Air Canada

In January 2012, I booked a flight and hotel online through AC for an upcoming trip to Mexico City. Both the flight and entire duration of hotel stay were charged to my credit card immediately. Five minutes after making the booking, I received information that the hotel location for my event would change. Accordingly, I went online and cancelled the hotel reservation. Normally, when one books a hotel, they can cancel or change the booking 24 hours or more ahead of arrival without charge.

But AC (and the partner services they use) have a staggering, flat rate cancellation charge of $269.77. So on a hotel booking charge of $783 which I cancelled 5 minutes after making the reservation, I was charged $269! The explanation they gave was that they were just passing on the charge from the hotel chain (I have not experienced any hotel in the world that would do this). Beware! Never book a hotel or any other travel related services through Air Canada!

I was traveling with my mother. I had a meeting in Calgary, and my mother was going to stay with my brother for a month. The baggage had my clothes and presentation for an early morning meeting, in addition to my mother's medication.

I spent three hours on the phone to file for delayed baggage and share my concern. The representative promised that I will be reimbursed for all the costs incurred due to the delay and additional costs if we do not get our baggage by morning. The baggage did not come the next morning as well. I left without the baggage (from Calgary at my brother's residence). The baggage arrived after more than two days at the Calgary address.

As advised by Air Canada, I submitted the claim with all the supporting documents, and it cost me more than US$11 to mail than to fax. After almost a month, I received a US$200 check that I refused to take and returned it back. After another two weeks, Air Canada sent again a US$200 check that was again returned back by me.

On October 11, 2011, I received a letter saying that they are sorry, but they regret that they are unable to offer any compensation after legal review.

I would like to bring this to the knowledge of appropriate organizations for Air Canada to respect the mental and financial distress they cause to passengers due to their staff's negligence and lack of competence or training.

I was booked on an Air Canada for my flight home to Vancouver from Ottawa on October 2, 2011 at 6PM. My wife was also booked on the flight. I arrived with much the same luggage and carry-on items that I have arrived at airports, for an average of 40 domestic flights per year, for the last 15 years: a suitcase to check in. and a small backpack and guitar in a cloth case as carry-ons. In fact, a cloth guitar case cannot be checked in as there is ample evidence that Air Canada baggage handlers mistreat instruments (I watched one handler stand my guitar, which was in a fiberglass flight case, on one end and drop it onto the conveyor belt and proceeded to do the same with my travel mate's guitar. I will never trust a guitar in a cloth case to your baggage handlers, other than for a gate check). Another fact, on long haul flights my cloth guitar case easily fits into any overhead and leaves lots of room to put other baggage on top and around.

Today is the first time in my 12 years of domestic travel that I have been denied the right to carry my guitar on board with me. The agent told me that this is the policy of the airport, not Air Canada, and that I had to check the guitar. I know this is not true as I traveled from Ottawa airport twice in the last 30 days with my guitar in a cloth case on board, both times. I told her this and she tried to tell me that was not possible. She would not even offer me a gate check tag, which I know is available to people with strollers much larger than my guitar so I protected my personal property, canceled my Air Canada flight and booked with WestJet. When I came back to the Air Canada lineup, my wife was still checking in and it was very clear to the agent, as I had Westjet ticket in hand and my guitar on my shoulder, that indeed I could carry on my guitar if I traveled with WestJet.

The fact that your agent and her supervisor insisted that I could not travel from Ottawa with my guitar as carry-on is untruthful, and the fact that they suggested I was not telling the truth is highly offensive. My wife and I travel for our separate businesses a great deal and we're looking forward to sharing a flight together. Your uncivil staff caused us much stress, financial loss and hassle and forced us to travel separately.

I also must say that I travel a fair amount internationally and have never been denied the right to carry my guitar on board even when carrying a guitar in a large flight case and quite prepared to check my guitar: in Madrid, Frankfurt, Havana, Puerto Vallarta, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Narita, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago. My guitar goes on board with me. No other airlines put people through what your agents did to me yesterday and you are considered our national airline!

You just lost a customer and I am beginning to believe what people are saying about Air Canada's unspoken but obvious mandate: We're not happy until you're not happy.

I have had a nightmare of an experience with Air Canada. If you want to actually speak to a customer service agent live over the phone, rather than dealing with their stated stonewalling policy of submitting complaints only in writing, try contacting:

Helen Gaulin, helen.gaulin@aircanada.ca, Customer Service Minion, 403-440-3117

I had a ticket on Air Canada from London to Chicago via Montreal. They refused to fly me (i did not have transit visa- rubbish regulations). The aircraft/boarding personnel bluntly said that i would not be leaving and when asked about my ticket - i will not be getting anything. Ok.. i contacted Air canada and they finally agreed to reschedule my ticket. I had paid 670.00 for my tickets initially and wanted it to be rescheduled for December 2011 when the fares are 480.00 They mention that there is a rescheduling fee of 100.00(which i can understand) and on top of that a difference in fare of 100.20 ( which according to them is due to the fact that its expensive in december... Its either they are IDIOTS or do have no idea about maths.. They are a complete rip off.

The flight path from Toronto to Shanghai is over Japan's airspace. Radioactivity levels over Japan are at very dangerous levels. Customer asked if flight path will be altered. (No) Customer attempted to reschedule to a safer (? ) time (Aug). Both A/C & agent refused. Customer must pay all cancellation fees. This is a matter not foreseeable by customer. Looking to rescind.

In the past six months, I have made 3 trips round from Edmonton to Rouyn/Noranda Quebec. Out of the six flights, I had problems with 5 of the flights. I never arrived at my destination on time, and I am not talking a little late, I am talking about 5 to 6 hours late. I even had a flight where the plane was there but they didn't have a crew to fly it. The best was when we boarded the flight in Rouyn and we didn't even have heat. It was only -30 that day and by the time we got to Montreal, it finally started to warm up enough that I could feel my feet.

It's a shame that the top brass at Air Canada can't seem to run this company, because the people who work for you and listen to customer complaints seem very nice and able to do their job. I can't help but wonder how much taxpayer money goes into this company. I think it's going to waste if 5 out of 6 flights were screwed up. This summer, we are driving to Quebec. Less stress that way.

I was on a middle seat in an eight-hour flight from Tokyo to Vancouver with a nonworking entertainment system. Normally, I wouldn't consider this a big deal, but when you are on a flight for eight straight hours with two smokers on either side, the entertainment system becomes a more important aspect of the flight experience. In an attempt to compensate, Air Canada gave me a coupon for a mere 5% discount for a future Air Canada flight. Poor customer service, a frustrating flight, a poor airline.

I am very unhappy with the service provided by Air Canada. They were very incompetent in terms of what they deemed as "delayed" baggage. Delayed baggage was too much of a euphemism. It would be more appropriate to claim it as failed delivery. I have called so many times to inquire about my baggage status and all they said was that it was on its way. They would not contact the delivery service to speed up the process. Even the personnel was unfriendly and it was obvious that they were sick of my phone calls since one of them referred me to the website to check on my status.

The flight too was less than enjoyable. The air hosts were unprofessional and made mistakes everywhere.

Overall, I am very disappointed in this company. Unfortunately, no other company flies to my area. If there were other choices, then I would surely fly with another airline. Yes, I would pay extra just to be with another airline.

This has been my worst flight experience ever and I have flown with many different companies.

This is the second year in a row. On the 21st of Dec., Air Canada has lost my luggage. In 2009, I was headed to Mexico for work, have never seen my luggage till Jan 23. When I returned home and half of my possessions were missing, it has been a year and still no one has responded to my claim. Again this Dec. 21, 2010, flying from Calgary to Halifax, my bag is gone once again. They have no idea where the bag is, and I get the runaround and I am preparing to go to court. I had enough of these incompetent people.

And if anyone didn't already know, in some of my research I found out that they have an auction in their Quebec warehouse every so often for unclaimed luggage which apparently is internal so employees can purchase it . No wonder their employees don't care that they lose our luggage because then they buy our stuff for nothing. Major inconvenience, every time a flight comes their lines are full of people experiencing the same thing. I have traveled all over the world, live in Canada but have never experienced anything like this except in my home country.

Aeroplan took away all my accumulated points because of the failure of a partner airline to update the mileage points that I should have earned. When that was alerted to Aeroplan supervisors, the excuse is that nothing can be done because these points have already expired, and it is not their responsibility to look into the matter if it was the mistakes of their partner airlines. You cannot "fax" to them to document any letters sent to them and you don't get a response or confirmation of materials sent to them via regular mails. All they want is to eliminate all your accumulated points.

I had an existing plane ticket that I canceled, because travel plans changed. I was told I could use the credit from that ticket towards a future flight a $75 change fee. It makes sense. Three weeks later I re-booked and chose to use my credit, but the reservation agent ** up the fares, then adds the $75 change fee. I caught the error a few days later, called back to have it corrected. Air Canada issues an appropriate credit, but charges me again for a $75 change fee.

After my flight occurs, I called back, get the duplicate $75 change fee reversed. Since the flight is over, reservations can no longer help. I'm told there is no phone access to Air Canada customer service. I tried to email, but got an auto-response saying they will review my request within 3 weeks. Caution to all travelers, there is no customer service at Air Canada. You cannot talk to customer service. They accept email or fax only, and they respond at their own convenience (as you'll hear among other reports on this site).

I have tried contacting Air Canada via Twitter as well, but I am getting the same runaround. They say to send an email, since they have no phone access. This is only my second time using Air Canada, and the last time I use Air Canada. Absolutely horrible customer service. I'm out $75 because of their incompetence. but more frustrated about the fact that you cannot resolve a customer issue with a phone call to Air Canada. Ridiculous.

Air Canada is increasingly behaving the way that formerly only fly-by-night outfits and charter airlines would. If you ask for an extra drink on an international flight, they will say yes, and never return. If you ask for a pillow on a flight within Canada, they will tell you that they are only for first class. Now, they want to charge for a 2nd piece of luggage, a practice that only ultra-inexpensive airlines like Ryan Air used to do. But Air Canada's prices stay the same. Well, keep rising. I am avoiding this airline increasingly, even though I have been a supporter for four decades.

I bought a one way Toronto - NY ticket at the cost of 590 dollars for on traveling September 12. I checked online that they close check in 60 minutes before take off. I only had hand luggage and arrived at the airport 75 min. before take off. I was told that the only option for checking in was the automates, so I tried to check in on one of those. I repeatedly got the message, "Please contact an agent", but there were no agents available.

To get to the counter, there was a line of at least fifty people waiting to drop off luggage. They accepted that I shortcut the line to request for the assistance of an agent. The Air Canada official at the desk told me she would call an agent. I explained to her which flight I was trying to check in on. When an agent finally came, he told me it was too late to check-in and that I had to pay a penalty to change my ticket. I missed my connection by train from Penn station because of this mishap, and I find it unacceptable that they don't have sufficient personnel at the airport.

I was equipped with both the print out of my e-ticket and my electronic passport + the bank card I paid the ticket with. If this was not enough for their automated check-in, surely their electronic equipment is insufficient. I called customer service where I was told that I had to send them an email with my complaint and that they would respond within six weeks. They denied any refund at all, pretending that security was their priority!

My wife Tina and I booked Las Vegas to Shanghai via Vancouver on August 29th, 2010 on AC 545. After check in, I lost the boarding passes. This panicked her as she suffers from clinically diagnosed, verifiable bipolar illness. Between check in and the gate (we checked in at LAS at least 2 hours early), she went missing. I asked the gate agent to help but to no avail. The captain of the flight announced that he wanted to leave early. He and the crew were aware that my wife was missing and never even spoke to me about this or offered any assistance.

Nevertheless, the aircraft was boarded and the doors were closed 30 minutes early and the flight departed early, preventing my wife from being found and allowed to travel. Her baggage was not offloaded. I overheard AC staff saying the flight must not be delayed to do this offload. This is a gross violation of FAA/TSA security regulations. I was rushed on board, unable to communicate with my wife. Her vital medications were in a carry on with me and not with her. She was not traveling against doctor's advice.

I lost money on non refundable tickets both on AC and for domestic flights and hotels in China and replacement medications. I paid excess baggage fees on these flights because my wife's baggage was with me and not her. Travel insurance would not have covered these expenses as she has a pre-existing condition. I suffered extreme stress and anguish. Also, Air Canada refused to refund any money and have refused to answer my complaint further or discuss the security breaches. The Canadian Transportation Agency has declined to do anything as they want to protect their flag carrier.

This resulted to monetary losses, including non refundable air tickets on Air Canada, internal flights in China, as well as hotels and replacement medications for my wife.

Air Canada has doubled up on payment authorization causing $1998.20 to be frozen in my bank account for 7-10 working days. I booked my tickets online on the 7th July and paid $1998.20 by Visa Debit Card. Two days later, my account was deducted with two payments, each amounting to $998.10. As these amounts don't match the authorized amount, $1998.20 remains frozen by my bank despite Air Canada receiving full payment. I have contacted their reservations department and had lengthy conversations but no assistance was offered whatsoever and I am simply told that I must wait 7-10 working days for the amount to unfreeze.

I find this totally unacceptable and am appalled at their complete lack of assistance in resolving this situation. My bank have told me what they need to do which is simply to reverse the original request and $1998.20 of my money will immediately be unfrozen. Why don't they do it?

On June 3 - I brought my mothers Dog Misty to the Cargo area at the Pittsburgh Airport. I did not have the appropriate dishes that Air Canada required for Misty to travel. My friend had to race to the local pet store to obtain these dishes. While she was gone, I sat and overheard the truck driver in the docking area say..."What about the [expletive] dog? A male voice responded with, its going by Air Canada. I was mortified. When it was time to do the paperwork I informed the female clerk I was extremely nervous about what I had overheard. She apologized and the male clerk returned to the dock area to silence the man who spoke those words.

There was a 2 hour delay during the layover in Toronto. When my mothers dog arrived, they would not release her to her until she payed another 46.00 for customs? We were not informed of this extra charge at any time. Furthermore, the food we had sent with Misty was still attached to the top of the kennel underneath the travel documents unopened and the water bottle was unused.

My mothers dog was on route from Pittsburgh Airport at 8:30am until her arrival in St. Johns Newfoundland Airport at 11:30pm She had not been fed or watered. This is seriously unacceptable. I have contacted Air Canada regarding this frighting experience. I cannot describe we feel about this experience. We will never use Air Canada for any future travel beit human or other. Be advised, I will alert others of this experience.

On August 4th of last year, I was supposed to fly home to San Francisco, departing Quebec City with a transfer in Toronto. The flight out of Quebec was scheduled to depart for Toronto at 3:30 pm but at 3:20 a PA announcement informed that the flight had been cancelled. We were told to return to the ticket counter. After being forced to wait in line for another 40 minutes, I was greeted by a frazzled and disheveled ticket agent who considered routing me to Montreal but finally booked me to Toronto later that night, departing at 6:30 pm.

I was told I would need to stay overnight in Toronto to catch my connection to San Francisco the next morning. This was not a problem since all I had to do was speak to any Air Canada Customer Service Agent to get a hotel and meal vouchers for my overstay in Toronto. Unbeknownst to me, and apparently Air Canada's own ticket staff, Toronto was still experiencing serious delays and operational problems. My 6:30 departure out of Quebec, after numerous delays, finally pulled up to the gate at Pearson at 1:15 am.

Exhausted, I cautiously went looking for any Air Canada Customer Service agent in a darkened and dim Air Canada Service area. What I discovered were long lines of angry and frustrated customers, all hoping to get hotel vouchers and flights rebooked from two overwhelmed customer service agents. It took one and a half hours waiting in this line to realize that I never was going to speak to anyone.

Air Canada totally mishandled this situation that for the vast majority of the hundreds of people waiting in line, including myself, the only option was to find somewhere on the floor to sleep. After trying to sleep on a ventilation grate for about 3 hours, I finally got up and went to my gate for my departure to San Francisco a few hours later.

My original mailed letter of complaint was never answered. I finally resorted to an online email exchange system that felt like an online tech support chat with someone in New Delhi. As a compensation for their incompetence, Air Canada has graciously offered me 25% off my next Air Canada flight. What a joke!

I decided to return to Winnipeg on route to Saskatoon a day earlier than planned (November 13th instead of the 14th). So on November 10th at the ticket office at the Winnipeg airport, I asked to changed my ticket from the 14th to the 13th. I was initially told I could not do this and that Expedia had to do it because I was already in transit on the ticket. Of course, Expedia told me to go to Air Canada. Finally, the ticket agents agreed to changed the ticket for $75 + taxes. I agreed and signed the form.

When I checked online banking a number of days later, I had a bill for $740 on my credit card. I immediately tried to call Air Canada about this (impossible apparently to call Air Canada about problems) and settled for an email. I was told to fax them the information so I did. I got the reply that they would get back to me in 3-4 weeks.

6 weeks later, I sent another email asking what was going on. I got a response from Brenda G. that said "In response to your fax of Nov 20 2009 regarding the two charges on your recent credit card statement. Please be advised that the charge of $735.35 was the original cost on the ticket. The charge of $739.91 is the additional charge for changing your flight from the 14th to the 13th. As your original fare was no longer available on the new flight, you were charged the next best fare which resulted in the additional collection."

I immediately replied back that I did not authorize this and that I would have spent an extra night in Winnipeg for $150 before doing this. I waited another week for a response and sent another email to Brenda indicating that I did not think this was fair but that I understood mistakes happen and would be willing to accept a free flight or 25,000 aeroplan miles in lieu of the $740 overcharged.

It has been sometime now and no response from this woman. I have a receipt for the $75 I was supposed to pay, and there is nowhere that it says that was supposed to be $740. It seems to be Air Canada's policy to simply ignore complaints until people get sick of dealing with it and drop it. They know that no one can afford a lawyer to deal with a $750 complaint.

I am a Senior ( 71 ) and I have been ripped off for $ 189.00 even though Air Canada/Aeroplan PROMISED and gave nme their WORD I would not be charged to change my flight because of inclement weather in Baltimore. None of my e-mails to virtually every Air Canada office has gotten me back my $ 189.00. I even wrote to the President Mr. R. in Montreal. Sure...I got a "nice" letter back but no $ 189.00!

As a Senior, I remember a time when one's WORD was gold. Unfortunately this appears to be no longer the norm at Air Canada Aeroplan. This morning I spoke at length with supervisor Mr. Gary T. Aeroplan employee ID# GG but without resolving my concern. On our recent booking NI6EC4 we were "forced" to re-schedule/re-book our return flight out of Baltimore due to inclement weather the RCL Grandeur of the Seas did not dock until 19.00 hours! This meant we would miss our return flight AC7933 to Toronto departing at 14.30 hours.

RCL provided all passengers to make free calls from the ship to re-arrange their flights. Earlier the morning of November 14th/09 I spoke with two Air Canada Aeroplan representatives via phone who gave me their " WORD " on at least two separate occasions during my telephone conversation that because of the delay of the RCL Grandeur of the Seas arrival in Baltimore, there would be "NO ADDITIONAL" charges to change our flight. They gave me their "WORD"!

Then, Air Canada Aeroplan re-booked our flight for Monday Nov.16th/09 ( no earlier flights were unavailable according to your representatives and we were re-booked on flight # AC7927 leaving Baltimore at 06.40AM. And again, their "WORD" was, "NO ADDITIONAL" charges Sir.

Ah, it was too good to be true....my CIBC Visa account shows an Aeroplan charge of $ 189.00 and when I called [their] office I was told "that are the rules Sir, you ' VOLUNTARILY' changed your flight." That is not true! We were 'forced' to re-book due to the late arrival of the Grandeur of the Seas; what [they] expect me to do...SWIM ashore? Hopefully [they] can appreciate how upset I am by this $ 189.00 charge, and I ask you kindly to please review the circumstances and re-credit my CIBC Visa account with the originally charged amount $ 189.00.

It may be of interest that our outbound flight # AC7928on Nov.5th-2009 was cancelled by Air Canada Jazz resulting in a 6 hour delay thus losing valuable time. Our total time spent at YYZ was 7.30 hours, since we arrived at the airport well before 5.00 AM. Air Canada's only 'compensation' was breakfast and lunch vouchers, about a $20.00 value. After much confusion, Air Canada Jazz re-booked all passengers onto the 12.30 flight, arriving in Baltimore at 2.10 PM. Thus we lost 5 valuable hours in Baltimore!

I guess it's okay for Air Canada to give us just $20.00 ( easy when the shoe is on the other foot) But when we were forced to re-book coming back from Baltimore, oh no Sir although we promised NOT tocharge you $189.00 we still did. In other words, you are saying " Mr. C., Air Canada's makes their own rules and only when it's in our interest; i.e. more money". I am DISGUSTED by the way [they] have treated us!

No more direct flights are available when you use premiums tikets (tikets aquired with miles earned).

This is the case recently, because in spring 2009 I could have dirct flights from Montreal to London or Paris .

In other words it is a way to lower the service without changing the amount of miles required. It is not fair

This is about my booking for the 14th off September. Booked and confirmed on the 26th of July. Start my day on 14th of September by catching a Bus first one of the day to get to Winnipeg airport. Leave at 7:00 to get to airport at 9:30. Next one is too late. Booked a flight from Winnipeg to Calgary for 11:05, where I will be meeting someone from my office get some papers at Calgary airport and catching a 12:55 flight to Fort McMurray. With Westjet as Aircanada did not have any good times.

Aircanada changed the booking itinerary. The first time by 10 min which was ok because I could still meet my flight. A week later they changed it again and I get an email Midnight on 7th telling me that its changed. This time they changed it by two hours. I arrive in Calgary 2 14:19 which will make me miss my Westjet flight. I walk up on the 8th and started calling Aircanada.

After 6 attempts - because there phone systems are having issues (can not run a phone system, I would be worried about them flying plans) I get my first chance to talk to someone. I explain my situation. And I am offered two choices. One is an earlier flight at 7:00 or a refund

I explain that an earlier flight means inconvenience for me and a hotel room as there is no bus earlier so I would have to come in the day before. I am willing to handle the inconvenience but did not want pay $130 + for a hotel.

I am told air Canada doesn't pay for hotels.
I explain that a refund is not an option as I am not able to get other flights at any even remotely close price range as of the time factor.

So I suggest that they get me a flight from Calgary to FortMcmurray. and I am told that they will not do that as they have no affiliation with westjet.

I ask to speak to a supervisor. This is when the phone systems malfunction again and I lose my connection. I call again and go through the whole thing again. Step 1 explaining, to step 5 the hang up. we repet these steps 4 times. Each time taking anywhere from 15 to 20 min and a lot or restraint from my side. On the 4th time I am told that the supervisor on duty is not there right now and a message was left on their Voice mail. I will be contacted.

Air Canada was ill equiped to cope with contingencies. I was traveling on AC032 from Beijing to Toronto and then on to Bradley, US. The weather was bad and first I was told that the flight was delayed. After almost five hours, the announcement came that the flight was canceled.

Through asking around our group finally made it to the bus and the hotel. I was given a room WITH NO BED! I finally got my room and was told to be ready for the bus at the lobby at 6am the next day. The wake up call was automatically set for me, as I later realized, at 5am. So I get up and ate my breakfast and checked out my room. Then I was told at the lobby that the bus won't come until 8am!!

I am fine with all the flight schedule changes but the lack of coordination and poor management caused a great deal of discomfort and stress throughout the process.

Air Canada is a horrible company to deal with if you are a consumer and have changes to make.

The service reps are inconsiderate, often complaining about their own issues with their employer.

REAL SCENARIO WITH EASIER NUMBERS:

I buy a tango plus ticket online from Air Canada for $300 + $45 taxes = $345 ticket.

TOTAL PAID: $345

I cancel the ticket due to change in plans.

I get ZERO refund. I also PAY $115 in change fees for having to rebook the ticket on the phone. The original $300 does not cover the change fees even though the new fare is lower.

TOTAL PAID: $345 + $115 = $460.00

They calculate the difference that I now owe as ($385 - $200) = +$185 more. I now owe another $300.

This is ridiculous.

No company in the world that interacts with consumers gets away with these calculations to gauge customers than Air Canada.

I asked the rep on the phone if that seems fair that they re-calculate from a price of $200 (not the original $300 I paid, and not the cumulative amount I paid since cancelling and rebooking once. She was very rude and said they " are an airline, not a t-shirt company".

It wouldn't be so bad if these customer service representatives weren't so rude and disgruntled already... if I had another choice (I don't) I would never ever use Air Canada again.

bought a round trip from montreal to rio. i cancelled the return flight on january 26 2009 and the agent sent me a new booking for june 1 2009 on april 15 2009 that read that it was an official itinerary and reciept right at the top of the first page. it also said at the top of the first page that the booking was confirmed. nearing the end of may i was making a booking with another airline and they informed me that my booking with air canada was not confirmed.

i then contacted air canada and was told that i could keep the same bookings from sao paulo to toronto and from toronto to montreal but that i had to take a flight from rio to sao paulo that was four hours earleir than the original booking leaving me with a five and a half hour stop over in sao paulo and also making me need to go to the airport four hours earlier in rio.

they say that they cannot give me the original booking and that if i want that flight i will have to pay $358. i even asked them if i could cancel that portion of the booking and take a local company (they are very cheap and i would recommend to anyone flying to brazil to fly to sao paulo and then get another flight to wherever you want to go in brazil) and thay say that it is not possible. i have to go to the airport four hours earlier so that i can sit around for five and a half hours in sao paulo becase they are not honoring the booking that they officially confirmed with me!

nearing the end of may i was making a booking with another airline and they informed me that my booking with air canada was not confirmed. i then contacted air canada and was told that i could keep the same bookings from sao paulo to toronto and from toronto to montreal but that i had to take a flight from rio to sao paulo that was four hours earleir than the original booking leaving me with a five and a half hour stop over in sao paulo and also making me need to go to the airport four hours earlier in rio. they say that they cannot give me the original booking and that if i want that flight i will have to pay $358. i even asked them if i could cancel that portion of the booking and take a local company and thay say that it is not possible.

They should rethink or revise the policy if there is one before it is too late?

Upon arriving at Pearson International Airport at 7:00am, I managed to find a domestic departures counter and asked an Air Canada employee standing at the end of the line for assistance. I told him that I didnt know if I was in the right place and that I was afraid I was going to miss my flight. He asked me where I was going and what time my flight was leaving. I showed him my printed itinerary, he looked at his watch and told me I was fine and to get in the line-up; which was very long.

I followed his instructions and waited in the line for over 30 minutes, unaware that there was a cut-off time for passengers to check in. I figured as long as I was at the gate by the time the flight was boarding I would be fine. When I got up to the counter, the woman proceeded to tell me that I had too many pieces of checked baggage and that my two car seats were also considered checked baggage. She very rudely went on and on about this for about 10 minutes. After explaining this to me, she proceeded to tell me suddenly that the flight was now closed? and I would have to pay 150.00 each to get on the next flight.

year old daughter into tears, making her think that we were stuck there and she showed absolutely no sympathy for my situation what so ever. Not knowing otherwise on Air Canada's policies and procedures, and desperate to get to my destination, I paid and extra 275.00 for my luggage (3 bags @ 25.00 per piece and 2 carseats @ 100.00 per piece) and another 450.00 to get myself and my two children on the next flight leaving at 12:10 pm. Plus any applicable taxes.

On August 30th I called Air Canada to get some information on their flight and baggage policies. I was told by the agent that the new baggage allowance as of July 15th is one piece up to 50 pounds per paid ticket. I booked and paid for my flight on July 13th, which is why my itinerary clearly stated that I was allowed 2 bags up to 50 pounds each per paid ticket. I also showed this to the check in agent who told me that she doesnt make the rules?. I was also told by the telephone agent that car seats are NOT considered part of the baggage allowance as long as the child has a paid ticket, which both of my children had.

So, to sum it all up: I am not from Regina. I was visiting my mother in Toronto then flying to Regina for a wedding. My husband had driven from our home in Mission BC, spent part of Wednesday night in Calgary, had gotten up at mid-night to drive to Regina to pick us up, then found out we werent able to get on the flight we were supposed to be on and had to wait in Regina for over 8 hours!!!!!!

Not only was I inconvenienced, but so were my children and my husband.. And in the end it wound up costing me over 1600.00 for 3 of us to fly from Toronto to Regina, not to mention the stress and hours of wasted time!!!!!!!

All of their staff is obnoxious and rude and very un-helpful. To sum it all up, if the original employee (the man directing people at the start of the check in line) had of done his job and taken me to the counter right away I would have not missed the check in cut off time. Also, I found out afterwards that the flight generally "closes" 30 minutes before take off, and if the check-in attendant had of just told me that I was pressed for time and that she needed to check me in right away, I also would have not missed the flight.

I filed a complaint with Air Canada, who has done NOTHING. This all started September 25th 2008. At that time I was told they would refund me the money for my carseats (200.00) but that was all they could do. I responded that I was unsatisfied with her response to which she gave me some generic, rude response.

I then emailed their customer relations department (you see, with Air Canada, there is LITERALLY nobody you can talk to in person if you have a problem/complain) Again on December 12/08 to say I had NOT received my 200.00 refund yet and I got an auto response saying it would take 21 days for them to respond. It is now Feb 4/2009 and I haven't heard anything or received a refund. (it should have been refunded to my mother's mastercard) I am not satisfied with the decision and I truly believe I should be refunded the entire amount, but now I feel the only thing I can do is send another complaint and wait! (this is what the man on the phone told me to do)

I arrive the next day and they give me a seat. I board the plane only to have them come and ask me to deplane, they are very sorry but they have given me a seat my mistake. I wait 7 hours to fly on another flight, to finally arrive in Phoenix and they lost my luggage (2nd time so far). I was going on a 7 day cruise with my girlfriend. I made it to the ship to enjoy 3 days of it. I spend 5 days trying to get there, no help from Air Canada, no one to talk to, no one to offer assistance.

My minor son became stranded today in Halifax at the airport without notice or any recourse from Air Canada. His flight from Halifax to Newfoundland was cancelled and they let him know on the way off of the plane. We were told that weather was the reason for cancellation why is it that all other airlines were flying in and out and there was not one snowflake in the sky. We even phoned Newfoundland and all was clear there. They leave this young lad stranded at the airport where he will have to sleep as he does not have another 200.00 for a motel to say nothing of the taxi cab and food that h will need and they won't be able to fly him out until tomorrow night at 8pm - he is supposed to be back at University tomorrow morning.

IT took him 2 hours to even find an Air canada representative and she promptly closed her little kiosk before he could even get his ticket money back. What is up with this scenario. If Air Canada just pulls out the weather card every time they want to fleece their customers then ofcourse there is no recourse for us. As I say all other flights were moving my son can vouch for that as he watches them take off through the window while he waits for us to book another flight for him. No not through Air Canada but through West Jet - Never, Ever again will be fly with these again!

Money spent, time wasted, anxiety and hardship on a young traveller that is supposed to be in Newfoundland, sleeping in a ruddy airline terminal and worried as he must register for classes and be there by tomorrow morning

This ticket was a major Christmas gift for my daughter to visit her sister and it was her first time flying. She was to arrive in Windsor on flight AC7791 at 11:59PM on Dec 26/08. The flight was turned back from Windsor to Toronto because of fog (understandable). However, the way the situation was handled by Air Canada from the time the plane was turned back is appalling and in my opinion inexcusable. -after the flight was turned around, there was an announcement indicating that the passengers should not be concerned that all passengers were being rebooked onto another flight at 6:00AM -the passengers were then told that (instead of the 6:00AM flight) Air Canada was adding some seats to a 9:50AM flight (simple math suggests 10 extra seats) but they were not told who would get on that flight and who would not -they were then told there would be another flight at 12:00noon that some passengers could take -

the passengers were disembarked (dumped into the Toronto airport) with a piece of paper and instructions to call to rebook -there was no Air Canada staff at the airport to handle inquiries or rebooking -my daughter (and other passengers) spent more than 2 hrs (until shortly before 3:00AM) on a pay phone (on hold) trying to reach someone at the 1-888 number to get a definitive answer about when/if Air Canada was going to get her to Windsor -hungry, scared and exhausted, with the help of a more experienced passenger she found a bus to Windsor (approx 4:00AM to 10:00AM on Dec 27/08) that cost $80.00

If I had for one minute thought that Air Canada was not going to follow through on their commitment get her to Windsor, I would have arranged ground transportation from Toronto to Windsor myself rather than paying the flight fee ($136) for that portion of the trip. If anyone at Air Canada had had the decency to let her know when exactly she was going to be rebooked to Windsor, she would not have taken a bus.

My husband and I have reconsidered booking an Air Canada prepackaged vacation for this winter with the apparent risk of being dumped in an airport with no answers. I respectfully request a refund for the flight from Toronto to Windsor (approx $136) or at the very least reimbursement for the $80 bus ticket.

- $80 bus fare + approx $136 for flight that didn't go and was not rebooked - emotional/physical duress (fear, worry, lack of sleep, lodging and food - restaurants closed) - safety - abandoned at Toronto airport in the middle of the night with a bunch of strangers in a strange city with no transporation,information or Air Canada employees available for consultation/information (only cleaning staff at the airport when passengers disembarked)

My children are expecting a visit from their dad. He gets time off once or twice a year to visit them for 4 or five days travelling from Bangkok Thailand to Halifax, nova Scotia. He is currently stuck in Toronto. They delayed the flight for about 5 hours and then told them it was cancelled and gave them a 1-800 number to call for air canada. No other assistance was offered. He has only 4 days with his daughters and has travelled so far only to be stranded by air canada.

I can not believe that they can cancell your flight and then expect you to find your way to you destination on your own. and pay for it. Still don't know how or even if he will manage to get here in the time alotted for the trip. There will be some very sad little girls for the next few days and a some very disappointed parents.

economic damage done- couple thousand dollars down the drain in travell costs with the possibility of not even seeing his daughters. The emotional damage- pain and suffering of the entire family I can only begin to imagine the fallout. We have been planning this since August.

I purchased 3 airline tickets for my father to travel after the death of my mother. These tickets were purchase over 2 months in advance. Within a month of his first flight to leave St.John's for Thunder Bay he has taken a heart attack and has been told he can't fly. AC charged a total of $1117.00 for the 3 flights and only issued a credit of $766.00. Then will charge $150.00 to rebook later. The third flight to get him back home will not be refunded or credit issued at all. They have had ample time to rebook the seats to somebody else and make even more money from them. Why is this corporate giant allowed to rob the public like this. I suggest they change thier name to AIR JAZZ because they are an embarrassment to Canadians and should not be permitted to use the word Canada in the name.

I will never again consider Air Canada for anything to do with travel.

Background: a flight from Calgary to Halifax = $248.50; flight from Calgary to Sydney (Nova Scotia) with a stopover in Halifax = $439.60 Issue: during TAKE OFF from Halifax heading towards Sydney the plane came to a halt on the runway. After sitting on the runway for 45 mins the pilot informs us that there is a problem with the spoiler (thats the thing that keeps the plane in the air btw) and that we have to go back to the terminal so they can get another.

After the hour delay mixed with mech problems, I found myself very uneasy with getting on the plane and opted to stay in Halifax with a friend whereas I was told there would be a partial refund of the flight cost because it was partially used to get from Calgary to Halifax.

REFUND: $70.30 when there is a $191.10 difference between flying to Halifax and flying to Sydney from Calgary. This is beside the fact that it was $40 cab to my friends place in Halifax and another $60 to get a shuttle cab from Halifax to Sydney. Moreover, it was a 6 week wait to get the refund and they refuse to answer emails regarding this issue.

I arrived well over two hours early for return flight from Toronto to LAX and checked in. Despite having chosen a seat during my internet ticket purchase, no seat assignment was printed on my boarding pass. Ticketing and luggage matters were handled smoothly initially.

Well before boarding commenced I lined up to receive seat assignment, but the single agent handling all pre-boarding matters was so busy with phone calls, etc., he required 40 minutes to service only the 8-10 passengers ahead of me. Consequently I was only assigned a seat at the very last minute-after standing unnecessarily in line-and boarded. I received a window seat but needed an aisle seat since I must use the toilet frequently. During the flight an attendant handed me a message stating that my luggage was not aboard the flight.

The boarding agent did not call for assistance, thus not only delaying the flight's departure, but the flight attendant then lied about the reason for delay in his PA announcement upon takeoff. The boarding agent had every reason to know that the luggage of last minute boarders would not be loaded, since security requires that flyer must be boarded-or at least have a seat assignment- before his luggage will be loaded. Since the boarding agent was so far behind, many other passengers had their luggage withheld, yet no steps were taken to augment the sole clerk at the lost baggage office at LAX, thus increasing delays for passengers since registering a lost bag is a fairly lengthy process.

The in flight video was screwed up from the beginning but it took the crew 30+ minutes to realize it and initiate a lengthy re-boot. When AC's video is not functioning it is maddening to deal with, since there is not indication that it is mis-booted. It simply acts as if it should work, but doesn't. Only 5 minutes before boarding the agent announced that the purser was not given change for on board purchases. At this point it would have been impossible for passengers to race 100 meters to attempt to get change. It was simply idiotic.

Air Canada refused to take my dog as checked baggage despite Canadian Transport Agency ruling then subsequently their own staff and communication problems I had - read small nightmare due to management policy Ihave lodged a formal complaint

- $409 - much anxiety - unnecessary anxiety for my dog - Air Canada ignoring intent of govt judicial body ruling

Air Canada's customer service is a fiasco, and the claims process is a bad joke. Air Canada is giving Canada a bad name, and I hope they finally self destruct sometime soon. I paid $1230 to fly round trip Victoria/Prince Rupert, BC in late August. When I arrived in Prince Rupert on August 20th, one of my bags was very badly damaged. The bag was ruined as (it looked like it was stuck in a conveyor) a huge hole was worn through the bag. Two items in the bag were also ruined and one item was lost due to this damage. AC has no process to deal directly with airport staff to initiate a claim.

I was given the run-around and eventually submitted a written claim. I spent a couple hours filling in AC forms and included original receipts to sustantiate a claim for over $500 in damage. I received a partial payment of $130 and a letter that denied liability for damage that was entirely the airlines doing. They basically deny liability for 99.9% of items that are commonly packed in baggage and deemed tariff restricted by AC. My goods were not fragile, in fact the destroyed items were ruggedly built and intended for rough use outdoors.

This attempt to deny responibility for damage AC obviously caused is heavy handed in my view. I spent several hours trying to deal directly with AC staff at both the Prince Rupert and Victoria airports. The agent in Victoria took my damaged bag and told me it would be replaced in a couple of weeks. It is 20 weeks later and still no replacement. I informed Ms. Lisa Ross (customer advisory rep.) on Oct 20th of this oversite, and I informed her that it will cost me $62.15 in addition to my original claim. I can only assume they want to deny liability for this too. Who knows what other options may be available to me to persue a claim? Is small claims court an option? On principle, I will follow up this matter in small claims court if this is an option. Bob K.

My cost to replace 3 damaged items and 1 lost item totals $570

aircanada.com crashed on afternoon of July 19, 2006 and did not come back online until morning of July 20, 2006. During that period, phone calls to the airlines reservation desk assured availability of seats on chosen itinerary at the displayed price - once the website was running again. They were unaware that their revenue management systems would close the inventory of seats at that price on the next calendar day.

Whether the length of the failure was unexpected or not, the airline should honor those purchasing tickets the next day at the originally available prices. It is only the airline's failure that prevented the purchases. After a full day of phone calls, I'm resorting to blogging the issue. This has to have affected a lot of travelers who may be unaware of what happened.

Airfare/price increase of USD41.93 due to website failure and no remediation by Air Canada.