TRIP REPORT: Air Canada Rouge, Venice - Toronto
TRIP REPORT
The boarding was on time and smooth. Our airplane was a 27 year old Boeing 767-300. The 767 fleet of Air Canada Rouge was originally the property of their parent company, Air Canada, which gave the airplanes to its low cost subsidiary. As you can imagine, the old Boeings are showing their age, which shows in the abundance of scratches and nasty-looking, badly-cleaned stains. Still, the crew did a good job of preparing the cabin for a completely full flight, as there was a pillow and blanket waiting for every passenger on their seats. My seat was 33E, the middle seat in the 2-3-2 configuration. The size and pitch of the economy seats weren't bad at all, but that's coming from a 1,7m, 65kg guy, so some larger passengers may have been a bit more uncomfortable.
We had to wait at the gate for an undisclosed reason, so our take off was 20 minutes late. As soon as the airplane had reached its cruising altitude, the flight attendants started the first drinks service, which was, surprisingly, free. This was one of the most positive surprises of flying Air Canada Rouge, as the drinks were served about once every hour throughout the 9,5 hour flight, and, if that wasn't enough, the flight attendants happily served you your beverage of choice if you walked down the aisle to the back of the plane. Consequently, I became very familiar with the bathrooms of the 767, which were tidy and albeit a bit small, practical enough for every men's needs.
In conclusion, my experience with Air Canada Rouge was a positive surprise, as i was expecting the long range low-cost carrier to be just transatlantic Ryanair, when in reality the product they offer is one that many other airlines could look up to.
I hope you enjoyed my first trip report.
This is a report from my trip to Quebec City, from July 2018. Our itinerary took us from Venice to Toronto and then onwards from Toronto to Quebec City. I will be focusing on the portion of the journey between Venice and Toronto.
Our departure from Venice Marco Polo International Airport was scheduled for 12:05 onboard an Air Canada flight, which was operated by Air Canada Rouge. The airport was quite busy (a common sight in one of the busiest airports in Italy), but the queues were not too bad as the airport and airline staff were doing their jobs professionally and efficiently . The airport is not too big and is therefore quite easy to navigate, going through security was a breeze as well.
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| Our Boeing 767-300 on the apron at Venice Airport |
The boarding was on time and smooth. Our airplane was a 27 year old Boeing 767-300. The 767 fleet of Air Canada Rouge was originally the property of their parent company, Air Canada, which gave the airplanes to its low cost subsidiary. As you can imagine, the old Boeings are showing their age, which shows in the abundance of scratches and nasty-looking, badly-cleaned stains. Still, the crew did a good job of preparing the cabin for a completely full flight, as there was a pillow and blanket waiting for every passenger on their seats. My seat was 33E, the middle seat in the 2-3-2 configuration. The size and pitch of the economy seats weren't bad at all, but that's coming from a 1,7m, 65kg guy, so some larger passengers may have been a bit more uncomfortable.
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| The economy cabin during boarding |
We had to wait at the gate for an undisclosed reason, so our take off was 20 minutes late. As soon as the airplane had reached its cruising altitude, the flight attendants started the first drinks service, which was, surprisingly, free. This was one of the most positive surprises of flying Air Canada Rouge, as the drinks were served about once every hour throughout the 9,5 hour flight, and, if that wasn't enough, the flight attendants happily served you your beverage of choice if you walked down the aisle to the back of the plane. Consequently, I became very familiar with the bathrooms of the 767, which were tidy and albeit a bit small, practical enough for every men's needs.
Another positive surprise were the meals offered for free by the flight attendants. For lunch, we had a choice of chicken or a vegetarian dish, with soup and a brownie on the side. I opted for chicken, which was served with mashed potatoes and a very unnapealing sauce. The chicken and mashed potatoes were okay, while a taste of the green gooey sauce only confirmed my suspicions. The soup and the brownie were good, and naturally, the flight attendants served free drinks with lunch as well. The second meal was more of a hot snack, a chicken and vegetable fajita, which was actually very good. There was also a menu of other meals and snacks offered by the airline, along with alcoholic beverages, the prices of which were as sky-high as the plane carrying them.
Our airplane was not equipped with any form of IFE, although Air Canada Rouge does offer a service called Player on the Air Canada app, which is free to download and use. This service can then be used to watch movies onboard your flight. Unfortunately, the selection is quite limited and a bit outdated.
The approach and landing at YYZ were as calm and uneventful as one would expect. After arriving at the gate, we disembarked the airplane and went on to customs. After that, I had some time to kill before my flight to Quebec City, so I decided to take a look around the airport and get some dinner. The terminal was enormous and modern, with a great selection of shops, bars, restaurants and other services. Despite its big size, it isn't hard to find your way through the terminal as everything is clearly marked.
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| Toronto skyline with Air Canada CRJ200 aircraft |
In conclusion, my experience with Air Canada Rouge was a positive surprise, as i was expecting the long range low-cost carrier to be just transatlantic Ryanair, when in reality the product they offer is one that many other airlines could look up to.
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| On the way back to Venice I got to visit the cockpit of the 767 |
I hope you enjoyed my first trip report.
Share your travel experience by submitting a trip report to exyu@exyuaviation.com
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