5mm

KenHamer

Except that's not "above and beyond." That should be normal practice.

And for what it is worth for all my complaints and criticisms of Air Canada I have in fact regularly posted several stories where they actually have gone above and beyond. A cancelled SYD-YVR flight was one example. And it still is.

rankourabu

And they shouldnt. You are a UA nobody. I was talking about status pax. Especially mid-tier status pax. What/who do AC 25k-99k flyers have to solve their issues?

msp3

That's just low-tier business travel, especially if there are time constraints. Except the job is exceptionally fun (for some) and they love doing it through thick and thin...

5mm

margarita girl

flyquiet

I'm all academic travel, and I agree with msp3's take. I may know some date/location information far in advance, but may not be able to shed enough other obligations to decide to go until fares go up and availability goes down. Some of my dissemination work is short notice. The venues are not inexpensive. If your purpose to attend is networking and the event's at a Hyatt, then staying 2km away at a Knight's Inn isn't going to do it. The conferences themselves are often extortionately priced. I just mainly hold my nose and pay.

To bring the discussion back to the thread topic, I think posts to AC on twitter have to be read as statements of opening position. If I can't reach a responsive entity another way (and in my case, twitter is about it, as I can't phone), I am going to make my case emphatically. It's not my responsibility to factor in their convenience, economics or preference. I rely on them to push back in their own interests, and find a middle ground. That doesn't mean everyone tweeting is rational (like, blaming the airline for having a hurricane) but they're not all irrational either. (If you want to see irrational, have a look at the current thread of student evaluations of professors in twitter's [at]readthesyllabus the past couple of days.)

yyznomad

mellon

you got unlucky, reality is any UA employee can do more for you than a AC concierge.

Transpacificflyer

It should not be a surprise when passengers come with their unrealistic expectations. In its response, AC offers empty platitudes and fluff and does nothing to counter passenger misconceptions or errors.
Air Canada has a weak social media presence and this is a reflection of its poor quality of communication. Many of AC's woes are of Air Canada's own doing. There is a reluctance to be honest. The AC IROP response is still pathetic despite the airline having been lambasted multiple times then promising it would improve.
AC's statements and advertising give the impression that pax will be taken care of, that they will be feasting on gourmet food and will fly in comfort. That would be fine if AC actually delivered on its bloated claims. The airline does not make clear the rules on; cabin baggage; late passenger arrival; seat reservation etc. Nor does the airline have a consistent approach to cabin baggage rule enforcement. AC (and other Canadian airlines as well) do not include an easy to follow and comprehend caution on aspects such as seats and baggage. Instead the 4+page confirmation will include bloat advertising for a rental car or hotel.

When is the last time AC in a response on seating complaints explained that the passenger had the option of purchasing a seat? When people have complained about being denied boarding, AC has not provided a specific answer in respect to the passenger's failure to follow the requirement to arrive at the gate within the time window etc. Often we read about passengers crying that they arrived and the aircraft was still at the gate, but the door was closed. Just once I would like AC to explain that once the door has closed and the aircraft disengaged from the gate and ready for pushback that stopping the procedure to load someone can add another 20 minutes+ and delay other customers. AC public relations still do not understand the benefits of being truthful.

For non SEs, many of whom have paid more for their ticket than an SE, your response dismisses their reality . This is not how it works for them. I am "Gold" status at AC and almost all my flights are in business. There are few ways for me to get in touch with someone who can help. The concierges are unreachable, and the only options I usually have when there are IROPS are to call in and wait 1 hour plus on hold or to line up with hundreds/thousands of others. The online rebooking tool is often of no help, and waiting in line with hundreds of others is an exercise in futility especially if one needs to void one's bladder one hour in on a line that isn't moving. Do you not understand that AC has intentionally misrepresented and advertised its concierge service? Please tell me and thousands of other non SE business class passengers how we are to contact a concierge. We are not provided with a concierge phone number ,nor a concierge email. The reality is that Air Canada DOES NOT inform its business class passengers how they may contact a concierge. NEVER ever have I received a note to that effect, nor a note on my ticket, nor a comment at checkin from an agent. Just how do you expect me and other non SEs to contact the concierge?

Indeed. Some years ago, despite my being E35 in paid business class on a TPAC, I was basically abandoned by AC with no communication, Awful service, which is why I went out of my way to fly EVA for years, forgoing SE status and the option of pickles and vile plonk with broken tortilla chips in the MLLs. Thank you for understanding what it is like for us regular traveling folk.

jazzsax

Hey Ken,

Do you ever forgive and move on? You seem to want to live in the past every day, week and month reminding us of how awful air canada has been to you.

Crap happens. All airlines suck at various times. You can choose to either forgive and be happy you can get from point A to B with relatively safety and ease, or you can let it eat you up and bother you so much you need to constantly remind everyone here over and over again how horrible you've been treated.

Merry Christmas!

canadiancow

My experience was a huge difference after the AQD requirement went into effect.

The two 2018 examples I've heard and experienced that immediately come to mind:

1. SE hits traffic on the way to airport, misses flight. Concierge provides a hotel. (Flexible ticket, so the rebooking wasn't anything special)
2. Concierge tried to reroute me during EYW, but system gave an error about certain cities being too far away from the fare rules (think YYT-YQX-YYT-YDF being rerouted to YYT-YHZ-YYZ-YXU). Acknowledged it could be overridden, but there would be an audit. Thought about it for a few minutes, then decided to do it.

In general I've found hotel rules to be massively relaxed lately. I posted about this before, but I got my mom a hotel in YYZ after flying SFO-YYZ (final leg of the ticket) because it was delayed 3 hours for mechanical reasons, and she was basically stranded there that late. It wasn't even what I was asking for. I was looking for advice from them on transportation options at midnight, and they offered the hotel.

Any UA employee can give me a hotel because I missed my flight? Okay.

UA employees won't even give me a hotel for weather-induced overnights while in transit.

There are lots of things UA does better than AC, but it's bizarre to suggest that someone entitled to concierge access would be better served by UA.

I have two child-of-GS friends who have both flown AC with me and UA with their parents. One says I get treated better than his GS dad. The other thinks it's roughly equal.

I have a friend who is about to qualify for GS (I don't know when it kicks in). He's flown AC with me a few times. I intend to fly UA with him a few times if only to check out that side of things. I have no personal experience flying "as a GS" yet, but I hope to gain a better understanding.

rankourabu

Actually, yes they can, beacuse its policy for top tier (even in Y for weather), as well as *G in intl business.
Hotels? for 1K irrops (WX, MX, ...)? [Consolidated Q&A 2015-forward]


And noone said that someone entitled to a concierge will be better taken care of by UA. The issue was the 25k-99k elite who is told to go fend for themselves by AC.

What does AC give for a *G in business during a weather delay? Like someone has said upthread, how does someone in business even know they can call a concierge?

Sopwith

RangerNS

Some company being dead to you is one thing. Ken makes a point of trolling this AC forum to comment on how horrible AC was a decade ago and that he currently does not ever fly it.. Which is all of unhealthy to him, unfair to the AC of today and insulting to AC flyers of today.