge and called. I had a pleasant chat with a very nice lady at the CR dept. She says that Calin* has asked them to lurk in the FT forum and try to contact some of the customers. It may not have occurred to them, apparently, that some would wish to remain anonymous.
Just maybe it would be easier for the Calin's team if we put all our suggestions under one title so that they are easy to find and even Calin could take a peek at them every now and then.
One of my suggestions would be that occasionally the Calin team should use the FT forum to have a two way dialogue with the FT folks on appropiate issues regarding Air Canada...
__________________ When the plane you are on is late, the plane you want to transfer to is on time....
I nominate this thread (and hope the moderators will make it a sticky, so ACers can find it easily.)
I'd suggest only suggestions be posted here, and not complaints or random observations (unless the "complaint" is accompanied by a reasonable suggested solution to prevent the problem in the future.)
In the ML lounges it's common policy that flight departures are not announced. I'd like to suggest that during IROPs, whether it be a single flight or system wide, that that policy be temporarily overridden, and that departure/boarding announcements are made.
In the case of a single flight that has problems and/or is delayed, announce only that flight. But in cases where there's a compete meltdown (or freeze up, in the case of YVR) announce every flight.
Other than some White-Out to "correct" the instruction manuals, there's essentially no cost to this improvement. As well, it will greatly assist affected passengers, and make them more at ease in the lounge. Finally, it will off-load a great deal of work from the lounge agents, so they don't have to keep answering the question "Is 149 departing yet? Is 149 departing yet? Is 149 departing yet? Is 149 departing yet?"
No cost, easy to implement, big benefit to passengers.
Programs: AC SE, HH Dd, SPG Plt, PC Plt/RA; AA AF AS CA DL HU LH MX SA SQ UA; GldPts TrpRew AirMiles
Posts: 11,894
Rather than have announcements all the time, why not a large flat screen(s) with departure times clearly visible from all over the lounge--I have seen this in Air China lounge in Beijing and works fine. Unfortunately, they also do the announcements AND have a person going through the lounge announcing flights departing which disturbs the peace of the lounge.
Lose the primitive paper upgrade certs and go electronic- you can already track us by AP number; why not take the next step as the certs are personalized anyway.
What happened to the snacks (cookies, mixed snacks) on the 1/2hr -1hr Jazz Dash 8 flights?
It used to be full drink service (coffee, juices, milk, water, booze) and snacks. Now replaced by a few small juice cups?
__________________ .... Life's a gas when you do not own a car
1st travel rule: Never check luggage; 2nd travel rule: see #1
How about reverse the 30% increase for SE members on instant IKK. It was a mistake in the first place and would go along way to improve relationship with SE members.
How about reverse the 30% increase for SE members on instant IKK. It was a mistake in the first place and would go along way to improve relationship with SE members.
Programs: AC*SE, AA, M&M, SPG-P, Golden Circle Exec, HHonors
Posts: 852
^ ^
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silvercity
How about reverse the 30% increase for SE members on instant IKK. It was a mistake in the first place and would go along way to improve relationship with SE members.
Programs: AC E, SPG nothing but wannabe Platinum :-)
Posts: 1,511
In years past, parts of AC were spun off into separate entities. This was a plan that had pluses & minuses. But to the average consumer, Aeroplan and Jazz are in fact, Air Canada. There's no differentiation in the mind of the consumer.
As such it's always Air Canada's "fault" when reward seats aren't available, or they are available for 500K+ points, or miles take weeks to get posted, or meal service is completely different on Jazz then on mainline AC ...
The fact that Aeroplan and Jazz are separate entities is something that's pretty hard to undo now (though not impossible). While the current financial status of AC probably prevents buying them back, it would be well worth the effort to increase communication and integration between the 3 companies.
My experience with AC is improving. Speaking personally, putting the focus back on the customer is about to yield some positive results. Don't lose it all through actions of companies that practically speaking are AC, even though from a legal perspective they aren't.
50 segments is a long way to go for Elite status for short-haul flyers. Is there any way that a small token of appreciation could be given out at the at the 25 segment mark, assuming the flyer has no status from the previous year, such as lounge passes or bonus miles? These could be an "early" Prestige bonus to help some people to reach the next threshold and would go along way.
Here's a suggestion. How about updating the departure message boards at the gate (and lounges, and throughout the airport) with a "DELAYED" status when it is known that the aircraft won't possibly arrive at the gate on time to allow for an on-time departure. I can't count how many times I've arrived at the gate at the posted boarding time and an "on-time" status on the board with no plane in sight.
Here's a suggestion. How about updating the departure message boards at the gate (and lounges, and throughout the airport) with a "DELAYED" status when it is known that the aircraft won't possibly arrive at the gate on time to allow for an on-time departure. I can't count how many times I've arrived at the gate at the posted boarding time and an "on-time" status on the board with no plane in sight.
Don't start me going on this one. I have seen on-time departures posted when the inbound a/c hadn't left the last stop yet.
I don't think this sticky will last very long or have much cred with AC management if it evolves into a whining and complaining board.
Here are some things that I would investigate doing if I ran AC:
1) Maintain the current upgradability for Tango Plus fares - they have been successful in keeping me off WJ this summer and making sure that I choose T+ instead of T fares even though I already have enough bookings for SE 2010.
2) Adjust meal service in J class so that the ordering priority goes to paying customers of any status first, then SE, then E upgraders. I have benefited from this glitch in the past but paying customers should always get the meal they want first instead of a SE upgrader.
3) Participate in the YYC transborder lounge. It is a shame that Canada's fourth largest transborder airport has no lounge.
4) Fix the map function on the IFE once and for all.
5) Clarify operating procedures for Priority Boarding lane. This is a great initiative but the execution often breaks down. Call children and assistance passengers first, then board Biz, *G and then others. Display row numbers on the boarding screens. Huge operational gains to be made here through more efficient boarding.
6) Investigate adapting a HON Circle tier inside Aeroplan.
7) The 30% IKK thing is ticking a lot of people off but I don't see many SE's jumping to WJ. Can a happy medium be found?
8) Upgrade certs go electronic. How much money does it cost to send these things out anyway. If AC can manage flight passes it can manage e-certs.
9) Think about Economy Plus on International metal. This is a viable option for FF's that have been asked / told to give up J class and if priced correctly would give incremental revenue of Y class passengers moving up for the extra comfort.
10) Benchmark meal service on international routes with major competitors. The planes are good, the seats are good, the IFE is good and the crews are good. The meals are miles apart.
11) Make upgrades available by fare paid first then by status. Not fare class but actual dollars paid.
Even if one of the above ideas were implemented AC would cement my loyalty and the loyalty of thousands of other passengers.
