eUpgrade Policy

Itineraries & eUpgrade pricing

eUpgrade credit and add-on requirements are calculated based on the requested upgrade cabin (Business Class, Premium Economy or Premium Rouge) for one-way travel from origin to destination on a single reservation, including connections. Separate eUpgrade requests are necessary for itineraries booked on different reservations, and requirements will be calculated separately.

eUpgrade credit deposit

eUpgrade credits will be awarded within 72 hours of completing an eligible activity, such as choosing Select Benefits or crossing an eUpgrade threshold.

eUpgrade credit deduction & refunds

eUpgrade credits will be deducted at the time of upgrade request. To ensure a positive and consistent experience, please ensure eUpgrades are requested ahead of time whenever possible. All eUpgrade requests made within 36 hours of flight departure will be waitlisted and processed at the departure gate on day of travel.

If the traveller is not upgraded, the credits will be returned to the member's account. For itineraries with connections where only certain flights received confirmed upgrades, members may be entitled to a refund. In those cases, a portion of the credits related to the non-upgraded segments will be returned to the member's account.

Please note that there is a minimum processing delay of four days. If a discrepancy occurs within a member's eUpgrade account, they should allow at least 96 hours following their flight departure time before contacting Air Canada. We are unable to process adjustments requested within this timeframe. If, after 96 hours, the credits have not been returned to the member's account, they may contact Air Canada Reservations for assistance, or fill out our online form to report an eUpgrade discrepancy.

eUpgrade add-on collection

If an eUpgrade add-on applies for an itinerary, the member will be asked to provide credit card information to pay for the add-on. eUpgrade add-ons are non-refundable, and include all applicable taxes. A foreign merchant transaction fee may be charged by the credit card issuing bank at time of billing. Note that the credit card will only be charged if the traveller is upgraded, and a receipt will be issued by email.

Travel on three-cabin aircraft

When requesting an eUpgrade to Business Class, travellers will always be awarded the best available seat. For instance, if a member originally requested an upgrade to Business Class, and although there are no Business Class seats available at flight departure, seats in Premium Economy are available, they will automatically be seated in the Premium Economy cabin. The eUpgrade credits required will be adjusted automatically.

Meal service

For airport standby eUpgrade requests on flights within North America, we will do our utmost, but cannot guarantee the meal service of the higher cabin, where available.

Fare rules for confirmed eUpgrades

Although travellers will be seated in a higher cabin when their eUpgrade is confirmed, their reservation will remain subject to the fare rules and restrictions of the booking class and fare option they originally purchased. These rules include, but are not limited to, accumulation of Aeroplan points or Status Qualifying Credit, change and cancellation fees, and baggage allowance.

eUpgrade cancellation

Waitlisted eUpgrade requests may be cancelled at any time prior to flight departure.

Confirmed eUpgrades cannot be cancelled online. For assistance with a confirmed upgrade, members must contact Air Canada Reservations. If they choose to cancel their upgrade and their originally purchased Economy or Premium Economy booking class is no longer available, the member may need to pay an applicable fare difference.

Members travelling on a Latitude Flight Pass may cancel their confirmed eUpgrade, subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Flight Pass.

Codeshare flights

For travel on codeshare flights operated by Air Canada, eUpgrades may be requested only at check-in. For travel on codeshare flights operated by partner airlines, eUpgrades are not available.

Irregular operations

In the event of irregular operations, Air Canada will always try to rebook travellers on the best available flight. While we will always attempt to maintain the status of their eUpgrade on their new journey, this may not always be possible. In the event an eUpgrade is lost, members will be able to re-request an eUpgrade via aircanada.com, through Air Canada Reservations or with an Air Canada agent at the airport.

Members who end up travelling a longer distance involuntarily will not be charged more than the number of eUpgrade credits or the add-on amount initially charged for the upgrade.

Special services

Travel with a support person

Travellers who are not self-reliant and are severely physically disabled (paraplegic or quadriplegic) so as to require a support person to assist in getting in and out of a seat usually cannot be accommodated in the Air Canada Signature Class cabin equipped with fully-lie flat seats. Exceptionally, on a case-by-case basis, authorization can be obtained from the Air Canada Medical Assistance Desk if, on fact-based evidence, it determines that the support person accompanying the non-self-reliant traveller is physically capable of taking full responsibility for transferring the traveller in and out of the personal seating area.

Extra seat for comfort

It may not always be possible to accommodate travellers who require extra seating because they are disabled by obesity, or because they must accommodate another disability in the Business Class or Premium Economy cabins.

Infants

Child-restraint devices are not permitted in Air Canada Signature Class.

Pets in cabin

Pets are not permitted in Air Canada Signature Class because of cabin configuration. However, travellers a service or support animal such as a seeing-eye dog may be seated in the Air Canada Signature Class cabin provided the animal travels under the seat’s footstool and/or seat at all times.

Medipak

Travellers with respiratory conditions who require a Medipak must be seated in the last row of the Business Class cabin. If such seating is not available, please see an Air Canada airport agent upon check-in.

Allergies

It may not always be possible to accommodate travellers with severe allergies in the Business Class or Premium Economy cabins. For example, eUpgrade may be refused if:

• A traveller is severely allergic to cats and there is already a passenger seated in Business Class or Premium Economy who is travelling with a cat as part of their carry-on baggage, or
• A traveller is travelling with a cat as part of their carry-on baggage and there is already a passenger seated in Business Class or Premium Economy who is severely allergic to cats.

Other upgrade options

In the event that a traveller's eUpgrade request to the Premium Economy cabin is confirmed, they may be presented with an opportunity to purchase a Last Minute Upgrade, or submit a request for an AC Bid Upgrade, to the Business Class cabin at time of check in (availability permitting). The price of such an upgrade will be determined based on their confirmed seat in the Premium Economy cabin, and as a result, no refund will be granted for the eUpgrade credits used or add-on paid for their initial eUpgrade to the Premium Economy cabin.

eUpgrade fraud

eUpgrade credits are not redeemable for cash or other consideration and may not be bartered or sold; further, confirmed upgrades will be declared void if sold, bartered or transferred. Air Canada reserves the right to terminate the Aeroplan Elite Status benefits of those who sell or barter their eUpgrade credits, or who repeatedly fail to pay eUpgrade add-ons. eUpgrade credits are non-transferrable, and are the property of Air Canada.

Other

Air Canada reserves the right to, without notice, (a) modify the terms and conditions related to eUpgrade credit usage and eUpgrade add-ons, (b) add, modify, or delete eligible booking classes, (c) cancel any eUpgrade request made in violation of the terms and conditions listed here, and (d) change eUpgrade priority rules. Upgrades are never guaranteed, subject to space availability for the number of upgrades permitted per flight, and subject to operational considerations which are at Air Canada’s sole discretion. In the event of changes to the number of eUpgrade credits and/or the amount of the eUpgrade add-on required for an upgrade, Air Canada will endeavor not to penalize members who have previously requested an eUpgrade, subject to certain system limitations.

An eUpgrade can be requested at any time but clearance will begin at the pre-determined clearance window. Any requests not confirmed in advance will be transferred to the airport standby list for assessment at time of departure. Note: For those members who have requested an eUpgrade on a through flight (a flight with a technical stop), waitlisted requests on the airport standby list will only be accommodated should there be seat availability on the entire journey. Partial upgrades on flights operating with the same flight number are not permitted.

A list setting forth the priority of eUpgrade requests on the airport standby list may be included in the Flight Status Section of the Air Canada App. A traveller’s airport standby upgrade request will be displayed on the priority list using the first three letters of their family name and the initial letter of the first name.