Air Canada!!! Why changed itinerary....!!

[Canucksrulez]

Me and my girlfriend booked a flight from vancouver to hong kong one month ago. The seat selection had already been chosen, however just today i received an email from Air Canada that the flight has changed from April 23 to April 25.(2 days late) I was quite shocked to get an email like that. So i called Air Canada customer care.((tick tick tick--waited 1 hour)) to speak to a live person)). I kindly explained to him that i had to be in Hong Kong for family matter hence being there 2 days late was not possible. The person i spoke to was rather rude and impolite. He didn't answer my question and just bluntly told me it had been rescheduled and just hung up. Afterward, i was in awe what kind of customer care was that. :( I just couldn't believe it. He sounded like it was my fault that Air Canada changed the date. Unbelievable..!! I had flied Westjet on many occasions, and had never deal with this kind of customer service. Has anyone here been rescheduled by air canada from their itinerary?? What are you guys take on this.. p.s. checked email, date changed to april 21 .. sign

[Jimboski]

Me and my girlfriend booked a flight from vancouver to hong kong one month ago. The seat selection had already been chosen, however just today i received an email from Air Canada that the flight has changed from April 23 to April 25.(2 days late) I was quite shocked to get an email like that. So i called Air Canada customer care.((tick tick tick--waited 1 hour)) to speak to a live person)). I kindly explained to him that i had to be in Hong Kong for family matter hence being there 2 days late was not possible. The person i spoke to was rather rude and impolite. He didn't answer my question and just bluntly told me it had been rescheduled and just hung up. Afterward, i was in awe what kind of customer care was that. :( I just couldn't believe it. He sounded like it was my fault that Air Canada changed the date. Unbelievable..!! I had flied Westjet on many occasions, and had never deal with this kind of customer service. Has anyone here been rescheduled by air canada from their itinerary?? What are you guys take on this.. p.s. checked email, date changed to april 21 .. sign

So It's all good now? You're going 2 days earlier.

If you get a bad CSR just call again till you get a good one that can properly explain to you what happened.

[Pete_Coach]

Airlines change schedules all the time. No excuses needed, it is a matter of business. It is especially prevalent in the Spring and Fall of every year when they make assumptions on where the business will be. Making flight plans too far in advance, and especially over 1 April or Labour Day, can very often mean flight changes.
It is strange to me as well that people assume someone is rude when they are given facts to chew on. "Sir, the schedule for those flights has changed" is not rude, just a fact. The person on the other end of the line just is letting you know that is the way it is. They really don't care that you planned your trip without room for issues (weather, re-scheduling, aircraft problems or breakdowns etc).
I have booked Westjet and have had the fight schedule changed. They told me the schedule changed and my flights were later. My feelings were not hurt and I did not think the CSR was rude just because they told me that. Ease up, don't take thongs so personal.

[drdrma]

Schedules change, it's a fact. But you don't have to accept whatever they give you. Check out what the other available options are and then call them. It's perfectly acceptable to say that the change doesn't work for you and you want another option or cancel the ticket (without penalty).

[Talamasca]

Schedules change, it's a fact. But you don't have to accept whatever they give you. Check out what the other available options are and then call them. It's perfectly acceptable to say that the change doesn't work for you and you want another option or cancel the ticket (without penalty).

Will AC let you cancel without penalty in this situation if you have purchased their cheapest class of fare?

Just checked AC's site and for reasons known only to them, they have cancelled their daily flight that day from Vancouver to HK, instead flying a more expensive route through Tokyo, changing over to ANA for the Tokyo>HK portion.

[drdrma]

Will AC let you cancel without penalty in this situation if you have purchased their cheapest class of fare?
.

Strange. My previous reply to you got lost.
Yes.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/delays/fl_cancel.html

Do not accept a travel voucer or MCO, only a real refund.

[mkjr]

It is bizarre that your April 23 has indeed been pulled...they should be required to put you on the 22nd flight. you have a right to insist upon the same.

looks like they yanked the 12, 18 and 23 flights in april and likely created issues with having to change pax. and there is space on the 22nd so it is wide open...

[mkjr]

Schedules change, it's a fact. But you don't have to accept whatever they give you. Check out what the other available options are and then call them. It's perfectly acceptable to say that the change doesn't work for you and you want another option or cancel the ticket (without penalty).

actually, what OP is facing is VERY rare in the case where there is generally been for the last many years, a daily non-stop flight from YVR to HKG. this is odd where in april 2012 they have pulled three flights on april 12, 18 and 23..OP's date.

[toisanwu]

Airlines change schedules all the time. No excuses needed, it is a matter of business. It is especially prevalent in the Spring and Fall of every year when they make assumptions on where the business will be. Making flight plans too far in advance, and especially over 1 April or Labour Day, can very often mean flight changes.
It is strange to me as well that people assume someone is rude when they are given facts to chew on. "Sir, the schedule for those flights has changed" is not rude, just a fact. The person on the other end of the line just is letting you know that is the way it is. They really don't care that you planned your trip without room for issues (weather, re-scheduling, aircraft problems or breakdowns etc).
I have booked Westjet and have had the fight schedule changed. They told me the schedule changed and my flights were later. My feelings were not hurt and I did not think the CSR was rude just because they told me that. Ease up, don't take thongs so personal.

I would understand if the schedule was changed by couple of hours or within a day, but to have it changed 2 days later is just not acceptable, especially without giving the OP an option. Telling the fact as it's is just plain bad customer service without solving the customer's dilemma. AC sure would like to have repeated customers and I doubt that would make the OP consider AC the next time around. Just imagine you have a customers lined up for meetings a day after your original flight and now you have to shuttle the schedules and potentially missing some of them. Lots of people travelling overseas for one week only on business and cannot afford to have days to buffer as you claim one should.

[speedbird92]

If you really want to be in Hong Kong on the date that you had bought your ticket for, you can demand that Air Canada fly you on another carrier. Cathay Pacific has a daily flight to HKG. At first they will tell you no, that they cannot do this, but just be persistent, they changed the date, not you. If they come back and state that your ticket cannot be transferred to another airline, kindly remind them that this is a case of irregular operations, and all the usual rules do not apply, and if they are really being jerks, tell them to issue a FIM (Flight Interruption Manifest), then they should know that they have to give you better service.
Personally I love schedule changes, they always allow my cheapest ticket with a terrible connection, and early morning departure become a pleasant afternoon non-stop flight

[Pete_Coach]

I would understand if the schedule was changed by couple of hours or within a day, but to have it changed 2 days later is just not acceptable, especially without giving the OP an option. Telling the fact as it's is just plain bad customer service without solving the customer's dilemma. AC sure would like to have repeated customers and I doubt that would make the OP consider AC the next time around. Just imagine you have a customers lined up for meetings a day after your original flight and now you have to shuttle the schedules and potentially missing some of them. Lots of people travelling overseas for one week only on business and cannot afford to have days to buffer as you claim one should.
I believe that the OP was notified by email with plenty of time before his trip. (notified 28 Feb for a trip 25 April)
I also believe that the OP had sufficient time to alter plans and, if correctly communicated with the agent (which he eventually did), his issues could be resolved (which they eventually were).
I travelled extensivley for business and vacations and have had flight changes and outright cancellations happen often. Last Fall, my flights to Madrid and my return flights from Barcelona were altered 4 times within 2 months. My fault for booking so far in advance but it was all manageable. It does become a problem when flights are changed or cancelled within a few days or a week of your trip though. In each case though, a clear and calm discussion with the airlines resolves the problem.

[mkjr]

I believe that the OP was notified by email with plenty of time before his trip. (notified 28 Feb for a trip 25 April)
I also believe that the OP had sufficient time to alter plans and, if correctly communicated with the agent (which he eventually did), his issues could be resolved (which they eventually were).
I travelled extensivley for business and vacations and have had flight changes and outright cancellations happen often. Last Fall, my flights to Madrid and my return flights from Barcelona were altered 4 times within 2 months. My fault for booking so far in advance but it was all manageable. It does become a problem when flights are changed or cancelled within a few days or a week of your trip though. In each case though, a clear and calm discussion with the airlines resolves the problem.

actually, i think AC breached its contract with OP. that said, OP has an obligation to mitigate his losses. if it is determined that he must fly on the original dates and can not fly on any others, he could cancel his ticket - get full refund, re-book on CX on the original days and i, subject to thoughts from others, AC could be on the hook for the difference as damages to put OP back in the position he was in prior to breach of contract by AC. this is contract damages 101 if my memory is not fading in my old age...that said, there is a flight one day before on the 22nd so if that works for OP, i would tell them to not accept anything other than this. that said, i am pretty sure AC is liable of OP must fly on those days etc. because of work etc. some people can not just change on a dime and sorry, that is not OP's cost and is AC's risk.

[mkjr]

If you really want to be in Hong Kong on the date that you had bought your ticket for, you can demand that Air Canada fly you on another carrier. Cathay Pacific has a daily flight to HKG. At first they will tell you no, that they cannot do this, but just be persistent, they changed the date, not you. If they come back and state that your ticket cannot be transferred to another airline, kindly remind them that this is a case of irregular operations, and all the usual rules do not apply, and if they are really being jerks, tell them to issue a FIM (Flight Interruption Manifest), then they should know that they have to give you better service.
Personally I love schedule changes, they always allow my cheapest ticket with a terrible connection, and early morning departure become a pleasant afternoon non-stop flight

exactly...i love to book the el cheepo crap time flights on US airlines only to have the schedule changed by 20 minutes and then book onto the actual flights i want that would have been way more $$$...batting about 750 as of late.

[Pete_Coach]

actually, i think AC breached its contract with OP. that said, OP has an obligation to mitigate his losses. if it is determined that he must fly on the original dates and can not fly on any others, he could cancel his ticket - get full refund, re-book on CX on the original days and i, subject to thoughts from others, AC could be on the hook for the difference as damages to put OP back in the position he was in prior to breach of contract by AC. this is contract damages 101 if my memory is not fading in my old age...that said, there is a flight one day before on the 22nd so if that works for OP, i would tell them to not accept anything other than this. that said, i am pretty sure AC is liable of OP must fly on those days etc. because of work etc. some people can not just change on a dime and sorry, that is not OP's cost and is AC's risk.
I believe you are wrong on almost all counts. The ticket you bough for passage has a great many riders and exceptions and the fine print will explain to you that you really have no recourse if the carrier changes schedules or flight times.
You are right that he could have cancelled his ticket and gotten a full refund if the times and dates were so important to him. Thing is with that one, he probably had el cheapo ticket and it would cost him a ton more to fly on another carrier and AC would only refund his purchase price. Air Canada, at that point, would no longer have any obligation to him, he got his money back and is no longer a customer.
Lastly, it is not "changing on a dime" at all, he was given almost 2 months notice.
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/delays/fl_cancel.html

[gilboman]

I would understand if the schedule was changed by couple of hours or within a day, but to have it changed 2 days later is just not acceptable, especially without giving the OP an option. Telling the fact as it's is just plain bad customer service without solving the customer's dilemma. AC sure would like to have repeated customers and I doubt that would make the OP consider AC the next time around. Just imagine you have a customers lined up for meetings a day after your original flight and now you have to shuttle the schedules and potentially missing some of them. Lots of people travelling overseas for one week only on business and cannot afford to have days to buffer as you claim one should.

Had the same happen to me on CX before. Just got a refund and went on another airline. This is reality of air travel. Don't like it? get a private jet

[jdaking]

The person i spoke to was rather rude and impolite. He didn't answer my question and just bluntly told me it had been rescheduled and just hung up. .. sign

It is too bad AC will have to cancel the flight, not much you can do about it unless they don't give you a full refund. However, the customer service was awful. I have received good customer service from AC Agents but mostly very poor when comes to handling customer issues or concerns...

[Toule]

You are actually very unlucky... these types of cancellation happens like once a year on these routes...

[mkjr]

I believe you are wrong on almost all counts. The ticket you bough for passage has a great many riders and exceptions and the fine print will explain to you that you really have no recourse if the carrier changes schedules or flight times. http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/delays/fl_cancel.html

you make a pretty broad assumption that all the terms they "attempt" to include in your ticket are enforceable if push comes to shove to conclude you have no recourse. i, on the other hand, make no such assumption.

[mkjr]

You are actually very unlucky... these types of cancellation happens like once a year on these routes...

exactly..in fact, this helps OP's case considerably since when was the last time AC cancelled three specific days of a daily flight on one of its most profitable routes? there has to be something more going on than merely taking three fligths out of april.

[speedbird92]

I believe you are wrong on almost all counts. The ticket you bough for passage has a great many riders and exceptions and the fine print will explain to you that you really have no recourse if the carrier changes schedules or flight times.
You are right that he could have cancelled his ticket and gotten a full refund if the times and dates were so important to him. Thing is with that one, he probably had el cheapo ticket and it would cost him a ton more to fly on another carrier and AC would only refund his purchase price. Air Canada, at that point, would no longer have any obligation to him, he got his money back and is no longer a customer.
Lastly, it is not "changing on a dime" at all, he was given almost 2 months notice.
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/delays/fl_cancel.html

What you are saying is partially correct. If you are flying on a charter carrier (Sunwing, Transat to the islands, or Air Canada ticket bought through Air Canada Vacations) those riders do exist, but the OP is travelling to HKG, not to Cuba.in the event of a schedule change, a scheduled carrier has obligations to the passengers that charter carriers do not have. Most of those conditions that you see in the fine print state that you cannot have hazardous items in baggage, and that they are governed by the Montreal and Warsaw conventions in terms of baggage liability, not about schedule changes and that they cannot do anything. Time of notification is a factor when calculating what steps must be taken by the carrier, but that doesn't limit the options that the carrier has to them. What if the OP had commitments on both ends of the trip? Can't leave until original date of departure due to work, and was attending a wedding the day after arrival into HK? It's not their fault that AC sold a flight that they in turn cancelled, and therefore AC should be getting their fare paying passenger to the destination on the day that they intended to. As per the link that you provide, Air Canada does reschedule people on other airlines, and even on Via Rail. If the OP wants to get to HK on the day that they bought the ticket for, they can. AC can reroute the ticket through YYZ, or through TYO, ICN, or PEK and connect with a star alliance partner to HK if they are unwilling to endorse the ticket to CX.

[Canucksrulez]

thanks everyone for some expertise feedback.

[The Templar Knight]

Not surprised to hear this, Air Canada is one of the worst companies, in any sector, operating in Canada.

I recently was in Europe on business and few AC to London Business Class and then a number of regional European Airlines when I got to Europe, the difference between Business Class on Air Canada and Agean Air and Cyprus Air was like Night and Day. The AC philosophy is to provide the Least and charge the Most. Air Canada is an abysmal Airline.

You should fly Cathy to HK. IMO

[Pete_Coach]

you make a pretty broad assumption that all the terms they "attempt" to include in your ticket are enforceable if push comes to shove to conclude you have no recourse. i, on the other hand, make no such assumption.
I am not making assumptions.
I believe the link is quite clear as to what happens when they cancel flights. Enforceable? Hello, flight is cancelled, no flight, no way to get there that day. Sounds like a done deal to me.
What would you do? Take your refund and go to another airline? Go ahead, that is why they gave you the money back or do you assume they will do something else? I mean, they gave you 2 months notice.
I guess you can take them to court for pain and suffering?


What you are saying is partially correct. If you are flying on a charter carrier (Sunwing, Transat to the islands, or Air Canada ticket bought through Air Canada Vacations) those riders do exist, but the OP is travelling to HKG, not to Cuba.in the event of a schedule change, a scheduled carrier has obligations to the passengers that charter carriers do not have. Most of those conditions that you see in the fine print state that you cannot have hazardous items in baggage, and that they are governed by the Montreal and Warsaw conventions in terms of baggage liability, not about schedule changes and that they cannot do anything. Time of notification is a factor when calculating what steps must be taken by the carrier, but that doesn't limit the options that the carrier has to them. What if the OP had commitments on both ends of the trip? Can't leave until original date of departure due to work, and was attending a wedding the day after arrival into HK? It's not their fault that AC sold a flight that they in turn cancelled, and therefore AC should be getting their fare paying passenger to the destination on the day that they intended to. As per the link that you provide, Air Canada does reschedule people on other airlines, and even on Via Rail. If the OP wants to get to HK on the day that they bought the ticket for, they can. AC can reroute the ticket through YYZ, or through TYO, ICN, or PEK and connect with a star alliance partner to HK if they are unwilling to endorse the ticket to CX.
I have no idea what your point is? You clearly did not read the entire content of the link.
It has nothing to do with Warsaw or Montreal conventions as that is for his bags. It has nothing to do with charter or vacation flights either(?). They gave the OP 2 months notice that his flight was cancelled, 2 whole months, 60 days.... what more can they do? Oh wait, they can refund all his money and he can find another flight, after all, he has 2 months to find one. :confused:

[speedbird92]

I am not making assumptions.
I believe the link is quite clear as to what happens when they cancel flights. Enforceable? Hello, flight is cancelled, no flight, no way to get there that day. Sounds like a done deal to me.
What would you do? Take your refund and go to another airline? Go ahead, that is why they gave you the money back or do you assume they will do something else? I mean, they gave you 2 months notice.
I guess you can take them to court for pain and suffering?


I have no idea what your point is? You clearly did not read the entire content of the link.
It has nothing to do with Warsaw or Montreal conventions as that is for his bags. It has nothing to do with charter or vacation flights either(?). They gave the OP 2 months notice that his flight was cancelled, 2 whole months, 60 days.... what more can they do? Oh wait, they can refund all his money and he can find another flight, after all, he has 2 months to find one. :confused:

I think that you should read that page again.

"If your Air Canada or Air Canada Express (operated by Jazz only) flight* is cancelled, our agents will do all possible to assist you. In an effort to accommodate your travel plans, Air Canada will:

Rebook you:
on the next available Air Canada or Air Canada Express (operated by Jazz only) flight within 7 days of your original travel date - we can also change your return to match the same length of stay if necessary; or
on a flight with another airline with which Air Canada has an agreement for such transportation, if circumstances permit.
with Via Rail when a train segment matching your itinerary is available, as per the Air Canada/VIA Rail reprotection agreement.
If the next available flight doesn't depart until the next day, provide certain expenses to eligible customers when a flight is cancelled due to reasons within Air Canada's control. Please check with an airport agent to see if you qualify for meal vouchers, hotel accommodation and transportation to and from the airport.

Cancel your booking and offer you the option of:
retaining the unused portion of your ticket and using it toward future travel on Air Canada.
obtaining a refund for the unused portion of your ticket."

If AC is only offering some of the options, they are going against their own policy. The fact that it is two months from departure doesn't really make any difference other than there is time to get better flights. At no time does the policy state that it must be within a certain time frame.
Why should anyone have to pay more for a service that they have already paid for? (Assuming that the CX flights are now more expensive) If the OP bought a ticket for going on a particular date, the airline accepted the payment, issued a ticket stating that they are departing on a particular date, the airline has an obligation to the OP to honor this. If the OP doesn't want a refund, or to change dates, the airline still needs to provide transportation as per their agreement to the OP.
If this had been an EU based airline, there are actually laws regarding passenger rights, and what airlines MUST provide to effected passengers, and I believe that in the US they are making something similar to the EU laws regarding air travel.

Bottom line is that the OP did not make the change, AC did, and as such they should accommodate the OP not the other way around.

[mkjr]

wrong thread...

[reachedlegendary1]

Me and my girlfriend booked a flight from vancouver to hong kong one month ago. The seat selection had already been chosen, however just today i received an email from Air Canada that the flight has changed from April 23 to April 25.(2 days late) I was quite shocked to get an email like that. So i called Air Canada customer care.((tick tick tick--waited 1 hour)) to speak to a live person)). I kindly explained to him that i had to be in Hong Kong for family matter hence being there 2 days late was not possible. The person i spoke to was rather rude and impolite. He didn't answer my question and just bluntly told me it had been rescheduled and just hung up. Afterward, i was in awe what kind of customer care was that. :( I just couldn't believe it. He sounded like it was my fault that Air Canada changed the date. Unbelievable..!! I had flied Westjet on many occasions, and had never deal with this kind of customer service. Has anyone here been rescheduled by air canada from their itinerary?? What are you guys take on this.. p.s. checked email, date changed to april 21 .. sign

Ask to be rerouted via NRT/ICN or take AC to SFO and UA to HKG.
Remember that WS doesn't go to HKG (Not that they would be able to on a 73W in Y only.....)

[Toule]

Not surprised to hear this, Air Canada is one of the worst companies, in any sector, operating in Canada.



Air Canada is one of the safest airline in the world. And you never flew with Sunwing or Canjet? Sunwing is by far the worst canadian airline; you should see their maintenance team, their pilots and their ground handling teams...
But they give free meals! :facepalm: