I flew back from Winnipeg via Montreal yesterday. The flights themselves were uneventful, but the weather in Montreal was crummy and there were delays arriving at the gate. We couldn’t use our originally assigned gate and ended up having to walk across the tarmac from an outdoor “gate” to the terminal building. We made our way to the gate for our flight to Ottawa and waited in the bar next to the gate for them to call our flight. We boarded on-time, but our departure was a bit delayed because of the de-icing procedures. While we were in line to take position for take-off, one of the pilots came back with a flashlight and peered at the wings to make sure that we hadn’t iced up while taxiing around (they only applied de-icing fluid, not anti-icing fluid). Fortunately, we weren’t icing up so we were able to take off.

After landing at Ottawa, I headed to the baggage carousel with my co-worker and we patiently awaited the appearance of our suitcases on the carousel. It started up and spat out a few suitcases and then stopped moving. The guy sitting behind me on the plane came up to me and said all of the bags had been off-loaded and that we should head to the baggage claim counter before the rush.

It seems out bags never made it onto the plane in Montreal. So, we filled our delayed baggage claims with the airline, given tracking numbers and told they would be delivered between 8am and 9am Saturday morning.

Well, as of noon, I still don’t have my suitcase. The website says “RECEIVED AT AIRPORT / DELIVERY PROCESS INITIATED”, but no one has called to say it’s on its way.

To be fair, of the ten flights I’ve flown on with Air Canada this month, this is the first problem I had with my luggage not arriving. But it’s still frustrating.