HerpaYvr

May 18 YOW-YYZ-YYC AC7565 & AC 155 - Pretty full flight out of YOW as they cancelled the flight at 18:00 & funny flight to YYC was late!

Same experience as before, passengers spread apart, on AC 7565 they handed the ziplock bag to you when you boarded instead of distributing the bag after everyone was seated.

I hope to make a YOW-YYZ-YVR-YYZ-YOW flight at the end of the month, I heard they give you a box lunch on this flight?

Flying experience is not the same, prices should reflect this and be lowered to reflect the value of the product/experience and to bring passengers back, BUT people have to have the confidence to fly as well as the attitude.

cedric

Currently only those needing to fly are flying. Lower prices won't necessarily encourage demand, plus with seats blocked off there are only so many seats that can be sold. No airline can afford to leave money on the table right now.

HerpaYvr

I agree......I am just cheap and wanted to pay less as not needing to fly, but wanting to fly!!

CZAMFlyer

Well there are lower prices to be had. Just booked another domestic return flight for June/July at prices I haven't seen since the Zip days. Of course, I booked the rock-bottom basic fare, but we're getting rock-bottom basic service, and I'm looking for transport, not an 'experience', and points accrual makes zero sense these days.

Savethatmoney

Thank you for the video. I’m curious how different airline experiences are.

tracon

Tuesday AC 184 & 7456 YVR-YYZ-YOW both about 20% full.

eastcoastcan

I would argue that the fact the the planes are even flying in these circumstances is far from "rock bottom service". Getting from point A to B these days is a major luxury and one I expect to pay dearly for until the industry is back to historical capacity.

CZAMFlyer

The airlines are buses with wings. They are filling a basic need, and are not doing so as a charity nor for the betterment of society. Passengers get on, sit still in relative isolation, then get off. I travel because I have to, not because I want to - that's not a luxury. Perhaps airlines should consider it luxurious to be able to transport anybody given the circumstances alluded to.
As for payments - I've booked $99/leg fares for my next three roundtrips - or about a third of the cost of the same trips last year.

RangerNS

Depends on the province? Arriving in NS you are expected to self-isolate for 14 days.

Sunny Day

For those who have flown recently, what is the experience pre, during, post flight like? Is it better than before COVID? I am not talking about risk of infection. Just in general things like security, boarding, inflight, stress level in general? Is it more pleasant since many flights are literally half empty? Are other passengers super stressed out?

CZAMFlyer

Unless you're an aviation industry worker, or an airline bean counter, flying today is in every respect better than it was pre-covid. Setting aside the lack of destinations and flight frequencies, the experience is much more pleasant. No person seemed stressed in the slightest; it was such a calm, quiet, smooth, enjoyable journey.

A short 1:15 western-regional example from today: the departures curbside drop-off couldn't have been smoother for a Saturday 10:30 AM - my shuttle bus was the only vehicle present.
There was one person at the check-in counter, and all kiosks were empty. Several had generic home screens displayed - suggesting they may not be available for use. No special attention was paid to the touchscreens; not sure how frequently they're wiped, if at all.
The kiosk did not ask any covid-related questions, maybe because I had answered them during the OLCI process.
The departures-level concourse had a few airport workers milling about - some wearing masks, some without. I saw maybe three fellow passengers pre-security.
The security line was entirely empty. The option to use the priority lanes was available, but nobody was checking for Fast-Track, Nexus, etc, and honestly, why bother?
CATSA staff were super-friendly and relaxed. It was mandatory to wear a mask during the screening process, which took maybe one minute (long enough to remove a laptop from my bag and for the bag to pass through the x-ray machine).
I passed from curb to gate in just under four minutes, including printing a boarding pass from the kiosk.
The post-security concourse was very quiet and sparsely peopled. Most stores were shuttered, although the option to eat was available (at the ubiquitous Chilis). There were perhaps ten passengers sitting at the gate in staggered seats; many have been blocked with taped Xs to enable the required spacing between people. There was an utter lack of the normal fussing or nervous watch-checking as the departure time approached. It's amazing how the knowledge that you'll get a seat and have lots of bin space eases the mind and erases the self-imposed anxiety that is amplified by those around us.
One reminder of regular life remained: a single gate louse with SE tags stood expectantly at the head of the Zone 1 line, despite it being 20 min prior to boarding and nobody else feeling the remotest sense of needing to board in a rush. Old habits...
The incoming flight arrived and fewer than 20 people disembarked in about 3-4 minutes total time. I saw them pull a couple bags from the belly of the aircraft, but the below-wing servicing was otherwise absent and the aircraft did not take fuel.
They announced boarding with a reminder that mask use was mandatory, and a request to pull down the mask for the ID check at the gate. There were two zones: Zone 1 (louse boarding), followed immediately by Zone 2 (the rest of us). Nobody was in a rush to stampede the gate, and everybody wordlessly stood a respectful distance apart. There were no floor markings to indicate the 2m separation (they were taped on the carpet and along the jetway at the arriving gate), but people were smart enough to allow sufficient distance between each other.
One staff member pointed the temperature gun at our foreheads (remove your hats please) for a 1-second reading, and then waved us through to the gate agent who checked ID and smiled us through. Staff were also extremely relaxed. The fellow in front of me didn't have a marked(?) boarding pass, and so was asked the health screening questions (cough? fever? flu-like symptoms? been anywhere lately?) prior to being welcomed towards the plane. The entire boarding process took maybe 5-6 minutes. Did I mention how quiet it all was? No competing PA announcements, everyone plugged into their device or reading a book. A couple to the side sharing a murmuring conversation.
I counted 27 passengers on board our A319: 1 woman sat in J; the rest of us scattered in the back. Funnily, the SE louse was in row 22 - not even a preferred seat - but for a brief moment, he had the entire plane to himself. Everybody had their own row, unless with a companion. The only middle seat occupied was a 3 yr old boy sitting between his parents. There were no lineups in the aisle due to people fussing with carry-ons in the overhead bins - it was like a well-rehearsed ballet, with no retrievals of items or delays in seating themselves. The SD was reviewing paperwork in the from galley while an FA ensured everything was attended to - he didn't have much to do except smile (I think; he was also wearing a mask) and greet people. Nobody wore gloves, and there was no need to.
The plane itself is as clean as I've ever seen. There are no crumbs on the floor, no garbage left in setback pockets, no grimy trays, no crud on any surface. Aircraft have obviously received a thorough cleaning recently, and with minimal customers and no food service, it's much easier to keep that way. The mother of the young boy took wet wipes to her family's head rests; I didn't see anybody else spray or wipe any surfaces, and I didn't feel the need to either.
The FA handed out the Clean Care+ packages with a 250ml bottle of water, pair of latex gloves, pair of packaged wipes and a 20ml bottle of sanitizer gel - all in a ziplock bag. These were optional to take. They also handed out the familiar disposable ear buds for those who wanted them for the IFE.
The safety demonstration was manually performed and included a piece about mask use during flight.
And that was that. We pushed back 8 minutes early, and started rolling precisely on the scheduled departure time. The plane rotated after a shockingly short takeoff roll (negligible headwind), and the angle of climb was as steep as I've ever experienced. Hardly surprising, as there were no checked-in bags, and I didn't see nor hear any containers being placed in the lower hold.
There was the regular post-takeoff bilingual welcome spiel, and then....silence. For the entire flight. It was wonderful. The FA strolled along midway offering another water bottle, but that was the extent of the service.
We landed on time, and the usual mad rush to retrieve bags prompted by the seatbelt ding simply didn't occur. People just casually stood in turn, plucked their bag from the bin and walked off with a 'thank you' to the SD. We unloaded ourselves in less than 4 minutes I'd estimate, although I was ahead of most, so didn't observe this in detail.
The arrival airport was also pretty dead; a few passengers at a couple of gates, and most stores closed up. It took a couple minutes to walk to the train (3 passengers on the platform) and only 1 person got off the incoming train. Dismal days indeed for airport revenue.

Again, the overwhelming takeaway was just how calm, quiet and stress-free every aspect of the journey was, not only for myself, but seemingly for everybody I encountered. If only it could be this serene (and tickets this inexpensive) on every trip. Unfortunately, larger gatherings of people increases our perceived need to rushrushrush and to focus on selfish rather than collective desires. It's subconscious, but you sure notice it when it disappears.

I took several photos, but haven't managed to upload them. Imagine all your familiar airport scenes...just with no people. That's what it looks like. I hope my pleasant account doesn't encourage people to fly before they need to. Mine was an essential-worker repositioning flight, and I didn't get the sense many were traveling for leisure or because they missed the experience. Be smart.

lsquare

I had no idea. How are they going to enforce it for domestic flights? Are they going to have agents at the domestic terminal waiting and notifying passengers of their requirement to self-isolate for 14 days?

Low Roller

PEI has banned all non-essential travel and if anyone does arrive at YYG without a good reason, they can be ordered to take the next flight back. For essential travel, there is a pre-approval process and a 14 day self-isolation. People are called every day to ensure compliance. Here's an good summary article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/princ...ning-1.5542127

Sunny Day

Great review and thanks for sharing your experience. I too wish the calmness will remain once people start to travel again. It shows how the surrounding atmosphere influences our behaviour.

RangerNS

There are people in the airport. And I'm sure signs. I'd not be surprised if AC (and WS) are making onboard announcements.

That said, this covid pandemic is kinda the dominant news story and has been for months; ignorance of the law is no excuse, both in the legal sense and in the sense of "how could you literally not know that"?