AC should definitely be given a chance to respond to the issue. The issue appears to mainly stem from YQB, but whether or not the issue will get to a reasonable person and lead to more more than a token gesture... I have my doubts.

I’d hope that the AC lurkers here see this and decide for once to do the right thing, but they don’t seem to fear bad press, although that might be the only way to get a reasonable outline.

I doubt you’ll get an apology. Admission of guilt and all, but a complete refund, coverage for the car hire (I saw $300 but did that include the $250 one way fee many charge for that distance?) and isn’t IDB $800. And then there’s the inconvenience factor...

So to sum up, good luck to the OP.

Hi everyone OP here... sorry I couldn’t respond there’s a 5 post within 24 hours limit for new members.




Thank you for all your advice and replies... I will address all the additional concerns raised in one post.

1. Air Canada indeed participates in the Guaranteed On Board program by Sherpa (another posted kindly included the link).
2. I was contacted by CTV & CityTV not CBC. CTV seems the more serious of the two and we’ve spoken to them over the phone and sent them all the additional information. I haven’t ruled out being interviewed by them- I am touching base with them on Monday (tomorrow) as I was waiting for the official statements from the manufacturer and YQB airport security. Is CBC better for some reason or another? I don’t mind going to the media if this can shed light on how awful our experience is (although truthfully I am a bit camera shy) and I NEVER thought I would be in a scenario where I would need to publicize such an extraordinary event.
3. My husband has a firm he deals with for his business matters and contacted them on Monday. They were the ones who advised to wait 30 days before filing in small claims and to continue to find a resolution with AC directly as this would prove to the courts we exhausted our options with them. The person he spoke to forwarded us some emails addresses of the executive office. I heard back from AC last week. I will copy and paste the response below since I can’t screen shot/add attachments. I will have him check tomorrow if by accepting the refund we can no longer pursue Air Canada. My understanding is given the situation, that since we paid for a service and were denied a refund would be required?
4. Unfortunately, given how quickly things escalated and between the time we were dealing with the GA... to securing a rental car I did not have much time to talk to my parents on-board to have them document how full the flight was. While they were in the air between using my phone to hold with Air Canada to see if we can be rebooked and using my husband’s phone to call a friend to pick up my parents from the airport and provide them with a key to our house I didn’t have much time before the flight took off. My parents confirmed that there were people sitting in our seats (which were at the back row 31). There was also a pug on-board according to my family as well. My parents aren’t the “snap a picture or it didn’t happen type” unfortunately. My mom is drafting a letter to Air Canada as well.
5. I still have conflicting information on how full the flight was. I do remember people milling around the gate area but can’t confirm if they were standby passengers or not (no announcements made). I do recall an announcement on volunteering to gate check carry on and I’ve seen instances where they claim the flight is full (even when it’s not). I do have the screen shots from FlightRadar 24 in regards to the time the flight actually took off and those details.
6. In regards to security being called; as we have only been denied boarding once in the past but we were in the US and this was 2013 I believe (and rebooked right at the gate on a later flight that night). We believed the security guards when they told us that it was the “rule” at YQB airport. During our 8 hour drive home my husband started to question it. Given the situations that have surfaced lately (ie. the united airlines incident) my husband was the one who raised suspicion on being (embarrassingly) escorted out. We contacted YQB to get our hands on an incident report as they took our information down. It took a few days and some hesitation but we were finally contacted by the head of security to confirm that security was called and NOT because we were being a nuisance (yelling / profanity). We both wanted that documented as that is not the type of people we are PERIOD.
7. We actually regret not filming the entire exchange. When we were initially pulled aside we were confident that we had everything to prove we were within their policy (if that supports any claims on how calm and rational we are). When it became a bit more obvious that even security couldn’t reason with them my husband snapped a photo. If someone wants to post it on my behalf that’s fine with me. The photo I have was the final attempt where the security guards tried to reason with them to sign the form I had (you can see a passenger boarding as well in the photo). I also have another photo as we entered the car rentals area (time says 7:23pm).
8. I have completed 2 ‘PIEPIDA’ requests (to see all the internal information) as I understand this can take a few weeks. One for Air Canada and another one for Quebec City Airport. YQB wouldn’t send me the entire incident report but I recorded the phone conversation where the head of security read it to me and as well have a written statement from him documenting that AC requested their presence and our removal and this had nothing to do with our behaviour. On the contrary, on the recorded call the security guards actually noted we were “pleasant and appreciative”.
9. My husband was never given the opportunity and/or there was no discussion about the fact that if he chose not to fly he would forfeit his basic fare. I imagine this GA given his attitude would have given us that ultimatum but he made it clear that either of us were getting on. My husband undoubtedly wouldn’t have left me there alone regardless. That’s why I was pushing for the ‘GOB’ form to be signed and assistance to rebook us.

HERE IS THE RESPONSE FROM AIR CANADA

**what is interesting to note is that they mention the “photos submitted to us”. I wrote on their Facebook/Instagram page on Monday and attached photos of my dog. There were random 2 individuals who jumped all over me about how I’m wrong (when I clicked on their profiles I saw they worked for AC!) so I deleted it (and yes I screenshot that as well- don’t know if that’s the norm that employees emerge from their personal profiles to defend AC on their social media pages). In the claim form to AC as well as the email to the office of the president I did NOT submit photos (I actually prepared a video later last week that was sent to Sherpa where I measure my dog and allow him to enter/exit the carrier).




On Apr 11, 2019, at 3:34 PM, Customer Care <[email protected]> wrote:




Your case number is: CAS-XXXXXX




Dear Ms XXXXXXX




Thank you for your recent email concerning your experience at the Quebec City airport this past Sunday.




I am sorry to learn of the situation you experienced this past Sunday evening in Quebec City. In reviewing this particular incident, our staff were unable to allow you to travel with your dog in the cabin due to it being too large for the carrier. As mentioned on our website, dogs being taken into the aircraft cabin must be able to stand and move around comfortably within the kennel. Based on the information we received from our Quebec City staff and supported by the photo you have submitted to us, your dog Whiskey was too large for his carrier.




Information for customers wanting to take their dogs in the cabin is on our website at the following link: https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...ance/pets.html.




On an exceptional basis, I have asked that the unused ticket coupons for you and your husband be refunded. We are also refunding the "Pet in Cabin" fee. These fees will be refunded back to the original form of payment and please allow approximately three weeks for processing.




I appreciate the opportunity to review this matter.




Sincerely,




Paul K

Customer Service Manager

Customer Relations

I am ALL for policies in place to protect the welfare of animals. I can also appreciate the fact that not every AC employee may have any experience with animals/pet carriers and may or may not even LIKE animals/pets to begin with (for all I know this GA saw my long haired dog and has an allergy/is afraid of dogs ...which is a perfectly acceptable). I like to just follow the rules and check all my boxes and try to do everything possible to AVOID issues like this.

Having said that, I think AC’s policies as they stand need to be reviewed as currently it contradicts itself:

1) I don’t believe the manufacturer of this particular carrier would have this information on their website if indeed AC is clueless as they claim:

Welcome to Guaranteed on Board® with Air Canada™

Quaker Pet Group has partnered with Air Canada™ to ensure that you will not encounter any delays or complications when flying with your pet. Here's how it works...

• SMALL and MEDIUM Sherpa carriers are Guaranteed on Board® on Air Canada™ flights.
• Fill out the form below with your flight information and details to ensure that you are compliant with Air Canada™ flight requirements before your travel day.
• Print your Guaranteed on Board® Certificate and bring with you to the airport and present to the boarding agent.
• If you are denied boarding due to the Sherpa carrier that you are using to transport your pet, Quaker Pet Group will reimburse you for the cost of your flight, and your pet fee subject to the rules and conditions listed below
• Guaranteed on Board® is only available on U.S. domestic flights, Canadian domestic flights, and flights between the U.S. and Canada.
• Additional information can be found here: LINK TO AC PET POLICY

^the info above that can be found on flygob . com and under “GOB carriers by Airline”. There are only roughly 9 airlines listed there. The website also provides info on how to measure an animal to determine which size they require which seems to be a general consensus referenced by the American Kennel Club/other pet related sites that have no affiliation to this particular carrier.

When you call to pay the pet fee (there is no other way to do this I’m aware of) you are NEVER asked how “tall” or “wide” your pet is. You are only asked to confirm the breed type, weight and dimensions of the carrier. I assume given the weight/breed you mention would set off alarm bells if you are teetering on what would be considered humane?

Given the information above and that the MAX weight allowed on board is 22lbs (including the carrier), it’s safe to generalize the “heavier” the pet the “larger” it will be. A 20lb teacup/chihuahua or Yorkie would certainly not be able to move around in a carrier and would be very unhealthy at that weight (I doubt there’s many). For comparison’s sake my other dog (now deceased) was in the 16-20 lb range in his prime. He was also a Shih Tzu and much taller/bigger framed then my current dog.

Given the info I had on hand (carrier info/ GOB / health certificates) and the unlimited access to information available on the internet (as a third unbiased opinion) the GA neglected to investigate further. A simple google search would show thousands of photos and a wide range of dogs in this carrier aboard other airlines. And would explain the expandable top feature that indeed allows dogs of my size to sit/stand up.

We attempted to board around 7:00pm and the doors didn’t close until 7:30- he had a half hour to verify this but instead chose to call security and have us removed by 7:16pm.

To me it’s like putting a piece of luggage in front of the gate agent and asking them to “guess” the weight based on their discretion. Why do this when there’s so many other methods available to keep a policy uniform?

Finally given my carrier is 10.5 inches high (as per the info that comes with the carrier) and AC allows a maximum of 11 inches- if they want to claim that my dog needed that extra head space then they should of measured this (as I doubt 0.5 inches or 1.27 cm is distinguishable 3 feet away). I also have a hard time believing that this GA (unless he’s very new) has never encountered a dog bigger then 8.5lbs while working for AC. I would love to know (but likely never will) how many other animals he’s denied boarding or how many he’s actually boarded?

... this is why I confidently speculate that they used my dog as a scapegoat and there’s another reason why we were denied.

"Of course you're free to do/think whatever you want....." [I don't need permission from some customer service agent I've never met.]

Could the GA be some animal rights activist who thinks it's "inhumane" for any animal to be in a carrier? Denying boarding for the spouse could be viewed as a means of further punishing the animal's owner.

It's hard to see why the couple would be targeted, but sometimes GAs just go on power trips.

There's also the overbooked flight possibility, but surely it's cheaper and less disruptive for AC (and the GA) just do VDC/IDB and pay compensation......unless there were standbys that the GA particularly wanted to see get onto the flight and those standbys didn't have confirmed reservations and were not nonrevs in some sort of "must board" category (such as a mechanic flying for work), so that the GA couldn't officially have done VDBs/ISBs in order to get seats for the friends and family standbys.

You haven’t said how tall your dog is. Your carrier is 10.5 inches and the recommendation is for height +3 inches to judge the size of a carrier for international travel / in the hold / flights. I think the breed size is somewhere between eight and 11 inches. Would it be true to say that while the dog could stand up in the carrier he didn’t have 3 inches of headroom which would be the standard?

If that’s the case then you are at the mercy of individual judgements of gate agents.

While it was a terrible situation for you, I suspect it must’ve happened to others before, and the guarantee from the manufacturer isn’t helpful when you’re stranded nine hours away from home even if they do provide reimbursement of some sort.

I’ve travelled many times with my dogs, which are too big to fly in the cabin, and the airlines routinely refuse to transport them without that headroom. Even though it results in having to purchase what would seem to be very big crates.

I guess the real issue is that there aren’t a lot of 7.5 inch dogs. Even the toy breeds.

I’m too new to post a link but if you click the link the above posted (to Sherpa) and then click “Frequently asked questions” at the top of their page it shows you that they measure pets from ground to shoulder. That seems to be the consensus on how they are measured (as it’s not fair to just rely on a manufacturer on this information).

So given that info - if ground to shoulder is 10inches or less in height (and the rest of the dimensions / weight are applicable) then the medium carrier would be the most adequate. The carrier dimensions are above (I have the medium size). I don’t know if that includes the capability for expansion along the top part of the bag that allows at least another 0.5 inch with gentle pressure.

Whisky is: 8.5 lbs (+/- a few oz based on the time of day)
Height from floor to shoulder: approx (a generous) 6 inches
**the Shih Tzu as per the AKC are generally 9-16 lbs & 9-10.5 inches in height.

I understand what you are saying tho- because on IATA they only list recommendations for the hard sided carriers.