Thanks to S.A. for the post.
I do, however, believe in karma, and I'm convinced their day of reckoning will come. A day when I can bask in the glory of First Air's demise.... I can only wait.
If you are unfamiliar with First Air, they are the air carrier that operates flights to Nunavut. Why do I hate first air?
- They are a monopoly. Some may argue that "you can fly Kenn Borek" but let's be realistic -- I could also ski doo from Iqaluit to Pang (which I'm sure someone has done) but First Air is the only sensible way to travel quickly around the north.
- They have contracts to deliver mail, food, cargo, personal effects (when moving) and food mail, yet still think its ethical to charge people an arm and a leg for airfare. A roundtrip ticket from Ottawa to Pond Inlet goes for $3400 wow! what a deal!
- Have you seen their cargo rates? They start at $33/kg and increase from there.
- Luckily they participate in Aeroplan, yet in all their stinginess, only allow two seats per flight for Aeroplan ticket holders. This is in comparison to Air Canada who offer every available seat for Aeroplan rewards members.
The list goes on, but this latest issue makes my blood boil. I'm attempting to fly home from from a nice holiday overseas. I was able to fly from North America to another continent for $900 round trip. Pretty cheap considering the costs of a First Air ticket, not to mention I'm flying 12,500 clicks. This is in comparison to a 2500 km trip from Ottawa to Nunavut. That's five times as far for 1/3 the price. Makes perfect sense right?!? But, I digress... this issue at hand concerns the weather. One thing I will give to First Air is that they can fly and land in some sketchy weather. Nothing compared to what I've seen Kenn Borek pilots do, but these guys aren't bad. On the other hand, planes and pilots in the south run into the corner and cry the minute any ice starts falling from the sky. My flight from NYC to Ottawa was cancelled do to weather. "Great", I thought, "now what happens to my Aeroplan ticket". This meant that I wouldn't be able to make my connecting flight out of Ottawa on the next day. So in a frantic few hours of web searching and phone calls, I come to the stark realization that First Air doesn't care that my plane was cancelled do to weather issues, and won't reissue my rewards ticket for later in the week. All because "there's no availability" No availability my ass! There are so many open seats on that plane you could fill it with a dozen walrus and still have room. Merry Christmas, here's your $2500 bill to get home. Thanks First Air, Thank you for being understanding and going out of your way for customer service this holiday season. Thanks for understanding, and Merry Christmas. Fuckers....
8 comments:
I have to say as far as air lines go, I have never been treated better then with first air. When they changed the prices for flying my dog down south, it made it impossible because of cost to fly scruffy anymore. I called and talked to ONE person, and somehow that was enough, it was changed back. Now Mr. Fluffy can fly with us for a mere $60! That's more then I can say about Air Canada who wouldn't even touch the 80lbs monster even if they were taking pets, which they aren't anymore.
I expect crap from Canadian Airlines, because the gov won't step in and help make a market for multiple companies to start up. We only have a few airlines, so they get to call the shots mostly. But as far as it all goes, even though I am paying through my nose, First Air is pretty accommodating. And I have traveled on many different airlines.
Perhaps the problem you had with the with reissuing your ticket came with the aroplane ticket. My friends have had to re-book our tickets with First Air because of weather cancellation before, and have never had to re-pay for a ticket. LOL I also know people who have just slept in and first air always finds a spot for them on another flight without paying extra.
Anyways there is my positive outlook on it...hope it wasn't too annoying. I do agree I wish the prices weren't so much, sometimes I feel like I am trapped here because of cost.
I hate giving my business to a company that has a monopoly. Thus, I cringe in disgust every time I pay for my plane tickets to visit the south.
I also dislike the fact that I don't see many Inuit employees other than in the local airports. The Iqaluit airport has a couple of Inuit employees but I've never seen a pilot, co-pilot or even flight attendant that was Inuk. Why isn't First Air doing more to train and hire Inuit people?
The only redeeming qualities First Air has is that they feed you on every flight and sometimes you get a hot towel before your meal. Mmmm, I love that hot towel.
In defence of First Air (cringe), I know they have at least one Inuk pilot. I had him quite a few times when I flew between Iqaluit and Qikiqtarjuaq 2-3 years back.
The prices through are pretty insane - Ottawa to Qikiqtarjuaq return knocked me back $2300-$2400 and flying Ottawa to Nanisivik return kicks you in the nuts with a $3200-$3400 price tag. In comparison, I bought a return tickcet from Montreal to Brussels in June 2007 for $1300. This included a stopover in London both there and back. Flight costs are easily the single biggest expense I have, not credit card bills or students loans....but simply getting on a bloody plane. That's insane.
In defence of First Air (cringe), I know they have at least one Inuk pilot. I had him quite a few times when I flew between Iqaluit and Qikiqtarjuaq 2-3 years back.
The prices through are pretty insane - Ottawa to Qikiqtarjuaq return knocked me back $2300-$2400 and flying Ottawa to Nanisivik return kicks you in the nuts with a $3200-$3400 price tag. In comparison, I bought a return tickcet from Montreal to Brussels in June 2007 for $1300. This included a stopover in London both there and back. Flight costs are easily the single biggest expense I have, not credit card bills or students loans....but simply getting on a bloody plane. That's insane.
First Air gets away with a lot of this crap because very few of their passengers are actually paying out of their own pockets. Most are business or government travellers or travelling for medical reasons at government expense. The government doesn't care how much they get ripped off - it's not their money!
For international travel, keep in mind that Canadian North offers a discount rate. If you can prove you're leaving Canada within 24 hours of hitting Ottawa the ticket is cheaper than standard fare. How much? Well, when we bought ours to fly to Florida back in September, the ticket to Ottawa was aprox. $850. I imagine with the recent increase in fuel price, that's gone up. But it is something to keep in mind.
And while I agree the price of airfares in the north is high First Air does have higher fuel costs than other airlines, higher maintenance costs, salaries and other expenses. Plus, man, they give away a lot of free tickets and cargo space to community groups.
Does all of that add up to charging $1600 for a ticket to Ottawa? I don't know. But I've been screwed a lot more by Air Canada in my life than First Air or Canadian North.
no experience with First Air, but I do have more issues with Air Canada. Calm Air somewhat have monopoly for Kivalliq region, so far minor issues.
$33/kg for cargo is ridiculous though, CA is charging $3.20/kg (i think) for cargo.
All that said, for Calm Air
14 day advance tix (Arviat to Winnipeg) - $1400
Winnipeg to Singapore with AC & Cathay? $1100, So i am bitter over that..
While the price of tickets is just plain retarded, I have to say I have never had better service while on the plane! And now that I travel with a cute baby boy I get even better service!
Our problem with First Air is that they seem to forget/lose cargo in Yellowknife all of the time!! My foodmail gets left behind all of the time. Oh, and if my foodmail is supposed to go in the freezer, that means that they leave it out on the floor. And if it is produce that needs to be chilled- well they freeze it instead. Also, our shed shingles seemed to disapear into the Yellowknife cargo void. I bet someone in Yellowknife has a really nice roof now thanks to us.
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