I took the Montreal-Quebec flight AC 1964, on July 16, 2022, taking off at 4:40 p.m. When I arrived on board the plane, at my seat, a first Air Canada employee (stewardess ) addressed me in English. I answered him in French. The employee replied in English.
So I asked him to answer me in French; she answered me again in English. I asked a second time that she speak to me in French; she answered me again in English. The employee then went to get a second Air Canada employee.
The second Air Canada employee (stewardess) came up to me, and I spoke to her in French. She answered me in English. I asked him to speak to me in French. She did not answer, and went to look for a third Air Canada employee (stewardess).
The third Air Canada employee (stewardess) came up to me and spoke to me, finally, in French.
It is inadmissible, unacceptable, that Air Canada employees, especially if they are responsible for customers, are unable—or refuse—to respond to their customers in French, despite repeated requests. On this flight, two out of three employees were unable — or refused — to answer me in French. At no time did the two employees in question make an effort to say a few words of French; neither “hello”, nor “sorry”, nothing; not a single word of French was spoken from them. Also, they never apologized for anything. The third employee did not provide an explanation or apology for this situation.
Air Canada, by hiring employees unable — or who refuse — to speak French, makes fun of Quebec citizens. The hiring of unilingual Anglophone employees demonstrates Air Canada’s pure contempt for Quebeckers and Quebec. It also shows that Air Canada’s so-called policy of respecting both official languages is just an empty shell, window dressing to fool the naive.