Air Canada

✅ Trip Verified | Below Standard. Chose to fly Air Canada to avoid LAX. Had been following the flight for some time, so very aware they are constantly late. Our flight was delayed due to weather, that can’t be helped, however the communication was abysmal. In total it was 5 hours, we were lucky to be in the business lounge. You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out how late a flight will be when it has to divert to Sydney to refuel. The ground staff, although pleasant, have no idea. Now to the flight. We have flown middle eastern airlines many times, so, you would reckon AC would be on a par for the price, well, you would be wrong. The food can only be described as sub standard, the service although pleasant, is what you would get in economy. When you pay big money you expect, well, better. No offer to makeup your bed, no champagne before take off, and using a trolley to deliver food. I’ll only say of the gift bag, pathetic.

Not Verified | Los Angeles to Geneva via Montreal. This is by far, the worst airline experience I have ever had and I have flown with many airlines. The flight was delayed not due to weather, no reason was given to passengers, no apologies. Once we reached the transfer location, even our next flight has not left. Air Canada told us we cannot get on due to the delay (but we saw the plane was still at the gate), so we had to fly the next day. Again, no apologies, customer service was rude and short. They gave us tickets for next day flight, but, we checked online, our flight did not leave until 30 minutes later! We could have enough time to catch our plane! The only reason I could think of is that they sold our seats to standbys. We were highly disappointed. They gave us dinner vouchers, $10 , but didn't tell us that it was too late for any meal. Disorganized, dishonest, disappointing. Will never use this again. Also, LAX to Montreal, 6 hour flight, no food, beverages only once. Flight attendant did not know how to smile or be nice. Avoid!

✅ Trip Verified | Edmonton to Vancouver. Excellent airline service, from each and every Air Canada staff member I dealt with. My drivers license expired so I had to wait for my passport to be delivered to the airport. They put me on the next flight without hesitation. I found everyone just so kind and easy to deal with. Smiling and helpful. When I returned home I left my phone on the plane and stopped a random employee who could’ve said if they find it, it will be in the lost in found (or baggage claim) instead he went on the plane to look for it for me. I travelled with Air Canada a few years ago and found the employees seemed unhappy and unhelpful. I’m happy to see the improvement! I will definitely choose Air Canada first next time I fly.

✅ Trip Verified | Calgary to Ft McMurray. Air Canada in flight services and reliability is typically decent. I fly with them a fair bit. What I am reviewing today is the state of their customer service. Firstly, I should mention that, at the best of time, reaching them to modify a flight requires 20 mins of waiting over the phone unless you have the altitude member number (35K and over I understand). But what I am writing to flag and rant about today is how difficult my last experience trying to obtain a justification of payment has been. The amount that was charged to my card for one of my last flights matches neither the amount I was expecting to pay nor the receipt sent to me. I initially reached the phone line and was sent to www.aircanada.com/en/customercare/ticketreceipt. I explained my request and never received any response other than a no-reply acknowledgment of my request. 6 weeks and 2 additional request (complaints) to the customer service went by. 20 days after my last follow-up, I finally receive a very helpful email that indicates that she is unable to help but that I should contact www.aircanada.com/en/customercare/ticketreceipt. 6 weeks and I am back where I started. Good evidence of a system that means to serve their customers well.

✅ Trip Verified | Brussels to Montreal on Air Canada. Our trip originated in Prague with the first leg operated by Brussels Airlines so upon landing in Brussels we proceeded to the lounge. AC uses Brussels Airlines lounge which was very crowded and had very limited food and drink options. We proceeded to the gate 30 minutes before boarding time and were met with a long queue for passport verification. When I went up to the counter to inquire if there were a separate line for business class passengers the agent simply responded by saying there was only one line and pointed to the back of it. We had somewhere in the neighbourhood of 150 passengers ahead of us and there were only two ground agents performing the checks. After 20 minutes in the line I went up again and asked why they did not have a dedicated line for premium passengers like they do at every other European airport. In a rather sarcastic tone the agent simply said “this is how we do it in Brussels”. We finally got through the line at which time I spotted the AC Concierge and immediately questioned him about the process only to be told that they do have a dedicated line for premium passengers. At this point I was getting quite agitated and asked him why it was not in effect that day. To that he simply said he did not know. We then went into the priority boarding line which was a joke as there had to be 100 people in the line. Finally the agents announced start of boarding but instead called for those in zones 3 and 4 ahead of the priority passengers. At this point the boarding became a free for all and resembled those you would see in third world airports. On board the service was great but the hard product was showing its age. Food was quite tasty but they had no red wine as they simply had not loaded enough on the inbound trip from Montreal. IFE has a reasonable selection and before landing we were served another meal which was also very tasty. Aside from the utterly chaotic gate experience it was a decent experience.

✅ Trip Verified | Edmonton to Montréal. Old bad quality seats. Limited drinks, no free food on a flight of 4 hours. Staff not very friendly. Service is equal to low cost carries and my suitcase took 50 minutes to arrive.

✅ Trip Verified | Atlanta to Paris via Toronto. Third time my baggage has been delayed across 2 trips. It must be a systematic problem they must have. I have never experienced baggage delay ever in my many travels. Out of the 3 times, they only announced it once, meaning for two times I waited at baggage claim for 30 mins believing they had my baggage. Only by looking at the status of the baggage claim am I able to know to go to baggage services. Can't they take be proactive all the time and let people know so that they don't wait at baggage claim? I will not be flying with Air Canada again.

✅ Trip Verified | Rome to Los Angeles via Toronto. I will never use again after the delays, (7 hour delay in Rome) Missed connections (ended up flying through Amsterdam after 4 hours of waiting to get to Zagreb which was supposed to be direct from Toronto). We were put up in a hotel at 1:30am only to get up at 5:30 for a morning flight, lost luggage to and from Europe, all with 2 little girls in tow. 2 days lost luggage in Zagreb, 5 days lost luggage in LA 6 days for the stroller. If I had known this I would have booked with another cheaper airline to get this service. the reply from customer service was a cut and paste "we'd like to give you 25% off you next flight" - I don't think so! I have never written a review for bad service or delays, but this was too much.

✅ Trip Verified | Toronto to Rome. Flight was delayed and we specifically paid an extra 400 for premium seats and we spoke to the Air Canada Agent in reservations to make sure we had the correct seats on both legs of the journey since I had heart surgery and am a big man who needed the extra leg room and ability to raise the arm rests for more room. I was assigned a seat I did not fit into because the arm rests would not go up on this premium seat. The plane was full and no other seats could be given. My mother also had a seat whose arm rests would not go up but being smaller it was not an issue for her even though these were premium seats. On our return flight from Rome to Toronto we paid 300 for premium seats (total 700 for both legs wife came back on an earlier flight) and when we boarded the plane our seats had been given away and the premium seats we paid for two months earlier were not available. We were in row 45 which was the last row in Zone 3 with very little leg room. I had to take the middle seat since the window was too tight for me and the arm rest in the aisle would not go up. The flight attendant said there was definitely an error on the seats assigned and she made me follow her to the gate agent to see if anything could be done. The agent said all seats were full and there was nothing she could do. The plane was ready to depart so I took my seat and suffered on the 10 hour flight back. At the airport in Toronto there was no one to speak to regarding a refund and our experience with Air Canada as well as my medical issues and my mother being abandoned in Rome on her own in a wheelchair. I was told to call a number which was an office in Calgary that would need a letter mailed to them regarding the issues I experienced. I was also told to google a customer care website where I filled out the online forms for both my medical and my refund for the premium charges. We specifically booked through Air Canada direct so we would be able to avoid any issues with other airlines or agencies and could deal with AC directly but it has been a nightmare trying to have anyone reach out to us or resolve our issues before, during and after the flight. Again today I have once again resubmitted our request for refund and am currently waiting. The customer service agent in reservation (50 min hold) said she cant do anything over the phone and it could take 2 months. She told me to send out a claim again online.

✅ Trip Verified | Geneva to Toronto via Montreal. We arrived from Geneva to Montreal at 3:20 and connection flight to Toronto was 4pm. After customs we arrived at gate to board to Toronto at 3:45 only to be told that they gave our seat to someone else because we couldn’t make it for 4 o’clock flight. Agents wouldn’t even answer our inquiries. At 4000 dollars round trip plus upgraded seats we had to wait in standby for the next flight to Toronto plus loose our priority seating. We would think twice before we fly Air Canada again