air canada

Plane Switch Leads to Loss of Eau de Toilette

February 6, 2012

in Airport Stories

This took place in January of 2011. I was supposed to return to Montreal from Atlanta through Toronto with Air Canada. I get to the airport on time, and am told that I have to take another flight to Toronto, since Air Canada switched the plane to a smaller one and there is no room. I see 5 other people with me in the same situation. The only thing is, the new flight leaves an hour later, which means my connection is much tighter and I have to go through customs in Toronto. I also had to check in my bag since I was carrying very dangerous stuff… an Eau de Toilette. So like the good sheep that I am, I lug my stuff to Continental, wait in line for my turn and check in.

In Toronto, I run like hell to go through customs and go to the Air Canada counter to check my bag into the second leg of my flight which is still with Air Canada. I get to the check-in counter 30 minutes before the flight, and the representative makes sure to let me know that she is doing me a favor if I do not check in my bag by letting me get in on the flight that I was supposed to be on. This means I lose pretty much everything liquid in my bags when I go through security including my Eau de Toilette, and still have to run to the gate to be the last person to get on the plane.

When I get home, I start writing a letter furiously explaining the situation and demanding some sort of compensation. All I get is… if you purchase your next flight from our website, we will get you %10 off.

Needless to say, I go to lengths now to avoid travelling with Air Canada. But it’s not fair to single them out… all the other airlines are just as bad.

-  KS

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Tagged as: air canada, baggage, security

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Tiring Trip from Warsaw to Toronto

August 2, 2011

in Odds & Ends Stories

This tiring trip took place at the end of the summer of 2007. We had been at Warsaw Okecie International Airport. Our original trip was to fly with Wizz Air to London Luton airport, then from Gatwick to Toronto Pearson. We started by going to Terminal One in Warsaw looking for our flight. After waiting for a while, we were notified that our flight was going out of the temporary terminal Etudia. It was difficult to get directly to the terminal, and we got lost for a little while. Once we got there, we had to wait in the one very long line for our plane and for a few hours. It wasn’t pleasant considering it was a very hot day outside.

Once we got to the front, we found out our flight was overbooked and we had to wait for the next one. Luckily, there were some no-shows and got on the airplane just in time. We were all seated far away from each other (family of four). Then the plane was delayed because of a mechanical issue.

Once we got to Luton, we had no help to Gatwick for our transfer and got lost in the underground of London. We finally got on the right train and dashed to the airport. We made it to the airport, and once we reached the gate they said we missed the Air Transat plane by 10 minutes even though the lady had just closed the door. We waited for almost six hours for another Air Transat flight to Montreal. We got on the plane and it was fully packed. The plane went through turbulence for more than half the flight and the service was less than pleasant.

We got to Montreal and waited for an Air Canada flight that we had to pay for. We found some relief when we got on the nice, clean and almost empty Airbus with excellent service. However, the lines at customs at Pearson were very long and annoying.

- Chris

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Tagged as: air canada, air transat, airport, delay & cancellation, missed flight, overbooking, weather, wizz air

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Stuck On A Plane Without A/C In August

September 16, 2010

in Delay Stories

The August before last I flew Air Canada from Toronto to Tokyo for work. I fly intercontinental quite often so I’m used to delays and minor problems but this trip was something else entirely.

Things started out bad from the start. While waiting to board I noticed that my designated boarding time came and went without comment, followed soon by the departure time. At this point I’m starting to wonder if I’ve got the wrong gate number, but no, everyone else is headed for Tokyo too so I sit back and wait.

After another 20 minutes they announce that there is a slight delay and it shouldn’t be too much longer. Okay fine, no problem. By the time we board the plane it’s 40 minutes past our scheduled departure time. They rush to get everyone seated and since it’s already a long 13 hour flight we’re all eager to get moving.

The flight was packed and it was hot – middle of summer hot. The cabin was stifling and the A/C didn’t seem to be working. After about 30 minutes the Pilot apologized over the intercom for the boarding delay. He explained that the A/C system needed to be re-charged before they could take off. Okay, cool, at least it’s fixed and we’ll be on our way right? Wrong.

The flight still had no A/C and after a few minutes the plane shut off completely. Ever been in a completely silent airplane before? It’s a really strange feeling. A few minutes later the power came back on. This happened two more times before the Pilot announced that the electrical system on the plane was completely buggered and they’d have to call in technicians to re-boot the entire system. This he says will take minimum of 1 hour. The cabin groans in unison as we are now over 2 hours delayed for take off.

The 1 hour fix turned into a little over 2 hours. The A/C came back on eventually, as did an in-flight movie, but they never once thought to let us leave the plane or offer any sort of compensation. No free snacks, nothing. They just walked around and handed out headphones so we could watch a movie.

Fast forward to 2 hours later and the Pilot comes back on the intercom. He announces that the plane’s computer is finally fixed and everything is in working order. The cabin cheers and everyone gets settled to take off. Then he delivers the bad news – “Because we have been sitting on the tarmac for so long, we have gone beyond our contracted flight hours. Two new pilots are on their way to relieve us and they should be here within 40 minutes.”

You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone on the flight was just about ready to tear out their hair at this point. They’d left us sitting there, going nowhere, for four hours. Unbelievable.

The new pilots board, do their slew of safety and system checks (which takes 30 minutes) and we finally start taxing down the runway (which took another 40 minutes).

The pilot made up some time in the air but our flight still arrived in Tokyo more than 3 hours late. There was no apology and no compensation was offered to anyone. I’ve learned my lesson. Avoid flying Air Canada at all costs.

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Tagged as: air canada, delay & cancellation, weather

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Misinformation Causes Misery

August 15, 2010

in Airport Stories

My story happened in summer 2009 on my way from Portland, Oregon to Frankfurt, Germany.

As United chose to cancel their direct flight from PDX to FRA, I had the choice between a trip with 4 stopovers or just one. Of course I took the single stopover option and so I only had to switch aircraft in Calgary, Canada. My carrier was Air Canada. 

I went to the United check-in counter (thanks to my buddy from Portland who has a Goldmember Status, so I could use the Business Class counter – my ticket was for coach), handed over my luggage and received my boarding ticket. I asked the agent if she would hand over my boarding ticket for the flight from Calgary to Frankfurt, but she refused and told me that I’d get it at the gate in Calgary. So she couldn’t reserve a seat for me, but no problem as I don’t mind sitting in middle seats. I asked the agent if I’d have to pick up my luggage as I’d be leaving the US. She said that my baggage would be checked through and that I’d only have to make sure to be at the gate on time. That was easy to say, because I’ve never been to Calgary before and I’d only have 45 minutes between landing and departing. Nevertheless, I was in a good mood and didn’t think of any problems that could occur. I have traveled a lot between the US and Europe and never experienced real big issues (except a 24 hour layover in Chicago on Christmas Eve 2008). 

The flight departed in Portland on time and I do not really remember any situation to complain about on board. When we arrived in Calgary, I noticed that I’d only have 40 minutes until takeoff.  I exited my plane from Portland and saw just one big aircraft standing next to the one I just left, so it was pretty obvious that this one would be mine to Frankfurt. 

If you’ve ever been to the Calgary airport you’ll know that this airport has only 2 levels. The arrival area is on the first floor, the departure area on the bottom. So when I got off the plane I could see all the people that were just about to get boarded on the flight to Frankfurt. I knew I really had to rush now, but I still didn’t worry because I wouldn’t have to pick up my bags again and I could simply walk to my new gate.

WRONG!

I was more passing than following the other passengers when I arrived at the baggage claim area. I was now very unsure if the agent in Portland was right, so I asked a customs agent if I’d have to pick up my bags or not, since I was in a hurry and the agent in Portland told me I wouldn’t have to. He said that of course I’d have to pick up my bags and go through security and customs again and that “not all North Americans are US citizens.” I like that guy!

I went to the belt and fortunately my bag was first. So I rushed through customs which was easy and found the next baggage drop off point for connecting flights straight ahead. I was 2nd in line and already handed my bag over, when the guy wanted to see my boarding ticket. Of course I had none and told him that the agent in Portland gave me instructions to receive mine at the gate. The Canadian agent so denied my luggage and sent me to the ticket counters upstairs… of course located at the very other side of the airport where I was. So I rushed the escalator upstairs to the next Air Canada counter where I was immediately rejected when I explained my problem. This counter was only for national flights. The agent sent me even further away to another counter that could handle international flights. 

I asked a gentleman in line at the other counter if could go first in the business line (remember, my ticket is only for coach) and thankfully he agreed. I explained my problem once more to the agent and I was told that boarding was already in progress and that there is nothing she could do for me. From now on I got really upset. I told her that it is not my fault if THEIR agents are stupid, tell me things that are not true and book a flight for me that I simply couldn’t catch in time. Well, I guess she saw that I was quite desperate at this point. So she picked up her phone and made a long phone call “Hi Heather, how are you and your kids?… Oh really? No I have already plans for Saturday night, I’m sorry…” However, 1 minute later I got my boarding pass! I handed my bag over and was told that I’d not only have to hurry, I’d have to run like a motherf***** (she actually said that – probably because I’m not a native speaker and she thought that I wouldn’t understand that). 

Long story short, I caught my plane. I was the last person to board, had a very nice experience with a security guy and was very thankful for the nice Canadian attitude. You might think now: Wow, this is not a flight from hell and no bad experience at all, but you should perhaps think about the fact that I’m only 15 years old, English is a language I’ve learned only in school for 6 years now, I didn’t have a cell phone with me, no Canadian money and no experience on how to handle such a problem.

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Tagged as: air canada, airport, baggage, customs, united airlines

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A Splendid Trip

December 24, 2009 Odds & Ends Stories

Many years ago, I don’t remember exactly when, but it was certainly before 9/11 as you will see, I was on an Air Canada flight from Calgary to San Francisco. At the time, AC was running a “lucky seat” promotion. They would announce a seat number during the flight and the lucky person in that [...]

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