For the first segment of my downgraded adventure to Oman, I flew Air Canada’s Airbus A220-300 business class on the roughly three hour flight from Miami to Montreal.
Continue reading: Review: Air Canada Business Class Airbus A220 (MIA-YUL)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
With AC the service director really sets the tone for the rest of the crew on any given flight. If you have an enthusiastic SD like in this review the rest of the crew will mirror that and you'll have good service. If you have an SD who is indifferent or hates their job than that trickles down to the rest of the crew and they provide lousy service.
Funny you mention the printed menus, the resident SD on AC's FT has said they're eliminating the menu cards on non-Signature service flight since there's only 2 menu options available (as well as in Premium Economy). Although that makes me wonder if they will still exist in the app.
As well, you actually got the new version of the Omelette. The classic one had the cottage cheese, red pepper jelly, plus sausage and wedge type breakfast potatoes. The AP execs said they tried to make a minor change to the omelette to update it, while not upsetting those who think of the omelette as an AC classic.
The biggest issue with AC as is alluded to, is the inconsistency of the service quality with too many sub-par, seemingly disinterested crews. If they could deal with this, it would be huge boon for their entire product and service.
Does Air Canada check your ID as you show your boarding pass at the gate like they do in Canada? This is slow and awkward for the passenger because they are wheeling luggage, showing boarding pass, putting away ID, etc.
Unlike Ben, I do not like Air Canada's mask livery because it hides one way to identify a plane
It seems dishonest like they are trying to hide something
US airlines dont have footrests because anyone over 5'10 probably doesnt use it and it takes up extra weight. who wants your knees bent and in your face or less than a 90 degree angle?
I flew their A220 business class about a week earlier than you on a similar route (ATL-YYZ) and also thought it was great. Have also flown their 220 economy class many times, as it serviced my most frequent AC route from 2020-23 (YOW-YYC), and agree that it's a solid notch above other narrow-body economy class setups.
How do you fly air canada for so few points? Every time I choose a flight option on the website or add a segment over the phone, the price balloons to 150-300k points!
I recently flew AC DEN-YYZ on their A220. I agree with your review, this is a fantastic way to fly. The A220 is such a comfortable jet. I really appreciate the placement (and size) of the windows. They feel positioned higher so taller people don't need to "slump" to look out of them like *cough*, the 737. I also found service onboard to be significantly more polished than most US airlines, but I also understand their crews vary.
On my flight the crew were incredibly friendly and helpful. I also noticed they kept Business Class bins closed during boarding, nice touch. As far as the food goes, I also had the omelet and was impressed by it. As far as airplane eggs go, I think AC did the best they could with it.
Overall AC impressed me with the A220 and their service. It was significantly better than any US airline (except maybe JetBlue). I'd definitely choose an AC flight, especially with the ease of using Aeroplan points.
"add a segment" puts you in Aeroplan Hell: the entire itinerary gets "re-priced" at that day's prices! As for general high prices, these are avoided by searching only partner inventory or searching segment-by-segment first. Points Travel 101.
All Readers Beware: many routes between USA and Canada are served multiple times daily, some by Air Canada and some by Air Canada Rouge, which is known among us patriotic flag-waving Canadians as Air Canada "Rude". After reading this you'll have expectations for your Air Canada experience which will NOT be met if your flight is operated by Rouge. Watch your search results. YMMV
Not to mention AC Jazz, which operates regional jets (E190 I think?) which are perfectly comfy for the 1 hour flight to YYZ; not so much when you're delayed on the tarmac because of weather-related traffic management—almost a daily occurrence in July and August.
Ben, I'm wondering how you calculate the number of hours of programming offered by an airline? Do you painstakingly click on each offering and add up the durations in minutes, do you use an estimated average value for each category (i.e., movies, tv shows -- multiplying by the number of episodes offered, and live tv), or some other method? Or do you just estimate a minimum using a simpler method, and report a number that may be much lower than the actual amount?
That’s not true in my experience. I’ve had some crews that were nothing more than professional, but I haven’t had any really bad experiences for the past few years.
I respect your opinion but in my experience on dozens of AC flights, flying domestically in Canada and internationally to Asia, Europe and Australia in Business, Premium Economy or Economy, I can honestly say that I have never had a bad flight.
I'm proud to be an AC Aeroplan member and frequent flyer.
Surprised they fly such a small plane on that route, given how many "snowbirds" from Eastern Canada in particular Quebec, go to Florida
That's a generalization. Any strand of AC, be it mainline, Rouge or Express it's a lottery ticket of getting either very nice or very grumpy crews. I haven't flown Rouge in years and probably wouldn't but the one time I did I remember their crew as being young and eager and friendlier than many of the senior staff that fly mainline. But maybe that has changed.
i was thinking about booking QR award ticket from YUL and likely need to reposition with separate ticket. How's transit at YUL? 100% airside as long you have QR boarding pass? Seems a change from past when you gotta clear immigration/customs even you really only connect?
Air Canada fits right in with the US3, just with abysmal on time performance. I don’t find that they raise the bar at all really, but the writer is American Airlines captive in Miami so it probably feels amazing by comparison. In actuality they offer a decent inflight product, hit or miss service, and can’t get a plane where it needs to be timely. So… wannabe Delta?
The A220 is a spectacular plane, and you got lucky to be in the from Miami, instead of the usual Rouge junk.
However the real shocker was your plane being On Time! With Air Canada having the WORST on time performance in North America and hopeless IROPS.
The A 220 is a great plane. I'm glad you had a great crew and enjoyed the flight.
Re the omelet, while AC has served an omelet for years as you noted, this is the 'new' omelet, introduced in the last 6-9 months. A lot of debate among AC FF's regarding the change, eventough most were growing tired of the previous one.
I used to love AC's A220 business class, but after reading this review, I'm sure I'll feel the seats are constricting and narrow.
I wish more airlines would fly this. Maybe even get rid of some 737s and replace them with A220s.
If I was Boeing, I would come up with a clean sheet and fly-by-wire competitor to the A220, and make it a platform to replace the 737.
I flew the A220 in business class a couple of months back, and agree it was a great product. Comfortable seat, with charging ports, and fast enough wifi to work - it was one of my most productive flights I've had.
I had actually booked economy with points and upgraded with Air Canada's e-upgrades that I had as a result of the credit card. Have you covered how those work? It wasn't necessarily the best use of them, but they were going to expire so the opportunity cost was 0 (and there wasn't award space for business, but there was for economy).
Oddly, I also flew an Aerolineas Argentinas A330 on that same trip. Not in business, and it was definitely a bit of a throwback.
And yet most of us are fed up with dirty planes, the worst on time performance, and Rouge.
Now come on. Half their flights are on time lol
So as long as you don't depend on making a connection, AC is great.
When you inevitably get stranded, you can call for rebooking, but noone will pick up....
E-175's actually. AC at one time flew the 175 and 190 as mainline aircraft.
The 190's were sold, and the 175's went to a regional contract carrier I think Skyservice, before all migrating to Jazz.
Aren't you getting bored flying around in circles for years?
It's always the same kind of airlines, same kind of destinations, same kind of hotels, same kind of planes.
@ Omri Morgenshtern -- I appreciate your concern, but I don't. Quite to the contrary, I enjoy it because I'm not flying the same airlines and airplanes. Each trip consists almost exclusively of products I haven't yet flown, and to me that's really fun.
This is such a nice review. One would argue there isn’t all that much to cover in the first place, for a shorter flight up the east coast, but your writeup is fun and pleasant to read, Ben, and your pictures are beautiful as always. Really appreciate the lengths you go to to produce professional-quality pictures of empty lounges and cabins! Haha on the joke about BJE .
Per other comments, yes this is an updated omelette.
On widebody flights (even domestic within Canada) the breakfast used to be served in two courses, with tablecloth service as well. First course was the bread, fruit, and chia seed pudding (instead of the yogurt cup) and second as the omelette. I guess it's more streamlined when served all on one tray
Those seats look like economy class on other airlines. When we fly business class we have sleeper pods or q suites.
Looks like JFK with the Rockaway penninsula on the right (south of JFK) and Long Beach the next island (east). But what happened to RWY 4R-22L?