bolgerp

Hi All

On Sunday 20th June (At 8.30 am... eek!) I am taking my first AC TATL flight from LHR to YQB (Via Toronto). However, I am flying in economy (as I really couldn't justify the £3.5K difference when paying for the flight myself).

I am in seat 19H on both TATL legs as I have Star Alliance Gold with UA.

I also believe I have allowance for 3 checked bags with my Status and Maple Leaf Lounge access.

Any other tips one can give on maximising my flying pleasure?

Also, do you know if they offer upgrades to buy to Exec First at check in? If it's not too horrendously expensive, I may do that. Having travelled for work for so many years on One World partners, I have rarely ever had to fly in economy for holidays (I think it's only happened once) as I have always booked using miles or been upgraded because of my status etc.

In this case, there was no reward flights on BA etc. so I had to suck it up and fly economy. My partner, who flies AC all the time, says ACs economy is really good... and it's only a 6.5 hour flight so I don't mind too much (thus why I couldn't justify the £3.5 K difference.... if it was £1K, I might have said differently...)

Anyhooooo, thanks in advance for your help. Looking forward to my holiday in Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Trenton (!!!) and Toronto!!

yyzgigi

You should have a good flight. Yes you'll have three bags. Given your happiness with your seat, I'm guessing you're on the 777 so you should be very comfortable. Service in the back is not too bad, you'll have a meal after take off and a hot snack shortly before landing. Alcohol is free as is the in-flight entertainment. They have free headsets, but can use your own headset. Unfortunately as your screen will be in your armrest you cannot watch the movies until in the air. You may still want to queue up some movies through the commercials before you leave as you cannot fast forward through them.

Once in Toronto you'll clear immigration, pickup your bags and then go through customs. After that you take a left and drop your bags on the connection belt and keep walking in that direction to the domestic security area. After security take the elevator to the Maple Leaf Lounge and enjoy a nice snack and alcoholic bev. as you have to pay for everything on the domestic flights.

zkzkz

They do on the OLCI or at the kiosk. *not* at the check-in desk. If OLCI doesn't offer it you can check back later and/or check at the kiosk at the airport.

But it's not cheap.

will5404

AC sometimes offers Last Minute Upgrades when checking in on the web or at the airport using an automated terminal. TATL upgrades are about ~$700 CDN and cover only the TATL portion of the flight. See this thread. You don't make clear which aircraft your on, if your on a 777 you may want to see this thread to make sure you or your partner don't have an equipment box under your seat.

FlyerGoldII

If you have a Centurion or Platinum AMEX card, you may want to go to an AMEX/Premium lounge at YYZ - some people find some aspects of it to be superior to the MLLs (personally, I try to go to both, if I have the time).

bolgerp

Many thanks for all the info... I am on a 777 (300, I believe).... IF the LMU was offered for $700, I would take it in a heartbeat! Let's see what happens! I shall keep you informed.

Oh, one more thing.... I assume, as I will be clearing Customs and Immigration in Toronto, I will have top pick up my bags as yyzgigi says, so if I purchase anything Duty Free in London or on the plane, I will need to put it into my chacked luggage in Toronto for the connecting to Quebec? My future father in law is partial to a nice Whiskey....

yyzgigi

Yes you would need to put in your checked bags before putting on the connection belt. If you're interested in buying on board here is what you'll expect on the plane:

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...ree/index.html

DaveTO

If you buy your Duty Free at LHR, they might have the secure plastic sealed bags that our security agency recognizes as acceptable for storage in the cabin.

http://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/Page.as..._taxes&lang=en

bolgerp

Ah..... excellent.....

mikeyyz

In LHR they usually do offer paid upgrades at the ticketing desk (not at the check-in desk) for around 400 pounds I believe, if available, good value compared to the normal cost!

bolgerp

I just checked in on line and no upgrade was offered so I will check at the airport tomorrow morning.

yowstudent

from my understanding, sometimes it isn't offered right away at check in, however later down the line (OLCI) that is. Keep checking, as some have been offered a LMU 12-hours out as opposed to 24

bolgerp

Hmmmm.... I just noticed my fare class is Economy (Lowest).... perhaps they don't offer upgrades from this fare class.... guess there's no harm in asking tomorrow morning.

The Lev

Your fare should not matter - when available, they offer it to anyone with an Economy ticket.

Good luck.

snarkleupagus

Do let us know one way or another! It's an ongoing debate as to what the conditions are for a Last-Minute Upgrade, particularly for inbound trans-oceanic flights to Canada.

At ~5 hours out, conditions are favourable (Sunday's AC 869 appears to have lots of Executive First seats still available, J=C=D=Z=9, R=4), but hope for the best!