longtimeflyin

Agreed. Flight was missed due to the customer and not the operator. I would have assumed he or she would have had to buy a new ticket. Asking for the fee to be waived in this case is going to far IMHO.

danielonn

I am sorry you missed your flight. It is your responsibility to arrive before the checkin cutoff time especially for international flights where they need to verify your passport.

More than likely you will be asked to purchase a new ticket as you missed the boarding time and they will see the time you arrived to the airport etc.

In the future I would allow at least 2 hours before an international flight. You may be asked to pay the walkup fare and your current ticket would be canceled as you did not make the outbound flight.

As Air Canada is operated by an outsourced company ATS at San Diego it sounds like you will need to call Air Canada.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but please keep us posted. Perhaps there may be a compassionate person at Air Canada who may be able to assist you.

More than likely if the San Diego to Vancouver was your fist segment then your return segment would be more than likely cancelled as you did not fly the outbound.

mrkenneth

Thank you all for the advice. This is my first time taking a morning flight at San Diego and did not expect such a long wait at security. There were only two X-ray lines open when I started lining up but they opened three more. Going through security just now took five minutes.

I did check-in the day before and filled out my API online. However, I arrived at the gate after it closed but before the departure time. The plane was not pushed back for another 15 minutes so maybe I could have tried pleading more to be let on. Do jetways ever reopen after they are closed? The most depressing part is seeing the gate closed but the plane sitting there...

I did not see anybody at the priority check-in line before me, so did not get the chance to beg for an upgrade. How much is one upgrade credit typically worth?

I was hoping that Air Canada would have a similar flat-tire rule as most US airlines to rebook late passengers without charge. Guess I learned a $150 lesson today.

CZAMFlyer

This depends of course upon a dozen factors, including time of day, OLCI or not, fast-track through security, availability of pre clearance, any bags to check, airline staff vs contractors, size of airport, destination, season and luck.

Good lord, a pat-down is bad enough. I'd be inclined not to take the flight at all.

danielonn

Even with the API information entered they still need to see the physical passport as anyone can enter in any passport# and still it needs to be verified including any applicable Visas etc.

The Flat Tire rule is a case by case basis but for international flights its very had to enforce as the API data needs to be forwarded to the proper authorities 60 minutes before departure hence why arriving 2 hours to the airport no matter if you live 5 minutes or 10 miles away. Even if the flight is an early morning one you can't predict the lines at checkin or at security.

For me I allow 4 hours for International Flights from SFO and 3 hours from SJC and 2-3 for Domestic Flights. I would rather arrive at the airport early and go to the lounge than be told I cannot make my flight.

When we flew to Canada with my Parents we arrived at SJC 3 hours before the flight to verify our passports even we had a connection via Seattle and the same for the return flight to pre-clear US Customs.

On flights from SFO abroad I allow 4 hours before. On my last Air France flight the lines were short and I got right through security. From the car to Air France lounge was 40 minutes.

It does not hurt to call into Air Canada but I doubt they would give your case special consideration especially be it on a discounted ticket and if you have no status or history with the airline. If they allowed everyone to be late then flights would be delayed and if they enforced the Flat Tire rule to everyone then they could lose money. There are special instances but the Flat Tire rule seems to be a myth or more like a Gesture of Goddwill that is enforced on a case by case basis but the airline is not required to enforce it.


Again please let us know the outcome of your situation. Why did you miss the flight? Was there traffic?

Symmetre

"Don't play with fire" is helpful advice.

ffsim

I had the same experience on a different route as recently as last week.

i just mega-lol’d at that.

Indeed. As far as scoldings go, you were pretty tame by AC FT standards ;j

arf04

Yes, sure, more time would have been advisable. I've flown out of SAN many times and it tends to be a very efficient airport in terms of security lines, so 40 minutes would normally suffice, though it is tight. Other airports can be much slower, of course.

Once the door is closed, to answer the OP's question, it is very unlikely that it would be opened. Basically, the ground crew have closed out the flight and filed all the necessary paperwork. They'd have to reopen that and redo stuff, so even when the plan sits there for a long time, once the door is shut it's basically as if the plan is gone. We had this happen to us in FRA this summer. We were on a paid J booking and were delayed on our inbound. We cleared immigration with about 10 minutes to flight time and the gate was only a few steps from there. When we turned the corner, I saw the ground agent pull the paperwork from the printer so I knew there was no hope. We went up to the lounge and were rebooked for the next day and also received a hotel booking all while the plane sat at the gate. They had some kind of minor tech issue that needed resolving and were delayed about 45 minutes. But we couldn't get on. Such is life!

jc94

You should get 50% AQM, AC have poor IT so will likely give you 125%.

What zone boarding are you in? Z2 is Lat.

canadiancow

4 hours out of SFO?

Holy crap. I usually take a 1530 BART from Powell for a 1650 flight.

Another thing to point out is the gate cutoff time. It's 15 minutes.

Also, they can tell if you've been at the airport, or if you've only checked in online.

I have seen a door re-open once to let someone on board, and I'm 99% sure it's because she had a checked bag.

jc94

I've seen a door remain closed despite a checked bag, UA admittedly.

4h seems extreme given AC won't check a bag before that. I aim for 4h only at UK London airports because the chance of it taking 2h longer that it should can and has happened.

Lets be honest too, having priority security, knowing the airport and being able to call the concierge must make a huge difference.

Preusmably they can tell if your BP has been scanned at security.

quantumofforce

The joy of living in an advanced country like Singapore is that I can get in my Taxi 90 minutes before takeoff and still have time to stop by the KrisFlyer lounge for a drink or three.

awayIgo

I have problems when individuals who come late to the airport are advised to ask people on the TSA line if they can go ahead. Everyone on that line has a flight to catch. Those of us who arrived at the airport to comfortably go through the line, deal with whatever extra BS TSA may offer AND get to our departure gate without running do not leave time to move backwards in line!

Everytime someone allows another person to get in front of them, they are not only moving themselves backwards BUT they are moving EVERY PERSON BEHIND THEM backwards too. So, please--dont' ask to cut in front of me. I'm going to say no!

etiene

No, they're not - if they're already ahead of you, reshuffling does nothing to affect your arrival at the head of the line. It's a reasonable accommodation for anyone who has arrived later than planned due to unforeseen circumstances to let them catch their flight as long as it doesn't mean you missing yours.

That said, arrive at the airport with time to spare if you can.

jc94

On the subject of lines, I like LHRs fast track. It may not always be shorter but I swear every single person seemed to know what they were doing and that makes a huge difference.

I always like to queue up about 30 mins before flight is meant to board in case of delays though. I was at YXE or YQR once and sat down to eat thinking I had time with such a short queue. Time I was done queue was 20-25 mins and they were calling final boarding as I got thru. Admittedly this was a while ago.