An Air Canada passenger lost her business class seat after a delay and rebooking, then struck up a conversation with a stranger at the gate about elite status. It turned out that stranger was Air Canada’s COO, who gave her his business class seat.
Downgraded Air Canada Passenger Asked Stranger About Elite Status. He Was The COO And Gave Her His Business Class Seat.
This is one of those airline stories that sounds almost too perfect, but since I know one of the parties involved, it also does not strike me as a surprise.
An Air Canada passenger shared on LinkedIn that she had been traveling from Toronto (YYZ) to Montreal (YUL) when a delay and rebooking resulted in her losing her business class seat. That is never pleasant, though on a short Toronto–Montreal hop, it is at least not the end of the world.
While at the gate, she struck up a conversation with another passenger. She had recently earned Aeroplan elite status and asked him about the benefits. The two chatted for about 20 minutes.
Then, as they walked toward the aircraft, he turned to her and said:
“Take my seat. I’m in 4A. I fly this route all the time.”
Only after landing in Montreal did she look him up and realize she had been speaking with Mark Nasr, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
That is a classy move from a classy leader at Air Canada.
Airline executives are often criticized, sometimes fairly, for being out of touch with both workers and the traveling public. But not with Nasr, as this little anecdote demonstrates. This is the sort of small gesture that tells you something about a leader. Nasr did not have to give up his seat…he could have offered sympathy, a business card, or a vague promise that his team would “look into it.” Instead, he simply gave her his seat and took the downgrade himself.
I like that (not that I would have held it against him if he did not give-up hit seat).
Of course, it also raises the obvious question: why was she downgraded in the first place? Air Canada still needs to handle downgrades properly, and passengers who pay for business class should receive proper compensation if they are moved to economy. A kind executive gesture does not erase the underlying service failure.
I have long believed that airline leaders should fly their own product regularly, not merely in carefully managed circumstances. They should see what passengers see: delays, rebookings, full cabins, missed connections, inconsistent service, and yes, downgrades. That is how you understand the operation beyond spreadsheets and carefully-managed information coming from underlings who do not want to annoy or appear incompetent.
Nasr apparently flies this route all the time. Good. More airline executives should do the same.
CONCLUSION
An Air Canada passenger who lost her business class seat after a delay and rebooking ended up speaking with a stranger at the gate about Aeroplan elite status. That stranger turned out to be Air Canada COO Mark Nasr, who gave her his business class seat. This was a gracious gesture from a senior executive and a reminder that sometimes airline leadership can be personal…it’s one of the many reasons I hope Nasr becomes the next CEO of Air Canada.
Hat Tip: View From The Wing
Based on my reading of the story, I assume her connection in YUL dropped below MCT, AC rebooked her, and the next available flight was in economy. She was probably flying around the evening rush, on the widebody from YYZ-YUL.
She could probably have taken a later flight to keep business class, but I think the system defaults to earliest arrival (probably to minimize APPR).
Any refund will probably be minimal to nothing, since it’s just a single leg of a longer business class itinerary.
Well, this was a “rebooking”. We do not know what was contemporaneously available in the forward cabin of the new aircraft. Even if this was a paid ticket, a downgrade (perhaps with $$$ compensation) would have been quite unsurprising to me.
But the right thing for Nasr to do.