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Aeroplan is unique in offering a status level between 25,000 and 50,000 elite qualifying miles. Their 35,000 point level isn’t Star Alliance Gold, so doesn’t entitle the member to lounge access on partners. But it has come with access to Air Canada’s own lounges. That’s changing next year.
During a three hour delay, Air Canada flight crew decided to have fun while leaving passengers waiting to fly. They did their own photo shoot on the tarmac. One flight attendant posed inside an engine while baggage handlers snapped photos.
This was controversial because flight crew had access to do something fun while passengers did not.
Air Canada has had a long, hot, miserable summer of flight cancellations, delays, and lost luggage – that puts the dreadful performance of U.S. airlines to shame. And even when their flights do take off, it’s no bed of roses, as one woman found out after being offered nothing to eat on a 10 hour flight except a bottle of water and a napkin.
Air Canada was one of the worst actors of the pandemic. They took customer money for tickets, and then when they cancelled flights they kept the money.
So it should come as no surprise that the airline has a new trick up its sleeve. They’re flouting Canadian passenger compensation rules for cancelled flights by claiming that their lack of staffing which causes a cancellation is a safety issue.
Air Canada’s new Aeroplan program eliminated fuel surcharges on award travel and introduced a region and distanced-based award chart.
Two years after the new program’s award pricing was announced they’re making several changes, in general reducing the price of partner short-distance awards between different regions of the world while increasing the price of the longest trips in premium cabins. These go into effect September 1.
Air Canada offers an excellent if dated business class product and is very competitive between North America and Australia. Food lacks somewhat on the post-11 p.m. departure and service was somewhat indifferent but it was a good flight overall.
What makes the Signature Suite special isn’t that it’s an exclusive space within the Air Canada lounge. What makes the lounge is the food – a nice buffet, sure, if you’re in a hurry but a menu to order from that’s a cut above other lounges with sit down dining.
The food here is better, for instance, than I’ve had in United Polaris lounges or Qantas First Class lounges (and the latter can be quite good). Signature Suite dining is curated by Canadian chef David Hawksworth.
This is the setup to a report on my just-completed Australia trip, with Air Canada business class awards on the outbound and United The trip started with Air Canada’s brand new Austin – Vancouver flight, followed by a stopover and then a visit to Air Canada’s Signature Suite – along with their Toronto lounge, the best business class dining in North America.
Air Canada was one of the worst offenders during the pandemic for keeping customers’ money even when they cancelled flights. This is clearly against U.S. law and Air Canada will pay the largest-ever consumer protection fine assessed by the Department of Transportation.
Details on the new Air Canada Aeroplan credit card from Chase will come out in December. As a result of the co-brand relationship, Air Canada is already a transfer partner of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards.
Already you can get an extra 10,000 miles with the card if you sign up to be notified when it launches. Now they’re adding 10 upgrades into the mix as well and dropping a hint about a card benefit. This adds onto an easy status match for U.S. frequent flyers.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
