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Air Canada Airbus A330-300 refurbishments

Old Oct 3, 2016, 9:53 pm
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Last edit by: YVR72
Note: please keep this thread to information on the refurbishment program and its progress; for discussion of which seats are best and other details about the interiors, please visit the seating information thread.

A330-300 Fleet Overview

AC currently has two configurations of 333:
  • Dream Cabin (16 aircraft): Latest 3-class configuration in line with the 787 and 777 fleets (seat map)
  • The "Merlions" (2 aircraft): ex-Singapore Airlines 2-class configuration (seat map), which are expected to be reconfigured to the Dream Cabin.
    • Important note: the front cabin on these aircraft is an angle-flat product in a 2-2-2 layout that was SQ's "regional" business class. On flights within North America, AC sells it as J; on international flights, they sell it as PY. These aircraft do not have the standard AC PY cabin
    • Since October 2023, these aircraft primarily operate YYZ>BOG>YUL triangle, and YUL<>LAX.
Status of Dream Cabin Refurbishment

Code:
32J 24O 241Y: 297 pax
C-GFAF (931) Completed @HKG, Oct 01/23 - Dec 09/23 [69 days]
C-GFAH (932) Completed @QPG, Aug 10/21 - Oct 05/21 [56 days]
C-GFAJ (933) Completed @QPG, Nov 24/21 - Jan 12/22 [49 days]
C-GFUR (934) Completed @QPG, Oct 08/19 - Feb 28/20 [143 days]
C-GHKR (935) Completed @QPG, Oct 04/21 - Nov 25/21 [52 days]
C-GHKW (936) Completed @HKG, Nov 27/21 - Feb 21/22 [86 days]
C-GHKX (937) Completed @RFD, Sep 02/20 - May 30/21 [271 days]
C-GHLM (938) Completed @HKG, Sep 30/22 - Dec 11/22 [72 days]
C-GEFA (939) Completed @RFD, Dec 31/20 - Mar 29/21 [89 days]
C-GEGC (940) Completed @QPG, May 17/22 - Jul 21/22 [67 days]
C-GEGI (941) Completed @QPG, Jan 10/22 - Mar 11/22 [60 days]
C-GEGP (942) Completed @QPG, Nov 06/19 - Jul 01/20 [238 days]
C-GHKC (943) Completed @HKG, Feb 21/22 - May 05/22 [73 days]
C-GKUG (944) Completed @QPG, Mar 02/20 - Feb 10/21 [345 days]
C-GKUH (945) Completed @RFD, Oct 08/20 - Jan 12/21 [99 days]
C-GOFV (946) SQ configuration
C-GOFW (947) Completed @QPG, Feb 03/22 - May 20/22 [107 days]
C-GXZD (948) SQ configuration
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Air Canada Airbus A330-300 refurbishments

Old Jul 15, 2022, 2:44 am
  #1201  
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: YVR
Programs: AC 50K | WS Gold | Bonvoy Titanium | Hilton Gold | Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 158
Originally Posted by noobynoob
A question for old 330s since they look and feel ancient - what is the compensation for being given a seat with non-working entertainment & power? I think I read that a flight attendant has to write a report or fill out a form and you have to contact customer relations? Is the outcome usually some aeroplan points and/or a discount coupon?
Im flying GHLM right now and will let you know. My original seat (1A) did not have a working charging plug so they moved me to 9A. There was someones half-eaten bag of nuts, an apple core, and a dirty eye mask at the seat. 8A and 7A also found trash and garbage. Further, our screens were not working for the safety demo and they had to come last minute to give us a quick demo. I got a compensation form and will let you know how it goes.
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Old Jul 15, 2022, 11:27 am
  #1202  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 138
Boarding door used at SFO

Does anyone know from which door they board the A330 at SFO? Is it the front door (between cockpit and J) or the middle door (between J & Y)?
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Old Jul 15, 2022, 12:08 pm
  #1203  
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
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Originally Posted by thereisnoaddress
Im flying GHLM right now and will let you know. My original seat (1A) did not have a working charging plug so they moved me to 9A. There was someones half-eaten bag of nuts, an apple core, and a dirty eye mask at the seat. 8A and 7A also found trash and garbage. Further, our screens were not working for the safety demo and they had to come last minute to give us a quick demo. I got a compensation form and will let you know how it goes.
While the non-working AV and charging plugs are an inconvenience, the lack of cleanliness is disgusting. Unfortunately, I have experienced that on Dreamcabin aircraft so it is not unique to older XM aircraft. So much for CleanCare+.
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Old Jul 15, 2022, 12:53 pm
  #1204  
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Originally Posted by yyzsfoflyer
Does anyone know from which door they board the A330 at SFO? Is it the front door (between cockpit and J) or the middle door (between J & Y)?
Door 2, between J and PY.

Last edited by canadiancow; Jul 15, 2022 at 1:04 pm Reason: Clarity on exactly which door is used
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Old Jul 15, 2022, 1:00 pm
  #1205  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: YVR - MILLS Waypoint (It's the third house on the left)
Programs: AC*SE100K, wood level status in various other programs
Posts: 6,171
Just for the uninitiated, the Cow is referring to Door 2, which is the "middle door" in the OP's question.
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Old Jul 15, 2022, 2:54 pm
  #1206  
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: LAX
Programs: AC SE, UA S, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 269
I'm kind of warming up to these pods. The *new* seat is definitely more comfortable without the air bladder and I like the USB-C port. We'll see if I still feel the same after my TATL tonight but I'm in 1K so hopefully the footwell is a bit wider.

Edit: Terrible for sleeping - I will try to only do day flights on these moving forward.

Last edited by recreationaltimetraveller; Jul 16, 2022 at 9:24 am
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Old Jul 18, 2022, 7:39 am
  #1207  
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 123
Originally Posted by thereisnoaddress
Im flying GHLM right now and will let you know. My original seat (1A) did not have a working charging plug so they moved me to 9A. There was someones half-eaten bag of nuts, an apple core, and a dirty eye mask at the seat. 8A and 7A also found trash and garbage. Further, our screens were not working for the safety demo and they had to come last minute to give us a quick demo. I got a compensation form and will let you know how it goes.
Doesn't the amount of compensation depend on the routes (or flight time)? I think on transatlantic flights the compensation for non-working IFE is a flight credit of $200?
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Old Jul 18, 2022, 7:50 am
  #1208  
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: YVR
Programs: AC 50K | WS Gold | Bonvoy Titanium | Hilton Gold | Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 158
Originally Posted by noobynoob
Doesn't the amount of compensation depend on the routes (or flight time)? I think on transatlantic flights the compensation for non-working IFE is a flight credit of $200?
I'm not sure -- I always try to avoid flying AC on TATL 😆

Originally Posted by EdmFlyBoi
While the non-working AV and charging plugs are an inconvenience, the lack of cleanliness is disgusting. Unfortunately, I have experienced that on Dreamcabin aircraft so it is not unique to older XM aircraft. So much for CleanCare+.
Exactly; I did not mind that the charging plug was not working and they had to move me, but this is not okay:



I usually don't care about the IFE but it the safety demo wasn't working for me and the person in front; I feel like that should have some sort of legal consequences because if I didn't point it out, they would just have taken off without briefing us at all 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Old Jul 18, 2022, 9:20 am
  #1209  
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC SE MM, BW Diamond Select
Posts: 700
I usually receive 15% off when given the white card to fill out.

Originally Posted by noobynoob
Doesn't the amount of compensation depend on the routes (or flight time)? I think on transatlantic flights the compensation for non-working IFE is a flight credit of $200?
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Old Jul 21, 2022, 9:47 pm
  #1210  
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: Air Canada A35K, Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 169
Flight tomorrow from YYZ - LIS just got changed to C-GFAF. When I was looking at the seat map yesterday there was only 1 unoccupied seat in J on the 1-2-1 config. Don't care about old/dirty seats (planning to sleep whole flight anyways) but I believe that means 4 people are getting booted from J. Is there any way to put my mind at ease that we're not on that list? We're non-revenue, but booked into Flexible Business Class award seats. We're checked in online with boarding passes in J, and all sources I can find online (AC app, AC website, cowtool PNR viewer) show J seat numbers, but I'm still nervous.

Also, we can still access the signature suite at YYZ even though we're not technically in a signature class cabin right?
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Old Jul 23, 2022, 6:57 am
  #1211  
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
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Posts: 158
Originally Posted by etgohomeok
Flight tomorrow from YYZ - LIS just got changed to C-GFAF. When I was looking at the seat map yesterday there was only 1 unoccupied seat in J on the 1-2-1 config. Don't care about old/dirty seats (planning to sleep whole flight anyways) but I believe that means 4 people are getting booted from J. Is there any way to put my mind at ease that we're not on that list? We're non-revenue, but booked into Flexible Business Class award seats. We're checked in online with boarding passes in J, and all sources I can find online (AC app, AC website, cowtool PNR viewer) show J seat numbers, but I'm still nervous.

Also, we can still access the signature suite at YYZ even though we're not technically in a signature class cabin right?
oh hey, Im on the return leg of that flight back to YYZ now! I cant believe it; on my one week Europe trip, I flew both of the non-refurbished 333s. What are the odds! Did you get bumped in the end?

On this flight, there are three couples travelling together, and all of their husbands got bumped / volunteered to go back to Y / PY. The wives are complaining because 4A and 9A are empty (probably due to seat problems?) and asking why their husbands couldnt sit there.
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Old Jul 24, 2022, 9:29 am
  #1212  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 8
We have just had an aircraft change for our MAN-YYZ flight next week. A330-300 Layout 1 with 3 rows of PE. Our row doesn't exist in PE now.

I have read some bad comments about row 12 in PE.

Does anyone happen to know what aircraft this is likely to be and if row 12 is indeed 'worse than economy' like some have said?

2nd August MAN-YYZ
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Old Jul 26, 2022, 7:26 pm
  #1213  
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: AC E50K *G - Amtrak SelectPlus
Posts: 230
A few things to note on my first AC A330 flight.

Theres almost no front shelf space on row 1 like on the Boeings as the leg holes seem to go through the bulkhead. This means no bassinets at all in J (not that we needed one but worth noting) and worst of all, no tray of snacks laid out during the flight. If I want snacks Ill have to get up and go to the galley, oh the humanity!

No storage space below the armrest and overall it just seems like I have much less cubby space.

USB-C is a nice touch

Remote doesnt have its own screen.

The sliding divider for the D and G seats is great. Easy to pass a toddler between seats and if we can ever afford J again when the child has their own seat, itll be much easier to keep an eye on them with Parent adjacent and one sitting behind.

Wi-Fi works great so far. $35 CAD for full speed wifi seems decent to me considering how much we pay for satcoms at work, cant even fathom how this can be profitable.

The seats seem decent enough, I much prefer the seatbelt arrangement over the Boeing J cabins. (No bulky airbag)

Last edited by pprrff; Jul 26, 2022 at 7:32 pm
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Old Jul 29, 2022, 2:54 pm
  #1214  
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC SE MM, BW Diamond Select
Posts: 700
(Somewhat last-minute sub from refurbished to old layout aircraft

A friend and I are flying on FIN 931 which is the old configuration. We had been scheduled to fly in a refurbished aircraft.

Current numbers on the app are:
Business Class: 30/31 - 27 checked in
Premium Economy: 22/24- 13 checked in

Old configuration has 27 J, 21 PY, and 244 in Y vs the new ones 32 J, 24 PY, 241 Y.

I had moved us to row 15 in premium economy at check-in but moved us back to row 13 after I learned that 931 had been rostered for our flight.

We were waitlisted for J, and were ticketed in PY. EF shows as 0 across the board. It was J3, O3, as recently as this morning when I checked.

Will it be chaos rearranging people across all 3 cabins?
If I had stayed in row 15, would we have been split up and placed wherever there was space in PY?

I dont think any J upgrades have been processed as Ive been waitlisted for weeks (Im SE).

Thanks for any insight you can share.
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Old Jul 29, 2022, 7:48 pm
  #1215  
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: YYZ
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Posts: 16,578
In the post AC/CP merger there was a mix of 763's with 25 and 30 seats in the fleet. At that time AC would only sell 25 J seats even if the scheduled aircraft was going to be a 30-seat version. The 5 extra seats, when available would be used for people with upgrade certificates.

Maybe AC needs to go back to that philosophy with the A330 and only sell 27J and 21 PE until such time as all the aircraft are upgraded to tht new layout. That will make people using eUpgrades happier as there will be better odds of scoring an upgrade.
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