global happy traveller

they did a lot for me....listen to my great and bad experiences, helped me check upgrade chances, help me arrange connections, cancel my ticket etc.....

sometimes they are in the International MLL lounge submerged with the regular staff

catgirl

Bite your tongue! Unequivocally, hands-down, no questions asked, the concierges are THE greatest benefit of my SE status. I can't begin to count the number of times they have come through for me -- helped me with tight connections, made last-minute changes, helped me adjust my schedule when I faced a family crisis; they pretty much just make air travel one less thing I have to worry about. And lest I forget, the pinnacle of the assistance they have given me - got me on the last Air Canada flight out of LHR (and the second-last flight of any airline) last April when a volcano in Iceland started spewing ash all over European airspace. They were on the phone with me that morning and then again later while I was making the harrying car ride from my hotel to the airport, met me at the counter, rushed me through security, and then jogged me down the l-o-o-o-ng concourse to the plane all the while offering words of encouragement. Yup, the AC Concierges rock!

EZESE

Again just the other day the Concierge in YUL checked me in manually over the phone because the OLCI wouldn't allow to check in for some strange reason (actually I know why it;s because my first segment was confirmed in R Class and the remaining two were waitlisted...wish they would fix this glitch once and for all). She called the Resource Desk and had me checked in and I was the first one checked in YUL-YYZ-YVR which determined that I was #1 on the list for an upgrade on YYZ-YVR and again on YVR-HKG. BTW, there was only 1 seat avail. on the YYZ-YVR and 2 seats YVR-HKG. Had it not been for her and her efforts going the extra mile by calling her Resource Desk, I most likely I wouldn't of receive the upgrade at the gate in YYZ since there were 4 other SE's on the YYZ-YVR and also we were 7 SE's standing by in YVR for the YVR-HKG....they are INVALUABLE IMHO and another reason why I continue to fly AC as much as possible!^

mileageking

+1 ^

+1 ^

+1 ^

global happy traveller

+1.... one thing i appreciate about concierge is they keep us in mind when we make a request, whereas if you leave it to the regular AC airport staff it may be lost in communication or submerged into bureaucracy and forgotten.

LondonElite

Wow, just catching up on this...you two should get a room or something.

LondonElite

Grrrowl...this is just so sexy. It almost never happens to me anymore

becreative

Sounds a bit iffy.. with the new system your upgrade request is automatically transferred to the airport. So when you check in is now largely irrelevant and I am surprised the other 4 or 7 SEs had not requested upgrades after the upgrade window had opened. Maybe all of the flying is causing you to mix up your stories

Stranger

There are always people who only start dealing with upgrades at the gate.

becreative

Yes but whats the probability of all 7 SEs not requesting an upgrade earlier?

Stranger

Ever heard of Argentinian "embellishment?"

EZESE

Read what I posted if you register 7 days in advance and there is no R Class space available until day of departure and use OLCI at the 24 hour mark and request your upgrade at that point it doesn't matter anymore because it is only at the 24 hour mark that the list gets transfered over to the airport manifest. Furthermore, if you would read I was starting in YUL-YYZ-YVR-HKG and thus was connecting as well which put me first on the list as well.

OH and FYI, I personally know a couple of Concierges' that are members on this site and lurk and do read what we are posting. It came up last week in a conversation with one of them.

becreative

Here Let me point you to official AC policy on this:
http://www.aircanada.com/en/aeroplan...des/index.html

eUpgrade waitlist requests are carried through until flight departure. If your waitlisted upgrade request does not clear before you check in, it is automatically transferred to the airport upgrade standby list for clearance at the gate.

So no you do not get ahead of someone who requests an upgrade before you even if you check in before them. That used to be the case but is no longer the case. Maybe before you start going off on everyone get your stories straight.

Some of us don't fly as much as you claim to fly but we do fly often to keep up with AC's changing rules

EZESE

You are really twisting things to suit your own arguments!
Yes it will automatically transfer over to the airport manifest but it DOES NOT prioritize you higher just because you requested it 7 days out....you are too much my friend! If there is no R space to clear then we all go on the same list and the computer prioritizes us by Status, Fare, Connections, Time of Check-in.
If we go by your false information how did I beat out everyone this past Friday on the YYZ-YVR (1 seat left in J) and beat out everyone 2 Seats in J Class YVR-HKG with a total of 7 SE's when I only registered Wednesday May 11th after 4:30pm EST?...explain that one to us all would you?
All I can say you keep about your upgrade strategy and I'll continue mine...mine works just fine for me thank you.

becreative

Am I not saying the same thing?? Really let me break it down for you again..

An SE flying in a fare class that is comparable or higher than you will trump you for an upgrade (even when the list gets transferred to the airport) if he/she had requested an upgrade before you regardless of when he/she actually checks in. So the check in time does not matter. the other things do. I am not twisting anything. Just stating what the poilcy around upgrades is...