So I've just returned home after experiencing Rouge for the first (and hopefully the last) time!!
Let me first say I did not have high expectations of what was to come before embarking on the first flight, and unfortunately there was absolutely nothing about either the outbound or inbound flights which changed my opinion/perception.
The infamous 29" pitch has been long discussed so I wont go into that other than to say anyone 6' and higher is going to suffer as I did with the only real hope being that you get an aisle seat so you can stretch a little during less busy periods in the aisle; and on the 319 you can raise the armrest for a little more wiggle room.
The crew on both flights seemed to more resemble the cast of 'Who's Line is it Anyway' than a professional in flight crew; goofy hats and cardigans not withstanding. On the outbound flight, the sole male FA thought it was a good idea to chew gum whilst on duty and making no effort to hide this. Follow this up with his response to the request made by my wife for some napkins when he returned, and he blatantly said he wasn't coming back....so where the hell was he going?!? Add the fact that the supposed bilingual crew could barely make the French announcements and it was really a comedy of errors all around!
On the return leg, the male FA seemed to think it was OK to have the top button of his shirt undone with an open collar and a sloppy necktie and cardigan in a shambles. I'm not the fashion police, but when I see someone who's meant to be responsible for the safety of the plane acting and presenting themselves like they just rolled out of bed and into their uniform it doesn't say much for professionalism!!
What makes me shake my head in disgust the most however is to see how AC is flogging these flights under the price point of the mainline carrier. The 'Premium Rouge' is really a joke and resembles nothing of any business class I've ever seen so how do they justify offering LMU for $400 each way from YYZ-LAS for a few inches of legroom and a blocked middle seat?!?
I've flown many LCC's in various parts of the world and the one thing they all have in common are typically, limited to no legroom, no IFE, no free checked bags, etc so if Rouge follows the same pattern why is it not being referred to and priced in accordance with what it truly is?!?
All I know for sure is i'd rather walk than fly on one of those sardine tins again and so long as AC continues to have their collective head up their backside I wont be padding their bottom line