O.K., I have the photos ready now, finally. Actually, I have them for about a week or so already. There is a minor problem - As I asked TravelScholar via e-mail with regard the type of camera he used to take photos inside cabin, I wasn't able to get an answer from him. So the camera I used was inadequate for taking interior photos, so about 1/4 of them are failed and some of them not very clear. So if you know what is the best camera for taking in-flight photos, please do let me know so that I'll buy one and use it next time. Another thing is I have to figure a way to post them on Internet and I haven't figured out exactly how I am going to do it. As you can see, I am very tech savvy when it comes to these - but I am quick learner!

So for the photos, please be patient for a few more days. For now, here are the first parts of the report.

Air Canada 771: YUL-ORD (Montreal-Chicago)
North American Executive Class on Airbus 320

This is a connector flight to the JAL segment out of Chicago. The Air Canada flight was scheduled to leave around 7:50 AM. The connection, if taking AA instead, would be 6AM something which means, we would had to be at Montreal Dorval airport around 5AM or so, which also meant - why not just stay up all night instead of going to bed? So despite a strong urge of not flying Air Canada [for more information, please read the Air Canada forum], we ended up flying the national disgrace carrier anyway. So that was my emotional context of flying Air Canada that day.

The Dorval Int'l Airport is now Montreal's only and primary commercial airport. Mirabel used to handle a lot of European traffics but due to its long distance from the city of Montreal, it was decided Mirabel is inadequate for regularly scheduled traffic. Many felt Mirabel is a better airport because it's newer and better designed but location wise just too inconvenient. Air Canada is based in Montreal, however this is only a secondary hub for the carrier and Star-Alliance because of the proximity of Toronto. Int'l and Domestic flights are handled on the far right side of the departure terminal whereas Transborder (USA) flights are handled near the middle section of the station. My guess is that they need the space for the U.S. Immigration pre-clearance, hence the location. The terminal building has somewhat being redecorated since a year and half or so mainly because AC is now the overwhelming occupant here [there used to be CP, Canadian Airlines]. So the inside does not look old but it can get quite chaotic with long cues at the economy class lines at times. The airport has some souvenir stores, newspaper stands and small pubs and eateries both before and after the security. From my experience, it's pretty well equipped and clean compared to other Int'l airports although it's obvious the size is not comparable.

The check-in at the Executive Class section had no cues, just one or two people ahead of us. The desk was well served by 2 agents and another standing by the economy class line to direct traffic. In general, despite the cue in the economy class line, the ‘traffic police’ tended to give priority to Executive Class passengers by asking them to check in either in the Intermediate Desk between Business and Economy class, served by one agent or use the Economy Desk ahead of economy class passengers. I think this attempt to give the check-in process a sense of priority and order is well appreciated by the premium pax. Nevertheless, given the long cue in the Economy section, you have to wonder how these folks would feel. We were greeted by a female agent. When I handed over the documents, I was kind of expecting some kind of ‘bizarre facial expression’ from her. The reason being our final destination is BKK (Bangkok, Thailand), yet the 3 flight segments are AC-JL-NH. From my perspective, you can’t find a better way to get to BKK from Montreal better than this combo because it was the fastest, most convenient/direct and the highest quality as well with just two connections. However, she was looking at our ticket as though it’s written in Latin or something. At first, she said she couldn’t deliver our bags to the final destination because she doesn’t think AC can transfer bags to JL then onto NH. In my mind, I was telling myself: “Here we go again, the on-the-spot improvisation by a ‘competent’ AC front-line employee.” The reason I am saying this is I am used to this kind of… well let’s say, ‘easy answers’ from AC agents. Just tell clients there is nothing they can do and the clients will figure a way out somehow by themselves. By the way, I really encourage you to visit the Air Canada forum here on Flyertalk for more details. Great service is rare on AC that when you get it, make sure you enjoy every moments of it because you don’t know when you are going to get it next time. So I ‘encourage’ her to find a way to solve this. She made us wait while she went off to ask the ‘lead agent’ I suppose for a good 5~10 minutes. Guess what, AC can do it after all! Here we go, shows great training, isn’t it? She should have known at the first moment exactly how to do and not making premium class clients to wait unnecessarily while she finds an answer that she should know by heart. I apologize if I sound so disgusted with Air Canada for being sarcastic here and there. It does however reflect the feelings of many frequent flyers with Air Canada and believe it or not, I consider myself mild. If you have ever wonder how come a monopoly like AC needs to file for bankruptcy protection given its overwhelming dominance and the numerous advantages of being the only national carrier of a G7 countries, you got some answers here. AC staff are generally badly trained, doesn’t have half of the answers to the questions you ask them or simply making up one. Sadly, there are very good people in there, though a very small minority who are the employees that any airlines would love to have any day.

After the $15 per person airport taxes, it’s the immigration. The cue for U.S. Immigration [Pre-Clearance] isn’t long, only waited for 3 minutes maybe. I didn’t feel anything different compared to past experience, except they never said “Welcome to the United States”. Just asked some usual questions such as purpose, how long will you stay and that was all. I guess I am not on the FBI’s wanted list after all… Then, we had to bring our luggages to a dropping area, then head for security. The whole process after we got our boarding passes till we cleared security took maybe 15 minutes or so. But then I consider myself to be fast. For example, I heard people needing as much as 4 hours for transferring between JFK to LGA, I need only 1 hour for instance. The Maple Leaf lounge is smaller for the Transborder section. It’s one floor up so you need to take the elevator. I remember particularly how unenthusiastic the lounge agent was, just look so uninterested about her job – no smile, no energy, no greetings, nothing. The lounge itself is spacious, with a bar with some morning beverages such as juices, coffees, and teas, maybe some refreshments such as yoghurts, cereals and cookies and fruits. There was a few computers with internet connection in the separate business center called Xerox Business Center. I didn’t take photos of this lounge, I forgot. It was bright as two sides were made with glass walls with clear views on the runways. There was a TV near the center of the lounge I think. The seats were like mini sofas, pretty comfortable. It wasn’t crowded but not empty either. Lounge is one area I feel Air Canada usually does better than competitors. The decoration was pleasant and simple.

After a quick snack and a cup of hot chocolate, I had the time to check some messages before heading to the gate. When asked the desk agent about boarding, she said the boarding had started without even checking. Of course when we got there, the boarding didn’t start yet. Anyway, I don’t remember if they asked Business class pax to board first or not. If the line is not clearly separated, I usually prefer to follow the crowd as I hate cutting through lines. So we boarded, I think our seats were 2 or 3 something, can’t remember. The FA took my coat and offered some newspapers and juice or water. The plane left pretty much on time and the flight was almost full with maybe one empty seat in the front but economy, I believe was very full. Flight time was supposed to be just under 2 hours but due to strong winds, the Captain announced we were going to be early. Breakfast was quickly served after take-off as well as a round of beverage services. The Business Class cabin was served by a young and enthusiastic/smiling female FA. What a contrast compared to the one attending the lounge! Breakfast had a hot and cold option for the main dish. I opted for the hot whereas my mate went for the cold one. If I remember correctly, the hot was just omelette, sausage and baked potatoes, typical on AC service. There was also a bowl of pre-cut fruits, juice and maybe a piece of chocolate. The cold version was probably just a fruit plate and with options of having cereals I think. There is nothing to note about the food, I think we should be glad they still serve breakfast. Had this flight being operated by any given major Asian carrier, chances are the economy class cabin would have better catering than what AC serves here in their Business class. Nevertheless, you don’t get off hungry that’s the thing. The rest of the flight is pretty uneventful. The morning news was shown on the front screen, the only entertainment was music though the headsets they provide. Seat wise, the pitch was about 38~40” give or take a few. The width was o.k. given the seating was 2 X 2 on this Airbus 320. The recline was limited but I felt the seat was comfortable enough for a short 2 hour hop. Longer than that, I think it will start to become unpleasant because of the lack of good recline and personal entertainment system. Service wise, it was a fine flight, the job was well done.

The landing was earlier than expected, around 8:35 AM local time. Our connecting flight on JL is set for noon so there is some time to kill in between. We should have arrived after 9AM on this flight but it looked like the wind was particularly strong that day as we also arrived early to Tokyo Narita with our JL flight later. There was no need to pick up any luggages as we had it taken care of all the way to BKK in Montreal. Nevertheless, to go to the Int’l terminal in Chicago O’Hare, we had to take a train. It took maybe 15~20 minutes since we got off plane to the JL counter which was already opened to my surprise.



[This message has been edited by Guava (edited 04-19-2003).]