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

Whoaccio said:
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?
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Low labour costs, different labour standards (probably few unions), and a culture that demands a high level of respect and decorum, particularly with the Pacific Rim airlines. And, most likely, owners with more money than brains who can afford to make it the best right from the beginning.
 
Actually the airlines are also more profitable than ours. However, there are many reasons. Several of the asian airlines will 'retire' their flight attendants from the cabin at 35. That's one example of a policy that would not be allowed in the west. Another example is the lack of restrictions on airport ops conditions. Emirates can operate into Dubai at all sorts of hours. As a result their aircraft utilization rartes are extremely high...a key factor in their profitability. The point about a culture of service is also true. These city-states (Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai) are very dependent on these airlines bringing in tourists and investors. As a result service is emphasized through government policy. And the airlines are given considerable lee-way and support.
 
kEiThZ said:
Actually the airlines are also more profitable than ours. However, there are many reasons. Several of the asian airlines will 'retire' their flight attendants from the cabin at 35. That's one example of a policy that would not be allowed in the west.
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Why not? I guess not AC, but why couldn't WJ do this to increase profitability?

kEiThZ said:
The point about a culture of service is also true. These city-states (Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai) are very dependent on these airlines bringing in tourists and investors. As a result service is emphasized through government policy. And the airlines are given considerable lee-way and support.
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What kind of government policy? Can you mandate flight attendants to be nice or food to not taste like cardboard?

I guess my question is, if John Baird could implement one policy change after looking at Cathay/Singapores/Emirates operations which would allow better airlines service what would it be? To let AC fly out of Pearson 24/7? Somehow bust up the AC union?
 
You can't fire people in Canada just for turning 35.

People living around the airport would also go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs if they learned of plans for making Pearson a 24-hour operation. It could never happen.

42
 
While I was bored this week I took some virtual tours of the different first and business class cabins on some major airlines. Emirates really blows away the competition. Their business class looks like first on some respectable major carriers like Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa.

Speaking of which, are three classes of service increasingly rare on non-Asian airlines? I noticed that American carriers as well as some of the Europeans and AC are mostly down to just economy and "executive" classes.
 
unimaginative2 said:
...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...
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This already exists at T1 in YYZ and will be added to YVR as part of their International Terminal expansion.
 
Are you sure? In all of my experiences arriving internationally, transfer passengers at Pearson must go through customs. I made a point of checking the last two times.
 
I may be wrong but T1 is equipped to allow a portion of it to be segregated from the rest of the building allowing for controlled passenger movement through that area. This allows for 2 options 1 international transfer passengers can reach their connecting flight without having to pass through customs. (this would require some organization to keep the arriving and connecting flights nearby to facilitate the transfer) and 2. U.S bound customers transferring at Pearson will be separated from the rest of the passengers, reducing the need to pass through customs twice.
 
Actually, the link you provided says that passengers from international flights connecting to other international flights do have to go through customs, though it does note that certain transfer passengers from an international flight going to the U.S> can go directly to U.S. preclearance without clearing Canadian customs. I'd like to see it changed so that all passengers coming from another country and connecting to a third country can simply stay in the departure lounge and don't have to go through customs.
 
unimaginative2 said:
Actually, the link you provided says that passengers from international flights connecting to other international flights do have to go through customs, though it does note that certain transfer passengers from an international flight going to the U.S> can go directly to U.S. preclearance without clearing Canadian customs. I'd like to see it changed so that all passengers coming from another country and connecting to a third country can simply stay in the departure lounge and don't have to go through customs.
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Not really. :)
CBSA which is a catchall designation which could include any or all of the following:
1. Canada Customs
2. Citizenship and Immigration Canada
3. Canada Food Inspection Services

Much like every other airport that operates as a transit hub for international to international connections (e.g. FRA, LHR, CDG, AMS, DXB etc.) passengers deplaning have to go through a security check then are returned to the departure lounge. This is how the operation is functioning at Pearson T1.
 
But the point is that you go through passport control and if you're not from a visa-exempt country, you need a transit visa. That's a huge difference from continental European airports where you don't go through passport control if you aren't leaving the airport or connecting to a Schengen-area flight. CBSA has nothing to do with the simple security checks where you walk through a metal detector and they x-ray your carry ons. It doesn't seem like a big deal to us, but getting a transit visa is a huge pain and a major deterrent to connecting traffic from countries like Brazil.
 
There's no doubt that we could do better. I don't think international-international flights are that big a deal because let's face it Toronto is not going to a transit point for too many of those connections. But if Air Canada is to have a shot at snapping up US travelers, the US-International connections need to be smoothed out. I would prefer to see US-international travelers simply go through US pre-clearance only (inbound) or no procedures at all (outbound).
 
Hipster Duck said:
While I was bored this week I took some virtual tours of the different first and business class cabins on some major airlines. Emirates really blows away the competition. Their business class looks like first on some respectable major carriers like Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa.
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It's a big part of the reason they are doing well....a higher proportion of much more profitable business class passengers. However, it should be noted that most airlines are getting rid of first class, so really what you are comparing is business class.

Hipster Duck said:
Speaking of which, are three classes of service increasingly rare on non-Asian airlines? I noticed that American carriers as well as some of the Europeans and AC are mostly down to just economy and "executive" classes.
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As noted above...and a big reason many western airlines are getting rid of first class is because today's business class is encroaching on what first class used to be, and the first class crowd is increasingly turning towards business jets. A few of the Asian airlines continue to maintain first class for long haul at reasonable prices and that's what's keeping this class alive.
 
kEiThZ said:
There's no doubt that we could do better. I don't think international-international flights are that big a deal because let's face it Toronto is not going to a transit point for too many of those connections. But if Air Canada is to have a shot at snapping up US travelers, the US-International connections need to be smoothed out. I would prefer to see US-international travelers simply go through US pre-clearance only (inbound) or no procedures at all (outbound).
Click to expand...

I agree, but don't underestimate the number of international connecting passengers we get through Canada. Moreover, it's the number one growth opportunity for Air Canada. I flew from Sao Paulo last summer, and I was astounded to see that the plane was completely full, all with Brazilians. I asked the flight attendant if it was normal, and she said that it's always full, every day, and almost all with Brazilians. At least half were connecting to other flights, such as Hong Kong and Tokyo. They've upgraded the route to their biggest 777.
 
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