I'm glad to read that I'm not the only one who prefers the traditional terms. VIA replaced conductors with Service Managers (who have less responsibility) to save money. But there are other new terms which annoy us regulars because nothing has changed. A humble (tiny) roomette is now called a single bedroom and the spacious drawing rooms are now called triple bedrooms. When dealing with VIA personnel I always use the traditional terminology and have never once been corrected.

The VIA Preference programme is by far the best loyalty plan I am aware of. It only takes $2,000 of spending per year to keep at the Premier level and the perks include four discount coupons per year, triple points and no travel restrictions. If space is available, they give us our free trips - and they are free of booking fees, cancellation or change fees, taxes, etc. My wife and son are at the intermediate level (Privilege) and they have always got the reward trips exactly as they wanted. My upcoming trip on Aeroplan (YYZ-YVR-YYJ in D Class) was booked six months ago and we have to fly home separately. Mind you, I'm a nobody with AC.