Tag Archives for air canada.
Air Canada has suspended a pilot who went on a social media posting rampage against Israel and Jews. The pilot posted to his since-deleted Instagram account in uniform draped in a Palestinian flag and stating, Israel – Hitler is proud of you – terrorist state,” “F- you Israel. Burn in hell” and “Keep the world clean” as a caption to eliminating an Israeli flag.
A reader clued me in to the strange way that Air Canada shares delay information with passengers on flights from Toronto to the U.S. that depart late in the evening. The don’t tell customers flights are delayed until 8:30 p.m. even when the information is known far in advance. And they keep this information from customers on purpose.
Airports and planes seem to bring out the worst in people. A small percentage of passengers lose their cool. Police wind up getting involved.
It’s rare to see police being called on an airline’s gate agents, but that’s just what happened over the weekend in Baltimore when journalist Seth Kaplan and his family were set to fly Air Canada to Toronto.
In every disaster, there’s always the story of someone who was supposed to be there too but fate intervened. In this case, Air Canada managed to operate a flight – by no means guaranteed! – and contributed to the demise of Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year old son Suleman.
An Air Canada unaccompanied minor reports that they were pushed and cussed at by another passenger, who demanded their upgraded seat.
I don’t write about a lot of mileage purchase offers, because they usually aren’t a good deal. Even with a bonus of 85% or 100% the points still frequently cost more than they’re worth.
One exception to the rule on why I don’t cover too many airline mileage sales is this one from Air Canada Aeroplan: up to 110% bonus on purchased miles, no tax for U.S. residents, and a favorable exchange rate. That brings the mileage cost down to $0.0124 per point. I value Aeroplan miles at 1.4 cents apiece.
Air Canada has pushed off expiration once again, though not permanently. They’ve just announced that Aeroplan miles will not expire until September 30, 2024. Of course activity in an account extends the validity of miles past that, so you’ll want to make sure to have some.
In 2017 Air Canada violated the ‘three hour tarmac delay rule’ by not allowing passengers to get off the aircraft, and the Department of Transportation has issued a $100,000 fine. But they’re learning that miles given to customers give airlines a 60% discount on DOT fines.
I’ve fallen in love with some first class amenity kits over time, from Singapore Airlines to Asiana to Thai Airways. Business class amenity kits are usually far more pedestrian, from the bags themselves to their contents. Still, there are sometimes kits which are quite fun. Before the pandemic, when Delta was more of a premium airline inflight, their last amenity kit was Tumi with a couple of Le Labo items inside.
Air Canada has introduced a new Acqua di Parma amenity kit, a thoughtful premium brand choice.
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.
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 »
