Air Canada Reviews

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About Air Canada

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Air Canada delivers aviation transportation services, serving destinations across six continents through international, transborder and domestic routes. Founded in 1937, the airline maintains extensive cargo operations while offering multiple cabin classes and connecting regional markets through its network. Air Canada operates from hubs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Visit www.aircanada.com/home/us/en/aco/flights
Pros
  • Friendly and helpful staff
  • Good customer service experience
  • Timely flight arrivals
Cons
  • Poor communication during delays
  • Inconsistent baggage handling
  • High fees for changes and cancellations

Air Canada Reviews

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    Page 7 Reviews 867 - 1067
    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 15, 2017

    My son's bag did not make the same flight as him on 8th Jan 2016 from Phoenix to Dublin. Understanding this happens from time to time, he filed the relevant paperwork in Dublin and awaited delivery, anticipating it would arrive within the two days he was staying in Dublin. The bag arrived in Dublin 3 hours after he left for Barcelona - this was 3 days after he had arrived. He had previously shown the foresight to add a notation on the baggage claim form that he would leave for Barcelona on 11th Jan, and indeed (according to the tracking website) the bag arrived in Barcelona that same evening. Still all seemed like it was going as expected, if not exactly to plan.

    Since then he has been patiently awaiting his bag. Today (Saturday - 3 days after the bag arrived in Barcelona) he called the luggage desk at the airport and was told he could go to collect the bag rather than wait for delivery. He took a taxi there, only to be told the bag could not be located. So far, this is simply a series of unfortunate events (although wasting his day could probably have been avoided fairly easily). However, my problem is now with Air Canada not being available to provide any advice or guidance. I called their baggage service line and was put on hold for over half an hour before I gave up; I attempted online chat 3 hours ago and am STILL awaiting an agent to initiate the conversation. I emailed and have not even received confirmation that my email was received.

    My son is expecting to start school on Monday and needs his bag and its contents to do so. He is traveling on a student budget and is unable to replace his bag contents. This isn't a difficult problem to solve - we simply need a bag to be where it is supposed to be, and we need the airline and its representatives to take responsibility for doing so. However, my experience so far is that Air Canada and its agents are unreachable, incompetent or both. This is an appalling blot on what I anticipated would be a smooth and perhaps preferable route to Dublin which I visit often for both work and family, but at this point I would be a fool to do anything but stick with British Airways (who have certainly left my bag behind on more than one occasion, but were always able to have it catch up with me within one or two days at most).

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 14, 2017

    I am a disabled veteran. I am a frequent flyer, and have a lot of experience with air companies. I always fly with the same carry on, and never had problems. Today January 14 2017, I was flying from LAX to Toronto Canada. I was the only passenger that his carry on was measured. It was 0.5 centimeter longer!!! Other passengers were with a bigger carry on, and were allowed to take it on board! So I was not allowed to take it on board. I am a disabled person with stuff I need during the flight. Alex the supervisor was rude and unprofessional. I had to pack all my stuff in a small backpack. No more Air Canada for me!

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Jan. 8, 2017

    The 2016 Christmas was supposed to be a special due to a bad year of health and job loss. So my wife and I were invited by our American friends to spend Christmas in New York and New Year in Miami. Our outbound journey was BHX >DUB>YYZ>SYR. Yes I know 3 flights but as the time of booking that is all we could get and it was Aer Lingus followed by 2 flights with Air Canada. The flight from Dublin to Toronto was 3 hours late taking off but we were reassured by Air Canada that our connecting flight would be rebooked in the air and sure enough an hour before landing many passengers in the same situation were rebooked which I gave them 10 out of 10 for doing so. However as we were waiting in the lounge for our final flight an announcement was made to say the flight had been canceled due to routine maintenance. Really so why was it booked for us?

    The only flight now was to Rochester so we got that booked and then we were told the same story as the previous flight but they would get a plane over. We were assured that our checked baggage would be transferred with no problem. By now the connecting flight was some 4 hours late and our friends would have to drive from Syracuse to Rochester to pick us up. Eventually we took off and arrived at midnight. Guess what now no luggage. It had been left at Rochester Airport.

    SO after a 2-hour drive with our friends we spent a further 2 hours (it's now 4 am the following day) getting hold of someone to lodge missing/delayed baggage. I won't bore you with rest of it but we eventually got our luggage at 3 pm on Christmas Day!! Bearing in mind we flew out on the 23rd December. Just to add further pain we had delayed flights on the way back and guess what lost luggage again, but it did arrive the following. All in all they do not even deserve any rating whatsoever!!!

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 7, 2017

    I wrote to Air Canada -- no response. I am writing to express my disappointment and anger with my recent journey to Varadero, Cuba. I have been to Cuba numerous times in the past with no problems. I was expecting much more with an "Air Canada vacation." I know to lower my Western standards in this beautiful country and the people, and the beaches thankfully helped make our vacation a relatively pleasant one.

    The problems started when I was notified by email that our flight changed to a 10 p.m. departure from YVR. This meant an over 8 hour layover in Toronto rather than the original same-day flight. We found another passenger who had the same experience and was given a hotel room to stay in due to the inconvenience. Nothing was offered to us, even when I had to call a week ahead of the flight to ask about our 30 day confirmation email I was supposed to get. We found out at YYZ that an earlier flight went out that we could have easily taken.

    Thankfully we had lounge passes for Air Canada. We went to the domestic lounge to use them and your employee examined the passes, and said we should instead go to the international lounge as it was better. We did that and they notified us that our passes were no good, and could do nothing for us. We were unable to go back to domestic due to our international ticket. There was absolutely no accommodating our needs and being accountable to providing us false information. I expect when I deal with a company that I can trust their words. We were furious and had to make do with uncomfortable airport seating for 8 hours after being up all night.

    When we arrived in Varadero, we could deplane as the paperwork wasn't complete so we had to wait about 20 minutes. We then boarded the bus and couldn't leave till about an hour later as Air Canada lost some people's luggage. We arrived quite late to the hotel and missed dinner other than some scraps left over. We proceeded to our hotel room and en route, bulbs were burned out, ceilings were falling apart, steps were broken, walls were crumbling, doors were broken, and elevators were shut down for good. It was like walking into a shanty town.

    We get into the room and the place had lights broken, lamp shades melted, a phone that didn't work, a shower that was missing parts on the tap, and pillows that lacked any support. Worst of all were the bugs that scattered off the bed when I took off the cover. It was disgusting! I went to the front desk to complain and change rooms, and they could do nothing. We had to sleep with bugs crawling around.

    The next morning I spoke to the Air Canada rep as I tried to call the number on the ticket to complain to you directly and the call couldn't connect. Miguel was nice and tried to help out. He looked into another hotel but it would have cost us $500 extra. He told the managers to give us a villa room instead and asked us to check with the front desk later as they had nothing for us yet.

    We went back to the front desk at 3 p.m. and had the choice between two rooms, not in the villa, despite what Miguel instructed them to do. The new room was better and moved our things there. This whole change wasted more of our vacation time, as well as the anger we had in tolerating bugs and a ** room. In our new room we never received our beach towels despite a few requests with the front desk. It took two days to get new towels. Then toilet paper took another day at one point in time.

    A couple of days later our toilet stopped working and it took all day to get it fixed as we were told that the mechanic knocked on our door twice to fix it and we were not there. We were never told we had to be and also, who would expect a client to wait for a mechanic to fix a toilet?!!! I am on vacation. These experiences made our vacation very frustrating and we made the most of it. I am shocked that this is ranked as a 3 - 3.5 star. We were treated by Air Canada and the hotel like 1 stars.

    On the return trip I requested to the Air Canada agent in Varadero to seat us close to the front of the plane as we had a connecting flight. We boarded the plane and realized we were placed in row 31 of 32 rows! If that wasn't enough, the food items were very scarce by the time it was our turn. All they had was one pizza and macaroni and cheese with snacks limited to junk food. The flight attendants were very unfriendly and unapologetic; very matter of fact and never saw one smile on their faces as they served guests.

    I would also suggest you review the hotels you place guests in and have them and your Air Canada staff treat guests with greater respect and dignity. The only one to do so was your representative at the hotel. I truly believe that customer service is the one differentiator companies have left and the way "economy" passengers are treated is appalling. I expect a prompt response to this. I fly both Air Canada and West Jet regularly for business and this treatment to me and my wife is unacceptable, and didn't make our experience a true vacation.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 6, 2017

    I originally had a direct flight to Ft Lauderdale from Halifax which was cancelled and re-scheduled for the next day which didn't work for me. I did manage to get it back to the original day but am now missing most of the day which I had planned for in Ft Lauderdale. Even this flight time was changed a few times afterwards with minor adjustments in departure times. Now I'm within 24 hrs of a major snow storm 30-40cm and AC won't change my flight until they deem there is a problem!!! I guess it's okay for them to randomly change my flights around but when it comes to a real problem I'm left in the lurch. Way to go Air Canada. Talk about poor customer service. Don't think I'll be flying with them again.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 2, 2017

    I am very disappointed and I feel like a fool for trusting Air Canada. I have made a yearly round trip BOG-Toronto-BOG since 2011 and was happy until this one, with the flight, staff and Air Canada in general. You then without letting me know at the time of purchase tricked me by not letting me know that I was going to fly with AC but instead with Rouge. Seats were extremely uncomfortable, staff were rude, no TV screens, at the check-in offered an upgrade which I accepted and then did not delivered...

    Now I find out that I have to take the same air carrier (Rouge) which if I knew I would have flown with someone else, so I tried to get info or try to figure out how much it would be to fly in Business by phone and it took me 30 mins on the queue and 45 min for the guy on the phone to try to figure out the price... CA$740. Not happy at all. Will not fly with you ever again and will go to social media and add one more bad experience to the others your company has online and word of mouth.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Dec. 22, 2016

    The Canadian aviation needs a total overhaul! I can't believe Canadians are willing to fork out that outraged airfares for a low service! As a Canadian expat in Asia, accustomed to the 5-star services of Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and Japan Airlines when I returned to Canada flying the domestic segment was so appalling! Even the international segment was not at par with any of the Asian carriers but at least because of foreign competition, AC was no too far behind but neither great.

    To my fellow Canadians, I don't know why you folks are so afraid of foreign investments into the aviation business? It's time to be customer focused and get rid of those unions. No doubt it's no bad to be an AC staff because they milked the customers and feed their staff with outrageous benefits. I know because a friend of mine works for AC. Canadians are so lagging behind in aviation and the mobile technologies. Come to Asia and see how are we Canadians are so behind. Ditch those unions blocking the progress!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 16, 2016

    This is by far the absolute WORST experience with an airline I have ever had. The customer no service agents absolutely take total advantage of your time and unfortunate mishaps in life and have absolutely no problem at all taking all of your money and never looking back. I would GREATLY DISCOURAGE ANYONE getting a TN Visa book a flight on Air Canada. The agent had reassured us that the ticket was refundable if anything went wrong and upsold the useless insurance as well. The agent laughed at me on the phone said it was our fault because we should have known the TN visa could not be issued and we were ignorant and uneducated.

    WHAT? WAS HE DRUNK? The border MANDATES you get a ticket BEFORE APPLICATION, it is a requirement of IMMIGRATION. He then told us that all I could do was change my flight for a huge fee and that was our problem. Yes, he used the words, "your problem". He said I would be better off staying at home if this is the case and maybe shouldn't be working. Absolutely unbelievable and totally sexist and prejudice. I would like the attorney general in Washington to know about this and am planning on filing a complaint. Everyone in the US should call or write to the office in Washington at: (202) 785-5980.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Dec. 16, 2016

    I traveled to Toronto from Istanbul by Air Canada on 18th July 2016. They lost my luggage as usual. I'm writing this comment on 15 December 2016 and they still couldn't find my luggage. Also they have not paid my money that they have to pay. I have sent countless email to them about that. They have never responded yet. I'm preparing to go to court before I leave Canada. Whenever I call their customer service they only say "we are so sorry we apologise". They never inform me clearly about my luggage's situation.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 14, 2016

    This is a complaint about some very unfair harassing, disrespectful and uncalled for treatment I experienced from flight attendants onboard flight AC 26 from Shanghai to Vancouver on December 3rd 2016. I am a very quiet shy female of Indian decent. I have to wear a bandana on my head due to an embarrassing hair loss condition which makes me even more shy and has eroded my self esteem. Immediately upon boarding I did notice most of the flight attendants were older on the aircraft. One particular flight attendant named 'Nazareno' I believe was his name had greying short facial hair. I feel, he was acting like a Demi God dispensing commands over his 'empire' within the aircraft.

    He made me feel as though he was 'picking' on me, singling me out. I was sick with a bad cold and very stressed from a long tiring trip in China where I had suffered food poisoning and diarrhea of which I still had residual symptoms aboard this flight. At the beginning of the flight I walked to the back galley and asked for a few refills of water there because I was extremely thirsty and feeling dehydrated. Nazareno seemed irritated with me and asked if I was sick and asked whether I had a fever that I must notify him because if that was the case I was not allowed to travel like that and would have to get off the flight!!! The flight had already taken off and was well in the air by this point!

    I told him I was sick with a cold and cough and had suffered severe food poisoning and illness in China. He seemed unsympathetic. I also witnessed my husband ask another female flight attendant in the back galley to fill his water bottle, so he could take some medication. She politely did. Only after she had done so, Nazareno who had witnessed the other flight attendant filling my husband's water bottle did he say it's against Air Canada policy to fill water bottles for passengers. This didn't make sense to watch the other flight attendant doing it and then make such a statement after the fact!? Many of the statements Nazareno was making were nonsensical as well as nasty and harassing.

    At the meal service I asked for a red wine and shared it with my husband. I was sharing all my wine with my husband. I asked for a second wine when the bar service came around after dinner, to try to relax. I shared this with my husband also. We were already about four hours into the flight and I went to the back galley to ask for a wine where I encountered Nazareno. At this point I had only 1 wine. This flight attendant Nazareno was immediately 'nasty' with me stating that the bar is now closed. He was interrogating me about whether I had a wine at dinner. I explained I had only half. He told me the bar is now closed. He had no right but unreasonably refused me service. He refused to give me a wine telling me he has the discretion to refuse anybody wine. It was clear I was not in any way intoxicated. I was completely sober. He insisted he has had 30 years of experience and that I will have to wait.

    He refused me any service without valid reason!!! I was in disbelief. I told him I intended to complain about his rude and harassing treatment. He refused to give his name. I was stressed already and was becoming more stressed after all the resistance and bad attitude from Nazareno and found this flight attendant being nasty and unreasonable and purposefully rude, and unfair with me. He knew very well I was not drinking unreasonably. Naturally I was explaining my case to him, feeling like I had to beg this man for a drink. Only because I was questioning him as to why he was treating me so badly was he becoming impatient and annoyed and asked me if I want to talk to someone in charge. I said yes that I did because I have paid my airline fare and have the right to have a wine. He called to someone over the phone and eventually another male attendant came to talk to me.

    While waiting in the galley, Nazareno continued arguing making a big deal out of nothing. He started telling other flight attendants things about me as I started to leave to return to my seat which was near the rear of the plane, because I was finding it painful and stressful talking to Nazareno. He was making no sense. I feel that Nazareno dislikes his job and takes it out on passengers like myself and my husband. He was trying for some reason to falsely give the other flight attendants the idea I was over drinking. This was ridiculous because it was evident I was completely sober. However this rude man made me feel embarrassed in front of other passengers as I was being accused of raising my voice which wasn't the case. I was only arguing my point that I only had 1 wine at dinner. Of course I felt upset. I am human after all and felt this man was harassing me for some unknown reason.

    He then accused me of causing an 'altercation' only because I was disputing his refusal of service. I also asked him what was the problem and why is he giving me a hard time for no reason. Asking him why is he not serving me a wine when clearly I am not over drinking. Is this an altercation??? I do not think so. Before I left the galley, he had called another older gentleman flight attendant who was supposedly in charge to speak with me. He had much better customer service skills and an ability to de-escalate rather than escalate and cause stress and problems where non is warranted. I asked him if he thought I was perfectly sober. He said yes then he doesn't disagree. I explained to the second male attendant that I felt Nazareno was picking on me and causing trouble for me. This second male attendant eventually brought me a wine.

    I noticed Nazareno was scarcely in my area now and not serving the aisle where I was sitting anymore because I had told him prior during the unreasonable refusal of service, that I wanted his name because I intend to complain about his harassing, unfair treatment towards me. I thought this nonsense was over with when the bar service came around again more than 6 hours into the flight. I ordered a wine and was given same by a polite oriental attendant. Then a blond, larger older woman flight attendant I believe her name is Carol, approached me and interrupted my movie warning me again that this wine will be my last wine for a while!! She said all the crew have been watching me and talking about my wine consumption and that it's their job to pace people by having no more than one drink in 1 hour. I said it's over six hours into the flight and I haven't had anywhere near to that amount.

    She started causing an embarrassing scene in front of everyone making me out to be a troublesome passenger who needs to be warned. It was very rude and uncalled for again. She again disturbed me by starting to argue in the middle of the aisle which was ridiculous and very uncalled for and again I felt as though I was really being picked on for some reason. All of this had been instigated by Nazareno. Carol could see visually that I was fine and not in any way drunk or acting disorderly. I was sitting quietly in my seat. I pointed out this very fact to her and again and she couldn't disagree. I was again left feeling embarrassed and singled out. I told her that I feel I'm being harassed, and unfairly treated and will make a complaint. I asked for Nazareno's name but she refused to give it out citing I can just describe him in my complaint but names of crew are not given out. I found it ridiculous when all the crew wear name tags!

    It seemed to me the flight attendants were all sticking together backing this Nazareno even though he was the very person instigating problems and stress. I tried to ask another flight crew his name and was told those name tags are not their real names! At the conclusion of the flight I had gone to the back of the plane where Nazareno was situated again, upon arrival in Vancouver to get Nazareno's name but he refused to give me his name and he even went so far to attempt to hide it from me with his arm and he then made a scene by calling the Captain on loudspeaker to say I AM harassing him! Only because I'm asking for his name!!! I didn't think that is harassment! It was all unbelievable. I left because I had managed to glance at his name tag. Air Canada makes announcements on the loudspeaker in the aircraft telling passengers to ask the crew for anything to make them feel more comfortable and make the flight more enjoyable.

    This is far from what I experienced. I was already stressed out to start with and I felt some of the airline attendants seemed to do everything in their power to make me feel more stressed and literally try to push me over the edge. Luckily I am not aggressive enough to cause any problems, but felt Nazareno was looking to instigate trouble for me. I felt he was trying to push me over the edge. That he was trying to be the straw to break the camel's back so to speak. I hear about air rage incidents on the news and have sympathy for those passengers knowing how unfairly and unreasonably I myself have been treated and feeling maybe nasty flight attendants like Nazareno and Carol caused them to snap. I feel that he and Carol are not nice people and definitely not professional employees. They and others like them are a disgrace to Air Canada.

    I find some of the crew on many Air Canada flights in my experience are downright nasty and act as though they are on a power trip. They act like tyrants and feel they can do so with impunity. They make stressful flights worse not better or more comfortable. I am not surprised to hear about air rage incidents with the type of flight attendants like Nazareno and Carol working for Air Canada. They certainly did not make me as a passenger feel relaxed or comfortable. I have experienced this disrespectful treatment on this and other Air Canada flights. If people are treated with respect they will respond accordingly. It's only natural human behavior. The nasty harassing treatment I received made me feel singled out and persecuted. I felt I was harassed, disrespected and treated very unfairly by Nazareno, Carol and some of the other flight attendants. It was completely unjustified.

    I agree with not letting someone over drink, but this was clearly not in my case. I almost feel these crew are trying to be tight with the liquor so that they can keep it for themselves. They were acting like a pharmacy dispensing narcotics!! All together I had only had 2 and one half wine on the entire 9-10 hour flight.

    I wonder if Air Canada management know about some of the poor quality, nasty unprofessional staff they have working for them. This very poor service. I feel I was treated so badly. I feel like filing a human rights complaint because I feel as though my basic human rights for dignified treatment were completely violated and for the pain and suffering caused to me by Nazareno and other Air Canada crew on this particular flight. I have flown countless times for business and pleasure with Air Canada.

    Many of the Air Canada flight crew I have encountered have been extremely rude and disrespectful crossing the line of human decency and respect. I feel that these flight attendants feel justified somehow to take out their frustrations on passengers freely. I feel that flight crew 'feel' justified it's their right to disrespect and be rude and unfair to customers indiscriminately at their will should they choose to with impunity. I dread taking Air Canada flights because of the nasty treatment I often experience from the flight attendants only on Air Canada. I feel some of the crew need training in how to treat people respectfully and attendants who have had years of experience I find are the most rude and seem to be on a power trip due to their seniority. I feel this man, Nazareno was biased towards me for some unknown reason. It was very hurtful to experience this. I feel I was made to feel less than a human being.

    The crew have the power to make a big difference to whether a passenger has a stress free and enjoyable flight. Because of Nazareno, I was left feeling like I was going to have a nervous breakdown after all I had been through. I felt like crying because I was so upset and still had the Vancouver to Toronto leg of my flight to fly with a four hour stopover and no sleep. I had been awake all night for 9-10 hours on the long tiring flight with a nasty bunch of flight attendants on a power trip. I am very shocked at the bad and disrespectful treatment I got from Air Canada. Flight attendants on this particular flight has been the worst I have experienced so far.

    It was the most awful experience to end my holiday in China flying with Air Canada. My experience with the nasty, harassing, unfair and disrespectful treatment from Nazareno, Carol and other flight crew on Air Canada has been enough to cause me to choose another airline in future even I have to pay a little more. Beware if you encounter this crew and try not to ask for service in order to avoid same experience or better still use another carrier for a peaceful more dignified flight experience.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 10, 2016

    I was traveling with family of two kids and husband from New York to Toronto on December 2nd 2016. As per rule you have to board according to your zones. So, we did. When we reached inside and started putting our stuff the carryon bags, to our surprise the cabin up the seats were already taken by other people. So the Air hostess came and instead of helping us, she started staring at us. When I started making some room for our bags, she interfered and said this all is full now. Look for some other place. We told her it is on our seats. She replied "oh it's first come first serve." You have to keep it on your laps or just put it on floor. Her name was EMILLIE. Very rude, so unpleasant. The whole flight of one hour and 45 minutes I kept my coats and bags on my laps and we divided some between our kids also. we only got room for one bags very far from us.

    This is the customer service they give. Either I should have argued with her on this matter or kept quiet. because they have the right to throw us out of the flight and make any excuse. My flight **. DO NOT FLY BY AIR CANADA. TILL POSSIBLE. THEY ARE R... **. She was so kind and nice to the white family who were just behind us. Because that lady offered to take back her coats down and make some room for us. And this AIR HOSTESS refused her and told her "no no it's ok." As all the people who boarded before us have all their bags laptops, three to four jackets up in the cabin. What the hell? Why can't THEY HAVE THEIR jackets on their laps? Why this difference between people? What are they told in training that you have to prefer your own country people and ignore every other human race...

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 3, 2016

    On November 21, 2016, I booked a ticket for my son Adam ** to travel from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale for a medical procedure (for which I had prepaid $8,200.00 USD) on December 01, 2016, under reservation code MINAXE. He was to travel with his service dog, Duke, for whom I had been in contact with the Air Canada Medical desk all week to ensure his seats have been designated and confirmed on the flight. I personally paid for Adam's flight using my credit card as I often do with my three kids, Adam **, Sasha **, and Alyn ** who study abroad. At the time of booking I was issued a Reservation Code - MINAXE; a receipt confirmation of this transaction along with the confirmed itinerary; and confirmation of medical approval for Adam and his service dog. At no time, was I told Adam would have to bring a credit card to prove payment thereof prior to enabling him to travel.

    It took Adam three hours to drive to the airport from the suburbs. He arrived at the airport, as required, two and a half hours prior to his flight. The system did not permit Adam to check in 24 hrs prior indicating he would be required to check in at the airport, with no reason given. Adam thought it may be due to his service dog attending with him. Upon arriving at the airport, Adam was asked to present the agent with a credit card, which of course he did not have, for the flight was booked by me (his mother) using my credit card which was in my possession in Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately, I was in Fort Lauderdale having flown out on the 28th of November in preparation for his surgery and to receive him on the 30th as per his booking and therefore was not able to get to the airport in Toronto in order to present Air Canada ticket agent with my credit card which they physically wanted to see prior to issuing Adam a boarding pass.

    Adam was asked whether he purchased the ticket on his credit card and he indicated he didn't know. It was his mother who purchased his flight tickets for him. Adam called me to explain the situation at which time I spoke with a ticket agent handling this matter and explained the purchase and further provided via text message, a photo of my credit card number, my itinerary and confirmation of Adams flight received from Air Canada upon confirmation of booking and payment, a copy of my Amex statement indicating proof of payment using my Amex Card, along with correspondence to and from Air Canada Medical Desk pertaining to this reservation.

    Irrespective of this, Adam, along with his dog, were denied boarding and greatly traumatized at a time when he is already disadvantaged having the need for an emotional support dog as well having to deal with a medical emergency. As a result of Air Canada's negligence in first accepting payment and issuing a ticket upon which plans were made, in this case, it pertained to a medical emergency, has left us not only jeopardizing Adam's health for a missed procedure, but furthermore, caused us to lose the $8,200.00 prepaid for this procedure which was not refundable. Adam had a valid ticket with Air Canada with authorization to travel with his support dog, Duke, as indicated in my emails attached herein.

    It is beyond comprehension, when a ticket is purchased, a reservation code is provided, along with a confirmation of itinerary and confirmation of price, and plans are made accordingly, in this case a medical emergency booked, only to learn that Air Canada had the power to wrongly renege on its ticket issued and deny Adam to board and make his flight to Fort Lauderdale. After repeatedly calling Air Canada Customer service I was denied access to a manager or a supervisor to assist me in this regard. All agents indicated there was nothing they can do.

    I am unsure if this flight was oversold and it was a tactic used to deny a passenger from boarding his flight, or whether there were other reasons only known to Air Canada, but this is wrong. Both Adam and his dog suffered tremendously having made a three hour drive to the airport and then given the runaround and traumatized by the events leading up to them finally not able to travel despite having paid for and being confirmed on the flight to Fort Lauderdale for November 30, 2016, at 16:35 pm. They were both stranded at the airport overnight with absolutely no accommodations provided by the airline for their wrong. Air Canada made no effort to correct its wrong or accommodate him despite desperate pleas by both he and myself.

    What was even more astounding is that even after crying over the telephone and pleading with agents to help with over 13 calls, I was either misrepresented, lied to, or hung up on with no one willing to help, and when I finally reached someone by the name of Christian **, who identified himself as a Customer Service Manager from Tampa, I was informed that there was nothing much he could do. As you can see, this is appalling! No one should have to succumb to so much suffering over the handling of this by Air Canada, and yet after notifying them of an emergency health crisis, still decided it was not going to do anything to assist in undoing its wrong in the first instance. Air Canada is always looking to put the blame elsewhere and they never seem to have senior managers or supervisors available to handle and immediately deal with crisis situations such as this.

    Upon reviewing others who have cared to leave reviews about Air Canada and its staff online, I noticed, Air Canada enjoys a lowly review of 1 out of 5 stars, with many disgruntled passengers who have been poorly treated and mishandled with customer service at the lowest possible level. All you have to do is go online and read the many reviews people have left online, along with racial accusations of Air Canada, in its dealings with its customers. The ratings clearly reflect the level of distrust, frustration and suffering witnessed at the hands of Air Canada.

    My next step is to commence a legal claim against Air Canada for all damages suffered hereunder, and to make all aware of Air Canada's business practices with its customers. Something must be done! No business would survive this type of poor business practices, unless it enjoys the monopoly Air Canada enjoys (with the exception of WestJet). This matter needs to be looked into. This was not my first occurrence of this nature with Air Canada. I along with countless parents book seats all the time for our kids who study abroad, who have no access to credit cards if they are travelling alone. If Air Canada is going to implement such security requirements, it must inform customers who purchase tickets for their kids to ensure their kids won't be subjected to this type of trauma when arriving at the airport to board their flights with Air Canada.

    I am a loyal Air Canada traveller who travels immensely and book my kids with Air Canada all the time with quite a few trips booked in the New Year. I have booked a flight for my son Alyn who is returning home for Christmas, and then heading to Florida for a week's vacation with his friends. Will he be succumbed to this again? When asked Air Canada what steps I can take to ensure this doesn't happen again in the future, I had no answers nor recommendations from Air Canada. I don't know at this point how kids whose tickets are bought by parents are being subjected to abandonment at the airport with no notice or warning from Air Canada. Unless of course, our family has been wrongly targeted as a result of our skin colour, for this is not the first time my kids have been traumatized in this manner by Air Canada. THIS IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE AND WRONG AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE.

    In addition to looking for compensation for damages suffered as a result of Air Canada's refusal to honor the Air Canada ticket lawfully purchased for my son, it is my intention to also proceed with my story with the Toronto Star as well as CBC so that awareness can be made by those who have suffered needlessly as a result of Air Canada's business practices and its poor customer service practices. I am urging all those who want to join me in commencing a class action lawsuit against Air Canada to contact me or my counsel so that we can finally force Air Canada to make changes to the manner in which it handles its business practice and customer service. In addition to numerous phone calls to Air Canada, a letter was also sent through Air Canada's complaint email, all of which have thus far been ignored and no response received by us.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 2, 2016

    I booked return flights from Calgary to San Juan for Christmas. When I booked back in September 2016 they only had business class on the outbound flight. I checked the website often in October and November and saw that there were business class seats available. I called about 7 times over the last 30 days to the "customer service line" they provided 1-866-529-2079. I am hoping to upgrade my return flight to business class. Each time I was on hold for 2-3 hours, and eventually I had to give up waiting.

    I tried contacting other phone numbers on Air Canada websites, but got directed to this same phone number everytime. Some of the people answering their calls were not friendly and would cut me off or transferring me without warning me so. I sent 2 emails now to their other "Customer Care" and they don't even bother getting back to me. I have concluded that once they got your money, the care stops! There are many other competitors out there. I learned my bitter lesson with Air Canada and will give my business somewhere else.

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    Reviewed Nov. 30, 2016

    Terrible experience. I've never seen less legroom. I'm using up the last my Aeroplan miles then I will never fly with them again. There's so many better options out there. Air Canada and Aeroplan are affiliated and they are absolutely terrible.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 30, 2016

    Was travelling with Air Canada from YYZ-BLR via Frankfurt, with my wife and 2 little daughters. Air Canada did not issue a boarding pass from FRA to BLR, they quoted technical problem with the system. When we reached Frankfurt, we were shocked to know from the boarding desk that our tickets were cancelled without any reason or resolution. We had to run around the airport to locate Air Canada staff. They acted like it is an everyday affair, and asked me to wait 2 hours to get me tickets to a different flight. They finally gave me a reference number for a flight that departed 9 hours later and vacated the premises. They did not offer us any help and we were left to fend ourselves in the airport with no local currency.

    9 hours later, the code share airlines said that they did not have any tickets for us. They were considerate to call Air Canada themselves to sort out the issue. It took another 2 hours to sort the issue and we could finally board the flight from Frankfurt to another unplanned transit airport, Delhi. When we arrived there, our baggage was missing. And as expected, there were no tickets to our final destination. The other airlines continued to be courteous and talked to Air Canada again to re-book our tickets to final destination BLR. We reached BLR almost a day later. Our baggage arrived 5 days later. Our return journey was very similar. The check in desk was on phone with Air Canada for 2 hours before they could issue our tickets.

    On return, I reported the issue to the Service desk. They were very inhospitable. It was the same attitude throughout. It took them 3 months to tell me that they do not have a clue about what caused the glitch. And they said, as "good will", if I book tickets on AirCanada.com for full price for a future journey, they will waive off 25% of base price. I told the agent that I do not want any coupon, I need to know why inconvenience was caused, she said she does not care about what I want. I asked to talk to her supervisor, and she wished me good luck with that. I am now writing this in sheer exasperation about Air Canada's rude behavior. I would avoid this airlines in my future journeys.

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    Reviewed Nov. 21, 2016

    Today I went to the Air Canada website to buy a return ticket from Toronto to Phoenix. Looking at availability I decided to chose a Business Class outbound because it seemed like a reasonable deal, but the return Business Class was higher than I would like to pay so I selected to travel back in Economy Class. So out in Business, back in Economy.

    But before confirming the reservation I thought I'd just check how much more the Business/Economy ticket would be compared to an Economy/Economy ticket, and I couldn't believe what came back! The same Flex Economy ticket for Phoenix to Toronto costs $110 MORE when matched with a Business outbound compared to when it's a simple Economy return! Why?

    Why should I pay more for my return portion because I bought a Business Class on the outbound? Does Air Canada have some warped view that if I can afford a Business Class ticket one-way then I must be good for a higher priced Economy coming the other way?? And this has nothing to do with discounted Economy tickets selling out and becoming unavailable when I made my 2nd query - I did the same query over 2 hours later with the exact same result. I would love someone at Air Canada to explain to me the rationale for this and why I should not feel like they're trying to rip me off.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 20, 2016

    Our complaint relates to flight AC030 on Sept 27,2016 from Beijing to Vancouver. Our seats had been booked and paid for in April 2016. We had confirmed seating in aisle seats 27g and 27h. We discovered we had been moved to the middle seats in row 64, the very last row without notification. We were the 5th customers served at the check in counter as we had arrived 35 minutes before the ticketing office opened. The ticketing agent and AC representative both said all the seats were changed because AC changed planes, but could not explain why we had not reassigned aisle or why we were given the middle seats on the last row, the worse seats on the plane. They said there was nothing that they could do. The AC representative told us to complain on the website and he was happy to give us his name because he knew nothing would happen.

    We both have health issues so that is why we had requested aisle seats. If AC had told us six months ago when we purchased our tickets that we would be assigned middle seats on the last row, we would have not have taken this flight. Getting the seats we paid for is part of the contract between us and AC. It took AC six weeks to respond to our complaint. They blamed the computer system for reassigning us from aisle seats in the middle of the plane to the middle seats on the last row. Our booking system automatically reseats customers on the new aircraft, and sometimes the exact same seating options may not be. AC offered us the standard discount on a future flight, but since we do not have any need to fly next year AC offered us nothing of value.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 16, 2016

    Worst customer service I faced with Air Canada. We had newborn baby travelling to USA from New Delhi. We bought ticket through agency but was never informed about transit visa during booking. When we were at airport, we were denied tickets & denied flying. Airport staff of Air Canada was pathetic and damn rude, they only said it's our fault of not having visa. We requested them a number of times if something can be done for the newborn, then he suddenly started typing something for 15 minutes, I thought he is doing something for us. After 15 mins when I checked, "did you able to find anything for us," he said "no I was doing my own work." Come on. When customer is standing in front of you at least you can inform them about it. It's not us. There were around 15 passengers who had faced this issue. We had to run from here & there to get new ticket from another airline but Air Canada officials were not concerned.

    My simple questions to them was that it's ok. It's our fault that we didn't have visa, but then what's your responsibility when you send every day 15 people home. At least you as responsible carrier can inform passenger a week before about making sure of visa. If not at least you can have something at counter that we need transit visa, after standing in queue for hours, we get our turn then we have to listen that we don't have transit visa. At least it could have saved time for people to get another flight. I am very much fed up from airline and its officials. They are happy to overbook the flight and then send passenger home and making money. It's very pathetic airline & I recommend not to fly again.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 13, 2016

    My wife and I used Air Canada to return to Montreal from Fort Lauderdale (flight 1609, Sunday October 30th), and it was almost impossible to be served in one of the official language as mentioned on your website: Our brand is the manifestation of the promise we make to our customers. In short, our brand is all about who we are, what we do and how well we do it. Offering service to our customers in their language of choice is an integral part of how well we do our job. Air Canada's goal is to make sure that every customer gets the most consistent, enjoyable and safe travel experience and leaves with a positive lasting impression.

    Unfortunately the impression left by this travel experience is very negative. Air Canada seems to have no respect for French speaking Canadians since it does not have the decency to put some French speaking flight attendants on a flight to Montreal. Call me an OLD GRUMPY OLD MAN, but this old man is really insulted when one of your flight attendant asked us to point to images on your menu. We had never been served this way on other airlines (Lufthansa, Swiss, Alitalia). They seem to regard their customers with more respect than Air Canada. On the other hand, we would be very happy with the service if we were English speaking passengers and would probably recommend the names of the flight attendants for the Dialogue Award but we are not and would certainly not recommend any names.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 11, 2016

    AVOID AIR CANADA (AC) if you can, there are other airlines you can fly which will provide much better flying experience. Last August my wife and I had to fly with Air Canada from Washington to Toronto. Because of some circumcises, I had to change our tickets (in good time and according to their rules) to Washington Montreal. I was promised to get a refund for my old ticket. For months now they play with us in a very ridiculous way, even though they have all the necessary documentations from us. Until sometime ago they said, it is too late now for a refund. This is their strategy.

    It is unbelievable that AC does not emphasize their refund system or there is something else bigger in order for extra earnings in their pockets. I found out later that the complaint list is too long for AC and we are not the only cheated and disappointed customers. We travel extensively and have flown internationally with other airlines, but Air Canada was the only airline that has underperformed and continuously disappointed us. Absolutely awful customer service. Please share this, in order to protect other people like us.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 10, 2016

    Booked my flight in May 2016 with Air Canada to Orlando for Oct. 2016. My trip was planned perfectly. So I thought! From Toronto to Orlando then shuttle to my well deserved 7 day cruise. I get to the airport...check in 3 hours early with my friend. I get to the counter 30 min. before boarding and tell them I don't have a seat and at check in they would not give me a seat as well and 24 hours before I could not check in online! OK...to make this short my friend and I got denied boarding, missed half our cruise. Paid out of pocket to make it to St.Thomas and paid for hotel there too (not cheap especially last min. booking). Air Canada could not accommodate a flight. We had to book with Delta.

    So now trying to get my money back for flight and hotel. Sent 4 emails, mailed out a package to customer relations and faxed them. Still no reply! How is this not wrong? Not even an apology!!! Just a standard email reply that all customers get!!! Air Canada...you need to compensate me for my trip! This is not fair! You have to contact me by phone and I want an explanation as to why no one gets back to me!

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 9, 2016

    On July 14, 2016 my elderly mother, wife and I had an Air Canada flight from London ON to Toronto then to Paris France. As instructed we confirmed our flight 24 hours prior to departure. We arrived at London International airport on July 14th, 2 hours prior to departure where we were informed that the flight to Toronto was cancelled. Because we had a connecting flight leaving at 6 pm I asked the check-in agent if there was an alternative way of getting us to Toronto. She said no there was not. She did tell us that she could get us onto a WestJet flight but we would need to claim our luggage in Toronto, get a shuttle to the Air Canada terminal and then check-in our luggage again. She told us that if we did that then we most certainly would miss our connecting flight.

    I asked if Air Canada would provide us with a taxi ride to Toronto. She told us that we could submit a request for reimbursement when we returned from our trip, but she could not provide us with a taxi voucher. As we were dropped off at London International Airport, we had no other choice but to take a cab at a cost to me of $250. On the way to Toronto, the cab driver told us that the cab we were following also had passengers distant for Toronto from the same cancelled flight and that they had been given a taxi voucher by a different check-in agent.

    Upon returning to Canada we contacted Air Canada who informed us that they would not reimburse us for the cab ride and that I would need to put a claim through my trip insurance company. They declined because they do not reimburse for cab ride, they informed me that Air Canada should reimburse me for that.

    Today I received from Air Canada a refund of $29.98 for 3 passengers. I would like anyone who is in the process of planning to travel to seek other airlines that can cancel a flight at any time without considering the ramification that it leaves the passengers in. There are other airlines.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 26, 2016

    My fiancé and I left Brisbane bound for Canada for a 30 day holiday of a lifetime. In her possession was a Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge (not a Samsung NOTE). The captain of that flight announced the warning of the Samsung Note was not to be used on that flight or attempts to made to be charged with the onboard charge ports. Warning noted thinking that even though hers was not the type in question but she still chose to turn it "off" just in case! That was fine up until we were on board returning to Brisbane on the night of the 23/10/2016. Just before the doors to the plane were to be shut the captain of this flight announced the same warnings of "Samsung NOTE" and who ever had one to please identify to the cabin supervisor.

    My fiancé was upgraded to business class due to receiving blood clots to her lungs on arriving to Canada and was being escorted home with a flight nurse while I was seated in economy class, so thinking her phone was one (she didn't know) she handed it over to the cabin supervisor. He said he had to confiscate it for safety reasons so she asked for him to bring it to me so I could take the SIM card out as she didn't know how to, I had no idea how to either but I tried to reason with him saying the phone WAS NOT A SAMSUNG NOTE AS PER THEIR WARNINGS that it was in fact a SAMSUNG GALAXY7 EDGE WHICH HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SAFETY WARNINGS THAT WERE ISSUED, but he still said it had to go!

    We taxied off a couple of minutes later and when we got to the altitude I ushered an attendant asking that I get a receipt for the confiscation. He replied that he did not think this was possible. I said I needed something from them so I could make a claim under our travel insurance. He said he would see what he could do. On exiting I again asked for the receipt but was told I was not getting one as that phone was taken "under the airline safety policy issue". I said that was then classed as THEFT. He was nonresponsive so I left the aircraft and am now finding myself dismayed at a perfect holiday only to be marred by the incompetence of the cabin staff, especially the CABIN SUPERVISOR.

    I am also left astounded that when those of us that are left to make complaints we are ALL DIRECTED TO THESE BLOODY INDIAN / PAKISTAN CALL CENTRES who are very hard to understand, are told they "understand" or "very sorry for our problem". I will not however let this mar my love for Canada or its people BUT I WILL DEFINITELY FIND OTHER CARRIERS TO FLY WITH!? END OF RANT!!!

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    Reviewed Oct. 22, 2016

    I bought a ticket to New York from London, traveling Air Canada via Toronto. I'm a Russian citizen and I was traveling a lot using other air companies. That's the first time company didn't ask about visa for transit area (I guess it's a common practice, isn't it!!!) and didn't mention they don't have a transit zone. That's why right now I stand in Heathrow, all my plans broken, no refund given, trying to change tickets to another company. I can't describe my mental state, and I'll never use Air Canada in my life again!!

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    Reviewed Oct. 17, 2016

    After having to deal with several inequities in service with Air Canada as well as problems experienced at Toronto's Pearson Airport, I went home thinking that perhaps I'd done something wrong to have been treated so shabbily. Then I checked out **, where it states: "Travellers with visual, hearing, mobility or other disabilities should be aware that many other countries do not have accessibility standards comparable to those in Canada. Many countries do not have facilities to provide access to people in wheelchairs or provide services for those with hearing, visual, or other requirements."

    FURTHERMORE: "For this reason, you should research the services available for travellers with disabilities in your destination country by contacting its government office in Canada. You should also check the website of the airport at your destination to familiarize yourself with its services for travellers with disabilities." Knowing that I was only travelling to Florida and back, I had no idea I would be required to familiarize myself with regard to travellers with disabilities - IN MY OWN COUNTRY!

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 15, 2016

    Avoid Air Canada (AC) if you can, there are other airlines you can fly which will provide much better flying experience. In 2015, a flight delay (8 hours) has caused us missing our cruise ship in Rome. We had to get a hotel room and find our own way to the next port, and the total out-of-pocket cost was about $1,000. We wrote to AC, no compensation was offered but we were given a 20% discount for future flights.

    This year, 2016, we decided to use the 20% discount (wrong decision on our part) and give AC another chance. We flew from Las Vegas (LAS) to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (GIG), with layover in Toronto (YYZ) on September 9. One of three checked luggage was missing so we filed a claim with AC's lost baggage counter in Rio. The counter agent located the missing luggage and said it was still in Toronto. Why would three bags checked in at the same time, two made it and one got left behind, no one knows. The agent said AC has multiple flights daily from Toronto to Sao Paulo, Brazil and our missing luggage will be routed from Toronto to Sao Paulo the next day, and then onto Rio, to the hotel we are staying.

    On day 2, the baggage never came. We now discovered we had prescription medications stored in the missing luggage so we started calling the delayed baggage number provided on AC’s website. After more than a 30-minute hold time, we were connected to a Call Center agent that are based outside of United States. The first agent was extremely difficult to understand and was not able to provide any clear information of our luggage. We then asked to speak with a supervisor (of course more hold time).

    The supervisor confirmed that the luggage never left Toronto and the Toronto baggage department declined to route the luggage through Sao Paulo. Instead, they will put it on a flight heading to Rio four days later. After we informed the agent that the delayed luggage contains prescribed heart condition and high blood pressure medications and it is imperative for us to get the luggage, the supervising agent said he would communicate the matter with Toronto baggage department and will call or email us with an update.

    On day 3, no luggage nor updates so we called again. Now we are raking up expensive international charges on our cell phone. Same story, Toronto is still sending the luggage via the next flight to Rio in a few days, but not sooner. We told them since we are travelling, we will not be in Rio when they deliver the baggage. After many more calls to the Call Center, Rio Airport Baggage and a trip to the Rio Airport, AC finally decided to route the baggage to Buenos Aires, Argentina, our next destination. On day 6, now September 15, we finally received our delayed baggage.

    It is unbelievable that AC does not emphasize in directing delayed luggage to their customers as a priority, or as soon as they are able to. They have daily flights to Sao Paulo, but they refused to utilize it and insisted to wait for the next flight, in a few days, to Rio. We have friends that flew other airlines have also lost their luggage, but were all able to receive the missing luggage within 24 hours.

    We know with millions of baggage to handle each day, it is a daunting task and mistakes do and will happen. The big disappointment on Air Canada is the overall lack of sense of urgency (ignoring the information given to them regarding the medication issue), poor customer service (Toronto baggage department arbitrarily deciding to send the missing luggage 4 days later, and not any earlier through another city which has more direct flights from Toronto), and, lastly, poor communication with customers (delayed baggage handling at the Call Center, average long period of hold-time and the agents were either untrained or understaffed).

    We travel extensively and have flown internationally with other airlines, such as British Air, Virgin Australia, Korean, EVA Air, Cathay Pacific, United, American Airlines, Delta Air, Qatar Air, and Turkish Air, all within the last three years. Air Canada was the only airline that has consistently underperformed and continuously disappointed us.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 30, 2016

    Absolutely awful customer service. Lost my carry on bag which they asked to be checked in at the gate since there was no room on the airplane. Blows my mind how that is possible since you have an idea how many travelers are on the flight. Food and beverage awful. From Toronto to Prague flight - no idea where we were the whole flight since there were no TV's and nobody ever informed us. Never ever flying with them again. It's been almost a month and my bag is still lost. Nobody ever called and apologized.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 29, 2016

    Flight AC7629 from Boston to Toronto at 8 pm on Sept 28 was delayed for 1.5 hr- no reason provided to passengers waiting in AC lounge. Service Desk employee by name Paolo was rude and non-cooperative. From other side, flight crew was good.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Sept. 28, 2016

    On August 31, 2016 my husband and I had a flight from Houston to Paris via Toronto. As seasoned travelers we put medications and other important items in my small roller bag. At Houston we were told that Zones 3 and 4 could not take their carry on bags onboard and had to check them in. We complained but to no avail. We boarded the plane and then noticed that the overhead bins were empty. We were in row 20. Then we saw a family bring on 4 roller bags all of which were larger than mine. They were seated towards the rear of the aircraft. The Air Canada staff made no effort to separate those who had international onward flights from those terminating within Canada. We were lucky and my roller bag arrived in Paris but needless to say we were concerned. After reading the other complaints my husband and I will not fly with Air Canada ever again.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 25, 2016

    Air Canada staff are incredibly rude. For example, I called to investigate options for storing my wedding dress, and was told my only option was to fold it in half and cram it into an overhead bin... For a 13-hour flight to Japan. In general, I hate flying Air Canada and prefer WestJet. WestJet is far friendly and more accommodating to their customer's needs.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 25, 2016

    I travelled from Havana, Cuba to Ankara, Turkey. They lost my luggage, and the only missing luggage was mine. After 6 days, by making tons of calls they delivered my luggage. But when I opened my luggage, I was shocked because it was opened by a stranger and there is not any notification about it. Every item was scattered, every single little bag in the luggage was poked. The worst thing is that, I have lots of lost items from the luggage. 5 earrings, 1 kg of coffee, a nail polish, half of a liquid medication and a manicure item.

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    Reviewed Sept. 13, 2016

    We flew Air Canada on our way home from our Euro trip in September 2016. I'd like to start by saying that the staff on the airplane were some of the most unpleasant people I've ever encountered. I understand working with people can be challenging, but having an attitude when addressing concerns will never satisfy a paying customer. One of the flight attendants was working with a person sitting in front of us who specified that she had diet restrictions and needed a special meal. Well they gave her meal away to someone else and the flight attendant told her, "What do you want me to do about it?" Unacceptable.

    We finally make it to Toronto before flying out to Chicago. We were already notified in Toronto that one of our bags was lost. They did nothing to help us figure out where it was and told us that we will need to address it in Chicago. The front desk employees in O'Hare are absolutely incompetent. We filed a claim and upon review, it was determined the bag was in Toronto and that we would have it within 24-48 hours. We haven't received a call like we were supposed to, so we followed up today. It turns out the front desk employee forgot to file our claim on Sunday and the bag is now in Warsaw. Do yourself a favor and splurge the extra $200 and fly a different airline. This has all turned into a massive nightmare and Air Canada isn't doing anything to address it.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Sept. 10, 2016

    Out of all the various airlines I've been on all over the world, I've only ever had poor experiences with Air Canada. Lost luggage, poor employee attitudes, and most recently a randomly canceled flight leaving on our vacation, and then on the return flight: every single person had their seats randomly changed so that families that were sitting together originally, were not anymore. Imagine the pure chaos with an entire plane full of people all trying to coordinate impromptu seat trades. Whoever manages this company needs to be fired.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 10, 2016

    When landed in Toronto Air Canada told me to claim the bags because they didn't come with our plane. We were told that baggage will be delivered to our address which never happened. I spoke with 4 different agents and they told me they will send baggage to our house which also was false. After all different stories from all 4 agents they told us bags are located but they don't know where they are. Today two weeks later nobody cares about my baggage or did anything for us. What a shame for Air Canada.

    I didn't received any money or anything for my loss. However for all they care for their baggage and service please don't use Air Canada because you will became one of us victims who lost their baggage and nobody did anything about it. Shame on Air Canada. They told me they hold lost baggage in Montreal and I told them that I will drive there to get my baggage but they said they are not sure if the baggage is there but are saying they located them. Once again worst company to fly with.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 7, 2016

    They don't even deserve one star. I booked my honeymoon trip to Paris 3 months ago, 8 days full of excursion that were book with Air Canada, as well shows and restaurants booked elsewhere. 3 days before leaving for this trip, we get a phone call saying that one of our main excursions has been cancelled. We call asking what the situation is and we are told we will get a callback with a solution. By night time I called back and the supervisor "Celine" has no idea if this has been cancelled or not and cannot guaranteed anything and needs to confirm with the supplies, which means that we will not get a response till Friday, 1 day before we leave for trip.

    What major company does not know what the supplies offer or not? Especially when they are still being offered online thru Air Canada vacations site. This is very frustrating, ridiculous and horrible service on their part. I wish I never booked with them and I would never recommend it to friends and families. This is the second time something has been cancelled on this trip. So much for having a relaxing honeymoon. Horrible. Horrible. Don't book with them!!!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 29, 2016

    So I went online to review my air miles and see about 1800 but can't see them in the transaction list which only shows a year of history, in this case August 2015 to 2016 despite knowing that miles should have been and or were earned August 2015 from a flight. I attempt to claim missing miles as I am not able to verify that the miles were posted only to find out that the calendar only goes back to September 2015. Then I call them and wait on hold for more than 2 hours despite their myths posting at https://www4.aeroplan.com/Myths.do. I'll have to be on hold for 2 hours if I call in to book a flight.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 22, 2016

    In July of this year (2016), my 76-year-old mother and my 9-year-old daughter were traveling on Air Canada, from the US via Toronto with a connecting flight to Europe. Because of severe weather conditions, their flight out of Newark was 6 hours delayed that day. They did not leave the airport until after 8 pm (their flight was scheduled for 2 pm that day) and arriving in Toronto after 10 pm, missing their connecting flight. When they arrived in Toronto, no one helped my mom and my daughter.

    Our friends who travel all the time in situations like this, almost all airlines will accommodate somehow, especially an elderly traveling with a small child. However, Air Canada did NOTHING!!! They offered them NO hotel stay, when their next flight was gonna be a day later, and not even at least an upgrade to Business or First Class. When my exhausted mom asked Air Canada representatives if she can get a room, she was told to go to the Sheraton Hotel, however, when they arrived at the hotel they told my mom she would have to pay $300/night. How does the airline expect an elderly, traveling with a small child to NOT sleep for over 24 hours and pay $300 for a room??? So, my mom and my daughter took shelter on a COUCH inside the hotel lobby, where my daughter was able to sleep for a few hours, while my mom watched over her.

    The next morning (July 26) at 6 am, my mom and daughter went back to the check-in desk at Air Canada when they were told the next flight they can take is that night at 8 pm. Still, Air Canada would not accommodate my mom and my daughter to at least get a room for them so they can rest a few hours before they board the next plane. At this point, my mom went 24 HOURS not sleeping. No one helped my mom, she was bounced around, people telling her to go here and to go there. I can understand an airline not being able to accommodate passengers if several planes are stranded with hundreds of passengers overnight. But as far as we know, only this one flight was delayed, and only a handful of people got stranded.

    So, why didn't the airline help my mother and my daughter??? The airline knew her flight was 8 hours delayed from Newark, she is 76-years-old and how does the airline expect an elderly NOT to sleep for more than 24 hours??? That's beyond inhumane! When I contacted Air Canada to complain, they totally did not care. My mom will NEVER be flying with this airline again and neither will I. No wonder almost all their reviews online are 1 star and all negative. Coincidence? I think not!

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 22, 2016

    I booked a flight from Saskatoon to Edmonton to pick up my mom's new car on a Friday. Arrived at the airport 1 hr early (at the time deadline for domestic flights was 45 min). I was told that my BUSINESS CLASS seat had been given away, but they could put me on another flight on Sunday. I said this would not work, as the dealership was closed Sunday, and I was from out of town, and there was no bus service back to my home (was not offered any type of voucher for having to remain in Saskatoon). I was told to "go book with WestJet then". When I asked how my travel voucher for the flight worked, the woman replied "I don't know". I used the voucher to return home after a contract with CF was finished (Ottawa to Saskatoon).

    When I completed the purchase over the phone (as there was no place on the website to include a voucher), I was told I would have to pay a rescheduling fee because the previous agent did not note in my file that I was bumped from the flight due to overbooking. But the agent did, in fact, book me back to "Saskatchetoon" [sic]. Complete idiots - telling me to use the competing airline, not setting up my file properly, openly admitting that they did not know how a voucher would work, and then not even being able to pronounce the name of the place I was returning to.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 20, 2016

    Flying back from Manchester England to Cleveland Ohio via Toronto Canada. Arrived in Cleveland and received two of our three bags. Went to United counter (they contract with Air Canada) and given a phone number to call. Called and of course had someone on other end, I think from India that I could not understand, finally I was able to advise him as to what I wanted. After having to call back several times I was instructed that the item was sent to a local shipping company. It would be delivered within next 48 hours (this was Friday). On Sunday a young man arrived to deliver a double baby stroller (NOT MINE). Subject advised he would go back and try to find correct item for us. As of the following Saturday, no luggage. During past week attempted to reconnect Air Canada lost luggage department and each time placed on hold for over 10 minutes each time.

    Went online to Air Canada's website and was directed to a chat line. After giving my information to the other end. I wad advised that I would have to fill out a multi-page form and mail it to Canada. When I asked for the name of the shipping company they contract with they gave me the name of "same day delivery", I can not find contact info for them. When asked for the contact information they told me they do not have any. After reading all the other complaints about Air Canada, I WILL NEVER USE AIR CANADA AGAIN FOR TRAVEL AND I WILL MAKE SURE NONE OF MY EMPLOYEES USE THEM!

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Aug. 18, 2016

    What a terrible experience with Air Canada. I had my flight from Rome arriving late on the 4th of Aug and I lost the connection to Fort Lauderdale. I was reprotected with a flight to Orlando 4 hrs away from Fort Lauderdale and 4 from where I had to go. I also had my luggage lost during that flight and I got it back only on the 7th of Aug (3 days later).

    I was promised a compensation of USD100 (Incredible. I was traveling also business class) and I was told I had to deal with the french office (being resident in Italy). I called few times the French office (customer service) and INCREDIBLE to SAY... NO ONE SPEAKS ENGLISH. I sent few emails to Air Canada in Toronto and as well NO answer.

    If I would have known NO one in customer relation speaks any other language beside French I would have never traveled with them. If you are a resident of any other country south of FRANCE (including Spain, Italy, Greece, Austria etc.) YOU ARE LOST if you do not learn French. I am very upset for this and I hope someone could help me. Thanks.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 16, 2016

    My family and I have had a truly horrific experience with Air Canada today. My husband and I were traveling with a medically fragile, disabled child and 2 other young children. Our flight was scheduled to depart YVR for LAX August 15 at 1:05 pm. We tried to check in on August 14, but Air Canada would not allow us to because of our disabled daughter. We arrived at the check-in gate at 12:09 pm. We were told that the flight had closed. Nowhere on our tickets or in my communications with the airline (there were several) were we told that they would sell our seats with almost an hour for us to board the plane.

    We begged the clerk to allow us on the plane as we had AMPLE time to clear Customs and board the plane as scheduled and as we paid for. We asked to speak with a manager. The manager, Mr. ** came down and told us that he could not let us on the plane but that he would get us to LAX today. He specifically authorized the clerks to get us home even if on another airline which cost the airline money.

    After waiting for over an hour, the clerk stated that there were no Air Canada flights that we could take and that she was not authorized to put us on another airline - directly in conflict with what Mr. Abbas had told us. We asked for him to come speak with us and her again but he had gone home. The second manager who came down, I believe her name was Elaine, contradicted Mr. ** and basically said there was nothing she could do for us. We explained that we did not have enough medical rations for our daughter - to no avail.

    Air Canada stated that there were no flights for us for almost 5 days unless we would fly in 2 groups and go to Calgary, then LAX. Traveling with our disabled child alone is unbelievably stressful and difficult, which we told the clerk, also to no avail. Because we had no option, we agreed to fly in 2 groups - which was traumatic for all of our children, just to ensure that we had some way of getting home.

    We asked who would pay for our hotel which we had not budgeted into our vacation plans and were basically told we could sleep at the airport if we wanted. Where we sleep was our problem. Fearing for our daughter's medical safety, I then purchased 2 direct tickets to LAX on WestJet - totaling over $1,000CAD to ensure her health and safety. At no point did the clerk offer to refund our tickets so that we could buy all of our tickets with another airline. My sons and husband are currently at a hotel which is costing another $300CAD.

    As soon as I returned home I searched online to see how I could bring the rest of my family home sooner and without 9 hours of travel. We picked Vancouver because the travel time is only 3 hours. We NEVER would have picked a destination requiring 9 hours of travel. There are several direct flights from YVR to LAX tomorrow that they can take - but there are no economy seats left. I called Air Canada's 1-888 number - waited on the phone for over 40 minutes (which is outrageous!) and was told by the representative, Adam, that there was nothing he could do. He did state that Air Canada could refund the return portion of our tickets. I asked him to do that for me immediately. He said he could not find us in the system with our reference number and then he HUNG UP on me!

    I called back and waited another 40 minutes. I spoke with Jose, who seemed very nice and said he was going to put me on hold to see what he could do. I waited an additional 26 minutes and then the line went dead. I called a third time. I waited for AN HOUR!! The clerk said that Air Canada would not allow my family to come home on business class (God forbid they right their wrong) and said he would transfer me to a supervisor in Montreal. And of course - he disconnected me. Now when I call the outgoing message actually says that the airline has too many calls and they just won't pick up at all (the phone just hangs up on you).

    I am in shock that anyone would willingly fly this airline with customer service like this. I am also beside myself that Air Canada cares so little about disabled children and families with young children. I have never experienced anything like this and have been traveling for over half of my life. Air Canada should have put us on any flight we could have taken to get home - together and today - regardless of the ticket class. And hour-long waits and the inability of anyone to resolve problems, or transfer phone calls successfully is unbelievable. A truly terrible airline.

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    Customer ServiceCoverage

    Reviewed Aug. 15, 2016

    I flew back from Africa to Vancouver on an Air Canada flight. I am now on Day 21 of losing my bags. I was attending a wedding in Africa and all of my personal belongings were in the bag. I reported my bag missing at the airport and I was told that they would search for the bag and let me know the status. I was also told that I am not entitled to a penny to buy basics as I am in my hometown.

    After 5 days of losing my bag they told me to submit a claim but I need to attach all of my receipts. I took a day off work and searched for all my receipts to send to them. I had to go get re-prints from stores. I was lucky enough to have gone shopping before my trip so I still had a lot of my receipts. I sent this "package" of paperwork and receipts over a week ago. I call to ensure they have it and they said it takes up to 7 days to get this in the system. I have asked what the procedure is and they say it takes up to 6 weeks to search for the bag. If they find it then I get my bag back and I am not entitled to a thing - even the out of pocket expenses, days off, stress etc that I have endured during this time. If they do not find my bag by 6 WEEKS (which is so long and the worst service I have ever heard of) then they will file my claim.

    My insurance will not cover me until the bag is declared "missing". I have not had one call, apology, penny etc from Air Canada. I was told by the central baggage center to email the claims department but no one responds, I have tweeted - no one responds, I have called and spent 40-50 min at one time on hold and I have even resorted to emailing the CEO. At this point I do not care if my bag is lost but just cover my expenses so I can get on with life. The customer service is the worst I have ever experienced!

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 15, 2016

    I flew with Air Canada recently and had the worst flight experience I've had. I have traveled a lot whilst living in UK, Middle East and now America and have mostly been happy with all other airlines. But Air Canada has been awful. We planned to travel from Philadelphia, change in Toronto then fly on to Dublin. We planned to spend a night and a day in Dublin then fly to England to get married.

    Our flight from Philadelphia was delayed, we were assured numerous times by ground staff and airline crew that our flight from Toronto would 'wait for us'. We arrived at Toronto and we were relieved to find out that our Dublin bound flight was delayed. We went through security and immigration and must have had our boarding passes scanned 4 times. We arrived at the gate and no one had boarded yet. We then wait in line, get to the desk and we were told that our seats had been given away. We went to Customer Service and she said because we had missed our flight we would be put on the next flight to Dublin in 24 hours. Thus causing us to miss all our bookings in Dublin and potentially being late for our wedding in England. We were offered alternative flights to England and the best they could do was get us to London (we needed to be in the North of England) by the next night.

    To keep it short, we paid for hotel bookings, flights, car hire (all of which were nonrefundable). We did make it to our destination in time, but not without being out of pocket and with a huge amount of stress. Even on our journey back to America from Dublin our flight was delayed. 5 out of 5 flights delayed. This is simply not acceptable and we will not be traveling with them again. I have contacted them and sent receipts asking for reimbursements of the things we had to pay for so I am remaining hopeful but would like to ask if anyone has had any luck getting money reimbursed from Air Canada?

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 14, 2016

    I do not hold airlines responsible for unavoidable circumstances such as weather. I Do however expect them have contingency plans and be able to assist stranded passengers. My three kids (late teens) were diverted from Toronto to Hamilton due to weather. This caused them to miss their connecting flight to meet us in Florida. Air Canada staff were curt, abrupt, uncaring and completely unhelpful. They were bounced around to line up after line up only to be given a flight several days later with no attempts to assist them any further. To top it all off my youngest had left his medication in his checked baggage.

    When they asked to at least get their checked baggage, Air Canada refused saying it would stay checked until their next flight. They didn't care that this could cause a serious medical emergency if he was without medication for several days. Nor did they care that they expected them to hang around a airport for several days without so much as a toothbrush. The entire Air Canada staff seemed to just have a "Oh well, sucks to be you" attitude. After several hours on hold we could get nowhere. Air Canada refused to even have someone look for the bag, telling us, "it's a mess down there... but don't worry his bag will go with him on the next flight."

    Finally one staff member took pity on them and got them onto a flight the next day; however, their luggage is still missing. The Air Canada agent in Florida didn't seem any better telling us to call the 1-888 number which only gets you a call centre in India who takes your information and is supposed to forward it to Air Canada. After another hour on hold and a deep language barrier we were told that they would put a rush on trying to get his bag (and medication) to us. When we didn't hear anything from them we tried to look up our baggage claim number on their online site, only to find out that they have no record of the claim. The call centre didn't even forward our claim. So here we sit again on hold (1 hour 35 minutes so far) to hopefully get some medication before we have to check into an American hospital.

    Air Canada you should be forced to change your name. You should not be allowed to represent Canadians anywhere!!!!! Honestly I don't even know how you stay in business, based on the number of horrible reviews I have read. I for one will never be flying Air Canada again and I will strongly discourage everyone else. I would rather spend more money for a flight to know that the company can be counted on to know WHAT IT IS DOING, and actually cares for its customers.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Aug. 2, 2016

    My wife and I were in the process of flying to PEI for a family wedding. We are 84 and 83 respectfully. We had early morning flights out of the Dorval International airport in Quebec at 05:30 am (flight was 7:25 am), on July 12th, 2016 after spending the night at Beaconsfield with a niece would helped us at the airport given our age and health issues. Our baggage and tickets were all printed and paid the night before.

    We got in a line-up to go through security at 05:40 am. The line-up for security consisted of 4 lines approximately 100 yd. long that zig zagged back and forth until they got everyone through security. Our plane was scheduled to depart at 07:25 am, which we explained to airport personnel who pulled us out of line around 7:05 am. We were told by Air Canada personnel not to worry -our plane would wait for us. We got through security at 07:15 am.

    Once we passed through security, this same helpful person told us that we needed to immediately get to Gate 21, which was at the far end of the terminal (500 yards minimum or a 15 minimum steady fast walk) from security. Both moving walkways were broken down. We rushed as best we could but we did not have the assistance needed to get there as quickly… as I am assuming Air Canada expected.

    My wife and I both have health issues (prostate cancer/heart issues/pacemaker for myself) and my wife is a three time cancer survivor and had open heart surgery 2 years ago)… and standing in line for hours, then the pressure of trying to get to the gate was overwhelming. We are not strong enough to run – which Air Canada expected us to do.

    We arrived at Gate 21. The doors were closed, but the plane had not left the walkway yet. The Air Canada person advised that we had missed our flight. We were led to believe that it was our fault and we did not plan the appropriate time to get there. No apologies and both of us feeling exhausted and disheartened at the treatment of us as their customers.

    I then exclaimed "where was our luggage"? Two checked bags and one checked golf clubs. We were informed that our bags left on that same plane (which I believe is a security breach - and anyone I have shared this story with is alarmed at this hole in security) AND the next flight was 5 hours later and we could sit and wait. We were exhausted. My wife was so exhausted and unwell that she was not able to leave that boarding area for hours.

    I know Air Canada is a large organization. There are many other choices of airlines. We went with the one we have flown with for years and years… and trusted on many levels. This experience has permanently tarnished our view of the Air Canada brand - and additionally, has validated how little Air Canada cares about their customer and more importantly, how little they care about customers that might need a little extra "care" given their age and health.

    We were at the airline 2 hours early. We had done the check ins prior to arriving to ensure we did not need to stand in lines and we were badly mistreated, I am guessing because of our "age". It would seem that Air Canada has an ageism issue over and above NOT being customer centric. We don't fly as often now, however, we have proven our loyalty over years of staying true to this brand but we will NEVER fly Air Canada again. There are so many other options who actually consider their customer both from a "caring" and "security" perspective. Air Canada has breached our trust on many, many levels. We are sharing this story now with anyone who will listen. Air Canada cannot be trusted and they certainly cannot be trusted when bags are sent without their owners.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Aug. 1, 2016

    My first time flying with Air Canada and I was expecting better service from them but turned out to be the worst airline Ive been with. We paid more for our ticket and got very bad seats. They are so small that I had neck and back problems. My husband didnt even have space for his legs and the staff was very cold not friendly at all. I will make sure in the future not to deal with Air Canada anymore... Im sure you have got a lot of complaints... Anyway just thought I would give my opinion on this airline.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed July 31, 2016

    It was our first and last time to use the Air Canada services ever again. Coming back from Nassau vacation to Ottawa with connection in Toronto our flight AC 1817 has been delayed due to the technical issues for about 2.5 hours. We have arrived in Toronto and consequently missed our connection flight AC 472 to Ottawa. It was 1:30 am and no one around to ask how to manage this matter. There were a lot of other passengers with the same concerns. Around 3:00 am a long line was created to domestic departure station number 2. The agents were late and started to serve passengers around 3:45 am.

    One of the agents kindly explained that passengers with delayed and cancelled flights have to move to section number 3 and we have followed these instructions. When we have reached the available agent in section 3, we have been told again to move to section 2-15 for ticketing. The section 2-15 would be open at 5:30 am. Next we have asked the first available customer service agent about other options to get the tickets to Ottawa and have been advised to call to 1-888-440-5641 to re-book the missed flight AC 742. Finally, we have re-booked and got a new flight AC 440 departing at 7:10 am.

    To get the boarding tickets we had to go back again to the section number 2. The line was enormously long. Meanwhile we got very frustrated and overwhelmed to move around from one section to another. Not to mention that two our kids were sleeping uncomfortably on the hard chairs. Likely, one of the agents (a blond woman) recognized us and escorted to the priority line. While waiting for our turn to get the boarding tickets the other customer service agent approached to us and asked to go back to the main line. That was the end for my patience: I have refused his request and started to complaint about Air Canada services in a very firm manners. After all he turned around to the check-in assistant and asked her to put the note that I was a Rude Passenger.

    In about two minutes we have got our boarding tickets and I went back to ask his name and occupational title to bring this incident to the manager. He refused to identify himself and then I've asked to see the duty manager immediately. The manager apologized for his behaviour. Honestly, I've been shocked. Moreover, I don't want to say that all employees from Air Canada act unprofessionally, however the agent I've interacted with should not be in customer services at all. Air Canada employs more than 28000 of dedicated Canadians and this agent is a big shame among them.

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    Staff

    Reviewed July 23, 2016

    My wife was forbidden to get on the airplane because she hasn't Canadian visa, only US visa and EU visa. The land staff in any moment was helpful with us to change her flight for another company that flies straight to the US or stop in another country like Mexico. Even in consulate to get Canadian transit visa they don't helped. We would stay in the international area of Montreal, so it will be possible she get on the airplane. What happens is that, in most of time, Air Canada makes overbooking and there are high chances to transfer the connection for another day. They induced us to go to Canadian Consulate to try get visa, what means pay more for transfer the flight by one day. They gave us hope even knowing that in next day the Canadian consulate was closed and it would be almost impossible get the visa in 4 hours.

    It seems a big deal for them induct people to transfer the flight by one day and not inform in right way the necessity of Canadian visa and not help us to change the airplane to don't need to cancel the flight. We noted this when we arrived to Canadian consulate, they are very familiar with this kind of situation. Good deal for Air Canada that induce people pay to not travel and doesn't help them after. Take care with this company. You should rather KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, TAP, British Airlines or all American companies. I flied in all of them many times and all was good and all problems were solved by the staff. The reputation of Air Canada is supported just by the name of that very good country. I travel a lot and that was the first time with problems where land staff was so unhelpful.

    To finish my terrible experience, the flight was delayed on departure for more than 25 minutes and my connection Montreal-New York was lost and I can see they cancel some customers' flight and add me and others in their places. They canceled/transferred for another flight all passengers who did check-in in less than 2 hours of the flight. So be prepared to arrive at least 3 hours before in the airport to avoid surprises. Air Canada see the customers like numbers and play with them according to its convenience.

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    Price

    Reviewed July 20, 2016

    Yes, I know, we have all heard how absurd the cost are of service fees. I have flown with Air Canada twice now. In total I have paid $550 in change/service fees. Had to change my flight dates recently, cost me $400 for (2) tickets in change fees. I paid $800 for them to start, so I ONLY got back HALF of what I paid them. RIPOFF. This is why I now fly out of the US as I live only a few hours from USA. On average, I am paying 30-40% LESS than flying a Canadian Airline. And yes, that is with the 30% exchange rate factored it.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed July 18, 2016

    In June 2016 I had to cut short a trip and return from Toronto to Portland OR. I had purchased my ticket via a AAA travel agent. When I called AC to book a new flight due to family emergency, they refused to help me. They said that since I bought my ticket using an agent, I must use that agent to help me book a new flight even due to emergency. It happened to be a Sunday when AAA was closed, so AC person grudgingly agreed to help me since I had no recourse. How stupid is that? On top of this I have other complaints about AC. Since I had used a AAA agent, when I went online to check info, they did not recognize me even with my member number. They had no record of my flights (I had several due to multiple leg vacation). Other huge complaint is that they charge just to CHOOSE a seat, any seat. They must have the worst customer relations of any major airline. I don't plan to ever use them again unless I have absolutely no other option.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed July 16, 2016

    I had bought a tickets between Dallas and Istanbul. My boyfriend and I had been planning and saving up for this for a long time. However there has been recent terror attacks in Istanbul and today there was a military coup in this area. I have been calling to try to change our flights or cancel them. After putting me on hold for over an hour each time, they do not do anything to help. They have canceled flights up to 6 days before our departure due to safety issues but will not do anything to help us cancel. It is not like we want to cancel due to our selfishness, there is a war in Istanbul and we are just trying to be safe. However this horrible airline will not refund ANY of our money. They will not even allow us to make changes or get credit towards other flights. They have horrible customer care, and robbing us of our money/putting us in danger.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed July 15, 2016

    Although the flight to Canada was fine, the ordeal to try to get back was awful! So apparently Air Canada makes up whatever rules that they see fit but doesn't make you aware of them until too late. In Canada, the "International" terminal is not for every country, but for every country EXCEPT the US... I didn't realize that the "Air Canada English" is its own language.

    Also, they will resell your seat arbitrarily, without any previous warning and have no problem stranding you in a different country, forcing to pay exorbitant change fees. If you try to straighten the situation AFTER the entire fiasco, the only recourse is a random email. I would not only NOT recommend this airline, but I would stay far, far away from using Air Canada! The worst experience of my life! Stay far, far away!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed July 13, 2016

    I bought a one-way ticket but then wanted to cancel it. I cancelled it online because it was the easiest way to do it. Then I called the call center in my country and they told me there are no refunds. But my ticket is REFUNDABLE. How can I not receive a refund when my ticket is refundable? I sent mails and reached them through social media, NO ANSWERS! I called the Canadian center and I've waited for an hour, still NO ANSWER. Congratulations Air Canada, you failed! I want to get my money back even if I have to pay a fee!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed July 11, 2016

    I gave the 1 star for the attempt that Sebastian made to help me get my son. But, Air Canada didn't deserve any stars. My son flew and Air Canada flight AC as an unaccompanied minor from Vancouver, British Columbia to Los Angeles, California, USA. This was my son's first time flying with Air Canada as an unaccompanied minor. He is eleven years old and has flown unaccompanied with another airline for about two years, therefore he is experienced with unaccompanied minor procedures. In addition, he visits his dad in Vancouver four times a year so he is an experienced flyer.

    However, this was his first time flying internationally so I called ahead to the Air Canada number to check on procedures of meeting him once he landed in LA. I was told that he would be walked through customs in Vancouver and then escorted to me in baggage claim by an agent when he landed in LA. The agent said that she wasn't sure how they handled it in the states but that's how it was normally done. I asked her to confirm so I knew where to get my son. She came back on the line and said "yes I think he would be brought to baggage claim." The answer wasn’t very reassuring. I would think that a customer service agent should be able to answer any question about unaccompanied minors whether they are traveling in Canada or the States.

    My son was told at the beginning of the flight to stay in his seat unless to use the restroom and that the flight attendant would come get him at the end of the flight. This is a normal procedure for him. However, he was not shown where the call button was in case he needed assistance. For the entire almost three-hour flight he was not offered a beverage or food. No one checked to see how he was doing or if he needed anything. That made him uncomfortable because that is not what usually happens when he flies alone.

    At the end of the flight, he was left on the plane. He was the only one on the plane until the cleaning crew came on. He was scared and was waiting for the flight attendant to come back for him. Finally, the cleaning crew told the flight attendants that he was still on the plane. The flight attendant said to my son, "oh, you are still here?" It appeared to him that he had actually been forgotten about. This realization really upset him. He had just followed the procedures he had been told by the flight attendant and that he has experienced many times on the other airline that he usually flies.

    I was waiting for him in baggage claim as I was told by the Air Canada agent on the phone. I knew that my son would be the last off of the plane since he was an unaccompanied minor. However, after about 20 minutes of waiting, I asked the Air Canada baggage employee if he would be brought down to me. They told me that he would and to keep waiting. After about 10-15 more minutes passed, I was paged over the PA to come to gate 26.

    I went upstairs to ticketing where I found a gentleman named Sebastian. He appeared to be a manager, but I am not sure of his credentials. He saw that I had my son’s bag so he couldn’t give me a gate pass to go get him so he looked his name up on the computer and offered to get him for me. He was very nice and helpful. I waited about an additional 20 minutes. By this time, I was getting worried that something was wrong.

    Finally, my son was brought to me. I could tell that he was visibly shaken and about to cry. He told me he was so thirsty, starving and had to use the restroom. I thanked Sebastian and signed for my son. I took my son to the restroom where he proceeded to tell me about his horrible ordeal. I was happy that he was home and was going to leave it at that until he told me his account of the situation. I was appalled at what I heard. It wasn't what I was expecting. No one checked on him the entire three hours or even offer him a drink of water at the least.

    In addition, to everything else that happened, apparently, his passport was left on the plane by the flight attendant so Sebastian had to remind them to go retrieve it for him. Apparently, that is why it took so long to bring my son downstairs. The whole situation appears to have been mishandled. I went back to Sebastian at the ticket counter to explain all that my son told me so he could review the mishap with the crew. Sebastian was bothered by it as well. He didn’t understand why my son wasn’t brought down to me in baggage claim either. Consequently, Sebastian apologized for the experience, however, that does not erase the trauma that an eleven-year-old boy experienced on his first solo flight with Air Canada.

    I hope that actions can be taken to educate that flight crew on handling unaccompanied minors so this doesn’t happen to another child. Also, I believe that the customer service agents should also be educated on the various airports unaccompanied minor policies. Finally, flying should be a fun experience for children; they shouldn’t be forgotten about. Air Canada was paid money for a service that they failed to provide in my son’s case. My son arrived at 1:00 p.m. He was not in my care until about 2:15 p.m. That is unacceptable. He will not be flying unaccompanied on Air Canada again.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed July 7, 2016

    Return flight (7373) was delayed as well as outbound flight 7372 (at time of delays, both had been reported due to mechanical issues, however, when talking with representative after filing complaint, it was written as weather delay for 7372 and "equipment delay" for 7373). I will speak to 7373 delay specifically at this time. The delay costed several hours work time lost. Additionally, we were unable to secure typical ride home and incurred costs using taxi services. The flight delay (4 1/2 hours) - we were instructed about 40 minutes before being able to board - that the aircraft would not have functioning lavatory to use during flight. Passengers were again instructed at the time of boarding to utilize the bathrooms in terminal prior to boarding as we would not be able use lavatory after boarding. The aircraft smelled of stool and urine.

    The aircraft was kept unreasonably cold during the entire flight. I was wearing a long sleeve fleece jacket and long pants - others only had much less on. People were complaining of the cold temperatures. I asked for a blanket to stay warm and was not able to get a blanket from the attendant. It appeared to me the colder temperatures were being utilized to try to reduce the odor from the non-functioning and smelling lavatory. I overheard the attendant telling a customer seated 3 rows from me "You are scaring the other passengers. Please be quiet about..." He stated this to her 3 times - making a point to stop by and bring self close in and tell her. I could not hear what she was telling him. But his voice was loud enough to be heard by customers in the surrounding seats. His voice tone was condescending and punitive in quality.

    I do believe that keeping people from having access to basic necessities during transport (lavatory use and warmth) are grave concerns. The flight time was 1 hour and 40 minutes. There are health conditions that people may incur or have that would not allow this to be safe or acceptable. Our needs were not considered. I spoken with customer care representative, "Kristina". She stated there was a 269 minute delay from scheduled times. That the airline had no responsibility to arrive on time - their only responsibility was to get passengers safely from point A to point B. She said that there was no recovery for taxi or other costs noted. She said she would provide a 15% promo code for future Air Canada transport in compensation. I stated that this is not compensation - rather a gesture of goodwill. And it should not be called compensation for any losses incurred.

    She stated she would email me the following: a letter of disruption for both the outbound and return flights, a summary of the concerns that she was forwarding to managers to address, a gesture of goodwill (referred to as compensation) in a 15% promo to be used in future purchases. I have not received any of these at this time. I will pursue this matter further as I believe the manner of which we were instructed to board a flight without functioning lavatories is not acceptable, in addition to their extremely poor communication.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed July 4, 2016

    I am now a veteran of Air Canada travel (with one international trip under my belt) and so I know what others (already in the know) seem to laugh (and cry) about... Never again! Never again will I do business with Air Canada. I have almost never experienced an airline, or any company, so dysfunctional, seemingly from top to bottom. With Air Canada, it is clear that there is a deeply established culture of dysfunction, incompetence, arrogance, and callousness. It's just "the way they roll".

    Of course, sloppiness and arrogance are never a good combination, but this ugly combination is entrenched in the Air Canada culture. I can only imagine that for any positive reviews to even exist for this airline indicates that society at large has been beat down in its expectations of what is acceptable. During my travail, in one of several in-flight conversations overheard (regarding the incompetence and outrageous attitudes consistent among Air Canada employees) one woman actually set about defending Air Canada. Her reasoning was bizarre and reminded me of the strange phenomenon whereby a hostage victim has a tendency to defend their captor.

    The arrogance, callousness, and carelessness of Air Canada employees is stunning... consistently stunning. During our nightmare (in which we missed a connection through their fault and were delayed 24 hours with no compensation -- not even an apology) we were told by a smirking Air Canada employee, "We do this to people all the time." We were told be 2 other Air Canada employees to read our contract. "All Air Canada has to do is get you from point A to point B, WHEN that happens doesn't matter." Despite the ludicrous nature of this assertion, it was clear that it was well-rehearsed and had been repeated many times before. Can you imagine... WHEN you arrive doesn't matter to an airline!? Boycott Air Canada!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 29, 2016

    Most businesses I know will look after a kid when they ask for help. It's the socially responsible, kind thing to do. But don't suppose Air Canada will meet that expectation. My son is 17 years old and just completed grade 11. He's independent for his age and enjoys trying new things. He was invited to attend Envisions Global Young Leadership Conference in Europe for 10 days this summer. Teenage scholars from numerous countries meet to discuss issues that concern the world, develop leadership abilities and visit historic sites in Vienna, Prague and Berlin. Mitchell was thrilled when we told him he could go; however it would involve flying to and from Europe by himself. We have traveled extensively as a family, but this would be his first solo trip across the pond. As parents we felt he was up to it, especially if he made a point of telling airline representatives that he was a minor in need of help should he hit a snag.

    It never occurred to us that Air Canada staff would be unaccommodating to underage kids in distress; therefore an Air Canada flight from Calgary to Toronto and an Austrian Air flight on to Vienna seemed like the ideal option to coordinate with the Envision team. The connection would be in Canada with a 2 hour wait between flights. But I made a critical error - I overestimated Air Canada's interest in serving disadvantaged people in the event of a delay. And underage solo travelers are disadvantaged; they are unlikely to advocate effectively for themselves when faced with adults in positions of power or authority. When the departure date of June 25th arrived I drove Mitch to the airport and accompanied him to the check-in counter. I told the representative there that my son was a minor assuming (big mistake) that they must make a note of the fact in their system to prioritize such individuals in the case of unforeseen events.

    Mitch and I walked to security where we said our good-byes. I was nervous to see him go off on his own, but I believed Air Canada would provide quality service if any flight delays or changes had to be made particularly since my son wasn't an adult. I received a confirmation call from Mitch saying he'd arrived at his gate so I left the airport. An hour or so later he called again to say that mechanical problems were delaying the flight. I encouraged Mitch to be proactive and talk to the lady at the gate. Considering his age and connection time they might make an effort to book him onto another flight departing for Toronto shortly. Apparently all other flights to Toronto were full. I drove to the airport again. I needed to talk to a ticket agent about getting Mitch on another flight to Austria once he reached Pearson Airport.

    My conversation with the agent went like this: "Hi, I'm Tracy, a concerned mom wondering what will happen to my son when he reaches Toronto." The expressionless face behind the counter asked for some information and tapped his computer keys. "He's currently booked on the same Austrian Air flight he was supposed to go on today, except that it leaves tomorrow." "So hell have to stay overnight then?" "Yes", said Mr. Expressionless. "Unless they can book him on something earlier once he lands." "How is he supposed to get a room as a 17 year old minor?" "He'll get a hotel voucher." "And how will he get to and from that hotel?" "The hotel will be close to the airport." Expressionless became annoyed. "There will be an agent to meet him when he gets off the plane. That person can help him." He took a ticket from another agent who interrupted our conversation and proceeded to shut me out.

    I pulled up the electronic copy of the original ticket to Austria on my phone and held it in front of his face. "Just to confirm then, he is booked on this flight, but for tomorrow afternoon instead?" Expressionless/Annoyed glanced in my direction and glanced at the phone. "Yes, that's the one." He was clearly done with me. "Thanks then", I said and made way for what I could only assume was another disgruntled customer. Needless to say I felt uneasy. I didn't feel reassured at all. I headed home and waited for Mitch to call once he reached Toronto which he did. There was no agent to greet him; in fact there was no agent in sight. He was entirely on his own. He headed toward the Air Canada desk and proceeded to stand in line. I told him to call me when he was assured of alternative flight plans.

    Meanwhile I called Air Canada Customer Service to see if there was anything I could do from my end. After being on hold for 10 minutes a representative finally said "Hello". Her favorite line was, "I don't work at the airport so I can't tell you what will happen with your son. These are the critical facts I was told: Your son isn't entitled to any additional service as a minor. You can purchase individualized care for your child if he is 12 or under and on a direct flight. Otherwise, children traveling alone are viewed the same as adults." I was surprised by this fact. My response was simple: "Even if this is policy, how can a representative put off an anxious minor? Where does human kindness come into play? How is a minor any different from a disabled or elderly traveler who needs special/additional care?"

    She couldn't answer these questions. Instead she kept saying that she doesn't work at the airport so she can't speak to what goes on there. Seriously? What's customer service for then? Not parents anxious for their children apparently. Shortly after I got off the phone, Mitchell called me again. They were having trouble finding him another flight. He had no hotel vouchers or assurance he'd been booked on any flight like Mr. Expressionless claimed he was. I decided to call the Customer Service line again. I needed to know my kid was going to get on a plane. After holding for 15 minutes I was greeted with a pleasant voice. I can say this third service rep was helpful and I was grateful for her efforts and understanding. She asked me to wait while she went to draw up my son's information in another department. She would see what was going on.

    Meanwhile Mitch called me on my cell. I grabbed it in my left hand and had the rep on the house phone in my right. "Mom," Mitch said. "They're going to book me on another flight, but it's going through Istanbul. I'm not comfortable going through there Mom! I don't think I should take it." My son is up on current events and he'd heard of the suicide bombings in Ankara and Istanbul. The rep said "Hi into my other ear. So your son was not re-booked on any flight Austrian Air or otherwise. But I see his file is currently open and they are booking him through Istanbul." "I know," I said. "But I gotta say I'm not real comfortable with that." I noticed a subtle change in the tone of her voice which implied we were being paranoid and picky struggling over an Istanbul connection. I carried on the two conversations at once and we came to a conclusion. Mitch would take the option through Turkey despite his reservations and mine.

    The rep stressed that he wouldn't have to clear customs in Istanbul and it did seem worse to have him linger indefinitely at the Toronto airport. In addition the agent assured me that Turkish Airlines was a member of the Sky Alliance team and therefore met high safety standards. She saw no reason to worry. Mitch hung up to finish his booking and I spoke further with customer service. Mitch had told me that no one could locate his luggage so I inquired about that issue. "I don't know," she said. "He may have to take off ahead of the missing bag." She gave me the number for Central Baggage and wished me luck. I thanked her. She, unlike the previous service workers, had done what she could to help. Where were these efforts by other Air Canada staff?

    Mitch called me after he checked in at the Turkish Airways desk. He said that, unlike the Air Canada agents who brushed off his baggage inquiries and indeed any inquiry he made, the Turkish agent promised to locate his bag, get it onto the right plane and meet Mitch at his gate with the claim tags. He was comforted by her efforts to help him. Unfortunately, she was unable to find the bag either. She went to tell him personally before he took off. After getting this information, I called Central Baggage. The man on the other end of the line spoke politely and confirmed that the bag had been taken to Toronto, but not beyond. The man said that even if they found the bag (Mitch had sent me the baggage claim number), he couldn't send it to Austria until my son filed a missing bag report at the other end. Wow. Let's make things as difficult as possible for the young person.

    Mitchell called me when he landed in Istanbul and texted me after he made the connection there. I thanked God when I knew he was out of that airport. He called again when he landed in Austria. I cried with relief as Envision took him under their wing. My son filed a missing bag report and we hoped he would get his suitcase before the group departed for Prague and his luggage had to be redirected yet again. He says he got no reassurance or kindness whenever he made inquiries of Air Canada agents. He had to act the adult every step of the way. I'm grateful he was up to the task, but his anxiety levels were hitting the roof as he worked to find solutions to his plight. He's learned a lot about the potential pitfalls of airline travel - and one of them is agents who don't see a need to help inexperienced minors traveling alone.

    June 28th, 2016: UPDATE. I was proof-reading this piece with the intention of posting it when a shocking story came through the CNN news feed on my phone. Explosions and gunfire had taken place at the Istanbul Ataturk airport today! Several people were killed or injured! A day and a half after my son was in that place! Clearly Star Alliance standards mean nothing on the ground. My son and I were right to have reservations about that airport. I still can't get over this whole experience. Young people between the ages of 12 and 17 on journeys with connections are not any different than adults in the eyes of Air Canada.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed June 27, 2016

    I flew with a small group from Pearson to London Heathrow on Thursday, 24 February. Upon arrival I was told that my luggage had been lost and that I should call the given number the next morning. I did and there was no sign of my luggage. I was told to call that evening. I did and there was still no sign of my luggage. I repeated this ritual daily and only on Sunday 28th did they say my luggage had been located and I would have it before 5pm on that day.

    In the interim, I had spoken to a representative of Air Canada and I was told that I could expect BP50.00 per day, and when I asked about the cost of bringing an additional case home on my flight I was told that this would be credited when they settled the compensation. I received a cheque for the equivalent of BP50.00 ($96.00) and that was it. I wrote a letter and I have not received any reply. The resulting feeling I have is that I will only fly with Air Canada.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed June 22, 2016

    I have been traveling all over the world my entire life and this was by far the worst experience I have ever had on any airline. This was my first and only experience I will ever have with AC. I was traveling home from Rome with my wife. On the way to Rome we flew Lufthansa which was an AMAZING experience. I will fly them every opportunity I have in the future. However on AC, the first leg was Rome-Toronto with a 1 1/2 hour layover in Toronto. Even though the plane was sitting on the tarmac they wouldn't begin the boarding.

    Boarding was ridiculously slow when they finally did start. The ticket crew had no sense of urgency and never once explained why we were boarding late. We left one hour late and totally missed our connection in Toronto. AC decided to book us tickets on the same flight we missed 24 hours later. We had little girls to get home to and I had a bunch of job meetings I couldn't miss the following day. Even though I explained that to the ticket agents, nobody cared. No one apologized even one time. In fact, they were quite rude during the entire deal which set me off and made me angry.

    Our final destination was supposed to be Pasco, Washington so I was able to convince them to fly us to Seattle, WA that night so we could at least rent a car and drive four hours home. They refused to book us on a different airline to get us to Pasco that night. So, once we arrived in Seattle, which was also delayed, I spent $200 out of pocket to rent a car to get home at 3 AM after 35 hours of traveling a 9-hour time change. Oh, and they also lost both pieces of luggage in the meantime. Not once did any seem to care in any way, shape, or form.

    To top it off, Canadian Customs and passport control people were extremely rude and not helpful. The biggest nightmare I have ever encountered while traveling. I will never fly this airline again and will gladly let all of my friends, family, and colleagues know to never fly them. They never once apologized or offered any type of compensation or vouchers for future travel. Horrible airline. Should be placed under new management, fire everyone (pilots and aircrew were great, only good thing about the airline) and start over from square one.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed June 17, 2016

    Never flown AC before. This will be my first flight. We are flying out of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to Toronto for the first leg of our journey to Germany. We have a 1-hour 15-minute layover in Toronto. The flight to Toronto has been notoriously late. Today, it was 1 hour 45 minutes late. We don't want to miss our connection. All we asked Air Canada to do is change our flight out of Sault Ste. Marie to an earlier flight to ensure we make our connection. The flight is not for two months! And we are flying business class, which means we paid AC great money for these tickets. So AC wants over $300 to put us on an earlier flight. Ridiculous. It's a same-day change. Can someone please help me to understand why AC just won't put us on an earlier flight for no charge? I guarantee that if we miss this connection, it will be the first and last time we fly Air Canada.

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    Staff

    Reviewed June 10, 2016

    After a trip to Toronto, I bought some fudge in the airport souvenir shop as gifts for my friends and family. The fudge, along with three books (two of which were gifts, one of which is out of print), were stolen from my suitcase. I checked my bag in through the oversize check-in and had it tagged "fragile" at Pearson Intl Airport in Toronto. I grabbed my bag as soon as it came out on the carousel at Haneda Intl Airport in Tokyo. The Toronto Air Canada staff are clearly the ones who opened my bag and stole my belongings. Disgusting people who would do this and a horrible company that permits this. I'm looking forward to the next couple days when I begin to realize what else they stole as well. I'll stick with JAL and ANA and will never be flying with Air Canada again.

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    Reviewed June 4, 2016

    I travelled with my 1-year-old boy from San Francisco to Athens with Air Canada. I had a stroller with me. After a 5-hour flight we stopped for 2 hours in Montreal and I was given my stroller at the gate. When it was time to take the plane to go to Athens I was asked to leave the stroller at the gate again. So I did. When I arrived in Athens, having my boy in my arms for 3 hours I tried desperately to figure out where the stroller was. The stroller never appeared. I was finally told that it was left in Montreal and that it would arrive in Athens the next day. And that in less than a week I would have it delivered at home. I was given a phone number and a reference number to track the situation.

    I tried to remain as calm as I could. I took the paper and went home. I rang the department of lost and found to find out the reason I still haven't received the stroller and I was told that Air Canada is not approving the travel costs (from the airport - home). BTW I live 2 hours away from Athens. Air Canada: Irresponsible, useless, unorganised, careless BASTARDS.

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    Amin increased rating by 2 stars.
    After a positive interaction with Air Canada, Amin increased their star rating on June 2, 2016.

    Updated review: June 2, 2016

    We were offered seats in the middle, the communication issues between airline companies contribute to this. We reserved all the other seats for other flights but they said no guarantee that you won't be bumped off of your seat.

    Original Review: May 30, 2016

    We are flying to Barcelona from Alberta in 3 weeks and Air Canada is still changing planes, seats, times, etc. My girlfriend and I called 2 months in advance of the flight to reserve our seats next to each other. Without any notice, they changed the planes to a different type, canceled our seat reservation and now we are on very different seats. They said we can pay $100 per person to book next to each other on a preferred seat. I wish we had more options in Canada so we were not forced to book with Air CANADA. Next time, I'd pay more but travel with ease of mind with KLM. Shame of having Canada's name on Air Canada.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed May 25, 2016

    We flew by Air Canada on April 18, 2016 from Shanghai to Vancouver. I was with my husband and 6 year old son. I was just surprised that this airline doesn't care about their child passenger. At lunchtime the stewardess said that there is no more option for food but the chicken and rice. I don't have a choice so I ate while my son was sleeping. The food was SPICY, I called the stewardess to tell her that my son can't eat this spicy food and asked to give me other food. She was not happy and told me there is no more food aside from what we got. I asked her why they don't have kids menu. She answered back that I should have ordered beforehand. REALLY! If I should have known I should have ordered.

    It was the tour company who book the ticket and this was the first time we flew with them. We were using different airlines and they have good service to kids. They give kids some stuff to make them busy and at meal time some airlines serve the kids first and they have different menu from adult. This is the first time I have experienced this. They have 2 options but since we were close to the last when they come to us the other option was gone so we were left with spicy chicken. They should have serve the children first but they don't care and I won't care either because I am not flying with them anymore.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 23, 2016

    I received my broken bag after two days of my landing in Vancouver. When I opened it there was a note inside saying that your bag was hold for further inspection and AIr Canada is not responsible for any loss or damaged due to inspection!!! And also we are entitled to remove anything we think is illegal without any explanation!!! SERIOUSLY?!! IS IT CANADA OR SMALL ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE?!? Thank you so much for this much respect to a passenger. Not only the locks of the bag was broken but the body of the bag where the wheels were attached was completely broken so that it was not possible to fix it. I called them two days after to file an official complaint. They gave a confirmation number and I was told that everything has to be done through online file. I filed it online and after a few days that I haven't received anything from them I called AC. I was told I had to send all the docs via mail!!

    I sent all the needed original receipts including the photos of the broken bag just as they asked for. I received an email asking for the original receipt of the bag!! I don't even remember when I where I bought that bag!! Who keeps the receipt of the bag for many years? And also asked me to take the bag to a bag repair store for the damage estimation!!! They are officially trying to find an excuse not to pay back the damage they have made to your luggage! They must have an office in any airport to take care of these cases and a person who verify your damaged luggage. Not that they have only one office in Quebec for all the Canada!! They are making it too complicated and time consuming on purpose so that you leave it alone and say forgive and forget!!!

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    Customer ServiceInstallation & SetupPunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed April 20, 2016

    Avoid Air Canada as much as possible. Over a month of emails and on hold (63 hours wasted) - and not a single promise they made was ever kept. Luggage "declared" lost after 5 days (required for insurance company) - no such declaration ever provided. 27 promises of a callback - none ever occurred. Flight cancellation notifications - still do not work. Their support group are arrogant and NEVER provided any resolution to the very numerous issues with their systems.

    Luggage lost for over a month and still no reply to any emails nor phone calls. Cancelled flights show as on time - but when at check-in staff told me that they knew flight cancelled 12 hours earlier due to mechanical failures yet AC lies about this and does not honor their legal requirement to provide meal vouchers nor hotel accommodations.

    Their technical support are completely ineffective - (they drank their own cool-aid). I emailed them many times with images of error messages and frozen screens, and screens with erroneous information, they never respond to this. Instead they send you a form letter bragging about how good they are, with instructions - which of course do not work. It is obvious that they failed to read the earlier emails, and failed to act properly. They refuse to provide any real time support - i.e. a competent human being that speaks English and is prepared to resolve the issues with their (very badly designed) web based services. Bottom line: in the last month 39 AC staff lied about promised callbacks, escalation, rectifying problems, their job title, and their roles. They are all managers - yet when asked to provide their name and employee number they re-state their job, or just hang up.

    AC does a lot of pretending to be customer friendly, they brag a lot. The reality is that they do every trick in the book and some new ones to avoid providing any service or resolution. They have no live people at customer service - just automated replies of emails sent to them with ZERO promise of resolution let alone a callback. Folks the culture of deception and outright lies starts at the top - with the CEO and senior executives. They are cowards who just want to collect their fat salaries, pretend to each other that they are doing a good job. They are completely out of touch with reality and are routinely compensated by the taxpayer bailout after bailout. They do not deserve your business either.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed April 1, 2016

    On February 29, 2016 I was refused check-in on Air Canada flight AC26 in Shanghai after arriving on interconnecting flight from Bangkok Air ThailandTG664, both flights are on my Air Canada ticket number **. Approximately 60 to 80 of passengers from flight TG664 had to go through Chinese immigration and custom processing, retrieve luggage before reaching the Air Canada flights departure area.

    When I arrived to the area there were approximately fifteen TG664 passengers still waiting in line for simultaneous check-in to two Air Canada flights AC26 and AC088. I had spent more than 10 minutes waiting in line. When it was my turn to approach the counter I was informed that check-in is closed, the passenger ahead of me in line was allowed to board the plane. It wouldn't have happened if check-in personnel prioritized processing passengers from departing sooner AC26 flight ahead of AC088 flight passengers departing 15 minutes later.

    Air Canada in Shanghai knew how many passengers with Air Canada tickets will arrive from Bangkok and wasn't prepared to assist them in speedy immigration and custom processing, provide enough personnel to check-in all passengers on time. Two more passengers from TG664 waiting in line to other check-in counter were also left behind in Shanghai. The official reason for refusal to board me and two other passengers on flight to Vancouver was no show for check-in. That is the way it was noted in the AC26 flight documentation.

    This incorrect interpretation of what actually happened was created by the Shanghai airport Air Canada shift manager on duty at this time to justify not giving three passengers left in Shanghai because of his negligence support described in the Air Canada Customer Service Plan. "If you miss your connecting flight due to reasons within our control, we will provide you with: snacks or meal allowances, hotel accommodations if you are away from home and we are unable to provide you with same day transportation to your final destination, ground transportation to/from your hotel if shuttle service is not provided by the hotel, an overnight amenity kit (if required)." All we had got from Air Canada shift manager in Shanghai on duty was telephone number in Canada to rebook our return home flight and direction how to get to the airport business center to make paid international call to Canada.

    I have sent complaint letter to Air Canada Customer Relations describing in detail what happened and asking for reimbursement of the incurred expenses. Air Canada Customer Relations department in their response refused to acknowledge that Air Canada staff wrongdoings were the reason why I wasn't processed before the check-in was closed. There was no single word in the response referring to the events described. I hope this review will be read by somebody from Air Canada capable making Customer Relations follow official company policy on people who miss connection flight due to Air Canada staff missteps.

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    Reviewed March 28, 2016

    A recent flight to Las Vegas & return from Calgary, Our flight was changed losing a day of vacation by Air Canada. Losted was Resort fees, car rental, to name a few. On the return flight at check in 1 of our carry-ons was denied but the second was ok. We have used these for years. While the wife explained I continued down the ramp. Just as I was about to board the same attendant came running down and told me My carry on is now too big and "It MUST be checked or you'll won't be allowed on the flight." Oddly we were the only ones on the entire flight that were TOLD carry-ons were too big. My carry-on had a $2500 CPAP machine. We all know how checked luggage is tossed about. NEVER FLY AIR CANADA.

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    Staff

    Reviewed March 27, 2016

    We traveled on the 26 March 2016. Flight no AC 854 from Vancouver to London. 16 friends from Jersey having spent some time skiing and visiting Vancouver. When we got on board everything seemed fine. The cabin crew at the back of the plane seemed tired not only in looked but not at all happy. I understand everyone has an off day. The male attendant seemed pleasant but the lady was extremely cranky. And not at all helpful. And the female crew looked quite scruffy in appearance. When asked what was the chicken dinner she said "just chicken" and moved on. We got no smile the whole journey. The meal just after take-off my husband said and all my friends was just terrible and as for breakfast I got a piece of banana bread and a small yogurt and that was nearly threw at me. The journey off was quite different on the way over to Vancouver, quite the opposite in fact. I do hope all this feedback helps and I do hope to visit Canada again.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed March 25, 2016

    Train their staff to be more accommodating and customer friendly. Most off the staff I have firsthand experience with do not enjoy their jobs and do not even want to be there... and it shows!!! They are mostly there for their own perks. The one and only reason I travel with Air Canada is my access to the concierge. My husband has held super elite status for many years due to business travel. I on the other hand travel only for pleasure, obtaining super elite status a few years ago. However, after this year I will not use this airline again as they have made it increasingly more difficult and expensive each year to achieve this status. I would far sooner use a U.S. airline even if it means more stopovers to get to my destination.

    To put it mildly, I am extremely disappointed with the way Air Canada conduct business and treat their customers... Super Elite or not!!! As stated earlier, some of the vast annual profits would be better used in training their staff to a higher standard, where the passenger might benefit!!! I would never recommend this airline to anyone!!! Canada desperately needs some competition when it comes to Air Travel.

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    Process

    Reviewed March 25, 2016

    Keep to the schedule. There are far too many delays due to mechanical difficulties and/or overbooking. The airlines should enforce the carry-on luggage rules. It is not pleasant to be whacked in the head because some passenger brings full-size luggage as carry on. Keep the bathrooms clean on long flights like from Denver to Hawaii.

    Cost is very important if indeed you can find flights that actually go where you wish to go. Flights from busy airports that leave at 6:30 am may make the airlines more efficient at using their equipment, but it is a real pain in the rear for a passenger since they must not only stand in line to deposit baggage but also for security. It is even worse when travelling from Canada since one must stand in line for US customs and immigration.

    I have flown Delta, United, West Jet and Air Canada often over the past five years. We split our time between Florida and Ontario, Canada and we are always looking for flights between Ft Myers and Toronto International as we also spent Christmas in Canada. United has the Mileage Plus program which is the best frequent flyer program around. They are part of the Star Alliance which includes Air Canada so we can use points earned on one airline for flights on the other. There is not a lot to choose between these airlines in my experience. However, both Delta and United have a "one bag free" program if you have their credit card and that is worth $50 on every round trip.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed March 25, 2016

    Some things look so dated in the industry -turnaround times - communication. Luggage seems a no brainer as they contract out. The baggage people should be better prepared as they can used technology to know exactly when that plane is expected at the gate. It should never be delayed. There is no surprise. Electronic bagging should make it flawless to lose something. It stuns me scanning can go wrong. The customer should always be shown the tag before it goes down the ramp. Air Canada has broken itself into two businesses. One the mainline and the other "Rouge-" the no frills flight. l find they have taken some of the glamour of flying away. They also seem to overprice some of the small places they fly. I enjoy the company support if there is an issue.

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    Price

    Reviewed March 1, 2016

    We traveled from Atlanta to Hyderabad via Toronto and Delhi on 13th December 2015. When we arrived at the New Delhi airport our bag was missing. I received my bag 2 months later i.e. a few days back and the bag is missing 70% of my items. These items have been removed from my bag without any clarification or note. The items that were returned with my bag have molds in them and are non-usable

    It is really sad that we receive our bag after 2 months and we had to buy everything that was in the bag during our vacation, spend hours calling and tracking our bag, and spend hours during our vacation to do all of the paperwork so we can comply to send the documentation within the specified 21 days. We send receipts of new purchases for the first 2 days and we are given a mere $100 as compensation and told that this is full and final settlement? For what? For all the pain and trouble we went through?

    Look at the damage done to my vacation, my baggage, items being unavailable during our vacation, lost items, stress and spending our vacation time doing shopping to replace necessary items that we got for our vacation and tracking our baggage? I cannot accept the $100 that is sent as part of settlement as the cost of damage done to our family vacation and the items purchased is far more that.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Feb. 15, 2016

    On 1 February 2016, I went online to check in for my husband and I on AC255 from Edmonton to Vancouver then AC033 from Vancouver to Sydney Australia. The first leg of the flight was very good. However, the second leg was a nightmare and the worst flight in all our 18 years of using AC. Our tickets were for economy class on a Boeing 777-200LR, seats 28J and 28K, which should have been in a second row behind a row of front seats (according to the online details and seating map).

    As we lined up to board the plane, we overheard a lady in front of us being informed that her seat had been changed due to the original aircraft being replaced with another. We boarded the plane which was a Boeing 777, only to find our seats had a wall directly behind us, no overhead space for our carry on luggage and only an aisle separating us from the toilet with the door directly opposite our seats.

    The fifteen and a half hour flight was horrific. Our seats would not recline (we are medium height) and our knees were hard up against the seats in front of us which was very difficult especially for my husband with his knee replacement. Our screens were approximately eighteen inches from our faces and when the seats in front of us reclined, we were unable to move. Being in the middle seat with another passenger in the aisle seat meant I could not move without disturbing someone. The toilet was used the entire flight with a line up of three or more passengers in a continuous stream. This meant the light was constantly powering in our faces, the flush of the toilet and the use of the hand basin, not to mention the shocking smell (especially after two or three hours flight) added to our distress.

    Not one of us in our row 28 HJK seats could bend down to pick up anything under the seats in front or things we had dropped as our heads hit the back of the seats in row 27 HJK. The staff on board were oblivious to our predicament and obviously did not give two hoots about us anyway. I had a bad fall four hours prior to departing Edmonton which was very painful and resulted in me trying to sleep in my seat whilst kneeling up backwards with my head against the wall behind our seats. That didn't work because my feet were jammed up hard against the seat in row 27.

    We did complain to the staff as we left the plane, one member just shrugged her shoulders as if we were just garbage. Another staff member asked for more details to which I advised that the owners of Air Canada should travel in the same seats and see if they could cope for fifteen and a half hours, packed in like sardines.

    Why did we pay the same as every other economy class passenger and be allocated the worst seats in the plane? We have traveled over sixteen times with Air Canada but have NEVER experienced such appalling conditions. Next year when we travel, we will look at any other airline except Air Canada. All we can say to Air Canada is that because of your greedy, nasty attitude to your clients, we will NEVER EVER travel with you again and will certainly spread the word about your shocking NON-service.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 12, 2016

    I paid extra to check a fragile item. Myself and another customer listened to the baggage handlers throwing things around behind the rubber curtain. They don't make it easy to file a complaint. I only used them because our father in law got a deal through them. Never again. Apparently their grade 4 goon squad don't know what fragile means, actually they just don't care. I used them once before to import high end Japanese Koi. Nothing but problems. 12hr delay when you're dealing with expensive live fish. Ultimately this is my fault for being stupid enough to give these guys a second chance. Shame on me. NEVER EVER again. The food sucked if you can call that food. Service has been reduced to basically nothing compared with 20 yrs ago. Just go bankrupt already and do Canada a favor.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Feb. 10, 2016

    I just recently booked my trip with Hotwire and picked Air Canada. While checking in at airport realized my passport had expired and could not make it on the flight. Call to explained but they didn't help, insisted that a charge of 200 per ticket was going to be apply. What a senseless company, I'll make an effort to let everyone know not to use them if they have other choices. In a time where airlines are making billions in profit, these monster airline does not care about people, they care about ripping you off every penny. Please think twice before booking Air Canada.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Feb. 4, 2016

    I had a few questions of Air Canada customer service. It seems whenever I call, I am on hold for a very long time. I have even attempted phoning as early as 6.45AM, only to hear a recording they are experiencing longer than usual wait times. Say what!!??? At THAT hour of the day? I have learned that in order to get through to anyone, I have to clear the time so I can spend on hold. To be honest this has almost encouraged me to book a vacation with another airline. One thing I'll say though, I'm very glad A/C has changed the service for going to Puerto Vallarta. Smaller leg room, no movies, etc. etc. made for a very long flight, but it appears as though that has been corrected.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 31, 2016

    OUR BAGGAGE WAS LOST as it was not loaded by Air Canada Calgary to Las Vegas trip. Service was horrendous. No follow up call, no service given to us. We pleaded and requested help. No one bothered to help. Worse, our baggage was delayed and lost items.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Jan. 28, 2016

    A Canada airplanes are falling apart. On Jan 5 2016 I had the misfortune to travel on this 3rd world carrier. Business class in this airline is worse than economy in some Asian and Middle Eastern carriers. To start my seat armrest was missing. I was offered a cushion to put over the sharp edges. In addition is was offered duct tape to keep the cushion in place. The staff was annoyed with me for even mentioning the issue. Later when food service was started it was discovered my seat tray would not extend either. I was told that they could not serve me. So 12 hour flight no food besides stale almonds. I purchased this ticket in July and this was the return portion. It was booked through Lufthansa. I was pretty surprised to see this old 777. This airline is a disgrace. The staff are terrible. The aircraft dirty and the food is inedible. Before you fly with this airline check other options.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Jan. 19, 2016

    I am sitting in Maui waiting for my daughters to arrive, but as usual you can never depend on Air Canada to do anything on time or to give any explanation as to why? They were to leave Vancouver at 17:45 & as of 20:00 (flight 1827) they have not boarded yet. This was not our first experience on this particular vacation. We had another daughter & son-in-law scheduled to leave Jan 3rd, but with no notification or explanation their flight was cancelled & rescheduled for Jan 4th from Maui to Calgary. We have numerous family & friends travelling back & forth over our six week stay & as long as they fly West Jet it doesn't seem to be a problem. As my husband says Air Canada's motto is "If you’re not happy, we're not happy". Please Air Canada get your act together.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 14, 2016

    I had multiple issue. 3 of my flights were delayed by 2 to 4 hours each. I had even bigger issue than that. So I was traveling from India to US. My layover was Delhi and Canada. I was checked at Bombay airport, given boarding passes to all my connecting flights. The Bombay ground staff checked my US visa and documents and handed me the boarding passes. All I needed was to do my immigration in Delhi terminal. So I was ready to fly. After a 3 hour flight to Delhi (my first layover).

    There was a lot of confusion at this terminal so I just went to question and got asked for a transit visa of Canada (my layover was not more then 3 hours). I was like "can I buy it there?" The staff was rude and told me "you cannot do that." "I have a valid US visa. Why do I need a transit visa when I am not stepping out of the airport in Canada" was my second question. I was told I was not the only one who is not allowed to travel, there are more people. (Does this help??) We all plan a travel.

    I was told it is seem new rule.. But now when I read online the transit visa is needed for travelers starts from MARCH 2016 and not JANUARY 2015. I was not allowed to board the flight. I was not given any assistance to figure another flight. All they told me was cancel your tickets and book another one. I was like "can you help me cancel it, because I am with an international phone with no service and the airport."

    Delhi terminal did not have WIFI service for people before they pass security. I informed this to the Air canada staff, they just ignored me and said they can help me out. I have your ticket, least you can do is help me cancel the ticket. But no!!! They were rude and just pointed me to a local telephone stating figure from there.

    I had to book tickets using a overpriced local phone. Calling my family to figure my tickets was not a pleasant conversation and having all the stress. I managed to book new tickets for the next day and flew out of india. My trip was delayed by 2 days. I was suppose to reach home on the 12th morning. I didn't make it until 13th night with a long route which was hectic and unplanned for. I had to spend one day in a state I had nobody. I had to pay for boarding, I had to pay for a new flight, I don't know how to get my money back from a flight I didn't take. The ground staff did not give me any information. They just washed their hands off. I would expect an airline to figure and put you on a different craft but they did not even acknowledge my presence. The inefficiency of the staff and no prior notice costed me a lot of money and time.

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    PricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 11, 2016

    My wife and I were flying from Varadero to Frankfurt through Montreal with overnight stop. Both check-in from Varadero all the way and different tickets. In Montreal I arrived late in the airport with my luggage. In the meantime my wife try to issue tags for my luggage but because I had exceed the time limit to check-in luggage she communicates the Air Canada manager on duty who politely try to assist her until the time he received our Greek passports. He start to argue that this is not possible and he cannot do anything when two minutes before it was “I will do my best.” When I arrived and ask if I can let my luggage behind and just board he threatened me with police, security and prison. After that he denied boarding to both of us even though we had different tickets and rebook us charging as a 600$ fee. I was never expected to experience nationality discrimination in Canada! It’s a pity...

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 7, 2016

    I booked a flight on Air Canada from Fort Lauderdale to Toronto on January 5, 2016 at 8:45 pm. I checked online to verify the time and the flight was delayed until 3 am. I went to the airport immediately and the customer service agents would not re-book me on another flight and gave no explanation as why the flight was delayed for over 6 hours. I was not able to book another flight until Saturday January 9. Worst airline ever.

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    Reviewed Dec. 30, 2015

    It is strange for an well established airline like Air canada to be so discriminating against people with special needs. I do not travel within Canada for past 3 years due this fact and only using West jet that has accommodated my disability. I was told that Air Canada does not recognize emotional service animal with Canada and does recognize to any other destination. With that fact we purchased an air Canada vacation package.

    When dealt with the medical desk to add the service animal to my itinerary after a few long, uncomfortable calls, I was told my condition "does not matter" and Air Canada does not accept my service animal and does not recognize my disability, despite the fact I do have a very clear note that I have from my treating doctor. I do strongly believe an organization that discounts and does not ones disability is inhumane and discriminating towards people with special needs and must be hold accountable. I am quite disturbed and saddened that living in a first world country I am subjected to such credulity.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 18, 2015

    Hello, I travelled with Air Canada from Philadelphia on 01 Aug 2015 & my baggage was delayed. I reported it on arrival in Toronto at Pearson Int and followed through via phone every day. On the 3rd day, United Airlines came and delivered the suitcase. In the meantime, Air Canada confirmed that they will pay 50 dollars for every day of delayed luggage and requested all info (email, home address, tel, nrs, etc). I called them on 3rd August to report that the luggage has been delivered by another company. They promised to send me the refund for the claim. Then they asked for the original documents (boarding pass, ticket, etc) to be posted to Montreal, which I did from Sweden.

    I call them almost once a week, paying an international tariff to follow up on this case. Every time some person will say either that they have written to me or have the wrong address or telephone number. Sometimes they say that they are still looking for my suitcase. I travel a lot both personal/business and never came across such unfriendliness and inefficiency. Please do me a favour and never travel with this airline as they keep lying to their customers and coming up with excuses to pay a claim. I am still waiting for their supervisor to call me.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 9, 2015

    This was my first and my last trip with Air Canada. My spouse and I travel frequently and we have heard so many terrible things about Air Canada. Unfortunately we didn't listen to the beware statements. We picked a flight that was early in the morning, this flight time was the only reason we booked a flight with Air Canada. We showed up slightly late (40 minutes before departure). We proceeded to check in, at that time a lady told us very eagerly that check in for that flight was closed, and that we would need to catch a different flight. My spouse was very upset, and requested a refund. At this point we were offered a credit. This trip was for him to play in a fundraising hockey tournament, a quick 5 day trip to Nova Scotia from Edmonton Alberta. This wasn't something we had to do but something he wanted.

    I paid the $300 to catch a slightly later flight plus baggage fee. (WestJet has always been able to ensure we got on our original flight, so the lack of help received was disappointing). Walking away we looked at our tickets and noticed they were separate, I went back and made it very clear if we could not sit together we would like the refund. The teller printed 2 new tickets from Edmonton to Calgary; she told me in Calgary they will have no problem swapping our seats to be side by side. When I questioned the statement she said she would put a note on file for us. We arrived in Calgary; I found the connecting flight and proceeded to the gate. When I told them that I was told we would be able to change seats, the lady very rudely explains that they can only change seats if they have room, she says they don't. This was very upsetting, considering I wasn't going to go on the trip if this was the case.

    Now I was already in Calgary. She also said there were no notes on file. This was even more frustrating because I've been lied to twice by the rep in Edmonton. I asked to speak to the manager, after a little time she came over. She made some changes and finally we were able to sit together. When we arrived in Nova Scotia, Brian (my spouse) was paged to the bagging office, where they explained the Hockey sticks did not make the trip. The lady was kind and informed us it is set to arrive first thing the next day and they will deliver it to where we are staying.

    We informed the lady that we are staying in New Glascow one night and the next day we would be going to Sherbrooke. They grabbed the address gave us a piece of paper and promised delivery to the address before noon. The next day it is 12:15 pm and Air Canada calls my spouse's sister? They ask her if it's being delivered or if we are picking it up. Since this phone call was LATE and to the wrong person, she had to call Brian to find out where the package is being sent. (Sherbrooke or New Glasgow).

    The rep on the phone said no problem just call this number back and let us know. Brian and I decided to wait in New Glasgow for the hockey sticks, as he cannot play in the tournament without them. We tried to call them back to tell them to deliver the bag. When we got through they informed us they don't know what package we are talking about and were unable to pull it up by the reference number. So now we were being told that is it lost? We spent the next 4 hours on the phone trying to track down this package. Without these sticks we would have flown all the way to Nova Scotia for nothing!

    Spending thousands on flights and vehicle rental for nothing. When we asked for a manager, we were told that there are no managers. What kind of airline is this? To add to this experience while spending hours on the phone with people who barely spoke English, we had 3 different people tell us to rent a hockey stick, do you have any idea how stupid that sounds, you cannot rent a stick!

    Do you tell people to rent clothes when you lose them?! The amount of time we spend trying to track down a package took up a day that we should have been visiting with family on what was already a very, very short visit. Finally we spoke to someone and they said it was found, they said they would deliver and we would have it in 2 hours, 3 hours later still no sticks. And now we are running out of time. We phoned back and again spoke with someone who this time told us to buy a stick and they will send us a claims form to be reversed, $200 of the bill, (sticks are closer to $300.00) but this was better than nothing. She grabbed his email and said she would send the form. We went out to purchase the stick and waited for the form, we also pondered how we have no room in the stick bag for another stick. Of course no form arrived so we called back and were informed that there is no form.

    We need to send in an online form, and wait for approval. So we would have bought the stick without any guarantee of return. From a company who lied to us this many times, this wasn't worth the risk. A couple hours later the bag showed up at a bus station!! They don't deliver to the house. Yet again another lie. At the very least you would expect Air Canada to provide free bag check on our next flight or credit back the charges to switch flights, but no we received nothing of the sort from Air Canada. Just a little tag on the bag saying sorry. We made a status on Facebook and an Air Canada employee (Ralph **) starts telling Brian to just buy a stick. I'm pretty sure if we wanted to buy another stick than we wouldn't have bothered bringing any! What a terrible, terrible company. I would like to know how a company with terrible customer service, no managers, who lie 24/7 is still in business.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Dec. 7, 2015

    Air Canada damaged my suitcase beyond repair when I flew with them internationally on October 9th. I filed a damage report at the airport at the time, as they asked me to do. I then submitted all the required paperwork and photos, as they asked me to, 3 days after that. It is now December 7th and I have still heard nothing, despite repeated calls. The most they will now tell me is that they have sent a letter to me and made a decision on the case (decision? they damaged my bag beyond repair), but they will not tell me its contents.

    I will be traveling soon and now have no luggage and no way to even figure out how Air Canada is treating the issue. Will they be replacing my bag? Should I buy a new one myself? It's absurd that it takes them well over 2 months to deal with the issue, but it's even more absurd that now that the case is supposedly resolved, they still won't tell me in what way it has been resolved, so that I have no idea what to do in regard to baggage purchasing for my upcoming trip. Would not recommend that you travel with this airline.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 2, 2015

    My wife and I flew home from Cancun to Cranbrook, BC yesterday. We had a great deal of time during our layover in Houston but were going to be pressed for time getting our flight from Calgary to Cranbrook. Prior to departing from Cancun we tried to use the AC website to confirm our final flight, but were unable to do so. We tried again in Houston with the same result. As the first two legs of our flight were with United we went to their customer service desk in Houston and they suggested that we call the AC Customer Service number on the United courtesy phone.

    After a ten minute wait, my wife spoke to an AC rep who suggested that she delete the cookies and history on her computer and that she would have no trouble using the online service. That did not work either. Finally, in desperation we found an AC employee at a gate in another terminal at the airport. She was able to confirm our flight in minutes, setting our minds greatly at ease. So, our hats off to you SAMANTHA, for your courteous service and assistance. If the AC website worked nearly as efficiently as you did, we would have been able to resolve this situation in minutes.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 1, 2015

    On a recent trip to Europe, we chose Air Canada because of favorable competing prices. The connecting airport was Pearson airport in Toronto. While many posts in this category are for Air Canada, it seems that many issues may arise outside the airline's control and may belong more to ground-level agencies attached to airport services.

    In our case, the connecting flight to Europe was lost due to weather delays: traffic control in Toronto asked that Toronto-bound airplanes from the US delay their departure. Once our plane was allowed to depart and land in Toronto, it was a few hours later than scheduled, and the connecting flight to Europe already departed. We discovered that our names were already booked on the same flight the next day (that's good), but we really wanted to get to Europe faster. An Air Canada representative told us that there is a late flight leaving Toronto for London, and maybe we could get booked into that flight, and a connecting flight from London to our European final destination.

    Another AC representative that was tasked to accommodate the needs of stranded travelers told us that she could not see on her computer the information about the flight Toronto-London, so she directed us to go the top floor (ticketing) and see if Air Canada ticketing could be of help. In the meantime, she booked us into our regular flight leaving the next day. She also gave us the hotel vouchers, the hotel meal vouchers, and the $10 vouchers for airport food purchases. Given that this delay was weather-related and not airline negligence, I thought that was a nice gesture. At the AC ticketing counter on the top floor of Pearson airport, the AC representative informed us that he was not allowed to put us on the London-bound flight because "you have been already changed once and I cannot change it again". Maybe a more senior ground staff person would have known how to bypass that on their computer system, in my humble opinion.

    The hotel was somewhat medium-low quality, but that was expected, but otherwise the shuttle service was very efficient and predictable and pragmatic. Overall, not too bad, considering the horror stories I've heard. The two other small issues I found a little irritating is 1) go through Canada border and customs when arriving in Toronto if your final destination is not Canada, and 2) the gates for the Air Canada Jazz small-medium planes are in a remote area of the airport (gates 84-92), reachable after a very long walk and removed by the more modern airport facilities and food outlets.

    The point (1) above did not apply on the return trip, as one can go directly to the US Border and Customs. However, the young ground staff personnel that are directing passengers on to which queue to go to gave misguided and misinformed directions, and got US-bound passengers to queue on the Canada border and customs path. I specifically verbally asked two separate people that my final destination was U.S., but still they directed me to "enter" Canada. Only because a fellow passenger knew my final destination and saw me, he called me out to follow him instead. Not sure why this happened, but maybe better training of ground staff should fix this.

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    Reviewed Nov. 29, 2015

    Seems like every time I have any "dealings" with any staff or any flight with Air Canada it is a bad experience. Being an optimist I always hope for a good experience. I recently spoke to a staff member of Air Canada on the phone. She was cold, arrogant and told me that I have a "cheap" ticket therefore, I should not expect better service. I did not know I had a "cheap" ticket. I used some air miles which I had collected for my flight from Vancouver to Calgary this Christmas season.

    The conversation with the person on the other end was not at all pleasant! I presume I was not important enough in her opinion! Wow!!! I have travelled for many years to Norway and Denmark. Every experience I have had with Air Canada has not been good. I try to avoid this airline, but seem not to be able to do so. Must have a monopoly for some reason on flights. Next time I will travel with Iceland Air - heard excellent airlines. And yes, I'll visit Iceland also! KLM and Lufthansa are very good airlines. One does not have to travel first class to have a positive experience!!!

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 18, 2015

    24 hours prior to our flight I went online to check in and book luggage to the hold. There was some confusion when it came to the baggage. I was asked how many bags to go in the hold and I entered '2' assuming that I was entering for myself and not for me and my husband. The next page took me to the next step, I still hadn't had the opportunity to enter the one bag for my husband. I went 'back' and changed the 2 to '3'. Next page total cost came up as $160. I could not go back and I could not change what was entered. There didn't seem to be any alternative but to pay the $160 and sort out the error when we got to the airport.

    I could have deleted the site check in and started again but as I was using a friend's internet and time was of the essence I decided to have the error 'simply' corrected at the airport on arrival. The actual entry should have been two bags in the hold for Pamela ** and one bag in the hold for Robert **. I did not get any page coming up asking for how many bags in the hold for Robert **. Evidently it is AC policy to charge $25 for the first bag, $35 for the second therefore our total charge for bags in the hold should only be $85. I am looking for a refund of $75.

    When we got to the airport we asked the agent about a refund but they can't do anything, suggested we go online to Customer Service. 15 minutes 'hold' to be told that they can't do anything and we should go to the website and fill in the form at 'Tell us your Experience'. After that exercise, we got a reply that the 'problem' would be dealt with and would take at least 28 days to get back to us!

    I have tried to get a response via email and facebook but other than "Thank you for your patience" auto-replies nothing has happened and it is now 14 days later. The flight itself was truly a nightmare, the seats are far too close and there is no leg room, even for my height of 5'7" - my husband is 6'3" and had to put his legs across my (centre) seat space, the kid behind kept kicking the seat, I politely asked the mother to have him stop, but that didn't work. The food was dreadful, no entertainment on 3-hour flight. A three-year-old boy, across the aisle, jumping up and down, screaming and shouting - flight attendants not to be seen!

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    Reviewed Nov. 16, 2015

    My GF and I were supposed to travel to Tokyo however when changing planes in Vancouver I was stopped by immigration and directed back to Seattle due to my reckless driving ticket on my record. We contacted Air Canada the same day regarding the issue and asked for a flight that did not route through Canada with through Air Canada or an affiliate. The customer service rep stated it would be easier to refund the tickets and we should just book through another airline direct. We have not seen refunds for the tickets. It has been nearly 30 days since we spoke with customer service. They have been useless when we call and have provided no updates as to the status of the refund. I would say they have the worst customer service of any airlines I have ever flown and I travel constantly for work.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 16, 2015

    I was traveling from Montreal to Toronto Island Airport on Sunday Nov. 15. After mechanical problems, my flight was cancelled. I spent 6 hours getting sent back and forth in Trudeau Airport from one gate to the next, as a standby passenger, only to be told at the end of the evening that I wouldn't be on the last flight out to Toronto because my name was not in fact on the standby list. I was reluctantly given a hotel room for the night, a booking for the next morning, and informed that my suitcase was in Toronto at Billy Bishop Island Airport.

    On arrival at Billy Bishop, I was told that in fact my luggage was still in Montreal. Although the Baggage Agent told me it would be sent to Toronto on the next flight, it's now been more than 4 hours and 3 flights from Montreal to Toronto, and my suitcase still can't be located. In 4 trips to the Customer Service desk at Trudeau Airport, and 3 gate agents, there has not yet been an apology from Air Canada for the confusion or inconvenience. And of course, there is no luggage yet. I will be seeking compensation for the Montreal-Toronto flight because of the continual misinformation, compensation for my travel back to my hometown (since the friend who would have picked me up was not available the day after my original flight), and of course I may end up claiming for my lost suitcase if it doesn't show up. Stay tuned for the next update.

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    Reviewed Nov. 14, 2015

    Their customer service is terrible. We booked a trip to Cuba with them then found out our dog is dying of cancer 47 days before our departure date. We didn't want to risk being away if he is still with us so called to find out our options. I spent 4 hours on hold, was disconnected, connected to the wrong department and they refused to transfer me so had to call back again. I called the next day and put my number on the list to call back - that was a week ago now and still they have not returned my call. We also called with my husbands phone and waited on hold over over an hour. We requested to pay the re-book fee but requested a credit to reschedule as soon as we could confirm with our both our workplaces when we could book another time and we were far too stressed to plan a vacation before their 45 day cut off to lose 50%. I understand cancellations fees but they were rude and the service was terrible.

    I emailed them the next day and received an auto-reply that my email would be reposed to within 48 hours. That was over 5 days ago now and still nothing. I understand the need for cancellation fees but their lack of service and stress with even trying to contact anyone or get a reply added a ton of stress to an already very stressful time. We ended up just cancelling and paying the $500 fee. After that experience we will not be booking any future vacations with Air Canada Vacations again! It is impossible to get a hold of anyone without waiting for hours, and they do not call or email back (at least not so far and its been a week which is terrible service).

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 10, 2015

    My significant other is in a nightmare of a situation, trying to locate an incredibly important and valuable piece of luggage lost by Air Canada. We have followed all proper protocol, and it has now been 8 days and there is still no trace of it. There are custom made pieces inside that would have been carried on if they weren't too heavy, and it is devastating to think that there is no record of where it might be. Air Canada customer service has been poor, with multiple calls made on our behalf and no attempt to maintain communication by them. With every call or visit to the airport, we have been met by stone cold representatives, with little care or compassion for the trouble the airline has caused.

    With already 8 days spent without clothes and personal belongings, it's sad to feel like a long planned trip is wasting away. He has 4 more future flights booked with Air Canada that we are thinking about cancelling due to unreliability. I have been an Aeroplan member for about 20 years, and also have a credit card associate with Air Canada. I am certainly cancelling this and will never be flying with them again. I HIGHLY caution anyone considering flying with them in the future to rethink their choices.

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    CoveragePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Nov. 9, 2015

    Arrived 50 minutes before flight was to depart. Air Canada stated that it was too late to acquire a boarding pass. Had to purchase another flight departing 6 hours later. This flight was domestic from Calgary to Regina, only 1 carry on. Result had to buy another $200 ticket. Waiting to hear back from Air Canada on what the deadline policy really is... I would like to think they are going to work with me on this incident however if they choose not to, there are other airline options moving forward. I am disappointed so far with Air Canada but the more important review will come after Air Canada has had an opportunity to resolve this incident with me... I will keep you all posted. I would like to see a refund or a courtesy flight between Regina/Calgary as it's a flight I often make... Stay tuned.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePrice

    Reviewed Nov. 6, 2015

    There are a lot of good things written here about Air Canada. I always believed that the customer service provided by this very reputable company is one of the best. Unfortunately a rotten egg can spoil a pudding. Let me share with you my experience. My wife and me had a pilgrimage trip to Israel back in October. We are not a rich family and we always fly economy.

    Prior to this trip I received very good bonus from the company I'm working for and we decided to spoil ourselves a little and fly with comfort in business class. Well, on the way back (flight number AC 085 on October 23rd) we got unexpected troubles. Someone spilled a lot of coffee on my wife's seat (5D). The seat was covered in coffee, wet, and extremely smelly. The crew member tried to clean it but it wasn't much of an improvement. The smell was nauseating. The crew member could not offer anything in exchange because there were no other seats in business class available. I switched the seats with my wife. Paying such price, we both have been waiting for a much better experience. Instead, I got to sit on a stinky and coffee stained seat the entire way. So much for Air Canada business class.

    This is not the end of the sad story. After we returned home, I had submitted a claim to the Air Canada customer relations department describing the situation. The reference number is **. Guess what? In a few days I received an email signed by Catherine **. It was just a standard reply, very likely saved in their computer system for any kind of claims. We've been offered an apology and a 15% discount on our next trip with Air Canada, good for one year only. What a joke! Why would we ever fly Air Canada again only to be subjected to this kind of service? I believe we deserve more serious attention from Air Canada.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 2, 2015

    In August I flew from Heathrow to Halifax. I arrived but my baggage did not. Air Canada lost it for four days. Their customer service centre told me it was being sent by courier, but the truth (discovered after a friend of a friend who works for Air Canada investigated) was that it was put on a bus and sent to a bus station. Air Canada failed to return calls as promised and gave me inaccurate information when I called them. Subsequent calls, and e-mails have gone unanswered and a letter to the Chair has remained unanswered. Compensation I was promised has not been paid. This is a company that will happily take your money but cares not one jot for you as a customer. This is the worst customer service experience I have had in over 30 year of air travel. My advice is avoid this airline at all costs.

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    Reviewed Oct. 30, 2015

    My 75 years Uncle was supposed to travel from Toronto to Newark, on travel date he got sick since morning and we had to take him to the doctor for emergency. Our doctor advise not to travel at all so we cancelled the plan... When we ask the expedia about the refund they asked me to submit all the documents which I did. Later on when I enquired they told me you need to contact air canada directly... When we contacted they said we cannot consider medical reason as ground for refund... AIR CANADA IS WORST AIRLINE AND DO NOT LISTEN to ANY REASON NO EXCEPTION... THEY ARE **.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Oct. 27, 2015

    After receiving my air booking from Viking Cruise Lines I wanted to upgrade my seat to the extra leg room class. Lufthansa, United... no problem. After waiting 10 minutes for a rep. I was informed, in an ugly exchange, if you don't buy the ticket from them you can't upgrade. Who are these people? Why would you speak to a customer that way and have that rule? I checked your website. Not looking forward to my trip. United, Lufthansa, is this a partner you want?

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    Reviewed Oct. 25, 2015

    We purchased 5k in business class tickets for a 20th wedding anniversary holiday to Scottsdale with Air Canada. As we board the plane one ticket gets bumped to economy class splitting us up so that an Air Canada pilot can fly business class with no reasoning or refund or warning. BE AWARE. Part of Air Canada Captain (Pilot) Union Bargaining provides Air Canada (Captain) pilots First Class trips at any time and paying individuals get bumped to economy regardless if they have already paid the full fare 6 months in advance. Be cautious of your next booking with Air Canada or better off use an option.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 24, 2015

    I traveled with Air Canada on the 8th of September and the ticket cost £922.00 for bereavement. I was told that I could claim back some of this money once I submitted a death certificate. On the outward journey I missed a connecting flight and the Air Canada representative charged me an additional £1277.30 for a seat in business class because that was, as he said, "the only seat left". When arriving back in the UK I submitted the details that they required and I was told, "sorry, you are not getting a penny back" and literally in the email exchange, I was told, "don't bother sending anymore emails, my decision is final." I have never had such a rotten service from Air Canada as I just have and to make matters worse I told them that my Mom was ill and she passed away.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedOnline & AppStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 17, 2015

    On August 4 I purchased an Air Canada ticket from Vancouver to Kahului Hawaii from one of their ticket agents, Flight Hub. It was to leave November 3 and return November 16, 2015. On September 14 I received an email from Flight Hub that there was a change in flight times. Air Canada had CANCELLED my flight months in advance and told us we had to fly out one day early on November 2! This wound up costing me over $450 us to rebook hotels, rental cars and extra meals. Air Canada would not talk to me about it and would not give me a supervisor, and has not responded to emailed complaints. They also blamed Flight Hub and told me to call them. Flight Hub says it's Air Canada's fault as they cancelled the flight and on and on the circle went.

    Now I went online to Air Canada to book a confirmed seat and pay the money to do so. My flight shows as a ROUGE flight now on their website, not Air Canada and they are telling me now I have to pay for my meals! I booked and paid for an AIR CANADA flight in good faith. On a day I wanted to leave, Air Canada changed the flight to one a day early, months in advance, cost me over $450 in additional charges to stay the extra day, will not contact me anyway, and now the last straw is they changed the carrier and told me I now have to pay for my dinner! This is the last straw. I am 60 years old, have flown for years, used to be proud of an airline that carries my country's name and they are worse than an airline that flies out of Nairobi now.

    I just got off the phone to Air Canada, trying to get them to honour our original tickets and provide us with the meal and they refused. They once again would not let me speak to any supervisor, as none are there (they never are by the way) and told me to make another complaint online. One which will go the way of the dodo bird again as I have already done so about the change in my flight over a month ago and to date have not had any contact from anyone at Air Canada.

    In summary, Air Canada sold me a ticket and took my money, changed the date months in advance arbitrarily and cost me over $450 in extra hotel fees because I had to leave a day early and now changed the carrier to a discount ROUGE flight, which I did not pay for and doesn't provide the meal like Air Canada Flights, and now have the audacity to make me pay for my meal! Both of my tickets state Air Canada flights, not Rouge. The original booking and the one they made me change to. You cannot speak to a manager, ever, and they do not contact you when you do exactly what they recommend which is email them. They have become a shockingly inept and an embarrassing national airline and Canadians have become ashamed of them as a provider. To date they have provided me no customer service and no resolve.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 10, 2015

    With a colleague, we were flying from Ottawa to Nuremberg through Toronto and Zurich. The first flight was delayed, and we lost the connection in Toronto. No one in the airport could tell us what to do, until we finally found a queue of people waiting for rebooking. The Air Canada agents were working extremely slow, the line was hardly moving. There was one person at the counter, then none, then three, the same agents left and came back, but still nothing happened. People were standing or sitting on the floor for 3 hours. And there were not so many people, maybe 5 small groups, not more than 15 persons in total.

    After 3 hours we were finally checked in for a flight to Frankfurt and promised that our Frankfurt-Nuremberg tickets will be given to us in Frankfurt. But this was not the case: the lady at the Toronto counter (the name was kept secret as there was no badge) did something wrong. As a result, we had to wait in Frankfurt another 7 hours. Never again Air Canada! I cannot imagine how a simple task of rebooking due to a flight delay takes 3 hours, and everything goes wrong in the end.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 8, 2015

    On October 5 I arrived at McCarran airport (Las Vegas) for Toronto at 9:45 AM flight departing at 11:50 AM. At around 11:15 AM an announcement was made that the flight was late and had only just left Toronto. There were NO announcements and I did NOT receive any notifications at anytime prior to this. By the time this happened it was too late to make any alternative arrangement. The flight left 7 hours later - I was told to stay at the airport and I live 20 minutes away. I got to Toronto at 1:30 AM the next morning. I called Air Canada at the airport to try to get help and waited an interminable amount of time and was fobbed off when I asked why I'd not received any notification citing that safety was the priority.

    Now a day later I have received a letter from customer service who are not accepting they were wrong not to have made notifications/announcement but again saying safety is the reason. I received 10% on a future flight - really??? I am sick of these airlines who just treat customers without any effort to create a pleasant service experience and admit when they are wrong and make the appropriate compensation. This cost me in terms of my reason to travel which was to work with a booking (I am a speaker) requirement to be at the conference! I couldn't get there and I could have had I been notified. Air Canada's service really sucks.

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    Reviewed Oct. 8, 2015

    On my only experience with Air Canada they caused me and my travel party (three others) great inconvenience by cancelling our outgoing flight, cancelling our return flight and delaying delivery of our luggage for two days. We spent 2 of our 4 days in London without luggage. My only request to Air Canada was for reimbursement for 'change fees' that were charged me when one of the travelers experienced an urgent medical emergency and had to return home early for medical treatment. The medical condition was truly critical and was substantiated by a letter for the physician. Air Canada responded by offering a gift card which I found inappropriate. I didn't desire a gift and was not looking for something for nothing.

    I asked Air Canada for reconsideration and argued that my request for a refund of the 'change fee' was reasonable and logical. Air Canada changed my flights twice with no consequence or penalty to them, yet on the same trip when there was a need to make a flight change due to a serious medical situation, Air Canada penalized me and actually profited from my misfortune ($524.50). That's just not right. Air Canada responded: "we are sorry that we have been unable to redress your complaint to your satisfaction... " It's their loss... I will take my business elsewhere.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 7, 2015

    Worse Experience Ever. It started off in Fort Mcmurray where they added my son on to the flight for the third time. Twice before this I called this in. So for the third time at the airport they tried to do this. 3 reps later they did a shift change in the middle of trying to check us in. The other rep did not know what the other one did. They ended up printing off Amanda ** (My wife is Natasha **) bag tags and putting them on my bag and my 6 week old son's bag and sent them to Halifax. Took them an hour to try and figure everything out. The baby was by this time crying and hungry. We still had to go through the scanner and get on the plane before we could feed him. We landed 12 hrs later in Gander without a change of clothes for me and my son. The 3rd of Aug is a civil holiday, nothing is open here to buy any clothes.

    We have had to strip down to nothing and wash our clothes. Can't go anywhere. Been covered in spit up with no blankets or clothes for the baby. I have had to buy all new supplies (creams and cleaning things at my expense). I have not got so much as a sorry. All I got was "I should have packed a carry on", "these things happen". (I figure a bag with bottles, a baby, stroller was carry on enough.) Normally I defend Air Canada and have supported them when people say should fly West Jet. I tell them Air Canada have never done me wrong. But this has been the worse experience traveling I have ever had.

    I get 12 days off for my vacation and Air Canada has ruined 3 of them so far. Never dealt with such rude phone reps in my life. One argued with me say they have 99% success rate (not on connecting flights. There were 3 families flying home from Alberta within 2 weeks and they lost 50% of the bags.) I Emailed Air Canada and it has been 2 months and they have not responded with so much as a sorry. Worst travel company I have ever dealt with. Pissed off Customer.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 27, 2015

    My wife and I recently went on a 18 day tour of Canada and the Alaskan cruise. We booked our holiday on the reliability of the tour company and it was not until later that I researched the components of the tour that I realised that we were flying with Air Canada. I looked at their reviews regarding economy class and I was concerned. We flew out of Heathrow to Calgary and to be honest it was okay, nothing wonderful but at least acceptable. Our return journey was terrible. We flew Vancouver to Heathrow. The cabin staff were much older than normal and I would have expected better manners. The senior lady cabin staff member was verbally rude to me on 2 occasions.

    I had said nothing to her to justify her rudeness and I thought about challenging her comments and manner but I was worried that it could develop into an argument and I would be reported for air rage. The plane itself was filthy with old discarded water bottles and wine bottles lying on the floor and the magazine holder in front was full of old discarded debris from a previous flight. On top of everything else my luggage as well as luggage from people on the flight was delivered to terminal 1 instead of terminal 2 and it took 1.5 hours for the luggage to be returned. I wrote a letter of complaint to Air Canada. The reply was quite pleasant even offering 10% discount on future flights, but I just considered it to be a fob off letter and I ripped it up and threw it in the bin. Unless I have no choice I will never fly with Air Canada again.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 26, 2015

    We booked our flight through United Airlines and had two Air Canada Segments on the way. We flew from Chicago to Toronto and were supposed to fly to Fredericton, New Brunswick. We got to the gate 15 minutes early and they had given our assigned seats away. There were 6 other people who got bumped as well. The plane was small with a total capacity of about 36 people. They overbooked the flight by at least 25%. That is unacceptable. Of course we could not leave until the next day. The agent who rebooked us acted with little courtesy. We believed he talks to people in our situation many, many times a day. Avoid Air Canada. You will be lucky to get to your destination when planned.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 23, 2015

    On Wednesday the 16th I called Air Canada to look into purchasing a ticket. I asked the agent if my travel documents would be OK for me to fly to Minnesota with a connection in Canada (I am not a US citizen and I am traveling without a Visa). The Agent assured me that this would be OK and I purchased my ticket.

    On that Friday the 18th a friend of mine told me that this agent was incorrect and had me call the US Embassy to make sure that my travel documents would be ok. The Embassy informed me that, contrary to what Air Canada told me, I would NOT be allowed to enter into the United States with my current documents.

    I called Air Canada on Friday the 18th to inquire about a refund or being placed on a flight with another airline that did not fly through Canada (because I was informed by the Embassy that a flight from My location to the US was fine, but from Canada to the US is not ok with my documents due to some pre-clearance that they have set up here). I was on the phone for about two hours with a representative who offered a refund if he could not place me on a different flight. After searching, he decided that a refund would be better. When I agreed to the refund he informed me that he was not authorized to do so but would have a supervisor authorize it and call me back before the end of the day.

    I did not receive any call so I called back on Saturday the 19th. This agent told me that I would NOT be getting a call because supervisors don't do call backs. I explained the situation to her, she put me on hold for 20-30 minutes only to come back and say a supervisor would have to call me back. Before disconnecting she advised me to purchase another ticket with another airline before the refund because the prices are rising. I spend $750 on a new ticket with a new airline even though a couple days ago, the ticket prices (besides Air Canada) were around $600.

    I finally received my supervisor call on Sunday the 20th. The lady who called identified herself as a supervisor with Air Canada, read my email address out loud to me and told me the refund has been approved and that I would receive an email confirmation shortly. Today is Wednesday the 23rd, my 'flight' leaves in 1 hour. I have not received a refund or an email confirmation so I called Air Canada again. 5 hours ago I called and was told there was nothing in the system about a refund at all even though I was called by a supervisor who told me that the refund was approved. I was told AGAIN that a supervisor will call me back by the 'end of the day'.

    My flight departs in 1 hour and I am not LEGALLY able to take that flight due to my travel documents. I have wasted a week of my time, spending hours on the phone calling long distance to have this issue sorted out. I have also spent $750 on a ticket that should have been at most $600 and now I am still out the $450 that was owed to me for the refund that was promised to me. If the original Air Canada representative had admitted to not knowing the information I would NOT have purchased this ticket, I would NOT have spent $750 on my other ticket (instead I would have spent closer to $600) and I would NOT be having so much stress right now. They have ABSOLUTELY DEPLORABLE customer service and I sincerely hope that I am compensated for my wasted time this past week.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 21, 2015

    I have had possibly the worst travel experience ever - and I have traveled all over the world and been to almost every continent. Air Canada at the Toronto Airport is the worst customer service and travel experience I have ever had. On Saturday, Sept 19th our 11:30 am flight from Vancouver arrived in Toronto late because of weather related delays of other flights. I booked the connecting flight with 2 hr, 45 min layover to make sure we'd have time to connect. After landing at the Toronto airport and sitting on the runway for 90 minutes, I repeatedly asked the crew about my connection to Baltimore and was rudely told repeatedly they had no info and basically to stop asking. I also asked for some kind of travel assistance at the gate because I had a broken ankle and was traveling in a walking boot, but my ankle swelled during the flight and was unable to walk to customs.

    When we exited in Toronto at 8:35 pm, the Air Canada gate agent I asked for assistance and was told no one was available and that I needed to "Run to my gate (with my sprained ankle in a boot) bc if I waited for transport help I wouldn't make it in time" for a flight she knew we couldn't make anyway (US Customs closed at 9 pm and typically takes 40 minutes to clear and my bags weren't processed by Air Canada until 8:59). I have several witnesses who are ready to provide testimony to my attorney since I am considering a lawsuit since my ankle was further injured as a result of being forced to run through the airport to catch my flight after being delayed at no fault of my own.

    After repeatedly asking for wheelchair or other assistance since I was in severe pain and unable to walk by this point, I was never assisted and shuttled from wrong person and wrong line to line. I literally was forced to stand in line until 10:55 on a broken ankle with a large crowd of other equally unhappy, stranded passengers before finally getting wheelchair assistance from the Toronto Airport staff (never once assisted by Air Canada staff). After being sent downstairs to try and re-book my flight and find some kind of hotel accommodations, I waited with about 75 other people as 4 other Air Canada agents left for the night (their shift ended at 9:30 pm), leaving 1 agent to assist a large group of stranded passengers. There were no hotel rooms available anywhere in Toronto. I tried calling the number provided for special assistance and after waiting for 43 min on hold (on an international call) I was told they could not help me.

    I repeatedly asked to speak to a manager starting at 9 pm when we realized we couldn't get out of Canada for the night and I needed to get somewhere. I could remove my boot and ice/elevate my ankle which was rapidly getting worse. I spoke to the only manager on duty who barely acknowledged me and told us she'd be back in 15 minutes (and never reappeared). We finally found a very nice Canadian wheelchair attendant who took us over to first class where at 11:30 pm they simply confirmed the fact that we were unable to get a return flight to BWI until the next day and offered to fly us to Washington, DC instead (despite the fact that our car was at BWI), and would cost $150 cab ride to get back to Baltimore. Having no other choice we accepted.

    They booked us on a flight from Toronto to Reagan National for 7 am and sent us off to sleep on the floor in an overcrowded lounge with 200 other people and $20 in food vouchers that we couldn't use (since everything was closed for the night). After awakening at 3:30 am in a lot of pain (I was never fully able to bring the swelling down, nor locate ice) and standing in 4 different lines starting at 4 am and repeatedly asking for transit assistance from Air Canada and again never receiving it, I found out customs didn't open until 5:30 am and we needed 2 hours to clear it in time (but our flight was boarding at 6:30 am). I tried waiting on several lines to locate our luggage to ensure it was on our new flight, rather than sent to Baltimore as originally planned, and simply gave up.

    I was allowed special compensation by US customs (no connection to Air Canada) for my injured ankle so I didn't have to stand in line with everyone else. If we had not, we would have certainly missed our flight. I was then patted down twice by security bc my boot looks very dangerous (after I offered to take it off and was told not to). The saving grace was the lovely crew on our short flight to DC this morning (9/20) who moved us to business class to accommodate my boot (the only nice part of our trip). The crew was lovely onboard our short flight. However I was still in a lot of pain (sadly was pain free until my flight/horrendous experience on Air Canada).

    We arrived in DC to find that 2 of our 4 bags were missing. And we were greeted by a lovely lady named Karen at the tiny Air Canada desk who apologized for our terrible experience and was very helpful. She located our lost luggage, arranged for taxi voucher back to Baltimore and arranged for our luggage to be delivered to my home in Baltimore. However, my ankle is worse after this trip than when I started due to the incompetence of Air Canada who told me to run with my broken ankle or I would miss my flight and there was nowhere to spend the night. I am exploring legal action for this horrendous experience and the damage done to my injured ankle as a result.

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    Sales & MarketingPrice

    Reviewed Sept. 20, 2015

    Air Canada Rouge or the worst flying experience of my life. As a reward for my extensive travel on Air Canada last year, I was able to book 2 return tickets to Barcelona with the few Aeroplan points that hadn't been erased yet (Wasn't there a court ruling that prohibited airlines from erasing frequent flyer points that had expired?), plus a healthy $1000 in fees. As a reward for my faithfulness, I was slotted into the worst possible seats on Air Canada Rouge/Red (ACRR henceforth). Although Air Canada's in-flight ads trumpet that it was voted Best Airline in North America, anyone who travels knows this to be false. My experience so far has been that only Delta Airlines offers worse service and conditions, but then their prices are half of Air Canada's. Maybe their poll only targeted Air Canada executives travelling in 1st class.

    I did not believe that Air Canada's standards could fall further (Dead Cat Effect), but on the way to Barcelona with Air Canada Rouge (ACRR) much to my surprise, I discovered that it was indeed possible to offer an even worse flying experience, something on par with Turkmenistan Airlines or Sudan Airways (widely considered the worst in the world).

    The overarching concept of ACRR is to minimize costs (i.e. service) while maximizing profit (more seats at higher prices). While this is a laudable business strategy, it offers the cattle in Economy (4th?) class an unforgettable experience, which leads them to consider never travelling with Air Canada again if at all possible! Although the night-flight to Barcelona was on a state-of-the-art 767, the ACRR seats lacked padding, on par with the oldest Dash-8 seats. Sort of like sitting in the back of a Hyundai compact. This wears thin after 9 hours in the same position because it is quite impossible to move once inserted into your stall. The seats recline only about 2 inches, which is really no different from sitting up straight, and which does not facilitate sleep. The seats are narrow, and preclude any sort of shift of position to relieve sore knees or aching backs.

    The already inadequate legroom is further restricted by the presence of black boxes and doodads that seem to serve no other purpose except to occupy space. The seat controls are cleverly located at exactly the spot where the arm rests on the armrests (Duh!), such that the call button bells are constantly ringing, distracting the already inadequate staff from their main duty, which seems to be charging clients $6.5 for cans of Bud Light! Because of course, all that expensive free booze that Air Canada used to offer their international clients has disappeared. We no longer have even the meager consolation of a 3rd rate glass of plonk to relieve boredom and numb the pain in our backsides.

    The EnRoute magazine touts the numerous movie options available to Air Canada travelers. ACRR has improved this feature also. Those costly touchscreens have disappeared. Tablet-equipped travelers can download a free app, virus- and Trojan-free one hopes, and revel in the 6 movies being offered. Or for the peons without tablets, they can be rented from ACRR! Luckily I brought a book, one of those paper things with the little black squiggles on the pages. Every now and then one of the few stewardesses, all cute and dressed in red, would distribute food and water to the cattle. Requests all had to be in English because most of them couldn't speak French. We were given a lunch at 1PM, and a mini-wrap at 9 PM.

    As experienced Air Canada travelers, we came aboard with sandwiches and snacks, and got envious looks from our starving neighbours. Other luxury items like ginger ale is doled out sparingly on ACRR, with a large ice cube in the glass to minimize the volume of the costly elixir being dispensed. Toilet paper is also rationed and ran out 2 hours before arrival. As experienced 3rd world travelers, we are used to carrying backup supplies, but surely toilet paper in the lavatory is not too much to ask in exchange for a thousand dollar ticket on Air Canada.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 9, 2015

    Air Canada refuses to reimburse expenses that they said they would cover!!! I would like to tell you about a recent experience with our Air Canada flight. We were traveling from Denver to Toronto. I was traveling alone with my two boys aged 8 and 5. We arrived at the airport at 4:30 pm to check in for our 6:35 pm flight to visit my family. We arrived at the gate, had something to eat and wait for departure. It was then that we found out we were delayed. They kept delaying us in small increments of time until finally sometime around 10 pm they cancelled the flight. After much confusion, they asked us to return to the main terminal booking counter to rebook and find out hotel information.

    As I mentioned, I was traveling alone with children and by the time I arrived back at the terminal we were the last in line. There was approximately a 30 min delay before the line even began to move. At one point I approached the counter to ask if they would take families with children first and was told by the representative that they had said no such thing and I was told to return to the line. I was finally served at approximately 11:45pm. I was told that we were being rebooked the next day (August 1) on flight AC 2042 scheduled to leave at noon. Also the hotel we were to go to was the Sheridan downtown. I felt this was an undue long trip to take at this time of night for my children and asked if I was able to book my own hotel. They said "no problem, just save the cab receipt and hotel receipt for submission."

    By the time we made it to the hotel I chose that was close by, it was midnight. We checked in and my exhausted children immediately fell asleep. The next morning we got up, ate and returned to the airport slightly before 10 am to check in for our noon flight. It was at that time that we found out that our flight was delayed until 6 pm (no email was sent to notify us of this - we had received email the night before when our flight was cancelled so I know they had our information) and also no representative was available to check us in for an hour. We weren't even sure if our plane had been given clearance to land. So there my children and I sat and waited. We were checked in at somewhere around 11 am, and having nowhere else to go, proceeded to our gate. We used the provided food vouchers, had lunch and set up camp to wait some more.

    We found out around 2:30pm that our plane did depart Toronto and the end to our nightmare could be in sight, however we didn't want to get our hopes up yet. In our many long hours of waiting I spoke to some other passengers that had been delayed from the morning flight and were compensated $1350 each for an 8 hour delay! My children and I had now spent over 15 hours in the airport, not to mention all the other troubles along the way, cab rides, hotels, and eating airport food for 4 meals. In the last minutes before the flight we were switched from gate A45 to A43 and back to A45. Finally we boarded the plane and made it to Toronto, sat on the runway for about 20 minutes while they found a gate for us and then it was over.

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    Reviewed Sept. 9, 2015

    So when you cancel a flight, the cost to re-book is $200. It's not worth it. I likely won't show up, forfeit and NEVER use Air Canada again. No wonder they are doing bad financially. Poor service, poor value. NOT impressed. If I owned Air Canada shares... I'd sell them. They put profit over client satisfaction and this is just not sustainable as a business model. You make your money in the short run but clients are not likely coming back. Great job Air Canada, I'll forfeit ticket price but I would likely not consider booking flights with you again.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Sept. 6, 2015

    Aeroplan is the WORST frequent flyer program out there. Recently we planned a family vacation from Vancouver to Regina and Calgary and on the day before the travel, we found out that they CANCELLED ALL 7 of our bookings. When we called the Compliance Department, a mean lady said they suspect the accounts were fraud simply because we used the same work address as the correspondence address. We said when we signed up for the accounts, we had the choice of choosing home or work so we all decided to use the work address for our main one. They did not even want to give us the benefit of the doubt and simply cancelled all bookings. In the last minute, we had to purchase all 7 tickets and paid a big premium on the fare. Again, this is the WORST frequent flyer program out there and the people in the Compliance Department were mean.

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    Customer ServiceCoverageStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 2, 2015

    So my wife and I booked our cruise for Jan 2016 and then we booked our flights in April 2015. Everything looked fine and we booked shuttles, hotels, etc in anticipation of our upcoming holiday which we were travelling with another couple but they booked separately. Aug 21 rolls around and I get an email from Flight Network that our flight has been bumped. We were supposed to leave at 5:15 and get into Fort Lauderdale at 12:17 which gives us ample time to get to where we need to go via shuttle which was prearranged and paid for. Now the new flight leaves at 12:45 and does not arrive until 7:39 pm. HUGE PROBLEM!!! So I contacted Air Canada in which I get to speak to a customer service agent with a heavy accent and does not sound to be too happy.

    After arguing with her for 15 - 20 min she proceeds to try to book us on a flight that is a 4 hour drive away from me. If I wanted to do that, I would have booked out of Maine, which I usually do. So told her this was not a viable solution and she kept looking. After 1 hour of me becoming very upset she booked us on a flight for the day before and told me that they would pay for the hotel or if we booked, they would cover up to $100. Well you are lucky to find a hotel in Fort Lauderdale for $100 that you would be willing to stay at. Sadly I accepted and told her that I was not happy with this and went on to email customer relations. Customer relations later emailed me back and offered me nothing more except a 1 time 15% discount off of regularly priced flights. Slap in the face??

    After doing some research, I discovered that the connection flight was the reason why we were bumped. We were supposed to fly to Toronto then on but apparently Air Canada did not sell enough seats so they downsized the plane and just "bumped" us. Also discovered that Canadian Transportation Agency in 2013 forced Air Canada to increase their compensation limit for customers that are bumped but I was offered next to nothing. Their protocol is to contact people and ask if they mind a later flight, offer compensation, etc but yet I got nothing. This is disgusting that out of the eastern part of Canada that Air Canada has a strangle hold on their passengers and that we really have little to no choice but to be at their mercy! I am thoroughly disgusted with them and for this very reason alone, will continue to fly out of the states for my vacation and other if I can help it.

    Shame on you Air Canada for treating your customers like cattle and telling us when, where and what we shall be doing with nothing more than a "Sorry for the inconvenience". You want to make amends, then step up and admit that you did not follow protocol and compensate those that are "Inconvenienced" because of your greed!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 24, 2015

    The Air Canada flight agents are totally racist people, very rude and incompetent. In the Calgary airport, the flight agent made a big mistake on our flight booking information and then when I confronted her, she referred me to her manager who told me that I should not rely on what the Air Canada agents tell me, I should check their website.

    One of the agents that was checking our bags asked us how long we are going to stay in the UK. I was surprised, why he is asking this, and then I asked him, "Why do you ask this question?" He tried to bully me and told me that this is his duty to ask me for how long I am going to stay in UK and if I don't answer his question he will cancel our flight and that it is his job to ask this question.

    I travel a lot and this was the first time when I am leaving a country a flight agent asked me this question and tried to bully me. After I refused to answer his question, he shouted at me: "Leave this area immediately. Why don't you go back to your country?" Seriously? Finally my husband intervened and told me that he does not worth my time and energy. I am going to file a formal complaint with Air Canada. However, I thought I would share my experience with others. Never will fly with Air Canada ever again.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Aug. 19, 2015

    Air Canada is the worst airline I have ever had the horror of flying with. I knew it was going to be a miserable flight from the minute I sat down in my seat and was staring at fabric. No entertainment system. But thank goodness they gave us those little pamphlets that taught us how to make paper art with our vomit bags. We were easily able to kill 11 hours with that. But still, we were nearly hypothermic by the time we realized that the air vents cannot be controlled from our seats.

    Thankfully, the stewardesses did not have to suffer the cold since they were able to use the in-flight blankets as warm capes while serving us. It was kinda cool, ya know, it was like being served by superheroes. During the entire duration of the flight we were held captive more like prisoners than passengers as we were denied the right to know where we were. At the very end, as the plane was practicing its acrobats over a lake, we could hear the pilot trying to figure out if we were flying east or west... the two are easily confused, especially for a pilot. In conclusion, for your own safety and sanity, please stay as far away from the prison, I mean, the airline Air Canada.

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    Customer ServiceCoveragePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 19, 2015

    Traffic was bad and Park 'N Fly was a bit slow but still made it to the airport with over an hour before boarding. First thing we did was find a rep and told them we were late. 3 agents later and 45 minutes the manager tells us we missed our flight. Um, flight was just starting to board but we were told we had missed it. Would not check the bags, told us to talk to ticketing. They couldn't help, we had to call. At this point we had 10 minutes to departure. "All representatives are currently assisting other calls" for 30 minutes and we had now actually missed the flight. Once through on the phone "You can book one way tickets or there will be a 100% loss of funds."

    As the flight had already left cancellation insurance would cover nothing. The total for two to spend a week all inclusive starting the 17th of August until the 24th of August came to 1309.**, two one way tickets total came to 1130.** and I am still at home 11pm on the 18th on hold because my invoice has been emailed but not the tickets and customer service hours are 8:30am-10pm. I am hopeful that I can somehow get on the plane tomorrow morning at 6:30 but still no ticket.

    Also once we land no one knows how we are to get from the airport to the resort. Our 1300 dollar week away has so far cost 2400 and I am a day late and still at home on hold with a purchasing agent to try and have my tickets emailed. The kicker is that had I been told "We cannot check your bags however, should you only take carry on you should still be able to catch the flight." I may be on the beach. CUSTOMER SERVICE means to SERVE THE CUSTOMER. Instead of trying to help us in any way to make our flight we were told "Too bad, go buy more tickets." No voucher offers, no help or SERVICE whatsoever. I will not fly Air Canada again and I will encourage as many as I can to take their business elsewhere.

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    Reviewed Aug. 17, 2015

    Air Canada is by far the worst airline I have ever flown. In my past career (I am now retired), I flew many planes in the U.S., and internationally. I have never encountered such a reprehensible airline as Air Canada. I was traveling with my family (15 of us) who were returning to Orlando, FL from Athens, GR. The Air Canada flight was delay 4 hours in Athens due to the plane having mechanical problems. When we arrived in Toronto, AC had booked people randomly on various flights. In one case they had booked a 7-year old child on a different plane from her mother. When we asked for her to be rebooked with her mother, they would not do it. The connections agent said as long as there was any one adult traveling with her they would make no changes. I was appalled!

    In addition, the 7-year old was placed on a flight that would cause her and the other passengers to fly to Montreal at 23:00 and be in the Toronto and Montreal airports for 34 hours. There were other members of our family who were on flights that caused them to be in Toronto for 48 hours. There was no offer of lodging or food as the connection agents said, "There were no hotels in Toronto," because The 2015 Parapan Am Games were being played in Toronto over the weekend (it was a Saturday) and The American Psychiatric Association was having a conference.

    My son searched the internet while I was making phone calls to different hotels. Everything we found was "sold out." We needed 6 rooms to accommodate the 15 passengers. We finally found the rooms at The Delta Hotel where the rooms averaged $575 each! That was far out of our financial means; however, I could not let small children and some adults, 70 years old, sit in a chair at the Toronto Airport. The connections agent also said they had no blankets we could use and they had no food vouchers. I wound up charging the hotel on my credit card and now have an overwhelming balance. There is much more to this story.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 17, 2015

    Never fly Air Canada. This airline is a logistical nightmare. We missed a connection home to the U.S. in YYZ due to 3 minor maintenance delays out of YVR. We got stuck in Toronto overnight, and were given a 1-night hotel voucher. The airline could not get us another flight home to RDU for 3 additional days. I was able to get us to a different airport 2 and 1/2 hours from our final destination the next day and rent a car home after some persistence and creativity. We were told by the airline twice to retrieve our bags in YYZ so we could take them through customs, and were told twice by baggage services in YYZ we could not retrieve our bags. We were assured, however, the bags would be on our new flight to CLT. We arrived in CLT; our bags did not. There was no one from Air Canada at the airport to help us. The ticket desk was closed when our flight arrived, and so was baggage services (we arrived at 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday at a major hub).

    We were told to go to United Airlines for assistance, a member of Star Alliance and a sister airline, but 3 different UA employees told us they could not help because they do not have access to AC's baggage system. All we could get is an 800 number and an unhelpful person on the line after a hold. Our bags finally arrived in CLT, not RDU, two days later. I've been able to determine they are currently now in IAD for some reason. I assume they might make it back to us eventually. Dealing with Air Canada was a constant frustrating experience filled with miscommunication and misinformation from the airline. When they invite you to share your experience with them, you'll get an email saying you'll get a response in 15 business days for general commentary, 30 business days for baggage concerns, and up to 5 weeks for baggage tracing. Apparently, this airline cannot do anything in a timely fashion.

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    Reviewed Aug. 14, 2015

    Well, I had a connecting flight in Halifax from St-John's to Montreal! Flight was supposed to be at 19:15, but when I landed (with my 2 sons) at 18:30, I was told the flight was delayed at 22:00! Then it got delayed at 23:45, then 00:00, then 00:50, then 01:10! We got coupons for a "discount" on our next flight (don't know how much yet!!!) BUT... we had to "Wander around" in the airport for about 6 hours, and were never offered a free meal, free coffee, or anything! I spent about 45$ in food, coffee and water, then I get on the plane, and find out that the people who "complained a lot" got 10$ food vouchers!!! We landed in Montreal around 2:00 am, and by the time I got the luggage, the shuttle to the car, and drove home, it was past 3:30 a.m.! Thank you Air Canada!!! No food voucher, and no free "rubbery" sandwich on the flight! I flew over 100 times in my life, and this was the worse experience EVER!!!

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Aug. 13, 2015

    From Vancouver Canada, our flight time to check in was 2 hours before 1300. After checking in we were told our flight will be delayed to 1500. Later it was changed to 1530. Then we boarded the plane and waited for other passengers to board the plane! We took off around 1648. When we landed in LAX our connecting flight had departed on time at 1447. Air Canada told us that someone would be waiting for us when we landed at LAX. No one was there, to give us any information. We went to Air Canada ticket booth and they said they couldn't help us! Since we're connecting to united airline. We went to United Airline and inquired about our flight from LAX to TUC. They said we would have to wait until tomorrow for the flight to TUC. Then we asked about our check in baggage. They weren't sure where they were at! We went back to Air Canada, they said the baggages were or should be located at the United Airline.

    We also asked for a hotel accommodations. And storage for the fish in a freezer. They sent us to Concourse Hotel. When we arrived at the Hotel, they couldn't keep the fish in the restaurant freezer due to the CA food law. Only solution left, keep in ice or buy gas ice. Very poor solution since we could have stored the fish at the airport. They have no communication between the ticket booth and the claim baggage. United airlines have a freezer in their area. But wouldn't hold the fish because of their policy. Now I'm trying to find a solution on other people mistakes. It's 1315 I'm tired and upset that both Air Canada and United Airline could not help. Will not fly using the above airlines again!!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 12, 2015

    Baggage lost on 5th August between Toronto and Orlando. Despite bag being found on 8th August it's still in Toronto with no indication when/if it will be released. Call center in India unable to do any more than read off of a script. Medication in baggage which needs to be taken but all I get is thanks for my patience. Will never fly Air Canada again.

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    Reviewed Aug. 10, 2015

    First time I've flown AC, and likely the last. Both the outbound and return originating flights were significantly delayed. Explanations were not offered, but it clearly wasn't due to weather. Fortunately, I was able to make the connections because they were originally scheduled for 3+ hours. Service, comfort, etc were all comparable to US carriers (nothing to boast about).

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 9, 2015

    I was flying on a small aircraft from Boston to Montreal. I had my headphones on because I am deaf on one side. Thanks to a (benign) tumor on the acoustic nerve. For the take-off the very zealous and apparently new flight attendant yelled at me that I should remove my headphones to be able to listen to her for the safety instruction. Yeah right! It is well known that she is taking care of my safety (and that of others). Let's say fine. But little "idiot/rudy" girl, you have to respect people especially when they are your company customers.

    There is only one way to talk to your customers, that is P-O-L-I-T-E-L-Y and R-E-S-P-E-C-T-F-U-L-L-Y. No alternative. Sometimes I am wondering why we call our countries civilized. Everything is relative I guess and we still have too many pretentious and/or low IQ people who ruin the all experience of those who try to live intelligently and in peace. I wish I could have her fired. I am AVOIDING AIR CANADA at all costs from then on. Please AIR CANADA, try to be a civilized company. You owe that to your Queen?

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    Reviewed Aug. 6, 2015

    My daughter's golf clubs did not make the flight to Orlando from Toronto. I filed a complaint with baggage service and they said the bag was located in Toronto. I have now been waiting 5 days and still don't have the clubs. I called baggage service several time (located in India). They sent numerous messages to Air Canada but no response to their messages. I went to MCO airport to talk with baggage service and they say they are contractors (Swissport) and can't help.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 3, 2015

    Flight from ATL to Toronto is on small Bombardier Jet. Good luck getting your travel bag in the undersized overhead even up front where we were. In fact, good luck getting a purse there. Flight from Toronto to IST was fine, but one of our bags did not make it. Flights are every day arriving early morning. Bag came in next day at 8AM or so. AC passes the bag to a delivery service who doesn't leave the airport but once and that is at the end of the day. We did not get the bag until the following day, even though the airport is only 40 mins from where we were staying. Would have sent a taxi to pick it up, but that wasn't an option. Bag arrived with roller wheel broken and wheel support framework broken off and delivered separately. Relatively new Tumi wardrobe zip-up bag.

    Return flight resulted in not one, but two bags not making it. More than a dozen passengers did not receive their bags and there was one agent at ATL to process the forms for each of us. A long queue extending out the door. Next morning, still no bags. Nearly $8,000 for two tickets and this is what we got. Thought I would try AC because their lay flat seating for this flight got good reviews. Did not work out too well for me. Caveat Emptor...

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 2, 2015

    I have tried, too many times to count now, to give Air Canada the benefit of my patience, tolerance, and fair-minded approach; I am, simply put, done trying. I would rather spend 10 times the market price for a flight to wherever, than ever fly with AC again. Their counter agents are rude (because they are frustrated), they fail 100 percent of the time in achieving their target arrival and departure times, and they as far as I can tell, the attitude is "thanks for the money... now good luck with the rest of it." Honestly, this comment isn't even worth my time.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed July 30, 2015

    We had flight reservations with Air Canada from Newark to Montreal and then a connecting flight to Athens, Greece. When we checked in, my husband did not have a seat on the flight as it was overbooked. Even though our tickets were purchased from February for our flight in July. Finally, someone volunteered to give up their seat and he was given a seat. About half hour before boarding, the flight had an indefinite delay as they were waiting for the crew to arrive from Canada. Since we had a connecting flight to Greece, Air Canada put us on a different flight with another airline. We would fly to Geneva and then Greece.

    This change added an additional 8 hours to our trip. We lost an entire day in Athens. We needed to call and change plans with the car rental agency, hotel, but most important of all we lost a full day of being in Greece with our family. Air Canada also gave us meal vouchers to be used in the airport. We needed to go to a completely different section of the airport to check in our luggage again with the new airline and after check in we finally went to eat. To add insult to injury, the vouchers Air Canada gave us were not accepted in this new part of the airport. We could not pass through security to back again so we ended up just paying out of pocket for our meals. So bottom line, we lost an entire day of our vacation and our trip will take an additional 8 hours to our final destination.

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    Price

    Reviewed July 30, 2015

    I have been saving my points for years to take my niece and nephew to Thailand. I am booking 5 months in advance and the space is there but the "carrier surcharge" is an absolutely appalling joke! $930.40 just for this fee as well as an additional $208.00 in extra taxes and fees which makes the grand total of a "free" ticket $1,139.06. It's just a tiny bit more expensive for me to go with a consolidator on much better routes. I will be looking for a new travel rewards program for sure!

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    Price

    Reviewed July 24, 2015

    Just found out that my flights, from Toronto to Barbados and back, for next winter has been switched to Rouge from Air Canada - and the cost of the flights we had booked was higher than ever! Why should passengers from Toronto have to fly to Montreal and add 2 hours to their journey if they want to have the extra Air Canada features? Have been informed that only Rouge will be flying direct to Bridgetown from Toronto so if we want the premier Air Canada service we must fly out of Montreal!! But, to be fair, kudos to Air Canada for giving us a full refund on the tickets purchased. For the first time ever we will be flying another airline on our southern vacation. What a shame!

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    Reviewed July 20, 2015

    We are a family of 4 with a 2.5 and 6 year old children. We booked a one week inclusive trip with Air Canada to Cuba, a family resort we usually go to. At the check-in we were told that our 2.5 year old son does not have a seat as the program showed him as an infant. They forced us to purchase a seat. My husband spent over 2 hrs trying to resolve the issue. The Air Canada Vacation Agency (airport emergency) was not even picking up the phone. When we tried to get someone at the airport to help us, they told us that the airplane is overbooked and there is no available seat to purchase.

    We went back to the agency we booked the trip with. As it turned out, Air Canada did charge us for 2 kids, NOT the infant, but their program had a glitch. Our invoice showed the correct birthday for our youngest child, while their back end system showed a different birth year. Their glitch resulted in so many inconveniences related to this ruined vacation. It is hard to explain a 2 year old why we get back to the taxi and go home, why we are unpacking our luggage.... Not to mention, the expenses, and the fact that my husband has only 8 days left of his vacation this year that he had to schedule half a year prior. We have not gotten our money back or a trip. I am very disappointed with the way Air Canada company works and how it treats the customers.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedOnline & AppStaff

    Reviewed July 14, 2015

    On April 14, I booked a flight for my family (myself, husband & our son under the age of 2), to fly from Montreal to Indianapolis. I attempted to book this using Air Canada's website, but the Air Canada website does not allow use of the Discover credit card, so instead I booked using Priceline. Prior to reserving the flight online, I read the infant policy on Air Canada's website, as well as Priceline which stated that I was to call "immediately" to have my son added to our reservation, as he was to ride in his parents' laps. I began to regret choosing Air Canada immediately, as when I called customer service on the evening of April 14 (8:31 and 8:42 PM Eastern Time), I was informed that they would not assist me with adding my son to my reservation due to my booking through Priceline.

    The agent I spoke with said that "this is not our booking", and I replied that "It is your airline & aircraft". When I informed Priceline of my needs, they directed me back to Air Canada. As I explained to Priceline the lack of service that Air Canada had given me, the Priceline representative agreed to contact Air Canada on my behalf, and informed me that he would send an email, per request from Air Canada, to add my son onto the reservation. He advised me to follow-up with Air Canada that evening to confirm the reservation had been updated. On April 15 at 8:19 PM Eastern Time, I called to confirm that my son was added. The agent I spoke with was rude, but she did verbally confirm my son's reservation had been added.

    On July 12, my family and I arrived at the terminal in Montreal at approximately 7:15 AM, nearly 3 hours ahead of our scheduled departure. I followed directions to print boarding passes at the kiosk prior to speaking with an agent and dropping our baggage. Before entering the line for dropping baggage, I asked a female Air Canada representative at the kiosks about getting a boarding pass for my son, as one did not print out. She directed me to discuss this as well as stroller tags with the gentleman who was taking our baggage.

    The gentleman accepted our baggage and directed us to another gentleman to ask about our son's boarding pass and stroller. The second gentleman that we spoke with informed us that there was no record of our son's reservation, and he also asked us about our baggage tags, specifically he wanted to see if a yellow Standby tag had been added to our bags. The yellow tag had not been added to our bags, and we were not aware that we would be flying STANDBY, as we booked our flight 3 months prior to the departure date. This was the moment that we knew our bags were already lost.

    The gentleman did assist us with getting boarding passes for our son, which we had to pay for a second time, since the reservation was lost. He also provided us with a tag for our stroller, and he indicated that he was going to be tracking down our baggage to add the standby tags to our luggage. We were able to get seats on the flight, however the flight was delayed 35 minutes, which made our connection time in Toronto 30-35 minutes less. Upon landing, the flight attendant announced that passengers connecting to Vancouver should be allowed to exit the plane first, as they had less time for their connection. This courtesy was not extended to passengers who had international connections and reduced time for customs/security.

    A female airport employee in the customs area, stamped our boarding passes and directed us to enter the line for US Customs/Border Protection. The line was shorter than others, but seemed to be lowest priority, as many people who entered this area after we did were through customs and security before we even spoke to a customs officer. By the time the US Customs Officer approved our entry to the US, we had 8 minutes until flight. This is when we learned that the woman who stamped our boarding passes was supposed to actually stamp our customs declaration/receipt, and security would not permit us to go through until the stamp was on the appropriate document. After working with a man I believe to be a supervisor in customs, we cleared security and immediately ran to Gate F 87 where our flight to Indianapolis was to be departing from.

    My husband and I ran, with a broken toe and a steel plate in my leg, pushing a stroller, without any shoes on, all the way to the gate, which is hidden in the dungeon of the Toronto airport. We arrived 4 minutes after our flight had closed its doors. The gate attendant informed us that she was aware we were in the airport, and traveling with an infant, and that our first flight had been delayed, but that the airline decided not to wait for us to get to the gate. She indicated that several pages were made; we did not hear these pages, as we were desperately trying to get through security and customs, and those pages were not announced in that area of the airport. This woman informed us that there was another flight to Indianapolis, but not enough seats to accommodate my family. She directed us to Air Canada Customer Service.

    The woman at Air Canada Customer Service gave us two options: fly standby (again) to Indianapolis and hope that another family experiences the same misfortune as us, or book a flight to Cincinnati which was scheduled to leave 5 minutes later, and rent a car to drive home. Because we wanted to be certain that we arrived home as a family, we opted for the flight to Cincinnati, OH, and reserved a rental car to drive from Cincinnati OH, to Indianapolis International Airport where the keys to our house were, and then continue by car back to Anderson, IN. The woman at the customer service desk informed us that she needed some time to track down our bags and reroute our bags to Cincinnati, and she asked me to check back with her again after taking some time to eat in the airport.

    The flight to Cincinnati was delayed an hour and a half, and upon arrival of the airplane, maintenance had to be called to address some mechanical issues, which delayed our flight another 30 minutes. We departed from Toronto around 10:30 PM, and arrived in Cincinnati at about 12 AM on July 13. We walked to baggage claim and watched as all of the other passengers on our flight to Cincinnati claimed their bags, and as passengers from flights that landed after our claimed their bags. At 12:37 I approached an American Airlines employee (as directed by the United desk, which was closed), and informed her that our bags had not arrived. The rental car company was scheduled to close at 1 AM, so the woman advised that we call Air Canada's 1-800 number to report our missing bags, so that we did not miss our opportunity to pick up our rental car.

    My husband called around 3:30 AM to report our bags, and as of 2:45 PM on July 13, our bags have still not been located by Air Canada. Given that the luggage tags printed and attached to our bags by Air Canada have bar codes to scan our luggage, I am astonished that the location of our luggage is unknown. Did someone fail to scan our luggage in/out of an airport location? This is unacceptable. The entire process of booking travel with Air Canada, Check-in, checking luggage, connecting, and baggage claims, failed my family dramatically. Air Canada did not successfully get my family to our destination, and only 2 of the many employees that we interacted with were eager to assist us with our travels.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed July 7, 2015

    I am very disappointed hearing all the complaints recently from travellers and it seems to be getting worse. I read in the Air Canada newsletter and magazines how customers come first and that Air Canada continues to strive for excellent service. I am an Elite member, always biking with Air Canada. But today I asked about upgrades because first-class was empty and was looked at and treated so rudely in Orlando, it made me sick. I was put in the list as always because it should be - that was for gold and platinum members.

    When at the gate, the agent was too lazy to even check and just told me it was full. When I went back to ask before boarding her answer to me was, "I told you it was full, do you not listen!!" Wow!!! When on the plane and taking off, there was 6 empty seats in first-class. Is this how you treat loyal customers? I constantly get offers from WestJet but remain loyal to Air Canada. But what would you do if treated that way?? I understand everyone has bad days but as a business owner, even one customer is important - especially when I spend in excess of 30 thousand a year on flights. For in the end I would like to say that this probably won't change anything, but please be considerate to your loyal customers.

    Mr. President and CEO, you seem like a very legit man and an honorable one. Please keep striving to achieve more customer service as there is much competition in the ailing industry and these little things to me make a big difference in travel. Most travel for vacations and dreams, and customer service can make or break a dream vacation or a business venture for someone or some families. Thank you. A response would mean the world to me and keep me as a very, very loyal customer.

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    Reviewed June 29, 2015

    Wow-- I can't believe how bad Air Canada's Service is. For me to even bother to write a post like this it has to be bad!!! I thought I'd had bad experiences until last week when my 2:30 pm flight didn't leave until after midnight and the whole time there were announcements that it would be a half hour delay then another half hour then another hour... they made announcements that they just needed to get fuel, or they needed to wait for maintenance. It went on an on and I can't help wondering if half the time it was even true. They gave us a $10 voucher which bought me a bagel and a drink but wasn't enough to have anything with it. That was after I'd paid $800 for the flight only to find out I was on standby because they'd oversold the flight.

    I arrived for my flight at 12 pm and the attendant told me she had no way of knowing whether I'd get on the flight or not since she didn't have access to the seating plan. I'd have to wait until 2 pm to find out if I had a seat and at that time they'd figure out how and when they were going to get me there if I didn't. I persisted and went to an information desk once I got through customs and security and they at least told me I had a good chance of getting a seat. I got a seat but the plane left 10 hours late. Instead of being apologetic and understanding that we'd been greatly inconvenienced and stressed out, they were defensive and would say they didn't know what was going on--refer to a manager or another information desk.

    When we finally boarded the plane they gave us a coupon that said to go to a website and find out what our compensation was. It turned out to be a coupon for 20% off a flight at their "regular" fare on a future flight. I haven't checked but I suspect that isn't much of a deal at all. I am so upset. To make matters worse the temperature on the flight was absolutely freezing. I asked the flight attendant if something could be done and she called up to the cockpit but nothing changed. It wasn't until our final descent that it actually warmed up to a reasonable temperature--after two hours of a flight so cold you couldn't sleep even though it was the middle of the night.

    There are unfortunately no good alternatives to that flight from other airlines. Air Canada has a total monopoly. I can't believe the incredibly bad service we got and the way they treated us. They truly acted like they couldn't care less and we were an inconvenience to them!!! I wish there was something we could do to change this!!! It was unbelievable and unfortunately isn't the first really bad experience I've had with this airline.

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    Reviewed June 25, 2015

    I was travelling to India and got Air Canada ticket 2 months back. In that duration I contacted Air Canada Customer service asking whether any transit visa is required as I am Indian Citizen. Customer service gave misleading information that no such transit visa is required. On my travel day I was denied boarding saying transit visa is required. I told them while confirming from Air Canada Customer care they told no such visa is required as my whole flight duration was only around 26-28 hrs. Still Air Canada did not consider my case and it was urgent for me to travel I had to cancel my ticket in which Air Canada Customer service was very bad.

    They did not consider my case at all no help was given from them as I was travelling alone I had to go through lot of troubles and book a flight as expensive as 2000 $. After consulting with the support of Air Canada too they have been very unfriendly in helping and giving my refund as I was not wrong on the part as a traveler I did enquire with the Air Canada service and Customer care gave misleading information. If Customer care is not having correct information they should not give and route to correct place but they did not.

    Air Canada should accept their mistake and they should understand the plight of travelers who are stranded with no option in their hand. More than money they gave mental stress to travelers who are visiting their family members after long duration. How can they ruin this? Now Air Canada is not ready to accept their mistake. This is very unfair on their part after giving so much trouble to a person where passengers are being stranded on airport with no help from Air Canada. This is my reference number for my complaint against Air Canada **.

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    Reviewed June 23, 2015

    I have to pay $400 more to redeem my $800 credit for flight cancellation, rebook and transfer name. Dictated policy. The end of the day. CANCELLATION AND NO SHOW ARE THE SAME.

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    Reviewed June 12, 2015

    First my daughter did not receive a text of her boarding pass. Second, when she arrived for check in at the Syracuse NY airport, there was no staffing. She waited for an hour and no one showed up. The other airlines' stations next to Air Canada said this happens all the time. Someone from another airline helped her. It was a total mess. It is infuriating that this is common practice not to have staff show up. She is now waiting for the plane which has been delayed over an hour. She now is at risk of missing her connecting flight to London. Awful service.

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    Reviewed June 12, 2015

    Never ever use this airline. They are very rude staff and disgusting human manner. They don't care about the passengers they care about dignity. I traveled with them in June for my first time and last time.

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    Reviewed June 2, 2015

    Bought 4 tickets with Air Canada but didn't realize a transitional visa is required to enter Canada. Can't change or cancel, I had to let go the tickets and bought 4 new ones. When dealing with customer service, all the agents were not friendly or welcoming. They tried to kick me around to other companies and agencies. It was the worst traveling experience EVER!

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    Reviewed June 1, 2015

    My grandson was working at a fly-in camp North of Regina. He was booked to fly out on Nov 17/14 but he ended up missing his flight twice because of bad weather driving to the airport, and then he slept in and missed the next day's flight. Both times, he paid the $56.00 missed flight fee. He never made it to camp and he would have had to wait a few days for the next flight out because flights were full so the camp told him not to bother flying in. He would be called when the camp opened in the spring. Well, spring has come and gone and he is not been called back to work. The Air Canada ticket ($1180.66) is a non-refundable ticket and has to be used by Oct 29/15.

    Air Canada will not even consider a refund for the ticket even though he cannot use it. He found local employment and the camp is not calling him back. For someone to buy the ticket from him, they would have to pay him the original cost of the ticket plus another $200.00 fee to do a name and flight change. Is this not considered criminal? How can you pay for a service and not have any refund. To buy the refundable tickets is expensive and he had been flying into the camps before, no problem. I personally fly Delta Airlines whenever possible and have had no problems. I fly out to the Michigan in the USA to go to Calgary, Alberta rather than fly Air Canada. Does anyone have any suggestions? I called MasterCard but my card does not have travel protection.

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    Reviewed May 31, 2015

    I booked the ticket from LAX to Guangzhou, China and transit in Vancouver. We have valid US visa and Chinese passport and qualify for the TWOV program. I showed the itinerary to the agent and she told me that I can't board because I have to have a valid transit visa because I will be exiting and changing to a different terminal. I kept telling her my itinerary shows the arrival and departure terminal in Vancouver is the same one and we don't need to change the terminal. I even showed them the TWOV program page printed in advance. They shouted at me while I was explaining "stop talking or I won't help you".

    After two hours' effort, our flight took off with four of us behind. I have to make another 2-hour call to reschedule the flights and pay an extra $630 per person for for a total of $2520!!! It's not our fault, and we are refused to board. We have to wait another 14 hours for our next flight while paying a huge amount of money. I even called Air Canada and they told me that we need transit visa because we are traveling on Air Canada rouge not Air Canada, while the CHINA TRANSIT Program includes both Air Canada, Air Canada rouge, China Southern.

    It's totally not problematic to transit in Vancouver as long as the arrogant agent allow us to board. Our right was inferred for no reason and there is even no place to complain or ask for refund or compensation for all these trouble and money loss. The worst airline and worst airline agent! These people shouldn't be working on an airport without basic etiquette and respect, let alone their lack of knowledge which is mostly important to serve professionally!

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    Reviewed May 30, 2015

    We are all one family. I booked premium economy and had seats in row 4. As you can see, I was put in economy and we were all over the plane. I was never refunded for my upgrades and now there are 4 additional charges on my credit card that was added May 29th, 2 for $24.74, and 2 for 0.74c. I was also charged for my baggage so these are additional charges. My booking reference number **. I got an email on May 5th stating that I would be getting a refund for $32 and I called the second that email came in to find out what that refund was for. The customer service lady I spoke to stated she had no idea what it was for and that all my seats were confirmed as per what I choose. I was supposed to be in 4a, 4b, 4e and 4f. So as I can calculate, Air Canada defrauded me $178.96 plus taxes and fees. Never mind the interest on my credit card from March 12th when I booked the flights.

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    Reviewed May 25, 2015

    I was on a trip, got a call about my mother wasn't going to make it. Cabbed to airport been crying whole way, thought they would only charge a bit more to change flight. Nope. I even told the lady what I was flying for. She couldn't give a **. I was so mad went to another company (West Jet) where they treated me like a star cause they had seen how broken up I was. I don't care that this company has staff who are bilingual. Most Canadians speak Mandarin not French. Your staff are disgusting people. I've never had an amazing experience with this airline NEVER. I really should sue....at minimum I'll never fly them again.

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    Reviewed May 22, 2015

    I purchased a $239 ticket for my mother to fly from Kingston, Jamaica to Toronto, On. The day of the flight my mother showed up to fly but was unable to due to medical issues. Family members there with her at the time spoke to the desk agents and had the ticket set as open ended. We were arranging to have my sister fly down to assist my mother back home and called in to confirm that the ticket had been held for a credit. They confirmed that the ticket would be held for 1 year from the original purchase date (this was mentioned on 2 separate occasions by separate employees). When we called back to actually book the ticket for my sister to fly down, we were told the ticket was showing as used. This was obviously due to Air Canada workers who checked my mother in and out about 5 different times that day (leaving it checked in which is why it showed as used).

    Long story short, we ended up rebooking flights because all reps could tell us to do was "email customer relations and wait for an EMAIL!" Really? Absolutely ridiculous. They did not get back to us in a timely manner and my mother was approaching her 6 month time limit, therefore we had no choice but to rebook. We reached out to them for a refund but they refused, they also refused to allow a name change. All they offered was to keep the ticket for one year in my mother's name (even though she could not travel). After going back and forth they decreased the ticket amount an additional $94 to be used as a travel voucher for anyone.

    I am very disappointed with the service of all Air Canada employees. This is such a shame since I am Canadian and I would love to support our country's airline. Unfortunately with this type of service, I will not be flying with Air Canada again! All staff have been extremely rude and unhelpful. I would also advise others to stay clear of them. They are unprofessional, rude and they do not know how to deal with customers, even when they have made numerous mistakes on their end.

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    Reviewed May 15, 2015

    I flew Air Canada for the first time last month, and I endured my worst experience in years of flying internationally. I flew from Tel Aviv to Toronto on AC 85, and was about to board my connecting flight in Pearson airport to Washington Dulles (a code share - UA 3892), when the UA gate staff told me that I could not board, because the plane was full and oversold, and I had been bumped off the flight. Here is how this situation arose. Flight AC 85 was late in leaving Tel Aviv and arrived in Toronto around 1 hour and 15 minutes later than the scheduled arrival time (the actual arrival was at about 5:50pm Toronto time). I knew that I originally had a layover time of 3 hours and 5 minutes in Toronto, and even with a delay of 1 hour and 15 minutes in my arrival, I would still have more than an hour-and-a-half to make it to my next flight, scheduled to depart at 7:30pm.

    After exiting the plane, I reached the Toronto passport control and saw that an Air Canada woman was telling passengers with connecting flights what they should do next. She told some people (who evidently had short connecting times) that they would not make their connecting flights and would instead have to cross the border into Canada and arrange alternative flights and accommodation with Air Canada. Other people (including myself) were advised to proceed through the connections hallway toward the US Customs area to prepare for regular boarding. The Air Canada woman at the passport control area was clearly overwhelmed by the big gathering of passengers (almost 100 by my count) who crowded around her (there was no formal line or queue) as they waited for information about their connecting flights.

    I was shocked to see that Air Canada was relying on this one person to give instructions to so many people in a short space of time. It appeared totally unprofessional. When I managed to get the woman's attention, I told her that my connecting flight was leaving at 7:30pm, and she said to me: "you should be fine, go through" the connections area. And that is what I did. After clearing U.S. customs and the security check, I got to the gate for UA 3892 at 7pm. Boarding was under way. But as soon as the UA gate attendant scanned my boarding pass, she said I could not board because the plane was full & had been oversold. I was shocked again. Three other passengers - a young couple and their baby - who also had been on AC 85 from Tel Aviv and were expecting to fly to Dulles, were told the same thing as me, and were also upset.

    The UA gate attendant and her supervisor were unhelpful and downright rude to all of us - refusing to say who had bumped us off the Dulles flight. They also told me that they could not locate my one item of checked baggage - a suitcase - which they said had not been loaded onto the plane. They offered to book me on another flight, but I could do nothing without knowing the location of my suitcase. Eventually, the couple and I were told to go to the Air Canada customer service desk in the departure area. There, a female Air Canada customer service agent told us that there were no seats available to any Washington-area airport later that night and that we would have to cross the border into Canada, collect our baggage, decide on an alternative flight for the next day and stay at a nearby hotel (paid for by the airline).

    After crossing the border control, I went to the baggage claim area to attempt to find my bag. I went back and forth between the UA and Air Canada baggage desks after each desk told me that I should ask the other one to help me. Eventually, a UA baggage desk worker told me that my bag had last been scanned in a UA bag room, but could no longer be located. She told me to go up to level 3 and ask Air Canada to book me onto a new flight, and then come back down to check on my bags whereabouts. Upstairs in the check-in zone, an Air Canada ticketing agent booked me on a Toronto to Washington Reagan (DCA) flight AC 7354, departing at 10:50am the next day. She also handed me vouchers for accommodation (at the International Plaza Hotel) and said that I should take a shuttle bus to get there.

    The ticketing agent also told me to go back down to the baggage claim area and speak to the Air Canada baggage desk so that I could collect my bag. It was now around 9:45pm. I went downstairs as instructed, and the Air Canada representative at the baggage desk said my bag was in a customs transfer area which was closed for the night, but I could check on the status of the bag once I returned to the airport the next morning. So I then went outside to try to catch my bus to the hotel. Unfortunately, I had difficulty in finding the bus. I had been waiting for around half an hour and had seen many buses stop at the S-5 bus pick-up area, with some of them displaying logos of several hotels - but I could not see anything saying International Plaza Hotel.

    So I went back into the airport and called the information telephone line, which eventually transferred me to the hotel so that I could find out what was going on. The hotel told me that it shares the shuttle with several other hotels, that I should look for the bus that displays the "Traveloge" logo, and wait for it to arrive at the S-5 area at 11:15pm. The Air Canada ticketing agent who booked me the hotel room certainly should have informed me to look out for a bus shared by several hotels, or at least to call the hotel itself for info, so that I would not have wasted my time.

    The "Traveloge" bus came, and I got on. It was now more than 5 hours since I had landed in Toronto, and I was exhausted and mentally drained after having been awake for almost 24 hours, and after receiving conflicting & incorrect information from both Air Canada and UA staff at the Toronto airport. In fact, I felt like I had been in a pinball machine, being bounced back and forth by airline staff who kept telling me that I was the others responsibility.

    The International Plaza Hotel room was comfortable, but I had trouble sleeping because of the ordeal that I had just been through. When I got back to the airport in the morning, I returned to the Air Canada baggage desk in the baggage claim area, and was told by a man that my suitcase was now confirmed as being cleared to load onto my new flight to Washington DCA: AC 7354. After clearing U.S. customs and security, I reached the gate and asked again if my suitcase was on the plane. An Air Canada woman at the gate scanned my boarding pass and confirmed that my bag was on the plane.

    After I arrived in DCA, I waited patiently at the baggage claim area, and to my utter dismay, my bag did not appear - adding insult to injury. After all the other passengers had claimed their bags, I asked the Air Canada baggage desk in DCA for help. The women who were on duty at the desk were unresponsive and unsympathetic. One lady took down my information and then quickly left her desk, saying it was the end of her shift. Another woman refused to talk to me as she attended to other passengers, even though I had been waiting in line to speak with her. She merely gave me a card with a number and said I should call it. I called the Air Canada Central Baggage Customer Care Center, and a representative named ** took down my information. After filing a report on my bag, he said it had been located at Washington Dulles airport, although he could not say when it had arrived there.

    He later called me back and said that the bag was actually in Houston, not Dulles, and that it would be delivered to my home address in Washington DC probably the next day. Again, he could not explain how my bag had ended up so far off course. ** was courteous with me on the phone, but I ended the call in disbelief after learning that once again, I had been given erroneous information by airline staff. I then went back to my home in DC. I will summarize this narrative by saying that this really was the worst experience that I have ever had with an airline. I could not believe how many times airline staff shirked responsibility for helping me, gave me wrong information (i.e. lied to me) and treated me in a rude manner.

    One of the Tel Aviv passengers who also got bumped from UA 3892 told me that airline staff told him that UA likely bumped all of us off the flight because they had oversold it, and they knew that we - the connecting passengers from Tel Aviv - were delayed in our arrival to Toronto. Apparently, rather than UA staff asking some passengers at the gate if they wanted to give up their seats in return for compensation, the UA staff believed it would be easier to just bump off myself and the other three Tel Aviv passengers by falsely claiming that we wouldn't make it in time to the gate (we actually did make it on time). If that was in fact the reason, it was a totally cynical airline move that created a nightmare for my return journey to Washington. I will avoid flying Air Canada again if at all possible. And I will tell others to do the same.

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    Reviewed May 11, 2015

    This is the worst airline of all. No one should travel through Air Canada. I had a slight delay in reaching airport and my flight was at 1.10 pm and came to airport at 12.00 am with a small bag to check in. The representative flipped my passport couple of times and looked here and there for a few minutes and told me that I was late for checking bags and had to go for the next flight. He told me that check in baggage closes at 12.10 and I was furious because it was not even 12.05. The guy picked the phone but did not speak a word, then looked at me and kept the phone down without trying. He went on to attend other white customers with a smile. When I wanted to see the supervisor, it was worse. The white lady never bothered to try anything but just say "you have to take the next flight". Most of these people are either racist or horrible people. Never fly with Air Canada.

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    Reviewed May 2, 2015

    Booked my flight months ago, get to Toronto Airport to find out I have been gated which mean the flight is oversold and they don't have a seat and this is reflected on both tickets so not once do I have to stress if my flight will occur but twice... Corporate greed to the finest. How can you book more seats than the flight can hold legally is beyond me. To top it off the customer service is so rude and not the least bit helpful, actually condescending... I have not flown Air Canada for Over 10 years and will never ever again.

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    Reviewed April 21, 2015

    First off, this airline has the worst customer service of ANY airline let alone company on this planet. Customer representatives are rude, impatient, and far from helpful. Air Canada only cares about taking your money but not about customer happiness or satisfaction. Due to "weather conditions" my flight was moved to an earlier time, I was not notified, and so I missed the flight by 5 minutes. Although the plane was still in dock, the hostesses refused to let me on the plane. After hours of talking to the airline agents, the agent finally gave me a voucher equal to my ticket price of $300. When I tried to redeem this voucher, after waiting an hour on the phone, the first representative hung up on me before I could finish my sentence. I called back, waited another 45 minutes, and was greeted rudely by the same representative who hung up on me again when she could not answer my question.

    Finally, after another 45 minutes and pretty fed up at this point, I got a hold of a different representative who said that in order to use the voucher, I would have to pay $200 for whatever "terms and conditions" they never outlined to me when I purchased the ticket from them. This airline is bizarre and their policies ridiculous. Lesson learned: I will never fly this airline again nor will I trust them for flying any of my family or friends.

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    Reviewed April 15, 2015

    Hello. I bought 2 tickets from Air Canada agent by phone. I explain tickets were for my relatives with Russian passports who will fly from Seoul to San Francisco on April 15, 2015. Me and agent went through all details, but no one from Air Canada inform me that we need transit Canadian visa to make flight happen. I didn't find any info about transit visa on Air Canada web. Finally when my people arrived to Seoul, they stuck where. It was cost me a lot more to get them other tickets option in last minute. Plus emotional stress for parent with 3-year-old was great. I didn't ask anything more than cost of tickets refund. But was offered refund with steep penalty of $400.

    I not see it as my fault. We were ready to fly. I provide all information about my side and ask 1000 questions, but no one from Air Canada care to inform me about visa. In fact if I was informed I may have time to get it. Please review my situation and give me full refund without penalty. Thank you.

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    Reviewed April 15, 2015

    My dad's heart medication disappeared from his luggage. I called and explain that he needed the medication and he had left just one box that was on my mom's purse and I told them that if he didn't take the medication he could die. They told me to write a letter and I asked if would take long to be solved and the lady told that it depends. When I asked depends of what, she couldn't answer. I asked them if they could help in a different way, since I was talking about a medication and they told me not. I am very frustrated, the medication costs is 200.00 Dollars per box, my dad is missing five boxes. He is just visiting USA and he doesn't have a doctor here. Plus, the customer service that I called was in India.

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    Reviewed April 8, 2015

    Mrs ** (mother) aged 85 had taken all the necessary precautions registered as a person with special needs, in hopes of having a less intimidating flight from Tampa International to Pearson International on April 5th, 2015. However, this was not the case and Air Canada caused her undue stress, complete exhaustion as well as possible dehydration for the following reasons:

    1. They seated her in economy when she had purchased executive class.
    2. Was sitting 2.5 hours in 92 degree temperature on the tarmac with no working air conditioning and sitting at a window seat.
    3. Was not offered any water, anything to drink not napkins while waiting although she felt hot and weak.
    4. Was not allowed to move from her seat.

    5. Upon arrival, she was very weak and had to be assisted by family to get out of her wheelchair as she didn't even recognize her own son and daughter in law.

    She received HORRIBLE customer service. The main issue was that the plane was allowed to leave without any gas. Afterwards, the passengers once again had to wait for the pilot to receive the bill. This whole process took over 2.5 in intense heat with no ventilation. Needless to say, she or other members of my family will not recommend or fly with Air Canada again and would like to receive some type of compensation for the negligence that this caused.

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    Reviewed March 29, 2015

    We recently flew to Iceland with Icelandic Air on an itinerary with Air Canada as a secondary carrier on the return flight. We were unable to obtain seats either online or by phone prior to travel and were unable to get boarding passes either online or at the Iceland Air counter for our return flight. As might be expected, we were stranded in Toronto, despite arriving from customs an hour before our "supposed" flight. Avoid this airline. They take NO responsibility for passengers coming from other airlines and offer no service to them.

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    Reviewed March 21, 2015

    I was denied boarding on a connecting flight to Tokyo Japan (AC005 14:05 March 16th) and was left stranded in Canada with no food or winter clothes. I was lied to, laughed at, and called a liar. This has been the worst experience of my life when it comes to flying. Please for the love of god never fly this airline. They do not even deserve to be able to service people because they just do not care and are a monopoly airline in Canada. So I was denied boarding on a flight to Tokyo which was crucial because my fiancee's father was extremely ill and hospitalized. Not to mention I was suppose to propose. I was told that I just needed to be assigned a seat and that I would be able to board the aircraft. I waited 9 HOURS then to be told I am being denied boarding because I was sold a ticket with no seat.

    I mean I do not like to complain but WTF? The staff was so clueless and rude it was embarrassing for Canada. I was coming from Florida and NEVER expected to leave the airport but was FORCED to go through customs and stay the night in Toronto during a power blackout and a blizzard. I almost froze to death I kid you not. Then there were the food vouchers. Couldn't of been more of a joke if it was written as one. I went to redeem them and was told due to the power blackout they (the Hotel) are not accepting them. I had no cash left on me because I had already spent it the night before on food and a winter coat (which I was never reimbursed for and was laughed at for asking about it.)

    I was called a liar when I told the supervisor that I was told I had a seat on the plane and degraded. After being told I can get on a flight from the Philippine Airlines to get to Tokyo, I looked it up and I would of arrived 2 days later and been forced to stay in Manila, which is not really somewhere I want to be in the world, (no offense anyone). This destroyed my trip to Japan to see my fiancee (then girlfriend) and screwed up my proposal and my father in law almost died and I could not be there for my girl. I mean seriously? How is it even legal for an airline to be so rude and inconsiderate? I will not stop until I get a switched return flight and a full refund. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE!! DO NOT FLY AIR CANADA.

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    Reviewed March 9, 2015

    Without Prejudice: On February 10, 2015, my husband and I were in Daytona Beach with my 70 year old mother. I booked her on Air Canada Flight #1865 - 12:50 p.m., flight to Toronto, leaving out of the Orlando International Airport direct to Toronto. We drove to the Orlando airport in the morning from Daytona Beach and arrived at 10:50 a.m., 2 hours prior to departure. My mother didn't want us to come in with her. We hugged and said goodbye outside, and she proceeded into the Airport with only a carry on Bag and her purse. I said, "call me when you get home." "I love you."

    By this time, as the day progressed, my husband and I drove to Mt. Dora to meet a friend for lunch. Afterwards, my husband and I drove back to Daytona Beach at around 6:30 p.m. I never knew what had transpired until my mother phoned me at 6:45 p.m. I was already back in Daytona Beach at my condo. She was almost in tears, telling me she had missed her Air Canada flight #1865 -12:50 p.m. to Toronto, and no one would help her and she was still in Orlando. She couldn't explain what happened because she had to go buy another calling card because the one she had was running out of minutes, and the Air Canada ticket agents wouldn't be there until 7:30 p.m. to help her, so at this point, I didn't know what was going on.

    Finally, my mother called me back after 7:45 p.m. She said she was booked for the Air Canada Flight #1869 - Departing at 9:30 p.m. flight out to Toronto and she would call me the next day when she got home. I worried about her all night, I couldn't sleep. There was no one who could pick her up in Toronto on this short notice. My father was upset, my daughter, other family members, and most of all the fact remains that my mother was left abandoned at Orlando International Airport with no one from Air Canada to advise or help her when she was in desperate need of the right answers after not being let on her scheduled flight.

    When my mother called me the next day, she explained that there was another Air Canada flight at 1:00 p.m. to Toronto, and that's where she was waiting in the boarding area, instructed to do so, and had specifically been told to wait there, and she even showed her boarding pass to a few different Air Canada personnel. They assured her she was in the right boarding area for the Air Canada flight to Toronto. She waited there until the time she heard her name being called on the loud speaker, realizing that this was not her flight and they told her to proceed to another Zone.

    My mother approached the Air Canada Representative and told her that they called her name for the Air Canada Flight 1865, but she was not at the proper boarding area. My mother showed her the boarding pass, and the A/C representative said "you're not at the right plane?" The Representative did not escort my mother to the proper area, nor did she call ahead to advise A/C flight 1865 staff that my mother was on her way. My mother asked, "are they going to wait for me?" and the A/C representative assured her they would. However, my mother inquired if she could go on the 1:00 p.m. flight, but the AC representative said, "No, you can't do that."

    So my mother started running to the other boarding area, and when she got to the entry of AC flight 1865, the A/C representative said "you can't go on this plane, why weren't you here waiting," and my mother explained that she was misinformed on where to wait, which was the other Air Canada flight leaving at 1:00 p.m., flight 1867. My mother explained to him that they called her name, and he said, she pleaded and begged him that she needed to get on that flight, and she didn't know what to do, and he said the door was closed, but the plane hadn't taxied yet. His name is **. He was very unprofessional and disrespectful to my mother for no reason, and threatened to call the Police because she was upset.

    **'s demeanor was as if he was proud of the fact of taking control and getting pleasure out of someone missing a flight. He stood there with a smirk on his face, something that I would like to slap if I ever met him. My mother doesn't have a mean bone in her body. There was another Air Canada representative named **, who also was present when this took place. She was on the phone, speaking to someone, but my mother wasn't sure what was going on at this point and time.

    By this time, the flight A/C 1865 was still in its same position, hadn't moved yet. My mother left with ** to find out what could be done for a later flight, or what processes were necessary. ** was finished her shift, she advised my mother to come back at 5:30 to the Air Canada ticketing out into the main terminal. ** assured my mother that getting the later flight out wouldn't be a problem, but ** couldn't do anything at this point because the computers were shut down, and she couldn't check anything. My mother waited around all day by herself, no one to help her in this crisis and she does not have a cell phone. So by the time she was able to line up at the Air Canada ticket centre, it was now 7:30 p.m.

    She advised the staff there what happened, and they explained to her that she would have to pay an additional $150.00U.S., to get on the 9:30 p.m. Flight #1869. My mother spoke up and stated that there was no way she was paying anything extra and that this was not her fault, she had been very inconvenienced for Air Canada's representatives giving her misleading information. The male Supervisor came out and asked my mother what had happened, so she explained the situation to him, and he said he'd be right back. He was gone for over 15 minutes, then proceeded to hand her another boarding pass for Flight #1869, departure 9:30 p.m. without additional costs.

    May I remind you, that when I booked this flight for my mother, the 12:50 p.m. flight was more expensive than the 9:30 p.m. flight, in fact by $40.00, and yet they would even try to charge her $150.00 more after what she went through is totally absurd. My mother said "thank you", and had to go through security, yet again. By this time, she had been waiting at the airport for close to 9 hours, with another 1.5 hours to go before the 9:30 pm departure flight #1869 was scheduled to leave for Toronto. This experience and unfortunate circumstances that happened to my mother on February 10, 2015 was absolutely unnecessary, and couldn't have happened to a more patient, understanding, and easy going woman, who should not have had to deal with such unprofessional, untrained, miserable, Air Canada Representatives.

    My mother has expressed how displeased she is with Air Canada. I have now filed a claim with my credit card company, and I am disputing the charge of $193.00 Cdn. Regardless of being compensated for this amount, does not make up for the distress, sleep deprivation, mental anguish, confusion and being all alone at an airport for 11 hours, caused by Air Canada. I can't even comprehend that your staff in Orlando cannot take the time to show an elderly person to the right place to board a plane, and not even as much as offer a cup of coffee, or some lunch, knowing that she was going to be there for hours and hours at a time.

    I am actually disgusted in your lack of service and could even think that I booked with Air Canada because of the convenience of flying direct out of Orlando instead of using other Air Carriers with connecting flights at a lower cost. I was an avid Air Canada flyer and always booked flights when flying to Florida with my mother and daughter. I want an apology from ** who works for Air Canada in Orlando at your gate entry who should be reprimanded or terminated for poor customer service skills. This is a serious situation and I don't take it lightly when it comes to my mother, or for that matter, any Senior Citizen being treated like that.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed March 5, 2015

    This morning my daughter (14 years old) was travelling on her own. We approached four (4) agents with Air Canada uniforms for simple questions and directions and unfortunately we encountered very sour agents that were not helpful at all. They all look very annoyed and bothered that we approached them. None of them stopped and took the time to assist us. They completely ignored us and walked on. I cannot express how frustrated this made us, especially my daughter. It was a horrible first experience for her.

    We never used Air Canada in the past because of the terrible customer service other have experienced in the past. I reluctantly booked this flight (AC1888) because it accommodated her schedule. I understand that this will go into the Internet black hole and will never hear back from Air Canada. I needed to express the lack of concern these agents demonstrated and unfortunately no name tags were observed. Again this very bad and lack of customer care. Horrible Customer Service! What a disgrace to be associated to Canada.

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    Staff

    Reviewed March 4, 2015

    My daughter flew into Toronto on February 14 arriving 12 minutes early giving her plenty time to catch your next flight to Prince Edward Island. ** was flying from Denver to Toronto making it an international flight. When the doors opened the passengers were offloaded onto the concourse instead of going through immigration. When they realized what happened security detained her and she missed her flight. The Air Canada agent admitted fault and because of this ** never got to Prince Edward Island. She was stuck in Toronto for four nights.

    Her sister was flying domestically from Vancouver and was able to fly onto PEI with no problem. Her and her sister were to fly together to see their sick grandfather. The weather was perfect on the 14th for flying but because of snowstorms ** never got there and we had to fly her back to Denver. Air Canada admitted total fault yet do not want to reimburse us for any of the $1200 we paid to get her there. Obviously they don't care about the security breach. I have contacted the mayor of Toronto and Air Canada. The mayor doesn't care anymore than anyone else. I was told by his office that the security problem was not his problem that it would be the airport's problem.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 26, 2015

    On Feb 16, 2015, I left my phone on an airplane in Toronto. I immediately notified the agent who could care less about my issue. I was informed that the running staff had left for the night and given a form to contact Air Canada to log a lost item claim. I thought that was her job but guess I was wrong. I called and filed a claim and has been following up daily to no avail. I also sent an email to customer service but of course no response. I keep getting the message that if my item is found, they will contact me and I would have 5 days to claim it.

    I know that this item will never ever be found and that is extremely disappointing. My brother left an item (quite large) on Air Canada last year and they never found it. Do they find anything that is left behind on the plane? I am very disappointed in Air Canada and their lack of service or response to the issue. This was the airline of choice but guess what..NO MORE!!

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    Reviewed Feb. 17, 2015

    As an airline consumer, I would like to share this flight info with everyone. I have been unable to lodge a complaint with Air Canada themselves as there is nowhere to send such a complaint (I have tried). My 9.5 hour flight from Toronto to Barcelona on Air Canada Rouge (never take this flight!) was abysmal. I traveled economy so was not expecting much, however, I paid extra for an aisle seat, was not seated next to my traveling companion, had no reading light - they gave us clip-to-your-book lights, had to pay for drinks on an international flight, had no movies - you had to rent an iPad for $10.00 and then download a movie app, had no heat - freezing cold with threadbare blankets.

    The only redeeming feature odd enough were the two meals. The crew was nice but seemed embarrassed by the level of service their airline was offering. Now that I know, I will not fly to Barcelona from Vancouver - it was the only way to go. As a Canadian I will fly to the U.S. first. I know the airlines don't care about service anymore; the bottom line is about the almighty dollar and how many persons they can cram on a plane - but Air Canada, how could you? I was once your champion.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 16, 2015

    Worst experience with any company in my entire life. I have had delays, inconveniences, etc. It's part of travelling. NOTHING like this. I worked in customer service. I know a lie when I hear one and I heard about 1 truth for every 10 lies on the nights of the 11th-13th. Yes, it took me that long to get to Paris from Ottawa. (AC870).

    The flight was supposed to be at 6pm from MTL. They delayed till Midnight. So I went into town, all is well, whatever - I don't have anywhere else to be really and I don't mind waiting. So I get back to the airport at 10 or whatnot, then the fun begins. At 1130 we board, all seems well. They tell us nothing for 30-40 minutes, until people begin to wonder. We get an announcement stating that they are working on "something" and shouldn't be long... Hasn't it already been a 6 hour delay?

    After an hour, they repeat the same exact message in different words, sounding even more optimistic. After the second hour, they explain the computers are malfunctioning "SLIGHTLY" and they have the best technician in Canada working his best. They claim after 2 and a half hours that they are in "solution mode". 45 minutes thereafter, they finally tell us it is cancelled. It is almost 3 am. I had been begging to let us go back and sleep in the airport or anything like that, but they insisted everything was under control.

    When we got out, there was only one customs agent to treat all of us. This is a pretty big ** plane. There are a lot of us. Once we finally get out of customs, there are no agents available (though promised) to tell us where we can stay for the night, and what other compensation there may be. They had to take care of the people who already had a flight at 6 am. Half of the people went home or to a hotel by this point. In the end, we had to pay for our own cabs, hotel, food (we hadn't been able to eat for 14 hours, everything in the airport was closed. I was literally cramping and starved. I couldn't get a granola bar from them). They said they would "refund", aka, we have to chase our money down.

    I'M NOT DONE. The hotel made us check out early, so we had a great 2 hour sleep. Once in Paris, I called to change the date of my flight back. I wanted to come back home ASAP. Not having a good time and I'd missed what I'd planned on doing already. I call Air Canada. They did not agree to refund for the two nights lost in Paris which I had already paid for.

    They gave me a 300$ cancellation fee. Now here's the best part: I booked my flight through AEROPLAN. So they transferred me there afterwards. They also gave me a cancellation fee and told me AIR CAN was not allowed to charge me. I call Air Canada back and only 2 of 6 representatives acknowledged this. The rest hung up on me. Literally. I have never been so astounded. I only called the LAST lady a **! I was allowed to be mad by that time! I was polite until then! She called me a liar. How insulting is that? I have proof on my credit card receipt - I mean it's pure negligence.

    So now I must go to court. Great. Thanks Air Canada. It also cost me 40$ to stay on the phone with them. My girlfriend is coming to visit me here in Paris. She just got told there was no room for her on the flight. She is one of 8 people to be told this fact. I hate this company and am spreading the word. They should not be able to profit 500$ million a year. I can't wait to smile at their lawyer in court. I am a lawyer in training. It's gonna be tons of fun. I hate you, Air Canada, and I will make every effort to avoid your airline in the future. This is no way to run a business - the only reason they get away with it is by Oligopoly.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPriceOnline & AppStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 9, 2015

    In December 2014, I bought a pre-packaged vacation for 2 to Waikiki, Hawaii through Air Canada vacations. The hotel was part of the package and the total price included base fare, surcharges, fees, taxes and charges. When we arrived at the hotel on January 7, 2015, we were told immediately by the night clerk that we must agree to pay additional monies to the hotel or we would not be able to check-in. I tried to explain to them that everything was paid in full when I bought the ticket. She said that Air Canada should have told you about the hospitality fees which are additional. At the time of booking, I printed a copy of everything including hotel details and there was no mention of it.

    I showed the hotel my printed copy and they agreed that nothing in my documentation even mentioned it. When I demanded to talk to the manager, they called him and I told him that I refuse to pay these extra fees. In no uncertain terms he rudely said that I will be either be paying up or we will not be allowed to stay. As we were both tired and need of a room I was forced to agree to pay for these charges. They did tell me to take it up with Air Canada when I return to Canada. I complained to Air Canada and below is my response.

    Summary: Air Canada clearly blamed me for this problem and sent along a copy of the hotels webpage as proof that it was my mistake. It clearly shows under important notes mention of these extra charges. My copy which I printed at time of booking in December also shows important notes but there is no mention of the hospitality fee. It is obvious that Air Canada received my complaint, updated their website to reflect these charges, printed it and used this falsified document in defense of my complaint. No doubt that Air Canada did not suspect that I printed the same document at time of booking which clearly shows the truth of this disclosure.

    The extra charges amounted to $280.03 Canadian. The reason I chose Air Canada over competing Westjet was because of Air Canada's cheaper price which turned out to be false and misleading. Looks like Air Canada found a way to scam Westjet out of customers by scamming the customer to pay extra upon arrival. The fact that they did not accept any responsibility whatsoever and had to falsify a document to mislead me is totally unacceptable. They have caused me a lot of money, stress and inconvenience over this.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Feb. 8, 2015

    As a frequent flyer within Canadian borders, I have come to learn that it's sometimes impossible to avoid using Air Canada... and it never fails that they will disappoint in one way or another. I have had endless bad experiences with this airline and I highly doubt it will ever change. I fly with West Jet whenever possible and I can tell you without hesitation, they always do an exceptional job. In all honesty, it comes down to one problem with Air Canada. They have weak customer service and they simply don't care. End of story.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 7, 2015

    It took me almost six months to prepare for this trip since the previous trip was cancelled due to my down syndrome daughter was sent to emergency, and I also was collapsed after those nights were sleepless. To save time, energy and money for this trip is not easy, because I am not working for more than two years due to my health issue. I also have asked Aline's dad to take 3 weeks off work, so that he can help me to take care of Aline (my special-need daughter) just in case. In return I will provide him all the expenses of this trip. The purpose for this trip is for my special-need daughter to explore and enjoy the festivals for our coming Vietnamese and Chinese New Year in California (all kind of events because we have large population of Vietnamese communities in San Jose, Little Saigon in Santa Ana). She also was promised to have a good time at Disneyland and Universal Studio.

    When we arrived at the airport we then look for the gate and went through US Customs without having enough time for the washroom. As soon as we came to the gate we have been advised that our connection flight had been gone. They then directed us to go to Air Canada Customer Services to either rebook the tickets or get the refund. After we followed all steps such as lining up, filling out forms to check out from US Custom, going up stairs… and going down stairs… and upstairs over and over again to get to Air Canada Custom Service. At Air Canada Customer Service, we had been offered either to flight to San Francisco or back to Windsor.

    I refused to go to San Francisco after looking at my daughter‘s red eyes, I knew that she was very tired from the “running up and down, in and out and around…” but she could not understand or explain or question me about the incident (only tearing out), on the “Runs” I encouraged her by saying “hurry up we going to Disney Land” in order for her not to give up. My hotels and car rental had been booked in San Jose, Santa Ana…. Los Angeles. If I accepted the offer of the flight to San Francisco, what were we supposed to do in the middle of the night with my special need daughter and had no place to stay, and no transportation….. she would collapse and end up in the hospital and if it happened I cannot afford to pay for all the medical costs in US.

    The agent at the Service Counter was kind enough letting me know that there were 3 seats left for us to go back to Windsor, if we were not hurry, they would be sold out. I then have to take the tickets to go back home. But before leaving the service counter, I did ask him what to do with my return tickets (Los Angeles-Windsor). He then asked me to provide him the booking reference no. (he did not see them, because they were booking separately) and said he would take care of them. The day after, I called Air Canada Service again and found out that the return tickets from Los Angeles to Windsor were used for the Toronto-Windsor tickets without letting me know.

    My daughter was very upset, crying and talking to herself when she arrived back in Windsor - at that time she realized that she was sending back home. I could not understand what she was talking about except Disneyland. Mentally, I am in pain when look at my daughter getting weird like that. I am not sure what was in her head, I wish that she could yell at me.

    After arriving at home, I tried to put my daughter to bed, and try to rest, but while laying down I recalled everything and started to cry and blame to myself not to do good job as a mother of a special-need. I destroyed my daughter's dream, I also wasted her life-saving money, time, energy but it was not my fault. If we had enough time for the connection flight, we would not missed the flight and by now we would be in those places, which I could see the sunshine on my daughter's face instead of tears.

    I did not intend to spend $3972.59 ($2266.50 credit amount from Student Universe which belongs to the previous cancellation trip plus paying for extra charge $524.33 and $1181.76 for tickets from Windsor to San Jose) for the trip from Windsor to Toronto and Toronto back to Windsor and also injured myself at the airport by missing the escalator step. I also did not want to torture my daughter mentally or physically by encouraging her to run there and back, from up and down over and over again, almost five to six hours for nothing. What should I do? I really need your help. (I did send this explanation to Air Canada Customer Relation.)

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 4, 2015

    Rerouted; Denied Bag on Arrival; No Staff Available: Cancelled flights due to fog on 30 & 31 Jan 2015 connecting through YVR left several of us unable to board for HNL Sun 31 Jan. Despite being the first to check in that morning, I was not informed of the weather related backlog, and instead was told my seat would be assigned at the gate. The gate at YVR did not open until one hour before scheduled departure. Lone agent at boarding gate would not speak to me (no disposition on my part).

    Despite being first at the gate, plane filled and four of us with previously confirmed seats were hustled to OGG bound flight at neighboring gate with nearly same scheduled departure time. Agents at YVR gate said a connection OGG to HNL would occur on arrival. These agents are seriously misinformed on how Air Canada operates in Hawaii. The Maui Airport is locked down at midnight and our arrival at 11pm left us with no connecting flight. The overall problem got worse from there and was not resolved in any way by Air Canada, rather by local authorities and the assistance of Hawaiian Air.

    I got home the next day and needed all my composure and intellect to locate my bag. Air Canada has no staff in Hawaii. Services are farmed out to temporary personnel who show up nightly to handle the two or three incoming flights, which are quickly boarded and turned around to Vancouver or Toronto. This bare bones contracted staff is as clueless about Air Canada as the greater Air Canada staff is clueless about its own void in Hawaii. The support personnel behind the Air Canada contact phone lines in India and Toronto are equally clueless about the void in Hawaii. The Air Canada customers waiting to board in Hawaii are mostly unassuming Canadians who tolerate this without complaint.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Feb. 3, 2015

    We boarded a flight from Varadero, Cuba to Calgary, Alberta on Jan 30th, flight number 1731. We were told when we arrived that we had no luggage, the whole plane. We call and call and call, and no one will help us to tell us where is our luggage. They don't even have a CLUE where our luggage is. We call Air Canada for help, and we are calling India, really what would they know. It's been 3 days so far and no one is even trying to help us a bit. I am so very angry and frustrated that I am at my wits end. As far as I'm concerned Air Canada isn't even trying a bit to help us.

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    Punctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 1, 2015

    My empathy to all the others with complaints against this unethical airline. Here is my Air Canada number, I want them to know who I am and that I have legitimate complaints that I will be following up separately with CTA and other agencies: Air Canada aeroplan#: **. If they unethically, violently or unprofessionally retaliate against me then they will have additional charges to contend with because I will have a lot of witnesses.

    1. On November 26, 2014, Air Canada flight AC4743 (going east to west) almost struck another large jet travelling north to south at an estimated speed of 600 knots within approximately 150 feet in the air above, roughly north of Lake Superior and close to the Manitoba border, at or about 2:30 pm. This placed the lives of everyone on both planes in danger, when being so close what would have happened if that other plane hit a lower pressure zone, or the plane I was in encountered a stronger than normal aft gust of wind? I have reported this to the CTA and I will be willing to bet there will be some evidence despite their attempting to deny this occurred (I suspect they will try to destroy their records but hopefully there will be someone else that saw it, or some logged radar and electronic RF airship id data will be available through the privately operated airports that monitor that space in Canada or in USA).

    2. As I was checking into Air Canada flight AC798 at LAX (see also other complaints in this system about this flight), I was told the departure and arrival time to YUM (Montreal, P. Quebec) had been changed to later so now I had to wait almost six hours. I probably don't have to reiterate how unfriendly it is to travel especially through the air in USA within their airport jail type systems of intrusive cargo/body searches, unsafe x-rays and security guards, searching old ladies and babies for drugs or bombs. I missed all my pre-arranged transit connections in Montreal due to the delayed arrival Sunday evening, so I had to pay a taxi to drive me an hour to get home. On top of that I had to put up with a plane full of French people for another 5 hours that were mostly sick, coughing, sneezing, a few vomiting (it was a very bumpy flight).

    3. Air Canada refuses to give me flight point credit for flying from Montreal, P. de Quebec (via Vancouver, BC Canada) to Auckland, New Zealand and back because in their words "it was not a valid subclass". I don't really want their Aeroplan points as I cannot every recall using them nor do I plan to (especially now that they "expire" everyone's points if you don't pay them more money every year). However, their actions constitute unethical business policies and practices.

    Here is why. They have applied disparate discriminatory treatment by classifying some flights differently on the same plane, or on the exact same route, as a class that will not be given Aeroplan points, yet other flights on the exact same route (same origin, same destination, same plane type) will be given Aeroplan points. Likewise, some Aeroplan members will be given points on the a flight while others on that flight will not be given points. Air Canada transaction records could be provided by them to verify this allegation. This is unethical discriminatory behavior. This is one flight (quite a long one over 12 hours) and there were others too. NZ Flight Number: 0083, Flight Date: 2014-11-26, Origin Airport: Vancouver International Apt - BC, CA (YVR), Destination Airport: Auckland International Apt, NZ (AKL), Booking Class: K.

    4. In 2008 Air Canada refused to refund or change the overseas tickets my wife and I had purchased from them which amounted to approximately $5,000 since we were unable to travel due to the aviation flu issues at that time. In return for our money we received absolutely no service or products for $5,000 - zero, only bad service dealing with them to try to change it or get at least a partial refund. I rest my case. Please let airlines know that consumers have rights and feelings.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Jan. 9, 2015

    Horrible Customer Service! AC 739 from YYZ to SFO on Jan 6. First, flight was delayed by over an hour, of which one of the reasons was issues with cargo. Then, both of my checked luggage did not arrive. Clearly, they took both off (as there were many other passengers without their checked luggage). Anyway, I wrote that I had perishable items and it was noted to rush delivery. The luggage came the next day at 11am (via online tracer) but to my astonishment, it was put on FedEx next day delivery when I live 30 mins drive from the airport. I tried emailing and calling to get my luggage sooner but with no luck. The bags came 27 hours after it arrived at SFO and of course, everything did spoil. I still have not heard back from Air Canada after 2 days. Waiting times to call customer service is 1 hour and then the phone just hangs up. It's just unreal to think they send these delayed bags via next day delivery when anxious passengers are eagerly waiting on their missed bags. Other airlines deliver within hours via private service.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 8, 2015

    Problem is I checked into a flight from Houston on Air Canada on January 5th on flight # AC8114 to Toronto. The flight was delayed in boarding by almost 1 hour and pushed back on time. When we got to Toronto a number of passengers did not get their baggage. There were no communication from the airline about the status and we just stood at the baggage position for 1 hour only to realize that our baggage did not come. The line to file a claim was so long that it was taking well over an hour to process a few customers. I was given the option to fill out a customs form and call the airline the following day to file the report. The problem is you are put on hold for 1 hr before an agent takes your call. Only to be told someone will call you back in and 1 hour to take the necessary info. But they never did.

    I then proceeded to go online process and it is 2 days now and I still can't get any information from Air Canada on the status of my baggage. While these airlines just pay out a value for your belongings, the personal losses are irreplaceable. I can't get even get a courtesy call from the airline that they are making any effort. My take on this is that the airline left our baggage intentionally in Houston to push back at the gate so that they did not have to pay the penalty for pushing back at the gate late.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 31, 2014

    In September I booked my flight for Air Canada from Victoria to Toronto, with a connecting flight from Toronto to Houston. When trying to check in before the flight, the computer system had my seat place as "GTE" and would not let me confirm. So, upon my 3AM flight to Toronto, I informed the Air Canada agent as to what to do. The agent said everything was fine, that I could decided what seat I wanted when I arrived in Toronto. After waiting 3 hours in between flights in the Toronto Airport, I approach the gate agent and am told that there are no seats available on the flight, and that I will be put on Stand By. "Pardon me" I say, "I booked my flight in September". To which this question, and all others are not responded to. Upon waiting, it turns out 3 other passengers are on stand by and none of us get on the plane. The agent kept us guessing to the last minute, and did not show any consideration of our inconvenience. Because I was traveling with my boyfriend, that would mean I'd be stuck in Toronto without him. As a matter of fact, he volunteered to stay behind for another of the 2 passengers, and was refused this request. Not only but also, it is regulation to ask if another passenger will take the compensation, and this was not announced.

    Consequently my boyfriend headed into the plane without me and I was stuck in the airport until 3:00PM the next day. By the same token, I was given false hopes about a plane out that night, to which kept me waiting in angst for many hours at the customer service counter, only to be let down again. In view of all of this, I ended up at the airport from 3AM on Saturday morning to 3PM Sunday the next day, arriving back at 7:00PM. The agent would not give me compensation for new clothes, so I ended up wearing the same outfit for two days, as my baggage could not be found and was checked in. Furthermore, when I finally did board my flight I received the worst service I have experienced in years, and was also served one of the most unpalatable meals, a salmon salad, which made me sick the day after.

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    Reviewed Dec. 18, 2014

    I have been booking my own vacations for a number of years, but lately at 73 I am easily confused. Consequently I made a few mistakes when booking through Air Canada Vacations using Aeroplan credits. First I booked a flight that I had to cancel because it was the wrong time and had to pay the taxes anyway. Then I booked a hotel on the wrong date and had to cancel that one and rebook for another date. I received a cancellation email for the hotel. I had booked, cancelled and rebooked all on the same day and almost within the same hour. I see the small print that there are no cancellation refunds.

    However, because the bookings were made all on the same day, there should be some consideration, plus the fact that my mind is not functioning as it once did. Is there no humanity with Air Canada Vacations? No reasoning? I will never fly with them or use Aeroplan credits again. I now have paid $230 of which Air Canada Vacations is not about to refund me because I made 2 mistakes. I have the emailed cancellation message for the hotel.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 18, 2014

    They bumped off my elderly sister at Heathrow, claiming she was late for check-in. She'd had to transfer from Gatwick, so was a little late but the flight hadn't even started boarding. I asked them to give her disability assistance and they refused, even though I told them she was over 70 years old and disabled. Instead she had to wait for another 7 hours and they put her on a flight with transit through Toronto where she needed to take her luggage off and on again. The ground hostess was rude and obnoxious. There was no consideration for her being an elderly and unseasoned traveler. We subsequently had to spend a night in a hotel on arrival, adding unexpected expenses of approx $400.

    When I wrote to complain and asked for compensation, all they offered was $100 and useless vouchers, as I have no intention of ever travelling with them again. Have written umpteen times but they insist that this was a misconnection when I know full well it was an overbooked flight because they were going around checking seat numbers for various passengers and each seat was taken.

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    Reviewed Dec. 16, 2014

    Can't reach the customer service via phone (always busy 24/7) or email. No one cares about your complaints. Never travel with them. You Shouldn't too.

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 14, 2014

    A check in counter officer (Linda) who couldn't locate the baggage tag for my last leg into Saskatoon on one of my bags. She led me aside to speak to her supervisor who was rude and even insinuated that I had mislaid the tag (it had worked it's way under the tag from the previous 3 legs). The supervisor was busy initially with another passenger couple and attended to me after she was done with them. The combined delay of the International flight from Frankfurt arriving late and the delay of 15 to 20 minutes at the check in resulted in my being told that the gate had closed on my flight to Saskatoon on the booked flight but I would be rebooked SEVEN HOURS later.

    I tried to obtain a credit for the remaining flight (to take an earlier flight with Westjet) but was told by the rude lady at the check in desk that as I had a flight for seven hours later no refund/credit was possible. In the meantime, my wife and children had journeyed 90 minutes to Saskatoon to await my return at 19h30 but would now have to wait till 01h30 Sunday. To avoid travelling by road at this late hour, we opted to have them stay over at a hotel in Saskatoon, an added unnecessary expense occasioned by the maladministration at the Calgary check in counter.

    I Have belabored the above description to illustrate the difficulties encountered by people from the prairies when making international flights. As these flights usually terminate at an airport in another province, the airline staff have little regard for the logistical difficulties encountered when having to travel an extra last leg into the prairie provinces especially Saskatchewan and Manitoba. I am certain people from the northern provinces also encounter similar difficulties.

    I think that a civil aviation passenger bill of rights is necessary to protect the interests of the poor tired passenger who has to contend with rude and inattentive staff who no doubt are also pressured by the carriers into misdirecting passengers with respect to their rights. The bill of rights should be prominently displayed throughout airports and be available as a mandatory part of the downloads when booking tickets online.

    Further I think passengers with onward connecting flights after a customs border post should be offered a priority lane at customs. Lastly, Air Canada bears a national symbol even though it is a privately managed company. I am of the opinion that they do not deserve to carry the national symbol on their livery when they behave in such a deplorable manner toward fare paying Canadian passengers.

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    Price

    Reviewed Nov. 14, 2014

    Since my job requires constantly flying to get to meetings around the world, I know what to & what not to expect. And yes, I have all the points and awards - so I really know what constitutes 'good' on a flight, and what's not. So, you can imagine my anticipation on flying the AC Dreamliner - a large, spacious, quite aircraft that just eases the flight hours away. NOT. Air Canada decided to put in very small aisles, tiny uncomfortable seats and an entertainment system that doesn't tilt. I'm 5'4" and 135 pounds, so if I can't fit in a seat - something is drastically wrong! And I couldn't get comfortable - the flights to/from Europe were each 12 hours of misery. How greedy could AC be, as to try to fit in that many seats? The plane is already super-efficient - and everyone else using this aircraft uses the original, spacious Boeing seats and aisle systems. So, having an aisle seat is awful - you will constantly get your elbows, arms and feet banged by those flight attendants.

    Add to that - the washrooms are so small I couldn't even fit in. And, the toilet seats refuse to stay up! Come on, AC, adding a slow-release toilet seat, or even Velcro at the top, would cost you nothing! So, if you see an Air Canada Dreamliner on your flight itinerary, run away. They've turned it into a Nightmare Liner!!

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    Price

    Reviewed Nov. 13, 2014

    I want to know why I can't transfer my ticket, and why a 200 dollar charge for changing my flight time?

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 12, 2014

    Upset about the treatment received at the North Bay, ON Jack Garland Airport on Monday, November 10, 2014 by Air Canada. I took my husband to the airport to board a flight for 5:40 a.m. bound for Toronto then on to Vancouver. I understand that Air Canada, West Jet and perhaps other smaller Canadian companies have begun charging for a first piece of checked luggage. What I wasn't prepared for was my husband was forced to check his carry on which was around 14 pounds of weight.

    I used the same carry on bag 5 weeks ago with Air Canada, at the same check in counter without any problems or concerns. When my husband changed planes to get on his connecting flight from Toronto to Vancouver, there were others traveling on the same Air Canada flight taking on carry on cases the same size and some larger than the bag he was forced to check in and pay an extra $25.00. Totaling $50.00 for the two pieces. The carry on is two years old, is a standard size, sold with sets of luggage in Canada and the States. Most luggage have front pockets that prevent them from fitting in to the prescribed metal holder found in all airports. No one else bothers you. The pockets of his carry on was not filled. Unfortunately, my husband has a return ticket with Air Canada.

    This type of nickel and dime pettiness does not happen with their competitor West Jet. From here on in, I would rather drive to Toronto and take a West Jet flight where the staff are polite and helpful. Had it not been the fact that the time was short for boarding, I would have retracted the larger, checked suitcase (which was not overly filled and well under the 50 lb. allowance and placed the contents of the carry on case into it).

    As I mentioned it is only 5 weeks ago I used Air Canada on the same connecting flight, using the same piece of luggage without a problem. I have traveled with this piece of carry on luggage on several US air carriers, Air Canada and West Jet for 5 return flights over a two year period. I assume, Air Canada is forcing their employees at the check counters to disallow standard sized carry on bags to make money, forcing customers to pay last minute for an added check in bag. Especially when in Toronto, a much larger airport, their check in counters are not harassing their customers. In Toronto, Air Canada is being more reasonable. I find this behavior reprehensible. It leaves me feeling angry at this type of treatment.

    From now on I will go to the States when possible where it is much cheaper to fly to Seattle, rent a vehicle for a week and drive to Vancouver, all totaling considerably less than an Air Canada from both North Bay, and from Toronto. I will not longer consider traveling Air Canada. I will travel with West Jet or one of the US carriers instead where most of their staff are happy to help customers and value their patronage. No small wonder Canadians are going across the border to fly to their destinations. Many charge for a checked bag, but, do not hassle you with a carry on piece of luggage with wheels.

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    Reviewed Nov. 8, 2014

    I spent $2,400.00 in tickets on Air Canada to into the northern provinces -- not a visitor's paradise in the winter. The week we were due to leave in early September, 2013, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and he started chemotherapy. I cancelled the flight and was assured, repeatedly, that we could pay a reconnection fee and activate the tickets, as long as I called by November, 2014. We could not cancel them for a refund. After a round of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and some remission diagnosis, we want to book the trip. I am now on hold for the fifth time for more than 45 minutes. When I get through, they tell me I have to contact customer service. When I contact customer service, they tell me that I have to contact reservations. THIS IS THE WORST AIRLINES I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISERY TO WORK WITH. We have traveled through China, Mexico, Europe and South America and have never had this level of horrible service.

    I believe I must have spoken to the same "lovely" agent that a previous person spoke to who insisted that she was the only person I could speak to and a supervisor could not speak to me and in speaking with me she could not, would not and would never help me. She hung up on me. I have been on hold for two hours and now am told that my tickets expired and that I had only three months -- in November 2013 -- to rebook the tickets, despite my husband's illness. I have been on hold for 25 minutes and the call just disconnected. Why am out $2,000? How can this airline have any pride when the only comments posted are negative? Hey folks -- take a Southwestern flight.

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    Reviewed Oct. 20, 2014

    I am an artist, known by the pen name Chans. I was a former Executive Committee Member of the Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi and a member of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, both being governing bodies of art and literature in the State of Kerala, India. I had won various awards, including the first A. S Illustration Award in 2005. I had worked as Art Director in various films and has done illustrations for various prestigious publications such as India Today, Deshabhimani, Vanitha, Madhyamam, Malayala Manorama, Chithrabhumi, Janashakti, KalaKaumudi, etc. My paintings have been exhibited in various places such as Abu Dhabi and Canada to great acclaim, at various popular art exhibitions including the Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy State Exhibition (2004-05) and the Pen to Graphics Exhibition (2005). At present, I am working for Samakalika Malayalam Varika under the Indian Express group of newspapers.

    Following an invitation from admirers of my work, I spent 48 days in Canada, visiting different provinces such as Alberta (Edmonton), Toronto and Newfoundland. Many of my original works and paintings were sold in these provinces, for a total sum of 7200 Dollars. I also conducted an exhibition at Newfoundland. After the exhibition at Newfoundland, I removed all the frames from my paintings and packed them (a total number of 65 paintings) in a hard shell box for transporting back to India. I also packed my work file for the publication I am now working for in the said box. The said hard shell box, containing the items mentioned above, was booked as luggage, along with another box, for my return flight trip to Calicut (Kozhikode). Other than that, I had a hand luggage, wherein my expensive acrylic paints, brushes, laptop, camera, tablet and the money received from selling my paintings were kept.

    I boarded a flight operated by Air Canada from Goose Bay Airport (YYR) at 7.10 PM on 19-6-2014. The said flight being delayed due to bad weather, I missed my connecting flight from St. John’s NL Airport. I was neither offered a delayed flight from St. John’s NL Airport by Air Canada nor given accommodation so as to catch the next flight from St. John’s. Instead, Air Canada transported me to Toronto, a journey which took more than 4 hours, to see if I could get a connecting flight from there on the same day. However, there being no such connecting flight, I was forced to stay that day in Toronto, after having unnecessarily travelled those extra hours. On 20-6-2014, during the security check at Toronto Airport, I was forced to surrender my hand luggage containing the items above mentioned. I was permitted to retain only a small amount of money for emergencies and was told that my hand luggage would be returned to me at Calicut (Kozhikode) Airport.

    Thereafter, I was forced to undergo the most harrowing journey of my life, without adequate money, food, toiletries or clothing at London and Abu Dhabi Airports. I had to undergo hospitalization after I reached home as a result of my miserable travel. In the meantime, when I enquired with Etihad Airways at London Airport about my baggage, I was told that no information about the same had been received from Air Canada. After I reached Calicut (Kozhikode) Airport, I was shocked to learn that my luggage was missing. I had put in a claim with Etihad Airways on the said day itself. I listed out the articles contained in my luggage of a total value, amounting to 46,913 Dollars.

    Ten days later, Etihad Airways informed me that one of my bags was traced from Air India and that the other bags had not been passed on by Air Canada to Etihad Airways. All my original work was in the luggage that is still untraced. My work file was also in the luggage and so I could not submit them to my employers, thereby putting my job at risk. The other valuables that were in there, my paints, money, equipment, etc. are all gone. I contacted Etihad Airways on a daily basis, but to no avail.

    I had also contacted Goose Bay Airport (YYR) but Air Canada informed me that my loading chart could not be given to me as the equipment was broken and thus luggage could not be scanned at the relevant time. Subsequently, Etihad Airways informed me in writing that it could grant only 600 Dollars to me as compensation for each of my baggage. This sum is ridiculously low and cannot in any manner compensate me for the loss of my original paintings. The estimated value of my valuable works will come to 39,000/- Dollars on the basis of the sums received by me by sale of my paintings in Canada.

    Subsequently, on 10-7-2014, I received from Etihad Airways at Calicut airport my hand luggage in a severely damaged condition. All items, including the 7200 Dollars received by me from sale of my paintings, laptop, iPad, etc. were missing from the said hand luggage. On 1-7-2014, I made a complaint (Ref. No.**) to Air Canada in this regard. I sent various reminders, including two to Air Canada on 12-7-2014 and 2-8-2014. In the last reminder mentioned above, I requested nothing but that Air Canada should take all efforts to trace out my missing baggage, as a commercial airline with a reputation for doing its best for its customers and pointing out how valuable the creative works and equipment are to an artist like me. All required documents, including photographs of the damaged hand luggage traced out, were forwarded to Air Canada. However, apart from a communication on 28-8-2014 offering an apology and an attempt to cast the responsibility solely on Etihad Airways, Air Canada has done absolutely nothing in the matter.

    It is obvious that both the airlines are trying to evade responsibility for the sheer negligence that has occurred in the matter. A blatant deficiency in service has occurred on the part of both the airlines in handing over my luggage to me. I am entitled to be compensated for the loss of my valuable paintings and equipment and also for the mental agony and anxiety caused to me by their actions and omissions. In view of their totally indifferent attitude, (Etihad Ref: **) I had been waiting for the last three months to get a favorable reply from them, but they could not give me my luggage and even the compensation what I claimed.

    After three months, I was forced to tell the media about it. And it became a hot news in all the media. I am left with no option but to take appropriate proceedings to get back my luggage or to obtain adequate compensation from the airlines. I request you, sir to help me to get back my lost luggage which is very much valuable to me or help me to get compensation what I claimed from the concerned airlines.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 3, 2014

    First off, I've only ever written one other complaint in my life - against justfab.ca - and both that time and now is because I feel the company was not transparent in their business dealings. Short and simple - when I called to see what my options were to cancel a scheduled flight due to the unexpected passing of a dear friend, the agent from Air Canada appeared to be sympathetic and genuinely caring about my circumstance. He told me not to worry, he'll take care of everything and I'll have a one year time period to use the credit for the two flights I had book. I left that conversation feeling so positive about the experience with Air Canada that I told many friends about how great they are (spoke too soon).

    It's now a month later, and I needed to book a flight for business. After calling and speaking with the agent at Air Canada (Marie from the Toronto Call Centre, VERY unhelpful) I'm told that each flight costs me a cancellation fee of $210 and a transfer fee of $120 for a total of $330 (for EACH flight)!!! My original flight only cost $450 each - so basically Air Canada are the complete opposite of caring and compassionate but rather deceptive and shady business operators. Furthermore, when I asked Marie to speak with a manager (one three different occasions) she said that she's the only person to speak with and flat out said 'no' about speaking to anyone else. My only option was through their complaints department via email online. I merely want them to listen to that original conversation to see that there was no discussion by their agent about any cancellation or transfer fees, nor was that indicated within the email confirmation afterwards.

    I can't tell you how disappointed I am that the supposed #1 airline in Canada (where I'm proudly from) would run such a shady business operation and, furthermore, not correct issues for their customers where there's been a clear mistake on their part. Will never travel on one of their planes again.

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    Reviewed Sept. 29, 2014

    Boeing 777-300 Vancouver-London Heathrow 2 Sep 2014. The new business class studio pod is TERRIBLE - narrow, short and ridiculously sized and shaped. It's okay as a seat, but I paid for a good night's sleep. Forget it! I'm 6 ft 4 and when the seat turns into a bed, it slides the lower half of your body into a tiny plastic coffin-like box (in the area under the armrests of the two passengers in front) with no room to move your legs at all, and it wasn't long enough for me - so it wasn't humanly possible to lie down!! Hell on earth. As a result, I arrived at LHR tired and irritable, lacking the sleep I had needed and deliberately paid for. The cabin crew was brilliant, but they told me that a lot of other business class passengers had complained about this new seat. It's also difficult to get the seat back up again from a supposed "bed". My seat 2A on C-FIVO was also missing a seat-based flexible reading light. It is a reasonably new aircraft so why on earth was that missing?

    Basically, Air Canada has decided to shove more seats in every class onto this aircraft at the expense of comfort and space, and every passenger is short-changed as a result. The 777-300ER that normally takes 359 passengers is being converted to 458 passengers - mine was one of them. The passenger loses. I have read that it is a plan to reduce cost per seat by 15%. It is a total disgrace - avoid this aircraft at all costs. Air Canada used to be a great airline but it is heading downhill. I have sent two emails, two letters to the LHR office and two letters to Calin Rovinescu: the CEO of Air Canada. No reply of any kind has been received to date. Air Canada really doesn't care anymore. If this is the way Air Canada is going, then it's time to change airlines folks.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 26, 2014

    Me and my friend booked up our flights to Toronto on 30/08/2014. My friend was travelling from Dublin and myself from LHR. Everything went according to the plan on the day of travel and we traveled to Montreal (for a connecting flight to Billy Bishop) without any issues; however, things suddenly changed. Our flight from LHR to Montreal was 5 minutes late. We arrived on 30/08/2014 at Montreal on AC 865 @ 17:20. Our next flight was at 18:15. We had 55 minutes to clear customs etc to catch our onward flight. Upon approaching the check in desk at 17:55 (boarding time) we were told by the agent that we have missed our flight even though this flight left Montreal around 1900 hours! And have been put on the standby flight which leave Montreal at 1900 hours.

    We were quite shocked as we were on time and still the agents said we were late! Ok we said and waited until 1900 hours. Upon reaching at the designated gate 48 we were told that 1900 hours is also fully booked so they again transferred us to 2000 hours to Toronto, waited again and as soon as the time striked - same story (2000 hours was also fully booked). This time we were getting angry and frustrated as were being transferred onto different flights. Agents told us that we'll definitely go on 2130 hours last flight to Toronto. So we waited again (bearing in mind we landed at Montreal airport at 1720 and it was already 4 hours delay). Our family and friends were waiting impatiently at Billy Bishop Airport.

    At 2130 hours again we were told that flights are fully booked and that the confirmed seats will be given to us for the next day morning flight at 0630 hours. We also accepted that as we had no other choice; however, when the agents advised us that they cannot put us in any of the hotels for the night we just felt ignored. We waited patiently until 2130 hours only to be told that we have confirmed booking for the next day, no hotel for night and was only given CAD20 for our meals at the airport. What the hell??? Passengers were flown without any kind of priority basis. Your Agent Christina ** (supervisor) was there who is ever so rude and dealt with us in a very unprofessional way!!!!!!!!! We were left deserted at the airport. We were told to wait at the airport without lodging etc.

    First time in Canada with world class Airline ruined our whole trip. We were then told that we can collect the bags at the baggage claim; however, upon our approach we were advised that our bags has already flown to Toronto Pearson (and not even to Billy Bishop). I had my medicine in my luggage as I suffer from joint pain being a thyroid patient. I would be also lodging the claim for that too. How can you fly a luggage on a passenger aircraft without the passengers??? Without advising us?? The whole system was in chaos. We were not prepared to sit at the airport overnight without my medication. So we decided to arrange a taxi from the airport to Toronto which costed us $600.00 (CAD) and took us 6 hours to reach YYZ airport.

    Upon reaching at the airport we went towards to claim our baggage. I got my luggage straightaway; however, my friend's luggage was still missing. We then asked the agent who told us that his luggage is coming on the next flight to Toronto. What the heck?? Contradicting stories!! All the way. So we waited again for my friend luggage to arrive which co-incidentally did arrive on that flight. Soon after claiming our luggages I found out that my eyesight glasses (case) were missing which was attached to the luggage!!!! I was very furious at that time and requested to speak to the manager, however no avail. Nobody was able to comment on anything!!

    I'm talking to my solicitors to take appropriate legal action Air Canada so that you know how to deal with customers. I've also recorded a video footage of your handling agents the way they dealt with the luggages! I will be showing that too in the court of law. I work as a logistics manager in reputable company in England and have never come across such a disaster in my life. Air Canada not only ruined our start of vacations but also added a cost burden upon us. I'm very very very disappointed the way you guys handled our situation. Flights overbooked, no adequate accommodation provided, discrepancy in giving out meal vouchers, (the fellow passengers who traveled with us were given $30 CAD and we were only given $20.00 CAD) not to mention that this is nothing against the cost we had to incur from our pockets just to get to destination.

    Under IATA regulations your airline is obliged to provide us with Adequate accommodation, meals and transfer in case of any flight delays. Your agent Christina ** was one of the rudest person I ever met in my life. As I mentioned before, we work as professional in our trade and I understand sometimes the things doesn't go along, respecting that Air Canada should have consider our situation and dealt with it in a nice way. I demand your immediate response to my query and I look forward to hearing back from you within 24 hours.

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    Reviewed Sept. 22, 2014

    Have had huge issues with Air Canada. Our flight to Toronto from Dublin Ireland on 30/07/14 was overbooked. Our flight was a connection to bring us to Cuba.

    After a lengthy wait, we were booked on a flight with Virgin Airways and were placed in a hotel for the night. We were provided with a FIM (booking pass for Virgin from Air Canada) for business class. We were also provided refused boarding compensation slips which we were told we could redeem in Toronto airport. We were told we could order whatever food we wanted in the hotel. We were provided with a very basic menu and the food was extremely poor! When we arrived in Gatwick to board Virgin we were told that we had been downgraded to economy due to an issue with our FIM.

    After many complaints nothing was done to sort this. We boarded our Virgin flight, however our bags were lost for 1 week! When we arrived in Toronto we attempted to redeem our delayed boarding vouchers and were refused and dismissed! When we went to travel back to Dublin from Toronto we realized when we went to board the aircraft that we were flying with Air Canada Rouge. At no point in the booking process, ticket etc were we made aware of this. When I complained to the boarding staff, I was told "Oh you were expecting Air Canada, well prepare to be disappointed". After arriving back from our holiday I complained to Air Canada on 15/08/14. I am still waiting on a response! Also I posted my request for compensation to the UK address for compensation. I have still received no compensation or response. The amount due for 2 people is €1,200.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed Sept. 1, 2014

    I was suppose to travel from MILAN to USA on July 6th 2014. I arrived at the MXP at 11:35 AM my flight was suppose to leave at 12:20 that day, (AIR CANADA 843). I went to check in and there was someone before me that already was checking in, so it was my time at 11:35 and they said is too late, and are you Albanian (I lived in Italy for over 10 years and I know people are Racists), I said "yes, can't you see my passport". They said if you didn't have a luggage we would had let you go. That was insane I was talking to them in Italian, who travels without luggage - I don't know. It is not about the money that I got another ticket for $923.14 plus the $944.87 that I had spend prior. I want to get reimbursed for the money, first because they have no respect, they were racist toward me, we can all Google Albanians and Italians how likable are Albanians in Italy, and they treated me like garbage. So, if you are not able to help please advise how I can get a lawyer to take over this matter. I don't care about the money, I care about myself and my integrity. I would not allow anyone talk to me like I am nothing. Yes, I am Albanian and proud, so please advise.

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    Price

    Reviewed Aug. 28, 2014

    I called to cancel a flight that I had booked for a business trip, four days in advance. I was told that the flight was non refundable but I would be issued a credit for $285. Then I was told that I will be charged a re-booking fee of $200 to re-schedule the flight. This is insane... to pay $200 more for a $285 flight, total $485. Steer yourself clear of this airline. I will no longer use Expedia.com for partnering with Air Canada and not informing customers of this unfair practice.

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    Contract & TermsPriceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 11, 2014

    I had booked two air tickets for Air Canada through my booking agent Cheapoair. According to the terms agreement that each of the passenger is allowing to carry one free luggage for transit from USA/Canada or Canada/USA. But when I check in the flight, the staff at Air Canada counter insisted to charge me USD/25.00 per each luggage. I have two luggage including my wife's. Air Canada extra charged USD/50 per trip and total at USD/100. Also mentioned any meal on the confirmation and Air Canada do not provide any meal and I need to purchase lunch/breakfast on the plane by myself. This is the first time in my life that I need to purchase food on an International flight. I'm asking for refund for the reasonable baggage charges USD/100 plus the meals which is refused by Air Canada. The reason from USA to Canada is not an International flight. If a flight flying in between two countries should be treated as an International flight. Air Canada Confirmation: ** dated July 23 and July 29, 2014. Passenger names **.

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    Punctuality & Speed

    Reviewed July 31, 2014

    I booked a non-refundable flight ticket to my country on March 2014. The flight was on 11, May 2014. from USA/MSP to Turkey/IST connected from Toronto/Pearson. I am a Graduate Student in USA. So, I have F1 Visa. but I still needed a Transit Visa to make connection from any airport in Canada which doesn't make sense to me. In anyway, as soon as I learned that, I properly applied for a Transit Visa to Canada on time a long time before my flight. Unfortunately, it is refused which also doesn't make sense to me. I just needed a Transit Visa to make a connection from Toronto/Pearson Airport. I wasn't going to stay there.

    I could never know if I would be able to get a Visa before purchasing the ticket because an itinerary is required to apply for a Visa. The value of my ticket can be applied toward the purchase of another ticket for future travel before March 16, 2015. However, I don't have any future travel plan. In addition, all the flights operated by Air Canada is connected from Canada. Therefore, I will need a Visa in anyway. And to apply Visa again, I'll need an itinerary or ticket. It is also not guaranteed that I will be able to get the Visa. In this case, they should able to refund the ticket since it is not my fault. I properly applied for the Visa on time. Unfortunately, Air Canada Customer and Refund Service insist on not refunding the ticket. This really bother me and this is not fair.

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    Reviewed July 28, 2014

    I travelled with my husband on April 2, 2014 from Toronto to Cayo Coco with two pieces of checked luggage. Only one arrived. After days of waiting, contacting hotel front desk, ACV REP and finally someone in HAVANA who was able to trace the suitcase. It arrived the night before our departure - within acceptable weight limits AND with the tag, damaged but intact. On our return, we contacted ACV and was told that it is not their responsibility but the carriers' (Air Canada). After a lengthy correspondence, AC reluctantly reimbursed us for some of the added costs..try getting itemized receipts in CUBA. I still hold ACV responsible for ruining our vacation and I am seeking some venue for reimbursement. Any ideas?

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    Price

    Reviewed July 24, 2014

    We were on a booked flight from ORD to YVR June 30, 2014. The flight did not go because of a mechanical problem. We were moved to a different aircraft and because of weather and a timed out flight crew, the flight was cancelled. I contacted United by phone and was re-booked through Delta Airlines (confirmation number **) on a flight to YVR for 8:45 the next morning, July 1, 2014. I arranged for a Hotel at my expense. We arrived at the Hotel at 2 AM and were back at the airport at 6:30 AM.

    We went to Delta and were pointed to WestJet. At WestJet we were booked in but could not go because the ticket was not paid for by either Delta or United. We were sent a 1/8 of a mile back to Delta and another 1/8 mile back to United. United told us that Delta would not accept the payment electronically because of some glitch, who would in turn pay WestJet. The issue was still not resolved at 7:50 AM and as United had badly over-booked all of their flights to Vancouver, it looked like we were looking at least a couple of days or more to get back to Vancouver, if we were lucky. And as we were both to be back at work Wednesday, July-02-14, we decided to go back a mile to WestJet and purchase a ticket back to Vancouver on their 8:45 flight that we were already booked on. We also thought our chances of getting to Vancouver would be diminished more because of the upcoming July 4th US holiday. The cost was $515.10 each for two tickets.

    I realize that weather was an issue but the lack of a flight crew was not, as aircraft were going, after the flight was cancelled. The re-booking I can accept, but not the total incompetence of Air Canada's partner airline, United, in not arranging payment for a flight they booked us on. Surely, being in business for the length of time they have been, these situations would have been figured out long before this happened. I have received 24 emails from United, the last being Monday July 1 at 6:11 pm, after I had arrived home, advising of further flight delays to Vancouver. I want the $1030.20 we spent getting to Vancouver reimbursed.

    It appears that you did not understand what the crux of the problem re our return flight from Chicago to Vancouver BC. We followed your partner airlines instructions to the T. United Airlines booked our return flight through Delta Airline, who in turn booked us with WestJet. Both Delta and WestJet confirmed our flight and WestJet had a ticket waiting for us at their check-in counter. The only problem was that YOUR PARTNER AIRLINE did not pay WestJet for the ticket. Again Your PARTNER AIRLINE arranged this flight and we did what they instructed us to do. As the flight was leaving before United could get THEIR payment problem sorted out, I PAID for the flight to avoid the obvious gong show that was unfolding. I will not let this issue slide away.

    I fully expect Air Canada to reimburse me the full value of our return tickets. I can assure that this will cost Air Canada much more than the face value of the compensation we seek if this issue is not resolved to my satisfaction. I would like a cash refund not a travel coupon.

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    Verified purchase
    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed July 13, 2014

    I had a short (but legal connection) in Montreal. I was denied boarding my plane because the Air Canada worker said they didn't have enough time to transfer my checked baggage and it was illegal for me to fly to the US without my baggage. In hindsight, I should have made her call a manager because she was just lazy and incompetent but I was naive and trusted what she was saying. The plane left for Chicago and turns out my luggage was on it. She mistakenly denied me boarding, which left me stranded in Canada overnight.

    My husband sure was surprised when all he picked up from the airport that evening was my checked baggage. :-( Tell me, why is it illegal for me to fly without my checked baggage but it is legal for my checked baggage to fly without me!? Don't make my mistake. DON'T TRUST AIR CANADA WORKERS. They just assume and make split decisions based on nothing but their own ignorance!

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed June 17, 2014

    I had a direct flight from Ottawa to NY with Air Canada, less than 2hours. They charged US$25 for my checked bag. As per US regulation, the luggage tag must be printed and put on by the agent. The Air Canada's agent has put another person's tag on my bag and sent it to Washington DC. It's been three days and still no news from my bag. So irresponsible, so frustrating!!! They are saying that it is on its way, but I doubt if they even located the bag!! I have worth of a month of work documents on my bag, and if lost, I'm afraid I will lose my job too. Air Canada don't care what it is doing to people!!

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    Reviewed June 2, 2014

    Air Canada - denial for passenger to board & extra charges. Will submit a review upon response from Air Canada.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed May 19, 2014

    I recently bought a ticket from Vancouver to Izmir (AC810 departing on Jul 24, 2014 and AC811 departing on Aug 25, 2014). My wife and I have a 6 months old baby boy and 5 year old toddler travelling with us. When I called Air Canada customer service to arrange to seats that accommodates a bassinet, to my surprise, the representative indicated that if we would like all family to sit together in the row that can fit the bassinet, we need to pay extra $ for myself and for 5 year old son.

    I am PhD in Industrial Engineering and I worked on dynamic pricing. I do understand some seats can be more expensive than others for regular customers because they are buying a luxury. However, I do not believe that I am trying have more leg room for myself. I am just trying to keep the family together in such a long flight while making sure that the baby have a spot to sleep properly.

    After writing this complaint, I was sent an email indicating that I should be talking to reservations to resolve the issue. I was contacted by a manager on this. She indicated that my email does not sound like a complaint. She made me feel as if I am trying to cheat the system. Her reasoning is Air Canada is a business and businesses exist to make profit. As a person who developed loyalty programs, I can assure you that losing a customer in the long run is much worse than making an additional $360 for the preferred seats. Anybody who knows a little about total customer value can attest to this. Unfortunately, the Manager that I talked to either does not know what total customer value is or choose to ignore this concept.

    Long story short - In my opinion, allowing only one parent to sit in the preferred seat without extra charge is neither humane nor ethical!!! I will try my best to change this policy by taking this issue to media, my social network and public's attention.

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    Customer ServicePricePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed May 12, 2014

    We arrived at the Orlando airport 10 minutes late due to an accident on the highway to the airport and we were denied boarding passes and told we could not get on the plane back to Canada and that we would have to call the 1-866 # and speak directly to Air Canada Customer Relations. I called that number on my cell phone and waited 1/12 hours to actually get someone to answer the phone. By this time, our plane had left the ground without us and actually 11 other people that they did the same thing to. After speaking to their wannabe customer relations person, we were told that it would cost us $850 each to get on the next plane and that we would lose our return airfare and that it would probably be cheaper to google flights to Canada.....like wtf... Needless to say, we had to spend another $450 each to get on another flight that wasn't a direct flight to boot and pay $250 for a motel to spend the night. I will not stop until I get my money back and I will slam Air Canada to anyone that will listen and I'm thinking of suing them in small claims court. I also had my 80-year-old mother with me so it was quite the experience. Thanks Air Canada!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed May 8, 2014

    Flight from Toronto to Calgary, May 7, 2014. Entertainment system broken. At the end of the flight, we were all given a 'blue card, the size of a business card' with a 'web address' for AC (Customer relations) to take advantage of this "gesture of goodwill". When you follow this link, there is absolutely NO information about their 'goodwill gesture'. AC asks for the Flight Number, Date Traveled, Seat Number and the Card has a Claim # associated with your apparent "gesture of Goodwill". These people are 'rude', condescending and claim they are rated #1 in North America for customer service. What an absolute joke!

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    Customer ServicePunctuality & SpeedStaff

    Reviewed May 2, 2014

    Yesterday returned from a wonderful vacation in Dublin. Great trip until we entered Toronto Airport! To start, both my luggage and my daughter's luggage never arrived. There were 6 people from the flight missing luggage. When we finally arrived at Terminal 1 to catch our connecting flight, I approached an Air Canada employee who was standing at the entrance line for AC domestic flights. She is the rudest person I have ever had the displeasure of speaking with. The man ahead of me, who also was missing luggage from our same flight, asked if she could help him since his connecting flight was leaving in 10 mins. She simply told him no she couldn't help him, then rolled her eyes, made an exaggerated sigh and told him to get out of the line.

    I asked her if this was the line for domestic flights. She said yes, but that I couldn't go in line because I had liquor (which was in a sealed bag from the duty free shop bought at Dublin Airport). In her snarly tone she stated that it needed to go in my checked luggage. I advised her that Air Canada just lost my checked luggage, so had no luggage. I asked her what I should do. She looked at me and actually said "find something to put it in, that's your problem" and then told me to move to stop blocking the line.

    Absolutely the worst airline to fly with! They were extremely rude to me and other passengers. I only flew Air Canada because I was going international. I have flown WestJet and Porter many times and never had such rude people. I believe WestJet is starting flights from Nfld to Dublin this summer, and I will definitely go that route before flying Air Canada again!!! Until then, holding out hope my luggage finds its way back to me!

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    Customer ServicePrice

    Reviewed April 30, 2014

    My daughter flew from San Diego to Toronto arriving Thursday evening, April 24. Her plan was to spend a couple of days visiting with me and leaving Toronto for Montreal on April 27. She had prearranged a return flight on Air Canada from Montreal to San Diego via Toronto and departing April 29. The purpose of the visit to Montreal was to visit a close family friend who was very ill but the friend passed away before my daughter arrived in Toronto. Without a reason to go to Montreal, we called Air Canada to see if she could board the San Diego flight in Toronto on April 29 since the flight from Montreal made a stop in Toronto en route to San Diego. The only option was to purchase a new ticket at full price - approximately $1130. The price differential between the cost of the original booking and $1130 was over $900. To avoid this outrageous cost, my daughter took a 6:30 am bus this morning from Toronto to Montreal so she could catch the flight (A/C 417) to Toronto. After nearly two hours in Toronto, she boarded A/C1887 from Toronto to San Diego where she has just landed (11:30 Toronto time). She is in her late 50s and has to work tomorrow - just a little exhausted + 6 hours on the phone with (or 'holding' for) Air Canada yesterday.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Jan. 23, 2014

    As an air traveler who has first-hand experience with Air Canada, I urge all consumers to avoid Air Canada whenever possible. A summary of some of Air Canadas deficiencies (as of 20 January 2014) follows.

    Better Business Bureau (BBB) F Rating: While a number of airlines, such as WestJet, United and Southwest, are rated A+, the BBB gives Air Canada an F (the lowest possible BBB rating). This is because of its complaint history with the BBB.

    Unresponsiveness to Customer Concerns: My experience has reflected that of the BBB. On a 21 December 2013 flight from Vancouver to Paris (costing over $2000), my checked suitcase was lost by Air Canada. Today, one month later, on 20 January 2014, the AC baggage tracking website shows Tracing continues; please check back later. This is despite my wife and I doing everything that was asked of us, including completing the required form at Paris immediately when the suitcase did not come through; keeping all our boarding passes and baggage tags; and snail-mailing (as required) a complete 10-page claim report with all documentation to AC central baggage in Montreal, five days after our return to Vancouver, and weeks before their 21-day deadline.

    No Response in Writing: I have requested information using the e-mail form on the AC website, with no response. No Phone Response: We have made multiple calls. No Response In Person: We have made two trips to AC baggage services at YVR, and have been told that they can do nothing. No Phone Access to Canadian Customer Service Department: Other than the call center in India, AC has no customer service phone number. They appear to have a customer service department in Calgary, but it can be contacted only by e-mail or fax.

    Our return flight, through the US with United, was longer than the outbound flight with AC, but was uneventful, and we and our remaining baggage reached the intended destination. Wherever possible, I strongly recommend using WestJet and/or a US carrier.

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    Sasha increased rating by 2 stars.
    Customer ServiceStaff
    After a positive interaction with Air Canada, Sasha increased their star rating on Jan. 24, 2014.

    Updated review: Jan. 24, 2014

    Has agreed to partial compensation

    Original Review: Jan. 21, 2014

    Flew Air Canada flight 722 from Toronto to LGA on January 5th. After our flight was delayed by many hours (including sitting on the tarmac for over an hour), we were told mid-flight that we were being rerouted to Boston. Upon landing in Boston, we had to wait again on the tarmac, and then when we finally reached the terminal, were asked to wait for over an hour while the Air Canada representatives tried to arrange bus transportation to NYC.

    This wasn't possible, so then the reps handed out cards with the Customer Relations website link (there is no phone number for Customer Relations) and told us multiple times that all out-of-pocket expenses that we incur in order to get back to NYC will be fully reimbursed, as they weren't able to rebook all of us then because there were hundreds of us (at least three flights worth of people), they had to reschedule our flights and find new crew, and there were too many people to find accommodation for given the number of staff available.

    They reiterated that we would be reimbursed every few minutes, and I had them confirm that overnight accommodation and a train ticket (there were no more trains or buses running that evening) would be fully compensated. The specific agent that I spoke with was a gentleman. As there were only four reps on the floor when we landed, you would think Air Canada could deduce which employee would have been working then, and could confirm my account of events.

    I haven't been able to get help from Air Canada in receiving my reimbursement, but I am now out around $400 due to this. They gave a standard form response of 15% off of future flights, not that I would ever fly with them again, and the option of submitting receipts for a $100 refund 'consideration' - but stated that weather-related costs would not be refunded. I know that there are many other passengers that were in the same predicament since there were multiple flights rerouted to Boston, and we were all told the same thing. The service that I've been receiving has made me feel like Air Canada lied to us so that we would not hassle them, and are now dealing with this by hiding behind anonymous emails. This is taking advantage of customers at its best.

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    Price

    Reviewed Oct. 29, 2013

    Air Canada offered Advance Seat Selection (Preferred) for my recent (economy class) round trip flight from Brussels to Montreal. Their "preferred seats" offered "the comfort of more legroom". I accepted the Air Canada offer and paid an additional Euro 66.00 each way for a total of Euro 132.00. My "Preferred" seat 12H on flight AC 833 was a bulkhead seat and because the bulkhead in front of me stretched to the floor I found I could not fully stretch my legs out in front of me. I am 1.87m tall. Had I been seated in a non-preferred seat I know that I could have fully stretched my legs under the seat in front of me at no additional cost. Air Canada did not disclose this limitation of their bulkhead seats. On my return flight AC 832, my "preferred" seat was 19K, an exit row seat. Yes, there was more legroom but Air Canada did not disclose that this seat had no armrest on the window side of the seat. This shortcoming resulted in a less than comfortable 7 hour overnight journey; certainly not a comfort level which I would describe as "preferred".

    I wrote to Air Canada pointing out that had they fully disclosed in their offer the limitations of both these seats, I would not have paid a premium for either of them and I requested a refund of the Euro 132.00 which I had paid. A refund was refused by Air Canada. A second request to them was similarly rejected. It is my contention that Air Canada has deliberately withheld a full description of the seats and their limitations for which it has charged a premium. Accordingly I believe I am morally (and legally) due a refund from Air Canada. In its initial reply to my complaint, Air Canada offered me a 10% discount on my next flight with them (within the next 12 months) but this compensation is of no interest or use to me as I am unlikely to ever again want to give my business to this carrier after this bad experience.

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    Air Canada Company Information

    Company Name:
    Air Canada
    Website:
    www.aircanada.com