Flying Air Canda and when to purchase

Have a look at http://www.aircanada.com
Have a look at the Achievement section.
Air Canada was awarded "Best Airline in North America in Skytrax exhaustive world-wide survey of over 14 million Air Travelers". for the year 2007. (The award for 2008 will be awarded in 2009.)
Every year Air Canada achieves at least one coveted award for something. Most years they've been awarded multiple awards.

Within Canada their reputation is relatively poor, but there's little recourse. Latest item in the news last week, a woman booked a flight to visit her dying mother... the mother passed away within a day or two of when she was supposed to leave, she called Air Canada who said, nope, no bereavement, it'll cost you $900 to make a change your flight ahead a few days so that you can attend the service. And when checked online, the flights were not full. She was willing to supply a death certificate, documents from the funeral home, still, nothing.

In flight service may be good, but as a business they're pretty nasty. I avoid them and fly West Jet and charters whenever possible, as I've had a few bad experiences in the past (related to cancellations on their part). They're a bit of a national joke. Again, the business and how it is run, not necessarily all of the employees.

I'm looking to buy for July to Europe and am holding off a bit longer. I'm not going through Air Canada though, as they cost $900 more than other competitors.

have you also checked sidestep.com - it has alot of the airlines with comparable prices. You get a good luck about what's a good price

Is there a specific reason you're booking Air Canada?
Air France flies direct from LAX to CDG.
What are your specific dates?

We never fly Air Canada because they don't have competitive prices. Their domestic flights are sometimes the same as Westjet but to fly out of the country they don't compare to other companies. Check around.

Thanks for your comments on flying Air Canada..unfortuantly this is my only choice...I am actually flying to France on a United frequent flyer mileage award,which is partnering with Air Canada. My friend wants to travel on the same plane as me as this is her first time in Europe so that is the reason for flying Air Canada from LAX to CDG.

Dianna,

First, a few comments on Air Canada. I'm assuming your United miles plan is linked with Star Alliance? I've flown with AC a number of times recently (including to Honolulu in February), and the service has been reasonably good (except for problematic in-flight entertainment systems). They don't offer a lot of no cost "frills" but on a flight from LAX to CDG you'll get adequate meals and snacks.

The price of $1600 that you quoted seems a bit high, but the extra distance (and cost of fuel) from LA (as opposed to flying from Vancouver or Calgary) could at least partially explain the higher cost? I believe Air Canada was just voted the safest or best airline or something? You might send a PM to Flight Attendant (on this board) for the details.

I understand the reason you're limited to Air Canada, but for future reference another option you could consider is fly to Vancouver and use Air Transat to Europe (they fly to several cities, mostly in the spring to fall period each year). I had a brief look at the fares for July '09 and they were about Cdn$1409 during that time frame (about US$1175 at current exchange rates). Given the time of year, I suspect your airfare costs will be higher regardless of which airline you choose.

Good luck and happy travels!

JumpinBug
Could you please post where we might be able to read the article you mentioned? I'll PM you.

In-flight service is, in general reasonable, but I've had a few negative experiences:

1) Once, on a packed flight, I had a seat at the back of the plane. Before takeoff, I asked the flight attendant if fish was one of the options and if so, could I please have the other as I'm allergic to fish. I got snapped at, told to go back to my seat and I'd get what I'd get. Sure enough, by the time it got to me, salmon was the only thing they had left. The woman didn't seem to care and offered up no sort of apologly. I had mentioned it when I checked in and was told to mention it to the flight attendant in advance.
2) Once, one of the times they faced bankruptcy and the unions agreed to wage cuts in order to keep flying, a passenger behind me asked for a pillow (back in the days they were free) and got told to go find one himself, she didn't get paid enough to do it for him. And then she ranted about taking a pay cut. While I agree it was rough on them, her behaviour was completely unprofessional.

That said, I've generally had very pleasant experiences, but it's the bad ones that tend to stay with you.

And as others have said, their business side can be awful to deal with...lost luggage that took 3 days to get to me after it arrived in my city, a cancelled flight with no notice (there was a problem on the incoming aircraft which I didn't know) and when I got to the airport 3 hrs ahead I was told I should have chekced in waaay earlier...but I don't think they are dramatically worse than other airlines.

I fly to Ottawa frequently and find that Air Canada and West Jet offer similiar prices. I choose AC as I like their service better. As for my overseas travels I always fly AC as the only other competion would be Northwest or United and even though they are about 40 dollars cheaper, I would rather support a Canadian business.

I would avoid Air Canada at almost any cost. I recently flew them to Toronto as part of a Star Alliance itinerary to Europe and the Middle East and their service was atrocious. I called them to get seating assignments and even as a Star Gold couldn't. We got put in the back of the aircraft in middle seats (family of 4) and the flight attendants did not get to us till about 2 hr + into a 3 hr flight by which time most of the food was already sold out.

Speaking to one of my seat mates who lives in Toronto and who flew them every week, their service is just bad - they are in essence no better than a Low cost carrier. If you have UA or other Star Alliance miles, use them to fly on LH, OS, or Scandinavian. Even UA, who I fly weekly, is far superior to AC. The only thing good about AC is their new entertainment system is good to keep you occupied.

No link, it was on our television news broadcast. Probably the provincial broadcast for BC as I don't often seen the national news... unless it was a national story picked up locally.

I have flown with AC 4 times in the last 14 months and everything was fine. Nobody snapping at me, staff were polite etc etc. Check-in was easy and we didnt have to make any changes. Regarding that article about the woman whose mother passed away. AC does make you pay full fare for last minute travel but if you can produce a death certificate and doctors note then they refund 50percent of the ticket. Unlike other airlines. By flying with major airlines I tend to think that the servicing and maintenance of the aircraft will be more conscientious and thorough than on the less larger airline companies.

^No, they refused any price change or refund in this case citing to the television channel that the woman should have bought the higher costing fare so that she had that flexibility, and apparently should have expected to have to stay for a funeral. I think it still would have been the same price had she spring for the higher class fare in the first place, with how expensive they are. Even with a death certificate, etc. they said that it was her own fare for not choosing the wonderful options they supply that have more flexibility.

I'm curious about answers to a particular question in Dianna's query. Dianna seemed to be wondering if she will get a lower fare by waiting to book a flight closer to the time she wants to depart.

I've heard that if I want to travel to Europe in June it would be best to wait until a month (or even weeks) prior to my planned departure date before booking a flight in order to get a lower price on a ticket.

Does anyone know if this is true?

If it is, does anyone know a website that can give quotes on the prices of tickets purchased on dates closer to (and further away from)a particular departure date?

Stephen, that used to be true in some cases, but with things the way they are now it's less likely that you will find a cheaper deal closer to departure. In Dianna's case, since she's not wanting to travel until July, I would normally suggest that she wait until after the first of the year to book, since fare specials for spring and summer start appearing then (or they used to). Anymore, you can't really predict when good fares might appear. The best thing to do is just to watch the fares for your destination for a few weeks to see how they fluctuate so you'll recognize a good deal when you see one.

Good luck Dianna. Air Canada for me has been hit and miss. If nothing goes wrong and your flight is on-time and baggages arrive on time, you shouldn't have too much trouble flying with Air Canada.

BUT...if there are any delays or missing baggages or if you are the type to expect attention from the flight attendants, then you may be disappointed. My advice is to lower your expectation (despite the high price you are paying) so that you minimize your frustrations.

Again, good luck and pray that nothing goes wrong.

Have fun in your trip.

I usually wait until 90 days ahead of planned departure. I think some fares will go down. I'm looking now but do not plan to go to Europe until 9/2009.

I have not taken Air Canada from the west coast because there is usually a huge layover in Vancouver, BC.