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The time has come to put the challenge to Air Canada’s management team who have pledged that their merger with Canadian Airlines will result in the creation of the world’s best airline. We’re the ones they have to satisfy, so we should also be the ones to help define what our expectations are for the “ideal” service an airline should provide in the many facets of its operations. It goes without saying that we want schedules with frequent departures and easy connections (when non-stops or direct flights are not possible). We want safety to be a paramount concern. But it is with those myriad of other details we can give advice. Notes are provided under each of the seven headings as guidelines, but don’t be limited by them as long as your comments fit the theme of the forum. Things like perks and benefits for elites will often find their way into all the forums, but most Aeroplan/CanadianPlus program issues are dealt with in the Awards Redemption forum.

Feel free to contribute your thoughts throughout the month of May. I will then tabulate each of the forums and prepare a consolidated report that can be posted or downloaded in mid-June for review by FlyerTalkers. Those who agree with the final version of this report -- revisions will undoubtedly occur throughout June -- will be invited to “sign” it, and during the FlyerTalk gathering in Montreal (July 21st to 23rd), those of us attending will arrange to deliver it to a member of Air Canada’s senior management team.

For ease of participation, all forums will appear in the Air Canada strand. A single forum will be posted in the Canadian strand to refer people to this AC strand to ensure as full participation as possible by those FlyerTalkers (from around the world) who fly either of our fine carriers.

1. Before the Flight: Reservations and Upgrades

Making Bookings: by phone or internet, special elite lines; guaranteed bookings, wait-listing, seat assignments

Getting Upgrades: percentage of seats available, elite time limits for confirmation, eligible fares; annual package, threshhold packages; Q-mile credit for upgrades

BlondeBomber

1. Before the Flight: Reservations and Upgrades

Making Bookings: ability to reserve upgrades by phone or internet (including Personal Ticket Office); ability to book seats by fare class and see fare class availability when booking on internet

special elite/super elite lines

guaranteed bookings on full fare

wait-listing for upgrades

advance seat assignments with select portions of plane to elite members (exit rows, front 6 rows in econo etc.)

Getting Upgrades:

no capacity controls for superelites

72 hr elite time limits for confirmed upgrades on Q and higher fares; confirmed at time of reservation for full fare; standby at gate (or 1 hour before departure) upgrades for L (N. America only)

super elite confirmed at time of reservation for Q and higher fares; standby at gate (or 1 hour before departure) upgrades for L (including international)

all fares eligible for upgrade but time limits based on fares and regional limits based on status.

8 system wide any fare upgrades for Super Elite; 8 N. America wide any fare upgrades for Elite (also good for international at full fare)

100% bonus on all miles over 35K (Elite status)

Q miles based on fare class seated in, not fare paid.



[This message has been edited by BlondeBomber (edited 05-01-2000).]

StuMcIlwain

I would like to see an airline that answers their phone lines. It makes sense to have priority lines for the most frequent fliers, but people who have no status in the airline's frequent flier programme should also be able to talk to someone about a flight without waiting 30+ minutes on hold.

Andrew Yiu

One of my most concern element Upgrades:

UPGRADES

• Complementary upgrades for SuperElites/Exec Plat on domestic shuttles flights (i.e. YYZ - YUL, YVR - YYC....)
  
• Upgrades comfirmable with no capacity control for SuperElites/ExecPlat at time of booking when paying current eligible fare(don't know about AC, but for CP Y,B,K,H,M).
  
• Upgrades confirmable with capacity control for Elites/Gold 100 hours prior to departure according to current eligible fare (don't know about AC, but for CP Y,B,K,H,M).
  
• Upgrades confirmable with capacity control for SuperElites/ExecPlats at 72 hours prior to departure from any fare.
  
• Upgrades confirmable with capacity control for Elites/Golds at 24 hours prior to departure from any fare.
  
• Upgrades for Prestidge/Club on the day of departure paying full fare Y/B.
  
• Those who cannot confirm an upgrade in advance are queue for an upgrade on the day of departure according to the following order: (SuperElites/ExecPlats paying qualifying fare, SuperElites/ExecPlats from any fare, Elites/Gold paying qualifying fare, Elites/Gold paying any fare, Prestidge/Club from Y/B fare) In case where there is only 1 seat left but with 2 person paying identical fare and status, upgrade will be based on miles flown during the last qualifying periods.)
  
• Only 10% of the J class seats is reserved for last minute sales and changes for those who are paying full fare J and the rest can be allocated for upgrades and award seats. (How often do they actually sell last minute seats?)
  
• 125% miles for both CP and AC whenever upgraded.
  
• Whenever upgrades cannot be confirmed for SuperElites/ExecPlats and Elites/Gold prior to departure, they are automatically queue for an upgrade and when it becomes available prior to the day of departure, you'll be upgraded automatically. Otherwise, the waitlist will carry over to the day of departure, so we will not need to arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to departure just to get on the waitlist for an upgrade.
  
• Ability to purchase upgrades stickers/certs for both domestic and international flights.

RESERVATIONS

• A software designed for both CP/AC allowing us to see what's available in each class of service including upgrades and award seats. (This might seems like a way to take the res. agents' job away but I am sure a lot of us checked itn or other res software before calling to make a res anyways.)
  
• Guarantee bookings including low fares (of course still have to follow advance booking guidelines) for SuperElites/ExecPlats.
  
• Make the SuperElites/ExecPlats res desk available 24 hours a day.

Empress

FewMiles

- a timetable that does not fluctuate so much; for higher traffic legs e.g. YYC-YVR or YEG-YVR, flights that operate on regular and even intervals; don't have a sudden 3-hour gap between flights in the middle of the day when otherwise flights operate every 1.25 hours.

- timetable should give info on everything including plane type, meals, seat map, days of week flights operate, miles, time, and availability of each fare type.

- reservation system that allows bookings using any combination of internet, telephone, or external travel agent; system allows specification and viewing of all fare class codes, rules, availability including award seats

- seat selection with viewable seatmaps for any booking, of course with priority for "premium seats" given for full fares and elite FFs

- ability to request upgrades at booking time, confirmation at appropriate times

- awarding of upgrades should be based on combination of both elite status and fare paid e.g. FF with SE/EP status can upgrade easily from even the lowest fares, FF with only Presitge/Club can only upgrade on much higher fares

- a "simple" mode for the reservation system for travelers who do not need as much detail or have as many stringent requirements

- In short, a reservation system that tells us the situation like it is. No funny changing timetable tricks or phantom passenger fiascos.


FewMiles..

AC*SE

Overall, I am pretty happy as an SE with AC. I get 24/7 one-stop service, an international 800 number, and decent upgrading.

Empress has pretty much covered the lot.

All I would add is overhaul the PTO software. Allow booking rewards and upgrades. Allow booking by fare type.

Howard

RE: UPGRADES FOR ELITE MEMBERS

The law of demand states that price and quantity demanded are negatively related. The demand for upgrades decreases with increasing price. As a consumer, I prefer to travel in Executive Class, and therefore, I am willing to pay something in order to be upgraded. I am usually not willing to pay a full J fare, but I certainly am willing to pay something above the lowest seat sale fare in order to travel in J class. Being able to do so is a valuable perk of being an Elite member. In addition, if AC matched upgrade supply with upgrade demand by setting an appropriate price, AC would maximize its revenue from each flight (assuming of course an allowance for last minute full J ticket purchases). Thus, a fair upgrade policy would be good for both AC and its customers.

The problem with the current system for Elite members is that AC is asking us to pay for upgrades before we can confirm them. AC is asking us to buy fares higher than the lowest available fare just in case an upgrade is available 72h before departure. This policy makes no economic sense and is unfair to a large group of loyal AC customers. We do not want to buy a gamble that with some probability we will be upgraded. If the upgrade is not available, and we had paid an extra $200 for the ticket, we do not get a refund - all we get are negative feelings about the way AC treats its Elite members. Clearly that can't be good for AC's bottom line.

If AC wants me to pay something for an upgrade, that's fine with me. When the upgrade is confirmed, I'd be happy to pay.

United and American have it right. They allow upgrades from any fare and confirm them at varying times before departure based on frequent flyer status. Members can upgrade as often as they like - they are welcome to buy additional upgrade certificates whenever they wish (in contrast to AC). They surrender the certificate when the upgrade is confirmed. No upgrade, no extra payment. Fair and simple.

AC could certainly learn from the UA/AA model.

ALW

Alternatively (and what I prefer in some ways), block the middle seat next to a level 2 or level 3 flyer flying alone (until needed of course). I'd rather have an empty middle seat in row 22 than be in row 15 with the middle full. (This is of course what CP did).

This is also the CP model until this year, selling upgrade stickers and pretty much filling the front section all the time. I took great advantage of it (only CP Gold, but flying on a refundable ticket, I could only be bumped from the at-the-gate list by an EP). But it all comes down to whether Business Class is treated by the airline as an occasional perk and leave the seats empty, or fill the seats and reduce the demand for revenue seats up font. It would probably mean eliminating class-of-service bonuses on upgrades as I suggested in another thread, but I think the trade-off's worth it.

But here's a question: if AC were to offer "unlimited" upgrades (for $$$) as CP did, would it be acceptable to reduce the service level? And would the high-revenue passengers accept it? Or if they're going to severely restrict upgrade availability, should they be increasing service to something more like CP's international-quality (in North America)? I think offering both the first-class service, _and_ unlimited upgrades, is not a great business model (and is what CP had to do).

andrew

I'llMissCP

If AC were to implement all this upgrade stuff for their SE, the I would not be able to buy a J seat 24 hours in advance. As a business traveller who pays for J, I expect the ability to book what I want, when I want. That's the nature of my business.

I believe upgrades should be left where they are, 100/72/standby. I don't appreciate paying full J, and having service downgraded since the airline can't make any money giving the seats away. I recently had a J service tray removed from me while I took the first bite of salad as the FA was confused over who was entitled to it (me or upgrade). That is the all time low in premium service. What was she going to do with it after I had touched the meal?

wdk

I believe your are on the right track, I'll miss CP. The airlines are in business to make money. It does not make any sense to fill a premium class cabin with frequent flyers upgrading from a low yield fare, regardless of how loyal they are. I have been a very loyal customer of The Future Shop over the past 5 years, having spent well over $20,000.00 dollars of my own money. I certainly do not receive exceptional discounts as a result. Actually, I don't receive any discounts. It would appear that perks offered by the airlines have now become an expectation? If I were an airline super frequent flyer, why would I purchase a J Class overseas seat, when I know full well that there is a strong possibility that I will be upgraded anyway. I was married to an AC super Elite for many years, who never purchased a J class overseas ticket, but rarely sat in the economy cabin. Perhaps the reason we'll miss Cp is because they gave away the store?

ALW

I agree, and that's to some extent what I was getting at.

But if AC is going to keep upgrades limited (but allowing us only to earn them, not buy them, which I think is contrary to most of the American carriers), should they be working to increase the service quality somewhat, on the basis that a higher percentage of their front-cabin flyers paid a lot to be there? Not necessarily to the level of CP (which as I said, I think was probably necessary but ultimately contributed to their fate), but a bit?

andrew

wdk

I think what Air Canada does, probably like most other carriers, is benchmark a business class product. Air canada was one of the first carriers to offer an international J sleeper seat , similar to a F/C seat. While there have been a few recent screw ups, such as the missing amenity kits(now rectified, but far from award winning), the international business class product still exceeds the offerings of many world class airlines such as Swissair. I know that AC has been conducting extensive customer research, probably in order to revamp it's J/C product. And before I hear a plethora of comments singing the praises of Swissair, many of my colleagues worked Swissair flights on an exchange program. Most carriers who offer J/C on the 767, usually have a 2-2-2 configuration, not a 2-2-1 such as AC and CP. I guess the biggest sin is being the victim of your own success and not improving your product as other competitors catch up. I will be surpised if AC lets that happen. The flight attendant group enjoys offering a great product on modern aircraft. Our job is much easier when everyone is happy!!

Ken hAAmer

In no particular order:

Phones answered in a reasonable amount of time, for all passengers, including those with no status. If airlines can use yield management and forecasts with the precision they do now set set fares and schedules, then there's no reason why they can't do likewise for reservations staff scheduling. Even before the current merger, my own experiences and those of others I am close to resulted in absurd wait times. This is a problem endemic in airlines (as my recent AA experiments have demonstrated to me) but if CP/AC wants to be world class, this is one serious shortcoming that needs to be addressed.

Some 'premium' seats in both economy and business class (and first, when the time comes) should be held until almost the last minute for revenue customers. (Is this a "capacity control?") While it may come as a shock to some, it is my belief that people paying for a benefit should receive priority over those receiving a 'free' perk. AA seems to have found a workable solution, holding a few J class seats until about 4 hours before the flight, then releasing them into the upgrade inventory. This has worked for me once.

A 'published' upgrade policy, that should be followed rigourously, except in extraordinary circumstance. How many discussions have there been in FT about upgrade priority, and how much ill-will has been generated by people feeling cheated because they might've been bumped from an upgrade for reasons unknown? When I've asked, I've always received vague, non-committal answers. A policy that is understood and applied fairly will generate more goodwill (and less badwill) than the occaisional upgrade that some (like myself) might persuade/bribe/beat up an agent for.

In situations where upgrades are only available at a time threshold, the ability to request the upgrade in advance (queued requests,) and automated notification of the upgrade, by e-mail, fax, pager, or voice mail. I've received this service lately from AA, and appreciate it more than I ever could have imagined.


[This message has been edited by Ken hAAmer (edited 05-24-2000).]

Howard

Assuming as many of you do that offering unlimited upgrades would cause a deterioration in service, we still have the problem as Elite members of being asked to buy a more expensive ticket just in case an upgrade is available 72h before departure.

For example, rather than asking a customer to pay $100 more each way for a V cls tkt instead of L cls for a chance of an upgrade, why not have some way to collect the $100 when the upgrade is confirmed? That's what the UA/AA system allows with purchased upgrade certificates. Whether you make them unlimited or just "upgrades to upgrades" (i.e. to allow certificate to be used from Q/L fare) is another issue.

[This message has been edited by Howard (edited 05-25-2000).]

AC*SE

Howard, I must admit that I missed your issue completely. Being an SE, the ability to confirm at booking has caused me to forget the old days of the 72 hour lottery.

An interesting notion of fares. How's this:

Sell the AC E the Q or L class ticket, plus an MCO (Miscellaneous Charge Order) for the fare difference to the higher class of service.

If, at 72 hours, the upgrade can clear, then the reservation system can rebook and upgrade, noting the PNR to collect both the U/G and the MCO.

If the upgrades do not clear, the MCO can be applied to future travel.

The only draw back I see is that the MCO has to be committed to paper, which is a practical impediment to e-ticketing.

Maybe Employee can tell us whether this is excessively complicated in an operational context.