ridefar

In all fairness they are largely absent from all social media. Their twitter feed is far less useful (and the people less empowered) than they used to be. I don't use FB so whatever... But the impression I get is that they didn't like the reception they got and chose to blame the customer rather than reflect on the fact that their message sucked.

PLeblond

I found it amusing the first 100 times I read it. Now... not so much.

superangrypenguin

Their FB team has actually been pretty good to me. Great for me to request SPML's and dietary information for certain meals

superangrypenguin

In all seriousness, I think the word "cheapen" will now be part of AC/FT culture. It's just the way it will be - much like "bottom feeder super elites" or...was it the UA? exec who called their elites too entitled and that set off a fury....

DaveObee

... and then taken out of context.

I agree; it's really time to get over it.

FlyerTalker683455

I am waiting for a) an apology and b) clarification what they really meant by that idiotic comment. Then I'll be over it.

CdnFlier

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BB10; Kbd) AppleWebKit/537.35+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/10.2.1.3442 Mobile Safari/537.35+)

+1.

Entirely ridiculous to be harping over it still. I don't like the changes either but, I see their point. If I want more upgrades I'll fly Westjet.

When they get some real competition things will be different, but in the meantime..

Anyway, get over it. There will be more comments to mindlessly beat people over the head with.

peano

Agreed. I have to chuckle a bit when I read all the indignation about "enhancements" and cheapening the product.

As an outside observer who does not fly much, I think most of the FFs here are missing the point that AC no longer cares about getting your business.

They care only about filling airplanes until they burst at the seams for maximum profit. And they have discovered with rouge that the many, many flocks of sheeple in Canada will pay a high price for an inferior product, suffer, perhaps whimper meekly, and then probably fly AC again.

The execs at AC are probably high fiving each other every night at the bar because they can't believe the Canadian public are such suckers.

All you FFs are nothing to them now.

Transpacificflyer

This is not AC's office. On the contrary, the VC Hellman & Friedman owned asset, Flyer Talk, has been generous and fair to AC in giving it free access to a forum where some of the airlines's clients are present. The fact that Air Canada has been inept at the management of the opportunity and has a deficient approach to consumer relations speaks to the culture of AC. The airline has squandered a great opportunity to speak directly to its customers.

One is delusional and naive to believe that AC's PR spokespeople are acting in the best interests of the flying public. AC releases only the info it has to, or that AC perceives will put the airline in a positive light. When is the last time AC provided an honest explanation about its corporate strategy of overbooking, or why it cannot deliver bags in a timely manner? How about an explanation as to why AC can't offer a decent fare on a its segment of a routing using TG or EVA? In all the hot air offered about the improvement in its catering, AC still has avoided addressing some fundamental issues such as the lack of consistent quality or an option to pre-order in J class. Just once, I would like AC to offer an honest answer in respect to its catering budget in J class. There are a lot of gullible people who have accepted the AC explanations at face value. I'm not one of them.

DaveObee

I would love to see a higher level of discourse on at least one thread here. That would involve respect for the opinions expressed and respect for the people involved. That would also involve discussing the issues honestly rather than locking into an opinion and declaring it to be fact, and then insulting the poor unfortunate souls who might dare to disagree.

Debate involves listening to other points of view, considering the validity of those points, and even (gasp!) being willing to modify your views based on the input from others.

The AC folks who post here use their own names, for the most part. They are of course limited in what they can say, as is anyone working for a large corporation. More often than not, they are swarmed and attacked by a bunch of masked people. It should not be a surprise that the AC folks pull back from time to time; who needs the abuse?

They might not be able to give all of the answers that we want, but they can certainly help us understand more about what is driving AC decisions, and give hints about what is to come. They add value. When they are driven away from here, it's effectively censorship by bullies.

If you honestly hate AC, surely to God you can find another way to get where you need to go. If not WestJet or United or BA or Porter, there is always Greyhound. The constant one-note hatred of AC that is expressed here is a waste of time, and in my humble opinion, it cheapens the FT experience for the majority.

FlyerTalker683455

What does marriott and AC have in common for me? They are my two top travel providers.

AC: sorry, although you flew almost 150k miles with us, you aren't a valuable customer, and you cheapened our J class too many times. Thanks for nothing. Next year, go somewhere else, if you can find a competitor. If not, pay up or stay home. Oh, and if you want to redeem, good luck!

Marriott: wow! You stayed with us 45 times in 27 properties over 135 nights, and even booked 13 reward nights with us. Thank you for helping make us who we are. We are happy you enjoyed free suite upgrades, breakfasts, and VIP treatment almost everywhere you stay with us.

See the difference?

upgradesecret

The Ben's and the rest from AC have not, to my knowledge, ever called someone a liar, a charlatan, or questioned their honesty, such has been done to them by the bullies-haters.

superangrypenguin

I don't disagree with your post at all, however I did want to point out that AC does know who most of the serial posters are, and in some cases, who we work for. So...just throwing that out there...we're not all masked

ridefar

Maybe because we don't lie?

Call a spade a shovel. Easy. If they don't want to have their honesty questioned, don't engage in blatant marketing spin and dishonest representations of their actions. Tell the truth. Do you know how much better their Altitude 2015 communication could have been if they had just said: "Our FF program doesn't make us any money. In fact it costs us a lot. So we are cutting. Deep. Sorry, but that is the way it has to be." Or something similar. If they are immune to telling the truth, why shouldn't they be called out? People here aren't stupid, and they know when they are getting PR spin and not reality.

PLeblond

So (almost) nobody here uses a real name, but everyone is telling the truth?

If you believe that I have a bridge near Montreal for sale. I think you might be interested....