Flight/Origin-Destination: AC1161 YHZ-YYZ
Date: 20 Aug 2010
Cabin: J
Status: E

Pre departure
Was check in quick and efficient? Used kiosk
Did you use priority security (if eligible) and if so, was it quick and efficient? N/A
Did you use the Maple Leaf lounge and if so, any feedback in regards to service, food and drinks? Adequate. Still shocked (not in a good way) by beer selection.
Was priority boarding offered (if applicable to your status) and efficient? Non-normal boarding announcements, although appreciated. Gate agent was firm about people with children and needing assistance being first. Processed about 6-8 families before announcing E/SE/*G/Biz could board. Turned away panicked gate lice (flight was announced as oversold) as she should have.
If there was a delay, did the gate agent provide timely updates? N/A

Onboard - J cabin:
Were the crew professional & well groomed? Yes
If there was a delay, were you provided with timely updates? N/A
Was the IFE activated on the ground? Yes
Was a pre-departure beverage offered on the ground? Yes, but water only. Not a single glass of OJ was presented to any passenger in J.
Did crew offer to hang your jacket? N/A, but yes for others.
Were newspapers & menus distributed and meal orders taken (Please specify when meal orders were taken - on the ground or in the air)? Newspaper on ground (2x actually). No menus distributed during this flight. Orders taken after takeoff (see below).
Did crew offer a hot towel prior to the meal service? Yes
Approximately how long after take off did it take for the first meal service to be completed? (From takeoff to all items collected) 1 1/2 hrs.
How was the quality of all the meals? Okay
Did the cabin crew continuously top up the beverage of your choice throughout the flight? No. Did not get first post takeoff beverage until meal was served (see below). Was asked again when tray was removed. Requested more wine was given water and before being able to rectify the FA was gone. Only had one more opportunity to get a glass of wine (SD, not FA, came around) on remainder of flight.

Post departure
If you have checked baggage, did it arrive within reasonable period of time?
N/A (connecting)
Overall experience/any other comments
I wasn't impressed with the meal service (one of the oddest I've ever seen by AC) on this flight, nor the ability of the FA to attend to the J cabin. As I indicated above, menus were not distributed and drinks were not offered in advance of the meal service. The FA cooked the meals before taking any orders. Once the meals were cooked/heated, the FA proceeded to the first two seats in J and asked for their order, returned to the galley, gathered their trays and served them. He then served them the beverage of their choice before moving on to two more seats and repeating. Every 6-8 seats he would serve bread to those that already had been served their meals. As the FA was working his way back to the last row of J (where I was seated) he would stop and ask those already served if they needed refills (assuming it was if he noticed their glasses were empty) and proceed to the galley to return with their beverages. Overall from the time the first seat was served until I was served (last seat in J to get a meal) the process took almost 30 minutes. This was an awfully long time to wait for my first beverage after takeoff. And of course orders were taken simply by seating assignment so I was stranded with no choice by the time my order was taken.

Pre-departure beverages were a bit of an issue as well. First, the only option was water, not the normal "water or OJ?" The FA proceeded to serve water to the first 2/3s of the cabin before running out. Usually at this point the FAs seem to work to get the remainder of the passengers their beverages by joining the flow of passengers still boarding and fighting the wave back to the galley when needed. Instead our FA chose to stand in the galley leaning on the wall watching things happen.