Air Canda Changes Travel For Employees

[Kip Powick]

Is buying a revenue ticket rather than using a pass the same as buying seniority?

Does'nt everyone with a revenue ticket have the same seniority?

An option available to all.

You would think so....but...it might, in certain cases, depend on who you know, and who the gate agent knows....................when it comes to an upgrade

[anonymous]

it's more likely the class of ticket that gets a person the upgrade than familiarity with the Gate Agent....

[Kip Powick]

Yea, Sure

:Grin-Nod:

[J.O.]

I see AC gate staff distributing upgrades on a fairly regular basis and there is no "wink-wink nudge-nudge" going on when it happens. The names are called based on Aeroplan status, with most of the upgrades going to folks who have Elite and Super Elite status.

[Kip Powick]

I see AC gate staff distributing upgrades on a fairly regular basis and there is no "wink-wink nudge-nudge" going on when it happens. The names are called based on Aeroplan status, with most of the upgrades going to folks who have Elite and Super Elite status.

I don't think anyone is saying it happens all the time , (who you know, and who knows you), but on ocassion it most certainly does happen, to employees, and other individuals. It has happened to me and I have been standing at the counter, (on duty), awaiting to take an inbound out and have seen it happen to just other ordinary non-elite etc. pax. I would even go on to say that a very few agents revel in the amount of power they do have with the allotment of some of those "empty" seats up front.

[UpperDeck]

I stand to be corrected but I believe there have been a LOT of changes of late regarding the monitoring of assignment of "J" seats. I believe there was a stern memo circulated regarding the consequences of assigning a "J" seat to a pax without authority.

Does it happen? Of course but it seems that when it does, it is for the benefit of another CSA. But maybe that's just prejudice.

Occasionally, a very kind and/or generous agent will confirm what seats are available and then do a hand-notation on the boarding pass indicating the available "J" seat. In my experience, this is usually cleared with the In-charge.

In-flight crew sometimes have the benefit of 1) a captain known to them who asks the in-charge to "accommodate" them in "J"; 2) an in-charge who suggests they (fellow FA or pilot) board at the end and then directs them to an empty "J" seat. Remarkably, (to me)---a lot of in-charges will not move employees (other FA's) to empty "J" seats even at the request of other cabin crew.

As for revenue pax, upgrades are based on fare base and status and the assignment of seats are monitored on a regular basis.

And----at airports staffed by the contractors----forget it. If you don't have a "right" to an upgrade, you're not getting one.

Even with a C1, there were various airports where people were seated in "Y" even though there were open seats in "J". The gate didn't want to jeopardize OTD by re-assigning seats.

Bottom line----sometimes you get there; sometimes you don't. Personally, I am VERY grateful for those few times that I get to ride in relative comfort at minimal cost. However, I still think the best rides were in the pointy end.

[Seeker]

Kip, as UpperDeck has described, things have changed a lot in the last year or two. Seat assignment is reviewed on a consistent basis, not every flight but often enough that the gate agents are afraid to upgrade "incorrectly" and get caught not following the rules. The hand-written thing doesn't happen very often either because managers will sometimes actually go on the aircraft and compare the seating against the PIL in order to catch the unofficial upgrades. I personally know a Capt who had to really scramble to keep his pass eligilbility after asking a SD to see if a seat was avail in "J" for his wife on a flight he was operating! There are probably still a few upgrades done according to a non-standard criteria but way, way fewer than used to happen.