Fiordland

Currently Qantas only does YVR-SYD on a seasonal basis using the 747. Would be good to see them year round. They partner with WestJet so for someone out of YYZ it would be a 737 for the connection.

As for the other alternatives the only one I have tried was UA. I would pick AC any day over UA. Far more comfortable.

TPJ

Nothing to worry about. The only challenge might be transit in PVG. There is a thread on SK forum listing which connections qualify for airside transit. Otherwise you will have to clear Chinese immigration.

And BTW this thread is about YYZ-YVR-SYD flight, which is unique as it is the same plane connection with special procedures. Your PVG flight will be non stop.

david_oz

Mikey Mike Mike

There shouldn't be any confusion in the post! I am a new poster as people correctly state, and I gained confidence in posting recently (with no negative feedback until now) on my post on BA PE and what BA could improve.
My main point (or rant as some have said) is that the flight is seen as one from YYZ and so the inflexibility of one seat selection, upgrade bid, upgrade credits, for both legs becomes apparent. We bid the max on the AC site on the slider and from memory it was 3k bucks each - each way. Again, it's not about the value - as we all put a different value on upgrades depending on our circumstances. The point was having been invited to bid - and we bid the max, there was no win on the bid AND there were seats going empty! I recall now that one of the connections in YVR ran late and missed the Sydney flight which could explain it.
With 3 rows of PE, there was no prioritisation of meal preference on status. They started at the first row, and by the second row only had one choice left.
I am a fan of PE including AC. I am booked in October on an open jaw into London and out of Paris - my company pays coach and I pay around a thousand bucks to upgrade. On a London flight, I agree PE is just fine and better than BA. It's the ultra long journey - 22 hours (with a 2 hour stop) which as AC 33/34 provides little flexibility if you're doing both legs, and the schedule is tight - less than two hours in YVR and 2 hours in Sydney.
Where BA and AC do differ from some of the other PE carriers is that after the first meal - it morphs into economy. (other than the seat)
My frustration with the flights - and I admit this, is having being told for three of the four legs - it's one flight, for reasons I get to maintain schedule, they split the flight on the AC 34 so the whole selling point of one flight, and one aircraft and one seat reservation etc etc is lost - when it suits AC.

fin 645

The OP raises many very valid points about YYZ/SYD AC 33/34 and its many foibles, most of which they found themselves caught up in. It seems that it's mostly a marketing gimmick to have a so called direct flight, but it causes no end of trouble. As far as I can tell, its really 3 separate flights thrown into one, all bookable separately, so given AC's IT limitations, it's no wonder it causes so many problems - not to AC, but to its customers. If you travel YYZ-SYD, you can't change seats in YVR, you can't upgrade from YVR (even if its R9 at departure), you only get one BP which has nary a mention of YVR. And yes, YYZ agents will tell you that you can do things in YVR which you cannot do.

The popularity of the YYZ-YVR segment means that upgrading out if YYZ is very difficult, yet conversely, YYZ pax get priority for upgrades out of SYD. The SYD concierges are much more knowledgeable about how to overcome some of these issues - YYZ has no clue and YVR just suffers the consequences.

It is absolutely ridiculous when you can't even get a copay upgrade from YVR - it's simply impossible. Fancy that, AC unable to accept revenue from a willing customer.

If AC 34 is late, it's not unusual for the YVR-YYZ leg to operate on time with a different aircraft, and for through pax to be transferred to another flight, seat assignments be damned - and it's usually the same aircraft you had flown from SYD on.

The whole thing is a pain - the answer is of course, simple - NEVER take the through flight.

jc94

Jagboi

Is that also true for YVR originating passengers? Or just YYZ?

CZAMFlyer

True about the QF service to YVR, to accommodate the few weeks in the summer and few weeks in the winter the leisure traffic between the two places spikes. I suspect the route would be more viable with the economics of the 789, but am unsure where Qantas has planned their future Dreamliner assignments. If Vancouver doesn't make the cut, it may not be a case of YVR-SYD being unprofitable, but of other routes yielding more.

I have flown a lot of AC and a lot of UA, and will disagree with your "any day" statement. I have found it a toss-up on many occasions.

Curious about this: how long have you waited, at what times of day, and in which direction were you traveling? If flying YYZ->YVR->SYD, you of course won't do customs in Vancouver, nor will you pass through security unless you choose to wander in the public area for some reason. Entering Canada through YVR should be painless during the early-morning Australia arrival times. Transiting SYD (+MEL/BNE) passengers clear immigration at kiosks and are then taken straight from the international arrival hall through a side exterior door to a waiting bus (there's one every 2-4 minutes), which drives underneath the noses of the planes parked at the 50 gates and deposits you at Gate 29 in the midst of the AC domestic pier. Brief immigration, no customs, no security.

I'd say that's gone massively uphill, assuming uphill equates to a streamlined passenger experience.

lcohen999

I've done 33/34...geez too many times

For the uninitiated it can be a confusing flight.

YVR has gotten better now that they do OSS coming back on 34. As for the line break which happened to OP, those things happen, especially in the winter. What can you do.

I've landed in YVR, line broke 34 and waited 4 hours to get home due to weather. Snow is snow.

Is 33/34 the worst route in the network. I doubt that very much. The staff who usually do those routes really enjoy it. Have always found them friendly and personable.

PE, I assume is doing very well for AC.. I watch 33/34 loads often and PE is always the first to go. So they are selling it well. That said. One meal then Y isn't PE. They need to pick up the second service and have something different than Y.

yyznomad

Yes. Plus, how does 33/34 compare with the MEL and BNE flights? One could also say that if YVRSYD is the worst, then the other two are equally as bad.

lcohen999

The difference is, they are only tagged as YVR-BNE/MEL, rather than YYZ-SYD

That, I think throws people off. I suspect if OP had booked a YYZ-YVR and a YVR-SYD expectations would be slightly different. Perception is a powerful thing

yyznomad

Yes, I agree.

I was thinking more of the "service".

Direct-with-stop itineraries tend to, as you noted, "throw people off"... and I know my grandma and great-cousin-thrice-removed can never tell the difference to that of a direct non-stop.

ridefar

If your discussion of worst route in the network doesn't start and stop with Air Georgian candidates (e.g. MKE or DET) then you are clearly blessed to have never flown the actual worst routes in the network.

lcohen999

I think the service is fantastic. I always compare 33/34 to 15/16 since they are of the same length and hold similar 'status'. I think I've posted this before. 33/34 is warm and friendly, 15/16 is paint by numbers but slightly cold and indifferent.

lcohen999

I've done DET, don't you worry