Review of Air Canada Rouge flight Quebec → Toronto in Economy

booking information

I booked the flight about a month in advance; this is the first leg of a one-way ticket terminating in Houston (IAH). The ticket was $359.57.

vip lounge

We had club access by utilizing Priority Pass Select membership cards. While small, the design was pretty inviting, especially given the wintery conditions outside. The drink selection was excellent; the food choices weren't too varied in the morning hours; the views were excellent. We were able to spot our plane landing, which taxied right up the gate in front of the lounge. No showers but clean restroom.

walk to the gate

Airport was nice but lacking the dining options in the core part of the terminal that would make a prolonged stay a little more enjoyable. As my status with Star Alliance had slipped down to Silver, we boarded in one of the last boarding groups.

plane spotting

The Air Canada Rouge photos are all of our plane, a twenty-year old A319. The Sunwing 737 with Cuba livery is a twelve-year old 737-800; the Air Canada Express turboprop is a thirty-year old Bombardier Dash 8 Q100 operated by Jazz Air.

CAbin, seat, and service

Main benefit of older aircaft (non-updated) is the seats are thicker but they didn't try to adjust the seating to have less rows since my knees were nearly touching the seat in front of me (I'm 5'11"). No seatback screen, just a magazine for entertainment. They did provide a Biscoff cookie to make the terrible coffee more palatable.

arrival

The Boeing 777-300ER seen on arrival is a eleven-year old plane that regularly flies to both Europe and Asia (even Mumbai). Once we got off the plane, we had to follow the purple signs through Customs and security again before we could enter the transborder terminal.