I'd suggest Bruce Hood, the federal government's airline complaint commissioner, or whatever his title is. He might be particularly receptive to it at the moment.

If you watched the ROBtv clip about the MHD, you may have noticed the immediately prior to the MHD clip, there was a 10 minute interview with him. From the interview, it appears the the motivation for his appearance was the Hood had just taken a trip on AC. But he received a large dose of what he called "Air Canada attitude." Apparently, know one knew who he was. I suspect they all do now, however. Talk about picking the wrong guy to piss off. Hood went out of his way to be diplomatic, but it was clear he felt AC still had a long, long way to go in this area.


With regard to this and other major upsets, let me compare it to my last flight on BA, LHR-YVR, Nov 11. Everything went as normal, up to and including the taxi out to the runway. However, we sat just off the taxi way for about 10 minutes while plane after plane passed us by. The captain then came on and explained the situation.

It seems that two passengers, regulars on this flight, heard an unusual noise while taxiing out to the runway. The captain decided we would taxi the length of the runway, without taking off, while the First Office went and had a listen. Sure enough, he heard the noise too.

So it was back to the gate to check it out. But here's where things take a decided turn for the better. Upon arriving back at the gate and opening the main cabin door to the jetway, the plane was immediately swarmed by perhaps 20 BA customer service people, all dressed up in their bright reflective yellow traffic vests.

They quick spread out through the plane, asking anyone and everyone if there was anything they needed, would they rather be on a different flight, would they like a glass of juice, did they need a call placed to someone in Vancouver on their behalf, did they have any further concerns, etc, etc, etc. They turned the boarding music on, and tried to make the situation as comfortable as possible. All the while the FAs did likewise, and generally managed the plane as well. The entire cockpit crew also walked from one end of the plane to another, answering any and all questions as best they could. In the end, it pretty much seemed like a 2-hour cocktail party. Passengers grouped here and there, having discussions, playing cards, napping, taking it easy, and all taking it in stride.

(Meanwhile, several technical types also boarded, also with traffic vests, but also with ladders, flashlights, tools, and who knows what else. They maintained good comms with the captain, as well as the CS people. When they needed a bunch of passengers moved, the FAs and company jumped to action.)

The captain eventually made his way to the First Class cabin, where there were only 3 people, including me. He gave me a detailed rundown of what was happening, and when the problem was revealed, he came back and explained that as well. He regretted however, that there was one fellow who was upset about the delay. Everyone else was perfectly... well, not happy, maybe, but at least satisfied with the progress.

(As for me, I was being waited on hand and foot, by 3 senior FAs that had nothing else to do but take care of me (as the other two went to sleep) in the most comfortable cabin in the sky, eating well, drinking well, watching TV well, and just generally relaxing. I suggested to the Captain that if he wanted to taxi all the way to Vancouver, well, that was OK with me.)

In the end it was discovered that there was really no safetly issue. A wire had merely come out of the clip securing it, and was rattling against the ceiling tiles. While we taxied back out to the runway, the captain again came on the PA. He first sincerely thanked the 2 passengers who pointed out the unusual sound, then went on to apologize for the delay, as usual explaining how safety take precedence over all other issues. Two hours after scheduled departure, we were on our way.

To me, it was remarkable that a technical problem like this would produce such a profound and immediate response from customer service people. But should it have seem remarkable? BA doesn't seem to think so. Clearly they know how to handle these situations. I guess the question is, does AC? Even though these situations seem to be occuring regularly (although I grant you that snow in Canada in December is particularly unusual,) they don't seem to be getting any better at it.

Hats off to BA. Sympathies to the AC operations level people squeezed into this situation. And a pox upon AC management.