Air Canada Rouge 1848: YVR-SFO

My previous disdain for Rouge was outlined in this previous post. Amongst the negative text, I mentioned new seats in business class were to be installed and this flight was the first time I had the opportunity to try and I must say, the business class cabin on rouge now feels like a premium product. 

The 2x2 recliner seats with AC and USB power now match mainline comfort and quality, enough for me to forget the abyss of the economy cabin behind me. The menu on the flight was also premium with a full three choices of meals and dessert! For a two hour flight, not bad AC!

C-GKOB, an A319 servicing AC1848 will take us into SFO flying over the western coast of the United States in under 2 hours. 

My first choice at glance was the beef, but hell, I always get the beef. Time for something new right?

On one of my previous flights, I ate two meals, a first, but also another first for trying pasta on the plane. It was delicious, so I’m hoping it will be the same on this flight.

First served was a glass of white wine from BC, a sauvignon blanc alongside nuts and a sparkling water. I was not afforded many details on the wine, or perhaps I did not listen. I found the wine light and crisp, perfect accompaniment to the nuts. Perhaps my tastes are changing?

Shortly after, I finished the nuts and along came the meal tray. The side salad appeared very 'Air Canada like' topped with bulb fennel and as always, the greens are crisp fresh! The ravioli itself was, as I expected, moist and I was actually surprised with the sauce. The actual product did not match the expectation based the on the description on the menu but it was not a boring flat red sauce but  vegetable filled delight. Full of tomato, onion, diced bell peppers and spices, and topped with what I suspect to be a mozzarella cheese.

Tiramisu, which I believe I’ve had before, was served for dessert. Excellent for a non-mascarpone version of Tiramisu, but I grew up on mascarpone tiramisu where there really is no substitute. 

A random note as I wind down the meal service: It’s weird to fly rouge after mainline which is the case today. It’s like jumping into the early ranks of flight attendants. I swear no one that works the rouge cabin is over 25. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I feel a difference in attitude amongst the employeea. Maybe it’s the hats. 

I’d have to say of all the rouge flights, this is the best service I’ve had. Very attentive and energetic. I'll likely fly rouge again without much negativity - that is, as long as I'm flying J. 

US Airways 605: PHX-YYC

This will probably be my last flight on US Airways. Ever. 

Not because US Airways sucks. Not because they;'re a US based carrier, but because they’re merging with US airways and I probably won’t be around to fly them again before the merger, which is seemingly taking forever to complete.

Tail N677AW will be taking me from PHX to YYC today. A 10-year-old A320-200 that started it’s career with the now defunct American West Airlines, transferred to the soon to be defunct US Airways and will eventually end up with American Airlines. Interestingly, upon entering the aircraft, I noticed a decal of the airlines that eventually formed to make US Airways - America West, Pacific Southwest, Piedmonts, and Allegheny.

N677AW was slightly late incoming from it’s previously flight so the pre-flight drink only consisted of water. I’m very pleased with the crew’s handling of the slightly late departure. The crew, very cognizant of the delay, was able to herd passengers on board in the quickly and efficient manner. 

After an efficient boarding process, a short taxi, and then takeoff, first drinks were served alongside warm nuts. Meal options for this flight were a chicken with white sauce and a ravioli dish. I asked for the chicken.

When the meal was served, I though to myself that of course it would come with rice! Although Look at that nice burned crust on top of the rice and see how the sauce browns around the edges? US Airways slash American aren’t winning any aesthetic points here. 

To my surprise, the rice wasn’t too dry or crunchy and actually did not stick the plate. The chicken itself was dry and the beans made were so overbuild that I definitely lost nutrients putting them into my body. 

Although the meal itself was lackluster, the service was stellar and my small breakfast and light lunch I had earlier in the day made it so I was still very hungry after the entree, so in a !!BLOG FIRST!!,  I ordered a second meal.

As I type aboard the flight after the 2nd meal, yes I feel fat. I feel too full, and there is a tinge of regret in my thought process, however, I chose the ravioli as a second meal and it really should have been my first choice. 

The ravioli, more specifically, the artichoke ravioli, was delicious. Nice and cheesy and mouse, with no dry bits. I thoroughly enjoyed every fat increasing bite. Not only did my 2nd meal really satiate my appetite but it also came with a pretzel bun. Yum, I love pretzel buns and not some white bread crap my first tray came with.

Finishing the meal off with a freshly baked cookie :)

A few more notes from the meal:

- The provided vinaigrette, although labeled Balsamic should really be ‘Balsamic’, When you list balsamic ingredient last before xanthan gum, then you’ve really killed the credibility of the dressing.No hints of balsamic were in the dressing. Sorry, but it was more of a sour vinegar ranch dressing. 

- When asking for my second meal, the FA hesitated and made it abundantly clear that one should not expect a second meal, but because J was not full, it would be okay as enough meals were loaded. 

Overall, apart from the bumpy flight, the service was excellent and I enjoyed the flight up to Calgary.

Ciao,  US airways.

Air Canada Rouge 1843: SFO-YVR

Rouge.

In elementary school, rouge was some of the basic french vocabulary engraine in my memory. It was symbolized with the Apple, or pomme as we came to learn. "Les pommes sont rouges," the class would chant.

Now, that symbolism is dead - replaced by Air Canada's 'leisure carrier' Rouge which now instills memories of leg cramps, back pain, and mediocrity.

Ok I admit, it's not that bad. But it's still bad compared to mainline especially when the carrier provides no other options for business travelers between my most frequent routes.

Rouge itself only operates A319s or 767s - aging leftovers from mainline. Today's flight to YVR is operated by a A319 with tail registration C-FZUG and according to my flight records, my 2nd flight aboard this exact aircraft.

Today I'm seated in premium rouge, which is rouge's 'business class'. Rows of economy seats which allow for additional legroom and an open middle seat which is very similar to european business class.

Since I've written this blog post, rouge has converted premium rouge to business class style recliners on all A319 aircraft which is a positive change but I'll hold my final opinion when I get a chance to fly in the seat.

Breakfast options on this flight were an omelette or a health option of fruit and yogurt. I took the omelette as the other option lacked meat. Served along with the omelette was some fresh fruit, a stale bun, yogurt, and potatoes. 

The food was edible, tasty, and did satiate my appetite on the route to Vancouver. The sausage was not moist however, which was a let down on this otherwise uneventful flight. I'm happy there's at least -some- food even though the flight has gone rouge. 

United Airlines 378: YVR-SFO

My first inflight hamburger!

UA378 from Vancouver to San Francisco, just under 2 hours aboard a plane jane, A320-200. No menu provided on this flight as seems normal for a mainline UA flight in a narrow body plane. 

After takeoff, nuts were served alongside my usual sparkling water. I will have to say the water service on the flight was excellent, my water glass never went empty for long. I wouldn’t be surprised if my seat mate and I went through their stock of sparkling water. No complaints. 

The other meal choice was a grilled chicken, which would have been the nice healthy options - oh well. 

The tray looked pretty damn good, that is until I realized my burger was fully stuck to the plate! After some attempted non-invasive surgery with my knife and fork, I was able to free the burger with minimal damage from the plate and begin to eat it. Overall, greasy, definitely not good for my health but still delicious and made better when halfway through the burger, I realized there was onion and lettuce that I could add to the toppings. That soft pretzel bun tunneled my vision to the central plate and only until the burger was gone, did my peripheral vision return. 

On the side of the plate was a country potato salad and to finish a nice warm, freshly baked, chocolate chip cookie.   

United Airlines 1568: PVR-SFO

After three short days vacationing in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, United flies me home to SFO, an upgrade clears, and a blog post is written.

United is such a mixed bag of quality. Some flights are utterly atrocious, others put them in front of many of the top airlines of the world. Today’s flight was the latter. UA1568, flown on this day by a 737-900ER from PVR to SFO. A relatively new (month old) aircraft with tail number N69840 and Boeing’s rather pleasant Sky Interior. The day that all airplanes switch to this new interior will be a great day. The hard fluorescent lights one suffers through at a window seat seem archaic in the era advanced LED technology mixed with a tad of color science.  

Onto the food. Warm nuts were served post-takeoff alongside the first drink. I opted for a soda water, unusual, but after several days at an all-inclusive resort amongst friends, my liver needed a break. 

The food choices on this flight were a salmon dish with vegetables, a chicken something with some sort of jambalaya and an indian vegetarian dish that was repeated twice to me from the flight attendant, but the only words I can remember were vegetarian and paneer. 

Regardless after I made my choice and the flight attendant removed herself from my presence, I was consumed by indecision with my choice. Especially knowing that it would be an indian-resembling dish, I knew it would be served with rice. And when I’ve talked about rice served aboard airplanes before, I am bringing up memories of pain and disdain for what i’ve called “adventure in texture”. I experienced such adventures on my flight down on US Airways from Pheonix. 

Upon being served the dish, I was honestly shocked. Yes, there was rice, but the food was just aesthetically perfect. Each grain of rice that was visible on that plate looked like it was perfectly cooked - plump, moist, and juicy. There were no adventures in texture whatsoever in this meal, only bewilderment if I was actually on a United flight and not Singapore Airlines. The food was as delicious as it looked. Again, each bite was just absolute bewilderment. Was United -Actually- trying now? Were the PVR caterers just rockstars within their game? How was this food quality actually obtained from an American carrier, especially aboard a narrow body plane? Here’s the tray shot - 10/10 for presentation. 

And the money shot close up of the dish below. Wow. I can’t vouch the dish for being anything close to authentic indian, but I’m slightly thankful. The aircraft is a mostly closed system that is to be shared for just over 167 people for a couple hours. I’m ok without the authentic indian flavor and the smell that comes along it. Granted, I’m a huge fan of indian dishes - I have naan in my freezer right now for times of indian cravings, but I’m mindful that there is a time and more critical, a place for authentic indian food. A plane is not one of those places. This bowl was clean by the time the tray was retrieved thanks to the bread bun. 

Onto the closeup of the salad. Fresh, fresh, fresh, fresh!!! I wasn’t too keen on the cheese, it wasn’t quite feta, and seemed more like parmesan, but wasn’t quite parmesan. The balsamic dressing was thick and hard to spread, but still tasty. 

UA1568 departed in the early evening, 6 PM from PVR. Sun streaming into a cabin on a sunset flight is one of my favorite things, as it provides vital vitamin D which my desk job does not provide during the week. Passengers on this flight were treated with an absolutely stunning sunset - here are some shots below.

US Airways 554: PHX-PVR

Mexico. Vacation. All inclusive. No work. 

Who cares about that? Let’s talk about the food on the flight down to PVR.

My journey began at SFO on an early morning flight in order to connect through PHX to the final destination of PVR. One thing that has struck me about US airways on this journey is their punctuality. Both my flights left and arrived early, unlike Air Canada which always seems to have some excuse for their late departure. Regardless, this journey has been a fresh breath of air in comparison. 

The SFO flight was unremarkable thus no post shall be made about the 1.5 hour journey to the PHX hub of US airways. I had a cup of tea and a few snacks from the snack basket, once again, unremarkable and unworthy of a post. 

On the contrary, the flight down to PVR has a meal service; “Lunch” as it’s listed in the itinerary. No written menu was provided - only a verbal “Spinach Tortellini, or Barbecue Chicken” was given from the stewardess to indicate today’s sustenance options. I chose the “Barbecue Chicken” with a note that the quotations will become clear as you read through the post. 

US Airways is currently in the process of being absorbed into American Airlines. As an elite member of American Airlines, I was able to snag a free upgrade at check-in time, and sitting at the front of the plane was definitely worth the 6 AM wakeup 24 hours prior to my flight. 

Onto the food. To start, I requested a scotch, and it was served alongside some nuts. Not warm nuts, just nuts. I realized how nice warm nuts are after the serving of these nuts which felt like they just came out of a refrigerator.

Soon after, the meal was served and this is where the quotations around barbecue chicken come in. There was no barbecuing in the preparation of this dish. There was no barbecue taste from the dish. There was no barbecue period in the context of this dish, and I’m utterly confused to it’s naming…

That being said, here are some shots. They’ve introduced American Airlines branding to the cutlery wrap as well as the salt and pepper sleeve which was a default meal provision - *cough* Cathay Pacific *cough*.

Frankly just looking at the dish, it’s more reminiscent of turkey and gravy. The gravy was tasty and the flesh of whatever poultry was adequate. 

The salad was fresh and had a nice mango/cucumber/red onion salsa as a topping. The dressing as nice as well, but that’s all I have to say about the dish. The salad was the highlight.

Rice dishes on planes will always receive comments from me about adventures in textures from soft, perfectly cooked grains, to the semi-stuck crunchy outliers in contact with the surface of the dish. 

Here’s to hoping my upgrade clears on my return (it probably won’t).

Postscript: The upgrade cleared!

Air Canada 757: SFO-YYZ

It’s funny how one drink spurs my want to write my time in an airplane. 

Sitting in my seat, armed with my noise canceling headphones and newspaper when suddenly I remember that I have a laptop and somewhat enjoy writing. Of course, this memory is sparked by the first sip after sight of a stewardess placing a drink at my side.

So here I am in 6A on my way to SFO armed with this laptop and an iPhone aboard Air Canada 757 from Toronto. What better way to the time than preparing another post for this often neglected blog. I think I have around 2 to 4 posts written up from months ago that I have yet to post. I have probably forgotten which set of photos should being going along with the text, but I can always figure that out later.

Today’s service is aboard a 767-300ER, tail number C-GLHK which happens to be my last flight of 2014 topping off another long arduous year of flying. And what a way to end the year flying all-aisle access lie-flat transborder in North America - a feat almost unimaginable in a world where the recliner seat reins supreme in NA “first” class.

Air Canada only recently began flying one 767 to and from SFO each day - which I believe is from the addition of 787 aircraft which are replacing 20+ something year old aircraft like the one I’m flying today. 

Unlike other wide body aircraft, the single boarding door for all classes exists at the front of the plane which has made for some interesting and bewildered comments from passengers walking down past the J cabin. I can only assume that most people who are flying to and from locations within North America may not be used to seeing a long haul aircraft, let alone lie-flat seats. A young girl on my outbound exclaimed to her mother, “WHOA, look at these seats - what is this?” While another, toddler-aged child stopped in her tracks at my seat and  locked in an intense but friendly staring contest with me with her father breaking the awkwardness with a smile very Canadian sarcastic remark, “she wants your seat.”

Air Canada’s classic Pod seat seems the most ubiquitous lie flat in its fleet. A reverse herringbone seat with Aisle access is not like Cathay’s “coffin” reverse herringbone as I don’t need to crane my neck at an unnatural and VERY uncomfortable angle to get a view of the outside. A simple gentle roll as if one were talking to a neighbour at dinner table is sufficient. 

Now for the food. I started off with my usual sparkling water and to make up for the lack of champagne on Air Canada flights, decided to enjoy my first drink with a scotch  - well scotch whisky blend. Johnny Walker black to be exact. Adequate, but not the JW gold i’m used to on my regular Cathay flights, I think to myself. 

The order for my meal was taken before we left the ground and my menu swept promptly from my hands. From my memory, the choices were Beef, Chicken, Salmon, and Pasta. I went for the Chicken. 

To start, salad with some lettuce, zucchini and a single succulent sundried tomato. A whole grain roll and a glass of an unknown syrah were placed at the side. 

Overall, the salad was fine. I’m not sure what people expect about the take of plated salad and a side of balsamic/olive oil dressing. Nothing to write home about here folks - just another typical salad. 

Next my main, and once I saw the rice and began to have second thoughts about the choice. Whenever I see a plate of re-hydrated carbs, I realize I am likely going to sinking my teeth into some reheated oven-dried grain. Some expert marketers may call it an “adventure of textures” but I call it a plate of regret. Not to sound like an ungrateful bastard, but… but yeah I’ve got nothing, I very much am an ungrateful first-world-problem inducing bastard. 

The chicken and it’s sauce were the highlight of the dish whereas the vegetables were reminiscent of the frozen, privately operated hospital cafeteria variety. May we never meet again. 

I tried to add pepper to enhance the flavor, but either the pepper sucked or the food was that much more in need of spice. Let’s go with both perhaps. 

To finish, a warm cookie (cooked on board), ice cream, and a coffee enhanced with baileys.

After finishing writing this article, I walked to the lavatory where one of the stewardesses in the adjacent galley was remarking to a pilot while shaking a passionate fist, “when are they going to change the menu???” She’s my favourite crew member on this flight. 

Also, I would really like to know what drinks are available on board to consume. The menu is devoid of any drink list and i have to pull out a copy of the onboard enRoute magazine (by the way - which is fantastic for a in-flight magazine) and look at the drinks available to economy to know what possible drinks I could consume. A wine list would be nice…

Perhaps the lack of a wine or drink list could be doing one of two things. Forcing passengers to interact with the crew to figure out what’s available (not a bad idea actually) or “out of sight, out of mind”. Possible great for cost savings. 

Until next time.