Air Canada announced on Monday a further refinement of their industry leading bio-safety protocols including touchless airport services and additional booking flexibility for Economy Class guests. The carrier will also resume their celebrity chef meal service program.
Today, Air Canada announced a furtherance of their industry-leading bio-safety measures including touchless airport services with ‘Touchfree Bag Check’ and virtual queuing at select counters. Guests traveling in Economy Class will also be offered flexible rebooking options on flights that are nearing capacity. Additionally, the carrier will reintroduce their meal service designed by a Canadian panel of culinary talent in Air Canada Signature Class and will relaunch chef-designed meals for North American Business Class guests. Economy Class customers traveling on international flights will also enjoy an enhanced meal service, while limited meal options for North American Economy Class customers on flights greater than two hours will be available on a pre-order basis. In Monday’s announcement, Air Canada’s Vice President – Product, Andrew Yiu said,
“As we rebuild our schedule, we are continually increasing the range of products and services available to safely and efficiently enhance our customers’ travel experience. As of July 1, we will be transparent about flights booked close to capacity in Economy Class and will provide rebooking options for customers booked on such flights. In addition, we are introducing industry-leading, streamlined, touchless airport processes such as Touchfree Bag Check and virtual queuing, and will be resuming meals designed by our Canadian chef culinary panel. We continue to assess new bio-safety initiatives to further build on the multi-layered, bio-safety approach our best-in-class Air Canada CleanCare+ Program features to give customers confidence in a safe, secure, and enhanced travel experience with Air Canada.”
From July 1, 2020 Air Canada is replacing their policy that previously guaranteed an empty adjacent seat in Economy Class with a new process that offers rebooking options for customers booked on flights that are nearing capacity. When a flight is nearing capacity, Air Canada will notify customers prior to check-in who will then have the option to change to another flight operating within three days or the next available flight without fees. The carrier has also implemented Touchfree Bag Check for all domestic flights from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary airports, which will soon be expanded to include other Canadian airports and will also be available for international customers. In July, Air Canada will also introduce virtual queuing at primary Canadian airports which will allow guests to scan their boarding card to enter the queue. When an airport agent is available, customers will then be notified via their smartphone to proceed to the counter for service.
Air Canada customers will also receive customer care kits which contain hand sanitizer, a face mask, antibacterial wipes, gloves, a water bottle, headphones and a snack. The carrier will also once again offer wrapped and sealed pillows and blankets on all international flights. For summer 2020, the carrier’s schedule includes nearly 100 destinations across Canada, the US and internationally. Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline, serving over 51 million guests in 2019. The Canadian flag carrier is a founding member of the Star Alliance and the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax, who also named the carrier ‘2019 Best Airline in North America.’
Source: Air Canada