Canceled flight and non-professional attitude of its staff
Air Canada is today an unreliable company. Last June 12 in the morning, I was informed about a funeral of a close relative in NYC, scheduled for the 13th in the morning. I tried to find an itinerary starting by a flight to NYC, which would also bring me a few days later to Montreal, from where I wanted to return to Israel. My itinerary is shown in my attached ticket. I left in the morning of the 13th from Tel-Aviv and I was supposed to arrive to LGA airport – via Toronto at 9:30 pm. However, when I arrived to Toronto, I was told that there would be a delay and that we would leave at 9 pm instead of 7 pm. The flight was then further delayed to 10 pm and then around 11 pm we boarded a plane, hoping to finally start on our way. After staying on board for about 15 min, we were told to get off the plane, because it was not in adequate technical condition. At this point, I tried to explain to the staff at the desk of gate no that I had to be in NYC at 9 am for a funeral and asked them to help me in order to be able fly out as early as possible from Toronto. I was surprised to encounter a completely non –responsive attitude and I was treated with total disrespect. Nobody there tried to take into account my special circumstances; I had to arrange myself my own arrangements for a replacement flight to NYC (AC 700 leaving Toronto at 6 am). As a result, I arrived on the 13th only at 7:40 am next morning, too late to be able to reach the place of the funeral services, that were scheduled to start at 9 am .Had someone assisted me on the spot, I could have made it to an earlier flight that would have enabled me to be in NYC at 6:30 am .Moreover, around 1 am, I was directed to a third class hotel at the airport, where I spent 2.5 hours and where I happened to forget my medications and cosmetics, which I was unable to retrieve till this day. Furthermore, on the 13th I had to take a taxi from the airport to bring me to the New Montefiore cemetery (that cost me 175 $!), whereas had I arrived earlier, I could have be picked up by one of the persons attending the funeral. For all the loss of time, the unbearable hours I spent at Toronto airport, including at the hotel, which I was assigned to by AC, including the non –responsive attitude of the staff at gate #, and in general Air Canada's staff, as well as the extra cost of the taxi I was forced to use in LGA, I demand a compensation equivalent to the price of the segment TLV-NYC of my itinerary.,AC Jul 16's answer
Dear Mr. Werber, We were very sorry to learn of the circumstances that prompted your travel. On behalf of Air Canada, please let me first express our condolences for the loss of your loved one.
I understand your frustration with the delay and subsequent cancellation of your flight while connecting through Toronto on June 13th. I realize how valuable your time is, especially when you were travelling to attend a funeral. I apologize for the inconvenience this situation caused you. I have reviewed the delay which was a result of multiple factors and unfortunately, was also cancelled for more than one reason. As some of these issues were within our control, we will forward this matter to our Maintenance department for further internal review. We look at each delay and cancellation to see what could have been done differently with the hope that we can prevent similar situations in the future. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide reimbursement for the cost of your transportation upon arriving into New York-LaGuardia. Flight cancellations and delays are an inescapable reality for all airlines and we are unable to provide compensation for the consequences that frequently result from a disruption in our service. As a gesture of goodwill, we are providing you with a one time saving of 20% off of the base fare on your next booking at aircanada.com. Please refer to the information below for complete details of your promotional code. We regret that we have left you with an unfavourable impression. Mr. Werber, we hope to welcome you back on board and the opportunity to provide you with a better experience in the future. Sincerely, Kim Gill Customer Relations,
my Jul 18 2016 response: Thank you for your prompt response. However, it is completely unsatisfactory. You did not take into consideration the pressure and bewilderment I was under in those 12 hours since I heard I flight was delayed and finally canceled. Neither did you address the failure of AIR CANADA personnel at the airport in provide me assistance in rescheduling my flight. The actually ignored me. Also the compensation you offer is far below what I demanded and it is on condition that I make another booking. Actually, I have already made a new booking on Air Canada( thru Travelocity) as follows: Travel dates: Aug 16, 2016 - Sep 14, 2016, Itinerary # 7194138201493; Confirmation LN2W8Z (Air Canada); Ticket # 0147843503457 (Moshe Michel Werber); Price: $1,440.92 So, I will consider my complaint closed, if you refund me a substantial % of this full price. My initial request was for approximately 700 US $. Looking forward to hearing from you,Sincerely,Moshe Michel Werber,
Issue#:ABDA-18RNDYL:07/14/2016 04:49:50:Compensation Request AC July 23 answer: Dear Mr. Werber, Thank you for the follow-up email. We are sorry that we have been unable to redress your complaint to your satisfaction. We can assure you that your concerns have been reviewed appropriately.Once again, I apologize for the disruption to your travel plans. With all due respect, it would not be economically feasible for Air Canada to arbitrarily delay or cancel any flight. As much of an inconvenience as this is to our customers, it is equally costly and an inconvenience for the airline. During flight disruptions, our mandate is to protect the passengers on the next available flight. We certainly do not underestimate the disruption passengers are caused in such circumstances and expect our Customer Service personnel will do their best so that passengers reach their ticketed destination as soon as possible. Air Canada is committed to customer service and we are aware that it is our handling, that can have the greatest impact on our customers. I can certainly understand this difficult situation being very upsetting indeed. We apologize that our agents did not provide you with more assistance during this transition. Your comments have been noted and sent to the airport management team for internal follow-up and development. Mr. Werber, the goodwill travel discount was offered to demonstrate our regret for the lapse in our usual high standard of service. We work hard to rectify situations where one of our customers is dissatisfied, and I am sorry we have not been more successful in this instance, but we are limited in the range of remedies that can realistically be employed in situations such as these. Respectfully, we are unable to comply with your request for a partial refund. I appreciate this further opportunity to review this matter on your behalf and once again wish to extend my sincere apologies for your disappointment.
Sincerely, Kim Gill Customer Relations
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