I haven't been in BA's Toronto lounge (first visit due next month) but AC's lounge was absolute carnage last time I was there. They were out of glasses, out of plates and cutlery (didn't matter as they were also out of food) and it took some time to find that one last seat (which was covered in someone else's bags of course). To give AC their due, after about 20 mins some glasses did start appearing (still hot and wet from the dishwasher) and by the time I was leaving, a more normal standard appeared to have been resumed. I'd obviously arrived at a very bad time so maybe got a bad initial impression.
I've generally found AC flights to be pretty much on a par with BA, except I prefer the BA sense of humour and banter. AC crew are polite enough but they always come across as a bit dull to me. Canadians I guess.
What bothers me about flying with AC is that they seem to leave the seatbelt sign on for much of the flight. No signs of turbulence. I found it a little frustrating although maybe I just notice it more because my first ever AC flight was just after I moved back to the UK from China. It seemed like the seatbelt sign was on all the time and I really struggled with my Chinese-acquired desire to completely ignore the sign and just get up to use the bathroom whenever I wanted, and my English side knowing that the FAs might be cross if I ignored the sign and tell me off. It was a flight of East vs West conflict for me and the first time I realised that I might have acquired a few "bad habits" (through Western eyes) while I was in China.
