Aeroplan error causes $4,600 flight for toddler

A young couple from Revelstoke, B.C., were hit with a staggering $4,600 bill when an Aeroplan booking mistake forced them to buy a last-minute Air Canada ticket to fly their two-year-old home from Europe.

It just seemed absurd to pay that much for our son to come back with us, said mom Emily Grady. It was like paying for somebody elses mistake.

Grady booked her husband Scott and toddler Micah to fly with her using Aeroplan points when her employer paid to send her to France for an October conference.

She said it was a once-in-a lifetime chance for the couple to take their son overseas and immerse him in French, which they couldnt afford to do otherwise.

We live simply and we avoid spending money on big-ticket items unless its unavoidable or has a lot of benefit to us as a family, said Grady.

Check-in shocker

The shock came when the couple checked in to fly home. Because Micah turned two during the trip, Air Canada told them the infant ticket Aeroplan issued for him to sit on his mothers lap was invalid. Federal rules dictate that children over two must have their own seat.

We had to lay down our credit card and buy him a ticket that we totally didnt expect, said Grady.

They were charged $4,643.39.That is seven times the $675 price quoted to Go Public by Air Canadafor an infant fare to the same destinationand a child fare back,booked in advance.

It basically doubled our travel expenses, with that one purchase, said Grady.

She had booked her familys tickets six months in advanceon the phone with Aeroplan. She said she gave the agent her babys birth date and passport information, which clearly showed he would turn two during the trip.

Aeroplan then issued her son infant tickets, there and back.

Because when we booked he wasnt two and when we left he wasnt two I assumed we would be good to go. I do assume [Aeroplan] will make the right decisions or book the right flights, said Grady.

We gave the information, they gave us the tickets, and away we went.

Return trip delayed

Grady said the ticket shocker was only the worst part of a bigger ordeal, which began when they first arrived at the Geneva airport to go home. Lufthansa told them one of their connecting flights had been cancelled.

Because Aeroplan doesnt have a 24-hour call centre, they initially couldnt get their flights rebooked.

We were told to call the Aeroplan call centre, which I did, but of course they didnt open for another [few] hours, she said.

The family had to miss their first flight and wait two hours for the Air Canada counter to open to get new tickets.That is when they were told they had to pay full price for Micah.

We lost our [prepaid] preferred seating and ended up landing in Calgary about seven hours later than wed expected, said Grady. The family still faced several hours of drivingto get home to Revelstoke.

After travelling for about 24 hours with our two-year-old we just hunkered down at the Delta Hotel right at the Calgary airport so we could just walk across the street and sleep.

Gray wrote a letter to Air Canadas CEO about the whole ordeal. The airline responded by offering her family 15 per centticket discounts on a future flight, but no other compensation.

It didnt seem as though we were shown a lot of compassion through customer relations with Air Canada, said Grady.

Aeroplanreacts with refund

Air Canada essentially told Go Public the infant ticketing issue was Aeroplans responsibility.As a result of our inquiries, Aeroplan said it will refund the full price of Micahs one-way fare.

After investigation among Aeroplan and Air Canada, Aeroplan found out that the date of birth of the child was incorrect in the passenger name record (PNR) in our system, said Aeroplan spokeswoman Isabelle Troitzky.

Your request for answers was the first Aeroplan heard about Mrs. Gradys complaint we welcome member feedback and take complaints from our members very seriously.

Aeroplan also arranged for Air Canada to refund the $90 the Gradyspaid for preferred seats on the return flights they were forced to miss.

This is just one of many complaints online, however, about lack of available seats and shoddy customer service by Aeroplan. Once part of Air Canada, it is now owned by Aimia, which calls itself a global loyalty management company.

A recent online poll of 1,300 people by Flyer Talk rated it the worst reward points programamong 12 of the biggest programs in North America and Europe.

Other disillusioned customers

I have clients who are million milers on Air Canada,and over the years they have watched Aeroplan morph into this unmanageable, unlikable loyalty program, said Vancouver travel agent Barry Chen, owner of Fairwind Travel.

He said he recently had his own frustrations with Aeroplan, when it repeatedly failed to confirm his bookings with the Air Canada partner airlines, long after it issued him the tickets.

Every time I called them, theres a 15-minute hold to get the customer service. Then you explain your problem to customer service. Wait another three to five minutes. Then he passes on to the lead supervisor, said Chen.

It takes them 35 minutes on average to do thatand I had to go through it three times they never admitted fault.

Chen said that in his experienceAeroplan puts little effort into customer service. He believes thats because it makes its money from people who dont use their reward points, not those who do.

The more people that dont use their points is money in their pocket. They love that. Thats enormous money. So when somebody does [use their points] its like Oh somebodys taking away a little of my profit, said Chen.

Grady, however, is thrilled with her refund.

"It was a huge relief to hear fromAeroplantoday...the sincerity, thoughtfulness, and additional goodwill points definitely won back our confidence inAeroplan."

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