Air Canada review: Cancelation and poor performance

Air Canada caused myself and my party a great deal of difficulty, physical pain for one member, work strain, and financial burden. This took place on August 4, 2023 regarding a flight from Toronto to NYC. We were given misleading and contradictory information from gate agents, sent to multiple incorrect gates, then eventually boarded the plane late. We heard everything from mechanical issues to traffic to weather (of which there was none, in Toronto, looking at weather maps compared with flight path, or in NYC.

We sat on the plane for nearly 2 hours then they announced it would be canceled and took us back to the gate. They then kicked everyone off with little information and told us we had to go back through customs, get our stuff, and leave the airport. We asked no less than 7 employees to help us rebook into a flight that night or early next day and were refused in person assistance and told we have to call their phone line. along with everyone else who is also going through this.

It was infuriating to not be able to speak to a human being in person and explain our situation and need to get on a flight ASAP. There were options for flights, I looked online and we could have been booked on another carrier. But without anyone to speak to we had no choice but to leave and get a hotel until someone could help us over the phone.

We waited for HOURS to reach a rep and were finally sent an email saying we were booked into a flight with to Montreal then to New York. Meaning I would miss a full day of work and my boss had to leave her 81 year old mother to come cover me and also had to pay for a caregiver which is not cheap. We also had booked a direct flight and should have been given another one. We had no choice but to wait and get a hotel and spend that money and money on another meal in Toronto. Then money traveling all day to Montreal and then finally NYC. I had to spend $150 in added expense and then lost a days’ wages.

It’s been a month dealing with them and all they are willing to give is 25% off our next flight. I don’t ever want to fly with them again. I want at least half of my fare back, which still feels insufficient given the horrible experience all the way around. I’m not even mentioning how awful their ground crew in NYC were. They are cheap and rude and take no care into the major inconveniences they create in their passengers’ lives. Their cancelation reason is a lie, but a convenient one because they don’t have to pay for “weather”.

Again, they provided no in person customer assistance, no vouchers, no compassion whatsoever. Just shoving us off to the next person. Which they continue to do in email correspondence.