This is why you never fly Air Canada!

So this is the response I got back from Air Canada.
It's funny how there delays are OK, where as a passenger who is 1 minute late is absolutely not acceptable!
I also really liket he part where the letter justified the rude behavious of Air Canada staff by putting the blame on the "passenger".



Thank you for your e-mail. We appreciate the time you have taken to contact us.

At Air Canada, we make every effort to respect the scheduled departure time of all flights. A delay of even a few minutes can result in the loss of a takeoff position. This, in turn, can impact an entire day's operations and further inconvenience a greater number of customers.

To help us provide ontime departures, the absolute deadline for the completed process of checkin, including any checked baggage, is sixty minutes for transborder flights. Kiosks are programmed such that they will not accept passengers after the cut off. Airport agents are unable to accept late running passengers.

Although there may be times that a passenger believes that he/she could possible clear security and 'make' the flight before it departs, this is not always the end of the matter. As soon as the checkin closes at sixty minutes prior to departure, planning for the flight commences, including fueling requirements, weight and balance calculations, catering orders, etc. As such, passengers who arrive after our cutoff for whatever reason are unable to checkin for their flight.

Passengers are ultimately responsible for ensuring that they allow for sufficient time when planning their arrival at the airport. Such factors that should be considered are traffic, parking, and airport lineups.

As you did not complete the checkin process before the sixty minute cutoff requirement, our agents correctly offered the opportunity to change your flight as per the fare rules of your ticket.

We regret that you felt our agents were discourteous as we strive to offer customers professional service. Our agents are entrusted to treat passengers fairly by properly following the rules of the ticket purchased. Sometimes this can be difficult to do so when passengers continue to request exceptions be made.

Our flight records, as a matter of interest, show that Air Canada flight AC764 on June 26, 2009 departed the gate in Toronto five minutes early at 08:55. We regret the slight delay on your return flight to Toronto.

Praneet, thank you for allowing us this opportunity to comment on your feedback.

Sincerely,

Paul Griffin
Customer Relations



Wow!! Let's just say they aren't willing to admit fault, they aren't willing to refund my money and they don't care for my, or your, business.

I would end the post by saying, "Untill next time..." but I will never fly Air Canada again. So there won't be a next time...