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. 

Air Canada 4: NRT-YVR

My first 787 flight.

I've waited a very long time for this, and I was very excited to know I would return to North America to the most sought after plane currently in the skies, Boeing's 787 'dreamliner'.

Today's flight from Tokyo's Narita airport to Vancouver will be aboard C-GHPX, but before we get into the details of the flight, and since we're in Tokyo, a flight out of Narita is incomplete without a visit to the Last Chance sushi bar.

Some pictures of the ōtoro and Uni sushi I enjoyed before the flight.

C-GHPX was only visible after the gate check during boarding.

And once on board, five rows of lie-flat seats filled the business class cabin which I found to be a  relatively small business class cabin.

Just in case one can't read the seat number above, each entertainment screen listed the seat number. Below, I enjoyed my pre-flight champagne while waiting for boarding of the aircraft to finish.

The cabin's menu was available on-screen, but paper menu shots are provided below!

 It wasn't long that we were in the air heading east-ward thanks to Japanese efficiency.

Menu shots for your perusal - click to enlarge. A decent food and liquor selection on board. Air Canada has been having issues with their Espresso machines so cappuccinos and the like were unavailable on board. 

To start, nuts and scotch of course! I always get my blanket out before the main meal as it's easier to pass out once the meal service is over and I'm cocooned as well as liquored. 

The starter was smoked salmon topped with fennel, dill and salmon caviar. Not a fan of fish eggs, but the started was most fresh and delicious. Not a fan of the mayonnaise like dressing on the right and left side of the dish.  

Tray shot overview with the Appetizer, starter salad, wine, and bread.

 The starter salad was fresh and greens were crisp. There's really only so many ways one can describe a salad so I apologize for the unenthusiastic tone.

The main was FANTASTIC! The lamb loin was oh so tender and the said was the perfect compliment to the sautéed potatoes and beans. Air Canada really knocked it out of the park on this dish. I was so torn between the Japanese meal and the lamb, but it's not often one finds Lamb on the Menu, and I had to indulge.

After the excellent Lamb, I finished with a cheese plate. I heard the senior purser remark than not enough cheese was loaded onto the flight. It did not deter me from making sure I tried one of everything. 

Breakfast was another eye-appetizing meal. I went for the omelette as usual. I say eye-appetizing meal as breakfasts are never better than the dinner.

Breakfast tray shot with the fruit, yogurt, and yummy crispy croissant. 

Vancouver Island was view upon descent into Vancouver ending a fantastic first flight on Air Canada and their excellent 787 service. If this is the level of service their aiming for, then I'm happy to continue flying with them!

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.   

Korean Air 759 : PUS-KIX

Sometimes, short flights are the best flights. Especially those with a meal served on board for all passengers as flight attendants know they need to be efficient to complete the meal service before the call to secure the cabin for landing. Of course, efficiency doesn't exist in North America and nor do such meal services. 

Today’s flight is Korean Air 759 aboard HL8246, a next-generation 737-800 with the sky interior that I am such a fan of, flying from the southern Korean city of Busan on a short hop to Kansai international airport. 

There’s nothing really remarkable about this flight or about the city of busan or why I’m really here - the only thing that was interesting was getting myself comfortable in the lounge for what I thought would be a lengthy two hour wait to only realize my flight began boarding in the next minute. This hopefully will be the last time that I confuse the departure time with the actual arrival time at the destination. Whoops.

Boarding the aircraft was less than desirable - no gate boarding in PUS meant we were stuck on a bus and driven out to the plane. On the other hand, such boardings are great opportunities for super cool plane photos reminiscent of days gone by. Luckily, I had some super nice light to try to take a neat shot - I think it turned out well. 

Onto the food. As this was a short flight, the meal service was simply a handout of meal trays. On my plate was a bowl of soup, a roasted beef and grilled vegetable sandwich, and to finish, a small plate of seasonal fresh fruit. 

I decided to accompany my meal with umeshu, a Japanese fruit liqueur and tt did not take me very long to finish my meal. Overall, each item was delicious and the mint on top of the fruit cup was a very nice touch to a refreshing dish. 

I've had many bad experiences with airplane sandwiches in the past but I was surprised the sandwich bread was not stale whatsoever - it seemed freshly baked and topped with thinly sliced almonds.

Here’s a shot of my demolished tray - and rightly so!

Onto the menu shots for your perusal. Note the liquor selection on a 1.5hr flight…which in terms of whisky/scotch selection is very impressive especially when comparing to United…

Dragonair 634: PEN-HKG

I start writing each post with a blank plain text window on my computer, and somehow it magically transforms into a wall of text. It’s intimidating seeing a homogenous white wall of nothingness, but I hate white space, so here’s to adding the binary with strokes of my keyboard. 

Today’s flight is taking me from the tropical island of Penang to my Asia hub of Hong Kong aboard a 18-year-old Dragonair A330-300, B-HLE. 

Just two months ago, this flight was serviced by Cathay Pacific, but now has transferred over to the 2006 airline acquisition. Am I disappointed? You betcha. 

Here are some memorable moments flying between these particular two airports with CX:

- Flying in the F section of a 77W from HKG to PEN on a J ticket

- Having the entire upper deck of a 744 to myself. The ISM, upon welcoming passengers boarding mentioned that I was the only passenger in the upper deck and queried if I wanted to move down to the main deck. Heck no! An entire upper deck to myself?! yes please.

- Having well trained international crews flying these odd-long-haul aircraft to Penang’s tiny airport. I can’t say that I’ve had more personable service anywhere else. Perhaps it was due to low load or whatever, but it was always great to be well treated. 

- Having the same ISM in flight from Penang to Hong Kong and then 8 hours later to SFO. I don’t think I’ve ever had a warmer welcome aboard and goodbye upon deplaning in SFO.

- Always being presented with a random bottle of Evian upon departure from the senior purser - likely due to my one world status. 

...Alas those days are over and I am truly sad to see it go. I’m not saying the dragonair service is horrendous - it’s just not the same. Overall, it doesn’t feel as special, or warm as CX. 

Here are some negatives of CX no longer serving PEN:

- Dragonair does not have as wide of a range of drinks on board - they do not seem to serve champagne pre-departure and no longer can I have my Johnnie Walker Gold as a finish to my meal

- No more long haul aircraft = no more lie flat seats. I used to purposely plan my trips to catch a 77W, 744, or A340 on my inbound/outboud from PEN. Thankfully dragonair has refurbished the A330s to the new business class interior, but still not on par with the above. 

- Hot towel before and after your meal? Not on dragon air! Instead, you get the same economy treatment with a nice moist towelette. 

- Crew. As mentioned. Cathay crews seem to be well trained and did I fail to mention, very attentive. Dragon air crews seem to be analogous to the minor league teams of professional sports. Rarely do I see them walk the aisles after the main meal service to refresh drinks etc. Instead they seem to congregate in the galley in a flurry of chatter amongst themselves. 

- Lastly, making me realize how I can be a whiny entitled little bitch sometimes.

- All of the above dragon air “enhancements” for the same ticket price as CX on the same route. Sigh. 

Here’s a positive:

- Salt and pepper shakers on the meal tray… c’mon Cathay.

Enough of that...now onto the food and drink.

Pre-flight, I started with a Dragon Sunrise. Loved the fresh mint. Yum. 

After takeoff, who can say no to champagne? I can’t. Apart from champagne, nothing brings me more joy than taking the perfect photo of my glass - this one took me around 20 photos to get this one which I felt adequate. 

Some photos of the menu. I don’t know if it’s my wester upbringing or whatever, but I find it severely unappetizing to label “black fungus” as part of the meal.

To start, a cold roast beef with waldorf salad (whatever waldorf salad is..). Just look at that presentation. Damn. See that perfectly placed circular onion? So appetizing, and yes it was good. 

The words “black fungus” steered me away from the chicken this flight, thus the Cod would have to suffice, and I was actually surprised. Usually, I am not too fond of fish on aircraft, but this may change after this meal. The red pepper topping the Cod really balanced the fresh fish.  I paired my meal with the unknown and unlisted, “south african” white wine. May ye never be known. 

And to finish.. haagen daaz once again. Disappointed there was no cheese, but I made it up with an Asahi. 

First time having a beer on the CX/KA flight and instead of just listed the beers as “International selection” here’s what I could get on this flight: Heineken, Carlsberg, Asahi, or Tsingtao. Thankfully, the asahi on this flight was brewed in Japan, and not the swill they brew and serve in craft beer-deprived Malaysia

Overall, an unremarkable flight, apart from the Cod, and I guess the champagne. The view on landing was nice, I guess.