Air (or Error?) Canada. Our National Carrier…

Tecumsehsbones

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That’s what happened here for over four months. I was listening to this woman being interviewed on the radio this morning. She did send piles and piles and piles of emails and so on and so forth, but also was directly at the airport with the AirTag information and got nowhere.

She and her husband eventually just drove to this storage compound and even figured out which container it was in. Eventually when the police cracked open the container with their warrant, there was something like 500 suitcases in there.
I had a bag lost for two weeks. Here's the deal. You need to go to the airport physically (dress nicely), go to the lost baggage office, find that one person (probably from the prairie provinces) who'll actually LISTEN to you, and make puppy-eyes at her (it's usually a "her"). She knows all the tricks for working the system, and she'll get you your bag, if it's humanly possible.
 
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Ron in Regina

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Dogsled. Y'all Canadians or what?
Need to get to Toronto for a business meeting from Regina? Just Dogsled 500 miles west to Calgary to catch a plane east to Toronto….go to meeting, then reverse the process. Same for your next vacation.

(I know you’re saying the above tongue in cheek, but the situation is real but with a private vehicle taking the place of the dogsled. 8 hour drive to the airport to be there minimum 2 hours before your domestic flight…each way?…& don’t be late?)
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Need to get to Toronto for a business meeting from Regina? Just Dogsled 500 miles west to Calgary to catch a plane east to Toronto….go to meeting, then reverse the process. Same for your next vacation.

(I know you’re saying the above tongue in cheek, but the situation is real but with a private vehicle taking the place of the dogsled. 8 hour drive to the airport to be there minimum 2 hours before your domestic flight…each way?)
I know, and frankly, I think the idea of a provincial capital not having regular commercial air service (including Inuvik) is a scandal. Can't a private company fill the need? I can see a Dash-8 from Regina to Saskatoon, but Regina should have at least 737s/A-180s to/from Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Toronto, non-stop.
 

Ron in Regina

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I know, and frankly, I think the idea of a provincial capital not having regular commercial air service (including Inuvik) is a scandal. Can't a private company fill the need? I can see a Dash-8 from Regina to Saskatoon, but Regina should have at least 737s/A-180s to/from Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Toronto, non-stop.
It is possible…but it’s not cheap.
Here’s the same hypothetical, but they route it through Vancouver to get to Toronto from Regina For the theme of Air Canada not flying out of Saskatchewan (they do with their “Jazz” carrier):
1674826665307.jpeg
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Well. . . what's the problem? Do you need a private company to step in, with little regulation and possibly favorable treatment? It seems to me this is a "public good" that deserves some government support.

The price is staggering. You sure the stopover isn't in Sydney?
 

Ron in Regina

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Well. . . what's the problem? Do you need a private company to step in, with little regulation and possibly favorable treatment? It seems to me this is a "public good" that deserves some government support.

The price is staggering. You sure the stopover isn't in Sydney?
I don’t know what the answer is. I picked two random consecutive dates (31st & 1st) like a business meeting. Five years ago a couple (Husband & Wife) could fly both ways for a weeks stay at an all inclusive in the Mexican Riviera for much much less than this hypothetical domestic Air Canada flight for a meeting….& still the trip to Mexico might end up routed through Toronto at least one way. Figure that one out….
 

Tecumsehsbones

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I don’t know what the answer is. I picked two random consecutive dates (31st & 1st) like a business meeting. Five years ago a couple (Husband & Wife) could fly both ways for a weeks stay at an all inclusive in the Mexican Riviera for much much less than this hypothetical domestic Air Canada flight for a meeting….& still the trip to Mexico might end up routed through Toronto at least one way. Figure that one out….
If I'm to be serious, I'd suggest writing to your MPP. I wouldn't bother with Ottawa just yet (and possibly never).

But I've been told by a Congressional staffer that one original, on-point letter is worth 100 e-mails, 1000 petition signatures, or 10,000 protesters in getting a Congresscritter's attention. Can't be much different for MPs and MPPs. Politics is politics.
 
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petros

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It is possible…but it’s not cheap.
Here’s the same hypothetical, but they route it through Vancouver to get to Toronto from Regina For the theme of Air Canada not flying out of Saskatchewan (they do with their “Jazz” carrier):
View attachment 17109

From first to last.....

Groome, who had served with the Royal Flying Corps as an instructor during World War I set up the "Aerial Service Co" in 1919, with his partner Edward Clarke. Although the company was a failure Groome had registered Canada's first aircraft, C-GAAA, a Curtis JN4 biplane and in April 1920 he became the first licensed commercial pilot in Canada.[1]

Because the forerunner of Transport Canada made their first trip from Ottawa, Ontario in 1920 to Regina, Groome was able to claim several aviation firsts in Canada. He received the first pilot's licence, the first commercial pilot's licence and the airfield he had helped set up was licensed as Canada's first "air harbour". At the same time his mechanic Robert McCombie was given Canada's first air engineer's license.

In 1927 Groome set up his second company "Universal Air Industries" at a new airfield called "Lakeview Aerodrome". Later that same year he also helped form the "Regina Flying Club", where he was to hold the position of flying instructor until his death.

In September 1935, Groome and student Arnold Sym were killed when the control rod on the aileron of their Avro Avian failed and the aircraft crashed just outside Regina.
 

Jinentonix

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Used them when I had to. Would use West-Jet when reasonably comparable. I hear you.

It is possible…but it’s not cheap.
Here’s the same hypothetical, but they route it through Vancouver to get to Toronto from Regina For the theme of Air Canada not flying out of Saskatchewan (they do with their “Jazz” carrier):
View attachment 17109
2300 hundred fucking dollars for economy class from Regina to Toronto? On an airline that is literally a washed-up has-been? Goddam, I can remember when AC was a world class airline. Your luggage tended to arrive with you. The service was exemplary and the food was actually quite good. but that was a LONG time ago. Last time I flew AC (in 1983) lunch was a ham sandwich with 1 slice of ham that was so fucking thin you could see through it.
My very last flight as a commercial passenger was in 1986 when I took CP Air from Vancouver to Edmonton. Since then, if I planned on traveling a large distance I would either take the train or fly there myself.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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2300 hundred fucking dollars for economy class from Regina to Toronto? On an airline that is literally a washed-up has-been? Goddam, I can remember when AC was a world class airline. Your luggage tended to arrive with you. The service was exemplary and the food was actually quite good. but that was a LONG time ago. Last time I flew AC (in 1983) lunch was a ham sandwich with 1 slice of ham that was so fucking thin you could see through it.
My very last flight as a commercial passenger was in 1986 when I took CP Air from Vancouver to Edmonton. Since then, if I planned on traveling a large distance I would either take the train or fly there myself.
Don't your arms get awful tired?
 

Ron in Regina

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TORONTO – A new study has revealed that the best way to get rid of an unwanted cadaver is to carefully pack it into a suitcase and check it as luggage with Air Canada at a local airport.

“Checking in bodies with Canada’s largest air carrier is the most convenient way to get rid of unwanted contents and move on with you life,” said a local organized crime syndicate who conducted the study. “The evidence will be sent to another airport whether it be Mexico, Paris, or Whitehorse. You’re never going to see it again!”

Tracking the location of the in-flight luggage is next to impossible given the mysterious route changes and cancelled flights.

The report also outlined how Air Canada employees will keep quiet and only give non-answers, or blame other air carriers for the body.
 
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Ron in Regina

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A Toronto woman is speaking out about the experience of flying with a disability, saying her most recent flight with Air Canada left her feeling like an "unwanted burden."

"I paid the same amount for my flight as my able-bodied counterparts, yet I and other people with disabilities were treated as unwanted burdens by the Air Canada ground crew," said Pike, who described herself as visually impaired.
 

spaminator

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How Evangeline Lilly got back at rude airline passengers

Actress found being a flight attendant was 'miserable'

Author of the article:Bang Showbiz
Bang Showbiz
Published Feb 24, 2023 • 2 minute read

Evangeline Lilly used to pass gas on annoying passengers when she worked as a flight attendant.


The Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania actress only did the job for two months because she found it “miserable” but it didn’t take her too long to find a quiet way of getting revenge to people who “weren’t pleasant” to her when they needed her assistance on board the plane.


“It’s miserable,” she told Britain’s The Jonathan Ross Show. “The training’s six weeks. I did it for two months and then I showed up for a flight to Germany without my passport and I was like, ‘I don’t think this job’s for me’ and I quit.

“In the meantime, I’d managed to find a good system for if people weren’t pleasant with me on the plane. When you pass by, you just do a little ‘crop dusting’, leave a little scent behind for that a—hole to enjoy…

“I did, I farted on them. What else did I have at my disposal?”


While the 43-year-old actress – who has two sons with partner Norman Kali – didn’t enjoy her cabin crew days, she landed her dream job when she was cast as Tauriel in The Hobbit film series, admitting the role brought her out of retirement.

“I read The Hobbit when I was 13 and then it was my favourite book for a long time. I read Lord of the Rings when I was a teenager.

“I obsessed over being a woodland elf, I swear to god. I fantasized night after night about being a woodland elf.

“And then I was retired, I’d just given birth to my first baby and I got a call… I really didn’t want to act but I was like, ‘I really want to do that.’ ”

Lilly stole a “really important” prop from the set, a runestone, which she lied she had lost during filming in order to slip it into her pocket.

“There was this really, really important prop – the runestone that Kili gave to Tauriel – they had made about a dozen of them and one of them had been chosen. It was beautifully crafted.

“We used all the other ones for rehearsals. It really was the best one, so between takes on one of the scenes I just slipped it into my pocket and then I was like, ‘Urm, guys I think I’ve dropped the runestone, I don’t know where it is.’

“There were like 20 people on their hands and knees looking. Peter Jackson is freaking out because it’s the one he hand chose for the scene and I was like, ‘Sorry!’ And I still have it. Don’t tell Peter…”

But the former Lost star is glad she kept the stone because a souvenir she was given from the set hasn’t stood the test of time.

“I kept a set of the ears. That I didn’t have to steal, they just let me have them. I put them in a memorabilia box, a beautiful wooden box. I went to show my son a few years later and I opened the box and there was just this blob of goo at the bottom as they’ve just melted. They’re no more.”
 

Ron in Regina

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Whoopsies….Gilbert Proulx said he almost couldn't believe it when he looked at his phone.

He had just landed in Calgary on Sunday afternoon after a flight from Toronto. Proulx, his wife and two sons, 9 and 6, were returning from a trip to the Bahamas.

As the family prepared to dash off the plane to make their final connection to Regina, Proulx received a ping from WestJet.

Due to unscheduled maintenance, their flight had been cancelled, the email said. To get passengers home, ground transportation would be provided.
1677572048435.jpeg
"I had to do a double take," said Proulx, a teacher in Regina, in an interview on The Homestretch on Monday.

"I was sitting there, like, is this actually happening right now? You know, you pay good money to these airlines to provide you with transportation, and I'm sitting there, like, this is the best they can do for us right now?"

In an emailed statement to CBC Calgary, Denise Kenny, manager of public relations with WestJet, said the airline apologizes for the disruption to passengers' travel plans…”drink box water bottle sorta thing so Unfortunately, reaccommodation options were limited due to the high demand for travel over the weekend and significant weather events across Vancouver and Vancouver Island, which caused compounding operational impacts and limited aircraft availability," the statement read.

"In order to best support impacted guests in reaching their destination as quickly as possible, ground transportation was arranged to provide an immediate travel option for those who were unable to wait for an alternative flight option."

For some passengers, the swap meant a one-hour flight became about an eight-hour bus ride through the night.

"Unfortunately, reaccommodation options were limited due to the high demand for travel over the weekend and significant weather events across Vancouver and Vancouver Island, which caused compounding operational impacts and limited aircraft availability," the statement read.

Proulx said staff on the ground told him the next available flight to Regina would leave three days later, on March 1.
 

Taxslave2

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This is sure not the Westjet of 20 years ago. if they had a change in management in the last couple of years, it is time to do so again.
 
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