For the last segment of my whirlwind Aeroplan adventure, I flew Air Canada’s Boeing 787-8 business class from Toronto to Miami. Fortunately this trip ended on a high note, as this flight was spectacular, by far the best 2.5 hour flight I’ve ever had within North America.
Continue reading: Review: Air Canada Business Class 787 (YYZ-MIA)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Ben mentions "you’ll find the same Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats on all planes".
Can someone share what differences there are between the Super Diamond seats on the narrower 787 and wider 777. In particular is the seat itself narrower?
"Not only could it be used for storage..."
Placard in photo: "No stowage."
I don't think the change in letter changes the meaning?
I have only flown AC 787's long haul. The food is surprisingly good. The seat can be a little tight, especially in the well. The crews tend to be very professional and well-trained. This is particularly noticeable on the longer ones I used to take (YYZ-TLV).
Anecdotal data point: I've had two wide-body flights within North America in J on AC recently, and the crews were both also terrific. From Lucky's experience on the TATL leg and the resulting comments, it seems like this is not most travelers' experience flying overseas. Pattern, or coincidence?
"Getting to fly a wide body on flights within North America is always a treat..."
Yes, or getting a wide body at all these days. It seems that the trend even on many high volume routes is toward greater frequency of service using smaller narrow bodies vs. less frequent service using wide bodies. Presumably higher frequency is what the market want and I can't blame the airlines for giving people what they want, but I for one much prefer wide bodies, thanks. Glad you got to ride one here, Ben.
"There’s not another 2.5 hour flight within North America where you’ll get this kind of meal service, so two thumbs up to Air Canada".
My wife and I flew Air Canada Max 8 from Palm Springs to Vancouver on February 16th. The inflight service was supberb. The flight attendant called us by name on every interaction.
There was a choice of appetizers and main courses. Choice of 2 whites, 2 reds and Prosecco. The flight attendant came by to fill up our glasses without being called. Fabulous entertainment choice. Wide and comfortable seat with good recline, seat rest and thigh support.
It was a flawless flight of just over 2.5 hours.
How nice. I usually get bait and switch from lax and sfo to yyz wherein ac sells a lie flat and equipment swaps to some narrow body. Happens on 80% of flights.
Always funny the places they have on the IFE maps. Danville? Some no-name FL town over Orlando? Columbus over Chicago and Nashville over Atlanta? I just laugh at how those places are randomly picked. This happens on a lot of airlines, not just AC.
I think that, based on the pictures, the seats are the same, except for them being narrower on the 787. Note that AC's retrofitted A330's have a slightly improved version of the seat (the same "bones", but more features).
I'm not speaking from personal experience though, I'm just saying this based on what I've heard. Maybe Lucky or another user with first-hand experience can chime in.
While that's technically true, I've never seen it enforced by any airline, ever. Not even Japanese airlines, who tend to be very strict with rule following.
I think it’s rich that AC charges for WiFi for business class passengers. Considering the enormous premium for “business” that extra $20 just seems rude!
Is there any reason why Air Canada installed overhead bins on forward half of the cabin?
Just another day in the roulette of AC service.
One day you get the worst of possible service, the next you find you had a pleasant flight. Tune in next time to see what the luck of the draw has in store for you--but hope it isn't a long transatlantic or transpacific flight!
But seriously, AC is so hit or miss with everything from a hard-product last minute swap, to the soft product being all over the place, to terrible food.
Two hour flight and when to sleep there? a lot of things that you don’t need to use at all, but you need to pay!
My best guess would be that the overhead bins in the front of the cabin are part of the overhead flight crew rest compartment module. I know on AA's 787s, the pilot rest compartment is in that location, and I imagine that's fairly standard.
Re: lavatories behind the business cabin, they set up the curtains usually do that Business has access to one of them and Prem Econ has access to the other. (At least they did on my YYZ-TLV flight last June)
Really? I've never had this happen on me. In fact I've only ever had AC swap between widebodies.
@Michael: Bingo The flight crew rest compartment is located above the center overhead bins. It's accessed by steps behind a door in the center of the front galley.
I was shown this by a very personable service manager on a 787 flight from YYZ to SFO in 2019. I flew twice more that year and all three flights had friendly crews and good service.
The biz class is decent, but in no way special. I needed help but the call center did not accept calls and only had an announcement to try later. No alternative was offered. That is the reason why I won't travel with AC again. If there is a problem I need to be able to get somebody on the phone