Day 0 of the trip that almost wasn't.

Note: The FlyinOrange has moved to: flyinorange.blog

Chillin' in the AC Lounge at YVR, awaiting my 11 AM flight to Toronto (with subsequent connections to Sao Paulo and Vitoria, Brazil).

Rewind 24 hours to a rather confusing morning.

The day before the first leg of my trip southward is due to depart, I attempt to check-in and print boarding passes. Enter the booking reference code and departure city as is the norm. Error, no record found.

*arched eyebrow*

Try again.

Same result.

Curious.

Scour email to find my frequent flier number and log into the Air Canada web portal. Open my current booking.

The originating city shows not Vancouver but ... Toronto???

Back to email, dig up the booking confirmation email from last fall. Originating city definitely shows Vancouver. 24 hours to get this fixed and the clock is ticking.

Punch the digits for the Air Canada reservation line. After the prompt for language the line informs me that I can expect to be on hold for 30 to 40 minutes. Obviously I am not the only one having a problem.

Patience not being my strong suit, back to the web and the AC Latitude portal. I acquired Elite status with AC just this year and I recall the info package mentioning a priority reservation line for Elite members. Dial up and viola, instant customer service rep.

I explain the situation and get a reply, "Let me put you on hold for a second."

A minute later the rep returns and informs me that I can be put on the 11AM in Business. Would have preferred the original 1030 AM as it is a 767 with the pods (vs. the 11AM Airbus 321 with 2 by 2 Business) - but I am not in much of a position to negotiate. In either case, the 5 hour layover in Toronto can absorb the later departure.

11AM it is.

No idea what went wrong with Air Canada's computer system but thankfully I was able to spot the problem early enough to mitigate (vs. being relegated to standby).

Hopefully this is the first and last of the issues waiting in the wings.