Surviving Air Canada

Let's assume your plans have changed. How do you get your money back from a booked flight?

If you bought a Latitude or Executive Class Flexible fare, your ticket is fully refundable - as in, you get money (not credit) back. Congratulations, you paid way more for your fare and you don't need to worry about anything past this point.

If you bought a Tango, Tango Plus or Executive Class Lowest, you have a non-refundable ticket. This means you get a travel credit good only for one year

Let's say you want to change your Tango ticket. That will cost you $75 and any difference in the fare. Changing a Tango Plus or Executive Lowest ticket will be $50 plus any difference in the fare.

You can also bank your credit after paying the change fee. Your travel credit is only good for one year (same policy as all the other airlines). If the new ticket that you buy isn't the full value of your credit, you will lose the remaining credit. Watch this Marketplace segment on losing your credit for more information.

If you just don't show up for your flight or make changes beforehand, you lose the value of the ticket (Sorry).

Air Canada has on-demand video on all of their airplanes. They used to show their upgraded airplanes with a red star on their booking. But, now all of their planes have video screens. If this is your primary concern, watch out for code shares - United planes have limited in-flight entertainment.

What does this mean?
In a row of three seats, there are two, normal AC plugs that you can use during the entire flight. These plugs don't require an adapter if you're dealing with North American gadgets. The window seat is the one without its own plug. There's also a USB plug that lets you charge devices.

You can start, fast forward, rewind, and pause video. Pause the movie you're watching when the flight attendants/food sales people stop by. Don't wait for that "end of the movie" run on the washrooms.

Watch (relatively) advertisement-free. There are about four or five ads before the shows start. But, after that point, you won't be interrupted. If you start a movie and move back into the menu, you won't have to watch the ads again if you go to restart the movie where you left off. By starting a movie before the plane takes off you can get through these ads and won't have to watch them again.

The touch screen is not instantaneous. Give it a second.

You can turn off the screen if you don't want to stare at it. This is not a simple task. First, go into the XM Satellite Radio. Then, choose a station to listen to. From that screen, you will have an option to turn off the screen.

You can find out what movies and TV shows will be available on your flight ahead of time.

Air Canada had changed their policy regarding pets and air travel in July 2007. They used to allow you to bring small pets on board and larger pets in cargo. Then, they banned them. In 2012, you can do both. Simple advice? They seem to change their mind frequently - just check the link.

Service animals are always welcome.

In the cabin, you and your cute pet can be relocated if you are seated near an allergy sufferer.

It's important to keep your pet in her carrier while on the flight. She can easily wiggle away and delay an entire flight for hours when she hides in the cockpit.

Need to travel with your pet in Canada? You can also try WestJet.

HEADPHONES: Air Canada now charges for headphones on all its flights. They're $3 and actually not bad quality. They're a little cushy and not weird like the ones you used to have to clip to your ears. Earbud headphones are the only headphones you can wear during take-off and landing. Bring your own from home.

FRUIT: I really do enjoy the apple slices (and sometimes carrots) that you can buy on board. They're $2 per bag and come with dip.

PIZZA: This is your one ticket to a hot meal if you don't consider pot noodle to be food. It's $5. One thing to remember is that you need to order it early in the flight because they stop serving them after they become rubber. Even if they turn to rubber, everyone around you will be jealous from the smell.

MR NOODLES: If you're looking for a big cup of salt to enhance your in-flight dehydration, order a piping hot Mr Noodles. $2.

And, as of 2010 you can only purchase items on board with a credit card.

Air Canada now offers mobile check-in and web check-in. It's basically your boarding pass sent to your phone by text message or the Blackberry messaging.

When you go to security, you show a bar-code in a message to the person who looks at boarding passes. In larger airports, they may also want to scan it before you go through security.

When you're at the gate, you need to show the bar code again. The gate will probably not have the equipment to scan this bar code. So, they'll just check you in manually anyway.

Even if you do a mobile check-in, you can still reprint an old-fashioned boarding pass at the kiosk. Something to keep in mind of your phone isn't fully charged.