Review of Air Canada flight Vancouver Montreal in Economy

Airline Air Canada
Flight AC300
Class Economy
Seat 26A
Aircraft Boeing 787-8
Flight time 04:35
Take-off 17 Mar 18, 09:35
Arrival at 17 Mar 18, 17:10
AC   #21 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 377 reviews
CoastalTransport
Published on 25th May 2018
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.

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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.
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We pushed back right on schedule and taxied out to runway 08R for takeoff.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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Verdict

Air Canada

6.9/10
Cabin7.5
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering4.0

Vancouver - YVR

8.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness9.5

Montreal - YUL

7.9/10
Efficiency7.5
Access8.5
Services7.0
Cleanliness8.5

Conclusion

The domestic service is fairly good on Air Canada. They could improve it by serving pretzels like they do on the RapidAir flights

Information on the route Vancouver (YVR) Montreal (YUL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 8 avis concernant 1 compagnies sur la ligne Vancouver (YVR) → Montreal (YUL).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Air Canada avec 7.5/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 4 heures et 43 minutes.

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8 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 446841 by
    dreamweaver888 76 Comments
    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.
  • Comment 446859 by
    KL651 TEAM 4534 Comments
    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.
  • Comment 447816 by
    SKYTEAMCHC GOLD 10071 Comments
    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.
  • Comment 447965 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    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 :-)

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