What's Air Canada Record on Customer Service

[ShyMan]

I thought Air Canada is a Canada's premier airline because I'm under the impression that Canadians are nicer than Americans.

My first flight on Air Canada was great -- from Montreal to Las Vegas. That was years ago. But I took a recent Air Canada flight and found it lacking in hospitality that I often find in most businesses and hotels I patronize in Montreal.

Today, I read an article about a Canadian family being mistreated by Air Canada.

I experienced a less traumatic experience on a recent return trip to the States from Montreal; when I was at the airport, an American Airline ticket agent was trying to get me on a faster flight back home and she found an available seat on Air Canada and she tried to call them numerous times but no one picked up. She and her colleague said Air Canada was an unpleasant partner.

I wonder if these are only isolated incidents. I once gave up my seat on Delta Airline in Montreal and Delta gave me a US$800 voucher and flew me back home first class; I simply took the next flight to Atlanta where I was stranded for a couple of days due to weather; Delta gladly paid for my hotel stay in Atlanta (which has a really nice airport).

*****

A Winnipeg family is still trying to understand why Air Canada stranded them at the Miami airport after bumping them from a flight and then allegedly telling them: "You're not our problem."Kerri Moore, travelling with her husband and two children, was barred from boarding a flight from Miami to Toronto in February.Father Steve Moore and their kids were permitted to board, but then ordered off the plane despite being buckled into their seats."It's still shocking to me," Kerri Moore said in an interview from the family's home. "I don't understand how you can treat people like that."

From:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-canada-bumping-flight-1.4083558

I'm wondering if I should avoid Air Canada altogether in the future.

 

[ssj3]

I've used them numerous times and (knock on wood) have never had an issue. Hopefully that trend continues

 

[anon_vlad]

Unlike the US, our government awards each route to a few (sometimes only one) carrier, thus minimizing competition and removing the incentive to provide good service.

Air Canada lost my baggage and then made it so onerous to collect compensation that I couldn't afford the time to pursue my claim and I finally had to give up. I always book with another airline when a choice exists.

 

[jalimon]

I used to be elite on Air Canada. I now travel less so lost the status. Status or not, I now always check if WestJet or Air Transat for canada flight or KLM/Air France for europe are available before I book Air Canada.

Cheers,

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

For me AC is my first choice, usually costs less, has more flights and a better entertainment system ( lots of movies to watch ) and the seats are more comfortable. Westjet has better staff but their plane and entertainment system sucks, hate the leather seats and less leg room plus the movie selection is bad plus you have to pay. Ideal would be AC planes and WJ staff. I fly a lot and have had issues with both, neither are perfect, nothing is. I have a huge amount or Aeroplan miles so I do not get bumped much ( only 1 time in the last 10 years ) and got a $200 voucher, first class next flight out ( 3 hours later ) and was able to sit in the AC lounge while I waited. What I do not do is get a flight that stops in Toronto for less than 1.5 hours, a possibility of not getting your luggage.
NOTE: I found out recently to get cash instead of a voucher, they will give it to you if you ask.
This is for in Canada not international.

 

[ShyMan]

It sounds like AC is hit and miss. I generally fall asleep within 10 to 20 minutes into my flight, unless I'm too stressed to sleep. I would fly first class on AC but compared to US carriers, AC first class has a lot to catch up. I was on a United flight business class in a the new Boeing Dreamliner on a recent domestic flight --- it was top notch; the seats were as comfortable as my (leased) MB AMG S63! AC first class is not competitive; I'm often tempted to upgrade but I rather rough it out and save my money so I can spend it in Montreal in restaurants, Hobbyland, and sports and cultural performances.

 

[A12B]

AC can be out of price sometimes for far less service. If booking far ahead, then sometimes they are good in price BUT at Tango rate. A Tango ticket means shit if you want to cancel or postpone flights. You buy it, then it's yours. For Canada routes, sometimes no competition, ie Montreal - Val d'Or / Rouyn / Bagotville / Sept-Iles routes, they will HOSE you for this trip - no competition really. Those routes could cost as much as a fare to London LHR. The YUL - YYZ route is every hour but designed for business travels and connecting flights to other destinations via TO. I've found a great way to travel YUL- YYZ route - Air Transat. There is only one flight a day in the evening that suits me very well. Go in the evening, sleep there and start working day bright an early. I like Transat service and the aircraft doing that route is fairly new. Also sometimes I will use Porter airline to the Billy Bishop airport when I need to go Downtown TO on the YUL - YTZ route. I found great fares to Chicago with them as well, except connecting at YTZ sometimes make the trip longer.
Europe travels, I use Air France & KLM (same company now). Service is far better than AC by lot of miles ... .
States travels, I use AA or Delta. I'm member of both AAvantage and Skymiles.
AC Rouge gives you a shit old aircrafts that are ready for retirement - God knows if that thing will fall off the sky. No entertainment system if you don't have a big smart phone or iPad to watch movies. All-in-all, I try to avoid them at all cost. I use them only when I'm stuck.
The other bitching I have with AC is that they get greedy and greedy on their Aeroplan point system. More and more they take more points to convert to free ticket PLUS you get hit harder if you try to get freebie during summer, March break or Christmas break. Years ago, I used to get upgrades for less points than today and free travels for less points than today. Anyways, they lost my business big time .... . Now that I do less long hauls, I see them degrading my status as I convert my points .... .

 

[ShyMan]

Thanks for your very useful insights on AC, A12B. Every time I fly into Montreal, I see major terminal expansions happening. It's too bad that the Canadian government has been limiting competition at the expense of its own citizens. AC must have a huge lobby. Ironically, I was excited to see a Middle Eastern airline began operating out of Montréal airport on my last trip there but to be chargrin that airline does not fly routes from the States to Montreal. Montréal is such a great tourist destination and it's a shame the Trudeau government isn't trying to make it easier for tourists to experience the greatness of Montréal. I hope AC gets a new fleet of modern airplanes, improve its customer service and compete robustly throughout Canada, including Montréal, which IMHO has a wonderful soul, exceptional culture with a European flair and beautiful landscapes that TO and Vancouver lack. TO is a shadow of NYC and Vancouver is just like another American city in the Northwest like Seattle, Portland and California's San Francisco.

 

[ssj3]

I agree with you SM on AC's first class product. Every time I pass by it while going to the economy cabin I think "man there's so many other airlines with much better first class."

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

I refuse the first class, I get the emergency exit seats with a little more leg room and that is about it, my flights are no longer than 4.5 hrs though. Been bumed to first class and found nothing that special to justify the extra price.

 

[jalimon]

AC's first class is only good on European flight where you get the full incline bed seat. On north-american flight, not worth it. I have much better service on WJ, AT or Porter.

Cheers,

 

[Aryaan]

The flying experience I had 6-7 years ago is no longer there. Major reason could be that flights are cutting costs. Employee salaries and benefits are proportional to the service you get. With increase in daily flights, other competitive subsidized airlines like Qatar and emirates, and increase fuel prices its hard to maintain the quality. Kingfisher was a premier class airline in India for domestic travel and they went bankrupt because they did not compromise on quality. I have traveled extensively with emirates who are by far the best. Air France was good in the beginning but they have significantly lost heir quality.

 

[traiklind]

There's no way I will take Air Canada again. I've flown them twice and both times flight got canceled. The first time I was going home so they put me up at hotel for the night and re-booked me for a morning flight. The second time, they re-booked me for a flight 12 hours later so I just canceled the trip.

 

[ShyMan]

What happened to Black Berry could happen to Air Canada. I've flown once on Emitres. I was excited to see Qatar airline flying into Montréal but it does not have any routes yet from the US.

 

[Allan Quatermain]

AC is full of old crank attendants, West Jet is a better experience.

 

[A12B]

What happened to Black Berry could happen to Air Canada. I've flown once on Emitres. I was excited to see Qatar airline flying into Montréal but it does not have any routes yet from the US.

I've always told people that AC needs more competition. More domestic low cost airlines. I dream of the day Air Transat, Sunwing and Porter starts doing domestic routes, ie - Montreal to Vancouver/Calgary/Halifax/Fredericton/Winnipeg etc .. .

BTW, Turkish Airlines come to Montreal, they are good as well. We are missing big ones in Montreal like Pacific, Singapore, Quantas. Japan, Nikkon, Korean etc ... . They must have done market research and probably not a big market as Toronto.

 

[ShyMan]

Turkish Airlines come to Montreal, they are good as well. We are missing big ones in Montreal like Pacific, Singapore, Quantas. Japan, Nikkon, Korean etc ...

As the cliche goes, build it and they will come. There's some truth to that. I see Montreal's skyline change dramatically in the 10 years I've been visiting the lovely city. Maybe with the glut of new condos and office towers that have been built and are under construction, more airlines will fly into Montreal. The big question is whether those who have deep and long roots in Montreal and Quebec want a greater influx of outsiders coming to Montreal and surrounding towns. As far as I'm concerned, Montreal has great universities and that will attract more students from everywhere, including the States and, of course, Asia. Air Canada will (and must) improve when more competition enters the Montreal market, or be in the same grave yard as the beloved RIM and BlackBerry (which I really loved). (I often thought about flying to TO and then catching a commuter flight from TO and YUL. But I didn't want to deal with the hassles of flying on two separate airlines and I don't care for TO.)

 

[ssj3]

I avoid all flights that connect thru TO to Montreal as the port of entry would be TO. I've discovered that they ask a lot more questions and are more intrusive than Montreal customs. I'm already paranoid enough as it is when I go through customs in Montreal, I don't need the added stress that TO customs would bring.

 

[ShyMan]

Thanks for the tip ssj124! I guess TO doesn't want any more Yankees from the South. Now I remember. My very first flight on AC was from TO to Vegas years ago. The crew was nice, I think, since I slept the entire flight after back to back 48 hours of (real) work and meetings two days before. The AC plane was nice and I might have flown business class because my employer was paying for my business trip.