U.S. comedian Matt Rife expressed his frustration with Air Canada on social media after encountering issues with the airline's website. Rife's complaints, posted on X, included strong language directed at the airline, stating, "F— you. I hate your guts. So, your website crashes and won’t allow me to check in. So upon arrival to the airport I’m told ‘ah yeah, you weren’t checked in in time, we can’t give you a boarding pass.’ Yeah…because of YOUR website."

Rife continued his tirade, emphasizing that he had ample time to board the flight. He wrote, "Absolutely nothing stopping me from making it on the plane, pleeenty of time to make it to the gate, not even an issue. You just won’t let the person who bought a ticket get their ticket because of your system error. Go f— yourself. Never flying with y’all again and I hope nobody does."

Air Canada responded to Rife's post about three hours later, stating, "Hey Matt, we’re sorry about your experience. The issue you’ve encountered was not caused by our website. Please DM us and we would be happy to have a conversation about the issue."

Many users on X found it unusual that the airline denied responsibility before investigating the matter. One user from Ottawa, Chris West, humorously remarked, "Gaslighting you in the reply is on brand." A private jet charter company, BitLux, also chimed in, offering a solution to Rife's predicament.

This incident is not Rife's first conflict with airline services. The 30-year-old comedian from Columbus, Ohio, previously addressed airline experiences in his Netflix special, "Natural Selection." In that show, he included a segment about flight attendants enforcing rules, which received mixed reviews from critics. A review in Cracked magazine described one segment as "the most off-putting" and noted that it became increasingly defensive.

Other publications, including Rolling Stone and Vulture, criticized Rife's humor regarding flight attendants, labeling it as "banal" and lacking depth. Vulture remarked that Rife's material could have benefited from more thoughtful construction.

In a separate incident, a TikTok video from February showed Rife engaging with an audience member who worked for American Airlines. His response was, "You work for American Airlines? Oh, f— you! Where are my bags?"

On a more positive note, Air Canada announced on Thursday that it had been recognized as the North American winner for Employee Experience Strategy at the sixth annual ARCET Global Customer Centricity World Series Awards in Dubai. The airline was acknowledged for its innovative "Care & Class" initiative, which aims to enhance customer and employee experiences.