canolakid

Did this recently on a TPAC- made the request at boarding that the main be held til later. SD informed the FA and they put my choice in the frig. When I was ready to eat, FA needed 20 min to reheat.

Out of consideration for the busyness of pre-arrival service, would be a good idea to make the request for 'your' dinner to be a bit of time before they are therming the omelets...

Transpacificflyer

Sorry for delay, I was traveling and will post some more of my experience on some of my more recent AC flights. I have come to the conclusion that the issue of catering has a lot to do with the Canadian contractors and not just Air Canada. The caterers are just not very good. Where AC fails is that it doesn't seem to supervise the way SQ , AF or LH does. I don't think AC is trying to cut corners, but there is something awfully wrong when the Canadian caterer keeps buggering up Canadian beef or a basic chicken breast. There is no excuse for low quality dinner rolls in a country that produces some of the finest baking grains in the world. Air Canada asks for a fruit plate, but the caterer provides the same plate construction no matter the season. We all know that there are seasons for certain fruits. Is it so hard to substitute berries, or certain types of citrus? The last orange and grapefruit slices I had were just awful and that's because they were not in season. The caterer should use appropriate in season fruits and vegetables. For example, there is no need to keep using asparagus when it is out of season and the only type available is the dry starchy variety from Peru.

To answer your question; If I were to compare with some of AC's competitors on the routes I fly, I would like to have the quality come up to the consistency of KLM, Cathay or EVA. I try to avoid US air carriers because of my past experience, so I cannot comment about American or even United now. Delta has been slightly better than AC on long haul, and I haven't had a meal on DL domestic in eons. I fly mostly in Asia, and am quite satisfied with Cathay's regional/short haul options which I find are better than Air Canada domestic. Everyone raves about Thai Airways meals, but I don't like them (Not Thai enough for me.) I have flown on both Air China and China Eastern in the past year and can say that Air Canada has nothing to worry about when it comes to onboard service or F&B LOL. I know some people love the NH/JL catering and others rave about Asiana, but I found that AC was better at meeting my dining preferences.

On a positive note, I am noticing an improvement in the wine selection. I guess now that the sommelier has had an opportunity to work through some of the inventory she inherited, she can make her own selections. Anyway, I think AC made a good move in retaining her services.

Stranger

That would be good.

But I am pretty sure older inventory did not last too long. Has been her selection already for quite a while. Perhaps she won the battle for a somewhat increased budget?

(If I were in her shoes, I would not have accepted the job with the budget she had. Although admittedly stylewise her selection was more to my liking than the previous one. But not qualitywise.)

yyznomad

Garlic Bread - for those trying it for the first time starting mid-April, let us know how it is! (international flights only)

Oh, and the Mimosas... and the new Champagne... and the new signature cocktail.

24left

Well, after all the mentions (and photos) of SQ and CX offering garlic bread......

Last year, I posted a link and article/video from enRoute (IIRC) where bartenders (mixologists) were developing drinks, and I suggested AC use one of them, or the concept, to have their own Signature Drink. I mentioned CX having 2 choices on their menus (which change either by route or quarterly etc).

So, nice to see AC making these changes.

yyznomad

So you're saying AC will be on par with the likes of SQ and CX come April 17, 2018?

24left

I didn't finish editing my post before you replied to it.

I wasn't the one who ever suggested AC was on par with SQ, CX, BR, (rest of list)

Diabeetus

I imagine the garlic bread will be very popular.

I'll give it a try. it'll be a nice change from my usual multigrain dipped in the balsamic vinaigrette.

yyznomad

What if it's actually cold, brittle, baton-like garlic bread?

Diabeetus

Wow. That is a depressing thought. It's like eating garlic bread from the grocery store without heating it.

yyznomad

Or putting lipstick on an existing breadstick.

The Lev

If there is no turbulence, the Express meal comes pretty quickly - well under half an hour after take-off.

I have asked for the dinner to be served for me at breakfast on flights to Europe as I'm going straight to sleep and they happily accommodated me.

cyralax

I've got a flight on AC9 on the 18th. Hopefully they'll have garlic bread, if they do I'll make sure to put up some action shots here. Any requests?

24left

Can I put in an order? Do you deliver? Or you do mean requests for which type of garlic bread action shots AC FT would be interested in?

cyralax

You can order, but since I'm going towards the orient I'll have to mail it back and it'll probably turn into the nightmare-bread that yyznomad described. I mean-I know AC can screw up alot, but they can't manage to screw up garlic bread......right?
I actually meant which action photos of the garlic bread that you guys wanted. I also have a SQ flight in J as well in a couple of weeks so I'll be able to post a comparison to the legendary SQ garlic bread.