- Introduction: A Downgraded Adventure To Oman
- Review: Turkish Airlines Lounge Miami Airport (MIA)
- Review: Air Canada Business Class Airbus A220 (MIA-YUL)
- Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal Airport (YUL)
- Review: Air France Lounge Montreal Airport (YUL)
- Review: SWISS Business Class Airbus A330 (YUL-ZRH)
- Review: SWISS Arrivals Lounge Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Review: SWISS Business Lounge Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Review: SWISS Helvetic Business Class Embraer E190-E2 (ZRH-MXP)
- Review: Oman Air Business Class Boeing 787 (MXP-MCT)
- Review: Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat Airport (MCT)
- Review: Oman Air First Lounge Muscat Airport (MCT)
- Review: Oman Air Business Class Airbus A330 (MCT-FRA)
- Review: Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
- Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class Boeing 777 (FRA-JFK)
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.
When it comes to flying within North America, Air Canada definitely offers an elevated experience compared to what you’d get on a US airline. For one, the A220 is a joy to fly, as it’s such a nifty plane. On top of that, Air Canada offers a well-rounded product, with comfortable seats, exceptional entertainment, fast Wi-Fi, good food, and friendly service.
I’m happy I finally had the chance to fly Air Canada’s A220, so let’s get into the review…
In this post:
How I booked my Air Canada business class ticket
I booked my Air Canada business class ticket using Air Canada Aeroplan points, as part of a larger itinerary. Specifically, I booked the following award in business class for 110,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points plus $154.44 in taxes and fees:
1/11 AC1207 Miami to Montreal departing 8:00AM arriving 11:36AM
1/11 LX87 Montreal to Zurich departing 4:50PM arriving 6:15AM (+1 day)
1/12 LX1622 Zurich to Milan departing 5:40PM arriving 6:40PM
1/12 WY144 Milan to Muscat departing 9:30PM arriving 6:45AM (+1 day)
Aeroplan points are easy to come by, as the program is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. On top of that, there’s the Aeroplan® Credit Card (review) in the United States, which is quite rewarding.
Air Canada business class lounge & boarding
My Air Canada flight was departing from Concourse J of Miami Airport, which is the concourse used by many international non-oneworld airlines. Air Canada offers its business class passengers lounge access, so I used the Turkish Airlines Lounge Miami, which I reviewed in the last installment.
Boarding was scheduled for 7:25AM, 35 minutes before the 8AM departure. Sure enough, that’s exactly when boarding started, with business class passengers being invited to board first.
Air Canada A220 business class cabin & seats
Air Canada’s A220 cabins are gorgeous — that’s partly thanks to the modern design of the A220, and partly thanks to Air Canada’s sleek interiors. These planes are equipped with a total of 137 seats, including 12 business class seats and 125 economy class seats.
Before I even talk about business class, I should mention what a joy the A220 is to fly in economy, thanks to the 2-3 configuration. That means there’s only one middle seat per row, compared to the usual two middle seats per row on most mainline aircraft.
Air Canada’s A220 business class cabin consists of three rows in a 2-2 configuration. The one “catch” with this product is that the business class seats aren’t quite as wide as on other mainline jets, due to the A220’s cabin being narrower. You benefit from this in economy, given the 2-3 layout (compared to the 3-3 layout on most mainline jets), while business class is in the same 2-2 layout.
I assigned myself seat 3F, the window seat in the last row on the right side. Air Canada has a respectable 37″ of pitch in its A220 business class, so legroom is quite good. The only catch is that the armrest is pretty narrow, for the reasons I shared above.
As far as the seat features go, the armrest can be raised, and underneath it you’ll find a storage compartment, as well as the power outlets and headphone jack. There’s both a USB-A and AC power outlet.
The seat controls are also on the center console, with the choice to either recline the seat or raise the leg rest.
That’s right, unlike airlines in the US, Air Canada has leg rests in the premium cabins of much of its narrow body fleet. In addition to that, there’s a little foot rest on which you can place your feet, for added comfort. I don’t understand why US airlines haven’t consistently embraced this concept.
The tray table folds out from the far armrest, and can be folded over in half, depending on whether you have a need for the whole tray or not.
As far as other cabin features go, the overhead console on the A220 is super modern, with both reading lights and individual air nozzles.
Lastly, the A220 has large overhead bins, so you should have no issues storing full size carry-ons here. I noticed that during boarding, the business class overhead bins were kept closed, while the economy class overhead bins were kept open. That’s a smart initiative on the crew’s part, to prevent economy passengers from putting their bags in the business class bins.
Another thing I really appreciate about Air Canada’s A220s is how there’s a proper bulkhead between business and economy, and also how “real” curtains are used, both between cabins, and between the cabin and the galley. This makes a big difference compared to what you’ll find on most US airlines.
All-in-all, I found the Air Canada A220 cabin to be great. Air Canada raises the bar for the forward cabin on narrow body aircraft compared to US carriers. The only downside to the A220 is that the business class seats feel a bit narrower, given that the cabin isn’t quite as wide.
Air Canada business class amenities
As far as amenities go, there weren’t too many of those on this flight. Bottled water was distributed during boarding. Air Canada doesn’t do pre-departure drinks on its narrow body aircraft, which personally I don’t mind, but I know some others don’t like.
Breakfast menus and drink lists were also distributed — I love how Air Canada offers these on all meal flights, as it makes the experience feel a bit more premium. Even beyond that, it’s just practical, given how poorly many flight attendants describe meal choices.
Earbuds were also distributed during boarding. These were rather cheap, so I’d recommend bringing your own headphones, if possible.
One thing worth mentioning is that if you end up flying between Canada and Florida on a wide body jet, you actually get the full long haul experience, with pre-departure drinks, bedding, a more extensive meal service, etc. It’s so impressive how Air Canada offers that. Read my Air Canada 787 business class review from Toronto to Miami.
Air Canada A220 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi
Another area where Air Canada excels is when it comes to inflight entertainment. I’ll take it a step further — I think Air Canada has among the best inflight entertainment of any airline.
Air Canada has seat back entertainment throughout its mainline fleet. In A220 business class, each seat is equipped with a 13″ high definition touchscreen monitor, so the screen quality is excellent.
Air Canada’s entertainment selection is extensive, with over 2,500 hours of programming, including everything from movies, to TV shows, to live TV. So not only is the selection huge, but the system is also easy to use.
Of course my favorite thing about having a personal entertainment system is being able to track the progress of the flight through inflight entertainment. Air Canada’s system is nicely customizable, so that you can zoom in or out as much as you’d like.
Air Canada’s A220s also feature Intelsat 2Ku Wi-Fi service. While the speeds aren’t quite as good as with Viasat (in my opinion), they’re still very good. What’s pricing like? Well, first of all, Air Canada offers free messaging for Aeroplan members, so that’s a cool feature. Beyond that, there are four pricing options:
- You can get a “stream pass” for 10.25 CAD for an hour, or 15.50 CAD for the entire flight
- You can get an “ultimate pass” for 13.75 CAD for an hour, or 20.75 CAD for the entire flight
I find that pricing to be fair, though I also find the distinction between the “stream” and “ultimate” pass to be a bit odd. The ultimate pass is obviously supposed to be faster than the stream pass, but it seems like Air Canada might be overselling a bit, if the streaming package is the slower one (since the Wi-Fi wasn’t so fast that I found streaming to be very easy).
Air Canada gets very high marks for inflight entertainment, as the combination of great seat back entertainment and fast Wi-Fi is tough to beat.
Air Canada A220 departure from Miami
Boarding of this flight was efficient, despite all business class seats and nearly all economy seats being occupied. Boarding was complete by 7:50AM, 10 minutes ahead of scheduled departure. At that point the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of three hours, and our anticipated early arrival.
At 8AM on the dot we began our pushback, and at that point the safety video was screened. As we pushed back, we were next to an Air Canada Rouge A321, and then we also had a great view of an Aerolineas Argentinas A330 (which I still really want to fly!!!).
At 8:05AM we began our taxi, and then we had just a short journey to runway 8R, where we were cleared for takeoff at 8:15AM.
Another thing I love about the A220 is the wing and engine view, and seat 3F gave me the perfect vantage point from which to enjoy it. While it was a pretty nasty day underneath the clouds…
…it was gorgeous above the clouds, as always.
Even though the climb out was smooth, it was about 30 minutes after takeoff before the seatbelt sign was turned off.
Air Canada business class breakfast service
After takeoff, the meal service began, with breakfast being served on this flight. You can find the menu and drink list below.
About 15 minutes after takeoff, warm towels were distributed — the towels were thick, and had a very nice scent.
Meal orders had been taken on the ground, and the food was served less than 30 minutes after takeoff, so that was really quick. For breakfast, I selected the parsley omelet with parmesan cheese and spinach, pan fried chicken sausage, hash brown potatoes, and tomato cumin chutney. That was served with a side of fruit and yogurt. There was also a selection from the breadbasket, with the choices being white, multigrain, or sourdough.
Air Canada has been serving this omelet for eons, and it’s kind of a running joke among frequent flyers at the airline. However, I’ve gotta say, it’s one of the best omelets you’ll find at any airline, in my opinion (which, in fairness, is a really low bar).
Drinks were also offered with the meal, and I ordered a cup of coffee.
The service director was working business class, and he frequently passed through the cabin to see if anyone wanted anything else to drink. Later on in the flight I had a glass of sparkling water, but that was the extent of my consumption.
Air Canada A220 business class lavatory
The Air Canada A220 has a lavatory at the very front of the cabin. Oh my gosh, this is such a nice bathroom, especially given just how small lavatories have become on so many 737s. The lavatory is legitimately a decent size, and nowadays that’s a point of differentiation.
Air Canada business class service
I appreciate how Air Canada has a service director on each flight, responsible for the service. On this flight, John was the service director, and he was fantastic. He welcomed each business class passenger by name during boarding and also introduced himself, and he was attentive throughout the flight. He was just an all-around good vibe, so I have nothing but good things to say about service.
In fairness, I find that much like on US airlines, Air Canada has an issue with service consistency. Some crews are great, while others aren’t. I do in general appreciate the concept of a service director, at least, so that there’s someone who passengers can pass on any feedback to. Meanwhile in the US, the lead flight attendant is essentially just someone who gets paid an extra couple of dollars per hour to make announcements and do paperwork.
Air Canada A220 arrival in Montreal
I loved gazing out the window during the flight, because we had amazing views up the coastline in the Northeast. Bonus points to anyone who can identify the below airport. 😉
At 10:35AM the captain announced that we’d shortly start our descent, and would be landing in around 30 minutes. At that point the seatbelt sign was turned on.
I loved the views on descent — it sure was a frigid day in the Montreal area, and I was happy to just be connecting, though the views were stunning. Brrrr…
The approach ended up taking a little bit longer than expected, and landed at 11:10AM. From there we had a short five minute taxi to the arrival gate, where we still arrived over 20 minutes ahead of schedule.
While I didn’t have an exterior view of the A220 in Miami, I had a great view on arrival in Montreal. I love Air Canada’s livery on the A220, especially with the cockpit “mask.” Doesn’t the A220 have such big jet energy?!
Upon arrival, I cleared the transit security process, and then headed to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, prior to my SWISS A330 business class flight to Zurich.
Bottom line
Air Canada’s A220 business class is lovely, especially by North American standards. The A220 is generally a great plane to fly, and Air Canada has one of the best versions of this. I appreciate all the little things that Air Canada does to set the experience apart, from leg rests and foot rests, to great entertainment, to menus.
Flying with North America on a “standard” narrow body doesn’t get much better than this. The only negative thing I can think of is that the A220 has narrower seats in business class than other jets, due to the narrower fuselage.
What’s your take on Air Canada A220 business class?
JFK the airport?
Those seats look like economy class on other airlines. When we fly business class we have sleeper pods or q suites.
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
The AC IFE is awesome, especially with the recent addition of Apple TV
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 .
LOL what a comment.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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....
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?
Surprised they fly such a small plane on that route, given how many "snowbirds" from Eastern Canada in particular Quebec, go to Florida
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?
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.
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.
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.
'and then' count: 3!
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...
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.
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!
"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.
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.
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?
No it's retractable. Out of the way if not in use.
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
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.
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.
JFK of course!
JFK Airport
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...
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.
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.
unfortunately 95% of the time you get the latter....
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.
And yet most of us are fed up with dirty planes, the worst on time performance, and Rouge.
And Parnel used to be AC's biggest defender!