'You're gonna lose your money' 'There was no booking, no confirmation'
Nov 19, 2018, 1:57 pm
#16
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP Gold / Marriott Bonvoy(age) Titanium Elite, IHG Platinum, WN A+/CP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 337
Long time ex-AC flyer....even a SE one year....went to the dark side of flying VX...now AS and WN.
Totally believable for the casual flyer. Interesting that....If I got an error message when trying to book a ticket....i would certainly call...not wait a week given im booking from someone else.
But totally feel for the casual flyer....the last 5 tickets i booked with Alaska, the final page was "sorry your session has expired....please start again". Login to my MP account....voila - the ticket booked fine.....so for the non-elite casual flyer....i totally get the confusion, but i am surprised that he waited a week to ask about the booking given he got an error message....
Totally believable for the casual flyer. Interesting that....If I got an error message when trying to book a ticket....i would certainly call...not wait a week given im booking from someone else.
But totally feel for the casual flyer....the last 5 tickets i booked with Alaska, the final page was "sorry your session has expired....please start again". Login to my MP account....voila - the ticket booked fine.....so for the non-elite casual flyer....i totally get the confusion, but i am surprised that he waited a week to ask about the booking given he got an error message....
Nov 19, 2018, 2:37 pm
#17
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Who do you have to know to get that kind of dump @canadiancow?
Nov 19, 2018, 3:01 pm
#18
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: YVR - MILLS Waypoint (It's the third house on the left)
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Who do you have to know to get that kind of dump @canadiancow?
Nov 19, 2018, 3:13 pm
#19
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: No single airline or hotel chain is of much use to me anymore.
Posts: 3,279
I completely believe this story because it happened to me too after the website timed out at payment, except I checked my credit card to see if there was an authorized transaction and the transaction included by PNR.
Nov 19, 2018, 10:57 pm
#20
Join Date: May 2012
Location: BKK/SIN/YYZ/YUL
Programs: DL, AC, Bonvoy, Accor, Hilton
Posts: 2,924
Some of the comments blaming this person are harsh and make some nasty assumptions. The most important issue is that Air Canada ignored the gentleman for months. There is no excuse for that. Had Air Canada responded in a timely manner, some of the negative aspects of this case would have been avoided.
It is not an unreasonable assumption for a consumer to have the belief that the transaction was not processed, when an error message was issued and no email confirmation of purchase was issued. Lost in the discussion is that in order for the contract to have been documented, Air Canada was obliged to provide a confirmation. No mention of that. More specifically, Air Canada did not state that an e-ticket or reservation number was issued to the client. A consumer is entitled to a purchase receipt. The customer did not receive that documentation.
It baffles me that there are those who claim that the man should have contested his purchase within the 24 hour window. The poor guy had no idea that the transaction went through. Nor was it an unreasonable expectation from the gentleman that the acceptance of his offer to purchase would result in documentation of the purchase. Even the purchase of a coffee at the airport Starbucks gets you a receipt.
Really? That's a hearty assumption, casting an aspersion at this poor gent. This is Canada, not the EU nor USA where the banks are held accountable and where there are consumer protection regulations in place, that are enforced. The banks can basically do what they want to retail consumers in Canada because there are limited options of recourse.
Ok, what do you think is much more? Do you feel he is lying or that he knew his sister was going to change her schedule and let it play out? What do you think a judge would do? I'd be willing to wager a bowl of broken MLL nachos and watery salsa washed down by some vile MLL wine that the judge would side with the complainant, especially since the airline ignored the gent for months.
I was thinking more of an FA, because he would so be stylin' in the AC outfit, with ankle pants, and shoes sans socks, and serving AC's infamous frozen fruit plates.
And how come no one picked up on this gem of a quote;
In the email to Go Public, the airline defended its terms of use, writing: "Air Canada uses third-party companies to provide its website services and broad website terms of use are necessary to deal with events beyond Air Canada's control.
Good to know that this is all the IT contractor's fault and that AC intentionally uses convoluted legalese to absolve itself of responsibility for the screw ups it knows occur. Ok then. Brilliant excuse. So much for understanding the legal liability for the actions of one's designated task contractor. You'd think these PR stars at AC would run their answers through AC's legal department for some guidance, so that they don't come off as arrogant and wrong.
It is not an unreasonable assumption for a consumer to have the belief that the transaction was not processed, when an error message was issued and no email confirmation of purchase was issued. Lost in the discussion is that in order for the contract to have been documented, Air Canada was obliged to provide a confirmation. No mention of that. More specifically, Air Canada did not state that an e-ticket or reservation number was issued to the client. A consumer is entitled to a purchase receipt. The customer did not receive that documentation.
It baffles me that there are those who claim that the man should have contested his purchase within the 24 hour window. The poor guy had no idea that the transaction went through. Nor was it an unreasonable expectation from the gentleman that the acceptance of his offer to purchase would result in documentation of the purchase. Even the purchase of a coffee at the airport Starbucks gets you a receipt.
The lack of action by the card issuer, e.g. bank, suggests that there is more to this story than reporting.
That's the problem with sensationalist journalism. There is no story here if there are facts which suggest otherwise and as a writer or editor, pressure from third-rate operations to report just what is favorable.
That's the problem with sensationalist journalism. There is no story here if there are facts which suggest otherwise and as a writer or editor, pressure from third-rate operations to report just what is favorable.
And how come no one picked up on this gem of a quote;
In the email to Go Public, the airline defended its terms of use, writing: "Air Canada uses third-party companies to provide its website services and broad website terms of use are necessary to deal with events beyond Air Canada's control.
Good to know that this is all the IT contractor's fault and that AC intentionally uses convoluted legalese to absolve itself of responsibility for the screw ups it knows occur. Ok then. Brilliant excuse. So much for understanding the legal liability for the actions of one's designated task contractor. You'd think these PR stars at AC would run their answers through AC's legal department for some guidance, so that they don't come off as arrogant and wrong.
Nov 20, 2018, 4:56 pm
#22
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Nov 21, 2018, 1:37 pm
#23
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kan@da
Programs: Anything with sweet spots
Posts: 1,790
This kind of glitches sometimes work in customer's favour: The credit card charge doesn't go through but the system still provides the service/product or fails to claw it back 
Nov 21, 2018, 9:33 pm
#24
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 18
I too haven't been receiving email confirmation of tickets - this has been the case for at least the past couple of months. I have to call in each time I book now and ask the agent to send me the confirmation. Yes, the information does show up in the My Bookings section, but this disappears after the flight so it's not as useful as the emailed ticket. Additionally, AC isn't exactly speedy in responding to requests for receipts.
Nov 22, 2018, 8:41 am
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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I too haven't been receiving email confirmation of tickets - this has been the case for at least the past couple of months. I have to call in each time I book now and ask the agent to send me the confirmation. Yes, the information does show up in the My Bookings section, but this disappears after the flight so it's not as useful as the emailed ticket. Additionally, AC isn't exactly speedy in responding to requests for receipts.
It has no longer been the case already for a while that an e-mail being sent would necessarily mean it would have been received. Yes, in the aerly days e-mail used to be reliable.
But as usual, once the latecomer Microsoft discovered the internet, reliability went downhill across the board.
My organization switched from a solid unix-based mail system to a Microsoft product a few years ago. Now I can no longer trust that an e-mail sent means the e-mail was received. Sometimes with warning, or without.
And if not receiving e-mails from AC appears to be systematic, maybe it's time to investigate?