Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has temporarily walked back its decision to charge a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares. Under the old policy, customers with fares that didn't offer free seat selection prior to check-in would be randomly assigned a seat at the time of check-in, with the option to change that seat to another available seat for free. However, some Air Canada customers received notices earlier this month stating the airline would soon charge passengers with standard or basic fares to change their automatically assigned seats during check-in. A Facebook account belonging to Ontario-based travel agent Kerry Berlinquette shared an image(opens in a new tab) of a notice she received on April 18. "We're introducing a new seating assignment process for Standard or Basic Fares," the notice reads. "When customers enter the check-in flow, our system will automatically assign a seat free of charge for those who have not purchased a seat in advance … If they wish to change their automatically assigned seat, they can easily do so for a fee." The notice, which stated the change would take effect April 24, triggered a wave of complaints by angry consumers on Facebook, X and Reddit. Following some of the backlash, Air Canada issued a statement(opens in a new tab) to airline industry news website Pax News clarifying the policy change. "What has changed, and is consistent with our branded fares, is that after seats are assigned at check-in for no fee, customers who now wish to change to a different seat from the one we assigned them will have to pay the same fee they would have paid prior to check-in," the airline wrote to Pax News, which reported the airline would continue to assign seats to ensure families on the same booking are seated together for no fee, as per Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations. "This is the practice at other airlines, including some in Canada." However, by April 26, Air Canada had paused the new fee. The flag carrier would not confirm whether consumer backlash had influenced the decision and declined to answer questions by CTVNews.ca about why it had introduced the fee and how long the pause would last.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-04-30/star/air-canada-walks-back-new-seat-selection-policy-change-after-backlash
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Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has temporarily walked back its decision to charge a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares. Under the old policy, customers with fares that didn't offer free seat selection prior to check-in would be randomly assigned a seat at the time of check-in, with the option to change that seat to another available seat for free. However, some Air Canada customers received notices earlier this month stating the airline would soon charge passengers with standard or basic fares to change their automatically assigned seats during check-in. A Facebook account belonging to Ontario-based travel agent Kerry Berlinquette shared an image(opens in a new tab) of a notice she received on April 18. "We're introducing a new seating assignment process for Standard or Basic Fares," the notice reads. "When customers enter the check-in flow, our system will automatically assign a seat free of charge for those who have not purchased a seat in advance … If they wish to change their automatically assigned seat, they can easily do so for a fee." The notice, which stated the change would take effect April 24, triggered a wave of complaints by angry consumers on Facebook, X and Reddit. Following some of the backlash, Air Canada issued a statement(opens in a new tab) to airline industry news website Pax News clarifying the policy change. "What has changed, and is consistent with our branded fares, is that after seats are assigned at check-in for no fee, customers who now wish to change to a different seat from the one we assigned them will have to pay the same fee they would have paid prior to check-in," the airline wrote to Pax News, which reported the airline would continue to assign seats to ensure families on the same booking are seated together for no fee, as per Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations. "This is the practice at other airlines, including some in Canada." However, by April 26, Air Canada had paused the new fee. The flag carrier would not confirm whether consumer backlash had influenced the decision and declined to answer questions by CTVNews.ca about why it had introduced the fee and how long the pause would last.<br/>
