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Grounding of 737 Max - Effect on AC incl OMNI 767 lease

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Old Mar 12, 2019, 11:26 am
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Last edit by: yyznomad
Latest updates from aircanada.com
Originally Posted by https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/book/travel-news-and-updates/2019/737-airspace-closure.html
If you currently have a reservation for a flight between now and September 02, 2019 that was scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, we've implemented a policy that makes it possible for you to make voluntary changes to your itinerary within three (3) weeks of your original travel dates.
Read below for more details.

Air Canada Timetable Effective June 27, 2019 to September 29, 2019 (AC's link: https://services.aircanada.com/porta...metable-en.pdf)
Air Canada Timetable Effective June 20, 2019 to September 22, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective June 13, 2019 to September 15, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective June 6, 2019 to September 8, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective May 30, 2019 to September 1, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective May 23, 2019 to August 25, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective May 16, 2019 to August 18, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective May 9, 2019 to August 11, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective May 2, 2019 to August 4, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective April 25, 2019 to July 28, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective April 18, 2019 to July 21, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective April 11, 2019 to July 14, 2019
Air Canada Timetable Effective March 28, 2019 to June 30, 2019



May 29, 2019
If you are travelling within the next 72 hours, call:

1-833-354-5963

If you booked through a Travel Agency, please call them for immediate assistance
In compliance with Transport Canada's safety notice closing Canadian airspace to Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operations, Air Canada has grounded its 24 737 MAX aircraft until further notice.Air Canada is now updating its May, June and July schedule to further optimize its fleet and re-accommodate customers. Because the timeline for the return to service of the 737 Max is unknown, for planning purposes and to provide customers certainty for booking and travel, Air Canada is removing all 737 MAX aircraft from its schedule until at least September 02, 2019. A summary of schedule changes for April is posted below in the following question and answer: "What is Air Canada doing to reschedule customers?". Additional schedule changes will be posted as warranted.
  • Air Canada's cancellation and rebooking policies are in place with full fee waiver for affected customers.
  • We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible.
  • Given the magnitude of our 737 MAX operations which on average carry nine to twelve thousand customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada Call Centres.
  • If you are travelling within the next 72 hours, please call the number at the top of this page.
  • If you booked through a Travel Agent, you may contact them directly for assistance.
We appreciate our customers' patience as we work to get everyone on their way.

If you'd like to make other plansIf you currently have a reservation for a flight between now and September 02, 2019 that was scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, we've implemented a policy that makes it possible for you to make voluntary changes to your itinerary within three (3) weeks of your original travel dates.If you are impacted by this policy, you may contact Air Canada Reservations (1-888-247-2262). If you are travelling in the next 72 hours, please call Air Canada Reservations number at the top of this notice. If you purchased your ticket with AeroplanExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines., or Air Canada Vacations or your travel agent, please contact them directly.

****

March 19, 2019

UPDATED - INFORMATION ON IMPACTED ROUTES


**********

UPDATED - Air Canada Responds to Transport Canada's Closure of Canadian Airspace to the Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...e-closure.html

March 19, 2019

If you are travelling within the next 72 hours, call:

1-833-354-5963

If you booked through a Travel Agency, please call them for immediate assistance

In compliance with Transport Canada’s safety notice closing Canadian airspace to Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operations, Air Canada has grounded its 24 737 MAX aircraft until further notice.

Air Canada is now updating its April and May schedule to further optimize its fleet and re-accommodate customers. Because the timeline for the return to service of the 737 Max is unknown, for planning purposes and to provide customers certainty for booking and travel, Air Canada is removing all 737 MAX aircraft from its schedule until at least July 1, 2019. A summary of schedule changes for April is posted below in the following question and answer: “What is Air Canada doing to reschedule customers?”. Additional schedule changes will be posted as warranted.
  • Air Canada's cancellation and rebooking policies are in place with full fee waiver for affected customers.
  • We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible.
  • Given the magnitude of our 737 MAX operations which on average carry nine to twelve thousand customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada Call Centres.
  • If you are travelling within the next 72 hours, please call the number at the top of this page.
  • If you booked through a Travel Agent, you may contact them directly for assistance.
We appreciate our customers' patience as we work to get everyone on their way.

If you'd like to make other plans

If you currently have a reservation for a flight that was scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, we've implemented a policy that makes it possible for you to make voluntary changes to your itinerary within three (3) weeks of your original travel dates.

If you are impacted by this policy, you may contact Air Canada Reservations (1-888-247-2262). If you are travelling in the next 72 hours, please call Air Canada Reservations number at the top of this notice.

If you purchased your ticket with Aeroplan, or Air Canada Vacations or your travel agent, please contact them directly.


*********
March 13, 2019

Air Canada confirmed today that it will comply immediately with Transport Canada's safety notice closing Canadian airspace to Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operations until further notice.

Air Canada's cancellation and rebooking policies are in place with full fee waiver for affected customers. We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible. Given the magnitude of our 737 MAX operations which on average carry nine to twelve thousand customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada Call Centres. Priority will be given to customers travelling within the next 72 hours. We appreciate our customers' patience.

If you'd like to know what type of aircraft you are flying on, simply retrieve your booking from the My Bookings tab, then click on the 'Details' link in the Flight Details section. We also advise you to check the status of your flight before heading to the airport.

We fully support Transport Canada's decision and will continue to work with them towards a resolution of this situation as soon as possible.

Alternate Travel Plans
If you currently have a reservation for a flight operated by a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, we've implemented a policy that makes it possible for you to make voluntary changes to your itinerary within three (3) weeks of your original travel dates.

If you are impacted by this policy, you may contact Air Canada Reservations (1-888-247-2262).

If you purchased your ticket with AeroplanExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines., or Air Canada Vacations or your Travel agent, please contact them directly Some questions you may have are below with our answers, but if you can't find what you need, contact us at 1-888-247-2262, or reach out to us on on FacebookExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines. or TwitterExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines..

How many Boeing 737 MAX aircraft does Air Canada have?
Air Canada has a fleet of 24 Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft, which have been in operation since 2017. We have a total fleet of 400 aircraft (including 24 737MAX), comprising Air Canada mainline, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express aircraft.

Where do the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft fly to?
These aircraft operate flights across North America, to Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii, as well as from Atlantic Canada to London Heathrow.

How many Boeing 737 MAX flights are there each day, and how many passengers are affected?
We typically operate approximately 75 Boeing 737 MAX flights daily out of a total schedule of approximately 1,600 daily flights system-wide, representing less than six percent of our total flying.

We have a total fleet of 400 aircraft (including 24 Boeing 737 MAX), comprising Air Canada mainline, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express aircraft.

What is Air Canada doing to reschedule customers?
We are making adjustments to our schedule to minimize the disruption to customers as much as possible, by optimizing the deployment of the rest of our fleet and looking at alternative options, including accommodating customers on other airlines.

As an example of some of our adjustments to Boeing 737 MAX flights cancelled, we have re-scheduled widebody aircraft to serve Hawaii starting today, March 13. Some flights will operate as scheduled with mainline or Air Canada Rouge aircraft, such as on Montreal-Martinique and Montreal-Guadeloupe. Other routes, notably Halifax-London and St. John's-London are cancelled in the short term, with customers being re-routed through our Montreal and Toronto hubs.

What should I do right now?
As changes are finalized in our flight schedule, customers whose flight times or flight numbers have changed can expect to receive an email detailing their updated itinerary. This information is also available in My Bookings on the Air Canada App.

If you are travelling soon, you can also contact us or your travel agent. Please understand that priority is being given to customers travelling within the next 72 hours.

We have also put in place a rebooking policy, space permitting, and without additional fees for affected customers. Given the magnitude of our Boeing 737 MAX operations, which on average carry nine to twelve thousand customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada's Call Centres.

Where can I go to for more information?
If you would like to know what type of aircraft you are flying on, simply retrieve your booking from the My Bookings tab, then click on the 'Details' link in the Flight Details section.

If you are travelling soon, you can contact us, reach out to our social media teams on FacebookExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines. or TwitterExternal site which may not meet accessibility guidelines., or call your travel agent.

We also advise you to check the status of your flight before going to the airport.

We thank all of our customers for their patience.

Will Air Canada cover my out-of-pocket expenses such as additional accommodation costs that I may incur as a result of these disruptions?
Our normal protocol for irregular events which are out of our control is in effect. We are regrettably unable to reimburse for such expenses.



****


MONTREAL, March 13, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada confirmed today that it will comply immediately with Transport Canada's safety notice closing Canadian airspace to Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operations until further notice.

Air Canada's cancellation and rebooking policies are in place with full fee waiver for affected customers. We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible but given the magnitude of our 737 MAX operations which on average carry nine to twelve thousand customers per day, customers can expect delays in rebooking and in reaching Air Canada call centres and we appreciate our customers' patience.

Customers are further advised to check the status of their flight on aircanada.com prior to going to the airport.

We fully support this decision and will continue to work with Transport Canada towards resolution of this situation as soon as possible.


SOURCE Air Canada

For further information: Isabelle Arthur (Montréal), [email protected], 514 422-5788; Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto), [email protected], 416 263-5576; Angela Mah (Vancouver), [email protected], 604 270-5741; Internet: aircanada.com

https://aircanada.mediaroom.com/2019...7-MAX-Aircraft




https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...to-london.html

Originally Posted by ac.com
Information on Air Canada Halifax-London and St. John’s-London service

March 12, 2019

Due to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority banning all Boeing 737 Max aircraft operations in the U.K. Air Canada has cancelled the following flights:

AC 860 Halifax London-Heathrow on March 12
AC861 London-Halifax on March 13
AC822 St. John’s-London on March 13
AC823London-St. John’s on March 14

We are working to rebook impacted customers as soon as possible through our Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa hubs.

Affected customers may contact Air Canada Reservations to change their flights to another date free of charge.

As well, due to anticipated call volumes, customers can expect delays reaching Air Canada call centres, so we appreciate our customers’ patience.

Air Canada will provide updates as more information becomes available.
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Grounding of 737 Max - Effect on AC incl OMNI 767 lease

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Old Jul 11, 2019, 10:22 am
  #856  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Mileage Plus 1K; Marriott Platinum; Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,355
Originally Posted by ChrisA330
The lease has already been extended once up to end of August - the original schedule was only for June/July.

It remains to be seen if AC can re-juggle the fleet to move these routes back to their own metal for the winter when there is more slack in the schedule.
It's interesting that the Qatar and Omni leases are not being extended in sync. If Omni ends in August, and Qatar has already been extended through September, does that suggest an imminent re-jiggling of AC metal onto the Hawaiian routes?
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Old Jul 11, 2019, 10:30 am
  #857  
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
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I was booked YQR-YVR-OGG as well with grandkids and had paid for seat selection. We received notice some time ago that we were changed to Omni but when I read this thread I went to check my booking. All seat selections gone, including YQR-YVR, they want another fee to reseat us together and they have rerouted us via HNL, without any notification whatsoever of this. I know they are struggling but the lack of communication is brutal. They have also given us a 26 hour layover in YVR on the return, leaving a day early. WTH?

Edit: Called customer support but the volume of calls is so high that they cannot even place me on hold. "Please use Aircanada.com self service tools to deal with your booking."

We normally fly UA because I got so p*ssed off with AC's lousy service several years ago. Only booked this routing to make it easier with young kids but the customer support is horrible.

Last edited by Fizzer; Jul 11, 2019 at 11:10 am
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Old Jul 11, 2019, 11:30 am
  #858  
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: OGG, YYC
Programs: AA, AC
Posts: 3,697
Originally Posted by transportprof
It's interesting that the Qatar and Omni leases are not being extended in sync. If Omni ends in August, and Qatar has already been extended through September, does that suggest an imminent re-jiggling of AC metal onto the Hawaiian routes?
YVR-OGG and YVR-HNL return to AC 763 metal starting October 1. YVR-OGG AC537 3 times weekly, YVR-HNL AC519 4 times weekly.
After Burner is offline  
Old Jul 11, 2019, 11:43 am
  #859  
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: AC SE
Posts: 1,505
Originally Posted by After Burner
YVR-OGG and YVR-HNL return to AC 763 metal starting October 1. YVR-OGG AC537 3 times weekly, YVR-HNL AC519 4 times weekly.
That’s a good thing, I’d say.

So, what are the best Y seats on the 767? 12? 19?
TheCanuckian is offline  
Old Jul 11, 2019, 3:29 pm
  #860  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: YVR
Programs: E50K
Posts: 72
Originally Posted by After Burner
YVR-OGG and YVR-HNL return to AC 763 metal starting October 1. YVR-OGG AC537 3 times weekly, YVR-HNL AC519 4 times weekly.
When do you expect this to show up on the booking site? It is still showing two daily flights on 737 MAX 8
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Old Jul 11, 2019, 3:31 pm
  #861  
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: AC SE
Posts: 1,505
Originally Posted by jjlm
When do you expect this to show up on the booking site? It is still showing two daily flights on 737 MAX 8
I’m seeing the 767 for the HNL route now in October. The seat map reflects that (where yesterday it was still MAX).
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Old Jul 11, 2019, 3:34 pm
  #862  
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: OGG, YYC
Programs: AA, AC
Posts: 3,697
Originally Posted by jjlm
When do you expect this to show up on the booking site? It is still showing two daily flights on 737 MAX 8
It's already on the booking site. First noticed it this morning.
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Old Jul 11, 2019, 3:46 pm
  #863  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: YVR
Programs: E50K
Posts: 72
Originally Posted by TheCanuckian


I’m seeing the 767 for the HNL route now in October. The seat map reflects that (where yesterday it was still MAX).
Ah, right, thanks. Forgot they are only moving one month at a time. I was looking for early December. AC still seems to be hopeful that MAX will be flying then.
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Old Jul 12, 2019, 10:51 am
  #864  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Mileage Plus 1K; Marriott Platinum; Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,355
Originally Posted by jjlm
Ah, right, thanks. Forgot they are only moving one month at a time. I was looking for early December. AC still seems to be hopeful that MAX will be flying then.
If the MAX isn't back by December, it will get more challenging to keep their double daily schedule over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. I had specifically booked a day flight back to YVR in early January and would not like to see it consolidated into a single red eye to fill the 763.
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Old Jul 14, 2019, 11:28 am
  #865  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: YAM, CIU, CGN
Programs: AC FOTSG, DL WM
Posts: 190
Originally Posted by Stranger
I can't read the full article, but it first says, could stretch into 2020. Which most folks now seem to expect at this point anyway.
Yeah, at this point I imagine it can't be much longer before AC has to figure out their holiday scheduling with the assumption that the 7M8s are still on the ground.
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Old Jul 14, 2019, 1:19 pm
  #866  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Halifax
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Posts: 4,569
Originally Posted by shadowspar
Yeah, at this point I imagine it can't be much longer before AC has to figure out their holiday scheduling with the assumption that the 7M8s are still on the ground.
I hope the summer schedule for Ops department vacation planning is "no cottages until we figure this out".
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Old Jul 14, 2019, 2:09 pm
  #867  
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 25
We are booked BCN-YUL in premium rouge mid-October. Hoping to see the Qatar wet lease extended past end of Sept and get bumped to Qatar J

Of course maybe they just cancel the flight??

Fingers crossed!
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 6:36 pm
  #868  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 2,917
So now I’m trying to figure out my options. I managed to snag AE award tix YVR-OGG for late December, which I thought was a coup! It was scheduled to be a 7M8. Then the grounding happened. For a while I wasn’t worried, but now it’s beginning to look doubtful.

So my options are:

1. Do nothing for the time being and hope for the best. The risk is they change a/c and we get stuck in crap seats, or they cancel all together and I’m stuck paying an inflated last minute full fare for alternate flights, if they’re even available.

2. See if I can cancel now and get a refund of the points, book WS for high fares but likely less $ now than if I wait and have to do it per 1.

It appears that they’re using other a/c for now, but I’m booked on the early flights which don’t start until late October, so they may not have a/c available for the second daily flight.

Thoughts?
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 6:47 pm
  #869  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
Originally Posted by Sopwith
or they cancel all together and I’m stuck paying an inflated last minute full fare for alternate flights, if they’re even available.
Ummm it doesn't work that way. AC will get you there one way or another.

AC has been pretty flexible/generous, IMO, with Max rebooking but I kinda doubt they'd refund your December flights now (unless of course you wish to pay the change fee). Don't worry about it, you'll very likely get there in a seat that is at least as comfortable as the Max 8 (which is a pretty low bar).
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Old Jul 16, 2019, 7:20 pm
  #870  
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YOW
Programs: TK*S, SPG Gold
Posts: 714
Originally Posted by RangerNS
I hope the summer schedule for Ops department vacation planning is "no cottages until we figure this out".
Nah.. Union would never go for that.
jcamp028 is offline  


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