Flight two (Sunday):
AC8111 YYZ-IAH
Canadair CRJ 705 C-FNJZ
Scheduled departure: 15:15 (Actual: 15:20)
Scheduled arrival: 17:45 (Actual: early enough to let me catch my next flight, late enough to make me doubt it)
Seat: 20A

I managed to get through security in good time, and wandered over to the nearest UA/CO desk to try to get a boarding pass for my IAH-CUN flight. Things would be fairly tight in Houston, and I preferred to have one less thing to worry about. The gate agent was very accommodating (I asked nicely, and waited until they weren’t busy), and actually apologised that the BP would be on UA as opposed to CO stock, which I thought very sweet.



I headed back over to my flights gate and waited for boarding to begin. It looked pretty busy for such a small plane, so I hung back a bit to let the masses get aboard before me. The exit row gave me plenty of legroom, but no window shade. Never mind Ghetto IFE, this called for Ghetto Blinds.



I was really impressed that AC still provided AVOD on their CRJs, even if the selection was somewhat limited in comparison to the 767 I’d just come off of. At some point there was a meal run, and the vegetarian roll I had was much fresher and tastier than anything I’d had on the flight over from London. I went for the Value Trio meal, which included a small can of Pringles and an alcoholic drink. I initially asked for an Alexander Keith’s, but was told there was none. I then engaged the flight attendant in a conversation as to which beer that was left she would recommend (my actual words were ‘which is least terrible?’), In the absence of any recommendation I eventually plumped for a Bud Light over the Bud on the basis I had never tried it before.

At this point the FA told me to wait a minute, and scurried off back up the front of the aircraft. She returned brandishing a can of Alexander Keith’s that she told me she had snuck out of first class, obviously having taken pity on a poor foreign beer enthusiast. When I’d first asked for a recommendation the response had been “Well, obviously none will be as nice as the beer you get in your country”. I was beginning to warm back to Air Canada. They also appear to have forgotten to charge me for it all, as since then I’ve had two credit card statements with nary a mention of the CAD13 charge for which I have a receipt. I’m unsure if this is AC trying to ‘make good’ for my delays, or if it’s sheer incompetence on their part.



I don’t remember a great deal about this flight, but there was definitely dozing. We landed at IAH with what felt like plenty of time for my connection, but then started a taxi that seemed like it would take us to downtown Houston. We eventually pulled into the B terminal and I hightailed it over to the (airside) TerminaLink and the E gates, arriving at my specific gate just as they announced boarding for first class and elite. Since this was my first ever free upgrade, that was me, & I made sure I was one of the first on the ‘plane.

Flight three (Sunday):
CO1064 IAH-CUN
Boeing 737-700 (missed reg.)
Scheduled departure: 18:59 (Actual: 19:20)
Scheduled arrival: 21:15 (Actual: So tired. So very tired)
Seat: 1F (2D for dining)

I managed to sneak on the plane without the crew really noticing, so I didn’t have to worry about the etiquette of having my jacket put away for me, & just stuffed it into the overhead myself. The load was really light at less than forty aboard, and myself the sole occupant of first. When the Flight Attendants did notice me they were firstly very apologetic for having missed me, then invited me to consider it my own private cabin. They didn’t consider it private enough to close the curtain to coach, but it was a nice thing to say. They also made sure I got my pre-departure gin & orange.

The meal was quite nice. The soup was really tasty (I think it was minestrone). The salad was about what you’d expect from a US-based carrier. The main, described as chicken parmesan, was tasty enough, but not too healthy-looking. The drinks were not exactly being forced on me, but they were offered. It must have been a pretty difficult balance for the crew with only me there, not to appear too over-attentive. But to be frank I think they were just enjoying the quiet last flight of the day. The FA assigned to the first class cabin solemnly agreed when I noticed that we were beginning our descent that it was too late for me to get another gin & orange, then fetched me through one anyway. I could forgive them anything after that!



We eventually landed at a pretty much deserted Cancún International Airport, and I made my way through to the empty baggage hall. My bags were X-rayed, and I then ‘won’ at the game-show style immigration point, and was allowed to pass without a secondary inspection to the arrivals hall, which was devoid of all the shysters and hucksters that I’m told are usually there. I quickly got myself into a taxi (had planned on the shuttle, but didn’t fancy the wait) and checked into my hotel, getting to my room a mere 22 hours after setting out from the Novotel.