Before I start ranting about Air Canada, I will update from my last post. Valerie and I had a great time in Las Vegas. I bet approximately $20 US on the slots and lost it all! I'm just not a gambler. Valerie won a bit - $50 on a $1 bet! That bought her several bras at Ross's Dress for Less. Haha, that is probably the only part of 'what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas' that Valerie probably would not want publicized from our weekend but she's not here to stop me. The rest of it was very boring. Lots of walking and shopping.
Ok, Air Canada.
Mom and I are booked to fly out with Air Canada on September 18. We have hotels and some tickets for entertainment booked. Air Canada (😣) has announced their pilots may go on strike as of September 17. Some of the more astute of you may see a problem with these dates. For the less astute, Air Canada may be on strike on our departure date!
Options. So many options, none of them good.
I started by thinking that maybe we book cancellable 'back up flights' Victoria to Toronto with WestJet. I called Air Canada to see if our Air Canada flights are cancelled due to the strike, would be still be able to take the Toronto -> Frankfurt -> Budapest parts even though we did not take the first leg. My CSR was so unpleasant that I never even got to ask that question. Plus, this of plan requires that the Toronto to Frankfurt leg goes. I thought it might since it seems to be a co-flight with Lufthansa. I called them. Much nicer CRS, but no, they said it is Air Canada.
The next idea was actually Rob's. Cancel with Air Canada and book a different airline. I checked, flights out of Vancouver to Budapest are not that much more expensive than our current flights. I wrote everything previous to that last paragraph while on hold with Air Canada to ask if I can cancel. This time I got a very nice CSR. We can cancel but our refund goes into our Air Canada 'wallet' which has to be used on a flight that has to be booked before March 9, 2025. Hmm. Surprisingly, I don't actually have any travel plans for 2025 that would require a couple of thousand dollars worth of flights (although that will likely change).
Time to call mom to see what she thinks... She thinks I should decide. I've got to make some lemon squares for a potluck. To be continued.
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It's a couple of days later. I managed to use those lemon squares (turned into tarts in the end) for three social events. At each of which, I lamented my Air Canada predicament. And got as much info/advice from my friends as possible.
I was so undecided. There were so many factors to consider but with some proper reflection it came down to this: extra money or extra peace of mind. Pay for more a flight not about to go on strike, or don't pay more and chance it that the about to go on strike flight will get cancelled.
I decide to pay more.
What's another $950 EACH! It was only going to get more expensive the longer I waited. I am reading what I wrote above, two days ago and the prices went up in those two days of dithering.
So, we are now booked on Lufthansa, leaving Vancouver the same day, direct flight to Paris, then to Budapest. (So, bonus! French wine & cheese coming home! I do like to take advantage of the CDG airport duty free!).
I called Air Canada to cancel. In the end, the ticket prices from Air Canada are in my 'wallet' (not my actual wallet of course, my Air Canada wallet). When I talked to the next CSR (nice this time), she said I had until March 9 to use that money. Doable I figured. But when I got the final emails $2200 has to be used by August 25, 2025. Ok, that's better. And $457 has no expiry date. Plus, I still have my $400 from their 'we're sorry we suck so hard' email when they cancelled TWO flights on my trip to Colombia. So, that's one big and one small trip. With Air Canada of course, but how often can they go on strike (hahahaha, sorry to curse all Canadian travelers. Apparently, they can go on strike monthly).
If Air Canada does not go on strike, the rest of the country can thank me and mom for taking the expensive/safe route. Because if Air Canada can screw me over, they will for sure.
Now that that is decided and done, I can start thinking about the actual trip and not just the flight. Leaving in 16 days!
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