Air Canada policy has prompted passengers to bring more hand luggage into the cabin, where there is sometimes not enough room for it. This causes flight delays, pressure on staff and lost valuables. And the hand luggage issue is just one of several irritants causing passenger complaints.
Depending on the flight, Air Canada may levy extra charges for drinks, snacks, preferred seating, early check-in and checked luggage. And it universally requires they pay a fuel surcharge even though the price of oil has plummeted.
Not enough space
Passengers who want to avoid luggage fees have taken to bringing more hand luggage on board and sometimes there is not enough space in the overhead bins to accommodate it all. This happened in January to Vishal Shah of Edmonton and other passengers whose hand luggage was taken out of the cabin and put in the luggage hold.
When Shah got to India no one could find his luggage containing $2,000 worth of valuables including a camera he was going to use on his honeymoon. At first, the airline said there was no record of his luggage, then it refused to reimburse him.
The airline finally agreed to pay after inquiries were made by a reporter from the public broadcaster, CBC.
Unions say problem increasing
The unions representing Air Canada staff say excess carry-on baggage is a growing problem and there is not enough personnel to deal with the problem.
Air Canada says the problem does not occur on the majority of flights just the busiest ones, and that new fees for the first checked bags apply only to domestic flights, not international ones. Baggage allowances vary and passengers key in their flight information on line to find out what rules apply to them.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.