CBC - Travellers grounded by flight delays are now able to call a dedicated Air Canada customer service line to air their complaints and find lodging — if they have paid an advance fee, the Montreal-based carrier said Wednesday.
Priced at $25 and $35 for short- and long-haul flights, the “On My Way” service provides waylaid travellers with access to customer service representatives who will help arrange for complimentary hotel accommodations, car rentals and complimentary meals. The service also provides for the rebooking of flights.
This is an incredibly silly and revenue-seeking move on Air Canada’s part. Air Canada’s new On My Way is “a new travel assistance service that will help get you on your way quickly, no matter what setback you encounter.” – in short, a special concierge service.
Air Canada glorifies their new On My Way service through a table comparison, but I can’t quite help but feel that AC is really trying to make things seem worse than they are. Since the airline has to already provide the customer with basic services, these services are really nothing above and beyond the call of duty. A few examples of the On My Way perks:
- Call Center Assistance: You will get access to dedicated, specially trained agents, versus General Support. Was the call center outsourced before to India?
- Automatic flight information updates by email and SMS: This is apparently limited with Standard Airline practice, but On My Way will do it for all flights, starting 4 hours from departure. Did Air Canada forget that they have a Flight Notification service, just for that?
- Flight Rebooking: If a flight is canceled, AC will always try to move you to the next available flight. If AC’s flights are not available, they will almost always transfer you to another carrier, subject to the other airline not being full. AC loses the revenue if they transfer you, but its all about customer satisfaction – AC will accommodate you somehow.
- Hotel, ground transportation, meal allowance: Limited for Standard Airline Practice? Hardly. Again, customer satisfaction – AC won’t risk making a customer even more mad by denying a price of a meal. My last flight cancellation, due to weather (which, as defined, was outside of their control), was met with free accommodation and meals at a hotel.
In short, by paying for On My Way, you are basically gambling $25 – If the flight isn’t canceled, you lost $25. If the flight is canceled, you get faster service for something that a normal passenger would get, at the cost of $25. Ridiculous.