So I'm here to chime in on Air Canada. I just flew them for a 3 1/2 day trip to Montreal for a wedding. Columbus to Toronto to Montreal. I knew Toronto was having some weather issues, so I kept a close watch on my flights, and downloaded the app to keep track of things. Everything was listed as "on time" on the website. About 3 hours before the flight, I got a notification from the app that my flight from Columbus to Toronto was delayed 2 hours. Not a huge deal, I was flying early afternoon the day before the wedding. No email notification OR text, even though I'd signed up for both. Good thing I had the app. But the BIG problem was, my flight from Toronto was listed as still "on time" (*all* of the flights going from Toronto to Montreal were listed as "on time". But my new arrival time in Toronto was 5:15pm, and the flight to Montreal left at 5:00pm. Their software or whoever made these decisions seemed to think that was OK. I tried multiple times to get through to Air Canada on the phone, but, understandably, the wait times were an hour to an hour and a half. So I left my number to be called back. Well, they never called back. I couldn't get anything done online. So I finally managed, through the app, to rebook the second leg of my flight to a different flight. They did have the option to do that for no charge because of the weather issues. But my flight is still listed as "on time", and I have no idea if any flight I choose will be delayed or cancelled. I pick a flight that gives me a 2-hour layover, and it makes me re-check into both legs, and pay for my seats again.
I get to the airport, and there's a group of people standing at the Air Canada desk, but no Air Canada employees. The flight was delayed, so they just left (there's not a lot of Air Canada flights out of Columbus). But the other folks there said their flight, at 6:00pm, had been CANCELLED. There were 12 of them, and only *one* of them had gotten notified. They were trying to get on the now 4pm flight. Another guy had been there since yesterday. The big board still listed my flight as "on time" at 2pm. Someone *finally* showed up and checked us in. We *sat* at the gate for ages, with no-one there, and *finally* got an update that the flight had been delayed in Toronto, and would be there eventually. We boarded 1/2 an hour later than our delayed time. Then sat on the tarmac for over 1/2 an hour, for a "mechanical issue", then a dose of de-icer. We got to Toronto (OMG, finally!) at 6:10pm. I still had to go through Customs in Toronto and get to a different Terminal for a 7pm flight. Right.
Fortunately, Customs in Toronto is very efficient, and I fly through. I walk forever to get to the other Terminal, only to find I'm being directed to a *bus* to the other Terminal! When I get to the other Terminal, I check the Board, and, miracles of miracles, *that* flight is delayed 1/2 an hour! Still no text or email from Air Canada. But at least I make my flight. It turns out, the 2 flights before mine and the 2 flights after mine were cancelled (There are hourly flights from Toronto to Montreal). So if I hadn't rebooked the flight myself, I never would have gotten on the flight in Toronto, and likely would have spent the night there. Sheer luck. Tons of folks were trying to get on my flight & couldn't. Flight leaves eventually, and hour and a half late.
I get to Montreal (I know, I'm grateful for that) but, unfortunately, my suitcase does not. Neither does a lot of folks' suitcases. It takes me *forever* to get through the line to report it. It's still in Toronto. At least they can tell me that much. They'll get it on a plane & get it to me in the morning. Here's a number, check it online, it will give you the status. The driver will call you before he delivers it, so be sure & answer the phone. I give them my cell phone number, and my sister's address and phone number, since I don't know the address of the friend's house where I'll be staying. Fortunately, I don't trust airlines as far as I can throw them, so the outfit for the wedding is in my carryon. But my snow boots, all my warm clothing, and my memory foam pillow that I can't sleep without, is in the suitcase.
So I arrive at my sister's at 11:10pm instead of 3:30 as planned. But I'm there. That's what counts.
Next morning, no sign of the suitcase. I call them, because I'm going to a wedding, and *nobody* will be at the house I'm staying at or my sister's house, because they're all going to the wedding. They confirm the suitcase is in Montreal, but don't know anything more than that. The driver will pick it up by 5pm and deliver it. I tell them no-one will be home, can they deliver it to the hall? Yes, sure! But if they change the address, it will be delivered tomorrow. But I won't be at the hall tomorrow! I finally give up, and spend the whole wedding with my phone in my hand (which is *so* not me!) because I know I'll never hear it ring during the reception. Hopefully someone can run me home to get the suitcase. Only I never get a call from them. I call from the bathroom, which is the only place I can hear the phone, stay on hold for close to half an hour, only to be told the exact same thing as before, the guy's going to pick it up, he'll call me "soon". Same thing at 10:00 (the deliveries stop at 11). No call, no suitcase.
The next morning, I call. Same story. Suitcase is somewhere in Montreal, they don't know where. They can't reach the airport, they can't reach the delivery company. Fortunately, brunch that morning is at my sister's. I'll be there if they deliver the suitcase. I call again from my sister's, no info. Finally, it's getting to be mid-afternoon, I call, same story. I ask to talk to a Supervisor. Same story. Same lies. Finally, my wonderful niece offers to drive me to the airport. The folks at the airport are wonderful. They tell me when they came in yesterday, there were 100 suitcases sitting off to the side. Nobody shows up until 11pm. The *one* guy picks up 40 suitcases, which is all he can fit in his van. They come back the next day, the rest of the suitcases are still sitting there. They call, the one guy shows up, and picks up another 40 at 1:30pm. They let me look through the remaining suitcases, mine is not there. (It's like 2:45 at that point). So they call the driver, he confirms he has my suitcase. He's downtown, but he'll deliver my suitcase next. I call the house to let them know it's on the way. It shows up 3:30 on the evening before I leave Montreal. But at least I get it.
Now, coming home was no problem. Weather was great. Flights left a bit late, but nothing that screws up my connections. I and my suitcase make it home. So in the end, I can't complain too loudly.
But what really pisses me off is the time wasted trying to find out what was going on. Each time I called, I was on hold for 1/2 an hour before they answered, and they'd place me back on hold each time to "research" what was going on. I wasted probably 7 to 8 hours of time with my family on the damned phone. And they lied to me. They didn't know anything, but they pretended they did. And I could not leave my phone for the whole time because I was afraid I'd miss the call. A really yucky experience that could have been avoided if they actually had some sort of contingency plan for bad weather.
I'm trying to decide the best way to handle this. I *definitely* expect a refund for having to re-pay for my seats because they couldn't be bothered to re-book the second leg of my flight for me. But I think I deserve *some* sort of compensation. And a credit for a future flight is *NOT* it!!
The topper? I'm flying them in August to Iceland, because they had the best schedule out of Columbus. And what happens? On the way home from Montreal, I get a message from my TA that Air Canada had changed the times on my flight to Iceland, and my nice 3.25 hour layover in Toronto has now been reduced to less than an hour and a half. I obviously don't trust Air Canada enough to leave it with that short a layover. The only other option is a 7.5 hour layover!! I hate the idea of 7.5 hours at the airport, but I hate the idea of missing my connection, too. If there was someway I could cancel that ticket and book elsewhere, I would!!!! So buyers beware! The flights themselves are just fine, but everything else around them is chaos if things don't go perfectly.
Sorry this is so long, but I had to get it out...
Sayhello
mum paid for premium I paid for an upgrade best money I have ever spent.
