Nothing wrong with receiving a free ride; however, like all elite/super elite members, each has their own upgrade currencies to use to upgrade said ticket, whether or not they be eUpgrade credits, cash, or Aeroplan miles provided an eligible fare was purchased for the latter.

Not surprised to see the conversation quickly turn to the athlete's "entitlement." Truth be told, it's probably the best explanation for Sebastien's tweet.

But:

This is the first thing that I thought of. My Instagram and Facebook feeds have been plastered with Air Canada ads depicting people proudly waving the Canadian flag. AC is milking their Olympics support like crazy, and yet they can't find a way to do a little something for a gold medal winner. We've had 11. Eleven. That's it. Give the guy a preferred seat if you absolutely can't upgrade him, but give. him. something.

Roger Federer gets a Rolex when he wins a Grand Slam, and he definitely doesn't need anyone to buy him a wristwatch. Rolex wants to promote their star athletes (ambassadors) and puts their money where their mouth is when the athletes perform. Same with many other brands.

Why is it so unfair to expect the same of AC?

I think they would fit in the PY cabin. Maybe put the goalies in J since they have oversized luggage ;)

So with the flight sold out, and with all the seats up front sold out, which paying passenger does he expect they should bump back to coach to accommodate his privileged freeloading rear end?

Eh?

True, but most of those organizations aren't flying their people around the world to play in the snow (Sorry - the Olympics always bring out the worst in me ;))

Competing in an event that promotes peace between countries is probably more noble than shooting people to secure cheap oil - we haven't had a war of self defense in a long time :)

About that E75 status
 

The sponsorship is organisational, not individual. IIRC, the indicated status came with the sponsorship so as to make accorded privileges, the steps of the journey, and any communication, clear and easy for athletes, officials, and AC employees to manage.
​​​​​​As for providing "something" well, just imagine how many tier passengers there are onboard that flight overall.

[QUOTE=ffsim;29460492

AC is milking their Olympics support like crazy, and yet they can't find a way to do a little something for a gold medal winner. We've had 11. Eleven. That's it. Give the guy a preferred seat if you absolutely can't upgrade him, but give. him. something.

[/QUOTE]

This is where the conversation needs to move towards. Not just what does AC 'get' for its sponsorship investment, but what does the COC or Sports Federation 'receive'- laying odds that senior admin are on a different travel class than the actual field hands- but would love to be proven wrong...

Is everyone else failing to see the #sarcasm tag on his post?

How exactly does the Olympics promote peace? As far as I can see it promotes athletics and partisanship. I'll not get started on the financial cost of the games and the other negative aspects.

That hashtag relates to the "what a great Olympic partner" statement, not the gist of his gripe.

DYWKIA of the highest order. Athletes..I swear. Don't like coach? Buy an upgrade.

Even worse than not being free, someone might have forced him to use Egencia to book it.

Ok... even if I take your understanding of what the hashtag applies to... what is his gripe? Clearly, he wasn't looking at getting a free upgrade from Air Canada if he was being sarcastic about his "what a great Olympic partner" remark. What if he was simply stating that 2 days ago, he won gold but now he's seated in 57A on his way home? Who honestly likes sitting in 57A anyway?

Yes I did. I also saw the :td: he gives AC before the tag.

Just to be clear, the US Curling team was on DL, but the US Olympic partner is UA. (Bolding mine)