The federal government's air-travel complaints commissioner says Air Canada shot itself in the foot last week when it announced it will raise fares and slash 3,500 jobs.
"Nothing Air Canada does surprises me any more," Bruce Hood said yesterday.
"They've got this whole image problem that is so prominently important to them and yet they go shoot themselves in the foot by doing what they just did.
"I get a little bit frustrated when I've gone to great lengths to tell them how I think they could do better."
Air Canada, however, maintains the announcement was necessary to defend itself against soaring fuel prices and the cancellation of hundreds of flights this month because of bad weather.
Spokeswoman Laura Cooke said yesterday the airline will ensure staffing reductions don't hurt customer service, adding that it has held the line on ticket prices longer than most of its competitors despite rising fuel costs.
"It's no secret that escalating fuel costs have ravaged the bottom line of companies the world over, airlines included, and Air Canada's been no exception," she said.
Mr. Hood, a former National Hockey League referee who once owned a travel agency, was appointed by Transport Minister David Collenette in August to deal with customer complaints after Air Canada acquired Canadian Airlines International Ltd. in January.
He expects a flood of new complaints related to the announcement that Air Canada will raise domestic air fares by 6 per cent starting Jan. 1, and cut jobs because of worse-than-expected losses.
"It's all I've heard [about]since it came out," Mr. Hood said. "It didn't matter if I was playing old-timers hockey with the guys, or on a flight, or whatever. I don't get away from it any more."
Mr. Hood said he was particularly concerned about the timing of last week's announcement, made less than two weeks after president and chief executive officer Robert Milton declared that the airline had completed the goals it set for itself in its 180-day guarantee to improve customer service.
One of the key elements of the plan, which Air Canada said it had accomplished, was a commitment to add 2,000 jobs.
Ms. Cooke said yesterday it was necessary to add jobs over the summer because Air Canada had not yet reached an agreement to intermingle its employees with those from Canadian Airlines. Air Canada merged its customer-service staff in October, making the system more efficient, she said.
Air Canada has a right to manage its own affairs, Mr. Hood said, but he added he's not satisfied with the level of co-operation he's received from the airline, which is based in Montreal. He said the Air Canada seems unwilling to apologize for service glitches.
Ms. Cooke said Air Canada has given Mr. Hood complete access to airline representatives to resolve customer-service issues. She said the airline has also introduced its own ombudsman.
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