36 Hours in the Evil Clutches of Air Canada

First let me say that with some of the things that have happened
since, I have a hard time writing about something which has
left such a bitter taste - there is no way to avoid sounding critical
and negative when reviewing what has become the worst nightmare
of my 50 odd years...what makes the whole topic so painful was that
it was all so very, very avoidable.
My dear mother turned 80 years old this past Tuesday - and my
wife and I decided we'd fly to Ottawa to help her celebrate. She's
been on her own now for a couple of years since Dad passed away -
and while my two brothers who live in Ottawa are both diligent in
making sure they are in contact, and visit, so, so faithfully, as it is
for anyone adjusting to living alone - it gets tough for her...so we
were all looking forward to getting together...then came the storm.
We were scheduled on a flight 10:45 Sunday morning - from Halifax
to Toronto - catching an early afternoon flight from Toronto to
Ottawa. We were all aware of how nasty the weather had become
by first thing Sunday morning. I dutifully checked the Air Canada
website for notices of cancelled flights - and was relieved to see
that everything was running on time as scheduled. I checked
Pearson International's website and that of the airport in Ottawa.
Again - no indication of any disruption in service. We packed and
headed for Halifax International , received our boarding passes and
checked our luggage - and not a word of warning that we could be
headed for trouble....the plane was a few minutes late leaving Halifax
and quite frankly I can't remember the reason given - we've come
to expect delays anytime we travel Air Canada. We arrived in
Toronto without further incident - checked boarding times for our
connecting flight - and the only hint that there might be complications
was on the constant CBC in terminal feed that talked of nothing other
than how the central and eastern parts of Canada were in the midst
of the worst winter battering in 30 years ! All posted flight schedules
indicated air travel was unaffected except to the eastern seaboard of
the United States. Things took a decided turn for us when we tried to
board for the trip to Ottawa and were told we'd been bumped...I was
still in mid-protest when the flight was cancelled and those on-board
were made to return to the terminal. Air Canada with it's ever present
lack of transparency - told everyone to be patient - and that flight
status would be up-dated at the earliest possible opportunity.
It must have been 3 o'clock when travellers were alerted to check
with customer service for their best options - including when anyone
might expect to get into Ottawa. We stood in line for an hour until
finally an Air Canada representative ventured into the fray and made
his way down the line and informed everyone that that there was no
way in hell that anyone was getting to Ottawa for the next two days -
and that all flights to Halifax were booked solid through the night.
His best advice was that everyone go and retreive their luggage and
head to the nearest ticket booking queue to make their own
arrangements. It took an additional two hours to get our
luggage...while I was watching for the luggage - my wife was busy
trying to get us on the next flight home...When we finally reunited
we were on the list of those hoping to fly standby on one of three
flights scheduled for Halifax through the evenning. At 8'oclock
we got word that we were on a flight and headed home. Whew....
if only the story ended there. We boarded the plane - takeoff was
again delayed - and then we were finally in the air. the pilot
( why is it Air Canada's pilots all love to hear their own voices so
much ) explained that it could be a rough trip with turbulence
expected particularly as we made out descent into Halifax...
Well - we got to Halifax and it was far too windy to try to land so
we circled for a while hoping for a break in the weather - he
tried to land once and had to pull out of the landing because
we were bouncing around like nothing I've ever experienced
before...we climbed to a travelling altitude and then he
announced we were headed to St. John's Newfoundland where
the weather would permit us to get down on the ground.
At 2AM we were on the ground in St. John's Airport...We all
knew that was temporary solution at best because the storm was
heading for the rock - so 90 minutes later we back on the plane
for a two hour jaunt to Halifax...you can only imagine the reaction
when the pilot anounced that we could not land in Halifax - and that
we were headed back to Toronto...As we left the plane at Pearson -
the sun was coming up and what daylight revealed was bodies
everywhere - on seats, under seats, on the floor in every corner,
on window sills - everywhere but where those bodies wanted to be.
I won't drag this out any longer than necessary..At 6Pm Monday
we boarded a plane - supposed to heading for home...we sat on the
plane , on the tarmack, until 7:30 before finally taxiing out...all the
while our new pilot explaining that the delays were the result of
problems with loading baggage....Air Canada had announced the
6 o'clock at Noon..six hours they had to ensure that it was ready
to go....it makes it even more laughable - as we were boarding
they stopped the process and announced that the flight might
not happen because there was some question whether they
had scheduled flight attendents....
Did they not appreciate that they were dealing with hundreds of
exhausted people who had been pulled one way or the other
for 36 hours..is there no one responsible for going down a
checklist of things that have to be arranged to make each
flight happen...what an operation ?!?
What is the most irritating aspect of the entire experience
is that we should have been notified in Halifax before the first
leg of our trip that there was no way we were getting to
our final destination. We found out from another stranded
traveller that flights to Ottawa had been suspended Saturday
night. If the technology is available to tell me that a tee time
will be rained out - and it is available - don't try and tell me
Air Canada wasn't fully aware that our trip would end in
disaster...if everyone had been told to stay home Air Canada
likely wouldn't had to fly to Newfoundland in the middle
of the night and back to Toronto...surely to God no one
watching the weather radar would have wagered on the
odds of a positive result in this ill-advised misadventure.
Any corporation with a conscience - any responsible corporate
agency would have had a far clearer eye on what was
happening around them - and enough integrity to tell
people to stay home when there was no chance of them safely
reaching their desired destination.
Over the course of 36 hours I heard " we appreciate your
patience" and "we apologise for the delay" and "Gee, I'm
sorry about this folks" more than anyone who is considered
a " valued customer" should hear in a lifetime of air travel..
My disgust with Air Canada and it's all too evident willingness
to abuse it's customer, and it's apparent inability to plan and
execute anything more complicated than a credit card transaction
has reached new heights...
Thanks for flying with us today and for choosing Air Canada.
My Word........