Calling Air Canada had some positives and some negatives, with the automated system providing most of the positives. When I dialed, I was first asked for my language choice between English, Spanish and French, and the system will not assume a default setting for you. Until you select a language, the system stops you and repeats its message until you make a selection.
Once I chose English, the system asked for my purpose for calling, and I selected new booking. After I waited for several minutes, I was told that Air Canada was experiencing higher than normal call volumes, and to get help faster, I could either go to Air Canada's website or provide information about my potential flight so that the agent could help me get booked quicker.
I gave the automated system the details of where I would want to fly, and the system put me back on hold after taking that information. After a few minutes, I was connected with a representative, who asked how he could assist me.
I said that I would be traveling in July and wanted to know when the best time would be for me to start looking at flights for my wife and me. He told me that I could start looking at any time on the website; there wasn't a set time to look for fares.
I then asked what Air Canada's policy was if I were to find a cheaper fare after booking my first one. He said that depends on what kind of fare I purchased, as different fares came with different rules.
He told me that if I wanted to be able to get a refund in the case of a cheaper flight, I'd need to get fully refundable tickets. If I did, all I'd have to do was call, and I could get switched to the new flight by getting a refund and rebooking. If I chose another fare class, I'd need to pay a change fee to get a cheaper ticket if one became available.
I then tried to ask about Air Canada's policy on larger customers, but the representative did not understand my question and started talking about fare classes and refundable tickets again. Rather than listen to his full speech again, I ended the call there.
While polite enough, the representative unwittingly caused issues with his unfamiliarity with English. It was clear English was not his first language, and that did cause problems because he did not understand me on multiple occasions. On the other hand, the robust automated system provided a full picture of where someone might need assistance, setting them up well for the agent to assist.
Based on this interaction, I would use this number if I were a genuine Air Canada customer. Still, I would prefer more training in English for their representatives assigned to English-speaking customers.