Airlines reaching a whole new level of suckiness

invisible · Aug 7, 2008

Anybody else tired of airlines cancelling flights and rescheduling itineraries as they darn well please?

The oil crisis is making airlines do things even more idiotic than before.

Air Canada has just cancelled a flight and put me on another, so my 10-hour itinerary has now turned into a 24-hour one. I'm basically losing a precious full day of vacation, with the added grief of having to spend a night in the stopover city (and pay for the hotel/transportation myself!).

Had I been the one who decided to cancel/reschedule instead of them, they would've charged me $25. But hey, when they do it it's all good. Talk about fairness and customer-oriented business.

By the way, after a nasty little phone discussion, Air Canada accepted to pay for the hotel. They just hope people are not going to call them to request it.

Antarctican · Aug 7, 2008

Wow, that really sucks!!! Losing a day's vacation hurts.

Glad you fought for and got the hotel paid for. The 'squeaky wheel' gets the grease, as they say.

Overread · Aug 8, 2008

ouch!
That just shows that companies today don't respect their customers - not nessessarily canceling the flight- but expecting you to pay for their failings? not on - besides don't most airlines have arrangments with local hotels/hostles for just this sort of eventualities?

usayit · Aug 8, 2008

If its any consolation, the same crap is happening in the U.S. as well. Me? I hate airplanes and I thought it was too expensive even prior to gas crisis.

invisible · Aug 8, 2008

Overread said:
besides don't most airlines have arrangments with local hotels/hostles for just this sort of eventualities?

Get this: when the customer service person told me that the airline would be paying for the hotel, I requested an email confirming the hotel reservation. She told me she couldn't make the hotel reservation yet because there could me more cancellations/reschedulings of flights before the date of my trip (November). How reassuring.