Bumped, waiting for cheque
 

Hi, just a quick question that I hope someone can help me with. My wife and I were on a flight from Las Vegas to Calgary about 6 weeks ago. We were told the flight was overbooked and that if we volunteered to get bumped we would get a cheque for $1350 US each as well as hotel and some food vouchers. We decided to go for it, and we stayed overnight and they got us home the next day.

So far so good. We were told the cheques should go out within about 2 weeks. It's now been 6 weeks and we've heard nothing. How long does this normally take? Is there a number I can call to get an update? I tried calling the general AC line and the recorded message said the hold times were over an hour -- and I'm not even sure if the people at the general number will be able to help me.

Maybe we should just keep waiting, but it'd be nice to hear about others' experiences.

You asked for cash for your VDB? I would expect nothing at this point unless you were given a promissory note. Once you walk away from the desk its your word against there's.

AC rarely hands out cash for VDB's (which are done by managers at the airport). Its far easier/cheaper for them to get someone to take a voucher that covers base fare only.

There's this, and you can try contacting AC via:

https://help-aircanada.com/aircanada...ue.do?lang=ENU

May take a while though.

How long? No one knows for sure, it's a dice roll. In the mean time here are a couple of contact pages you can use to possibly help bring your file closer to the top of the pile.

https://aircanadarefunds.business.xe...Refunds/Create

https://help-aircanada.com/aircanada...ue.do?lang=ENU

Good luck! ^

We did not ask for it, we were offered it and we accepted.

Did you get anything in writing?

Yes, we got copies of the forms indicating $1350 US compensation each. We are just wondering how long this will normally take. Or maybe they lost the paperwork at their end? I submitted a request by email like another poster suggested. Hopefully I hear something soon.

I was actually amazed that they would offer so much money. We would not have agreed to getting bumped if it had not been such a good deal.

IME, LAS rogue/rouge agents are far from competent compared to mainline staff. They have a bad tendency to say anything so you can become someone else's problem.

This is why its always a very good idea to have all your paperwork confirmed before signing anything and especially before walking away from the counter.

You can definitely try contacting customer relations, however unless you have documentation proving this VDB cash offer, for such a short flight (cash offers for vdb are always lower than travel vouchers) I wouldn't expect much. I'm very surprised they would even offer such an amount given it is very easy to solicit volunteers at LAS for much lower amounts. And for a voucher never mind cash.

Every point you make here are my exact thoughts too.

Wow, I hope you are wrong. They were announcing this offer over the speaker system to the whole lounge. Is it really possible that they were just completely lying? We did get documentation, which says "cheque to be issued by customer relations only". It didn't occur to us to ask for a cheque before we left the counter.

Were people getting clubbed like seals while they crawled over each other to be first to claim this offer?

Its not really lying if they claim 'they don't recall'. A classic sin city move.

Unless it states the offer amount I wouldn't be expecting a $1350 USD cheque (each). Seriously this would be for the record books for

a) short flight
b) ex LAS
c) for pax in a leisure market, who would jump at $50 Crappy tire money, never mind well over a grand.

I will post an update once I hear back from the airline. There was another woman who got bumped as well, and we got her email address (shared an Uber to the hotel with her). She will certainly remember the details as she was given the same offer.

It was very surprising to me that more people weren't jumping to take this offer, but no, they were not. It took the agents a long time to get the 3rd person.

Does this chit include the value of what you were promised and is it signed by someone from the LAS station? Further to that, is it printed on AC paper head?

Therein lies another issue. AC will provide transportation to your overnight hotel (if your VDB forces an overnight) via a hotel with an airport shuttle service or a taxi voucher.

Did AC not pay for your hotel as well?

In regards to "for the record books" - xray was on a YYZ LAS and was offered a VDB for $800 (CAD) to take next day's flight. Indeed, much less than the above, but do note that IDB rules are much more stringent in the US, and I wouldn't be surprised if therefore the VDB compensation would be much higher.