Comments on: Shall I sue Air Canada?

By: Kristen

Kristen — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:01:52 +0000

Dear Steve,

Do you work for Air Canada? I agree with you that owners must take responsibility for misplaced articles. However, I recently spent several days in Canada travelling the delayed AC868 route and found the AC staff to be completely incompetent. The range of incompetencies is staggering. One particular example which I find amusing now is that they give you a boarding pass for a gate which does not even exist! I have recently been in contact with them regarding my gross mistreatment in Ottawa and Toronto and agree that from their responses, it looks as though they don’t even read the letters of complaint.

Perhaps you can explain why the gentleman sitting in front of me who also missed his connection to London because of weather (i.e. we were on the exact same flights) received 500 dollars worth of compensation from AC while I received nothing, and AC now claims that they did not compensate him when I have held his vouchers in my hand!

By: Brenda

Brenda — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:08:18 +0000

I totally understand what you are saying about the way Air Canada treats customers. I had a similar experience recently in the United States and was treated so rudely by the employees. I am going to consult a lawyer so cannot discuss details yet but I agree the issue is the arrogance of Air Canada.
brenda

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:27:14 +0000

ref Darcys comment,
From my dealings with Air Canada in London, they handle their own baggage, groom (clean) their own aircraft and only have third party contractors for security and refuelling, aswell as their cargo operation.

I dont believe his claim of them not pursuing the matter as vigorously as if it would if it was in toronto, in fact if toronto lost property is as good as bad as toronto lost luggage, then theyve got problems.

Like i say, mine was a positive result, so id stick up for them all the way down the line, on this point.

Take care

Steve

By: darcy

darcy — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 07:24:40 +0000

hi, I understand you lost your camera on the London leg of your journey. Air Canada has few people working for them in London. Much of the work like unloading/loading the aircraft, cleaning the aircraft, fueling the aircraft, food and beverage for the aircraft, security, maintenance, are all contracted out to various companies to assist with the operations of the air canada flight while in London.
I suggest find the managers of the cleaning and security companies, which handled the flight. Let them tell you what they did to locate your camera. Air Canada is at the mercy of what is reported each subcontract company tells them. They could not pursue the incident as vigorous as if it occurred in Toronto.
Sorry for your loss, temptation is your guilt. let he or she be reminded of what they did each time they see it.

By: steve

steve — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:41:33 +0000

i lost my ipod in october, so it was before your incident, i think they deal with issues on an idividual basis, as the area of liability is huuuuge grey one, ultimately, who is responsible for your personal belongings in your charge on their aircraft?

Ive flown alot of airlines in the world, i dont think there is an industry standard as per lost property, maybe there should be?

Have you tried to make a claim for a damaged bag?? unless its been run over by a jumbo they dont cover anything, the most you can expect is a `courtesy` report for your insurers, even thats after a million phone calls.

Isnt it human nature to say `it wasnt me` when the accusative finger is pointed??

basically if it ever went to court , youd have to prove a particular person, in the charge of the airline had taken your camera….hard to prove, unless cctv is installed on the aircraft.

id love to see the type of figures on whats in storage at these airlines by way of lost property, ie how many cameras, how many ipods, how many laptops?? wouldnt you?? and also what becomes of them…….. take care mate.

By: Kieren

Kieren — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:54:17 +0000

I’m glad you got your iPod back Steve, but I’m not sure what your point is.

My issue was that there was no one around to help me when I arrived – something that I think should be an unbreakable policy. And I’m not sure whether the claims desk you are talking about is the same one I went to, but then I did go to the main desk, and then call the company specifically asking what I could do, and followed what they said.

My complaint was how I was dealt with and how the process was clearly open to abuse, plus how the way I was treated was entirely to do with the company trying to avoid any form of liability and nothing to do with actually helping a customer retrieve their property – no matter how idiotic they had been in leaving it on the flight.

Your views are coloured by the fact that they found your iPod, mine are coloured by the fact that they didn’t find my camera and were particularly unhelpful while not finding it.

Have you considered that your positive experience may have come about through changes made by senior management precisely in response to detailed complaints exactly like mine?

Kieren

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:20:40 +0000

Air Canada got my ipod back to me after i had left it onboard, that too was in London, althought they stated it wasnt the airlines responsibility for left items, they did their best, heres a thinker for you Kieran, what if a passenger had passed and seen your camera AFTER you had left the aircraft, and picked it up?? its a very real possibility, so apart from having a flawed system, as you put it, did this other possibility, of a rogue passenger cross your mind? i think this highlights the case for necessary insurance.
Why did you go to the ticket desk, and not the baggage claims desk in the customs hall at terminal 3?? as a regular user of that flight the ac868, theres always staff at the desk, and when they found my ipod a couple of days later, they rang me to say they had posted it, so i have nothing but praise for those people.
Incidentally, the aircraft used for that flight is locked and secured, aswell as parked away from the terminal overnight at Heathrow, only opened in the morning for cleaning, for the first yyz flight the next day, what if the cleaners found it??what if the cleaners never found it and it went back to Canada, and the pax sitting in the same seat you were in had a belated xmas present when he reached for his inflight magazine?

just a few points, im not saying yours is a one off, but a lesson in looking after your stuff is learned here.

By: Kieren

Kieren — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 15:45:44 +0000

“Lost at the money”? What is wrong with me? Lost at the moment, I meant to say.

Kieren

By: Kieren

Kieren — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 15:44:21 +0000

Yes, I decided not to sue after loads of people left comments saying it probably wasn’t a good idea (the comments are lost at the money when I shifted blog to Wordpress).

But having read it through again, I am amazed at how unhelpful their services department was. And clearly the system has a gaping hole in it. I know someone who read my blog and spoke to a friend who works for Air Canada security but I don’t know what impact that may have had. Apparently little if you are having the same problem months later.

If you find other examples and want to publicise them, please feel free to quote liberally from this post and use my name if you think if will help.

Kieren

By: Hugo Pound

Hugo Pound — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:38:35 +0000

Kieren, your experience (and the contents of your letters from Air Canada)are very similar to my own to date! My daughter’s camera was taken, probably in Havana after we had booked them on an AC flight to Toronto. AC states that while it “strives to maintain uninterrupted custody of checked baggage, this is conditional on a number of factors”. Such conditions then effectively allow it to abrogate any responsibility for the loss.

Suing is probably not the answer; publicity is! I shall continue to write to AC, up through their management structure, but, more likely, I shall go to the press and radio just to embarrass them and highlight the risk!

Good luck (I say rather despairingly)

Hugo Pound