Talking Allergies

Please accept my apologies for my tardy reply, I've been "on the road" the last several weeks visiting employees and was not able to keep up with my eMail.

I am very sorry that things were not in order on your flights to and from Rome for your son XXXX . The process for food allergies is usually smooth and the flight attendants are generally more accommodating than our policies dictate - I regret that that was far from the case on your flights.

I have asked our specialist in this area to review your file. She will engage our Medical Desk as well as the in flight crew to see where things went astray.

We will get back to you shortly.

Thank you for your fax concerning previous correspondence sent to Michael Tremblay. I apologize for our delayed response and on behalf of Air Canada, I am pleased to respond to your concerns regarding the nut/peanut buffer zones required for your son's travel on Air Canada.

Air Canada understands the importance of providing the nut/peanut buffer zones for our customers who are travelling with severe nut/peanut allergies. We are committed to the safety and comfort of our customers and have taken steps to ensure that the need for buffer zones is properly communicated to the in-flight crews. We regret the negative impressions you have received regarding our handling of the buffer zones during your family's recent travel with us on Air Canada flights AC892 on August 13th and AC893 on September 7th and assure you that your correspondence has been forwarded to the appropriate Inflight Management Team responsible for internal review. We take reports such as yours very seriously and wish to reassure you that your concerns will be handled appropriately.

As you have indicated that your party was seated at rows 15AC and 16AC on AC893 just in front of a mid-cabin lavatory, I wanted to clarify the size of the buffer zones that Air Canada is required to provide our customers. For allergic passengers seated in the Economy Cabin, the buffer zone consists of the bank of seats the passenger is sitting in and the bank of seats immediately in front and behind for a total of three banks (rows) of seats. Seats across the aisle are not included in the buffer zone. When the allergic passenger is seated directly in front of a bulkhead (this includes the wall of the lavatory) or directly behind a bulkhead, the buffer zone will include one bank in front or one bank in back depending on the location of the bulkhead for a total of two banks of seats. As such, on AC893, the buffer zone would have been the seats where you and Mr. Greenspan were seated and the bank of seats where your son and his friend were seated. The appropriate size of the nut/peanut buffer zones was determined by the Canadian Transportation Agency.

We regret to learn of the difficulties encountered on Air Canada flight AC893 with respect to another passenger sitting in the wrong seat and the subsequent problems experienced adjusting carry-on baggage to allow for the food items you carried onboard to be readily available during the flight. Please accept our apologies for any misunderstanding which may have occurred with respect to the ownership and size of the baggage your husband was repositioning to permit your carry-on baggage be stowed nearby.

Mrs. Greenspan, we appreciate your comments and suggestions regarding this important matter and assure you your feedback has been forwarded to the appropriate departments for further consideration. Thank you for allowing Air Canada the opportunity to review your concerns. We hope that we may continue to serve your family's travel needs in the future.

we hope you will understand the results of our internal review will remain internal and we are unable to provide the results.