# Air Canada is the worst carrier ever **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 10, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350 "2021-08-10T01:17:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/81 "2024-07-05T19:07:31Z")
Sorry for that shot at Canada. Sometimes when I try to create comedy that includes Canada, I think to myself, “What would make Cobie Smulders laugh?” But then I realize that that would be me tripping on the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/82 "2024-07-07T02:05:23Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Enjoy your overnight stay in Pearson Intl. with no hotel voucher and staff members who just turn away and ignore you. I’ve never understood how _any_ airline can get away with this at your connecting location. Ummm, the only reason I’m in this airport is because that’s how you, airline, decided to route me. I didn’t want to be in {hub city} but now you strand me here, in the middle of my trip, & all of a sudden accommodations are on me??? > [@slumtrimpet](#): > > Nah. It’s been “We’re not happy until you’re not happy” for a long time now. That’s the official motto of the FAA ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/83 "2024-07-07T20:02:37Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > but now you strand me here, in the middle of my trip, & all of a sudden accommodations are on me??? Especially when the pilot told us the delay was due to a mechanical issue, but the customer “service” people lied their ass off, and claimed it was due to “weather” (which they don’t have to compensate for). Clear blue skys, summer, perfect conditions. Liars. I didn’t bother opening a claim later, because what I really wanted was for these three people to be tied to a fire ant nest. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/84 "2024-07-08T19:25:05Z")
Yeah, Delta is fine. I thought it typically scores high on customer satisfaction surveys, at least lately. Here’s the last years survey with them #1: > **[This Is the Best Airline in North America, According to Travelers](https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-best-airlines-in-north-america-to-fly-in-2023)** > > Nearly 10,000 airline passengers ranked their flying experience during the past year. Here’s which airlines came out on top—and which did not. I’m currently awaiting a Delta flight myself, and I’ve been very happy with them. They even offer Biscoff cookies! ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/85 "2024-07-08T20:07:01Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Clear blue skys, summer, perfect conditions. Liars. Weather doesn’t have to be where you are. Thunderstorms either en route or at the airport that the plane is inbound from could throw the schedule into disarray with no compensation due. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/86 "2024-07-10T16:28:25Z")
There were no weather problems on the continent that day. No delays with other carriers. Pilot told us it was a mechanical problem causing delay. They were just lying to me. The new passenger rights legislation means they can’t get away with this as much anymore. The government had to step in to protect consumers. As usual. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/87 "2024-07-10T16:36:16Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > And aside from the people involved, it’s just physically an awful building. Every connection I’ve ever made involved far too much walking ridiculous distances, with little guidance to tell you how far you have to go. Walk one long corridor, turn a corner, see another long corridor, and then repeat. The whole thing needs to be torn down and rebuilt in a sensible fashion. Agreed. There’s always a marathon hike to get wherever I want to go. From disembarking to luggage has always felt like a mile of walking whenever I’ve landed there. Gatwick is pretty bad like that as well, TBH. Every time I’ve flown Transat, I seem to have one of those endless hikes to get to the departure gate. And it’s often in a weird loading zone that has not nearly enough benches and one super pricey Sprite machine and nothing else to consume. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/88 "2024-07-10T17:18:29Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > They were just lying to me. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity as Hanlon said! ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/89 "2024-07-10T17:59:09Z")
Well, Air Canada got me to Vegas today, with only a small delay leaving Montreal. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/90 "2024-07-11T03:04:26Z")
And, did you _WANT_ to go to Vegas? ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/91 "2024-07-11T11:00:12Z")
He went to the Air Canada Boarding Pass kiosk… pulled the handle… and then… \< Ka-chunk! \> \< Ka-chunk! \> \< Ka-chunk! \> \< Ding…! \> \< Ding…! \> \< Ding…! \> “You’re Going to Vegas…!” ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/92 "2024-07-12T23:42:02Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Air travel is somehow always unnecessarily adverserial and unpleasant. Yeah. My own personal hatred is for United - every truly bad experience I’ve had has been on United (with the exception of one flight on American, back in 2002, where they flat out lied to us when we had our stopover in Philadelphia). I avoid flying for numerous reasons. Cramped seats. The extra 3 hours it adds to the trip, what with getting to the airport, going through security, getting off afterward, and arranging transport at the other end. If you are going less than 300 miles, driving is faster! Less than 500, and it’s iffy. Last time I flew was in 2019; that actually was not bad, because it was at something like 6 AM out of BWI, to Florida; the flight was half-empty because nobody in their right mind flies TOWARD an approaching hurricane (I was going there to fetch the in-laws, who wanted to evacuate from that hurricane but had no damn business renting a car and driving). We have been on one long trip this year already (750 miles each way), and have two others (500 miles each way, and 900 miles each way), and we are managing to do all by car. To be fair, the longest two have been by dint of jiggering our schedule, going the weekend before, and teleworking… but it’ll save us money and hassle. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/93 "2024-07-12T23:50:06Z")
It’s funny that this thread popped up for me today. We’re in Edmonton, and my wife is on her way to see her mother in Chicago. She was supposed to leave last night at midnight. Then that flight got canceled. Her new flight was at 6am this morning, and instead of going through Toronto it went through Vancouver. Well, _that_ flight got to Vancouver, and due to delays she missed her connection by 10 minutes. She had to wait another three hours for a replacement flight. This new flight goes from Vancouver to Houston, so now she’s in Houston, waiting for a connection to Chicago. If all goes well, she’ll get into Chicago… sometime tonight. She’s currently going through customs for the second time. So far today she’s gone from Edmonton, to Vancouver, to Houston, and might eventually get to Chicago. She was only getting five days to visit her mother, and now one of those days is entirely consumed by travel, and she’s _furious_. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/94 "2024-07-13T00:07:59Z")
I’d vote British Airways as pretty bad. Me and a friend flew from the US to Milan last year, and BA a) lost our bags on the outbound leg to Milan, b) on the way back was 3 hours late leaving Milan, lost our bags, and we had to stay overnight at Heathrow sans luggage to get home. Never again. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/95 "2024-07-13T02:49:38Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I avoid flying for numerous reasons. Cramped seats. The extra 3 hours it adds to the trip, what with getting to the airport, going through security, getting off afterward, and arranging transport at the other end. If you are going less than 300 miles, driving is faster! Less than 500, and it’s iffy. Oh, even if it takes a couple of hours longer, I’d choose driving over flying. Or, if arrival time is (totally) flexible, the train. They’ve made air travel so depressing, between overcrowded lines, intrusive security and cramped seats, that I’ll choose anything else first… heck, my last trip was by bus (I was in my seat within three minutes of arriving at the station, and I had my own row on the upper deck). . eta: It’s the age-old story of an industry acting like a monopoly (“It’s not like people will stop flying…” Oh, yes, they will!). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/96 "2024-07-13T18:05:36Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Oh, even if it takes a couple of hours longer, I’d choose driving over flying. Or, if arrival time is (totally) flexible, the train. Ditto! We went to the other coast, a couple years ago. We took the train. Nearly missed our connection on the way back, due to the train arriving in Chicago nearly 3 hours late, but other than that, an utterly stress-free travel experience. Pity the routes are so limited. We just drove home from Chicago a week ago; I’m going there again in a couple months, and taking the train. Flying would be a lot faster, enough so that I likely would consider it (especially travelling solo that trip), but I wanted the excuse to take the train. Train travel (if you have no sleeper car) is usually cheaper than flying. Even with a sleeper, a second person does not double the cost. Driving lets you take as many people as you can fit, for almost no extra cost. It does permit one’s tendency to overpack, however. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/97 "2024-08-01T20:38:16Z")
What happens in Vegas … ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/98 "2024-08-01T21:31:30Z")
Funny enough, I’ll be in Vegas at the end of August. But I’m traveling from Seattle so I’ll be flying Alaska, not Air Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/99 "2024-08-01T21:34:50Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Never again. But they “Took Good Care of You”… /s ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350/100 "2024-08-11T19:17:13Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > It is not the only airport with long corridors. Long, long ago when Art Buchwald was still a thing, he had a column about flying from DC to NYC. He checked is luggage at the curb then walked to the departure gate only to find the flight cancelled, but there was a later flight at a higher gate number that he could get on. Getting there he was too late to board but there was _another_ flight further down the corridor. It continued with ever higher gate numbers and him too late or the flight cancelled until he was well into triple digits at the end of the corridor and had missed the last flight of the day. “So, what am I gonna do? I got to get to New York!” The gate agent looked right and left, then leaned across the counter to say quietly, “If you go through those double doors there, you’ll find yourself at JFK.” He did, took another long walk down a corridor, collected his luggage off of the carousel, and hailed a taxi. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-canada-is-the-worst-carrier-ever/948350.md?page=6)