US celebrity launches tirade against Air Canada

Kevin Smith, a prominent American screenwriter and director, found himself enraged by Air Canada, which made him miss a show in Edmonton, due to overbooking on this flight. According to media reports, Smith was set to fly out from the Los Angeles International Airport LAX), on a flight destined to Edmonton (Alberta), where he was supposed to make an appearance at a public event. Smith pointed out that he waiting in line at Air Canada’s check-in desk more than an hour before the flight was scheduled to depart, but as it turns out, this effort was entirely in vain. Air Canada overbooked its flight and after a lengthy and confusing wait, an Air Canada employee informed Smith that he would not be able to travel, as the computer does will not permit the issuing of a new ticket. Smith then reportedly suggested that he would leave his luggage behind, if he is allowed to board the flight, but Air Canada refused this concession.

Smith recounted his ordeal with the Canadian flag carrier in his most recent blog entry and the US celebrity did not mince his words. “I f—in’ hate Air Canada,” Smith wrote, after the overbooked flight resulted in the cancellation of his Edmonton show. Smith also bemoaned the poor quality of service offered by Air Canada at LAX and the near total lack of information on the status of flights. “After waiting in a line for fifteen minutes, with no announcement that they were closing my Edmonton flight, I get to the desk, where I’m told it’s too late: I’m locked out of the flight. And when I’m like ‘I’ll ditch my luggage. Can’t I just get my boarding pass so I can get on that plane?’ I’m told ‘No. They won’t let me ticket you. The flight’s closed,’ ” Smith explained.

Carriers like Air Canada tend to overbook some of their flights in order to minimize the effect of no-shows and to fill the greatest possible number of seats with passengers.

Thank you to Edmonton Metro for the initial report.

www.aircanada.com