Air Canada's security department has been asked to find out who is behind an anonymous flyer labelled "érrorplan" that began showing up last week on the Internet, in Air Canada airport lounges and even inside Air Canada aircraft, said Rupert Duchesne, president of the carrier's Aeroplan division.
The single-page, colour document resembles membership bulletins issued by the carrier's Aeroplan rewards program, but appears to be the work of unhappy Aeroplan members. It contains speculation on looming benefit cutbacks for Air Canada's most frequent fliers.
Copies have shown up at Maple Leaf lounges as far apart as Sydney and London, in seat-back pockets, and in washrooms and restaurants at Air Canada terminals. A printable version can be found at www.errorplan.com, a new Web site that also promises to collect and post complaints about the carrier.
Mr. Duchesne said yesterday that the airline has no objections to being criticized on the Internet. It is concerned, however, about infringement of its trademarks and logos and the distribution of unauthorized literature in its lounges.
He declined to speculate on what action Air Canada might take against those disseminating the flyer. Besides litigation, Air Canada could recall the dissidents' Aeroplan reward miles and privileges or ban them from the carrier for life. It has taken such action against passengers in the past for incidents including fraud, security and air rage.
An unidentified spokesperson for the "érrorplan" group, in an interview by e-mail, said that more than a dozen people are involved. Some of them fly more than 100,000 miles a year with Air Canada and others are in the 35,000- to 50,000-mile range.
The spokesperson said the group learned about new restrictions on upgrades to business class for top-tier Aeroplan members (certain fare levels will no longer be eligible and confirmation will be closer to flight time) from Air Canada staff. The group decided to go public so frequent fliers could make an informed decision about which airline will give the best payback for their loyalty throughout 2002.
Air Canada is refusing to make full details of the changes public until it completes a mailing to top-tier fliers in late February. There are six million Aeroplan members, but Air Canada will not reveal the number who belong to the top three tiers: Super Elite, Elite and Prestige.
Mr. Duchesne said the "érrorplan" flyer was only one of the ways Aeroplan members are protesting changes. He spent 15 to 20 hours last week answering critical e-mails, many of which he described as "offensive," from Aeroplan members. He said cutbacks in top fliers' benefits were introduced because of Air Canada's financial problems following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and because funds were needed to make improvements to Aeroplan for 2003.
By confirming upgrades closer to flight time, the Montreal-based carrier hopes to give first crack to those who book at the last minute, paying and who therefore pay the highest fares.
Because of the outcry, however, the airline is considering revising some of the planned changes, Mr. Duchesne said.