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7M8 angst
So its time this wknd for me & the missus to make our annual pilgrimage to the Valley Isle.
As many of you know, AC has foisted the "comfortable" brand new Boeing 7M8 on the Hawaii routes and those of us who complained about YYC-OGG being "rouged" now long for the comfy 763 to take us to paradise. While I sprung for row 20 (exit row) I am still apprehensive about spending 7 hours on this new but flawed in so many ways bird. How long will the lineups for the 2 lavs be on a 7 hour journey? Will the service be compromised by the narrow aisles& small galleys causing frustration for the FA's who are trying their best? I have flown 4 flights on this aircraft YYC-YYZ and immediately noticed the small dimensions. This trip on the weekend will prove to me if I will avoid flying on the 7M8 on a long flight in the future. I'll post a report when I return. Aloha. |
Enjoy Hawaii. Though I am not sure if I can say enjoy your flight as there really isn’t much to enjoy. All I can hope for is the flight is not full in Y. |
My upcoming travel plans involve Y in a 7M8 as well: YYT-LHR this weekend, LHR-YHZ-YYZ next week on the return. As much as I'm looking forward to checking out the aircraft I'm also wondering if I'll find it tolerable to fly on again -- not least of all because the YHZ/YYT to LHR runs used to be worked by A319s, probably my favourite plane in the fleet.
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Originally Posted by shadowspar
(Post 30504220)
My upcoming travel plans involve Y in a 7M8 as well: YYT-LHR this weekend, LHR-YHZ-YYZ next week on the return. As much as I'm looking forward to checking out the aircraft I'm also wondering if I'll find it tolerable to fly on again -- not least of all because the YHZ/YYT to LHR runs used to be worked by A319s, probably my favourite plane in the fleet.
My Dad hates 737s (he’s a former aero engine tech from the military and has oddly specific preferences plus a little bit of flight anxiety) so I expected to hear a lot of complaints. They had nothing negative to say. No complaints about the washrooms. No complaints about the leg room (likely because I got them in row 20) or the seats or anything. They did say the flight wasn’t full and they didn’t have anyone between them so I suspect that made it tolerable. I’ve only flown the 7M8 once, between YYZ -YOW, and I was in a preferred window. Leg room was ok but I found the shoulder space lacking. I would not be ok with that seat TATL. |
I haven't flown the AC 7M8, but I have flown many many 7-8 hour narrow body flights on TK's 737-900ER's. Lavatory access highly depends on whether you are on a day or night flight and how full the plane is.
That said, I did get on an ET 7M8 recently and found it a lot more comfortable than the old 737's. Perhaps it's just placebo, but I did think the flight was a lot quieter than the old 737. And the old 767 is not exactly quiet either, compared to new generation planes. |
Originally Posted by shadowspar
(Post 30504220)
My upcoming travel plans involve Y in a 7M8 as well: YYT-LHR this weekend, LHR-YHZ-YYZ next week on the return. As much as I'm looking forward to checking out the aircraft I'm also wondering if I'll find it tolerable to fly on again -- not least of all because the YHZ/YYT to LHR runs used to be worked by A319s, probably my favourite plane in the fleet.
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This past summer I flew LAX-YYZ-YYT-LHR and on the return LHR-YHZ-YYZ all on the 737-8MAX. To my surprise, I actually came to like the 7M8. The interiors were nice, good IFE and fine service from the FAs. Nothing to really complain about. Sometimes I get the feeling that people want to complain for the sake of complaining. It is all about your mindset, it will be just a few hours of your life on a metal tube, so nothing life shattering even if you find the ride uncomfortable. Remember that a vacation is awaiting once you arrive!
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Originally Posted by B747forever
(Post 30504979)
This past summer I flew LAX-YYZ-YYT-LHR and on the return LHR-YHZ-YYZ all on the 737-8MAX. To my surprise, I actually came to like the 7M8. The interiors were nice, good IFE and fine service from the FAs. Nothing to really complain about. Sometimes I get the feeling that people want to complain for the sake of complaining. It is all about your mindset, it will be just a few hours of your life on a metal tube, so nothing life shattering even if you find the ride uncomfortable. Remember that a vacation is awaiting once you arrive!
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Hilariously enough, my YYT-LHR flight last night was grounded by problems that had weren't caused by the famous snowstorms of St John's or any of the issues with the 7M8 that are in the news. Instead the plane was done in by some kind of interaction between the jetbridge and the main cabin door -- when they went to retract the jetbridge, something on the door got broken and it wouldn't seal.
Fin 509 is still sitting at Gate 9 this morning, so I imagine aircraft and jetbridge both are still out of service. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d853ffdf89.jpg AC 7M8 fin 509, parked at YYT gate 9 |
I flew the 7M8 on YHZ-LHR and YYZ-KEF return. Both I was in PY which means I was sitting in the domestic J section.
I don't like this plane at all. Its tight and J seats are really domestic J seat. I highly prefer the 788 in J. positive is the ticket prices are way cheaper in PY then J. |
Not by any intention, I've so far avoided this bird. Lots of A320 and 777/787 for me. Just never ended up on the 7M8 out of luck.
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For me 7M8 has been better than most 10 wide 777 birds.
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I wish YHZ/YYT-LHR were dayliner routes. The YHZ flight is usually scheduled to arrive surprisingly late in the morning (good for customs, bad for connections) so in some ways it may as well be a dayliner. I've also found the *A connections out of LHR to be pretty bad the last few years, although that is only anecdotal.
Originally Posted by AtlanticXpat
(Post 30504869)
I'm a regular 7M8 flyer YYT-LHR and, frankly in season its pretty much impossible to avoid flying on the thing out of YYT as its used extensively for YYT-YYZ as well. (So no point in flying to LHR via YYZ to try and avoid the 7M8). Preferred seats are the way to go but of course that doesn't address the width other than generally I find that all three preferred seats are not occupied. I do like the IFE, it's great frankly. The lavs are compact and bijou but tolerable for a quick visit if you know what I mean. The narrow aisles are horrible in terms of getting knocked by people/carts going past. Only saving grace on the TATL route is that generally load factors are such that its not full which makes things a little better. I miss the 319's though...
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Originally Posted by chebert999
(Post 30512634)
I flew the 7M8 on YHZ-LHR and YYZ-KEF return. Both I was in PY which means I was sitting in the domestic J section.
I don't like this plane at all. Its tight and J seats are really domestic J seat. I highly prefer the 788 in J. positive is the ticket prices are way cheaper in PY then J. Also, the max isn’t that bad. I’ve done Prem Econony YHZ to LHR and back, as well as DUB to YUL. Load factors were such that lav lines were normal. FAs say the galley is small, but it didn’t impact service. |
Originally Posted by Jsteezy
(Post 30515036)
Since when did AC start flying to Keflavik? I’ve got a client in Iceland and would much prefer AC metal to get there. Also, the max isn’t that bad. I’ve done Prem Econony YHZ to LHR and back, as well as DUB to YUL. Load factors were such that lav lines were normal. FAs say the galley is small, but it didn’t impact service. |
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