AC93 SCL-YYZ

August 21st, 2023

Posts in this series:

Introduction - The Andean Crossing

Review - American Airlines Business Class B777-200 New York Kennedy to Buenos Aires Ezeiza

Review - Anselmo Buenos Aires, Curio Collection by Hilton

Review - Flybondi Economy Class B737-800 Buenos Aires Aeroparque to Mendoza

Review - Auberge du Vin, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, Tupungato

Review - Mandarin Oriental Santiago

Review - The Ritz-Carlton Santiago

Review - Air Canada Business Class B787-8 Santiago de Chile to Toronto Pearson

Review - Air Canada Express Business Class CRJ-900 Toronto Pearson to Washington Dulles

Check-in:

We received an email from Air Canada the night before indicating our flight would be delayed by an hour, so we checked out of the Ritz-Carlton Santiago at 7:30am for our updated departure time of 10am. When we got to the airport, we couldn’t find the check-in counters for Air Canada, which seemed rather strange. I asked an airport employee if he knew where Air Canada was, and he told me the counters had closed. My first reaction was wtf? He then proceeded to take us to a special counter at the very end of a check-in aisle, where he said someone might be able to help.

When I approached this special counter, an agent in the Air Canada uniform was sitting behind it. He explained that they had to give away the counters to the next flight since the Air Canada flight was delayed. Other than my internal panic for a minute I guess it wasn’t a huge deal. The Air Canada agent was friendly and quickly checked us in.

Lounge:

Since we were in disarray, the agent didn’t inform us of our lounge access, and neither did we enquire. Generally you’d have access to any Star Alliance lounges, but the internet told me the Avianca lounge was closed, leaving Air Canada passengers with no alternatives. I looked up my PriorityPass app and saw there’s a SkyTeam lounge, so we headed there.

The receptionist told me PriorityPass members could only use this lounge when flying on a SkyTeam carrier, but she was willing to make an exception. She also said I could check the terms on the PriorityPass app if I wanted. As it turns out, she was absolutely right. It was very clearly stated on the app. I wonder how she was able to “make an exception” though 🤔.

I’m not saying it wasn’t a nice gesture, but you’re not missing out on much even if you are denied entry to the SkyTream lounge. I’ll let the pictures mostly speak for themselves.

I snapped a few quick photos and was on my way to the boarding gate.

Boarding:

The ground staff was in no particular rush to board the plane, even though the flight was delayed beyond an hour at this point. Once onboard, we were greeted by the reasonably friendly FAs and pointed to the left.

I found the interior of the cabin a tad sterile. I know Air Canada is probably going for the sleek Arctic vibe, but it’s a bit of an overkill in my opinion, especially if you look at the cabin from behind. The other direction was better thanks to the grey seats adding some contrast. I liked the big maple leaf logo in the back center of the cabin.

Air Canada installed the Collins SuperDiamond seats in its business class across the fleet, which was more or less the go-to product prior to the introduction of suites with doors. The business class cabin on the B787-8 was on the smaller side, with a mere 20 seats. On today’s flight, 14 of them were occupied.

I found it a head-scratcher that the privacy dividers between the middle seats were permanently raised. However, the dividers were short, so you would still see your neighbor. It literally served neither purpose.

Air Canada opted out of overhead bins above the middle seats. While normally it would’ve made the cabin feel much more open and spacious, that effect was limited due to the miniature size of this business class cabin. Also absent were the individual air vents. Fortunately, the air-conditioning was very robust on this flight.

Awaiting at each seat were a bottle of water, a diluted version of an Acqua di Parma amenity kit (it’s usually a leather pouch I believe) and the menu and wine list. The menu reads as follows:

I should note that the menu was available on the Air Canada app as well, however not the wine list. Prior to take off, I was offered a welcome beverage. I selected water and sparkling wine. Air Canada did serve the Laurent-Perrier Brut after takeoff.

Overall the seats and cabin were much better maintained than those on American planes. Wifi on Air Canada was excellent - the price was fair and even worked on the ground. Speeds were good too. I bought the surf package rather than the stream package but was able to run Bloomberg Terminal on my laptop with no noticeable lags.

Shortly we were pushed back and taxied past this Delta A350.

Inflight:

The crew turned off the seatbelt sign within 5 minutes of takeoff while we were still below the clouds and the not-so-distant Andes.

For that matter, a hot breakfast was served within 30 minutes. Everything was served on one tray.

For my main course, I selected the blueberry pancakes with vanilla and caramel sauce. It was tasty, but granted the portion was pretty dainty.

THEN THERE WAS NO FOOD FOR THE NEXT EIGHT HOURS. The flight time from Santiago to Toronto is ordinarily between 10.5 and 11 hours, and Air Canada didn’t even have a sandwich for mid-flight snacks. I hinted to the purser if I could have dinner early, which he subtly ignored. Funny enough one of the pilots sat across the aisle from me when he was on break, and he was served dinner two hours before everyone else was. Sure, not that I couldn’t afford to skip a meal or two calorically, but for a daytime flight, I thought it was really annoying that they didn’t have anything more substantial than KitKat bars and potato chips.

To add insult to injury, the bottom of the menu said “dine on demand”. I didn’t feel like going down the rabbit hole with the crew about it, so I just opened my second bag of chips.

During the Great Famine, I pivoted to liquid sustenance. I ordered a couple cappuccinos, which were decent, as well as a Perrier.

After what felt like an eternity, dinner service eventually commenced. An apéritif was served to celebrate the harvest of a bountiful season. I asked for an aperol spritz, which was a new thing that Air Canada started doing this summer. This was served along with some nuts.

Following that was the appetizer, presented on one tray alongside a side salad and a selection of breads. There was only one option for appetizer, and every passenger was served the smoked salmon with wild rice salad, asparagus and pickled carrots.

For main course, I selected the the beef tenderloin with thyme demi-glace, arugula mashed potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes.

The steak was understandably dry.

I skipped the cheese course and received a cheesecake for dessert, which was accompanied by a conservative pour of port. The cheesecake was a bit too bready for my liking.

I must say that, after much anticipation, Air Canada’s catering left a lot to be desired. Maybe it was a function of outstation catering, but I couldn’t be more underwhelmed by what was on offer.

On Arrival:

Soon we began our descent into Mississauga. I used to consider Air Canada as the more premium airline in North America, but I don’t think that’s true anymore. Air Canada has a very consistent hard product, as its entire fleet features Collins SuperDiamond seats. That accounts for a lot when you have airlines such as British Airways and Emirates, where some of their planes have outstanding new generation product like the club suites, while the others don’t even have direct aisle access. Service on my flight was good - the purser was friendly and was hustling the entire flight. However, there were only 2 FAs for the 20-seat business class cabin, and they served from the port rear of the cabin clockwise towards the starboard rear of the cabin. My partner and I sat in the middle seats in the last row, which meant I had long finished my appetizer before he got his.

The lack of snack options on a daytime flight of such length was disappointing, not to mention the food they did serve was barely edible. Upon arrival at Pearson, the experience continued to deteriorate. The airport was in sheer turmoil - I get that it was peak summer travel period, but it took almost 90 minutes from gate arrival to baggage retrieval. At the end of the day, nothing was a dealbreaker that I’d actively avoid Air Canada in the future, but it did make me realize that airlines in the US aren’t that much worse. And isn’t that something?