magster416

Hi guys,

Flying from YYZ to LHR on May 21 on the above ticket. Need wheelchair at airport. Am concerned about booking porter services (YYZ)and cab pickup
at Heathrow.

Do I have access to the Air Canada Concierge? I'm not a Superflyer.. ;-) Am Aeroplan Black.

My ticket says Business (I)..what booking class is that? I don't see it mentioned under the classes that can access concierge services.

Apparently also have TD Concierge access, but what i've read online leads me to believe that they are not that great...any input?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mags

Adam Smith

I class is for business class reward tickets.

Concierge service is now only available to those travelling on paid business class tickets, i.e. Aeroplan is excluded:

(Emphasis mine)

magster416

Adam Smith, Thanks for the info and your quick reply. I had a feeling that might be the case...okay..i'll handle it myself. :-)

Clipper801

It is interesting to note that I and R booking classes are both removed as eligible for concierge service on International flights.

canadiancow

As with the SS, they only want to deliver the services to people who actually paid to be there.

Super Elites are still eligible for the concierge though, in any booking class.

canolakid

SoSpecial...

Clipper801

An I booking class is not a free ticket. The form of payment is Aeroplan points.

R maybe since the form of payment is eUpgrade credit.

canadiancow

Excluding the bottom 5% outliers (i.e. mistake fares), the lowest AC makes from a P-class segment is about 10x the highest they make from an I-class segment.

It's not "free", but the revenue AC receives wouldn't even cover the cost of food and beverage in the SS.

pitz

Back of the envelope math is that an actual redeemed AP point costs 2 cents a point, and a domestic long-haul business redemption is 25,000 points. So $500 or so. Adjust out the domestic scamcharges, and your hypothetical I reservation may very well be paying $600-$700 for the seat pre-tax. Which is actually comparable to P.

Not sure what P fares you're looking at, but I'm pretty sure your 10X P claim is complete and utter hyperbole.

To the topic of this thread, even true cash-paid Business Class reservations made by non-status passengers do not have access to the concierge until they're at the airport and checked in. So the wheelchair arrangements etc., would have to be made, even as a revenue ticket, as anyone else would.

canadiancow

First of all, AP charges, on average, something like 0.8 cents per point.

Second, that's not the relevant number from AC's perspective (which is the only perspective that matters, since they make the rules). You book YYZ-HKG on AC in I-class, and AC gets something like $100-$200. Aeroplan makes money on Aeroplan miles. AC does not.

pitz

Yes, but many points are never redeemed. The price per point actually redeemed is likely considerably higher.

That's clearly not true. AC gets more than $100-$200 in scamcharges alone on YYZ-HKG in I class as basically anyone can tell you trivially. A 75,000 point redemption is $1500 (@ 2 cents/AP point) + scamcharges adding another $300-$500 or so, $2k. Very similar to what they receive for a deepest-discount P.

We know that AP itself isn't exactly a profitable entity, so just where exactly is the money going? AC does quite well by their arrangement with AP, putting bums in seats that otherwise would fly empty, collecting the effective equivalent of P and Tango-like fares for those seats.

Even at 0.8c/point, the claim of 10X simply can't be supported.

InTheAirGuy

It wouldn't have mattered if you had access to the service in any event. They wouldn't answer the phone when you call. That's their new thing.

canadiancow

Your math is based on AC receiving 2 cents per point, which is simply not true. You're off by an order of magnitude.

If AC received the same money for I as for P, they wouldn't treat them differently.

Clipper801

This is the "price" mutually agreed between AC and Aeroplan. This is not a "mistake fare". In fact, it is a "published fare". So how much AC actually gets, I don't care. I pay for a business class seat from A to B at the no. of Aeroplan points demanded, and I should be entitled to the same service as any other business class passengers. There is nothing complimentary about redeeming a business class reward seat. I "paid" what was demanded.
This is another issue with Aeroplan to agree to such arrangements.
Anyway, it's never AC's intention to allow non-SE to use the Concierge Service even if one is on a P or higher booking class. A good example is the Concierge office at the business check-in at YYZ. Non-SE's are specifically excluded and are not allowed to enter to seek assistance.

24left

I find this debate interesting. It has elements similar to those on who is allowed entry to the Signature Suite.

It doesn't matter what we think. AC made decisions that it wants to focus some of its premium offerings on a defined group of passengers and AC set the criteria. Other airlines have cut some of the previously offered benefits for those on award tickets, instead only providing them to those on paid tickets, cash, not miles/points.

I agree with AC's decision and yes, some of the decisions impact me negatively if I fly business class on an Aeroplan ticket or if I am on an upgraded ticket, or if I fly business on a *A partner or (in terms of the Suite) if I fly on Pacific routes which require a connection in YVR.

Plenty of people have complained to AC about the limited access to the Suite. Others here on the forum are not happy that some of the benefits previously provided to anyone who held any type of "business class" ticket, will no longer be offered.

Meanwhile, there are many who are quite happy to have the benefits available to a more limited group of customers based on their spend.

Seems to me we are playing in AC's house and they make the rules.