Here’s another example of a possibly life-changing mistake. A Toronto man booked a trip to the west coast to propose to his girlfriend of three years. (He didn’t want his name used.)

“We are avid travellers and have visited most of Canada together. We’ve never been to Vancouver and I’ve spent a lot of time and money to ensure a perfect experience,” he said. “Little did I know that Air Canada had other plans for me.”

He booked flights for May 17 and 21, but had a nasty surprise when trying to change the return date on May 3. A telephone agent said his tickets were invalid and he would have been refused boarding if he had showed up at the airport.

How was this possible? Air Canada’s computer system recognized his booking reference number, had the passenger information on file and charged a payment to his credit card, he pointed out.

“I specifically asked the agent not to cancel my reservation or send a refund until a resolution was reached,” the man said. “Less than half hour later, I received two emails from Air Canada, refunding both of our tickets.

“Frustrated, I called again and was on hold for an extremely long time before an agent picked up my call and hung up on me shortly afterward.”

The suitor’s lament must have struck a chord with the airline. It reached out within minutes of my email and rectified its mistake.

“We apologize for the stresses this may have caused,” a manager told him. “We have rebooked your flights on your desired dates and with complimentary seating. As a further gesture of goodwill, we are pleased to provide you with an Air Canada e-coupon in the amount of $100.”

The couple flew to Vancouver on May 17, as planned. A crisis averted and a proposal accepted. Instead of being grounded at the gate, harmony ensued.

The British consultancy Skytrax, which ranks the world’s top 100 airlines, lists Air Canada at 31st (down from 27th in 2015). Calgary-based rival WestJet is 50th (down from 47th).

The top five airlines are Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and ANAs (All Nippon Airways of Japan).

Skytrax also has hundreds of customer reviews, where Air Canada scores 5 out of 10 overall and Air Canada Rouge (the discount airline) scores 3 out of 10.

Bottom line: I’d like to see Air Canada train customer service staff to communicate more professionally and not leave passengers hanging after promising to help.


https://www.thestar.com/business/per...r-roseman.html