Air Canada... Bueno or No Bueno?

[VegasFoxy]

I've been hearing and reading about Air Canada.  There are a lot of negative reviews.  I'm asking, obviously, after the fact of getting my ticket.  Am I going to have a really shitty experience on this airline? I'm not freaking out... much.... but, would like to know what I've gotten myself into.  If anyone here has had, any kind - good or bad, please share them with me. Thanks in advance!!

[CyberPro]

Depends on your priorities. My highest priority is arriving safely in one piece. 

These are the clowns that ran out of fuel over Canada due to a series of absurd mistakes regarding fuel calculation and aircraft (lack of) working fuel guages...FORTUNATELY able to glide to a safe landing on a retired Runway. The pilot had glider experience, without which the safe landing would have been extremely doubtful. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

From the below, it would seem little has changed.  Trying to land on a taxiway occupied by 4 aircraft with multiple visual clues indicating this is WRONG??? OMG! 

Since you live in Vegas, you may be more risk tolerant than many. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/air-canadas-near-miss-last-almost-worst-accident-081414992.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=1_01

[VegasFoxy]

Oh FFS! I need to be there in one piece.

UGH!!!

 

Thanks for sharing....

[davidge]

If you followed that logic, there’s hardly an airline you’d fly with. 

Avoid them because they crashed 35 years ago???? Seriously? 

[ctrlcopypaste482]

I'm flying with them to HKG on Thurs. They're not my first choice. I'd rather fly a non North American airline out of North America, but this is how it worked out. They're near miss in San Fran, or wherever it was, does not inspire confidence.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

[paulalbert1980]

Air Canada is one of the safest airlines in the World with one of the highest overall ratings. Domestically I would choose riding a donkey rather than taking them as they have horrible domestic customer service but Internationally they are decent.

[VegasFoxy]

1 hour ago, paulalbert1980 said:

Air Canada is one of the safest airlines in the World with one of the highest overall ratings. Domestically I would choose riding a donkey rather than taking them as they have horrible domestic customer service but Internationally they are decent.

I guess this is what my question really is... Customer service - In flight stuff.  I don't care about in flight entertainment as I will have my iPad with downloaded movies and games, and iPod with my music. I don't need Wifi as I've read it's $5 an hour... or so I'm told.

OH, and I don't know much about flying through Canada, I'll be going from Vegas to Vancouver, then to Hong Kong and Bangkok. My travels are extensively from U.S. to Mexico, either a direct flight or a stop in Phoenix, so I only had to deal with customs once there and once back.  How does it work? Do, I have to go through customs in every port? Or, will I get to only deal with it once I get to Bangkok? Sorry, total noob when flying with multiple stops.

That is what concerns me the most, going from gate to gate, customs etc... Then it'll be exchanging money when I get there.  But, I'm reading about that in other threads here.

 

[ricktoronto]

On 16/10/2018 at 09:44, davidge said:

If you followed that logic, there’s hardly an airline you’d fly with. 

Avoid them because they crashed 35 years ago???? Seriously? 

And they didn't crash at that time either.  Coach seating and service ex-Vancouver via HK connecting to Thai (since Air Canada does not fly to Thailand) will be as bad as any crushed like a sardine 18 hours in the air. Worse if he starts in Las Vegas. Not sure why anyone starting in Las Vegas would route via Vancouver vs. LAX or SFO and Cathay Pacific would have been a better choice I'd think. 

The OP will switch US to International in Vancouver, which is not so bad, then international to international in HKG which is a walk in the park only transit security no immigration nor customs.  There are no carriers flying US to Thailand since Thai gave that up a long time ago and there are probably none flying non stop Las Vegas to HKG either. 

A good idea for subsequent trips is ask and do research before the trip vs. after. 

[nurass]

expensive, poor soft product, and try to land on taxiways...

[VegasFoxy]

4 hours ago, ricktoronto said:

 Worse if he starts in Las Vegas. Not sure why anyone starting in Las Vegas would route via Vancouver vs. LAX or SFO and Cathay Pacific would have been a better choice I'd think. 

The OP will switch US to International in Vancouver, which is not so bad, then international to international in HKG which is a walk in the park only transit security no immigration nor customs.  There are no carriers flying US to Thailand since Thai gave that up a long time ago and there are probably none flying non stop Las Vegas to HKG either. 

A good idea for subsequent trips is ask and do research before the trip vs. after. 

Whoa there! slow down...

I found a good price on a ticket. $950 round trip. So, without hesitation, I booked it.  And, flying through LAX or SFO was $500 more.  The research was based on price, and time.  The flight will put me in Bangkok at 11:30 pm which were also the same times that I would have gotten from flying through LAX and SFO. The only flight that came in earlier was Korean Air and only by 2 hours and, again, $500 more.

I merely asked a question, asking what I got myself into, as I read a couple of reviews later on.  I was looking for what others trips were like and whether or not I made a good choice.

So, no need to be on your high horse and look down your nose at me. I could have done without your judgement.

[Whalley]

On October 15, 2018 at 22:14, tolewfo said:

I've been hearing and reading about Air Canada.  There are a lot of negative reviews.  I'm asking, obviously, after the fact of getting my ticket.  Am I going to have a really shitty experience on this airline? I'm not freaking out... much.... but, would like to know what I've gotten myself into.  If anyone here has had, any kind - good or bad, please share them with me. Thanks in advance!!

 

Air Canada has a low cost arm (Air Canada Rouge) and it's bad news and best to avoid.

The Hong Kong route you'll be flying is operated by the regular full service part of the airline.  You won't be disappointed if you have been using US based airlines to fly to Asia.

For 6 out of the past 8 years, Air Canada has won Skytrax "Best Long Haul North American Airline" award.

Don't listen to all the rhetoric.  Air Canada is a very safe airline.

 

.

[Whalley]

On October 19, 2018 at 19:34, ricktoronto said:

And they didn't crash at that time either.  Coach seating and service ex-Vancouver via HK connecting to Thai (since Air Canada does not fly to Thailand) will be as bad as any crushed like a sardine 18 hours in the air. Worse if he starts in Las Vegas. Not sure why anyone starting in Las Vegas would route via Vancouver vs. LAX or SFO and Cathay Pacific would have been a better choice I'd think. 

The OP will switch US to International in Vancouver, which is not so bad, then international to international in HKG which is a walk in the park only transit security no immigration nor customs.  There are no carriers flying US to Thailand since Thai gave that up a long time ago and there are probably none flying non stop Las Vegas to HKG either. 

A good idea for subsequent trips is ask and do research before the trip vs. after. 

 

From Vegas via Vancouver to Asia, is the shortest distance.

Whereas, going via LA is heading in the wrong direction from Vegas, and the greater distance (Vancouver being 1500 kms closer to BKK than LA) would no doubt take longer.

 

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/air-canada/air-canada-named-best-long-haul-airline-americas-airlineratings-2018/

 

 

 

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[cigar7]

From my personal experience of air canada cabin and ground staff, it's 3/10. One flight from yyz to nrt, 12 blue call for service lights were on for 20 minutes, no cabin staff present. I went back to galley to try to get a drink, and male stewardesses were chatting with the Japanese females, about personal stuff. I was told to go back to my seat, and someone bring me my requested drink in a few minutes. When she arrived with my drink, she dumped part into my lap. I'll never fly with AC again -plain substandard service.

[Gibsons1]

I got stranded last trip in Hong Kong for a night when they postponed the flight.  They put me up in the airport hotel that's attached, but I had to call and cancel things I had planned the next day in Canada. 

They did give me a 25% off ticket but I would rather have been home a day earlier and not been sweating what was happening at that moment.

As a Canadian, we don't really have much protection in our own country on what an airline can do to us, unlike in some European countries where passengers have legal Rights and the airline must abide by them.

3 trips to BKK, Eva, Cathay and AC.  I'd say EVA was the best with the best food - stewardesses looked like models.  Perfect landings, takeoffs were on time... nothing bad to say.

Cathay was the middle and AC was the worst.  I did have moldy eggs on a Cathay flight.  It did clean out my colon however and I felt better when I got home.

Lots of delays when landing with AC and the food was just average.  Getting stranded for a day in HK was the kicker.