Transpacificflyer

I'm not so much upset by this as annoyed. I see it as a feeble attempt to build a defense against the growing frustration of Aeroplan members who are unable to redeem on some of the more common routes. For those of us who are not million milers and/or super 100K elites, we do not have access to the priority options you folks have, and we have been getting squeezed out over the past two years and it is getting worse.

I get it. There will be options on the unpopular routes from / to Athens to Alexandroupolis, Chania, Chios, Heraklion, Ikaria, Ioannina, Karpathos, Kalamata, Kavala, Kerkyra, Kefalonia, Kos, Kythira Leros, Limnos, Mykonos, Milos, Mytilini, Naxos, Paros, Preveza, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos, Skiros, Sitia, Thessaloniki and Zakynthos. And direct flights from / to Thessaloniki to Athens, Chania, Chios, Hraklion, Kalamata, Kerkyra, Kos, Mykonos, Mytilini, Paros, Samos, Santorini, Skyros and Rhodes. Rhodes Airport connects with Samos, Chios, Mytilini, Limnos and Kos, Kalymnos, Leros.

Aside from folks like aged Aunt Eugenia who will be thrilled to know that she can visit her cousins Eudoxia, Hagne and Phoibe before they die, I don't see this helping too many Aeroplan customers.

Passengers will be flown in luxury aboard Dash 8-100, Dash 8-400 and ATRs all of which have their own threads lamenting the horrors of flying on such aircraft. (I like the 400 series and consider it a fun plane. Nevertheless, I am sensitive to the pain of others and ,my how the people who sit on the aircraft do complain in FT.)

Yes, there will be more options, but a relatively useless addition. I would have been thrilled and done cartwheels, had Aeroplan announced more availability on the continuously sold out routes, with quality airlines and reasonable route and time options.