AC869 London Heathrow T3 to Toronto, Lester B. Pearson Int'l T1 30/03/2011
Air Canada, Boeing 777-300ER, Seat 33K, Economy Class
3556 Miles flown, 3547 Status Miles Earned
The Pictures
I was welcomed aboard and asked to show my boarding pass, and directed down the back. The crew were in good spirits today and talkative, with a crew member giving me some advice on connecting at Toronto.
Eventually, the plane began to fill up, and I had a seatmate in the H Seat. I kept my eyes open and the doors went to close, keeping the magical J seat free.
Whilst not as good as a empty row, I’ll take an empty seat next to me any day of the week as it’s nice to stretch out. Clearly my seatmate thought this too, and grabbed the top of seat to dump her stuff on.
Fine - you take the high road and I’ll take the low road and I’ll get there before theeee...
As the plane pushed back the Air Canada bilingual safety video appeared - something I’d used to very quickly of these four segments. As we pulled out, AC848 pulled in. Symmetry in motion. Headsets were also handed out at this point too.
A long taxi over to the Right hand runway, and the noisy GE-90 engines whirled up and we were off in to the blue, with take off with Windsor Castle to the left.
Now you’re probably wondering where the take off video is. That’s a very sore point that I’ll get onto later...
Climbout
After a reasonable climb out, the galley started making noises, and about an hour after take off the trolleys begun their run, with an offer of pancakes or omelet. I decided to be brave as usual and had the omelet
Tray meal
Fruit salad
Tooth Destroyer
The main
Well, lets break down breakie. The roll was rock level of biteablity, the fruit was nice and fresh, the croissant... was flaky and a bit dry but I’ve had worse from a supermarket.
The main event - like most Air Canada main meals - was small, but well proportioned. The Omelet didn’t taste rubbery, the potato bits were cooked well and even the sausage was edible. If there was a touch more of it - I think it would be better, but for a Heathrow breakfast - I’ve had a lot worse.
The crew made a couple of drinks runs with breakfast, topping up coffees and feeding me diet coke to keep me going.
Clear down was completed shortly after, and after duty free was conducted, the lights went down for the journey across the pond.
Lights down
Like the A330 I flew in January, the 777-300ER was very well equipped inside. For starters - the IFE actually worked on this trip with the Map working very well as well as the content on the IFE system.
However, there is only so much Black Swan one can watch before resorting to the classics....
Well the phone feels like it was a long time ago in a Galaxy far far away now...
There are some very nice touches in the IFE setup. Apart from 2 power sockets in-seat out of the 3, each seat has a USB Port inside them - which is excellent if you want a charged device like an iPhone, a HTC device or a table to use whilst in flight. A very simple addition, yet delivers massive benefits to all customers. Top marks there.
The flight plodded along, and I catnapped a bit on this run. Before landfall over Newfoundland, a snack run was done, with pretzel bites and cola. Whilst over-salted as usual, it was a nice nibble at the right time.
Mid-flight snack
The flight continued plodding over Canada, and all I could think was “Would it hurt airlines so much to give their windows a wash every now and again?”. The state of the windows... wasn’t great. Or let me put this another way - it wasn’t easy getting photos done out of the window.
I hear mops are cheap in Poundland...
Although angling helps.
Before the second service commenced, a dual form run was completed dropping off Canadian Immigration forms and US Customs forms. Whilst giving lots of time to do the forms, I can’t help feel that dropping these forms off at the beginning of a flight would allow people to complete them sooner rather than the mass panic towards the end of a flight.
About 1 ½ hours before landing, the second service commenced, which was a hot wrap. I went for a Chicken one - like I had on my YVR trip.
Wraptastic
Whilst a nice few bites, this could had done with the drinks service behind being a bit quicker, as there’s a strong chance if you’re hungry - you’ll wolf down the wrap before the drink gets to you. Additionally, a pack of crisps or dread the thought - Ice cream - wouldn’t had gone amiss too.
The drinks cart followed along, with another cup of cola.
The crew were friendly, and talkative to those who wanted to talk during the flight and offering advice where needed. All interactions were polite and had genuine warmth to them - something that’s sometime lacking with North American carriers.
With ¾ of an hour to go, the big cleardown begun with all the rubbish being collected, and the plane prepared for landing. The flight deck warned of some bumps coming into Toronto, so we were advised to do what we need to do and strap in thereafter.
YYZ from the air
And whilst not the bumpiest of decents, it did have it’s moments. The decent took us down, and parallel to Toronto Person, before swinging around and finally landing. A short taxi, and we were at Gate 171 - the back end of the International Pier.
The seatbelt sign went pong, and after a short while, I made my way off the plane thanking the crew for their good service.
Overall: Good crew and great service. What more can be said? Apart from the portions of catering. The seat product is excellent, and with a spare middle seat - very nice for long haul economy travel.