|
Aeroplan online refunding fee reduced to $75: https://www.aeroplan.com/whats_new/n...1_2019_11_14#/
Important information for Aeroplan members Changes to our reservation system are coming. Air Canada is in the process of migrating to a new reservation system, a project we're undertaking to improve your travel experience. Here's what this means for you as an Aeroplan member: Aeroplan will be temporarily unavailable, both online and on the phone Aeroplan.com and the Aeroplan App will be unavailable from November 18th at 8pm EST until midday November 19th. In addition, during this period while the migration to the new system takes place, the Aeroplan Contact Centre will not be able to assist you with any new or existing Flight Reward bookings. We encourage you to plan ahead and book any Aeroplan Rewards outside of this period. We encourage you to self-serve at aeroplan.com We understand your time is valuable and we anticipate an increase in Contact Centre wait times in the days that follow this transition period. Those looking to make or change a Flight Reward booking on or after November 19th are encouraged to do so at aeroplan.com to save time and money. To change an existing reservation on aeroplan.com, simply cancel your booking to receive an immediate refund of your Aeroplan Miles, then book your new flight without incurring a booking fee. We will temporarily reduce the aeroplan.com Refund Fee To assist with this transition, from November 15th, 2019 to January 31st, 2020, the fee for refunding a booking online will be reduced to $75 – a savings of $75 versus requesting a refund via the Contact Centre. |
Originally Posted by gurka
(Post 31738697)
Just got this -
what I do find interesting from the announcement is they mentioned the transition will occur over several phases. This is in stark contrast to what I think a lot of folks on this thread thought would happen (I.e. AC flips a switch and more or less everything changes overnight). I would be interested to learn what these phases AC has scheduled and how Altitude (now called Aeroplan) fits into all of this. -James |
Canadiancow,
I agree these changes are unacceptable! Wondering if if you could share your thoughts on how the changes will effect upgrades on mixed-cabin awards? I was planning on booking a mixed award (X on AC57 from DXB-YYZ on Nov 24th and confirmed J YYZ-YYC) and requesting to be put on upgrade list at check-in since I would have already “paid” in miles for J on the DXB-YYZ segment (which is currently J7). Do you think this is now out of the question? Is there any chance the concierge (I’m a SE) can add people to the onload list prior to check-in opening T-24hrs (I assume not)? Appreciate your insight! |
So no more SDC? Uhhh...what?
|
Originally Posted by j2simpso
(Post 31738735)
what I do find interesting from the announcement is they mentioned the transition will occur over several phases. This is in stark contrast to what I think a lot of folks on this thread thought would happen (I.e. AC flips a switch and more or less everything changes overnight).
AC has publicly stated, for MONTHS, that res would flip "overnight", and DCS would flip airport by airport over several months. It's also been discussed, in this thread, for MONTHS.
Originally Posted by YYCleisureTraveller
(Post 31738759)
Canadiancow,
I agree these changes are unacceptable! Wondering if if you could share your thoughts on how the changes will effect upgrades on mixed-cabin awards? I was planning on booking a mixed award (X on AC57 from DXB-YYZ on Nov 24th and confirmed J YYZ-YYC) and requesting to be put on upgrade list at check-in since I would have already “paid” in miles for J on the DXB-YYZ segment (which is currently J7). Do you think this is now out of the question? Is there any chance the concierge (I’m a SE) can add people to the onload list prior to check-in opening T-24hrs (I assume not)? Appreciate your insight! However, as SE, my recommendation is: 1. Book the flight now. 2. Email the concierge, give them your booking reference, explain your situation, and ask if it will be possible. 2a. If they say DXB can do it on Nov 24, then keep the booking 2b. If they say it will not be possible, cancel and refund for free Or just book Y the whole way or do whatever suits you. But you will hopefully be able to get some reasonable information.
Originally Posted by WaytoomuchEurope
(Post 31738761)
So no more SDC? Uhhh...what?
|
Originally Posted by canadiancow
(Post 31738796)
No more self-serve SDC. Airport agents obviously need the ability to rebook people, or IRROPS would be death. |
Thanks for the advice!
Perhaps better off booking the entire award in X and trying to use eup credits at the new T-3 window? Will see if concierge has any insight as well.... �� |
You will not be able to request upgrades at the airport, and unfortunately we cannot guarantee that upgrades which were not cleared prior to check‑in will be processed at the gate, even if seat is available. So are they agreeing they will not clear any employee/non revenue into J then? Employees share the same onload list, and get cleared by DCS as flights close. Surely this will violate employee contracts... I stockpile eUps, having spent tens of thousands of dollars each year for 3 in my family to keep SE status. The main times we use them are for Xmas/American Thanksgiving break extending into early January. We use up any extras the last few weeks of Feb. We often have to clear at the gate, and often do not even BOOK the flight until we within T-24 hours of travel. (even to Australia, Dubai, etc). Isn't this a material breach of T&C of the E-Upgrade program? |
Originally Posted by expert7700
(Post 31739137)
Paging [MENTION=57553]CBC/MENTION]
|
This is a defined benefit of being an Altitude member: “As an Altitude member, you can use your eUpgrade Credits to request an upgrade for yourself and for a Travel Companion who is travelling on the same reservation with you. You can also request an upgrade for a Travel Companion who is on the same flight as you but not on the same reservation, but such requests must be completed at the airport on the day of departure.”
Will this no longer be a possibility, then, until they sort out Amadeus? |
Originally Posted by TheCanuckian
(Post 31739179)
This is a defined benefit of being an Altitude member: “As an Altitude member, you can use your eUpgrade Credits to request an upgrade for yourself and for a Travel Companion who is travelling on the same reservation with you. You can also request an upgrade for a Travel Companion who is on the same flight as you but not on the same reservation, but such requests must be completed at the airport on the day of departure.”
Will this no longer be a possibility, then, until they sort out Amadeus? As for the "defined benefit of being an Altitude member"... Altitude Terms & Conditions: Air Canada assumes no liability toward members for anything, including but not limited to, for the cessation of airline partnerships, changes to program benefits & policies, adjustments to mileage accumulation or redemption eligibility, availability of redemption or upgrade seats, definition of and/or revisions to the Air Canada Altitude qualification period or benefit year for status recognition, or access to airport lounges. |
Eupgrade Change
Now realise this is all in the thread on migration. It is a bit buried though. But feel free to lock/delete
https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...eupgrades.html Air Canada is in the process of changing its reservation system, a project we’re undertaking to improve your travel experience. The first phase takes place on the evening of November 18 and will conclude the following morning. However, it will take a few months to complete the new system rollout across all of our airports worldwide, and during this transition period, there will be some temporary changes to how Air Canada Altitude members use their eUpgrade credits during this time. eUpgrades must be requested at least 24 hours prior to departure Like today, Air Canada Altitude members can continue to request an upgrade within their eligible booking window on aircanada.com, but during this transition period, upgrades must be requested no later than 24 hours prior to flight departure. Note that we have expanded all eUpgrade booking windows to at least 72 hours in order to ensure your upgrade request can be processed. eUpgrades will not be available at the airport You will not be able to request upgrades at the airport, and unfortunately we cannot guarantee that upgrades which were not cleared prior to check-in will be processed at the gate, even if a seat is available. In light of this, rest assured that we will work diligently to confirm more upgrades ahead of check-in. Additionally, by the end of the month, we’ll be providing Air Canada Altitude members with additional eUpgrade Credits which can be used through February 2021. |
Nice find.
|
|
The website isn't that clear. Will the eups be limited for a few months, or just on the 18th and 19th?
|
For a few months. :eek:
|
Originally Posted by Nitehawk
(Post 31739911)
The website isn't that clear. Will the eups be limited for a few months, or just on the 18th and 19th?
|
So no gate upgrades for months. Cool. No eupgrade requests within 24 hours. Cool. Hopefully latitude pass complimentary upgrades will be unaffected.
|
This is concerning... I have a couple of flights in December that I was planning to SDC, but if I SDC I lose the ability to e-upgrade. That's going to suck! Some of those other flights I'd consider have R>0 available today. I wonder if I can get AC to waive change fees and move me to those flights today so that I can confirm my upgrade? Unlikely... but might be worth calling in...
|
Originally Posted by Jebby_ca
(Post 31739256)
Since you can not request any upgrades during the check-in window during the migration phase, this sounds like it will no longer be a possibility.
As for the "defined benefit of being an Altitude member"... Altitude Terms & Conditions: I think it will become apparent fairly quickly into this. If this is just the new central system and the old airport dispatch system not playing nice with each other as each airport gets converted we may discover things go back to normal airport by airport over the coming months. |
Just as an observation about Amadeus. Not many if not none of the other airlines it hosts have a North American “upgrade culture”. As such, it is quite possible Amadeus does not have the ability to handle North American style upgrades as part of its predefined business rules.
Sometimes when implementing a new system, to be on the safe side, it may be decided that the predefined business rules should not be altered until the system is up and running. Also, customizations are frowned upon during this phase. Once everything is up and running, then they would start changing around some of the business rules and perhaps adding custom modules to support carrier specific nuances such as North American style upgrades. |
Given that they are tossing around a March 2020 date for completion, it's going to be a three way race between Amadeus, the Max and stay flat seats to see which one(s) get resolved first.
A race between tortoises that is. In the snow. |
I wonder if they are suspending airport upgrades because they can't automatically reconcile credits back into Amadeus from DCS. They say you can standby early but if you clear into Y, your credits might not automatically be refunded. Makes me think they can process an onload list but not reconcile credits. So requesting at the airport, they can't deduct credits. Or a waitlisted upgrade wouldn't automatically get refunded if it doesn't clear.
|
Originally Posted by canadiancow
(Post 31738796)
Is this a joke?
AC has publicly stated, for MONTHS, that res would flip "overnight", and DCS would flip airport by airport over several months. It's also been discussed, in this thread, for MONTHS. |
QUOTE:
" I foresee some very dirty looks from status fliers walking past empty business class seats on their way to economy." https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...56d9f58417.png Full article https://onemileatatime.com/air-canad...eus-migration/ |
This scared me enough to book a December customer TATL trip today that I was going to take care of later next week. Normally I would wait for everything to be 100% confirmed with the client, but it's a Flex fare so I have options.
The kicker for me was getting my O to J upgrades out of the way and confirmed before the Amadeus Apocalypse. Mission accomplished. At least for now. |
Complimentary and discounted Preferred Seats will not be available to companions
Like today, you can continue to enjoy complimentary and/or discounted access to Preferred Seats. However, temporarily, this will not be available to companions travelling with you in the same reservation. SE: ok honey, enjoy 57G wife: *prepares divorce papers* This is just stupid. I realize most people eligible for free preferred seats fly alone and/or for work - but this is beyond dumb |
Originally Posted by rankourabu
(Post 31740658)
Complimentary and discounted Preferred Seats will not be available to companions
Like today, you can continue to enjoy complimentary and/or discounted access to Preferred Seats. However, temporarily, this will not be available to companions travelling with you in the same reservation. SE: ok honey, enjoy 57G wife: *prepares divorce papers* This is just stupid. I realize most people eligible for free preferred seats fly alone and/or for work - but this is beyond dumb SE: sorry I can't sit with you honey, enjoy the signature service. I'll be grumbling to myself at the back of this god forsaken bird. |
This snippet from yesterday's "Important Information about your Air Canada Altitude privileges" email caught my attention:
Over the next few months, other Air Canada products and services will also be temporarily unavailable, such as Same Day Confirmed Changes at the airport. If the feature is nevertheless going to be temporarily unavailable, does that mean we won't be able to make same-day changes at the airport? Or that we can make same-day changes at the airport but they won't be confirmed? |
New email just received. My spouse and I both have two upcoming flight pass bookings for next weekend, waiting for upgrades to clear on the outbound (not likely) and have confirmed upgrades on the return.
http://res.mail.aircanada.com/res/ai...19d2d461f3.jpg Hello, We will be migrating to a new reservation system to improve your travel experience. Please note, if you have a Flight Pass credit booking made on or before November 18, 2019, for travel on or after November 19, 2019, you have been assigned a new Booking Reference. For these affected bookings, please use your new Booking Reference, available as of November 19, to access your reservation, including when checking in for your flight. We apologize for any inconvenience. https://res.mail.aircanada.com/res/a...od3/spacer.gif |
I gotta admit in reading all this it sounds like this is going to be a horror show. Having just been involved in the launch of Connect Care in Alberta (the new provincial electronic health record), there have been a large number of headaches requiring a huge amount of IT support. Based on the how the log in change over was handled by AC and Aeroplan, I can't say I am optimistic that this is going to go well. Hopefully, I get to Heathrow as planned on the 22nd.
|
Data migration between systems is never fun and is rarely without issues.
Compound that with the agents historical ability or tendency to 'bend' the system (often to our benefit) and there could be some tears. But let's hope not. |
Originally Posted by rankourabu
(Post 31740658)
Complimentary and discounted Preferred Seats will not be available to companions
Like today, you can continue to enjoy complimentary and/or discounted access to Preferred Seats. However, temporarily, this will not be available to companions travelling with you in the same reservation. SE: ok honey, enjoy 57G wife: *prepares divorce papers* This is just stupid. I realize most people eligible for free preferred seats fly alone and/or for work - but this is beyond dumb The way I see it AC is slowly revealing the issues passengers will encounter when Amadeus arrives. It will be interesting to see what the truth is when this system rolls out and what the overall passenger experience may be. Based on these emails I'm beginning to think we're only being shown the tip of the ice berg we're being directed to. -James |
I'm still concerned about latitude pass complimentary upgrades. All my flight passes are empty. I was going to pickup a flex pass, but, given the new limitations of eups that might be a bad idea. If I buy a latitude pass (or 3) and I cant comp ug + SDC via concierge I'll be more than a little annoyed.
|
Many of my upgrades this year have been involuntary op-ups at the gate due to oversold cabins. I wonder if GA's will have the ability to bump up pax if Y is overbooked to make room for stby pax for the next few months
|
Originally Posted by Nitehawk
(Post 31741026)
I'm still concerned about latitude pass complimentary upgrades. All my flight passes are empty. I was going to pickup a flex pass, but, given the new limitations of eups that might be a bad idea. If I buy a latitude pass (or 3) and I cant comp ug + SDC via concierge I'll be more than a little annoyed.
|
Interesting comment under Kate's column
farnorthtrader says: November 15, 2019 at 2:10 pm First Lins77, this is not just a first world problem, in the traditional sense of the phrase. This is not whining about not getting an upgrade (although there was mention of upgrade issues, but not the point of the post), it is about a complete shutdown of a booking system for a major piece of the Canadian transportation system. This is about people trying to get to business meetings, people trying to get to family emergencies and any number of other possibilities and there will be, in many cases, no other options. Now to what I was actually going to write about before that silly comment caught my eye! We will be flying Edmonton to Dubai (connecting in Toronto) on the 21st and I am concerned about what this might do to us. I left a 10 hour connection and 10 other possible routings that they could switch us to and still make our connection, but if our flight gets cancelled and they can’t move us to another that day, we are screwed. (yes, Lins77, in our case, this is a first world problem!) For them to do it in the winter (in Canada), when there are very likely to be delays, misconnects and cancellations, seems ill planned. They are already unable to even put your calls into the hold queue much of the time, so I don’t imagine anybody will be getting through to them when this hits. Yesterday, I had to call them because they had somehow, because of a 9 minute schedule change, decided to leave 5 members of my family on the same flights, but to switch my flights to completely different ones. My first call was terminated because the hold queue was too long and they could not put anyone else into it. My second call (2 hours later) was picked up after roughly 75 minutes. This is pretty much the experience that everyone can expect all winter in Canada, so to add this mess to it doesn’t make much sense to me. I have to assume that on the 21st, if there are any problems, our only option will be at the airport and even that may not be of any use. September, October, April, May sure seem like better times to try this experiment. |
Originally Posted by ridefar
(Post 31741057)
All I can tell you is that I have booked 60-70 flights per year for the last many years on Flex FP (M Class). Of those, I have a 98-99% success rate of being upgraded at time of booking. Yes, I have some flexibility in my schedule most times, which helps. But if you can book at 2 weeks out, I don't think you have much to worry about.
|
Originally Posted by Nitehawk
(Post 31741171)
I usually book day of travel.
|
Seeing all the posts about this morning's email now...
So I guess this will be the case until at least August 2020 based on what the email says? This will be a huge inconvenience in cases when you are waitlisted for an upgrade where it would normally clear at the gate. Besides the many other inconveniences in that email. All I can say is ugh, this is going to be a long transition :rolleyes: |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 8:57 pm. |
This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.