Travellers complain about baggage, Aeroplan: complaints commissioner Last Updated Wed Jan 30 13:34:17 2002 OTTAWA - Canada's air travel complaints commissioner says people continue=20 to be upset about how they're treated by the country's airlines. Bruce=20 Hood was appointed in August 2000. He says the first six months on the job= =20 were "hell" because the carriers, especially Air Canada, did not want to=20 deal with him. Hood was appointed to deal with the merger of Air Canada=20 and Canadian Airlines. His office handles complaints after consumers have= =20 dealt with the airlines. "Attitude is the big factor," Hood told CBC Newsworld. "There seems to be a= =20 turn around of carriers around the world. They're realizing their customers= =20 are important." Hood says the demise of Canada 3000 last November led to a= =20 rise in complaints, but that has since leveled off. "We experience peaks=20 and valleys, but it's mostly consistent." He says many of the complaints=20 surround scheduling, baggage-handling and Air Canada's reward program,=20 Aeroplan. Hood says he has one piece of advice for the carriers: "Train your people=20 better and give them wider lattitude to deal with problems that come=20 along." "There are horror stories=85but I think it's getting better." As= =20 commissioner, Hood has little recourse but to publicize a complaint or to=20 bring attention to the carrier that it isn't doing enough to handle= problems. Hood has handled thousands of complaints since he was appointed. In his=20 first report in March 2001 he issued a scathing report on the airline=20 industry where the top complaint was the rudeness of staff, primarily with= =20 Air Canada. In his second report in November 2001, Hood recommended legislation to=20 force airlines to publish their service records. The commissioner said complaints against Air Canada have steadily risen=20 despite the carrier's commitment to improve its service. Hood wrote that=20 all airlines in Canada make regular public reports on the complaints they=20 receive, including their on-time performance and lost and delayed luggage.= =20 It's something that's already done in the United States. Hood says if the airlines refuse to do it voluntarily, the federal=20 government should legislate it. Michael Janigan of the consumer=20 organization Public Interest Advocacy Group says the flying public is at=20 the mercy of Air Canada which "does not have either the ability or the=20 interest in taking care of their passengers." Janigan says consumers are=20 concerned about rising ticket prices and the lack of good=20 service. "Passengers would like to have flights set with prices that=20 (equal) the level of service=85 (and they) have a right to expect a certain= =20 level of service when they get on a flight." Written by CBC News Online staff The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com ICQ: ICQ # 15836110 ICQ Pager: mailto:15836110@pager.icq.com escape email #!1 mailto:ejames@escape.ca yahoo email #2: mailto:triniroj@yahoo.com Yahoo Pager: triniroj Caribbean Brass & Soca Connection Group on Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribsocabrass Caribbean Brass & Soca Connection Club Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeansocabrassconnection/ ******************************************************* Steel Expressions Orch http://www.escape.ca/~ejames/se/ email #1: mailto:steelexpressions@yahoo.com email #2: mailto:steelexpressions@home.com ******************************************************* The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Revellers Mas Band) http://www.revellers.com/ (Trini Revellers Mas Band) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://195.224.187.36/ *********************************************************