Air Canada announces ‘pausing’ of change and seat selection fees, expert calls it a ‘minimal effort’

An undated stock image of the wing of an Air Canada airplane (Enrique/Pexels).

Air Canada has announced that it is “pausing” change of flight and standard seat selection fees on flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express from Aug. 27 until Sept. 12.

But an expert calls this “minimal effort to attract media attention.”

John Gradek, an aviation expert and McGill faculty member, told CTVNews.ca on Thursday that the waiving of these standard fees is an attempt by Air Canada to get back into the “good books” of Canadian passengers in the wake of the recent strike.

“They’re there to kind of smooth the waters over just a little bit,” Gradek said. “If they really wanted to make a lasting impact, they would have not made it just for two weeks.”

This change is only applicable to the airline tickets purchased between Aug. 27 and Sept. 12, the airline’s website said. Customers can change their flights free of charge depending on the availability in the cabin that was originally purchased.

However, a “fare difference” may apply, and only one change is permitted during the validity period of the purchased ticket, the airline said.

“It’s Air Canada’s attempt to minimally affect its revenues yet make some noise with a marketing strategy that they think has some value,” Gradek explained.

He added that this change is “fleeting” and has no market impact.

“Would people change their travel arrangements from WestJet to Air Canada because Air Canada has changed its undertaking for two weeks,” he said. “The answer to that is probably no, right?”

According to Gradek, Air Canada would need something more substantial to attract passengers, which is their end goal.

“This is small potatoes when it comes to the ancillary fees that are being charged to passengers,” he said.