rankourabu

No, ALL elites get E+ for free, even the lowest ones.

The difference being for a Y- flyer, if I m stuck in a crap seat, on AC, I also get to earn 50% mileage.

shore9

Personally I don't think there is a lot of difference between the current AC pods and the LX J seats. I think it's primarily personal preference. I don't like the way that the pods narrow at the feet when I am trying to stretch out and sleep, however the LX seats effectively have a cubby hole where your feet go. Also if you are right on the aisle with the LX seats versus having the table thing between you and the aisle it makes a big difference.

The fact that 36 seats can fit in the space of 24 seats should also tell you something.

morphius909

Priorty Boarding?
Baggage?
Checkin?

Umm sorry I've earned those privileges...more dilution?

Clipper801

You mean *S and *G now also get E+ at UA for free?

Scott218

I actually think the 777s will be interchangeable in the future. Depending on the schedule, 77H can be used for summer flights to LHR when there are more leisure travellers. I would say the same is applicable for all cities with higher leisure density at different times of the year. This will ensure AC is maximizing on the total passenger revenue at peak season.

ffsim

Bingo. I can never fall asleep in a pod for that specific reason. The LX seats are a great improvement in that area, and, as you said, the fact that you can fit so many more J seats in the same area goes to show that they're much more efficient when it comes to using space (yes, I know they're somewhat narrower, but you get the point). Of course, that "efficiency" comes at the price of privacy.

mkjr

i am surprised since i thought SYD and HKG are pretty leisure destinations out of YYZ and YVR at least. i just have a bad feeling with this confict. talk about a big change. i used to note to many that flying Y on the 777s was not bad on AC...hopefully, only these ones will be the problems. the least they could do is run the flights in the day time going east....

heraclitus

Yay! Ryanair finally comes to Canada!

I presume the inevitable next step from AE in response to AC's move is to enhance the program such that 90,000 points will now get you your very own Y+ seat to CDG? (Oh boy!)

The race to the bottom continues...

worldtraveller73

Its a wise move on AC's part to offer a premium economy cabin. However, they are cannibalizing the back of the plane to do so, and are diluting the benefits to their loyal customers by lessening ability to upgrade in J (by having less seats).

Those that value non stop services ( which are a lot of infrequent travellers) will snap these up in a heartbeat.

rankourabu

No, 'foreign' Star ones don't, and they shouldn't.
But UA golds and silvers do, and always had, you don't need to be an 'upper tier' elite.

Why should a twice a year TPAC or 3x a year TATL person buy AC, get half mileage, and sit in a 450+ pax sardine can, when they can have E+ for free. The main difference is the USA inconvenience

willflyforfood

"Uncle Harrys Of The Sky"
Surpirsed they left as many lavs as they did. There aren't any on the old yellow school buses!

Clipper801

For upper tier, I meant any tier above the ordinary non status.

In AC A language, it would be A 25K or higher.

Sorry for the confusion.

As I have posted earlier, AC could easily have a few rows in the front of the regular Y cabin with a a little extra seat pitch as "Priority Seats" with a little bit more leg room for its A 25K or higher members. The pitch does not have to be as generous as UA E+ but 33~34" would have been nice. The cost will probably be losing one row of 10 seats but it will go a long way to pamper the A 25K or higher members. It may even sell those seats at a nominal extra cost to those non status for extra revenue in the same way as the Preferred Seats right now. It's moot now as AC has obviously made the business decision not to provide.

newcdn

3-3-3 Y in the 787s is almost a given at this point which is worse than 3-4-3 Y on a 777. Current 77Ws might not seat 450+ people, but I can see them changing the Y class to 3-4-3 and introduce the Premium Economy cabin (2-4-2).

172pilot

Doing a quick revenue calculation on YUL-CDG one way. The prices are the same in Y and J on July 10th and 11th. Thus AC will get extra revenue from E and E+ and lose in J. If you assume worst case is Tango and lowest J (the reality will be higher and thus more revenue) you get $50k extra in E, $23k extra in PE and -$11k in J per flight. This is a minimum of $62k for full flights. With current high loads and the fact these flights are in the summer so fares will rise, I expect AC will do very well financially on the flight.

sluis

This is a great move for Air Canada as long as it is not implemented on their entire network. Most People in Y in leisure routes are mostly concerned about finding the cheapest possible fare so in order to compete with Air Transat they need to get as many seats as possible in Y. The premium economy option is a good choice for those wanting more comfort and for business travellers. I expect this aircraft on the YYZ - LHR route, YYZ - CDG, YYZ-FRA, YVR -LHR (summer) soon. It is possible that YVR - HKG will see this aircraft if the range for this extra heavy 777 allows it.