[skipper15]

on March 1/09 at 7.30 PM I was going to book flight for two with Air Canada to Asia for our 45 days vacation but guess what for 29 min being on hold by reservations department I go to other airline for better service instead listen to their announcements and music. Disgusting customer service in times where recessions is on our shoulders.

[Silent Bob]

Question: how can you say you got bad customer service, when no one answered the phone? There could be any number of reasons why noone picked up. But if you got a better deal from another airline, that's cool. But you can't shout bad customer service, when the service never began.

[jimworcs]

Silent Bob.. are you mad? Not answering the phone is bad customer service!!

[Jetliner]

What has to be taken into account is that on 3/1 there was a major storm system moving across large sections of the Eastern US, meaning many flights canceled. There were probably lots of people calling to get flights rebooked before even going to the airport.

My question is, how does he know he got a better deal? If he never talked to a reservationist, then how would he know what the fare was to compare it to what he got? And if he saw the fare on line, then he could have booked it there without calling.

[jimworcs]

Where does he say he got a better deal? He went for better service and he obviously got it. I wish more people would do this, although with their monopolies they know they won't.

[Jetliner]

Note to self - must drink caffeine first thing in the morning.

I saw the part of better service, and after reading the other posts, somehow I got better deal stuck in my head.

I still stand behind what I said about the storms.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

Given Air Canada's size, and the fact that it is the dominant carrier in Canada, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they offer the best deals, when it comes to price, on coach seats to Asia. However I suspect there are a lot of people, like myself, who will pay a few extra dollars, so they can reach an English-speaking human being within a hold of 10 minutes or less; stand a greater chance of arriving at one's destination within an hour of the scheduled time; or stand a greater chance of their checked baggage not being lost. Likewise, sitting 3 hours in one of Southwest's middle seats is preferable to the aggravation of dealing with someone like US Airways or United. Accordingly, I have little sympathy for those who value things like frequent flyer miles over just about everything else---then they come on this board and complain when things turn to s**t.

Finally, I believe some airlines include a waiting time within their recorded announcements. Sounds like Air Canada isn't one of them.

[S. Saha]

I was trying to book 5 tickets today and my time on aircanada.ca apparently expired. So I logged back in SECONDS LATER and guess what? the price had gone up by $150 each way!!!! After I called air canada they stated that yes this was possible. Are you kidding me? So that two minutes of me logging back in made a difference of $1200!! Well it would have if I had actually purchased the tickets, which I will not and will refuse to buy from an airline which operates like a slot machine!!

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by S. Saha

I was trying to book 5 tickets today and my time on aircanada.ca apparently expired. So I logged back in SECONDS LATER and guess what? the price had gone up by $150 each way!!!! After I called air canada they stated that yes this was possible. Are you kidding me? So that two minutes of me logging back in made a difference of $1200!! Well it would have if I had actually purchased the tickets, which I will not and will refuse to buy from an airline which operates like a slot machine!!

Airline reservations agents and some travel agents are still able to put a "courtesy hold" on seats without actually issuing a ticket. These holds take those seats out of availability and therefore are no longer reflected in the airline's "inventory" for that particular flight. If the seats in question were the last available in a lower fare category then the next price quote will default to the next higher fare bracket.

Courtesy holds will expire if not ticketed - usually at midnight the following day. If while you are shopping for flights the fare increases, just check back after midnight (usually local time to where the airline is headquartered) when those un-sold seats are released back into inventory and you may be able to get the lower price again.

[jimworcs]

They have all adopted this lottery type pricing.. they give a fancy jargonistic title of "dynamic, demand led pricing", but customers call it gouging.

[[email protected]]

My husband and I flew on May 16 /return May 19 from Prince George, BC to Vancouver,BC return. Our itinerary had us leaving at 11:30 am (the flight was leaving at 12.40) and our return flight said 16:30 (and our flight was leaving at 18:10). Thank goodness this screw-up made us be at the airport 'early' otherwise the other way around, we would have missed our flight. How can Air Canada make such an error and then customers would obviously rely on the itinerary they were sent - and it was WRONG ! I will not fly Air Can'tgetitright again.

[PHXFlyer]

Airlines do have schedule changes from time to time. The earlier you purchase your ticket, the more likely your itinerary will be afftected by a schedule change. It is always a good idea to re-check your itinerary online about a week or so before your scheduled departure date to ensure the times are still the same and if not change your plans to arrive atthe airport accordingly.

If you book online you should receive an e-maiil if the schedule changes as well but sometimes these e-mails end up in your spam folder. When you receive your original e-mail confirmation it is a good idea to add the "sent from" information to your contacts list so your e-mail program doesn't send additional messgaes to your junk or spam folder.