- Air Canada suspended an employee’s flight privileges after her daughter complained.
- The woman was upset that her mother was being fined for an issue between her and Air Canada.
- The airline said the employee violated its code by allowing a family member to file a grievance.
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Air Canada revoked an employee’s flying privileges after her daughter complained about her treatment when boarding a plane.
The woman, who asked not to be named, told Insider that she filed a complaint with the airline after she found the gate staff’s customer service to be poor. She had bought a ticket with flight privileges given to her by her mother.
The woman emailed senior airline officials and copied the media, apparently prompting the airline to retaliate by stripping her mother of her mother’s flying privileges for two years.
An email sent to the employee indicated that her daughter had misrepresented herself as a revenue-generating customer.
Her 62-year-old mother, who is a board member, was then disciplined by the airline and given the same penalty.
An email seen by Insider shows a senior official telling the employee she won’t be allowed to fly on standby for two years.
“I had a really disgusting feeling when my mom told me what they did to her,” the woman said. “It’s one thing for me to be reprimanded, but it’s completely different when my actions affect my mother.”
Stand-by tickets allow airline workers to fly anywhere for a fraction of the normal cost and are a work draw for a legacy airline like Air Canada.
The woman told Insider that her mother, who is nearing retirement, took the job because her mother, who is nearing retirement, is mostly on call duty. She now fears losing her job if the situation escalates.
The woman said her mother went to her union but was told there was nothing they could do and suggested she apologize to try and have her sentence reduced.
In a statement to Insider, Air Canada said: “We negotiate directly with our employees on internal matters. However, we can affirm that employee travel is a special privilege and a unique and generous benefit of working for an airline that comes with overwhelming responsibilities that a majority of employees and families understand and appreciate.
“We take feedback on our services seriously. In fact, we conducted an investigation into the complaint that was made and subsequently found facts that were inconsistent with what was presented.” The airline did not provide any further details.