I'll be home for Christmas?
About a ten days ago I was chatting online with Nicole about her plans to fly home for Christmas. I was feeling a bit homesick, and wanted to come home for a few personal reasons, so I casually checked Air Canada and they were advertizing Web fares at $928.00 plus taxes from Mumbai (Bombay, 500 miles north of here) to Saskatoon.
An amazing price - or so I thought.
For the next week I tried booking on Air Canada's website only to be frustrated at every turn. They kept advertising the cheap flights, but their system would only book the more expensive options. Then they said they could only mail tickets to my credit card address in Canada, no e-tickets.
I finally booked a more expensive flights (the cheaper ones were still shown as avalable!) - and was successful in having them change their policy on tickets - they told me I could now pick up the tickets at any travel agent in India .... but I couldn't.
Their office in Delhi insisted I travel to Delhi, (2000 miles away) within 24 hrs, to pick up and sign for the tickets, even though they had been paid for on the internet by credit card!
I finally booked the same flights with a local travel agent for over twice the price Air Canada was offering them at on the Web, and will pursue Air Canada for the difference.
The whole saga is kindly documented for me by Air Canada, Login here if you want to read the whole epic (I wouldn't if I were you!)
Anyways, a cautionary tale about Air Canada, the most unhelpful airline I've ever had dealings with.
Canada really deserves better from it's international carrier. It occurs to me that we the people used to own them - we would have been better if we had just given them to WestJet to run for us!
So God and Air Canada willing I'll be home the evening of the 20th Dec - returning Jan 13
An amazing price - or so I thought.
For the next week I tried booking on Air Canada's website only to be frustrated at every turn. They kept advertising the cheap flights, but their system would only book the more expensive options. Then they said they could only mail tickets to my credit card address in Canada, no e-tickets.
I finally booked a more expensive flights (the cheaper ones were still shown as avalable!) - and was successful in having them change their policy on tickets - they told me I could now pick up the tickets at any travel agent in India .... but I couldn't.
Their office in Delhi insisted I travel to Delhi, (2000 miles away) within 24 hrs, to pick up and sign for the tickets, even though they had been paid for on the internet by credit card!
I finally booked the same flights with a local travel agent for over twice the price Air Canada was offering them at on the Web, and will pursue Air Canada for the difference.
The whole saga is kindly documented for me by Air Canada, Login here if you want to read the whole epic (I wouldn't if I were you!)
Anyways, a cautionary tale about Air Canada, the most unhelpful airline I've ever had dealings with.
Canada really deserves better from it's international carrier. It occurs to me that we the people used to own them - we would have been better if we had just given them to WestJet to run for us!
So God and Air Canada willing I'll be home the evening of the 20th Dec - returning Jan 13
posted by Andrew Smith at 8:26 PM
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