FewMiles
Aug 14, 00, 4:21 am
FewMiles' Back-end-of-plane Trip Report
YEG-YVR-HKG-YVR-YEG
Part I: YEG-YVR-HKG
Flight 1: 06Aug YEG-YVR CP 7877 (AC 1877 AirBC) 12:05 Y class (of course!)
Arrived at Edmonton airport at about 10:30. Check in lineup at the Air Canada counter was somewhat long, but not horrendous like I've seen before. At the start of the line, an AC agent was present to ensure customers were at the correct check in area (i.e. AC or CP) and was also checking the size and weight of carry-on bags.
Our reservations (me + parents + siblings) had been made without seat assignments on the AC-operated flights from YEG-YVR and YVR-YEG. I had previously tried to get some seats pre-assigned through AC res and CP res, both without luck, although the agents on the phone were very helpful nonetheless. The AC agent explained that since the res were made by the travel agency, she was unable to change it without possibly causing it to be canceled. (We had gotten our tickets from one of those Chinatown travel agencies. The tickets were hand written, but the price on the ticket was the price we would have gotten if we had booked directly with the airline, CAD2300. We paid about CAD1750. It seems like a somewhat dodgy practice. Is this how consolidators work?)
I explained to the check-in agent that we needed some contiguous seat assignments so that my siblings could sit by my parents. She replied that we had already been assigned such seats. We were in luck. Our bags were checked through to HKG and we got boarding passes for both segments of the journey. I looked at our boarding passes. They all just listed our last name. If I needed to send in the boarding passes for FF program credit later, how would I know which one was which? Oh well, I guess it's a problem with AC issued boarding passes.
We proceeded through security to the gate area. It's my first time on the AC side of the YEG gates. Maple leaf lounge is located at the far end from security. Too bad I couldn't go in to check it out. No elite status. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
The incoming plane didn't arrive until about 20 mins before departure, but deplaning of the previous pax and boarding of the new pax went smoothly for a near on-time departure. A quick taxi and we were in the air.
The 1.5 hour AirBC flight used a BAe 146-200. (Smallish jet with four engines and wing mounted above the fuselage.) 2:2 seating in J, 2:3 in Y. Not super-comfy and probably not great for longer flights, but ok. Judging by the fact that there are three lights and air vents on each side, perhaps the plane's designers were thinking of 3:3 sardine seating?
A cold box lunch was served, similar to the ones given by BA on their short Europe shuttle flights. Small sandwich, cheese and crackers, carrots and dip, and a mini chocolate bar plus choice of beverage. Magazines and newspapers (I browsed a National Post) were available. Apart from that the flight was uneventful and the best entertainment was to enjoy the view over the Rocky Mountains on the way down to YVR.
Flying into Vancouver from the East, the plane first heads out to sea and making a big 180 degree turn (great view of the city and airport), then you go on final descent. We touched down more or less right on the scheduled arrival time. Having come down on the North runway, we taxied around the international terminal to arrive at domestic terminal pier B.
Transfer at YVR
Flight 2: 06Aug YVR-HKG CX839 14:20 Y class
Vancouver is a very nice airport. This was my second time at YVR in the last couple of years and the first since the recent expansion of the transborder gate area. There is an all-airside transfer corridor running past all the gate piers so that you can transfer without going through security again. I'm not sure if this includes transfers to US-bound flights though as you'd have to go through US customs first.
On our way to the International gate area (D pier), the security guard told us that our flight was delayed and not until I looked at our boarding passes for the CX flight did I realize there was a 2 hour 20 minute delay. Ack! (No explanation other than "there was a delay of the aircraft" was ever given.) Having been told that once we had entered the gate area, we were no longer allowed to leave, we instead left the airside and rested in the public seating area between the domestic and intl terminals.
With about one hour before the new departure time, we passed through security and went to the gate area. Saw the CX 747-400 (a "74B" with the new first class and upgraded economy) arrive and the pax deplaning (took a long time). Big planes such as 747s should definitely be serviced at double jetbridge gates. CX was running a promotion for winning free trips for four to HK for a year. We filled out a few forms and put our entries in the box. Fingers crossed.
Boarding was really a zoo as about 350 pax tried to cram through a single jetbridge. And all of them want to go at once. The CX gate agent first called for the elite FFs, first and biz pax, and then called pre-boarding for people with kids. Fortunately, I was travelling with young siblings, so we got to jump the queue. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
We arrived at our seats to find newer style seats with footrests and personal TVs. Blankets and pillows were already placed on the seats. Problem was, when I sat down, I found I didn't really have room to put everything I'd been given. As usual, the armrests on the aisles are fixed, and annoyingly, the middle armrests in the rows do not go all the way up (nor do they stay up) as the seats widen to fill the gap above the armrests. I suppose this is good news when you are sitting next to someone who is in danger of "invading" your space, but it is not such good news when you'd like to put the arm rests up so that little kids can lie down flat. The head rest has adjustable "ears" that can bend forward to provide a bit of a cushion for your head. It would be nice if they could be bigger.
With all of the "goodies" I was given, I found that the seats overall were pretty cramped. (What else can you expect for sardine class? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) The seat width is ok (wider would be better, but the cabin width is fixed). Seat pitch seemed especially bad. I wasn't really banging my knees against the seat in front of me or anything, but as soon as the person in front of you reclines their seat, then their seatback and hence your personal TV is literally "in your face". The vertical tilt of the LCD TV can be adjusted a little, but the adjustment is far too limited. With the seat in front of me reclined, I couldn't adjust the TV angle enough to see it quite properly. (Colours go funny etc. The usual LCD vertical viewing angle limitations.) I'm about 5'10", but for someone maybe four or five inches shorter, it would have been ok.
Boarding continued while we settled in. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the sardine class comforts. This is a good airline. Pushback and engine start seemed to come quickly after boarding but this was almost three hours later than the originally scheduled time. Good thing I wasn't making a connection in HKG. The safety video was shown on the main screen and all the PTVs.
PTVs selection was pretty good. 3 or 4 movies at any one time, Discovery Channel, a kids program, and the "airshow" thing were available. F and J pax get an additional couple of channels. "Airshow" was pretty neat to check on once in a while (sure is cold up at 36,000 feet) but I wish it could give an indication of time to arrival at destination. A good selection of audio channels were also available.
Menu cards were handed out after takeoff:
Cocktails, lunch, snack bar, pre-meal towel and beverage, and dinner were to be among the services offered.
After a round of beverages were served came the lunch meal, consisting of:
Steamed Chicken on Angel Hair Pasta
Chicken with Black Pepper Sauce, Steamed Rice, and Stir-Fried Pak Choy or
Steamed Cod with Tomato Provencale Sauce, Parsley Potatoes, and Carrots and Brocolli or
Rigatoni with Seafood, Olives and Herbs in Tomato Sauce
Lemon Cheese Cake
Bread Roll, Butter
Teas - Ceylon, Japanese, Jasmine
Coffee
Cookies
After the meal trays were collected, there was the usual mad dash for the lavs and people settled to catch a few winks on the long flight. Lights were dimmed and window shades pulled. The FAs made sure all the window shades were down.
During the sleeping period, FAs came by periodically with drinks on trays and cups of instant noodles. I slept a bit and watched parts of movies, but drifting in and out did not help when trying to figure out the plots of movies.
Steaming hot towels were offered before dinner services started. I opened the window shade and was disappointed that it was already dark. Too bad we were nearly three hours late. Oh well, night time views are nice too.
Dinner followed:
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Braised Spare Ribs Beijing Style, Fried Rice with Egg, Stir-fried Choy Sum or
Penne in Alfredo Sauce with Cajun Sausageor
Abalone Clam and Chicken Congee
Saskatoon Berry Cheese Cake
Bread Roll, Butter
Teas - Ceylon, Japanese, Jasmine
Coffee
Nearing arrival at HKG, we did a low (~5000 feet) flyover of the city (awesome view) before descending into Chek Lap Kok airport.
Overall impressions
The AirBC FAs gave great service and were a friendly bunch of people. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Perhaps the subsidiaries provide better service than the mainline? I'll have to try AC main line service to compare.
CX: good service, great international airline.
Vancouver airport YVR: very nice. Easy transfers. Open, bright, and spacious.
Hong Kong airport HKG: also very nice. A lot of wide open spaces.
Overall a good journey. I look forward to the trip home.
FewMiles..
[This message has been edited by FewMiles (edited 08-14-2000).]
YEG-YVR-HKG-YVR-YEG
Part I: YEG-YVR-HKG
Flight 1: 06Aug YEG-YVR CP 7877 (AC 1877 AirBC) 12:05 Y class (of course!)
Arrived at Edmonton airport at about 10:30. Check in lineup at the Air Canada counter was somewhat long, but not horrendous like I've seen before. At the start of the line, an AC agent was present to ensure customers were at the correct check in area (i.e. AC or CP) and was also checking the size and weight of carry-on bags.
Our reservations (me + parents + siblings) had been made without seat assignments on the AC-operated flights from YEG-YVR and YVR-YEG. I had previously tried to get some seats pre-assigned through AC res and CP res, both without luck, although the agents on the phone were very helpful nonetheless. The AC agent explained that since the res were made by the travel agency, she was unable to change it without possibly causing it to be canceled. (We had gotten our tickets from one of those Chinatown travel agencies. The tickets were hand written, but the price on the ticket was the price we would have gotten if we had booked directly with the airline, CAD2300. We paid about CAD1750. It seems like a somewhat dodgy practice. Is this how consolidators work?)
I explained to the check-in agent that we needed some contiguous seat assignments so that my siblings could sit by my parents. She replied that we had already been assigned such seats. We were in luck. Our bags were checked through to HKG and we got boarding passes for both segments of the journey. I looked at our boarding passes. They all just listed our last name. If I needed to send in the boarding passes for FF program credit later, how would I know which one was which? Oh well, I guess it's a problem with AC issued boarding passes.
We proceeded through security to the gate area. It's my first time on the AC side of the YEG gates. Maple leaf lounge is located at the far end from security. Too bad I couldn't go in to check it out. No elite status. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
The incoming plane didn't arrive until about 20 mins before departure, but deplaning of the previous pax and boarding of the new pax went smoothly for a near on-time departure. A quick taxi and we were in the air.
The 1.5 hour AirBC flight used a BAe 146-200. (Smallish jet with four engines and wing mounted above the fuselage.) 2:2 seating in J, 2:3 in Y. Not super-comfy and probably not great for longer flights, but ok. Judging by the fact that there are three lights and air vents on each side, perhaps the plane's designers were thinking of 3:3 sardine seating?
A cold box lunch was served, similar to the ones given by BA on their short Europe shuttle flights. Small sandwich, cheese and crackers, carrots and dip, and a mini chocolate bar plus choice of beverage. Magazines and newspapers (I browsed a National Post) were available. Apart from that the flight was uneventful and the best entertainment was to enjoy the view over the Rocky Mountains on the way down to YVR.
Flying into Vancouver from the East, the plane first heads out to sea and making a big 180 degree turn (great view of the city and airport), then you go on final descent. We touched down more or less right on the scheduled arrival time. Having come down on the North runway, we taxied around the international terminal to arrive at domestic terminal pier B.
Transfer at YVR
Flight 2: 06Aug YVR-HKG CX839 14:20 Y class
Vancouver is a very nice airport. This was my second time at YVR in the last couple of years and the first since the recent expansion of the transborder gate area. There is an all-airside transfer corridor running past all the gate piers so that you can transfer without going through security again. I'm not sure if this includes transfers to US-bound flights though as you'd have to go through US customs first.
On our way to the International gate area (D pier), the security guard told us that our flight was delayed and not until I looked at our boarding passes for the CX flight did I realize there was a 2 hour 20 minute delay. Ack! (No explanation other than "there was a delay of the aircraft" was ever given.) Having been told that once we had entered the gate area, we were no longer allowed to leave, we instead left the airside and rested in the public seating area between the domestic and intl terminals.
With about one hour before the new departure time, we passed through security and went to the gate area. Saw the CX 747-400 (a "74B" with the new first class and upgraded economy) arrive and the pax deplaning (took a long time). Big planes such as 747s should definitely be serviced at double jetbridge gates. CX was running a promotion for winning free trips for four to HK for a year. We filled out a few forms and put our entries in the box. Fingers crossed.
Boarding was really a zoo as about 350 pax tried to cram through a single jetbridge. And all of them want to go at once. The CX gate agent first called for the elite FFs, first and biz pax, and then called pre-boarding for people with kids. Fortunately, I was travelling with young siblings, so we got to jump the queue. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
We arrived at our seats to find newer style seats with footrests and personal TVs. Blankets and pillows were already placed on the seats. Problem was, when I sat down, I found I didn't really have room to put everything I'd been given. As usual, the armrests on the aisles are fixed, and annoyingly, the middle armrests in the rows do not go all the way up (nor do they stay up) as the seats widen to fill the gap above the armrests. I suppose this is good news when you are sitting next to someone who is in danger of "invading" your space, but it is not such good news when you'd like to put the arm rests up so that little kids can lie down flat. The head rest has adjustable "ears" that can bend forward to provide a bit of a cushion for your head. It would be nice if they could be bigger.
With all of the "goodies" I was given, I found that the seats overall were pretty cramped. (What else can you expect for sardine class? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) The seat width is ok (wider would be better, but the cabin width is fixed). Seat pitch seemed especially bad. I wasn't really banging my knees against the seat in front of me or anything, but as soon as the person in front of you reclines their seat, then their seatback and hence your personal TV is literally "in your face". The vertical tilt of the LCD TV can be adjusted a little, but the adjustment is far too limited. With the seat in front of me reclined, I couldn't adjust the TV angle enough to see it quite properly. (Colours go funny etc. The usual LCD vertical viewing angle limitations.) I'm about 5'10", but for someone maybe four or five inches shorter, it would have been ok.
Boarding continued while we settled in. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the sardine class comforts. This is a good airline. Pushback and engine start seemed to come quickly after boarding but this was almost three hours later than the originally scheduled time. Good thing I wasn't making a connection in HKG. The safety video was shown on the main screen and all the PTVs.
PTVs selection was pretty good. 3 or 4 movies at any one time, Discovery Channel, a kids program, and the "airshow" thing were available. F and J pax get an additional couple of channels. "Airshow" was pretty neat to check on once in a while (sure is cold up at 36,000 feet) but I wish it could give an indication of time to arrival at destination. A good selection of audio channels were also available.
Menu cards were handed out after takeoff:
Cocktails, lunch, snack bar, pre-meal towel and beverage, and dinner were to be among the services offered.
After a round of beverages were served came the lunch meal, consisting of:
Steamed Chicken on Angel Hair Pasta
Chicken with Black Pepper Sauce, Steamed Rice, and Stir-Fried Pak Choy or
Steamed Cod with Tomato Provencale Sauce, Parsley Potatoes, and Carrots and Brocolli or
Rigatoni with Seafood, Olives and Herbs in Tomato Sauce
Lemon Cheese Cake
Bread Roll, Butter
Teas - Ceylon, Japanese, Jasmine
Coffee
Cookies
After the meal trays were collected, there was the usual mad dash for the lavs and people settled to catch a few winks on the long flight. Lights were dimmed and window shades pulled. The FAs made sure all the window shades were down.
During the sleeping period, FAs came by periodically with drinks on trays and cups of instant noodles. I slept a bit and watched parts of movies, but drifting in and out did not help when trying to figure out the plots of movies.
Steaming hot towels were offered before dinner services started. I opened the window shade and was disappointed that it was already dark. Too bad we were nearly three hours late. Oh well, night time views are nice too.
Dinner followed:
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Braised Spare Ribs Beijing Style, Fried Rice with Egg, Stir-fried Choy Sum or
Penne in Alfredo Sauce with Cajun Sausageor
Abalone Clam and Chicken Congee
Saskatoon Berry Cheese Cake
Bread Roll, Butter
Teas - Ceylon, Japanese, Jasmine
Coffee
Nearing arrival at HKG, we did a low (~5000 feet) flyover of the city (awesome view) before descending into Chek Lap Kok airport.
Overall impressions
The AirBC FAs gave great service and were a friendly bunch of people. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Perhaps the subsidiaries provide better service than the mainline? I'll have to try AC main line service to compare.
CX: good service, great international airline.
Vancouver airport YVR: very nice. Easy transfers. Open, bright, and spacious.
Hong Kong airport HKG: also very nice. A lot of wide open spaces.
Overall a good journey. I look forward to the trip home.
FewMiles..
[This message has been edited by FewMiles (edited 08-14-2000).]