Emirates A380 @ CYYZ on June 1st, 3:45pm

[Prometheus The Supremo]

No such luck. Not only are you limited to a max of 20 minutes in the bathroom, you only get something like 4-5 mins of running water for your shower. Nevertheless, it would certainly be handy towards the end of a long flight for a first class passenger who might then go straight in to a meeting.

I am impressed with all the smaller touches like granite counters. Given how conscious airlines are about weight, it's remarkable that they managed to give up some of their weight margins for wood paneling and stone counters.

4-5 minutes of running water? that'll give me only enough time to wash an arm or something. and bathroom breaks are timed to 20min? what happens if you hit the 20 min mark and you have half a snake hanging outta your backside?

i wonder if those granite counters and are just a thin veneer of granite over some other material/same for wood panels?

 

[Irishmonk]

Showers on a plane? Truly, an idea that could only originate from Dubai--(future) home of the Underwater Hotelâ„¢ and the Rotating Apartment Towerâ„¢. Well, the shower stalls better be made of foam rubber because it could get very bouncy in there. And what could be a more glorious sight at the end of a 13 hour flight than some fat CEO wandering around the aisles in a bathrobe and flip-flops. Yikes. Until the inevitable lawsuit (turbulence...broken cranium...) scuppers this brilliant idea, I'd rather be stuck in economy.

 

[yyzhyd]

What is never discussed on most chats about Emirates is how good their other cabin services are. I flew economy on Emirates a decade ago and they had seatback personal TVs back then, multiple options for hot meals (that at least looked gourmet...not like stereotypical airline food) and they offered free wines and martinis from an extensive list. And let's not forget the decent looking flight attendants who also usually provide service in at least half a dozen (and sometimes a full dozen) languages on every flight. This was a decade ago. I can only imagine how much they have improved since.

Their business class cabin is better than Air Canada and probably cheaper given the distance you are flying. And the business lounges are also better than Maple Leaf lounges.

The ultimate trump card, however, is that you get to fly through Dubai. It cuts travel times to the Indian sub-continent and the western parts of South-East Asia (vs. flying through Europe or over the Pacific). And the shopping on the stop-over ain't all that bad either.

The only downside to flying Emirates is that you can't collect aeroplan miles.

All in all, I can see why Air Canada is desperate to limit airlines like EK (Etihad is also starting to gain momentum) from gaining too much popularity. If people get used to Emirate's standards Air Canada might end up in some serious hot water.

I have flown 3 times recently the YYZ-DXB route with EK... service is still great. However on the B777s they put 10 abreast as opposed to AC who only has 9 abreast. You definitely have a much more spacious feel in AC. I can't speak to the A380 however.

Their inflight service now included the 600 channel ICE AVOD system which is amazing.
Choice of hot meals still exists as well as proper stainless steel cutlery from First through to Economy classes.
Flight Attendants are still pretty but nowhere near the level of Singapore Airlines.

Business classes/lounges etc. of most Middle East/Asian carriers far exceeds anything the North American and most European carrier amenities.

You cannot collect Aeroplan miles but you CAN collect United Mileage Plus miles which can be redemmed on Air Canada as part of Star Alliance. Additionally you can also collect Continental Miles which will soon also be redemmable on Air Canada as Continental is joining Star Alliance.

Regarding Emirates' access to Canada... that's a can of worms I'll leave alone.

 

[p5connex]

*Kind of on a side note - okay totally on a side note, but with some references to Emirates...

Screw Air Canada. They do not deserve to stay afloat. They sold off every valuable asset they owned to make themselves look a)more profitable and b)to pay investors dividends. Now, they are struggling and are on the brink of bankruptcy once again- no surprise there, and are looking for all sorts of government hand-outs. Meanwhile, WestJet is sticking it to them and rightly so. AC has run a monopoly in this country for far too long and do not deserve to continue doing business this way anymore.

One of the main reasons why Emirates chose to use the A380 was because the Canadian Aviation Regulations at the behest of Air Canada won't allow more flights between Toronto and Dubai, in order to keep AC's flights safe and without too much competition. Unbelievable really. They have one of the worst service records in the industry, fail to have any understanding of any problems when they have messed things up (missing bags etc., surly attitudes) and are completely rude and incompetent at solving any problems. I can imagine that there are many competent people at AC, but I can't say that for their management. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

*end rant*

p5

 

[yyzhyd]

*Kind of on a side note - okay totally on a side note, but with some references to Emirates...

Screw Air Canada. They do not deserve to stay afloat. They sold off every valuable asset they owned to make themselves look a)more profitable and b)to pay investors dividends. Now, they are struggling and are on the brink of bankruptcy once again- no surprise there, and are looking for all sorts of government hand-outs. Meanwhile, WestJet is sticking it to them and rightly so. AC has run a monopoly in this country for far too long and do not deserve to continue doing business this way anymore.

One of the main reasons why Emirates chose to use the A380 was because the Canadian Aviation Regulations at the behest of Air Canada won't allow more flights between Toronto and Dubai, in order to keep AC's flights safe and without too much competition. Unbelievable really. They have one of the worst service records in the industry, fail to have any understanding of any problems when they have messed things up (missing bags etc., surly attitudes) and are completely rude and incompetent at solving any problems. I can imagine that there are many competent people at AC, but I can't say that for their management. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

*end rant*

p5

Not entirely true...
In 2002 Emirates was offered 6 weekly flights as part of the Canada-UAE bilateral agreement. They insisted on 7 or "nothing"... Etihad then swooped in and took 3 of the 6 frequencies. Emirates decided that they better use the remaining three frequencies or they would be shut out of the Canadian Market entirely.

Emirates has a high demand... but for what? Mainly Canada-South Asia traffic. Traffic rights in bilateral agreements are given based on O/D traffic between the respective countries... There is nowhere near an A380's worth of Canada-UAE traffic in a week let alone 3x weekly. Additionally how does giving Emirates more flights help Canada or the countries of South Asia?
In terms of offering the traveller choice/competition to South Asia you can fly with one stop to India from Toronto using any of the following: AF, AI, AY, AZ, BA, CO, CX, DL, LY, EK, EY, FI, KE, KL, LH, SU, and 9W. (plus probably a few others that I missed)

IMHO the maximum flights allowed from UAE to YYZ should be increased to 7, with a maximum of 21 weekly to Canada thus allowing YVR and possibly YYC daily flights. How those frequencies are split between the various UAE carriers is up to the UAE transport authorities.
Carriers like EK and SQ, are predatory and are only looking to skim off the lucrative top without giving anything in return.
Just look at SQ's recent history, Canada last year agreed to allow almost unlimited Singapore-Canada nonstop flights... but SQ insisted on increases to their SIN-ICN-YVR frequencies... where they could capture the premium Seoul-Vancouver passengers. Canada rightfully said no and have recently concluded an "open-skies" agreement (although not officially announced) allowing unlimited non-stop flights between S. Korea and Canada.

Now if Emirates was willing to allow AC to pick up passengers originating in Dubai and fly them to Delhi for example as part of a YYZ-DXB-DEL flight then I am sure the CTA would have no objection to giving EK more flights to Canada. But UAE/EK is unwilling to allow such competition.

People love to complain about AC but most are casual fliers with the once or twice yearly trip. I have flown with AC over 250 times over 200,000 miles... NOT ONCE have they misplaced my bag.
Yeah they have some surly F/As and nowhere near the bells & whistles of the Middle East/Asian carriers but they are a very good airline with an impeccable safety & maintenance record.
They are also unfairly hampered by arcane Federal bilingual requirements that start-ups like Westjet are not subjected to which greatly increases their cost structure.

 

[Peepers]

Just a reminder that todays flight is expected at 3:35 PM on runway 23

 

[unimaginative2]

People are a little over the top in their complaints about Air Canada. I may not be the world's most frequent flier, but I've flown a lot of airlines and AC is pretty firmly in the middle of the pack. It's leagues better than any American airline. I fly out of Buffalo a fair bit, and they have lost my luggage quite literally more times than they have delivered it. In all my flights on AC, they have only lost my luggage once, and that was after I made a last-minute flight change at the gate. The service and food are also vastly better than on any American airline, which are almost invariably awful. In my experience, AC is on a par with airlines like Lufthansa, which may have (slightly) better service but a much more dated fleet. Obviously AC isn't in the same league as the fantastic Asian airlines.

I really think that AC's future is in marketing itself as a premium North American airline. American airlines have a terrible reputation internationally, and most fliers avoid them wherever possible. Unpleasant U.S. border controls are also a factor. AC has been extraordinarily successful on its Latin American routes, routinely filling the biggest planes in the fleet, mostly with passengers connecting on to Asia. If Air Canada could really market itself as a better airline than its American counterparts, in a class with at least the better European airlines and ideally the Asian airlines, it could capture huge amounts of connecting business. It wouldn't just be international travellers avoiding the States--people from Columbus flying to Europe might be enticed to fly AC through Toronto rather than United through Dulles or US Airways through Philadelphia if the transfer were as easy, prices were competitive, and service was known to be significantly better.

If I were Air Canada, I'd use my formidable lobbying power to get the federal government to introduce legislation to allow international transfer passengers to avoid going through Canadian customs, as is the practice in continental Europe.

Don't underestimate the traffic between Canada and DXB. On a recent flight there, I was astounded to stand at the baggage claim in Dubai for the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt and see dozens and dozens of bags that had connected from Air Canada.

 

[kEiThZ]

I second yyzhd's assertions. Air Canada is a decent airline. Comparisons to Westjet are ridiculous. It's quite easy for Westjet: young staff, young fleet, no legacy labour and pension issues, and no trans-oceanic services.

I think every Canadian should take a flight inside the US or in Europe every year. They'll begin to appreciate Air Canada a lot more.

That said none of that excuses Air Canada's inability to improve it's international services to at least something that's not too sub-par compared to the likes of Emirates, Singapore, Qantas, etc.. Also, I would disagree that there isn't a sufficient market for travel VIA Dubai. With Air India set to join Star Alliance, there would actually be a great market for Canada-UAE travel which would allow onward connection to India (on Air India or other Star Alliance partner) and other destinations (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia). I just think that Air Canada is not ready to compete yet and that's why their pressing hard not to allow more slots for Emirates and Etihad. They might even be trying to hold out for the delivery of their 787s which might allow them to by-pass Dubai altogether and launch direct services to the Indian subcontinent, and South-East Asia.

 

[ShonTron]

AC isn't all bad, I agree. I think it gets a bit more flak than it deserves.

I agree with how AC's management has sucked the company dry, and that is a serious problem. The bandits have made AC really vulnerable.

I haven't flown AC domestically - ever - but have used them flying transborder and internationally. I was really impressed by the service on my YYZ-PEK flight, and I was in cattle class. Three meals, coming with water reguarly, free alcoholic drinks, seatback TVs with a decent choice of content, and fluently tri-lingual cabin crew members (English, French, Mandarin). The 777s are nice. My HKG-YYZ flight was not quite as pleasant, but that was not AC's fault - very crowded, and the seatback TVs didn't work, for which they did supply a token discount coupon.

As far as transborder goes, the only US carrier (and I've flown several) that comes close to AC is Continental. Delta stinks (but was cheap, and I got to see Atlanta briefly on a long stopover), then there's Northworst, and Untied. I've also flown Mexican, Chinese, and British carriers as well. AC's fine. West Jet is better in certain things, and Jetsgo was a disaster when I flew that to St. John's and back. Porter is a niche carrier, and not really comparable.

 

[kEiThZ]

It's the Canadian way. Nothing built, done, created, serviced, etc. by a Canadian will ever be good enough for other Canadians.

Even inside Canada, I still find Air Canada pretty decent. Westjet's good. But that's easy when you can cherry pick a few destinations and service them with a 'one-size fits all' fleet.

 

[Whoaccio]

Air Canada also suffers from rather prickly national unity issues. I know people out west view it as part of the Liberal-Quebec/Ontario-establishment (together w/BCE & the CBC) because of its history as a crown corp and somewhat incestuous influence in Ottawa. In part that's why we have WJ. In some ways that is understandable, but maybe not quite so relevant nowadays.

What I don't get is why Pacific airlines are generally better than N. American ones. Looking through Skytrax awards the top performers are invariably either Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines or Emirates. Maybe Qantas every now and then. Even their airports like Changi, HKX and Incheon routinely outscore N. American ones. Do Asian companies have more open skies agreements or better code sharing or something?

 

[Sir Novelty Fashion]

And here I thought that shared hatred of Air Canada was all that kept this country together.

 

[p5connex]

I have flown many other airlines from within, and to many other countries (British Airways, KLM, Air France, Austrian, Lauda, Lufthansa, Ryan Air, Spanair, Iberia, Sky Europe, United, American, Northwest, WestJet, Canadian (when it existed), Martinair, Bulgarian Airways, SAS, EVA Air..and I think a couple more)- so I think I am pretty fair and experienced when it comes to comparisons.

I understand that AC have difficulties where WestJet may not (pensions, older staff, seniority issues etc., but honestly the management have ruined the company and not to mention the sense of pride those working for the company once had. I don't want to bash AC for the sake of bashing, nor am I jumping on any hate wagon, I have legitimate beefs with the organization and there level of service from personal experiences. In reality they could be a great airline, but I think before this can happen the management needs to go - Monty Brewer, Milton and those hacks - also, what about the idea of moving the head office to Toronto - does it really need to be situated within Quebec? (that might be one of the reasons for the poor service

p5

 

[wyliepoon]

I haven't flown AC domestically - ever - but have used them flying transborder and internationally. I was really impressed by the service on my YYZ-PEK flight, and I was in cattle class. Three meals, coming with water reguarly, free alcoholic drinks, seatback TVs with a decent choice of content, and fluently tri-lingual cabin crew members (English, French, Mandarin). The 777s are nice. My HKG-YYZ flight was not quite as pleasant, but that was not AC's fault - very crowded, and the seatback TVs didn't work, for which they did supply a token discount coupon.

The screens didn't work? That's gotta suck. Hopefully you had your laptop with your carry-on luggage. When I flew between Toronto and Hong Kong, I watched a couple of the shows I like on the screen, but the rest of the time I chose to be entertained with shows I've saved on my laptop/IPod.

The last time I flew Air Canada YYZ-HKG I was satisfied with everything but the food. Sitting near the rear of the plane, by the time the meal cart got to me I couldn't choose what to eat. My dinner was sweet and sour pork, and it tasted bad. The only culinary highlight was the midflight cup noodle, but any airline flying to HK would serve that. However I liked the seating, the entertainment was decent, and I liked the fact that the colour of the lighting in the cabin changed depending on the time of day.

Recently I flew Cathay Pacific on the same route. Despite being the "Airline of the Year", I was impressed by the food but not much else. The cabin design was worse than AC. No colour-changing cabin lights, and the economy-class seats looked and felt like oversized surfboards.

 

[wyliepoon]

http://gizmodo.com/5279529/inside-the-485+million-airbus-a380-flying-palace

Inside the $485-Million Airbus A380 Flying Palace
By Jesus Diaz, 12:00 AM on Fri Jun 5 2009, 32,236 views

What's 239 feet long, flies at 647mph, and has three floors that include a grand staircase, four giant full suites, boardroom with hologram projector, a full spa, concert hall, car garage, and a space-age lift that drops onto the runway?

Apparently, it may be Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud's new specially retro-fitted A380. As you may remember, the arabian Prince shone his genie lamp and bought an Airbus A380—the biggest passenger plane in the world—for his personal use.

British company Design Q is now making the plans for its interior, three floors with every luxurious detail you can imagine, including a lift that goes all the way down to the runway's tarmac and extends a red carpet so guests can get into the flying palace. I can already imagine a stunning hostess saying "Welcome, Mr Bond."

In addition to all of the above, the full marble Turkish bath in the spa, and twenty first class seats/beds for the extra guests, the plane will be full of high tech gadgets. The boardroom, for example, will have a hologram projector and a giant touchscreen perspex table, while each suite will include a virtual prayer mat proyector, always pointing in Mecca's direction.

Whoever bought it, I hope he invites us for a trip. And with "us" I mean "me." I can sleep on the couch, Mr Prince Sir you.