Flight was canceled due to labor dispute. Their customer service said I might be ok since strike was on sat. and I was flying Friday. The next morning it was canceled. It can ruin a trip and add stress.
The advance business class boarding got us onto the bus to the plane slightly ahead of the economy class but all of us scrambled to climb the stairs onto the plane together. Business class on this flight consisted of only an empty seat between three seats economy style seats. Good thing it was a short 1hr 20 min flight.
The AC check-in counter closed early and caused us to miss our flight. Our connecting flight arrived late, at 1300, so we picked up our bags and ran to the AC check-in counter, only to find it closed already, although our flight to Montreal was at 1435. We had already checked in online, so the AC staff knew we were coming.
There is not enough room for people over 6 feet in the seats for a flight that long. Crew only came by when it was meal/snake time, in the 11 plus hour flight we did not see anyone walk around, on our flight to Japan we did not know where the call button was to ask for water, on the flight back we finally pushed enough buttons to find the call button
The whole experience what excellent, from Anjou at the ticket counter to the attendants on the flight. Although it was an older plane, it was a very good flight. One of the best flights I have had on Air Canada!
Both meals (chicken option for dinner and omelette for breakfast) were lacking in good texture and taste.
Air Canada business class used to be among the best among North American airlines, however it has gone downhill since the last time I flew with them. They didn't even offer any drinks prior to takeoff despite having over 30 minutes on the ground for boarding and de-icing. Once we got in the air the service was fine, however the food was lukewarm at best and just okay. The warm bread and spring mix salad was very good at least. My main complaint is they were letting economy guests use our washroom. Presumably because the Max 8 only has one in the rear. However as I was sitting in row 1 I constantly had passengers waiting in line for the toilet.
The speaker flight attendant talked over was way too loud. Hurt my ears -had to take out hearing aids.
The plane doesn't have any screens, so it was impossible to watch a movie
Lots of turbulence and had to reroute to Calgary, spending the night there, arriving home a day later. The staff were organized and pleasant, even though they were stressed and tires
