Review of Air Canada flight from Newark to Toronto in Business

Before my wedding in June, I decided to eschew a traditional bachelor party in favor of a quick trip around-the-world to knock off some AvGeek bucket list items. This review is the first in a mini-series which will see me fly from Newark to Toronto for a quick positioning flight, then onward to Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Osaka, and Los Angeles before returning home.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures of this flight, given the short distance and relatively unexciting nature of flying a regional jet across the border. I've included the pictures I did take; I promise future reviews will be much more visually interesting!

Booking

My whole round-the-world trip was inspired by some last-minute award availability in Lufthansa First Class from Frankfurt to Hong Kong. The catch was, the award seat only showed up via Air Canada's Aeroplan and only if I started in Newark, flew to Toronto, then onward to Frankfurt. Certainly an odd routing, but this itinerary would allow me to fly upstairs on a 747 (an increasingly more difficult ask) as well as in First Class aboard the relatively-rare A340.

The entire trip cost 130,000 miles plus CA$137.61, which is the standard First Class redemption rate for a journey of this distance. Considering only one flight of the three was in first class, the premium of 42,500 miles over their standard Business rate was a tough pill to swallow. However, being able to fly in Lufthansa First Class (especially departing Frankfurt where I could use their wonderful First Class Terminal!) was too enticing of an opportunity to pass up.

Check-In/Airport

My flight departed from gate A1 at the relatively new Terminal A in Newark. Between the new terminal at EWR and the major updates across the river at LaGuardia, I've found myself wondering if I'm still in New York many times recently! Check-in was a breeze, although the agent was only able to issue my first two boarding passes–I believe since my flight to Hong Kong didn't depart for over 24 hours, check-in wasn't technically open yet? Either way, with an Air Canada business class ticket I was able to breeze through check-in and my TSA PreCheck meant I was through security less than 10 minutes after I arrived at the airport.

The new Terminal A is set up in somewhat of an upside-down T shape, with a long central concourse and two additional wings, one on either side. This means that your walk to the gate will never be excessively long, so you shouldn't need to budget more than 5-10 minutes. I will note, however, that the vast majority of food options are located in the central terminal area, right after you pass security. Save for some newsstands and coffee shops, you won't find much near your gate–so plan on eating before you head all the way down.

Lounge

An Air Canada Business Class ticket generally grants access to Maple Leaf Lounges and select Star Alliance lounges. Unfortunately, the Maple Leaf Lounge here in Newark was located in the old Terminal A, and there hasn't really been any indication that they plan on opening another one in the new terminal. However, you are entitled to access the United Club, located on the second level across from the American Airlines Admiral's Club and the Delta Sky Club.

I usually try not to knock domestic US airline lounges too much. After all, they serve a different market than most airline lounges (the majority of their traffic is paid memberships), and it's not really fair to compare them to a typical international business class lounge. However, this was an international business class flight, and the United Club falls a bit short of expectations here.

From a design perspective, this lounge is fairly nice. Automated gates scan your boarding pass and verify access eligibility. Once I was inside, the lounge was certainly crowded, though I was able to find a single seat fairly easily. The lounge is set up in an "L" shape, with plenty of segmented areas that feel fairly cozy. AvGeeks will be disappointed, though, that the club is relatively centered in the terminal and isn't flush with any outside windows. Part of the club's ceiling is also open to the terminal, so it may get noisy during busy travel times.

Food-wise, this was certainly on par with most other United Clubs I've visited. Expect enough to tide you over until the next meal, but don't get your hopes up for anything substantial. I was here during breakfast, so there were some scrambled eggs and sausage, as well as various breads, fruits, and other cold snacks. You'll find self-service espresso machines, black coffee, and soda. Alcohol is behind the bar, and as with other United Clubs, a selection of drinks are complimentary but many premium beers, wines, and spirits cost extra.

Overall, a perfectly fine lounge experience, though I wouldn't recommend showing up early just to check it out.

Boarding

Boarding started right on time, twenty-five minutes before the scheduled departure. Business class boards in Group 1, so I hopped in line and was quickly on my way down the jet bridge.

Today's flight was aboard a 15-year-old Embraer E175, registered as C-FJBO. As someone who lives in the US, I was expecting a standard no-frills regional jet experience. To my surprise, each seat had a personal IFE screen!

Look, this in-flight entertainment certainly isn't going to win any awards, but I'm very much of the opinion that screen>no screen, no matter the quality. Perhaps a certain DFW-based international airline could learn a bit from Air Canada…

The cabin was otherwise unremarkable and hasn't had any major overhauls since the aircraft was delivered in 2009. The boarding process went quickly and we were pushing back from the gate five minutes prior to the scheduled departure.

In-Flight

Once airborne, the lead flight attendant quickly began passing through the aisle to take drink orders and ask if we would like a snack. Again, being a US-based traveler, my expectation of "snack" was a basket with some sad-looking chips. Instead, I got a sad-looking pizza!

All jokes aside, I'm not about to complain about a hot meal on a regional flight scheduled for less than two hours. The flatbread was about as good as it looked, which is to say "not great", but it's certainly better than the mini bag of crackers I got on my last flight to Knoxville. I've always assumed that Air Canada operated very similarly to the US-based legacy airlines, but clearly they add some premium touches more akin to their European counterparts.

After some lovely views of the Toronto skyline in front of Lake Ontario as we descended into YYZ, we arrived at the gate six minutes prior to our scheduled arrival time of 12:41. It was a bit of a hike to get to customs and immigration, but once we arrived it was an easy process as a US citizen to enter the country for some well-earned poutine!

Verdict

This was my first time flying Air Canada, and I'm quite pleased with the transborder business class experience. I came into this flight with low expectations, based on my experiences with domestic US airlines, and was pleasantly surprised at some of the premium touches I experienced on board this flight. Trying to book Air Canada flights via Aeroplan can be a crapshoot sometimes, but I would certainly be happy to use them again when traveling to Canada or beyond.