It’s a long post, but I just completed my first itinerary with AC and thought I’d post some thoughts here in case it’s prompts some discussion, else it’ll just be a ‘diary’ entry for myself!

Route was LHR-YUL-BOG | BOG-YYZ-LHR. All in Economy, booked directly with AC as *A Gold. All four flights ended up having delays or cancellations but despite this I wouldn’t dread travelling with them again (as long as I wasn’t on a critical-timed schedule).

Summary thoughts:

• Great staff on board and in the lounges;
• Not so great at the gate, but probably due to the stressful situation in YUL;
• Food in Economy decent, and free flowing drinks when requested good;
• Massive contrast with hard product on board depending on aircraft;
• Unpleasant lounges;
• Pretty seamless rebooking experience during cancellation;
• Amazing app and digital communication;
• YUL is a terrible airport;
• AC’s operational performance would appear to be abysmal.

Detailed thoughts:

• The crew on board each flight were amazing. Friendly, willing to chat, great grasp of every language, but best of all proactive with the service. There were frequent drink offers and even mid-service, asking for something additional didn’t go forgotten. The same was true in the lounges - welcoming, friendly and a helpful attitude which I found so welcoming.

• Gate staff were less engaging, particularly at YUL. It was a stressful time for them since they were handling a cancellation (which YUL itself doesn’t help) but the ‘aggression’ and frequent “no questions” being shouted at passengers wasn’t a great look. It’s really not helpful that announcements from all gates are audible, so critical messages regarding cancellations can’t be heard properly.

• I found the food in Economy decent. The full range of options was still available by the time crew reached the last row and it was piping hot still and tasty. Some crackers with the cheese would be good, since I use the bread with the remaining sauce from the main, but each time was filling. Alcoholic drinks were never held back on request and available on every drink run, which is better than many other carriers.

• I ended up flying a 789, 777 and 330. The later was terrible - tatty, dirty, damaged and I was surprised both frames were only ~11 years old. Also my first ever plane with an entertainment system which has no map functionality.

• At LHR I always avoid the AC lounge but was holding out hope YUL would be better. After a 20-minute queue to enter I was left very disappointed. It was obviously packed, but minimal seats with power points, the need to go back downstairs to leave your passport with reception to access a shower, toilet bins overflowing and slow service at the bar didn’t make for a relaxing retreat.

• At YUL I was annoyed to receive a cancellation while at the gate, and the confusion of the gate staff with passengers receiving more information via the app than them was disappointing, but the fact I was in a hotel bed 50-minutes later than the scheduled departure time was impressive. All with no quibble or cost. I was given two meal vouchers with a year’s expiry, plus my later delay at BOG proactively offered up another voucher at check in without even asking, despite being eligible for lounge access. Fair play to AC there.

• The app is great - so much information about bookings, maps of terminals etc. Plus the timely emails and SMS alerts of gate changes, updates etc is brilliant.

• With a 6-hour delay on the BOG-YYZ segment I was left with a 60-minute connection to LHR. “No problem” said the gate staff at BOG and the on-board crew. So on arrival straight to INT-INT connections I went, along with a fair few others, to be told to scan passport and wait for someone to open the door. We all explained we were close to departure and the member of staff practically mocked us for panicking, “loads of time” she said, someone is on their way. Fifteen minutes later someone else turned up and said we’d have to instead exit through arrivals and go back through departures security - INT shuts at 10pm (an hour ago). How I made the flight I’ll never know, but if 10pm closure is genuinely true why is it offered as an option?! I mentioned in passing to the crew on board who seemed to be well aware it shut at 10pm and is a common problem?

Overall brilliant AC staff who made me feel welcome at every point of the journey, if you get a nice plane it’s very nice and comfy at the back (as much as economy can be!), but I won’t be using them for short city breaks again where I don’t really have time to accommodate zero flights running to schedule.