Air Canada is one of those company's that Canadians just love to hate, along with Canada Post, and phone companies such as Bell and MTS. I guess it all began back when these companies were crown corporations, they had a monopoly and really didn't need to excel in areas of Customer Service.

But recent changes at Air Canada have shown they are trying to change this legacy image. The latest news to come out of Air Canada, although not yet officially announced, is that for top-tier members of the Aeroplan frequent flyer program, they will be able to use North America Upgrade (NAU) certificates and System Wide Upgrade (SWU) certificates for flights booked in Tango Plus (T+) on North American routes from July 1st through September 7th, 2009.

For those not familiar, usually these certificates can only be used for upgrades on Latitude fares, which for the most part are fairly expensive. These fares are occasionally available on sale, but are typically purchased by business travelers who need the fully refundable ticket which also provides no change fees, or for travelers who would otherwise purchase executive class, but can upgrade at time of purchase using these certificates if upgrade inventory is available.

On Tango Plus fares, these certificates can be used up to 7 days in advance for Super Elite members and up to 3 days in advance for Elite members.

Until more info is officially released by Air Canada, you can learn more, and follow the discussion on the Flyertalk thread here, where the offer was acknowledged by Andrew Yui, an Air Canada Employee, and Flyertalk member.

I think that this works out as great idea for everyone involved, as Frequent Flyers get upgraded to business class, during a period that sees a drop in business travel, on cheap fares (but still not the ridiculously low fares), Air Canada creates some goodwill among a group whose benefits have decreased year over year, and Air Canada has the opportunity to sell more revenue seats in economy class during a period that traditionally is quite busy and when demand for economy class seats is strong.

Good job Air Canada, however for me personally it is too bad I will not be flying during this period!

• Darren Mak's blog