Great News about Fuel Surcharges?
Posted September 19, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
I received an email from Air Canada yesterday that included the following statement:
“Great news. The fuel surcharge is now included in all our North America fares.”
GREAT news? Who are they trying to kid?
Especially since Westjet announced yesterday afternoon that it will no longer collect one-way fuel surcharges of $20 for short haul, $30 for medium and $45 for longer flights.
On a brighter note, Air Canada did say that they will cancel their fees for the second checked bag on Tango and Tango Plus fares within North America effective September 23rd. That’s a savings of $50 per round-trip flight.
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The Jerk in Seat 12F
Posted February 29, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
I was aboard an Air Canada A319 enroute to a conference in Montreal at which I was to speak the following day. I was looking forward to the 5-hour flight from Vancouver, to put the finishing touches on my presentation as well as get some other work done.
After we reached cruising altitude and the seat belt sign had been extinguished, I waited about ten minutes before trying to grab my laptop case from under the seat in front of me. I’d been whacked in the head enough times before to know that those who recline their seats usually do so in the first couple of minutes after the light goes off.
Despite my caution - WHAM! - I got whacked upside the head anyway — and hard. It was almost like the guy sitting in front of me had specifically waited until I bent down to get my bag.
I responded with a loud “OW!” and gave his seat a shoulder check on my way up.
Really, how hard is it to turn your head and confirm that the person behind you is out of the way before you JERK your seat back?
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of my dealings with ‘the Jerk in 12F’.
As if having his seat fully reclined wasn’t enough, he rocked and jerked his seat back throughout the flight by pushing against the bulkhead with his feet.
The effect on my end was unpleasant and precarious to say the least.
Behind a fully upright seat on the 319, my laptop can be open to an angle of 90 degrees. With the seat fully reclined, I lose about 15 degrees, forcing me to slouch in my seat in order to see the screen.
However, when the ‘jerking’ occured, the latch on the tray table threatened to catch and snap the laptop screen. In fact, the fellow in the aisle seat in my row told me how that had happened to his laptop and he therefore complimented my response to ‘the Jerk’.
So, what did I do?
Well, every time the Jerk jerked, I jerked back. I either pushed back against his seat, or pushed down HARD on my table.
Finally, after 4 hours of going back and forth, the Jerk in 12F stood up, turned around and said, “Do you have a problem with my seat being reclined?”
“Not at all! ” I assured him. “What I do have a problem with however, is that you have been pushing your feet against the bulkhead and jerking your seatback against my laptop. Each time you jerk, the laptop screen is at risk of catching and snapping, as happened to this gentleman on another flight“, gesturing towards the man in the aisle seat.
Please notice how I managed to get “you jerk” into that sentence without making it too personal. LOL.
He whined in reply, “Well, I’m allowed to recline my seat“.
To which I responded, “Of course you are, but just because you can, doesn’t mean you should“.
The Jerk then sat down, put his seat in the upright position and I managed to work in peace for a whole 30 minutes.
Technorati Tags: airplane, seat back, jerk, etiquette
How Do YOU Cope with Terrible Travelers?
Posted February 11, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
Is it my imagination, or have air travelers become increasingly rude, inconsiderate and even obnoxious in recent years?
It seems that on every trip I take nowadays, there is someone who either just doesn’t understand basic passenger etiquette or worse, is so self-centered that they just don’t care if their behavior affects others in a negative way.
The ‘abusers’ are many and varied.
They include (but are not limited to) those who are tardy and unprepared for check-in and at security. Others ignore baggage allowance rules, while still others are apparently oblivious to annoucements at boarding gates and on board aircrat. Then there are those that I refer to as the sprawlers, the yellers and the smelly.
I’ve had it with all of them.
So, over the next few months, I plan to write a series of posts about a wide variety of terrible travelers that we have encountered over the years — with the hope that perhaps one or two of them can read and perhaps amend their awful ways. 
So, are you frustrated and fed up with terrible travelers too?
If so, please feel free to contribute your story (or stories) via the comment section below. As this series may end up becoming a book (count on it) please leave us your real email address so that we may contact you if your story is chosen for inclusion.
Technorati Tags: travel, terrible traveler, rude people
Customer Service Hertz at YYZ
Posted January 7, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
We rented a car over Christmas from Hertz at the Kipling and Dundas Street kiosk in Toronto.
The folks at that location were excellent… friendly, fast and helpful. We received an upgrade to a PT Cruiser for no extra charge, and when I remarked that the car was a tad dirty and somewhat odorous, the car jockey ran in and returned immediately with a $15.00 voucher to use for either a car wash or as a credit toward the rental.
The Hertz customer service experience at the Toronto International airport Hertz location on January 3rd was quite another story.
- My cheerful “Good Morning” greeting was not returned in kind. There was no “Good Morning” or “Happy New Year”… nada.
- The agent literally barked at me. “You returning the car?”, “Did you fill up?” and “What’s the mileage?”.
- The desk clerk processed the paperwork which I signed. After slapping another piece of paper on the counter, he appeared to continue working on our file.
- After a lengthy pause he regarded me with a look that said ‘What the he** do you want?”, so I asked if we were done. “Ya.”
No “Thanks for your business” or “Have a nice day”. Just “Ya.”
My response to his extremely poor manners? “You’re welcome… NOT! Next time we’ll rent from Budget!” loud enough for the agents at the Budget car rental counter to hear.
Technorati Tags: Hertz, Budget, car rental
Itinerary Change Frustrations with Air Canada
Posted January 4, 2008 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
I booked our Christmas trip to Toronto on July 17th, 2007. On the original outbound leg we were booked to depart Penticton (YYF) on 20-Dec 2007 at 09:15 on AC8351, arriving Vancouver (YVR) at 10:19. Then we were to connect to AC1134 departing YVR at 12:00 and arrive Toronto (YYZ) at 19:25. (See the screen capture below).
On October 21st, I received an itinerary change notice that put us on AC102, leaving Vancouver at 14:30, or 2 and a half hours LATER than our originally scheduled flight.
When we arrived in Vancouver, we went directly to the gate and discovered that there were seats available on both the 11:00 flight AND our originally scheduled flight, AC1134 still leaving at noon.
However, despite seat availability we were told that we could NOT travel on either of those flights as Transport Canada requires that passengers travel with their baggages.
So, why is that a problem? Book us on the flight and retag our bags to travel with us on the same flight.
The Air Canada desk agent’s response was basically “Sorry, no can do”.
We tried again in the Maple Leaf Lounge and got the same “no can do” response.
HUH?
Air Canada had more than an hour and a half to transfer our bags to our original flight and they couldn’t do it?
Now contrast that response with the one we got in March from Singapore Airlines when we wanted to change to SQ17 which left Incheon an hour an a half earlier than SQ15, on which we were booked.
“NO Problem!!!” said the Singapore Airlines desk agent.
We watched as she made ONE phone call that had our bags whisked to our new flight and we had our new boarding passes in hand in under 5 minutes.
So, Air Canada, what the heck is YOUR problem? Do you like frustrating your good customers? Or, are your agents just lazy as all get out? Would you have made that change if we’d been traveling in Executive Class?
I WILL be writing the letter and Air Canada, you have some ’splaining to do’.
Technorati Tags: Air Canada
How the Uninformed Cause Delays at Airport Security
Posted December 20, 2007 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
It’s been 6 years since 9/11 and judging by the delays at airport sscurity caused by those whose carry-on luggage is stuffed full of unacceptable items; one could come to the conclusion that most travelers have either forgotten the event or just don’t pay attention to either the news or the signs directly in front them.
I’m inclined to believe the latter.
At our local - very small - airport, there are no less than 6 warning signs about the restrictions on liquids and gels. There is a huge sign at the entrance to the screening area warning about restrictions on firearms and explosives, knives and other sharp objects.
Yet, what of all things did I see a man removing from his carry-on this morning?
A large putty knife!
Duh!
That was only ONE of dozens of infractions that slowed the security line down. By result, it took us half an hour to get through security.
That might not seem like a long time to those who travel from large city airports.
However, what you should know is that airport security was screening passengers for only ONE flight at that time on a Dash-8 300 — which carries only 50 people!
Moreover, passengers started lining up for security more than an hour before the flight was to leave the gate, yet there were STILL passengers being processed at 9:30, 15 minutes after the scheduled departure time.
Quite frankly, I’m sick and tired of being delayed by passengers who just don’t bother to inform themselves of the rules and restrictions… so here are some suggestions for the powers that be.
Have contraband in your carry-on? Go to the back of the line… the VERY back of the line and stay there until everyone else has been screened.
If you miss your flight… too bad, so sad.
Once the authorites start getting tough with those who keep the rest of us waiting, maybe the uninformed will start paying attention.
For information about what is and what is not allowed in your carry-on luggage and how some permissable items must be packaged for transport, please see “Permitted and Non-Permitted Items” on the Canadian Air Transport Security website. If you are travelling from the U.S., visit “TSA: Permitted and Prohibited Items” on the TSA website. If you are travelling from a location outside Canada or the U.S., do a search on Google for ‘restricted items carry-on luggage’ and search the results until you find the applicable country.
Technorati Tags: carry-on, luggage, restricted items, knives, firearms, liquids, gels
Air Canada: We Want an Apology
Posted December 4, 2007 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
Case in point.
Yesterday morning, I was scheduled to travel on the 06:50 Air Canada flight from Vegas to Vancouver.
Because I wanted to attend the after-conference festivities on Sunday night, on Sunday afternoon I went online and modified the booking to take the 13:12 departure routed through Denver and operated by Ted / United Airlines.
I got confirmation of the change (see the graphic image below) and trusted that all would be well.
When I got to the airport, I was delighted to be able to avoid the long line-up for Economy Class check-in and go straight to the head of the Executive Class check-in line — because I’ve bought that privilege through my American Express card.
Doing so was fortunate — because I stood at the counter for 30 minutes to get checked-in for the flight.
For whatever reason, Air Canada neglected to pass information about the modified booking to its Star Alliance partner, United Airlines. After calling Air Canada 3 times, the United Airlines agent finally managed to bring the information up on his terminal.
Meanwhile, as there was only one agent serving the Executive Class passenger lineup, everyone after me in line also had to wait that long.
As a customer who is probably in part responsible for saving Air Canada a TON of money (that it no longer needs to spend on reservations agents) I would hope that they would invest those savings in a system that actually works.
Moreover, that system should be programmed to detect when a passenger has been inconvenienced to the extent that they’ve missed the chance to grab a bite to eat at the airport before boarding a flight that serves nothing more than pretzels.
Perhaps the “system” could send that passenger an email that acknowledges and apologizes for the inconvenience. Better yet, attach a $10 coupon that would buy 2 beers — a 330 calorie lunch.
Technorati Tags: Air Canada, Ted, United Airlines
More Ridiculous Hotel Food & Beverage Pricing
Posted November 7, 2007 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
So, imagine you’ve just invited a few people up to your room at the New York Hilton for a morning bull session away from the conference and wanted to be hospitable by ordering up a few beverages and munchies.
How about a quart of freshly squeezed orange juice for $49.00 per quart, a tray of fresh fruit for $70.00 and some breakfast breads and pastries for $70.00?
Go Through Customs? But I Didn’t Leave the Country!!
Posted November 5, 2007 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
Everyone else that had arrived in Toronto on Air Canada 142 and was transitioning to the States had picked up their bags by 4:15 PM, yet I was still waiting for my suitcase at 4:45 PM.
When I checked with baggage services I was told that my bag hadn’t been ‘flagged’, but they couldn’t tell me whether it had made the flight from Vancouver.
I asked if I could go into the domestic baggage hall to see if my bag had been sent there in error. The bag guy told me that I could, but that I’d have to fill in a Canadian customs form and go through Canadian customs to ‘get back into Canada’.
HuH?
Well apparently, when you’re transitioning to the States from Toronto, you’re already in the States as soon as you enter the baggage claim area, despite the fact that you haven’t yet cleared U.S. customs. Because they couldn’t tell me how long the lines at Canadian customs were, I decided to pass on that option.
Besides, I know how Canadian Customs operates. Because I’d never really left the country, they probably would have had to consult with Ottawa and I would have been stuck overnight in no-man’s baggage claim land or worse, be deported to Quebec.
Leaving the country (really) without the bag wasn’t an option either, as U.S. Customs has a problem with people going into the country without their baggage, or with the baggage being sent separately. The case can be made to let you go without your luggage, but waiting an hour to in a customs lineup to find out that they won’t let you through wasn’t a happy proposition.
So I decided to wait until our boarding time (5:40 PM), and if the bag hadn’t showed up by them, I’d overnight in Toronto instead.
I couldn’t wait much longer though. There’s no washroom in that baggage area and the closest one was in the adjacent baggage area to which one of the baggage people would have to escort me and give me access.
Sure enough, as soon we got into the other baggage area, I saw my bag.
What can I say but that I wasn’t impressed with having to wait an hour and a half for my bag and missing dinner due to the short connection. I think Air Canada really dropped the ball and didn’t do nearly enough to find out where on the ramp they’d left my bag to languish.
Oh ya, and to top it off, they broke one of the wheels on my suitcase. Ugh.
The good news is that eBags has come great deals on suitcases (spinners particularly) at the moment.
$8.50 for a Bottle of WATER?
Posted October 20, 2007 by Rosalind Gardner · Filed Under Rants
While at the Affiliate Convention this past August in Montreal, I stayed at the Hotel Intercontinental.
It is a truly beautiful and elegant hotel and I managed to get a room with a great view of the river. The Intercontinental’s customer service was fabulous and access to nearby attractions (e.g. China Town, Old Montreal, St. Catherine Street, etc.) is all within easy walking distance.
I did have one complaint though - why are they stocking the rooms with bottles of water for which they charge $8.50?
Granted, it is a bottle of frou-frou FIJI water that according to Wikipedia is “a brand of bottled water which is bottled in the Fiji Islands. The water comes from an artesian well in the Yaqara Range of the Nakauvadra Mountains.”
But $8.50?!!! Why not bring in Dasani which not only tastes much better but has its Canadian source in Brampton, Ontario which is a mere 570 kilometers away - not a 20-hour flight away. Not only would this be easier on hotel guests’ pocket books, but infinitely better for an environment already in peril.
Speaking of taste - the tap water in Montreal is treated, completely safe to drink and tasted absolutely fine.
Anyway, if you’re staying at the Hotel Intercontinental in Montreal, save your money and be kind to the environment!
Pass on the ridiculously expensive frou-frou Fiji water and grab a glass of tap water. If you’re desperately in need of bottled water, do what I saw a number of other hotel guests do - walk a block to the local convenience store where you can get a bottle of Dasani for around a buck.
Technorati Tags: bottled water, Fiji, Dasani, Montreal, tap water
