yyznomad

Ok, I laughed.

yyznomad

I wonder if they serve gyoza during the BMW ride.

As long as they don't leave without me.

grandgourmand

Ok, Ok, I have to admit that I read OMAAT. Anyhow, the AC stuff lately (he took advantage of cheap J fares to South Africa) is more familiar to me than most of his stuff....except for the hands on attention.

Take today's post reviewing the YYZ int'l MLL. I guess one of his flights got cancelled and he had to be re-booked on a different flight (I don't read THAT closely). When he landed in YYZ they had his boarding pass ready + a ride in the BMW 7-series.

How likely is this to be: a) an example of AC's top tier service or b) their savvy social media team, which flagged a well known blogger for special service?

Just curious. I know there's a post somewhere on the YYZ limo service, but I haven't been following it.

canadiancow

In this case, probably b)

xLuther

On our way to London tonight YEG-YYZ-LHR on vacation, traveling paid J class. Wife I were greeted by AC concierge agent at YYZ gate and escorted to BMW limo, driven to international gates ( and escorted into MLL lounge, no check in ) to wait for connecting flight.

Nice effort and sign of appreciation by AC, only been 100K a couple of times, currently 75K , may hit 50K this year ( work travel down, tough times in Alberta)

Saved + 20 mins of dealing with the often times not working expresss moving sidewalk.

Plenty of time for a few more glassses of wine

qrctraveller

I just arrived in YYZ from YOW and was quite surprised to see my name by an AC employee named Dean who informed me that I was selected to be escorted to the MML lounge using the BMW limo.

Note that I'm currently one of those bottom-feeder SE's so it appears that the selection of individuals to receive this "benefit" is random.

Great way to start my Mileage run!

canadiancow

I believe it is arbitrary, but not random.

flybit

well the concierge staff that spend time with us to use the silly service? Still it was fun but nothing like LH service.

I guess your trying to say BMW pays for the car and driver?

Oh and it must be random, because I have left the AC program, I had NO AC status,( got to change my signature I lose status dec 31) but I do fly a lot of Business class, and this was a Business class flight with AC.

cperciva

I just got selected for the "VIP" BMW connection service at YYZ. Apparently us lowly 25Ks are eligible too -- the concierge said that it was simply a random selection from international J passengers, without regard for status.

It didn't exactly make up for the PE passengers who decided that the appropriate response when their baby started crying was to bring the baby into the J cabin, or the cabin crew who didn't think this was a problem until I complained, but it still a nice ride. (And a nice portable USB charger gift! I wish I had one of these on my last trip.)

mapleg

Oh my goodness. Someone will likely start a thread saying SE should have had priority and it's a national tragedy that a lesser light got this benefit instead of him/her.

Standing by....

cperciva

I said almost exactly the same thing to the concierge: "I've heard about this, but I thought it was just for 100K passengers... surely there are more important people than me."

24left

Glad you enjoyed the BMW treat.

Last year, someone who is not even an Altitude or Aeroplan member posted that he (and possibly his wife) were also given the ride.

cperciva

Ah well, I read the start of that thread but apparently not down to the 15th page (or whatever page that post ended up on).

Now that I've opened up the gift box and seen the "come to your local BMW dealer for a test drive" advert, I wonder how much BMW is paying Air Canada for the customer referrals. (I suppose I might find the answer to that if I were better at searching old posts, too.)

canadiancow

AFAIK, BMW supplies the cars.

There's a reason it's a VIP service, and not handed out to every SE who can afford $20k/year in travel.

They just don't like leaving the cars sitting around, which is how non-VIPs get rides. If your inbound arrives right when a car becomes free, you've got a good shot at it. Doesn't matter if you're SE MM, P25K, or UA*nothing.

yyznomad

Did they tell you if you were getting your VIP package in the mail, with luggage tags and all?