Several weeks ago I elicited some excellent advice on surviving a plane trip with a 5 month old baby from YOW-PBI (mind you, the post about placing the litt'lun in the overhead bin didn't go over too well with the Mrs.).

Anecdotes from the trip (in no particular order):

1. We ditched the bulkhead in favour of a row of three all to ourselves. The gate agents were really nice about accommodating my last minute requests. With 3 carry-on bags (1 for diaper bag, 1 for baby toys, and 1 that my wife refused to let me see), the bulkhead was simply not practical. In all cases, we were granted the last row of the plane, which was fine except on the DC-9 where there is only 1 bathroom and therefore quite a line. The extra seat was great for the car seat. I recognize that this is not an option on busier routes/times, but I highly recommend this when available.

2. When boarding the plane, I poked fun at the situation by "apologizing in advance" to the neighbouring passengers for the screaming to come. In all cases, the fellow passengers were very gracious. Even the two obnoxious business travellers from YYZ-PBI in the row in front of us were nice (one of them didnt even recline his seat onto the baby's car seat - which he could have justifiably complained about but didn't).

3. I called AC's 1-888 reservation # from the USA twice and was answered both times on the first ring by a human agent. Once at 8 PM at night and once at 4 PM in the afternoon. This is an incredible level of service.

4. I have been monitoring the debate about AC's in-flight service. I make no comment about J class. However, I find it impossible to believe that any American carrier could surpass the quality and quantity of AC's hot meals (at least on cross-border flights). The YYZ-PBI and PBI-YYZ meals were hot, tasty, and more than ample. I have flown Y class on US carriers on several occasions recently (AA, US and UA) and in no case did the service come close to AC's Y class product. I even received a cold lunchbox on the YOW-YYZ leg at 11 AM!

5. The flight attendants were exceptionally attentive and friendly. However, I recognize this had nothing to with me, and was only because my baby is so gosh darn cute.

6. The flight was booked on Aeroplan points. The date of the outbound flight was my 1st choice, and the date of the inbound flight was my second choice. I did not wait on hold to book the flight. I only made the booking about a month ago.

7. 3 of the 4 legs arrived on time or early. 1 leg was 20 minutes late. No baggage was lost, and the gate-checked stroller was always waiting for us when we de-planed (I love that word and have been waiting for years to use it in a sentence...).

In conclusion, well done Air Canada!