I had my first experience with Air Canada flying from LAX to Rome (stops in Toronto and Montreal) several weeks ago. I did not experience any problems until landing in Rome. My bag was delayed 4 days, and since Air Canada outsources its baggage claim department, it was impossible to reach anybody to get information about the status of my bag. I had to call internationally each day for over 30 minutes and never found any information. I eventually returned to the airport to see what was going on since I was not getting any response, and the airport had no information. Additionally, I was told that I would receive reimbursement for $100 dollars worth of purchases in Rome no matter how many days my bag was delayed. This was definitely not enough to cover clothes, toiletries, etc. for four days of travel.
My bag was eventually returned to me halfway through my vacation with items missing. I am still in the process of seeing if those items will be reimbursed, but everybody from the company has said that I will probably not be reimbursed. In talking to other passengers on my return flight, this was not an isolated incident.
The lack of customer service was disheartening and became an expensive headache. I will not fly Air Canada again. The airline displayed absolutely no concern for customer service and has a baggage claim department that is not equipped to solve any problems whatsoever.