Air Canada charged us extra when the flight we booked had tiny greyed out print that it was actually United Airlines, and the service could not be guaranteed. What this meant is that they made NO ATTEMPT when we were IN THE LOUNGE to call out our names for boarding and we missed our flight!
I once fell asleep right in front of the gate, and the attendants (another much better airline) made sure not only to call out my name, but came up to me to ensure I was on the flight.
We tried to get on the next flight with air canada, and they said only one seat was available (economy, though we'd booked business). They made me literally stand there for nearly 3h after running around to all the different gates they'd sent us to, and then had me on standby, charged me extra (cost us an extra $1,000 by the end of it - to FLY ECONOMY) to be cramped at the very back next to two strangers. What I noted was that there were three empty seats the entire flight! One of which, was never used (up to two by flight attendants). This meant, that my husband could have been on the same flight. Instead, he did not sleep all night because air canada stated that united airlines could not have given him another ticket and charged him an extra $800 to fly the following evening. We LOST A DAY of our business trip, including throwing off our sleep schedules AND the stress and anxiety of a carefully planned trip.
To boot, air canada made no apologies for this. At the YVR airport kiosk, they were also rude, abrupt and did not bother to try to assist. They kept redirecting to the far end of the airport (15 minute walk) to speak on a phone (no person) and then be sent back to the same spot nearby to go to united airlines. So, we booked on an air canada site, and united airlines told us they neglected to properly book us so we could not check in online, and we had a TERRIBLE experience BOTH WAYS. They did not provide lounge experience the next flight and this is not the first time!
Air Canada also tried to charge our family $10K per person for a return flight to YVR the moment they landed in the US after being assured that the covid restrictions would not impact their trip. Air Canada has forgotten what customer service is. They have forgotten that customers remember. They DO NOT CARE.
We have other stories of how they mistreat their passengers. They've broken our luggage and stolen our time, delayed luggage, etc etc. Yes, there are other airlines like this, but apparently they do not make any attempts to resolve issues. They misrepresent their airline and I for one will never fly them again if they do not refund me the outrageous cost for CAUSING HARM. read more