4 ms·

Last year I was on an Air Canada flight which was delayed over 6 hours, leaving my family and I at the airport in the middle of the night with no public transpo

by ics 2y ago

Last year I was on an Air Canada flight which was delayed over 6 hours, leaving my family and I at the airport in the middle of the night with no public transportation, no communication, oh and they lost our stroller enroute which meant by the time we were outside there were no cabs or another soul in sight. Frustrating, but I had read up on the rules for delays during our wait and was confident that at least we would be reimbursed something. When a random cab driver finally came by possibly just to catch some shut-eye, a $400 ride sounded better than sleeping outside the airport with a toddler and no food or bathroom. After contacting Air Canada customer service and going through their complaint process, the responses were always that our flight was not delayed referencing the first leg but always omitting the second (the complaint was only made on the second leg, using that flight number, so not like it was left out). Well, I eventually got hold of an actual representative who, after a polite exchange or two, stopped responding to any further communication. I filed a case with CTA, citing the relevant Air Canada policies as well as the CTA delays and cancellations guidelines. Plenty of nuances around what is in or out of the airline's control, but supposedly a new rule went into effect last September which would provide compensation in either case. Disappointingly, the CTA reviewer closed the case in under 30 minutes from the airline's response without directly addressing any of this, leaving me with apparently no further option but I suppose to sue in Canadian court? Though I might have even signed away that right by entrusting the CTA with some form of arbitration. The money and time lost is one thing but the CTA's handling has made me unlikely to ever fly to/through Canada again if I can help it.

gruez 2y ago
>[...] always omitting the second [...] You're omitting a lot of information yourself. What was the reason given by the airline and CTA for why your claim was invalid? How was the flight booked? What was the nature of the delay? Why was the cab ride $400? How did you even get to a taxi stand? If you're waiting for a connecting flight wouldn't you be trapped in the airport airside?
- ics 2y ago
  Well, yes, I'm making a comment on the internet about my negative experience with Air Canada and CTA in about 15 minutes. The claim itself had all the information and took hours to compile, I'm not sure how long it would take for me to simplify that point by point without still missing something. - The delay was caused initially by a safety critical instrument being recognized as faulty, which required the airline to seek a replacement aircraft. This was deemed out of control of the airline, with subsequent staffing and catering issues cascading (in airline's control). - CTA stated that because the primary issue was safety critical and outside of their control, passengers were not due compensation. - CTA made no acknowledgement of the claims that 1) Air Canada did not inform passengers the nature or possible length of delay, 2) did not offer any rebooking, accommodation, or food/drink during extended layover, and 3) the Regulations Amending the Air Passenger Protections Regulations (https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/content/new-refund-regulations-now-force) which requires the airline to at least communicate but in many cases offer reimbursement regardless of whether an incident is in or out of their control. - Flight was booked with Air Canada. - Cab ride was at our final destination, from Tokyo NRT to Yokohama where family resides. Instead of landing in the afternoon, it was well past normal arrival hours and everyone staff included was clearing out. By the time we got outside, taxi stand was empty, nobody was around, airport was locked behind us. Waited approx. two hours before one randomly showed up. (Yes, we were trying to call any local services in the meantime but of the ones which I could actually connect to without a local # none were actually able to send a driver to where we were.) When Air Canada submitted their response initially I was impressed because of the level of detail it revealed, including snippets of flight and maintenance logs. However, in reading the response from CTA I gather that was their strategy to dump as much info "in good faith" to make it appear that they really did their best and then the reviewer will more likely take it at face value. I am still genuinely perplexed that they addressed Air Canada's response point-by-point, but not the claim itself which was hinging really on the new regulations. Obviously I don't want to fly on an aircraft with knowingly compromised safety, but if they had simply alerted passengers what was happening and what to expect then I would've arranged a pick up in advance or requested that we catch a flight the next day. Throughout the delay, I received 4-5 texts simply saying there was a catering issue that would be resolved "soon".
  - gruez 2y ago
mikebelanger 2y ago
I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, but this is typical treatment from Air Canada. As a Canadian who often flies, I suggest going with Porter or WestJet instead. They're both leagues ahead of Air Canada.
- rkagerer 2y ago
  WestJet used to be leagues ahead, the last several years I'd say they're inches ahead.

by ics 2y ago

gruez 2y ago

>[...] always omitting the second [...] You're omitting a lot of information yourself. What was the reason given by the airline and CTA for why your claim was invalid? How was the flight booked? What was the nature of the delay? Why was the cab ride $400? How did you even get to a taxi stand? If you're waiting for a connecting flight wouldn't you be trapped in the airport airside?

ics 2y ago
Well, yes, I'm making a comment on the internet about my negative experience with Air Canada and CTA in about 15 minutes. The claim itself had all the information and took hours to compile, I'm not sure how long it would take for me to simplify that point by point without still missing something. - The delay was caused initially by a safety critical instrument being recognized as faulty, which required the airline to seek a replacement aircraft. This was deemed out of control of the airline, with subsequent staffing and catering issues cascading (in airline's control). - CTA stated that because the primary issue was safety critical and outside of their control, passengers were not due compensation. - CTA made no acknowledgement of the claims that 1) Air Canada did not inform passengers the nature or possible length of delay, 2) did not offer any rebooking, accommodation, or food/drink during extended layover, and 3) the Regulations Amending the Air Passenger Protections Regulations (https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/content/new-refund-regulations-now-force) which requires the airline to at least communicate but in many cases offer reimbursement regardless of whether an incident is in or out of their control. - Flight was booked with Air Canada. - Cab ride was at our final destination, from Tokyo NRT to Yokohama where family resides. Instead of landing in the afternoon, it was well past normal arrival hours and everyone staff included was clearing out. By the time we got outside, taxi stand was empty, nobody was around, airport was locked behind us. Waited approx. two hours before one randomly showed up. (Yes, we were trying to call any local services in the meantime but of the ones which I could actually connect to without a local # none were actually able to send a driver to where we were.) When Air Canada submitted their response initially I was impressed because of the level of detail it revealed, including snippets of flight and maintenance logs. However, in reading the response from CTA I gather that was their strategy to dump as much info "in good faith" to make it appear that they really did their best and then the reviewer will more likely take it at face value. I am still genuinely perplexed that they addressed Air Canada's response point-by-point, but not the claim itself which was hinging really on the new regulations. Obviously I don't want to fly on an aircraft with knowingly compromised safety, but if they had simply alerted passengers what was happening and what to expect then I would've arranged a pick up in advance or requested that we catch a flight the next day. Throughout the delay, I received 4-5 texts simply saying there was a catering issue that would be resolved "soon".
- gruez 2y ago

mikebelanger 2y ago

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, but this is typical treatment from Air Canada. As a Canadian who often flies, I suggest going with Porter or WestJet instead. They're both leagues ahead of Air Canada.

rkagerer 2y ago
WestJet used to be leagues ahead, the last several years I'd say they're inches ahead.