Our flight from Paris to Toronto was delayed by over 3 hours. No big deal. It happens. Toronto to Portland was another story. Because the connection was tight, Air Canada decided to bump us to a Toronto to Vancouver for an overnight, then onto Portland. They didn't bother to consult us; they just did it, without mentioning where we were expected to spend the night, or who would pay for it. When we arrived at Toronto our flight to PDX was also delayed. That made it possible to get back onto our original flight, but not without scrambling from the gate, to customer service, then racing back to the gate again. The customer service approved us for boarding our original flight. When we returned to the gate, the agent there questioned our permission to board. After grumbling about how the other agent had left him to do "his" job, he finally agreed to give us seats. We boarded, went to our assigned seats, then were told we couldn't sit there because they were crew seats. The gate guy had given us seats assigned for crew only. We had to dash around to find two seats. A kind passenger agreed to move so that we could sit together. In the four-plus hour flight, no blanket, no pillow, no food unless you paid for it, no media, no magazines. Only a 2-beverage service. The seating was so tight. As expected, in the change from one flight to another, our bags didn't arrive with us. It was 10:30 at night. Not one Air Canada agent, either in lost luggage or ticketing was present at PDX. "They go home at 9pm," we were told. So, we were unable to file a missing luggage report. This morning, I tried to go online to report our missing bags (Air Canada calls them "delayed" bags, not missing). It turns out that unless you've got a file number that's issued at the airport, you cannot use the online system; you must call a service number. I waited 34 minutes on the phone for an agent. When she answered, her accent was so strong that I had to ask her to repeat every question several times. I had to repeat my answers to her questions several times. She asked me for an "original booking number" that, according to her, was on my boarding pass. It was not. I checked it repeatedly. When I explained that I could not find it (I had my ticket number, my name, flight numbers, baggage tags...etc.), she hung up on me. I called again. I waited about 25 minutes on the second call. I politely explained that I could not understand him, and ended the call. Air Canada did text us. It looks as if our bags may arrive by tonight.
airlines reviews