‘It wasn’t Air Canada’: Ontario family’s attempt to contact airline ends up costing big bucks

Rosanna Fuschino of Mississauga, Ont. is the matriarch of a large, close-knit Italian-Canadian family.

“We are a loving family and love to travel,” she told CityNews.

Several years ago, they started planning an epic vacation for all 16 family members—their destination: An Alaskan cruise.

“It was a trip of a lifetime and my husband’s dream.”

Initially scheduled for 2020, the getaway was postponed due to COVID-19, but once things cleared, the family decided to go in July 2023.

“Back in March, we booked our tickets directly through Air Canada. Seats selected, and everything was ready to go,” Fuschino said.

About 24 hours pre-departure, the family members decided to check in online. Eight of them could do so, but the other eight were not.

“Air Canada told us to check with the ticket agent once we got to the airport,” Fuschino said.

They didn’t want to risk it, so Fuschino’s son and wife contacted Air Canada by phone.

“They did a web search to find a phone number, and they called.”

Family forced to pay over $1,000 for tickets

That’s when they claimed the person on the other end said he worked with Air Canada and could help them, but there was a problem.

“This agent said Air Canada had oversold the flight, and the eight seats were given away,” she revealed.

The family was outraged, but the agent claimed to have a solution.

“The gentleman said to my son, ‘I can get you on, but you have to pay $75 one way and $75 return per person,” Fuschino said. “At that point, we thought, well, let’s just pay it so we can all go together.”

In total, the family paid $1,200.

When they boarded the flight, they discovered it was not fully booked, and they had the original seats they paid for back in March.

“There was no change at all. I don’t understand what happened.”

Loaded with questions but not wanting the setback to sour their vacation that was years in the making, the family made it to their city for port departure and had a wonderful time.

“After the trip, I called Air Canada and was told they had no record or receipt of any fees we paid.”

Travel consolidator loaded with negative reviews online

According to an email from Air Canada, which the family shared with CityNews, an airline representative said this could be due to possible fraudulent activity.

CityNews looked into the phone number the family called. Turns out, it was not Air Canada at all. The number the family found online took them to a company called Fly Vault Deals, which bills itself as a travel consolidator.

“These companies pay search engines to put them at the top when people search keywords,” said Marty Firestone, owner of Travel Secure in North York, Ont.

“Many times, when you search for a specific company, in this case Air Canada, you may find sponsored results showing different numbers that don’t belong to the company at all,” Firestone said. “They’re hoping to find people who are stressed and desperate for answers, especially when it comes to travel issues.”

Fly Vault Deals has a plethora of negative reviews on multiple web platforms from people claiming they went through the same thing as the Fuschinos. The company currently has an “F” rating on the Better Business Bureau website.

CityNews reached out to a representative for Fly Vault Deals last week. He said they never claimed to be representatives of Air Canada, never told the Fuschinos their flight was oversold, and only helped them because they asked for an upgrade — something the family flat-out denies.

“My son never asked for an upgrade. He just wanted the same seats we had originally paid for,” Fuschino said.

Tracking number leads to Texas address

Another company representative CityNews spoke with said they record phone calls and could prove they never claimed to be airline representatives and that the Fuschinos asked for upgraded seats. We asked for a recording of the conversation.

“We will have to find it,” The representative said. No recording was ever sent.

The company rep said the family agreed to the charges and was given an acknowledgment email identifying the company and the reason for the costs. An email, the family claims, came only after they paid and not before.

A credit card statement for the charge lists Air Canada as the recipient, but the tracking number leads back to an address in Houston, Texas. That address is the headquarters for Fly Vault Deals, meaning all the funds went to them.

Air Canada claims it did not receive any money nor had any part in this transaction.

“The lesson here is to go directly to the Air Canada website to get the phone number,” Firestone said. “Don’t get it from a search engine.”

The Fuschinos are now working to get the charge reversed, but they have not had any luck so far. Their hope now is their story will prevent others from a similar situation.

“If we can warn others, at least we get something out of this,” Fuschino said.

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