Prologue
I had the last week of March off and originally was planning to go to Quebec City. Just when I was about to purchase my ticket I found a SFO-LHR fare for USD 450 (EUR 400.87) on AC/LH. I did not hesitate to purchase that fare right away and change my plans to go to LHR instead. I then decided to use some leftover Avios to visit DUB and add a new city to my list.
I originated from SFO and checked in at the AC counter to get my boarding passes. I will not report on the SFO-YYZ trip since it was a red eye and I did not receive much service.
AC counter @ SFO
AC boarding passes. Love the stock design with the maple leaf.
"Titled Spheres" by Richard Serra @ YYZ T1.
AC Maple Leaf Lounge Intl - T1
As soon as i arrived in YYZ I decided to go to the AC Maple Leaf int'l lounge and request a shower.
The agent took me to one of the two spacious showers.
Shower.
Lounge buffet.
Beverages.
Interior.
The Flight
Gate area.
Plane at the gate.
Boarding commenced in an orderly fashion with priorities respected. A FA was positioned at the door to greet pax.
Cabin.
AC does not release these bulkhead seats even during check in. If you want to sit here you pay for it.
Seat.
Earphone distribution after take off.
Breakfast menu.
Omelette.
I spent the rest of the time alternating between taking a nap and surfing the IFE. Pretty soon it was time to serve the pre-arrival snack. There was no choice and it consisted of a cold sandwich with cookies. At least it was better than the pre-arrival breakfast from other reports.
The wonderful crew on both flights went above and beyond in providing me with some souvenirs from AC.
At the end of the flight I asked if I could check out the J cabin and the flight manager gave me a personal tour explaining the features of the seats. Superb customer service!
Thanks for this lovely report Adan! So comparing with your previous VS report, it seems pretty obvious AC provided a better experience here. It sounds weird to say AC is better than VS, but it seems it has become that way.
While Québec City would have been great, you were right to jump on such an awesome fare to LHR! Those kinds of TATL fares are low from the East Coast, must lest the West Coast!
Love that. It reminds me of a display at the Museu do Amanhã in Rio de Janeiro.
As expected, the AC lounge is pretty nice by North American standards. Remind me with which *A carrier you have status...OZ?
These new AC cabins looks pretty nice. I was surprised at first when I saw the first meal was breakfast, but then I saw it was a daytime flight! You don't see too many eastbound daytime TATL flights! Those are great for avoiding jetlag....except that you probably had to take a redeye in from SFO.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your nice comments Kevin.
"It sounds weird to say AC is better than VS, but it seems it has become that way."
- Change is the only constant in life, isn't it?
"Those kinds of TATL fares are low from the East Coast, must lest the West Coast!"
- It's a bargain from the West Coast! SFO-MIA is around USD 350+ usually. For about USD 100 more i can go to Europe.
"Remind me with which *A carrier you have status...OZ?"
- TK.
" Those are great for avoiding jetlag....except that you probably had to take a redeye in from SFO."
- Can't get away from the red eye. Taking a nonstop from SFO would have been preferable, but for that fare that is just a "slight" inconvenience.
Cheers.
Thanks for this FR.
I too love the branded boarding passes and AC new image in general. I like that they have a ACmodel in all their lounges.
Nice looking cabin.
Service is better on these eastbound daytime flights than on other TATL, gotta make up for the early wake up I guess ;-)
How full was the flight?
Hi Etienne.
"I too love the branded boarding passes and AC new image in general. I like that they have a ACmodel in all their lounges."
- Unless you depart on a *A flight out of LHR T2 - they all use generic white boarding passes there. Good point on the plane models at every lounge.
"Service is better on these eastbound daytime flights than on other TATL"
- Oh those FA's were roaming up and down the aisles offering drinks and water.
The flight was relatively full and I did not see any empty seat.
Thanks for your comments.
Thanks for sharing, Adan. Looks like a pretty good flight with AC in Y. As Kevin mentions above, their product does look to surpass VS in regards to Y service.
I've never considered a breakfast flight, but this is a great way to fly over to Europe. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Matthew.
Catering was better than VS for sure. Crew were equally nice.
"I've never considered a breakfast flight, but this is a great way to fly over to Europe."
- It can help your body get adjusted to the time zone quicker.
Thanks for commenting.
I didn't know that Air Canada operated daylight flights from Canada to Europe
One of the few liaisons with New York (BA JFK-LHR)
Your day is wasted but you can have a good rest once in the evening.
First time I see breakfast aboard AC on a TATL flight. Usually, it's only OJ and muffin
Thank You Adan.
Hi there Bernard,
Indeed one of the rare daytime N. America - LHR flights. The ability to go to sleep right away and be more in sync with your new time zone is really advantageous.
When breakfast is served as the second meal in Y on AC it is really poor. Catering wise this was much better.
Thanks for stopping my friend.
Thanks for sharing this report
The SFO-YYZ flight time should be about 4 hours and a red eye flight :(
No soup or noodles in the buffet ?
"If you want to sit here you pay for it."
AC wants your money !
"Breakfast menu."
At least there are some fruits
"At least it was better than the pre-arrival breakfast from other reports."
Yes it looks not too bad
You had a great crew and it's often what makes a good flight
See you soon
Salut mon cher.
"The SFO-YYZ flight time should be about 4 hours and a red eye flight :("
- Yes and a boring one. I saw a horror film to pass the time although that can't compare with life's real horrors.
"No soup or noodles in the buffet ?"
- Not for breakfast and we are not in Asia. ;)
"AC wants your money !"
- I find that a bit greedy. Why not release those seats at 24 hrs, especially to others *A Golds?
"At least there are some fruits"
- Well people with constipation also fly on AC.
"Yes it looks not too bad"
- Miam miam!!!
"You had a great crew and it's often what makes a good flight"
- I'd like to think that a good pax is the catalyst. ;)
Merci and see you soon either here or there. :P ha ha.
Here, there and everywhere : this is the strength of the open minded people ;)
The food looked good all around. Great fare. Also, that's a really nice treat by the flight crew.
Hi lbfortress.
Yes, for Y class AC food is quite OK on this flight. The crew was outstanding and I made sure to relate that to upper mgt. Too often we hear about negative experiences but never about positive ones.
Thanks for commenting.
Thanks for sharing this report Adan! It is always nice to have a 3-3-3 AC 787 rather than the 3-4-3 AC 77W ;) At first I am not the fan of new AC livery, but now it grows on me :P
Although personally I do not prefer morning flight from East Coast to Europe, but you can adjust your jet lag more easily.
The lounge food looks good despite the choices are limited. The breakfast on flight is identical to my flights to YYZ. Glad you have the nice crews on this flight!
Hello Ashley!
Give me 3-3-3 over 3-4-3 any day! Yes AC livery has changed so many times. It's hard to pick a favorite. Personally i like them all.
Can't complain about the lounge food. It's filling and does the work. I'm sure AC uses those meals on several other flights.
Nice crew indeed:
FA: What would you like to drink?
Me: Cappuccino with little foam and a sprinkling of vanilla please.
FA: Sure, would you like to have it here or outside? (not her exact words but you get my point). ;)
Thanks for your comments as usual my friend.
Adan! Qué cuentas!
Adan, eres mi modelo de vida. Algún día seré como tú!! XD
Es tan lindo cuando un país tiene símbolos tan reconocibles. Un kiwi de Nueva Zelanda, un double decker de Inglaterra, la hoja de maple de Canadá... Me pregunto cuál sería el de Chile. Un pickpocket, quizás???
Suena imposible inclinar una esfera. Ahí tienes.
Usando palabras de mis alumnos, esa maqueta de B787 se ve "altamente robable".
Un menú en pantalla es algo nuevo para mí! Qué idea tan ecológica!
:O
En AC son lo máximo!
Gracias por compartir, Adan! Espero que lo hayas pasado bien en Europa!
Oh! Leí "tilted" spheres. Sorry. :D
Hola mi estimado Nelson. Que gusto encontrarte!
"Adan, eres mi modelo de vida. Algún día seré como tú!! XD"
- Ni quiera Dios. No te imaginas lo que estas deseando. :P
"Me pregunto cuál sería el de Chile. Un pickpocket, quizás???"
- Yo lo asocio con un libro. Tantos poetas y escritores sobresalientes que provienen de alla.
Tanto Londres (que he visitado anteriormente) como Dublin (una nueva ciudad en mi lista) estuvieron fenomenales.
Gracias por tu visita Nelson. Nos estamos viendo.
Oh esa maqueta del 787....lamentablemente my carry on no era suficientemente grande. :P