Air Canada Reviews

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 didn’t 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. I was shocked!! Not only did the first employee give me false instructions by making me stand in the line instead of taking me ahead as he should have done, but the woman at the check in counter was very rude to me. Her attitude scared my six 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 doesn’t 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. After hearing this I checked with Air Canada's major Canadian competitor on their policies and they assured me that they would have done everything they possibly could to get me on the flight I was originally booked for. The employee did NOTHING and then standing there upset and not knowing what to do, she asked me if I could move aside so she could help somebody else while I decided. 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 weren’t able to get on the flight we were supposed to be on and had to wait in Regina for over 8 hours!!!!!! I myself, had to sit in the airport for over 4 hours with my children, ages 3 and 6. Having had breakfast already and anticipating being in Regina by 9:30 am I did not pack lunch for any of us, therefore I had to spend more money on that. 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!!!!!!! After I paid the extra amount to get on the flight and took a deep breath to calm down I approached the woman directing people at the start of the line who had replaced the man standing there earlier to get the man's name so I would have something to use when I filed a complaint..she was VERY rude to me and told me she didn't have to give me that information, and then turned her back on me. 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)

To: Customer Service, Air Canada From: Cindy MacFarlane 115 Union St, St Stephen, NB, E3L 1V9 506-466-5500 mckae@nb.sympatico.ca I recently purchased an Air Canada ticket Saint John NB to Windsor ON for Dec 26/08. This ticket was a major Christmas gift for my daughter Emily Floyd 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 - again they were not told who would get on and who would not -the passengers were disembarked (dumped into the Toronto airport) with a piece of paper and instructions to call 1-888-247-2262 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. Below is a quote from your website addressing flight cancellations, which appears to be either false advertising or blatant disrespect and lack of regard for customer service: Air Canada continues to monitor its operations closely and will continue to add capacity and flights where possible, and adjust its schedule in order to ensure its customers reach their destinations as soon as possible. We thank you for your understanding. 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. Respectfully, Cindy MacFarlane