PLeblond

Yes, I have.

6'0" 195 lbs.

winnipegrev

I don't know why they omit it, but it is 18". LH is exact same seat width and 1" more pitch than Rouge.

PLeblond

I'm not sure where you're based. Maybe flying UA & MP is the better programme for you? If you are in Canada, then the minimum metal requirements do not apply to you. If you are in the US, then AC's minimum milage requirement is 25% (I believe)

I'm not saying you have to agree with Rouge. I'm not saying you have to fly Rouge. I'm just asking if, on a flight with an in-air time of less than 2 hours, is Rouge that bad? If so, then you have your answer. Looks like you need to change FFP.

FlyerJ

Every airline is going to slimline seats ... it makes absolute economic sense.

My main issue with Rouge is the seat pitch of those slimline seats. On every other carrier I've flown, I still fit. On Rouge, no. That's a deal breaker, and the R+ seats (a paltry 6 per aircraft) can be tough to come by, especially if you want more than a single seat or don't want the middle. The availability of R+, IMO, doesn't make up for the bone crushing pitch on the rest of the plane.

Second for me is the quality of those seats. I've sat in lots of slimline seats on other carriers, and rouge's are the most uncomfortable that I've experienced. As others have discussed here, there's (1) a "hammocking" effect and (2) the lack of hard shell means you'll feel the person behind you for the entire trip.

I have no issues with Rouge J, or with IFE, or with the cheap-n-cheerful cabin crew, or the jaunty hats. If Rouge had even nominally better pitch across the cabin (ie if adults within normal height ranges could fit), I'd be fine with it.

Count me as one of those who'll happily connect at a U.S. hub to avoid it.

BlondeBomber

Sort of agree--but better pitch won't help for me as Rouge in those seats is still uncomfortable. But new J is coming by fall I hope!

In the meantime I have been pricing out flights YYC-PHX as one example where I can usually get cheaper First Class on US (debatable as to where this fits on the spectrum but seats are good at least) than econo on Rouge. That makes it a no brainer and they have more flights and US is also non-stop. After I use up the last of my sun pass, I will look elsewhere--I have to subject my spouse to Rouge at least once so she understands why I dislike them so much (and her back is way more sensitive than mine--I can sleep in the back of the old crew cab trucks with side seats folded down and a couple of briefcases in between and a light foam over top!)

drvannostren

I can say that as someone who is 5'9-5'10 my knees were jammed into the seat in front of me, YYC-LAX. Again for me it was a bit uncomfortable, I had 1 drink and that made it nicer, on a short flight it was bearable. Not ideal though. Still interested in checking out a rouge 767 to at least sit in/try out the seats.

I totally agree with them Rouging YYZ-SJO though. As a former employee, I can tell you the A319s were oversold almost daily. It was nearly impossible to go standby. Would it have made sense for a 767? I guess not because they never bothered to do it. I would think that with the cost to run Rouge flights they can afford to have some empty seats where they may not be able to on mainline.

canadiancow

The problem I found on that route was it was so variable.

I've flown it where I was the only one in J. But I've also flown it as SE on an M fare where I couldn't upgrade, which means J was full of JCDZYB fares. And there were many times I did get the upgrade at the gate (again, SE on M fare), but it was J1-2, so it wasn't like the cabin was all upgrades from cheap fares.

I can't speak for Y fares though. But as a result of all this, I've directed some colleagues paid J flights onto United.

Regardless, with the 2-2 seating going in J, things change for me, and I'll stop recommending United on the route.

Diabeetus

Haven't had the chance to try Rouge in Y yet, but we're the same height and the thought of 29" pitch makes me cringe.

I recently flew one of the new WS 738's with the slimline seats. They didn't change the density of the plane, and the increase in leg room is noticeable. Too bad WS will eventually reconfigure the fleet to fit extra rows and take back the extra leg room.

alexbc

My thread about YVR-SFO was moved here... at any rate, this whole Rouge crap, PLUS the fact that AC needs 50% metal to give me their status is now completely screwing me up. Long haul for me is a mix of AC/LH/ANA, and was counting on US flight to make the 50% metal, now the only way to do that is to go Rouge, which for a guy my height (6'3) is simply NOT an option! There's only 6 seats for Rouge+ which is not gauranteed either, so it's pretty much a lose-lose-lose situation.

I really didn't realize this before flying this January on my biggest flight segments over 30K miles, otherwise I would have switched to United in a heart beat! I used a GPU pass from United and upgraded my LH flight, something that I could have NEVER DONE with AC. Oh well, you live and learn.

2015 is my last year on AC, bye bye... BIG MISTAKE not to do that 2 weeks ago, was too busy working didn't pay attention. Damn it!

PS. AC is very short sighted, they're doing well financially catering to the cattle class, but slowly are losing their business clients, it may not show-up immediately in their revenue, but will in 1-2yrs time, almost EVERYONE at work is talking about this, and ALL are re-calculating which program would be best to move to. One colleague just switched to OneWorld, as he had to do a cpl of SIN flights, and couldn't possibly fit in the 777HD, so he switched, did Cathay to Asia and couldn't be happier! Another colleague switched to United, and now with the promotion, is getting like 80K miles on one Asian trip alone! I missed the boat...

alexbc

That is absolutely not true! Most company policies have a cheapest + margin policy, it's usually between $100-300 margin, which for shorter west coast flights is basically the difference in fare between cheapest and most expensive. Plus, most policies is just manager approval.

After Rouge, literally ALL of my company's California flight have switched to United, period! The only challenge is if you're on AC program, you need to make 50% metal, which then makes moving to United even more attractive.

superangrypenguin

Ours is a $50 margin. (technically, although most FF employees ignore it...)

canadiancow

Send me your resume

superangrypenguin

I've been looking all morning Unfortunately my skill set is very very unique, so it's difficult finding a place with your employer as the headcount is probably 1/2 for the entire org (for my specialty)

SparseFlyer

It's ok. I will send my resume in your stead.

superangrypenguin