A Montreal couple thought they had scored a deal when, just 15 hours after booking a trip with Air Canada, they learned about a new promotion, CBC News Toronto reported. They immediately cancelled their tickets at no charge and rebooked, expecting to pocket a 25 percent discount on their travel.
The savings never materialized. Despite the larger discount, the new tickets turned out to be more expensive than the ones they had given up. The reaction was blunt and disappointed, with one of the travelers saying they were pretty angry, very unimpressed and felt misled by how the offer played out.
In an email cited by CBC, Air Canada explained the puzzle. The couple's initial booking price had already included a 20 percent discount that was not disclosed at the time. Even with a steeper 25 percent discount applied to the new tickets, the base fare had climbed enough that the rebooking ended up costing almost 6 dollars more.
The difference was small, but for the couple it was a question of principle rather than money. To them, the episode felt as though the sale was not really a sale at all, since chasing the advertised discount left them slightly worse off than before they cancelled their original reservation.
Air Canada attributed the higher cost to dynamic pricing, a widespread industry practice in which the base fare climbs in real time when demand rises, including during a sale. An aviation expert quoted by CBC said the practice is legitimate, but acknowledged that it leaves customers in the dark about how a final price is actually reached.
A law professor interviewed for the report suggested a remedy, arguing that businesses should be required to be upfront about the use of dynamic pricing during a sale so consumers can make a more informed decision. Canada's Competition Bureau says dynamic pricing is a legally accepted practice, but that it can raise red flags if it leads to unfair competition, and that the bureau continues to monitor its use in the country.