Air Canada

My one and only complaint about AC — ROUGE– is that the seats are like concrete ! OMG– was my bum ever sore, by the time we got to Honolulu. (and the bird was new !). Last year, I was on their Air Bus, and the seat was great, so was the service. And the new Dreamliner, is the best experience of all. Its just so hit & miss. Makes ya want to take the train instead.

I had the worst travel day I’ve ever had on Air Canada in 35 some odd years of traveling. They really deserve zero stars however Unilocal doesn’t give that as an option. It started when I checked in at the desk in Nice, France. I asked the check-​in agent if I needed to recheck my bags once I arrived in Montréal. She clearly said «no» and pointed to the label she had put on my bag handle showing all three airport abbreviations (Montréal, Vancouver and Portland). We were late leaving Nice and late arriving to Montréal. I requested a wheelchair in both Montréal and Vancouver. During the flight to Montréal I asked the flight attendant if I needed to fill out both Canadian and US Customs forms since my final destination was Portland. She said no and gave me a US Customs form to fill out. When we got to Montréal the wheelchair did not show up forcing me to walk VERY painfully (I’m disabled) a very long way. I followed the signs and they led to a huge customs hall, one of the biggest I’ve ever seen. I approached an Air Canada agent because I was angry about the wheelchair not showing up. She just pointed to a far corner of the hall. I told her they aren’t doing any good there, that I had asked for a wheelchair, that none had shown up. When I got through the line to customs the Canadian agent said I did in fact need to fill out the Canadian customs forms (not what the flight attendant had said). So I had to go back in line, fill out the forms and approach again. Because the flight was late there were only minutes before my connecting flight. After clearing customs I asked another Air Canada agent about my bag. She said if I don’t want to be stuck here I had to hurry and catch my next flight and that I was in fact required to recheck my bag. However because of flight delays, no wheelchair, customs issues there was no time for me to do so. I was exasperated and very upset. On the flight from Montréal to Vancouver I tried to write out and document what had happened. The wheelchair was again a no-​show. I found an Air Canada desk, tried to complain, explain my situation, etc … Me traveling without the bag had caused additional problems with US customs (pre-​screening) in Vancouver. They FINALLY had a cart to help me through the airport to help me get across to US Customs. At US Customs I literally got stuck about 3 times because of the ineptitude of Air Canada employees not communicating my baggage situation and/​or not getting the paperwork down to the final customs area. THEY EVEN GOT MY CANE STUCK IN THE X-​RAY MACHINE. When I finally cleared the last part of customs there was no wheelchair (no surprise). I had to run very painfully as they were announcing last call for my flight to Portland. My bag did not make it to Portland which caused HUGE problems as many of my meds were in there. I had some meds in my carry on, not a lot. The bag finally arrived about 4 days later looking as beat up as can be. I have repeatedly complained to Air Canada about what happened that day but all they were willing to do was offer me a tiny discount on a future flight. WHY after all I went through would they ever think I would want to fly with Air Canada again?

AC email asks for update info for upcoming travel.
AC website does not accept said info and shuts site down. Repeat three times… Wait 24 hours and try again. No luck– P.O.S.
Call AC and have inane commercial laden holding music numb your senses or cause an artery to pop. Literally 15 seconds music between AC propaganda toggling back and forth. I choose Unilocal review while I wait. Here is a sample of what you can expect to enjoy…
On your next flight choose a flex fare. blah blah blah… great value for greater flexibility. AC is now boarding new daily routes from Calgary to Kelowna and Toronto to Sarasota. AC Rrrouge has new flight from Calgary to Halifax… increasing its mayhem in the skies that used to be friendly… book now at
…
This holiday season buy the AC gift card. The card of dreams. Now imagine giving this gift card to that special person. Show them that you just give a shit… Buy one or more at
… 15’06 and holding…
AC corporate rewards, blah blah blah blah blah… get on board with all we have to offer… If you find a lower price within 24 hours we will provide $ 50 plus the difference in the price. Here is how we can make your flight less hectic, «precheck» helps you speed up the boarding, unless the website does not work, then you have to wait for 18.26′ and listen to some dick recite ridiculous nonsense about the world’s worst airline.
blah, blah, blah, blah more routes coming soon. Oh poor Canadian consumer…
Make your airport a comfortable experience, make sure you only have only one roller board and perhaps you prefer waterboarding instead of waiting for an agent? more music…
AC is proud to be the only 4 star carrier in N.America. This is not verified and we push you to believe this is true by making you wait for 23’47 minutes and listen to this joker… more music…
On your next flight why not choose a flex fare blah blah blah… great value for greater flexibility. When booking your next AC flight choose a flex fare… Why not just poke sharp pencils in your ears?
26’46
End of review, called a 2^nd line let’s see which one gets through first…
last time AC
g
ps got through at 29’06 lol AC how could you suck even more than 5 years ago when I swore I would never fly with you again…

Really, Air Canada? REALLY? Our experiences this past weekend were horrendous. Flying from Athens, Greece, to Toronto was absolutely nothing like we were guaranteed. For being a so called «luxury» aircraft the Rouge was anything but. The seats were so cramped, that the person’s knees behind me were jammed into my back for the entire 11 hours of air travel. When the person in front of my dad reclined their seat, he lost so much room that he couldn’t comfortably read a magazine anymore. Our legs were cramping and going numb, and this plane felt like it was from the first generation. It was absolutely nothing like we were guaranteed, and nothing like we paid for. The in-​flight entertainment was a joke. We were completely unaware that an app needed to be installed in order to take advantage of the internet and video watching. We spent the entire flight staring at the back of the seat in front of us, and playing solitaire on our phones. While we did get beverages and food quite often, that did not make up for the incredible discomfort that the rest of the journey included.
Once we landed in Toronto, we hopped on another Air Canada flight to San Francisco. This flight was a little better in that there was leg room. There was in-​flight entertainment in the seat-​backs. Yay! Oh, but the earphones that are normally provided for free, weren’t free. We’ll dangle the entertainment carrot in front of you, but you can’t touch! I luckily had headphones with me, and after browsing the movies selection for 30 seconds, I was done. Do I want to watch Season 4, Episode 2 of Battlestar Galactica, or Jurassic Park 2? Or maybe Season 2, Episode 10 of Revenge? Want episode 1 – 9, sorry, they don’t have it.
I know, I know, first world problems here. BUT, when you pay a butt load of money for something, you better get what you paid for. Our puddle jumpers in Greece were of higher class and luxury than Air Canada provided, and they could barely even hold our luggage.
United to Portland from SF was a breeze, because it was United and not its partner. My suggestion, avoid Air Canada as best you can, especially for the long-​haul flights.

Just absolutely appalling beyond anyone’s imagination. Having paid for two business class tickets, we changed planes to Lufthansa in Frankfurt. I was grateful to get to Frankfurt as it meant the plane made it (its an antique) and also I could get up from a sleepless night on the most uncomfortable seat ever. Reboarding Frankfurt was absolute chaos… no sign of a business class priority boarding queue just everyone storming for the gate… NEVER AGAIN

Unbelievable and incompetent. I flew from Toronto to Portland via Calgary 8÷22÷15. Toronto neglected to give me a seat assignment resulting in my bag missing the flight. Calgary leg ticket had no Zone assignment and the security inCalgary neglected to stamp my boarding pass for clearance causing me to almost miss that flight. Filed a claim at PDX upon arrival. Called Sunday for update and they had no record of claim. Filed another claim Sunday. It is now Sunday evening and still no word on my luggage. I have flown for 40+ years and have NEVER dealt with such incompetent people.

Tried to fly from PDX to Vancouver, BC, twice! Yes tried to because both times the flight was cancelled due to mechanical issues. Had to get up at 4am with the kids both times hoping that this time they will fly, but they did not.
I know that things happen and the most important thing is for the flight to arrive safely, but I am giving one star for the poor customer service. No one told us what was going on or when the plane would be able to fly. And since the flight was a joint United Airlines flight, the Air Canada people kept saying they could not help since they did not ‘own’ the flight, and somehow there were no other flights going to Vancouver? Whatever. PDX does not seem to have a dedicated Air Canada booth or ticket area, and the few Air Canada employees were very standoffish. I finally left the airport after 5 hours of waiting and being told by AC ‘just one more hour’. The next day I saw some of the same passengers who told me that they played that game for more than 9 hours before being told the flight was cancelled. That next day at least they cancelled the flight after 2 hours. This time I was told there was another flight to Vancouver later in the day which I took. AC actually tried to talk me out of it probably because they would be forced to pay for a hotel in Vancouver due to my flight out of Vancouver would have already left. This is the second time I had a bad experience with AC and it will be the last.

I recently moved to portland, I work for a company based in Vancouver BC, flying from SFO i could arrive at the airport 40 mins prior to departure with a mobile boarding pass, no checked bags and glide through. If i didn’t check in before leaving the house, no problem, there were several kiosks where I could check in and go.
After three times flying air canada out of PDX, I will absolutely be changing my airline to Alaska. I realize that this is not a primary airport for Air Canada, but either get ONE kiosk, or just abandon the airport completely. For SOME reason i can never check in and get a mobile boarding pass for my flights out of PDX, and with NO kiosk, everyone is relegated to standing in line, whether you have checked bags or not. there are ONLY 2 computers for the whole airline, 2 people, and a line OUT THE DOOR. While 12 United kiosks and 12 United staff stand next to them doing exactly nothing.
By the way, don’t book a flight to Canada on United out of PDX either. It’s operated by Air Canada. They don’t tell you that until you have to stand in the line.
And THEN you have to walk all the way to the last gate, and the last plane on the furthest tarmak, just in case you were already missing it by a hair to begin with.
And yes, if you are lest than 60 minutes before your flight, it’s your fault you didn’t prepare for a 90 minute line. I flew Alaska the other week and they call in and got me on my flight 30 minutes before it was leaving. Thats awesome.
Tomorrow will be my fourth flight to Vancouver out of PDX operated by Air Canada. I am dreading it. Getting up at 4am instead of 5am, to ensure I’m not left behind and prepare to rehash this experience with every other passenger in the line. again.
Tomorrow will be the last time. so long aeroplan miles. its not worth it.

My partner and I bought a package through
from Portland to Vancouver BC and the outgoing flight was with Air Canada, which I’d never flown before. The problems started immediately when I checked their website and saw that Portland is not on the list of cities that the fly out of, even though they seem to have several flights coming and going to PDX a day. (I found this out at the airport.) I tried to call the airline several times and the wait time was always a minimum of 45 minutes (to 1.2 hours) — who has that much time to sit on the phone on the possible chance that they’ll pick up?
Of course this was a problem because we couldn’t print out our boarding passes the day before; I kept getting an error on the site because it didn’t recognize Portland as one of their cities. Ridiculous.
Went to the airport and got in line with a ton of other people. Long wait with just a couple of agents working. I asked the agent (who was nice) what was up with the Air Canada website not showing Portland and she said they’d been asking for a year to have it updated but no go. More ridiculousness.
Air Canada is one of those cheap-​ass outfits that charges you to choose your seat, $ 18 each on a rickety little plane. So of course, unbeknownst to us, once we’re on the plane we see they’ve switched us so we can’t sit together in the seats we paid extra to choose from. The aisle was so crowded I couldn’t get to the stewardess to ask about it. Also, I looked at the boarding pass receipt and saw the agent at the gate had given me somebody else’s boarding pass (my partner’s had his name on it but the mysteriously reassigned seat).
I tried again to contact Air Canada but no dice. Just called Alaska Airlines to get the charges removed and they were happy to do so once I explained the situation. Air Canada is a rinky-​dink outfit with dizzy gate agents, a terrible, messed-​up website, and very little ability to contact them. One star is generous. Never again.

Okay, ignorance is no excuse. We did not know we had to be at the airport one hour before our international flight took off. We were 20 minutes passed that. So we were at the airport at 6:20 am and our flight was to leave at 7 am. We get up to the counter and this nasty woman says «You are too late, you can not board your plane, you have to re-​book.» So we were stunned and shocked. We stood there kind of in a daze and no one made any effort to assist us. Finally a few minutes afterwards she hands someone an 800 number to give us so we could call to re-​book. We go sit down to make the call and a stranger approaches us, someone who witnessed the entire ordea, l and says we were mistreated and that the woman could of helped us. We ended up waiting on the phone for 45 minutes to get help and to re-​book.
I don’t care if this woman was having a bad day. When you are in a customer service postion that is your job to make us feel better. How about a psychology course Air Canada? How to treat people, perhaps how you would like to be treated!