How long to talk to a human?

[co-joe]

Bored and on hold. 57 minutes and counting. Considering calling Westjet to see if they know.

Do I have to pay $130 to sit with my girlfriend now yyc-yow, yyz-yyc? Non priority seating, just to guarantee we sit together, I have to pay up front 2 months before the flights?

Serious question. I'm hanging up cause I have to go to bed now.

thanks.

...an agent will be with you "shortly"...

I'm glad you have been rated a 4 star airline now. and I'm impressed that you are continuing to set industry standards.

[cgzro]

What wrong with the web? You type in your reservation number, modify your seat selection and presto.
Takes all of a minute. Why do you need an operator to do that for you?

[cgzro]

What wrong with the web? You type in your reservation number, modify your seat selection and presto.
Takes all of a minute. Why do you need an operator to do that for you?

[co-joe]

because it costs thirty something dollars per seat per flight (45 if you want to sit at an exit or in the front row)

Or I wait til 45 minutes before departure (in september) and find out if the other pax have ponied up for their favorite seats and see if we are allowed the privilage of sitting together? What I'm asking is can I sit with someone without paying for it?

I ended up waiting 97 minutes on hold before giving up BTW. We're not happy til you're not happy...

[altiplano]

I would say the chances of not being put together are very distant... and if you are the gate agent not being able to switch it are more distant... and if you do end up sitting apart is 4 hours apart going to kill you? If it is I guess you should pony up the 30 bucks and stop complaining.

[Donald]

Or you offer to buy the person beside them a drink in order to trade seats.

[YYZSaabGuy]

All good practical solutions. And all beside the OP's point. Which is that AC's telephone response times suck.
97 minutes on hold (and still no service!) for a simple seat change request is just bloody unbelievable.
Calin, c'mon: it isn't that hard to provide even a minimal level of service to folks who are trying to be your customers. Get with the friggin' program.

[Krimson]

We are currently experiencing an unusually high volume of calls right now...

[Old fella]

All good practical solutions. And all beside the OP's point. Which is that AC's telephone response times suck.
97 minutes on hold (and still no service!) for a simple seat change request is just bloody unbelievable.
Calin, c'mon: it isn't that hard to provide even a minimal level of service to folks who are trying to be your customers. Get with the friggin' program.

.

Although Air Canada has many positive attributes, this(telephone response) isn't one, that is if you use this type of service. I haven't personally but my young fella ran into issues(wait time response and general inquiries) in travelling with his mixed breed mutt(think there was pit bull blood line or relationship, not sure) out west. He ended up with WJ as they offered better service as he saw it.

[whiteguy]

Traveling on AC from LGA to YYZ. Hour to taxi to the runway by which time we went mechanical. Took 2 hours to return to the gate and flight cancelled due to mechanical and crew duty. Called AC and was on the phone for less than 5 mins before talking to someone. Rebooked for the next morning.

I bet this happens a lot but you never hear about it because its more fun to bash AC than give it credit!

What day was this, Sunday? Do you not think things could've been a bit busy because of the issues in SFO?

[bcflyer]

because it costs thirty something dollars per seat per flight (45 if you want to sit at an exit or in the front row)

Or I wait til 45 minutes before departure (in september) and find out if the other pax have ponied up for their favorite seats and see if we are allowed the privilage of sitting together? What I'm asking is can I sit with someone without paying for it?

I ended up waiting 97 minutes on hold before giving up BTW. We're not happy til you're not happy...

Lets see, there is a huge storm in YYZ causing flooding, diversions, and cancellations and you pick that day to call about getting a seat together for a flight not departing till Sept? (and then come on here to complain about not being able to talk to someone about getting a freebie) Don't be so freakin cheap. If its that important to sit together pay the $30.00.

[Krimson]

It takes just as long when there are no floods happening. I don't think it's too much to ask to be sitting together. Why pay $30/person per flight segment to sit together? That can be up to $240 for a round trip flight with 1 connection. That's ridiculous. If you were picking seats, sure, but just to sit together, shouldn't be too much to ask.

PS. I'm not against AC or bitter, I love flying AC and prefer it over many others. The phone service just plain sucks.

[altiplano]

It isn't like AC is the only airline that makes you pay to select seats... I think they ALL do that now.

I fly standby with my family often and have never have an issue getting us all sat together. Don't let it ruin your day or waste your time... have faith that all works out in the end.

[Old fella]

Here is a little trick(as a travelling pax) at check-in if seating with partner is an issue. Asked to be assigned to the emergency exit along with your wife/partner - worked for me a few times when seating assignments are tight. I told the counter staff(WJ) that i have an aviation background, popped a few of those doors in training(not on commercial airliners) and would accept that location if wife can be next to me. Never had to do that on Air Canada but I would ask of seating with"herself" is an issue................

[co-joe]

I didn't know the flooding in yyz was sunday evening. .. oh yeah it wasn't. Stop making up bogus excuses for poor service bcflyer.

My point was that I simply can't talk to anyone at air AC. They won't answer my calls, so maybe the community here knows the answer and i won't have to sit on hold all night.

Looks like paying $130 is the only way to guarantee getting seats together for the round trip. No, 4 hours appart won't kill us, we live together. The flight there is an E 90 so not a lot of room t begin with. Way home is a 320 much less stress. I'm not even sure I can sit upright in the window seat of the E90, I rode on the E70 once and my shoulder and the fuselage were in constant conflict.

Old Fella they've taken the emergency exit seat and now they charge $45 extra for it.

[rigpiggy]

check in 23h 59m prior to flight. the whole airplane can't be filled with extravagant spenders like you.

[altiplano]

I didn't know the flooding in yyz was sunday evening. .. oh yeah it wasn't. Stop making up bogus excuses for poor service bcflyer.

My point was that I simply can't talk to anyone at air AC.

Sunday nights they run the call centre fully staffed, no doubt. I'm surprised you didn't get through right away?!

Seriously though, maybe try start of the business day if you're having trouble, or try one of the other contact methods and ask your question? I found this email form on their website - since you're not in a rush maybe tapping out a quick query will get you a response with less aggravation...

http://help-aircanada.com/aircanada-hel ... o?lang=ENU

[co-joe]

you're right dear.

[altiplano]

so maybe the community here knows the answer and i won't have to sit on hold all night.

you're right dear.

boo fuckin hoo... just trying to give the answer you asked for. stick your sarcasm...

[termerair]

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