Tax Dude

Ah, good to see that my email to Montie shook things up and mobilized all the programming troops!

Seriously, the whole pass thing will fall apart if AC's IT systems aren't stable and reliable. And their first-line tech support isn't helping matters when there are problems. In my email complaint I suggested that there should be a dedicated help line for flight pass problems. If the system is down or just behaving wonky there should be a tech support desk that can purchase passes, book and change flights, and process upgrades on a user's behalf.

I'm reasonably computer-literate (and read Flyertalk) so I was able to sort things out for my wife and myself. I think stranger is right and AC will see a marked decrease in web bookings for the last three weeks.

yulgirl

Sorry if this has been covered, but I love the flight pass - am on my 5th one. I am frustrated with the web site though. Recently the site has started showing the UA code share flights as an option, but when you select the flight you get the message...
"What Happened?
An error has occurred while processing your request. Please try again later.
You may return to the previous page and your current information by selecting your browser's 'Back' button."

Why do they allow you to select the flight if it is not an eligible option with the flight pass? How stupid is that?

Just one of my many irritations with the site.

yyznomad

Flight Passes - Great idea.

AC IT - Sucks stinky butt.

blue2002

Yes, the login is now working for me as well.

And that would be a real shame, seeing as the passes are a rather brilliant and (in this industry, at least) revolutionary product.

Snoopyo

glad that AC IT FINALLY fixed it...

Sebring

I have a vague recollection of Montie saying that the new computer system under development has as one of its priorities making the whole pass/bulk buying interface a lot smoother, more reliable and more stable. It's going to be some time before the project is complete, but AC clearly understands that this is where its future lies.

exAC

It will be 2010 before AC sees any benefits from the new reservations system. They decided to 'build their own' rather than take existing technology or one of the new generation projects about to launch next year.

Snoopyo

Oh lovely. Then AC need to have SE and E going to the Montreal tech support center rather than India call center since AC IT does not seem to have great QA.

Simon

One thing fixed, another broken

- login now works for me again also.
- last night I purchased a North America flight pass. I then tried to make a booking for today. It came back with an error saying that Feb 9 was "outside the valid range" for the flight pass, as per the rules. Checked the rules in case there was some sort of goofy start date? Nope, Feb 9 was start date. Called help desk. Work-around = book flight for Feb 10 and then call reservations and have them change the date to Feb 9. Did someone do a ">" instead of a ">=" in the code??!

Simon

Snoopyo

Hi Simon,

I ran into the exact problem just before New Years. I bought a pass 7:15pm on Dec 30 and try to book a ticket for morning of Dec. 31 and go the exact same message. Basically the flight pass purchase date is based on GMT so it was already Dec 31 for me (Feb 9 for you) and that is the validity start date.

When I tried to book a segment using the flight pass since I was booking on Dec 30 for Dec 31 (for you Feb 8 for Feb 9), it looked at local time and compared it with the validity date and failed that test since the validity date based on GMT is the next day and 1 day after the local time. It does not check that you are booking a flight or the next date and just error out.

I spent 4 hours on the phone with India and Montreal and we was able to book it after midnight local time... They open an issue but guess they have not fixed it after 6 weeks.

wsommerv

Ever since the addition of the new options (food coupon, car rental offer, etc.) Safari seems to be crashing just after selecting the options.

I've switched over to using Firefox, but this is slightly annoying because prior to this, even though it said that it wasn't compatable with Safari, I never had any problems. In fact Air Canada say they're working on compatability for Safari, but they seem to have take a step backwards.

Is it just Safari or is anyone else having trouble?

AnselmAdorne

It's a YHZ problem.

Seriously, I use Firefox on an iMac running OS X 10.4.8 and Firefox 2.0. I've had no problems on either the AC or AE sites. I have had glitches using Safari 2.0.4 on both sites, as well as running searches on other sites. As a result, I now use only Firefox.

Stranger

That explains, doesn't it?

Snoopyo

AC (or IBM) should be shot for the problems of aircanada.com. This is so ridiculous that they still have inability for selecting fare class or at least eliminating Tango from the search after close to a year of people identifying the issue.

I was trying to book an itinery and they only give me N (Tango) fares and I cannot force the fare class in any form or fashion. I am too tired to deal with the Indian call center and reservation would not waive the fee. I think I will book another airline.

airbus320

Anyone else having a problem booking a trip online this afternoon?