Aeroplan Faces Another Internet Foe

Aeroplan Faces Another Internet Foe

In the age of the Internet, don’t think you can install unpopular program changes and get away scot-free.

Air Canada’s Aeroplan, already under fire from http://www.errorplan.com, has a new worry.

After Aeroplan announced both fuel surcharges and service fees for award travel, Aeroplan members went ballistic, many pouring out their vitriol on the pages of FlyerTalk.

A few banded together to form the Association of Canadian Frequent Flyers, and have established their own Web site: http://www.acff.ca.

In their words, “ACFF is dedicated to building a better Aeroplan. We’re worried that recent changes to the program will hurt all Aeroplan customers, and in turn, Air Canada. We don’t want to see Canada’s national airline continue the cutbacks.”

According to the site, “The main mandate of ACFF is to provide the public with information regarding Aeroplan’s diminishing benefits and rising fees.”

The site is still in its infancy, but remarkably well-built for something so new.

Of interest; the site offers a comparison chart demonstrating the narrowing gap between the cost of an Aeroplan award and the same trip on a full-priced fare on Canadian discount carrier WestJet. The results are disconcerting.

For example, the site suggests that a one-way trip from Vancouver to Kelowna, $79.23 on WestJet, would cost an Aeroplan member flying for “free” $74.83, for a total savings of $4.40.

On a related note, Aeroplan’s president, Rupert Duchesne, recently participated in a live online chat at FlyerTalk.com in which he addressed member concerns. To read a transcript of the chat, visit http://www.flyertalk.com and click on the “chat” tab.