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Air Canada bumps man off flight, separating him from girlfriend

Air Canada bumps man off flight, separating him from girlfriend

Old May 15, 2017, 9:19 am
  #31  
 
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It's a normal news day for the CBC. They keep shining the light on these things. This one is weird though. The whole 'emotional distress' angle sounds like he watched an episode of television and is looking for compensation to me.

That all being said................why would AC route him via Calgary without a hotel. I think that is wrong.
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Old May 15, 2017, 9:29 am
  #32  
 
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Originally Posted by SparseFlyer
wow, lucky guy
My thought exactly

Back on topic: looks like AC is immune to articles like this now. We get this type of articles on an almost daily basis yet nothing has changed at AC.
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Old May 15, 2017, 9:42 am
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by songsc
My thought exactly

Back on topic: looks like AC is immune to articles like this now. We get this type of articles on an almost daily basis yet nothing has changed at AC.
Maybe immune but IMHO these steady steam of stories backed by a few people writing to their MPs with some pressure from Gabor etc will result in a threat of legislation. Ignore at their own peril. Nothing like the govt to throw something out there to show they are standing up for downtrodden consumers.
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Old May 15, 2017, 9:43 am
  #34  
 
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Originally Posted by SparseFlyer
wow, lucky guy


How about lucky girlfriend?

She's probably rethinking about his emo boyfriend now.

Of course unless this is a plot to get $ from AC, then I don't blame him.
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Old May 15, 2017, 9:47 am
  #35  
 
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I also wish that CBC would close the loop on these stories and tell us how it ended. When the customer finally made it home, did he receive any compensation, etc.
Any bets on the next CBC AC story ? Seems like one a week. Last week was the 15yr old from Denver. Its time for yyznomad grandma to be left stranded and hungry somewhere :-)
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Old May 15, 2017, 10:10 am
  #36  
 
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Originally Posted by smallmj
I agree with most of the posters here, even when they have trouble agreeing with each other.

2) If some customers with Chinese names have trouble entering their name correctly (as simpleflyer suggested), then AC needs to fix the system to make it clearer and easier. If the system is too euro-centric then something is wrong.
I may have caused confusion myself here. First, other people of various ethnicities have also reported confusion as to how to enter their names given those names are supposed to match what is on their passports. For example, should they try to enter their middle name or not? So my mentioning Chinese names, specifically, might have just muddied the waters. Either way I agree that during ticket purchase the customer should be presented with examples, so as to help them get it correct.

But also, as someone else pointed out, an identity issue shoudn't just surface at the gate as the person has already shown i.d. to security. So my guess was probably wrong for that reason alone.
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Old May 15, 2017, 10:19 am
  #37  
 
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Originally Posted by simpleflyer
Passengers with Chinese names have reported being confused as to how to ensure their name is correctly entered on their tickets so as to match their ID.

https://travel.stackexchange.com/que...d-of-full-name

I am of course guessing, but if this was the case here, and if the guy indeed arrived at the airport (not the gate) only 60 minutes ahead of time, i.e. with only 15 minutes to clear security, get to gate, line up for boarding, etc. etc. then I can see the possibility of there not being sufficient time for the GA to resolve any confusion before the waitlist started to clear, with his seat being shown as available to the waitlist.

The next available flight with the earliest arrival time at destination involved an overnight. The issue is whether the delay that occasioned this itinerary was wholly down to to AC or at least partially originating with the passenger. Impossible to tell from info given in article.
AC's system is incapable of handling hyphenated name. If your name is xxx-yyy, you must enter as xxxyyy in one word. However, your ID may be xxx-yyy and it could create an issue because technically, it does not match.
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Old May 15, 2017, 10:25 am
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by mapleg
Liu said he's flown all over the world and has never had an experience like he did this weekend. "This is definitely the worst experience I've had."

Seems like he is not handling it well. Millions of passengers per day get to their destinations without issue, yet this is the story that makes then news.

And, I wish my lucky stars that something like that would be "the worst experience I've had".
Most other airlines would have handled it in a more apologetic manner such as booking him on the next scheduled flight (not "next available" flight a day or two later), complimentary upgrade to business class and a meal voucher if the wait for the next flight is over a meal time or let the passenger into the lounge to wait.

The AC agent can force confirm a seat even if the flight is full in the same way as upper tier Altitude members' guaranteed booking policy.
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Old May 15, 2017, 10:30 am
  #39  
 
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Originally Posted by Clipper801
Most other airlines would have handled it in a more apologetic manner such as booking him on the next scheduled flight (not "next available" flight a day or two later), complimentary upgrade to business class and a meal voucher if the wait for the next flight is over a meal time or let the passenger into the lounge to wait.

The AC agent can force confirm a seat even if the flight is full in the same way as upper tier Altitude members' guaranteed booking policy.
Most other airlines....................

"Most", but not AC. Hence the reason for the CBC coverage. I mean if AC would stop treating people like cattle, maybe hired some polite workers and moved the grumpy ones to a non-customer facing role, they would get some slack.

AC is kind of like a corporate-gaff machine. Once a day/week/fortnight/month they have to go and self-inflict another wound. It's just in their nature.
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Old May 15, 2017, 10:37 am
  #40  
 
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No one seems to have questioned if they were on one or two PNRs. If two--then he has just as much a "right" to be bumped as anyone else. Why should I, a single traveler be the one who it is "ok" to bump. I get not splitting families if possible, but friends... I also agree they should have provided him a hotel room.
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Old May 15, 2017, 11:00 am
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by flybit
lets hope the CBC keeps up the good work, until we get a tough passenger bill of rights.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle34984591/

"The Liberal government will this week table long-anticipated changes to Canadian transportation laws, which are expected to address the rights of airline passengers, particularly after a series of overbooking scandals."
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Old May 15, 2017, 12:11 pm
  #42  
 
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Originally Posted by fin 645
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle34984591/

"The Liberal government will this week table long-anticipated changes to Canadian transportation laws, which are expected to address the rights of airline passengers, particularly after a series of overbooking scandals."
Beat me to it. These stories are just the PR groundwork for the upcoming legislation. Standard parliamentary procedure - now speeches in the House can point to the barrage of appalling treatment inflicted on pax by AC.
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Old May 15, 2017, 12:18 pm
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by BRAISKI


How about lucky girlfriend?

She's probably rethinking about his emo boyfriend now.

Of course unless this is a plot to get $ from AC, then I don't blame him.
Sometimes it's best to separate a couple onto different flights.

Read the post of an incident I witnessed last night on a Spirt (ULCC) from CLE-LAS.... and the epic final action by the captain.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...l#post28314809

Free entertainment on a flight that we booked less than 24 hours before departure for a penny base fare each plus taxes/airport fees ($23 all-in a person). These things tend to happen when the flight costs less than a grayhound bus ticket or even a night of airport parking.
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Old May 15, 2017, 12:23 pm
  #44  
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Originally Posted by expert7700
Sometimes it's best to separate a couple onto different flights.

Read the post of an incident I witnessed last night on a Spirt (ULCC) from CLE-LAS.... and the epic final action by the captain.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...l#post28314809

Free entertainment on a flight that we booked less than 24 hours before departure for a penny base fare each plus taxes/airport fees ($23 all-in a person). These things tend to happen when the flight costs less than a grayhound bus ticket or even a night of airport parking.

@ expert7700

ROTFLMAO. That is EPIC!

Someone give that captain a raise. LOL
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Old May 15, 2017, 12:24 pm
  #45  
 
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Originally Posted by Clipper801
AC's system is incapable of handling hyphenated name. If your name is xxx-yyy, you must enter as xxxyyy in one word. However, your ID may be xxx-yyy and it could create an issue because technically, it does not match.
My wife's first name is hyphenated, and she's never had any problems domestically or internationally. (Problems keeping the hyphen in the system, yes, but no problems on identity match.) Not to mention that my middle initial is usually slapped on the end of my first name in an unexpected way. I expect every human along the way is trained to just handle these quirks.

I'd be interested on the full details on the nature of the problem here. Passenger gets through check-in (could be OLCI, I suppose) and security, and only gate agent starts to have problems? Weird.
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