Sean Peever

OK - so this is just a straight-up complaint, for context, that's what I'm doing here.

I have taken the YVR - YYZ red-eye 3 times in the last month, in J, and each time the SD or FA comes around and asks if you want to be woken up for breakfast. I say yes, then they mark it down on the sheet, then they ask if I also want X or Y and I tell them and off they go to the next person.

All 3 times in the last month they have not woken me up, instead, they wake me up when it's time to land and put my seat up, and I ask them about the breakfast and they act all surprised. Now yes, mistakes happen, but 3/3 in 30 days not being woken up to eat, common guys. Why bother asking if you never do it? Frankly, it just puts me in a grumpy mood for the rest of the day.

I don't want to hit the AC customer service with yet another thing, but not sure what to do here. Do I get a giant sign and tape it to the pod that reads "wake me up"? Do I get a t-shirt made? what do I have to do to help AC deliver on the thing they say they are going to do?

songsc

I think it's probably just pure bad luck.

Although I have no direct experience, I have seen FAs waking up certain passengers during meal service, and I have heard FAs saying things like wake up 2A for breakfast.

canadiancow

One thing I've noticed on several airlines is that some crew won't touch you. I often sleep with earplugs and noise cancelling headphones on. I cannot hear you. You need to nudge me.

The newer IFE systems have a "wake for food service" and "wake for beverage service" option. You could also try that.

yyznomad

You should've been on the redeye flight with jaysona and I where we both asked to NOT be woken up, but the FA came around and physically shook us awake for breakfast anyway.

24left

Data point:

AC 754 red-eye SFO-YYZ. April 2019. At boarding as the FA came around to ask each pax if they want to be woken for breakfast pre-arrival, @jasdou and I said YES. Quick guess what the crew did?

NOTHING.

So no breakfast.

Some would ask: "Why is this so haaaaaaard for the crew to follow their own procedures?"

(And to those of you who are about to throw an insult or similar back this way, it's not a FWP. It's a failed SOP.)

RatherBeInYOW

Seems to me that ACYYZ/SD started a thread a while back (might have been quite a while ago now) where we discussed whether people preferred being woken up. I think that was before they instituted the policy of formally asking you if you wanted to be woken for meals in J. Personally I always want the sleep, and while I am not in J that often I've not been woken in recent memory. They also always let me be in PY and Y as well. Thankfully.

canadiancow

They've been asking me as long as I remember.

My answer is usually, "don't wake me up, but if I'm awake, I want the omelette".

24left

@RatherBeInYOW

Here is the thread @ACYYZ/SD started

What do You Value More In-flight? Sleeping or Dining?

canadiancow

First post in that thread seems to indicate it's for the first meal service on an international flight - very different from breakfast where they ask if you want to be woken up.

24left

@RatherBeInYOW mentioned the other thread, so I went looking, found it, posted it. Did my job.

That thread was also interesting in terms of a wide range of opinions on whether people wanted a meal or sleep or some combination. Some nice photos and images of stickers and signs that other airlines use to allow pax to indicate if they want to be woken.

AC crew walk around on the red-eyes and ask pax if they want to be woken for breakfast. Seems to me if pax say yes, crew should wake them for breakfast, not landing.


And there were also these posts.

yyznomad

AC International Amenity Kits, over a decade ago IIRC, also had DND stickers that one couple place directly onto headsets or on the side of the J seat. Back then, these were adhered to by crew.

Even though AC now has the DND setting on the DreamCabin IFE screen and seat menu, I find the crews ignore these.

agjil

I find myself waking up every time regardless of my preference due to the movement of people and the smell of food when they serve breakfast.
So to me it's like "why bother telling them not to wake me up when I know I'm gonna wake up anyways".

RatherBeInYOW

Listen, my memory isn't what it used to be.

Apparently I misremembered the thread and I seem to recall a time where they would not ask about waking you. Maybe I'm just old ;-)

24left

@RatherBeInYOW

You remembered correctly the key elements: ACYYZ/SD and being woken up for meals. ^
.

codfather

I would not be very happy if I was expecting breakfast and it wasn't served to me! Are they forgetting? Or is it just the fact that they don't want to touch you out of fear of (absurd) repercussions?

Bizarre...