What you can manage yourself, and what needs a call
Air Canada puts most of your trip online, but keeps the sensitive bookings on the phone. Knowing which is which saves time.
If your fare allows a change, you can usually make it yourself at aircanada.com or in the Air Canada app, subject to your fare's rules and any fare difference. Basic can't be changed at all, so there's nothing to manage there. When the change is complicated, or the site won't complete it, that's the moment to call rather than fight the screen.
Seat selection, adding a checked bag, and adding your Aeroplan number to a reservation are all things you can do yourself before you fly, and doing them ahead of the airport is usually cheaper and simpler than at the counter. If your seat won't assign or a bag won't add, it's often a fare restriction, and we can tell you why.
Air Canada's unaccompanied-minor service cannot be booked online, it has to be arranged by phone or through a travel agent. It also runs on nonstop flights only. This is the single most common reason people think they've booked something they haven't, so if a child is flying alone, call us and we'll set it up properly on an eligible flight.
Air Canada does offer a bereavement fare, but you can't book it on the website, it's arranged by phone and carries its own documentation and travel-timing rules. If you're travelling for a death in the family, don't lose time on the site, call and we'll handle it with the airline for you.
Nine passengers is the line. Ten or more on one booking is handled as a group by phone, not through the normal online flow, with its own terms. If you're moving a wedding party, a team or an extended family, tell us the headcount and we'll book it as a group so nobody gets split off.
You can fix a genuine typo, but you can't put an Air Canada ticket in someone else's name, tickets are generally not transferable, and a correction is a different process from a change. If a name is wrong, flag it early through us or the airline, because options shrink as departure approaches.
Most of this you can do yourself free at aircanada.com or in the Air Canada app. We never publish amounts because any fare difference or charge is specific to your ticket, an agent quotes the exact figure, and our service fee, before anything is charged. We're here for the bookings the website won't handle, and the ones you'd rather not do alone.
Self-serve online vs. phone-only on Air Canada
Air Canada keeps most of your trip online, but a few sensitive bookings can only be done by phone.
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- Know your fare brand first, it decides whether a change is even possible
- Add your Aeroplan number before you fly so the flight credits
- Add seats and bags ahead of the airport, it's usually cheaper
- For a child alone, a bereavement fare or a group over nine, plan to call, the site won't do it
- Fix any name error early, a correction is not a transfer, and options shrink near departure
The website will quietly stop you on the bookings that matter most. A child flying alone, a bereavement fare, a group over nine, Air Canada handles all three by phone, not online, and people often don't realize until they're stuck. If your trip involves any of them, skip the runaround and call us, we'll book it right the first time on an eligible flight.
Frequently asked
What can I do myself on Air Canada without calling?+
Why can't I book my child as an unaccompanied minor online?+
Can I add my Aeroplan number to a booking I already made?+
I need to move ten people, can I do that online?+
Do you charge to manage my booking for me?+
Contact options
Reach Air Canada directly, or let us handle it.
Contact Air Canada directly
The airline's own official channels, free.
More Air Canada help
Related guides.