Air Canada
Economy Class
YVR-SYD (Vancouver International Airport – Sydney Kingford Smith International)
AC 33 – Economy Class (standby)
11:40 PM – 10:10 AM + 2
November 2014
Booked: NIL
Scheduled: Boeing 777-200
Flown: Boeing 777-300
We headed over to the gate area at about 10:45 PM, or about T-60. I had our first night’s hotel already booked and the 24 hour cancellation policy was to pass in 15 minutes time at 11 PM Pacific Standard time (which was 6 PM Sydney Australian Time). I was hoping to get a secret handshake from the gate agent: a wink, a smile or a nod indicating that it would be okay and that we were likely to get on, so that I wouldn’t be out any unnecessary hotel costs by canceling after the 6 PM cancellation deadline.
I completed a document check at the podium but didn’t leave any the wiser, with the gate agent mentioning that the entire cargo of the plane had to be weighed to determine the amount of passengers they could let on. We ended up having a quick discussion amongst our traveling group and risk managed it out- if I didn’t get on, my sister and wife would travel ahead and I would travel a day later and play catch up.
Today’s flight is normally assigned a Boeing 777-200ER. At the time of writing, the flight is listed as the 28th longest non-stop flight in the world. Air Canada decided that they were going to schedule maintenance for their 6 Boeing 777-200 aircraft, and had substituted their Boeing 777-300’s to serve the route instead. Aviation geeks will note that the AC Boeing 777-200ER is configured to hold 42J/ 228Y, with a range of 17,446 km / 10,840 miles, whereas the regular AC Boeing 777-300 is configured to hold 42J/ 307Y, with a range of 14,958 km / 9068 miles (a shorter range of 1,780 miles). This meant that the aircraft, despite having an additional 80 seats, was “load restricted” with a specific weight limit required for the shorter range of the Being 777-300 to make it all the way to Sydney. In practical terms, this meant that the weight of the aircraft was being scrutinized closer than ever before. Even with a wide open seat map, there were no guarantees we would get on.
Flight AC 33 originated in Toronto with a stop in Vancouver. On arrival, the transit passengers from AC 33 Toronto – Vancouver portion were in the departure holding lounge. Tonight’s flight was served by gate D50, a swing gate at YVR that can serve both as international and as a domestic gate.
The gate was pretty busy. The construction underway surrounding the gate made the matters a little more cramped than usual. There was also a full double flight crew, with two first officers and two captains waiting in the holding area for the aircraft to be turned over to them.
As with many direct flights, the flight posted a minor flight delay. As we waited, we decided as a group that I would stay behind if there were not enough seats for all of us as the time for canceling our hotel without penalty had passed.
While we were waiting, at T-20, the concierge proceeded to hand out seat assignments for the contingent travelers. My name was called, and I was fortunate to be assigned 57A (a window!). I was super stoked about this simple achievement. Hey- it’s better than one of the 63 rows of middles. It’s an example of how down to the wire standby travel is for those that work in the aviation industry. You really don’t know if you’re leaving at times until the very last minute- in this case a mere 20 minutes before the scheduled departure. Sharp eyed observers will note the ML5 / C5 comments on the boarding pass, reflecting the lowest standby priority level.
My sister and Mrs WT73 were lucky enough to be assigned executive class seats. This isn’t a report on flight attendant compensation benefits, and keeping their negotiations where they belong (in private) I won’t get into the nitty gritty of it. Other than to say that once in a while, they are allowed to list on standby for executive class seating after all upgrades and paid upgrades are completed. There are finite limits to this and unfortunately, the privilege did not extend to me. I ended up taking one for the team and riding solo in the back while they rode up front. MrsWT73’s experiences will be covered in a separate post.
On board, I boarded after executive class, families, and all those above row “50”. I was lucky enough to get a spare seat empty next to me, likely due to the significant amount of empty seats as a result of the load weight factors using the larger aircraft There were heaps of bin space and I was able to get my carry ons stashed without any issues.
Configuration in economy class is the 3-3-3. Each seat features AVOD and 2 out of 3 seats feature EmPower in seat power and 3 out of 3 seats feature USB charging. In our bank, only 1 – 2 Empower outlets were working and 2 out of 3 USB chargers. They appeared to have collapsed due to regular wear and tear.
The AVOD isn’t really anything to write home about and isn’t anywhere near some of the other larger players like Etihad or Cathay Pacific that feature a massive library as part of the experience. I found it a bit lacking, with not enough content on it to truly compete with some of the better world class carriers out there. It contained enough movies to watch on the way down, but I think it would come up short on the way back.
The flight was underway and no waits on the outbound.
Dinner service was served promptly after take off. Tonight’s economy choices were chicken with potatoes or beef stroganoff. No printed menus here tonight like many Asian carriers in economy class. The meals were pretty tiny. I had forgotten how small the servings were in the back.
I settled into Lost in Translation for a bit. My sister was kind and brought me a Conde Nast Traveller to help pass the time.
I crashed out at around 3 AM Pacific Standard Time and slept for about 5 hours. I woke up as the plane was crossing the intersection of both the international date line and the equator as the sun rose for another day. While I was sleeping, there was a small cello wrapped chicken salad sandwich service along with Peak Freans bran crackers that had been dropped off on the seat next to me as a mid flight snack. I always find great sunrise views for the middle of nowhere.
I ended staying up awake for the rest of the flight. I had a group of 4 kids behind me spread across two rows with only one parent amongst them – a bit of long trek for them. She did her best to keep them settled.
Breakfast was served about 90 minutes prior to landing. Again, the portion sizes in economy class have shrunk compared to 20 years ago when I was flying around with my parents.
Finally, we were on the approach for landing in Sydney. Some beautiful coastline on the way in, along with sunny skies.
Some nice large widebodies on the ground in Sydney as we taxied to the gate.
Usually, I’m one of the first off the plane to get ahead of everybody at immigration to avoid the lines. This time, being in Seat 57A, there was no chance for that. I ended up being toward the last getting off the aircraft.
After everyone had long gotten off the plane on the ground at SYD, we managed to get a quick, supervised visit to the flight deck. We had a nice chat with one of the pilots' who was clearly proud to be flying for Air Canada.
It was my first time in the flight deck of a 777 and I was surprised at how roomy it actually was. Seating was of course in two rows of 2, with two seats immediately behind the Captain and first officer chairs for pilots not flying. I googled “Boeing 777 cockpit” photographs and came up with 2 million photograph hits so I figure there are no security concerns about posting these cool snapshots.
