D404

My thoughts after flying Air Canada’s Boeing 767 business class

It's a 767, so not exactly AC's best, but IMO interesting nonetheless, since HFP is mainly a BA/UK-centric blog.

Among other things, I was amused by:

They played some third-party advertising over the PA after the safety video which felt cheap.

superangrypenguin

He lost me at the fact he complained about the seats. I agree with him about the ads though

D404

I suppose it is a matter of taste/preference. Despite flying AC a lot (or maybe because of this), I rather dislike the old AC pods (I think they're ratty), compared to many other airlines', or AC's 787 J seats. I can see where he is coming from, kind of.

superangrypenguin

I agree it's a matter of taste. I prefer the 787 seats too.

But he said that it gave him one of the worst sleeps and he attributed it to the seats. I'm sorry but if he were on a HD I'd sympathize but.... Really? Classic pods like that on AC have been used in many airlines and were the envy of many

Worst sleep? I can think of many airlines that have worse seats causing worse sleep....

D404

Yeah, that was a bit hyperbolic... It also gives me the feeling he rarely flies Y.

jaysona

"The layout is odd. Facing away from the window and into the wall (which had some interesting stains on it) was a bit discomforting." & "The seat felt narrow"

I would tend to agree with the worst sleep statement and the narrow seat statement. I have never had a good sleep in the pods. The sleeping was so bad that I got to the point where I would always ask to be moved to a window seat in Y so I could sleep all night, and finally I just stopped flying AC TATL/TPAC all together.

You're right when you say there are worse out there, and there are much better too!

Classic J pods I avoid at all costs, Rapidair on those planes, ya, I'll suffer the hour in J if I have to, but I'd rather be in a Y seat on those planes if at all possible.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it is hyperbolic, and as for not flying Y very much just makes the review all the more genuine - if the J cabin experience of multiple carriers is indeed what the comparison is being made to. ^

superangrypenguin

I am sure the guy does not fly as much as you nor have the same unique circumstances which would lead him to prefer Y instead like you do.

He also has to keep in mind that he has an audience to report to and reporting that the classic pod is as bad as he says it is does not benefit the majority of the flying public

jaysona

I'm not sure what the audience size r type has to do with reporting on a product.

Are you suggesting the report should be written with some sort of bias because of the audience size and (perceived) influence that author may have?

If the author truly believes the pods are bad - why would that not be reported?

Adam Smith

I thought the review was a bit harsh. Main main issue with the 763s is that they are generally a bit worn out, but his comments didn't really focus on that.

I actually quite like the wall if sitting on the A side, it gives nice privacy.

I can see what he means about the seat being a bit narrow when in bed mode, but not sure about the length. At 6'3", I have trouble when lying down - I can't stretch out fully - but in seat mode I wouldn't say it's at all too short, which is what he was complaining about (see photo of his feet).

I haven't yet experienced the 787 pods or the 777HD pods other than for a short YYZ-YUL, so I can't really compare, but I actually like the classic pod layout, generally. Although NZ has a pod that's laid out the same way but manages to be infinitely better despite looking the same on the surface.

YOWgary

...but the majority of the flying public aren't reading blog reviews of business-class travel, either.

grandgourmand

The author of the blog, Raffles, is a FTer out of the UK. Must be at least comparing to BA Club World seats.

crimsona

Commonly flies BA J/F using 2 for 1 vouchers, and ex-EU flights on CX and Qatar. Also some EK and Etihad too

That's what he's comparing to.

Raffles

Exactly!

I haven't taken an Economy long-haul flight since 1999. In the last 12 months I have flown Qatar (J), Etihad (J/F), Singapore Airlines (Suites/J), BA (J, A380 F, 777 F), Emirates (J) - that is my comparison.

As I did say in the piece, though, I was hugely grateful that AC could fly me from Edmonton to London and - for an overnight flight - I was willing to take whatever seat and service (within reason!) was on offer if it meant I could get home more quickly to my family without looping through Calgary.

I have a lot of family in Canada and, when young and visiting, used to specialise in getting bumped from AC Y seats in order to get a free hotel and a J seat the next day .....

Purely in terms of a redemption, I was also happy to book AC (via Avianca, so no surcharges) versus using Avios on BA and paying a fat taxes bill. There was nothing in an overnight flight which would have justified paying the extra to go via YYC on BA.

I also hope I made clear in the article that it was NOT a 'proper' review of AC business class because I was only awake a few hours and did not eat properly. I wouldn't want my piece to be the grounds for someone deciding not to fly AC 767 J - I was adding a few thoughts to the mix. If you've ever seen my 'full' flight reviews - which are only ever of daytime flights - they are a lot more in-depth.

D404

It's a shame you couldn't get a 787 or 777, but I guess YEG-LHR wouldn't be a super-popular route (compared to YYZ or YVR).