Every year I take a trip to somewhere new in Canada, and book my flights based on what aircraft it is. This year I headed to Montreal and flew on Air Canada’s Boeing 787-8 Dream)Liner. I was lucky enough to be flying on C-GHPQ which was Air Canada’s first 787 and the only 787-8 painted in the new livery. It was also my first time on the 787 so I was very excited to fly on it.
I had a short connection in Vancouver and went straight to the gate after arriving from Victoria. Everybody was already lined up even though there was still 20 minutes until boarding. I was in Zone 2 for boarding and entered the 787. I’m 6’4” and could walk into the aircraft without ducking which is rare for me. I settled into my seat which was 26A for the 4 hour flight to Montreal. Legroom was fine, not great but it would get me by. The 787 seats are very narrow and tight. Cheap materials and no back support made for not the most comfortable flight.
We pushed back right on schedule and taxied out to runway 08R for takeoff.
After a smooth takeoff and climb out, the service began. Air Canada no longer serves complimentary snacks on all Domestic and Transborder flights which is a disappointment since it was such a long flight. I was lucky to have brought my own food, but if you forget to bring your own food, then the Air Canada Bistro menu has some good options. I had a Sprite to drink, and the crew was very friendly about letting me have the whole can.
Passing by Edmonton we hit some bumps and the seatbelt sign was turned on. Even though the air was smooth afterwards the captain kept the sign on but people still got up and walked around.
Seatback pocket contents
My seat wasn’t as clean as it should be. Mysterious objects were on the seat cloth when the tray table was down, and the table was dirty. Sidewalls had a few stains but nothing major. My dimming window didn’t seem to want to go full dim but that was fine as the sun was on the other side. Underneath the armrest was some purple liquid that was stained on. It seemed as though the aircraft wasn't fully groomed even though it had spent the night at YVR.
Just after Winnipeg, the flight attendants came by with a second round of drinks and a chance to buy more food. I had a can of Coke, which quenched my thirst!
We began our descent over Val-d'Or, and made a somewhat smooth landing, we exited the runway fairly quickly and taxied to gate 1 at YUL.
Upon leaving the aircraft I asked if I could go see the cockpit. The crew were very nice and took me up. I managed to get a few shots of the cockpit and business class cabin before saying goodbye to the 787 Both pilots were excited to have me up there, and the Captain is from Victoria which was pretty cool.
Goodbye C-GHPQ! Thanks for the ride!
What a lovely trip report! Thank you, I appreciated reading all the details. I was not sold on the new livery when it came out, but it's growing on me. It is very distinctive.
Thank you for your kind words! I hated the livery when it came out, but since it has been painted on more planes it has grown on me quite a bit. Still mistake it for Delta and vice versa sometimes!
Thanks for this FR.
Lucky you that you got to fly on a plane wearing that gorgeous new livery!
However, it's a shame that AC aligned on Rouge and no longer offers any snacks.
We were supposed to fly on one of the other 787's but it got switched to C-GHPQ the night before! Another reason why I prefer to fly WestJet, is that they still offer snacks on pretty much all of their flights
Thanks for this great report. The 787 is a very nice aircraft and it looks good with the new AC livery. Nice crew but tight seats and just drinks ! It’s disappointing that not even a snack is served on such a long domestic flight.
yeah it is quite disappointing... But yet on the YYZ-YOW/YUL flights they do serve snacks!
Very nice report! Looks like AC is trying to catch up with the US carriers in terms of bare bones service in Y, which is a shame. Actually, on similar "premium" transcon routes, US carriers have brought back meals in Y, while AC isn't even serving a snack. Yikes, I never thought I'd see US carriers having better service than AC. Luckily, the AC hard product is generally better on mainline with PTVs etc, and it's great that they fly so many widebodies on transcons. I will say that I love the new AC livery!
Thanks for sharing and welcome to Flight-Report! Yes, I know it's your second report :-)
Thank you! Thats the main reason which deters me from flying AC, is that there are no snacks!