Nov 20, 2017, 2:16 pm
Last edit by: Argonaut1000
Click here to go to a picture of the White Compensation Form and its stub
View Deflated Seat History Here (Database for submitted occurrences)
Enter New Deflated Seat Occurrence Here (Submit one if you have experienced deflated seat and it will show up in the database above)
----
From post #49 in this thread, here's one potential way to (re)inflate an AC seat:
A better method is for a crew member to use the reset switch under the seat, on the aisle side.
Compensation offers (green/white sheet completed)
40K AE- Apr 18 (50% back of the J class one way redemption)
2018 Jun - $500 coupon
2018 Sep $1,000 eCoupon or 40K AP (P fare TPAC)
2018 Sep $500 eCoupon (P fare TPAC) (no change on protest- update - 6 months later the $150 was increased to $500 - admitted they had made an error)
Compensation offers (no green/white sheet completed)
100K - May 5 (C$150 eCoupon; was moved to a functioning seat after meal service)
2017 Sept - 8,000 AE miles - reported via complaint web page after realizing it was a faulty seat, not standard discomfort; Asked for return of eUps but they declined.
2017 Nov & 2018 Feb - $500 coupons both times (second time on protest that $500 had been offered the previous time)
2018 Sep. $250 coupon (on a paid J TATL).
2018 Nov - $500 eCoupon (J TATL)
Standard eCoupon compensation offers (no haggling; following a recurring pattern)
~10+ hours: $1000
Long TPAC (TPE-YVR)
~6 to ~10 hours: $500
Short TPAC (NRT-YVR)
TATL
South America: YYZ-GRU
less than ~6 hours: 300
TCON
Have a Service Director (SD) That Is Giving You the Case of the Shrugs? Like the real life version of this ASCII emoji -> ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ?
No success with the SD and/or crew rectifying your deflated seat and you can't be/aren't accommodated to another J seat? If you asked for a compensation form and the SD says they have no idea what you are talking about, you can use the below picture of the stub portion to help freshen their memory (better than nothing)...
Please note that for the longest time, the "Green Compensation Form" version was used, and there have been recent reports of the "White Compensation Form" replacing the Green version. Reports here have indicated that the two forms are virtually identical except for the colour.
There is now an even newer White Form which explicitly lists "deflated seat" and "deflated seat and fixed", among many other items.
Here is a snapshot of the NEWEST full form (as of August 2019), courtesy of lallied
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31421855-post2093.html
This is only the stub portion, courtesy of lallied
Mattress pads purchased and listed in this thread
View Deflated Seat History Here (Database for submitted occurrences)
Enter New Deflated Seat Occurrence Here (Submit one if you have experienced deflated seat and it will show up in the database above)
----
From post #49 in this thread, here's one potential way to (re)inflate an AC seat:
- Go the home screen "Your Seat". (find this on the seat side panel; not the main video screen)
- Hold the top left hand corner "Air Canada" (with AC logo) for 3 seconds. Updated (Apr 9 18): may need to hold for as long as 45 seconds for key pad to appear
- Dial pad shows up - hit 3-2-1.
- Press "Reset Lumbar Support"
A better method is for a crew member to use the reset switch under the seat, on the aisle side.
Compensation offers (green/white sheet completed)
40K AE- Apr 18 (50% back of the J class one way redemption)
2018 Jun - $500 coupon
2018 Sep $1,000 eCoupon or 40K AP (P fare TPAC)
2018 Sep $500 eCoupon (P fare TPAC) (no change on protest- update - 6 months later the $150 was increased to $500 - admitted they had made an error)
Compensation offers (no green/white sheet completed)
100K - May 5 (C$150 eCoupon; was moved to a functioning seat after meal service)
2017 Sept - 8,000 AE miles - reported via complaint web page after realizing it was a faulty seat, not standard discomfort; Asked for return of eUps but they declined.
2017 Nov & 2018 Feb - $500 coupons both times (second time on protest that $500 had been offered the previous time)
2018 Sep. $250 coupon (on a paid J TATL).
2018 Nov - $500 eCoupon (J TATL)
Standard eCoupon compensation offers (no haggling; following a recurring pattern)
~10+ hours: $1000
Long TPAC (TPE-YVR)
~6 to ~10 hours: $500
Short TPAC (NRT-YVR)
TATL
South America: YYZ-GRU
less than ~6 hours: 300
TCON
Have a Service Director (SD) That Is Giving You the Case of the Shrugs? Like the real life version of this ASCII emoji -> ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ?
No success with the SD and/or crew rectifying your deflated seat and you can't be/aren't accommodated to another J seat? If you asked for a compensation form and the SD says they have no idea what you are talking about, you can use the below picture of the stub portion to help freshen their memory (better than nothing)...
Please note that for the longest time, the "Green Compensation Form" version was used, and there have been recent reports of the "White Compensation Form" replacing the Green version. Reports here have indicated that the two forms are virtually identical except for the colour.
There is now an even newer White Form which explicitly lists "deflated seat" and "deflated seat and fixed", among many other items.
Here is a snapshot of the NEWEST full form (as of August 2019), courtesy of lallied
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31421855-post2093.html
This is only the stub portion, courtesy of lallied
Mattress pads purchased and listed in this thread
Deflategate; new executive pods deflating in-flight
Nov 19, 2017, 5:04 pm
#1
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,326
Deflategate; new executive pods deflating in-flight
The new executive pods are the worst thing to ever happen to Air Canada’s international business class.
I suspect the problem is more widespread than I initially thought, and I’ll explain this in a minute.
On November 4, I flew YYZ-MUC on a 77W. I sat in seat 7A. After landing, I got back on the plane and flew MUC-YYZ, in the same seat.
It wasn’t until an hour or so into the return flight that I started to realize I had a huge pain in my butt. The seat was completely deflated. I notified the service director, and he said there was nothing he could do - it required maintenance (I think this was incorrect). He offered me 11A, which I gladly accepted. However, it was also completely deflated! I remained in 7A, sitting on a pillow.
I wrote in about this, and was offered either 20k miles, or a $500 credit.
What a pain in the butt. Literally.
Anyway, fast forward to November 18, when I flew YYZ-MUC. Another 77W, but a different one. I was in 7K. The flight was great.
2 hours in Munich, and I got back on the plane, and approached 7A. The seat was completely deflated. I notified a flight attendant, and they reset the seat (there actually is a way to do this without getting maintenance involved). It re-inflated. The concierge and service director both said that there was an employee in business class, and they could switch us. However, the seat was feeling great, so I declined.
Before we got to cruising altitude, it had completely deflated again. I ended up moving to 8G, and that employee took my 7A. It was great! My butt was cushioned.
Fast forward an hour or two, and 8G had completely deflated. They reset the seat, and it was good for a while.
After dinner, I lay down for a nap. I woke up with - you guessed it - a huge pain in my butt. The seat had deflated again.
They reset it, and it was good until landing.
If we rewind to the first incident, you’ll note that I likely didn’t realize my seat was deflated on the outbound (I'm assuming it was deflated). I’ve found it’s not really something you notice unless you understand how the seat works. You’ll think “wow this is uncomfortable”, but not realize what the problem is.
So how widespread is it? On two aircraft, I’ve found 4 seats with a problem. And I’ve sat in 5 seats. My anecdotes are not sufficient data to draw conclusions, but the crew did say they’ve been noticing more problems lately, and I suspect that the incidents that are reported are a tiny fraction of the total number of deflated seats.
I’m going to write in again, and maybe get another $500 credit, but holy crap Air Canada. This is literally your pride and joy. And it sucks. Fix it. Even if there were a foam pad below the inflatable cushion, it would ensure that no one is ever sitting on a slab of metal.
I suspect the problem is more widespread than I initially thought, and I’ll explain this in a minute.
On November 4, I flew YYZ-MUC on a 77W. I sat in seat 7A. After landing, I got back on the plane and flew MUC-YYZ, in the same seat.
It wasn’t until an hour or so into the return flight that I started to realize I had a huge pain in my butt. The seat was completely deflated. I notified the service director, and he said there was nothing he could do - it required maintenance (I think this was incorrect). He offered me 11A, which I gladly accepted. However, it was also completely deflated! I remained in 7A, sitting on a pillow.
I wrote in about this, and was offered either 20k miles, or a $500 credit.
What a pain in the butt. Literally.
Anyway, fast forward to November 18, when I flew YYZ-MUC. Another 77W, but a different one. I was in 7K. The flight was great.
2 hours in Munich, and I got back on the plane, and approached 7A. The seat was completely deflated. I notified a flight attendant, and they reset the seat (there actually is a way to do this without getting maintenance involved). It re-inflated. The concierge and service director both said that there was an employee in business class, and they could switch us. However, the seat was feeling great, so I declined.
Before we got to cruising altitude, it had completely deflated again. I ended up moving to 8G, and that employee took my 7A. It was great! My butt was cushioned.
Fast forward an hour or two, and 8G had completely deflated. They reset the seat, and it was good for a while.
After dinner, I lay down for a nap. I woke up with - you guessed it - a huge pain in my butt. The seat had deflated again.
They reset it, and it was good until landing.
If we rewind to the first incident, you’ll note that I likely didn’t realize my seat was deflated on the outbound (I'm assuming it was deflated). I’ve found it’s not really something you notice unless you understand how the seat works. You’ll think “wow this is uncomfortable”, but not realize what the problem is.
So how widespread is it? On two aircraft, I’ve found 4 seats with a problem. And I’ve sat in 5 seats. My anecdotes are not sufficient data to draw conclusions, but the crew did say they’ve been noticing more problems lately, and I suspect that the incidents that are reported are a tiny fraction of the total number of deflated seats.
I’m going to write in again, and maybe get another $500 credit, but holy crap Air Canada. This is literally your pride and joy. And it sucks. Fix it. Even if there were a foam pad below the inflatable cushion, it would ensure that no one is ever sitting on a slab of metal.
Nov 19, 2017, 5:09 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: YYZ
Programs: Only J via Peasant Points, 777HDPeasant or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance and Narcissism.
Posts: 5,953
How deflated is it? Like you can feel no cushion what so ever or?
I remember on half of my J pods flights the seat would randomly inflate and deflate at times, it didnt create too much of a discomfort for me though and frankly I just put up with it given I want to catch at least three hour of sleep
Next time I should probably write this in for some points lawl
I remember on half of my J pods flights the seat would randomly inflate and deflate at times, it didnt create too much of a discomfort for me though and frankly I just put up with it given I want to catch at least three hour of sleep
Next time I should probably write this in for some points lawl
Nov 19, 2017, 5:11 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: トロント
Programs: IHG Gold
Posts: 4,820
I feel the seat with my hand before I even sit in it. Last flights I took the first leg (YYZ to YVR) it was completely deflated and felt like sitting on a metal chair. Called FA over who kind of gave me the roll eyes when I said seat was deflated. Felt the seat across the aisle and cushion was nice and thick...had a visible bounce to it really. My seat..no bounce at all.
Ended up sitting in another seat, but if the flight is full in J, then what?
Ended up sitting in another seat, but if the flight is full in J, then what?
Nov 19, 2017, 5:12 pm
#4
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,326
How deflated is it? Like you can feel no cushion what so ever or?
I remember on half of my J pods flights the seat would randomly inflate and deflate at times, it didnt create too much of a discomfort for me though. Next time I should probably write this in for some points lawl
I remember on half of my J pods flights the seat would randomly inflate and deflate at times, it didnt create too much of a discomfort for me though. Next time I should probably write this in for some points lawl
Lay a t-shirt on top of it.
Sit on it.
That's what it feels like.
When the seat deflates, you can knock on it and make a sound. That is not possible if it is even partially inflated.
It's like you're literally knocking on wood.
Nov 19, 2017, 5:13 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: YYZ
Programs: Only J via Peasant Points, 777HDPeasant or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance and Narcissism.
Posts: 5,953
Nov 19, 2017, 5:14 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: YYZ
Programs: Only J via Peasant Points, 777HDPeasant or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance and Narcissism.
Posts: 5,953
Geez that sucks, it was not that bad for me, I can feel it going down, like my entire body is slightly sinking, but don't recall it actually ever hit the bottom.
Nov 19, 2017, 5:15 pm
#7
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Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
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Posts: 44,326
I feel the seat with my hand before I even sit in it. Last flights I took the first leg (YYZ to YVR) it was completely deflated and felt like sitting on a metal chair. Called FA over who kind of gave me the roll eyes when I said seat was deflated. Felt the seat across the aisle and cushion was nice and thick...had a visible bounce to it really. My seat..no bounce at all.
Ended up sitting in another seat, but if the flight is full in J, then what?
Ended up sitting in another seat, but if the flight is full in J, then what?
I say this as a Super Elite in revenue J though. It would be tougher in other circumstances.
Heck I'd take a PY seat over a deflated J seat.
Nov 19, 2017, 5:19 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2008
Programs: AC SE MM, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 904
Nov 19, 2017, 5:21 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: YYZ
Programs: Only J via Peasant Points, 777HDPeasant or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance and Narcissism.
Posts: 5,953
Nov 19, 2017, 5:21 pm
#10
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Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
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Posts: 44,326
The (amazing) FA on my flight today said she'd never sat in a new J seat!
I told her to sit in mine. This was when it was inflated.
The next time I have a deflated seat, I'm going to ask them to have every FA sit on it so they can understand the issue better.
Nov 19, 2017, 5:22 pm
#11
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: トロント
Programs: IHG Gold
Posts: 4,820
I had one deflate on me middle of night on a HND-YYZ flight. Luckily they came out with a flashlight and got it inflated.
Last edited by mapleg; Nov 19, 2017 at 5:54 pm
Nov 19, 2017, 5:22 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: YVR
Programs: AC SE 2MM; UA MP Premier Silver; Marriott Bonvoy LT Titanium Elite; Radisson; Avis PC
Posts: 35,255
The new executive pods are the worst thing to ever happen to Air Canada’s international business class.
I suspect the problem is more widespread than I initially thought, and I’ll explain this in a minute.
On November 4, I flew YYZ-MUC on a 77W. I sat in seat 7A. After landing, I got back on the plane and flew MUC-YYZ, in the same seat.
It wasn’t until an hour or so into the return flight that I started to realize I had a huge pain in my butt. The seat was completely deflated. I notified the service director, and he said there was nothing he could do - it required maintenance (I think this was incorrect). He offered me 11A, which I gladly accepted. However, it was also completely deflated! I remained in 7A, sitting on a pillow.
I wrote in about this, and was offered either 20k miles, or a $500 credit.
What a pain in the butt. Literally.
Anyway, fast forward to November 18, when I flew YYZ-MUC. Another 77W, but a different one. I was in 7K. The flight was great.
2 hours in Munich, and I got back on the plane, and approached 7A. The seat was completely deflated. I notified a flight attendant, and they reset the seat (there actually is a way to do this without getting maintenance involved). It re-inflated. The concierge and service director both said that there was an employee in business class, and they could switch us. However, the seat was feeling great, so I declined.
Before we got to cruising altitude, it had completely deflated again. I ended up moving to 8G, and that employee took my 7A. It was great! My butt was cushioned.
Fast forward an hour or two, and 8G had completely deflated. They reset the seat, and it was good for a while.
After dinner, I lay down for a nap. I woke up with - you guessed it - a huge pain in my butt. The seat had deflated again.
They reset it, and it was good until landing.
If we rewind to the first incident, you’ll note that I likely didn’t realize my seat was deflated on the outbound (I'm assuming it was deflated). I’ve found it’s not really something you notice unless you understand how the seat works. You’ll think “wow this is uncomfortable”, but not realize what the problem is.
So how widespread is it? On two aircraft, I’ve found 4 seats with a problem. And I’ve sat in 5 seats. My anecdotes are not sufficient data to draw conclusions, but the crew did say they’ve been noticing more problems lately, and I suspect that the incidents that are reported are a tiny fraction of the total number of deflated seats.
I’m going to write in again, and maybe get another $500 credit, but holy crap Air Canada. This is literally your pride and joy. And it sucks. Fix it. Even if there were a foam pad below the inflatable cushion, it would ensure that no one is ever sitting on a slab of metal.
I suspect the problem is more widespread than I initially thought, and I’ll explain this in a minute.
On November 4, I flew YYZ-MUC on a 77W. I sat in seat 7A. After landing, I got back on the plane and flew MUC-YYZ, in the same seat.
It wasn’t until an hour or so into the return flight that I started to realize I had a huge pain in my butt. The seat was completely deflated. I notified the service director, and he said there was nothing he could do - it required maintenance (I think this was incorrect). He offered me 11A, which I gladly accepted. However, it was also completely deflated! I remained in 7A, sitting on a pillow.
I wrote in about this, and was offered either 20k miles, or a $500 credit.
What a pain in the butt. Literally.
Anyway, fast forward to November 18, when I flew YYZ-MUC. Another 77W, but a different one. I was in 7K. The flight was great.
2 hours in Munich, and I got back on the plane, and approached 7A. The seat was completely deflated. I notified a flight attendant, and they reset the seat (there actually is a way to do this without getting maintenance involved). It re-inflated. The concierge and service director both said that there was an employee in business class, and they could switch us. However, the seat was feeling great, so I declined.
Before we got to cruising altitude, it had completely deflated again. I ended up moving to 8G, and that employee took my 7A. It was great! My butt was cushioned.
Fast forward an hour or two, and 8G had completely deflated. They reset the seat, and it was good for a while.
After dinner, I lay down for a nap. I woke up with - you guessed it - a huge pain in my butt. The seat had deflated again.
They reset it, and it was good until landing.
If we rewind to the first incident, you’ll note that I likely didn’t realize my seat was deflated on the outbound (I'm assuming it was deflated). I’ve found it’s not really something you notice unless you understand how the seat works. You’ll think “wow this is uncomfortable”, but not realize what the problem is.
So how widespread is it? On two aircraft, I’ve found 4 seats with a problem. And I’ve sat in 5 seats. My anecdotes are not sufficient data to draw conclusions, but the crew did say they’ve been noticing more problems lately, and I suspect that the incidents that are reported are a tiny fraction of the total number of deflated seats.
I’m going to write in again, and maybe get another $500 credit, but holy crap Air Canada. This is literally your pride and joy. And it sucks. Fix it. Even if there were a foam pad below the inflatable cushion, it would ensure that no one is ever sitting on a slab of metal.
When I used to bring it to the attention of the crew, only a few times they have actually tried something manual to fix it but it never worked. The remaining times where I've alerted crew, I am usually met with massive shrugs. Never ask a red-scarf to help - ask the red-scarves for the SD to assist (or ask the SD directly). Almost always the SDs will at least seem to care but probably won't be successful in fixing the seat.
Until now, my high success rate is based on DIY.
To the RCHHMP here, my apologies as the deflated seats are also my fault. Clearly they aren't AC's fault. 110% my fault.
Nov 19, 2017, 5:23 pm
#13
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Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,326
Nov 19, 2017, 5:23 pm
#14
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: YVR
Programs: ACSEMM QRGold SPGLifetimePlat FairmontPlat HyattD AMEXCenturion SerenaPlat TalkBoard Founding Member
Posts: 8,963
Nov 19, 2017, 5:23 pm
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: YVR
Programs: AC SE 2MM; UA MP Premier Silver; Marriott Bonvoy LT Titanium Elite; Radisson; Avis PC
Posts: 35,255
