I should have known better. I was bordering on being nice about Air Canada in my last post. But alas, they remain my arch nemesis, at least for the next (up to) 30 days.
**This post has a Parental Warning Rating of 14+ due to mild (but fully appropriate) profanity**
What has Air Canada done this time to pique my wrath? (That is two words in one sentence that I'm not sure how to spell correctly in this context). Well. On Wednesday, I got an email from Expedia, through whom we booked our tickets, that there was a change to our itinerary. This has happened before but it was always minor so I figured it was no big, and gave them a call. Well, it was a big. A big big. Expedia informed me that Air Canada had cancelled the Bogota to Toronto portion of our return flight. Ummm, we need that part - it is just a bit too far to walk.
Lovely agent, whose name I have forgotten, could give no reason for Air Canada's cancellation but agreed that it was a dick move (is that a swear word? I apologize but as the movie censors say, if it is necessary to the plot and the tone, it is ok. I am pretty sure swearing is necessary to both the plot and tone of any Air Canada post, especially this one). But he did give me two options for getting home. One, we could keep approximately the same schedule but instead of Bogota to Toronto, Toronto to Vancouver, we would fly Bogota to Mexico City, spend 4 hours (2am to 6 am) in the Mexican airport, (I assume upright on uncomfortable formed plastic chairs with our soon-to-be-stolen bags at our feet), then Mexico City to Vancouver. Or we could move our original flight to the next day.
I called Val, who, miracle of miracles, was home and awake and actually answered her phone. I gave her the scoop. Neither of us wanted the Mexican "night of the living dead" option. But the problem with moving the departure date one day was Val's work schedule. We had decided on our dates based completely on Val's approved vacation days. With our original date, (arrive in Vancouver at noon, 3pm ferry, home by 6pm) Val would have 24 hours to sleep once she got back to Victoria before her night shift at 7 pm the next night. Well, the brighter readers of this post will have already figured out that if we return 24 hours later, that leaves Val ZERO hours to sleep before her first night shift.
I called Expedia back and asked if we could get some sort of compensation from Air Canada for the inconvenience. They said we could try but we would have to call them directly. So I called them. A lovely 45 minutes on hold and then I got an Air Canada agent on the phone. He was also nice and agreed with everyone in the world that the cancellation was, indeed, a dick move (I am paraphrasing his words but I know how to read between the lines - and really, who would know a dick move better than an Air Canada employee). But he wasn't able to help me. He told me to deal through Expedia to change the tickets and to contact 'Air Canada Customer Relations'.
So I called Expedia again and rebooked and now our new return flight is March 27/28 (overnight). Then I hassled Lynda, my boss, to give me another day tacked on the end of my vacation days. Which she did, because she is awesome.
But I want retribution. I want revenge. Well, maybe just a bit of justice. So I checked out Air Canada's customer relations website. For reasons I cannot fathom, AC customer relations does not have a phone contact. (Well, maybe I can fathom irate AC customers screaming profanity a lot worse than 'dick' into the ear of some poor rep). If you 'have something to say to Air Canada' as they so nicely put it, then you have to email, mail or fax your 'feedback or concerns'. No screaming phone calls allowed. http://www.aircanada.com/en/customercare/customersolutions.html
So, I wrote a nice, two page, because they want detail, letter outlining the issue, the problems it has caused both me and my travelling companion and my suggestions for a solution. My suggestion: Upgrade us to Business class for our return flight so that Val can sleep and to add on a free flight from Vancouver to Victoria so that we get home a earlier so Val can also have a nap before her shift. Plus, for all of the stress, hassle and extra lost day of work for me, they may also want to consider upgrading our flight to Ecuador too or persnaps a voucher toward a future AC flight (because, living in Canada, as much as I don't want to, I know I will be on one of their planes again - curse word!)
So, my enemy, Air Canada, the ball is in your court. Will you make me hate you more or hate you less? For the rest of you, I will let you know the outcome in 30 days or less, AC's customer relations resolution timeline (even though we leave in 25). Curse word!
