[J Guinn]

If you ever have a complaint against Air Canada, make sure in your first complaint letter, that you demand compensation. Do not complain to the attendant, cabin crew, or to a clerk. Complain only in writing directly to their head office. If the say no, go directly to the Canadian Transportation agency website for air travel complaints and file a formal complaint http://forms.cta-otc.gc.ca/pta-atc/form_eng.cfm Do not start to negotiate.

If Air Canada tries to negotiate after you file the complaint with the CTA, do not accept negotiation. The only reason they try to negotiate with you is that they will offer you something less than you are legally entitled. Also they only negotiate to delay the process of you obtaining compensation. The AC lawyers try to justify their existence to senior management by saying they saved $n by negotiating a low settlement in comparison to what the CTA would have ruled on the matter according to AC's own tariffs. AC sees no value in maintaining good customer relations.

There have been many cases where an AC customer complains to AC personnel, and the AC person looses their temper or gets mad. Once this happens, all of the other AC staff in the area come to support their fellow member. Consequently, when the others come, if you do not start to apologize, and say you have made a mistake, you'll find yourself removed from the flight, maybe from the airport and potentially from all further AC flights too. All of the employees stick together, and they know if your complaint is true and successful, they will probably loose their job.

Go read all of the complaints against Air Canada at the Canadian Transportation Agency website.

After Air Canada has treated you poorly, the only way to get satisfaction is to file the CTA complaint. The CTA only wants to hear from you after you have tried to negotiate with AC. Your negotiation should be very brief, just one letter, with a large demand for compensation. When AC replies no, go directly to the CTA and file the complaint for the formal process, do not accept mediation or negotiations from the CTA or from AC, just continue the formal CTA complaint process.

The final word of advice is get names, addresses, phone numbers and emails of least 4 or more witnesses to the incident. AC will always find 3 or more employees to file statements with the CTA that will support their position. The AC lawyers are professionals and prepare written statements for the employees to sign. AC never admits fault or error.