Fee for seat assignments on Air Canada?

[bonsai3s]

Just booked our flights using Choice Air. (Cruising from Quebec to FLL)

 

San Francisco to Quebec City will be on Air Canada. Our return flight from Ft. Lauderdale back to SFO will be on US Airways.

 

On our return flights, our seats were assigned immediately upon booking.

 

We were attempting to get our seat assignments on the Air Canada website when we discovered we had to pay $62 to select our seats.

 

I was just a bit dumbfounded, surprised, and ultimately annoyed at this fee. Just curious, has anyone encountered this? Note: I was selecting "standard" seats and not preferred seats. We have flown numerous times and have never had to pay for seat assignments.

 

I called RCCL who said they've never heard of such a fee and to call Choice Air. I called Choice Air who said that they have no access to the "seat map" and to call Air Canada. I called Air Canada (7 attempts, 1 hr and 12 minutes of waiting.) who said to call Choice Air.

 

I repeated this sequence 3 times and, it appears we have to pay the $62 fee if we want (even standard seats) our seat assigned in advance....the fee was added because we booked the flights with Choice Air and NOT directly with Air Canada.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated....thanks. :)

 

[kenish]

Air Canada fares to FLL (and other leisure markets) are "Tango" category fares. There is a charge to make an advance seat request, easily found with a Google search which would have saved you a lot of phone calls:

 

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/traveller/seatselection/

 

This charge would still apply if you purchased directly from ACA. The only role Choice Air plays is you may have chosen another airline if you started booking directly and encountered the fee.

 

At least, it's two flights less than 3 hours each with a chance to stretch your legs during the layover. I'd grin and bear it....use the $$$ for a round of embarkation drinks!

Edited August 5, 2014 by kenish

[Texas Tillie]

I flew Air Canada once with tickets purchased through the cruise line (but not Choice Air) and when seats were assigned at the counter, my friend and I both got the seats with the extra leg room at no extra charge. So, not having assigned seats can work out!

[em-sk]

I flew Air Canada once with tickets purchased through the cruise line (but not Choice Air) and when seats were assigned at the counter, my friend and I both got the seats with the extra leg room at no extra charge. So, not having assigned seats can work out!

 

It depends on the class of ticket.

 

Details are at:

Domestic: http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/oneway/

US: http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/oneway/index_us.html

 

If you are in Tango (deeply discounted fare) then there is a fee for advanced seat selection. If you are in Flex or Latitude then there is no fee.

 

You can do online checkin 24 hours before departure and you can select seats at that time for free. I would not be overly worried, you still have a confirm seat you just don't know which one it is.

Edited August 5, 2014 by em-sk

[bonsai3s]

The other concern was making sure I was seated next to my wonderful wife ;):)...

 

After researching/"googling" this Air Canada fee, I discovered many others frustrated and dismayed with the additional cost.

 

I'll take all your advise and simply wait. Another lesson learned.

I'll be reposting this question on the Royal Caribbean thread...thanks again.

[Ashland]

Just wondering why you opted to book with Choice Air and didn't book your own flights directly with the carrier's ?

[Ashland]

Air Canada fares to FLL (and other leisure markets) are "Tango" category fares. There is a charge to make an advance seat request, easily found with a Google search which would have saved you a lot of phone calls:

 

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/traveller/seatselection/

 

This charge would still apply if you purchased directly from ACA. The only role Choice Air plays is you may have chosen another airline if you started booking directly and encountered the fee.

 

At least, it's two flights less than 3 hours each with a chance to stretch your legs during the layover. I'd grin and bear it....use the $$$ for a round of embarkation drinks!

Did Air Canada change their policy ? I flew with them last year to Vancouver and had no advance seat fee.

[F10]

We are using Air Canada and didn't pay to

book seats!

[MADflyer]

I have been a gold member with the Star Alliance for years and this practice is now spreading across the alliance and is frustrating. I have experienced this practice with Lufthansa and Swiss and Brussels Airlines within the past month.

 

These fees were previously waived for 'status' passengers, but they are now charging as well. They have really de-valued the benefit of traveling with the same alliance now.

 

Air Canada's website states that this is only for their US and Canada flights so far, with the following charges for advance seat booking.

 

Tango (Economy) – within Canada or between Canada and the U.S.

•Up to 350 miles - $18 per one way

•351 to 1000 miles – $20 per one way

•1001 to 1600 miles – $26 per one way

•Over 1600 miles – $31 per one way

 

Looking for a little more legroom? (extra charge for best seats)

 

Choose a Preferred seat starting at $27.

 

 

Seats are offered then for no cost only within 24 hours of the flight with online check-in.

 

Within 24 hours of your flight:

 

Check in online and select your seat

 

Get your boarding pass and select or change your standard seat* at no cost from the remaining available seats! This option is also available at our airport self-serve check-in kiosks.

 

*Preferred seats can be purchased at any time prior to check-in.

[hancogran]

We have used Air Canada/Tango a few times but I refuse to pay that kind of money to choose my seats in advance. I normally check in online 24 hours ahead of our flight and have never had a problem getting two seats together.

 

From what I've seen of the "seat map" selection when checking in online, I don't think I'm the only one who refuses to pay for that service. ;) We're also not fussy as to where we sit and getting from A to B is our priority.

 

Of course, if you want specific seats then you'd HAVE to pay to select your seats in advance. It looks like Choice Air has added some kind of service fee on as well. :eek:

[gerif]

I went to Vancouver on United last summer and had the same thing happen. No way was I paying extra for a seat. Figured they had to put me somewhere and since I was traveling alone and wasn't bringing a cat, decided it didn't matter where I sat. Still no seat assignment when I printed boarding pass the day before or when I checked my bag - was told they'd assign a seat at the gate. Ran into an acquaintance at the gate who told me she had paid for her seat. Oh, well. Still convinced they had to put me somewhere, I went to the podium and was given an aisle seat just a few rows behind first class and directly across from the person who paid for her seat. On my next United flight I was able to select free seats on all four legs of the flight.

[MADflyer]

 

We were attempting to get our seat assignments on the Air Canada website when we discovered we had to pay $62 to select our seats.

 

 

 

I repeated this sequence 3 times and, it appears we have to pay the $62 fee if we want (even standard seats) our seat assigned in advance....the fee was added because we booked the flights with Choice Air and NOT directly with Air Canada.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated....thanks. :)

 

According to the AC website the fee of $31 per passenger would be the same no matter how you booked. Choice Air has nothing to do with this Air Canada fee.

 

SFO to YQB is 2640 miles and would fall into the highest 1600 mile plus category.

 

The only way to avoid AC fees appears to be to wait until 24 hours in advance for seat assignment at check-in.

[Smurfette27]

Yep, it' so annoying! If it were just hubby and I travelling, we'd forego paying for the seat assignment but when we're travelling with our kids, I want to make sure they're going to be sitting with us.

 

Recently in Canada, airfares must be advertised as the FULL fare, meaning taxes, surcharges and fees must be included in the price when posted online or in print. I think this may have something to do with it. If the price we always see has to include all of these extra costs, then 'reducing' the price you see by a $100 dollars for an unreserved seat may benefit them... but hey, they could also just be looking to make some extra money off of us too!

[TruckerDave]

Why not just book on United directly and save yourself the hassle. SFO is a hub and FLL is a mini hub. Could have picked seats at booking and been done with it. Only extra costs would have been if you wanted E+ seats with extra legroom. Plus you would have ended up with almost 5500 ff miles (depending on when you are doing this trip.)

[Zach1213]

I wouldn't really call FLL a mini-hub for United. The only cities they serve from FLL are their hubs (IAH, ORD, EWR, SFO, CLE...maybe DEN?). A mini-hub would have service to secondary cities rather than just their main hubs. But they do have a decent operation at FLL.

[sinclaj]

We had a bad experience booking Air Canada through Cheap-0. We booked almost a year in advance and were unable to book seats since it was through a third party. Upon arriving for our flight, 3 of our six people were assigned seats. The other three were to be assigned at the gate. Well, only 2 of them got on and the other one ended up shuffled all over the place. Just because you pay in full for a flight, it doesn't guarantee you'll get on it. They claim they overbook as a matter of course and in my mind, I think because we were the ones that booked through Cheap0 we were the ones SOL. Certainly since we booked almost 11 months ahead, we were not the last ones to purchase our tickets.

[Zach1213]

We had a bad experience booking Air Canada through Cheap-0. We booked almost a year in advance and were unable to book seats since it was through a third party. Upon arriving for our flight, 3 of our six people were assigned seats. The other three were to be assigned at the gate. Well, only 2 of them got on and the other one ended up shuffled all over the place. Just because you pay in full for a flight, it doesn't guarantee you'll get on it. They claim they overbook as a matter of course and in my mind, I think because we were the ones that booked through Cheap0 we were the ones SOL. Certainly since we booked almost 11 months ahead, we were not the last ones to purchase our tickets.

 

These days, it's really not so much about when you booked your ticket as much as it's about (a) your status, and (b) how much you spent. So yeah, it would not surprise me that the lowest paying fares on the plane, with zero status, would be treated the "worst". Just another thing to consider when booking with consolidators like that.

[ladysail2]

Don't forget, on Air Canada you pay for all checked bags even if you only have one of them. it's $25 per 50-pound checked bag (when crossing the border). No free lunch on AC!!

[trev71]

Another reason why i dont Fly Air canada. I drive to Portland Maine From Fredericton NB. Even though Delta Charges for my checked luggage. They are still half the cost if not more expensive. Air Canada sure like taking advantage of Canadians. we dont have that many options so they can get away with it

[Shorex]

We had a bad experience booking Air Canada through Cheap-0. We booked almost a year in advance and were unable to book seats since it was through a third party. Upon arriving for our flight, 3 of our six people were assigned seats. The other three were to be assigned at the gate. Well, only 2 of them got on and the other one ended up shuffled all over the place. Just because you pay in full for a flight, it doesn't guarantee you'll get on it. They claim they overbook as a matter of course and in my mind, I think because we were the ones that booked through Cheap0 we were the ones SOL. Certainly since we booked almost 11 months ahead, we were not the last ones to purchase our tickets.

 

Being IDB'ed (involuntarily denied boarding) is rare, but happens occasionally. The airlines are very expert at calculating how much to oversell a flight to compensate for the no shows. And usually if the flight is over, there will be volunteers to take a later flight or different routing for compensation. Last time I volunteered for $600 from Delta.

 

But, when someone must be IDB'ed, who should it be? Well, not the flyers with status on that airline. Not the flyers who paid the most for their tickets. That leaves the one without status who paid the least. And so it goes.

[milkman32]

The fee for seats on air canada came because your flight is booked with air canada rouge, they charge for seat assignments. It's a crazy fee, just as a luggage fee of 25.00 plus tax per bag.

 

Just another money grab from a cheaper airline.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[MADflyer]

The fee for seats on air canada came because your flight is booked with air canada rouge, they charge for seat assignments. It's a crazy fee, just as a luggage fee of 25.00 plus tax per bag.

 

Just another money grab from a cheaper airline.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The AC website states :

 

You can select your seat online if:

 

You book your flight on aircanada.com., and

 

You’re travelling on: an AirCanada or Air Canada rouge flight, or

 

an Air Canada Express flight operated by Jazz, Sky Regional, Air Georgian Ltd. or Exploits Valley Air Services Ltd.

 

Seat selection is not available on codeshare flights.

 

 

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/traveller/seatselection/index.html

[bonsai3s]

Ashland: Lesson learned, my mistake. We typically book flights ourselves but wanted to try Choice Air. Perhaps the RCCL representative who reminded us that the ship won't sail without us...swayed our decision.

 

MADflyer: Thank you. Great and accurate information...specially the idea of getting the preferred seats at $27, instead of the $31 for the standard seats.

My wonderful wife wants to sit next to me on long flights...do I really want to wait 24hrs and do the online check-in?...as Clint Eastwood would say..."Do you feel lucky?" (As always, she'll tell me what to do...:D )

 

hancogran: You are correct. To date, the "seat map" shows almost all seats still available. It appears others are refusing to pay the fee.

 

Being mindful of my wife's wishes, I like the idea of checking-in online 24 hrs before the flight and get both our boarding passes and seat assignments...I can just imagine the online traffic that will be generated with passengers trying to do the same. (Worse, I don't want to be in the doghouse if it turns out that we have separate seats.)

 

Ultimately, I made a mistake booking flights with Air Canada. I didn't know about the fee and even at my old age, it's yet another lesson learned...It won't happen again. :)

[Motorman23]

Not sure when this charging for seats started but I booked an international flight with choice air on June 20th for a trip from CPH (Copenhagen) to ROC (Rochester NY) via YYZ (Toronto) and did not have to pay anything to select seats although the Air Canada website did make me select seats on a Travel Agents website. Did these charges start recently? I am flying Air Canada all the way, no code sharing. Maybe I lucked out but I got to choose economy seats and was not charged a penny for that and got a great fare (Tango S) through Choice Air.

 

Mike

Edited August 5, 2014 by Motorman23

[calliopecruiser]

I think because we were the ones that booked through Cheap0 we were the ones SOL. Certainly since we booked almost 11 months ahead, we were not the last ones to purchase our tickets.

 

They do overbook as a matter of course, though usually by flight time there are enough seats to go around. Still I do agree that likely because you used a consolidator and paid a bargain price, you were first on the list to be pushed out in an overbooked plane - you've shown no loyalty to the airline and offered them less money for the seat, so it really shouldn't be a surprise to you. After all, did you think that cheapo price didn't come with any increased risk?

Edited August 5, 2014 by calliopecruiser
grammar