Air Canada 882: YYZ-CPH

Today I'm seated in the premium economy cabin aboard C-GHQY which is my second leg on this plane as I continue on my way to Copenhagen. At the time if my booking, the premium economy ticket was actually cheaper than the standard economy ticket which is quite odd of course I don't mine. After flying business on the way from Vancouver I can provide a comparison of the food service which so far has been adequate and on par with Asian carriers.

I decided to go for the beef tenderloin as it seemed like a better choice than the pasta. Honestly, I openly go for meat. It doesn't need to be a choice between pasta or meat because there is really no choice. It's meat all the way.

When I first saw the beef along with the potato, my first impressions were that it looked better than my previous flight in business class. The impression was correct as it did taste better than my business class meal of the similar type of dish. 




The salad was ordinary but the Parmesan was a welcome addition as I would be foregoing my standard cheese dish in this cabin. But back to meat which was so tender and topped with the most juicy sauce and air Canada has produced a top dish is a semi-premium cabin. The dessert was definitely not premium and the wine was served out of plastic single serving bottles. Lame. I miss asking the flight attendant the country of origin for the wine and then pretending I know something about wine. Usually my decision flow for wine selection based on country of origin is France > USA > Italy > Canada > Australia/NZ > others.     

The seat itself is comfy but not sleep comfy. I've been spoiled with my abundance of time spent 180 degrees and I've never been able to sleep upright so the last four or so hours were of me tossing and turning, likely annoying those in my vicinity.

Oh well, I can live through 7 hours of being uncomfortable.

After "waking up", the cabin was served coffee, yogurt, and a slice of banana bread which I quickly discarded. To my disgust, Air Canada would serve one of my most hated foods. Bananas. I really hope they add a note to my passenger profile.

I asked for a second yogurt which they were happy to oblige.

Overall, the flight upright was survivable and the 787 is a fantastic airplane but this will be the last time I will fly to Copenhagen from SFO via YYZ and YVR just because I wanted to.

Menu Shot - click to enlarge.

Air Canada 1176: YVR-YYZ

Ah, the dreamliner - my new favorite plane. This is my second time on Air Canada’s fantastic choice of aircraft and is really a window into the future of air travel. 

From the electrochromic windows to the widespread use of LED lights and to Air Canada’s choice of business class seats, they’ve really hit the hard product out of the part.

I’m on my way to Copenhagen connecting through Toronto. I am expecting this exact aircraft I fly to YYZ will eventually continue on its way to CPH where I will be sitting in the premium economy section. 

Today’s plane is tail C-GHPY, an almost brand new 787 which entered service a few months prior to my flight. Air Canada’s aircraft is configured in three classes, with business, premium economy, and economy.

In business class, Air Canada has launched a brand new seat which is like my favorite Cathay seat - reverse herringbone lie flat - a very private configuration of seat which I am looking forward to possible catching an hour or two of sleep as my prior nights relatively short nap was not sufficient. Travel always raises my anticipation the day before, and my adrenaline always makes it harder to sleep the night before a trip.

It’s clear Air Canada is proud of this plane. I overheard the senior purser talk  to a passenger on end of Air Canada’s plans for future 787-9 orders and how the seat will proliferate to the 777 albeit with less J seats as apparently these seats do take up more volume.. but it’s worth it. Although this is my second time in this seat, I’ve discovered new features.

One discovery is the comfort option for the seat softness. Holy crap, this was definitely a surprise and I am delighted as I can actually feel a difference.

My first time flying the seat, I had complaints that the seat did not actually lie flat. On this flight, I've discovered that the headrest was just extended and with a short wait, the headrest became flush with eh rest of the seat. 

Onto the food. I started with the usual scotch alongside my nuts. Usually it's sparkling water or scotch, but if you've read my posts, this should be well known to you.

The starter was a finely designed salad which required some deconstruction from it’s cucumber wrap. Once released, the super fresh greens alongside fennel, tomato and asparagus were reminiscent of quality one would see from a high end Italian restaurant or a expensive trendy organic grocery store. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil were served as the salad dressing in a mini condiment bottle.

The beef tenderloin itself was underwhelming. Slightly overcooked, dry and tough -  it's sustenance but not enjoyable. I would find on my following onward flight to Copenhagen, that the beef was much better even though I was flying a lower class. 

To finish in typical Air Canada fashion, gelato and a fresh baked cookie which I accidentally began consuming prior to taking a shot.

Menu shot - click for a large version. 

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…