You Trip Report

	DATE	FLIGHT NUMBER	SEAT	AIRCRAFT
22 Nov 19	AC 870	12K	777-300ER
CLASS	VIEWS	LANGUAGE	AUTHOR
Premium Economy	87994	English	jetsetpanda

Prologue:

After a very stressful initial flight from SFO-YUL that thank God ended well we arrived at YUL and proceeded directly to the AC Maple Leaf lounge at the international side after Passport Control.

To my surprise I found that the AC Maple Leaf - intl lounge @ YUL is seldom reported with few videos and written reports. I will try to convey my impression of it here and of the flight experience aboard AC PEY.

Entrance.

Reception After you are checked in you either take the elevator or the stairs to the upper floor.

When you arrive and the elevator door opens you walk into a corner with low light. I guess this area is supposed to be set aside for people to relax but it was rather crowded.

From the "dark" room you enter the main area of the lounge. There is an airplane model prominently displayed as in most AC lounges. Right after that you see the bar area.

Bar.

A few steps from the bar at the opposite side is the buffet area.

Wine display.

Desserts were not impressive. I just saw fruits and cookies.

Publications.

The lounge is divided into different sections which afford some privacy. I believe that there are also showers but i never had a chance to use them.

Good views of the tarmac.

My snacks.

Gate.

I was traveling with a person who requested a WCHR so we were given priority pre-boarding. Upon entering FA's were cordial and greeted pax whenever they saw them.

Premium Economy cabin in a 2-4-2 config.

I was sitting in a window bulkhead with plenty of leg room. However i assumed that being the bulkhead they would also feature leg rests while the rest of the seats only had footrests. I was wrong

No leg rests nor foot rests. :(

Pillows blankets a bottle of water and menus were already at each seat.

View from across my seat.

Small table for drinks.

Neighbor airplane.

Amenity kit

Printed menu.

Pre-dept. drinks - orange juice or water.

Once everyone boarded the door was closed and we were ready for take off.

A rare bird.

Bye YUL

Hot towels were distributed before the meal service. FA took meal orders and by the time she arrived at the second row the veal choice was already depleted. Why bother printing a menu and charging more for PEY when the pax can't even have a choice?

It took over 1:30 hr to receive our meals on this flight. I think that is too long to wait for this short transatlantic flight.

Being in the bulkhead row I had my choice of meals and requested the veal. Later on I traded it with my sister in the back since she wanted to have try the veal. I had the General Tso's chicken and it was a good and flavorful dish.

General Tso's chicken served with steamed rice bamboo shoots carrots and edamame.

Plain salad.

Carrot cake which was delicious but a bit dry.

IFE screen

I love that two WC's were located in front of the PEY cabin on this model allowing for easy access to the lavatories.

Only water was offered in the galley due to the short nature of the flight.

Second service started with hot towels once again.

When the FA asked me "breakfast"? and handed me this I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Bonjour CDG

Can you see the Eiffel Tower in the distance?

AC plane at the gate.

========== Pierre Elliott Trudeau Intl Arpt (YUL) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 9/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 10/10

General cleanliness: 10/10

========== Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge International ==========

Staff Service: 10/10

Entertainment: 9/10

Business Center: /10

Food: 9/10

Lounge Design: 10/10

Spa and Bathroom: 10/10

Wifi: 10/10

========== Air Canada - Airline ==========

Cabine comfort: 9/10

Crew: 9/10

Entertainment: 8/10

On-time performance: 10/10

Appetizer: 8/10

Starter: 0/10

Main Meal: 9/10

Main Meal-2: 0/10

Cheese: 0/10

Desserts: 8/10

Alcohols: 0/10

Mid-flight snack: 0/10

Breakfast or light meal before arrival: 2/10

========== Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 9/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 10/10

General cleanliness: 10/10

Summary:

YUL was a pleasant airport for connections and looked fairly easy to navigate.

The AC Maple Leaf lounge is a nice facility with great staff. The buffet provided a good assortment of choices but I noticed that most of the wine bottles were empty. Was the wine that good? :P Another advantage with this lounge is the great view of the tarmac and for avgeeks that is always a plus. I like how this lounge is divided into different sections instead of a big open space with lack of privacy.

AC PEY on the 773 is a small cabin with 2 WC's in the front which was very convenient. Seats were comfortable and spacious but I dislike that the bulkhead seats did not have leg rests nor foot rests. On most carriers the bulkheads feature leg rests in their PEY cabins. The rest of the seats had foot rests.

It took us 1:30+ to receive our meals after take off which is too long of a wait in this cabin and for such a short transatlantic flight. FA's were pleasant and polite if not overly efficient. One of them forgot to deliver the meal tray to one of my party in the back but she corrected it immediately when she realized this. During the breakfast service the banana bread was never delivered to the second row pax.

Catering wise the meals were solid except for the meager slice of banana bread that was passed as breakfast before arrival. Running out of meal choices by the second row is a big disappointing. You would think that when one pays more to sit at a better cabin having your food choice is a benefit that is part of the upgrade.

Overall I would fly this cabin again despite the minor shortcomings. The small cabin, wide seats and easy access to dedicated WC's are big pluses for me. Most of the staff that I have encountered with AC were extremely friendly and helpful.

15 Comments

Casper — Dec 01,2019

I like the lounge design and the entrance.
Well the buffet is quite good.
While the meal onboard was looking good the breakfast was a disaster.
Gracias Adan for the review.
Casper
Reply

jetsetpanda — Dec 02,2019

Hola Casper,

I think the buffet provided enough choices to satisfy everybody. Desserts were the only disappointment.

What a wide inconsistency gap between the first meal and the brkfst before arrival.

See you amigo.
Thomas — Dec 02,2019

I find the lounge quite nice and so was the buffet. No foot rest ? Fine, I remember using my luggage up to the wall to stretch my legs. While the meal looks very good the breakfast is not.
Thanks my Panda.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Dec 02,2019

Salut Thomas

AC lounge in YUL was a great discovery. I was also planning to do the Banque Nationale nearby but there was not enough time and we were all settled at the AC one.

Great idea about the impromptu foot rest. ;)

Thankfully I was able to "indulge" on arrival after that "breakfast". :P
GG_007 — Dec 02,2019

Thanks for sharing this TR

The AC lounge spread is rather good.
Last time I was there there was a show cooking

"No leg rests nor foot rests. :("
I didn't realize it was so important for small people ;)

"I had my choice of meals and requested the veal"
No picture taken before the trade ?

"General Tso's chicken served with steamed rice bamboo shoots carrots and edamame."
It looks yummy

"When the FA asked me "breakfast"? and handed me this I didn't know whether to laugh or cry."
Oh you were so hungry !

"Can you see the Eiffel Tower in the distance?"
Yes we can :)

The bad side of this flight is the long time meal service, especially for a short red eye flight

"Overall I would fly this cabin again despite the minor shortcomings"
What was the fare difference between Y and PEY ?

See you soon for the other flights of this Miracle Tour ;)

Reply

jetsetpanda — Dec 02,2019

Hi GG,

"Last time I was there there was a show cooking"
- I think that station is set up for that but it was not staffed when I arrived.

"I didn't realize it was so important for small people ;)"
- Regardless of height a comfortable seat should be equally provided for everyone. I'm an egalitarian. ;)

"No picture taken before the trade ?"
- I requested the change before the meal delivery. :( The chicken dish was flavorful.

"Oh you were so hungry !"
- Not at all. I abstained from enjoying such a "hearty" brkfst and grabbed something when I arrived at the hotel. ;)

"Yes we can :)"
- Congratulations on you 20/20 vision. :P

"What was the fare difference between Y and PEY ?"
- Honestly I don't know but I can tell you that my PEY tkt cost USD 1085 SFO-CDG.

I think having to wait that long to have dinner served is annoying.

A plus tard.
Capoune — Dec 02,2019

Hello Adan!

The lounge looks very nice with a very good choice of food.
The W cabin cabin looks nice too but the first row don't have footrest that is really disadvantageous.
The breakfast... It can only be a joke!

Thank you for sharing with us Panda!!
Reply

jetsetpanda — Dec 02,2019

Hi Seb,

Overall a good experience and I would do AC again (bringing something for breakfast along the way). :P

Ciao.
Emile — Dec 02,2019

Panda is back for an excellent review. Thanks Adan for your PEY TR. Find meal but It's a shame to offer such a bad breakfast. Very nice lounge for YUL.
See you around.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Dec 03,2019

Hi Emile,

I find it incredible that the breakfast is so lacking and that it is the same for both PEY and Y cabins when AC advertises that the catering of PEY is an upgrade.. This upgrade should be for both meals, not just the first one.

Personally I like the AC YUL lounge better than the one at YYZ.

Thanks Emile.
Vendredi13 — Dec 03,2019

Woof ! Panda !

Nice lounge. Good idea, the meals' translation into French. I like^^
On board, Y+ Cabin seems quite comfortable. Meal and dishes look very correct, despite the lack of choice.
The last impression with the breakfast is terrible.

Thanks JetSet' for this instructive ytr. See you soon !

Reply

jetsetpanda — Dec 07,2019

Oauf!

Thank you very much for your comment. I really enjoyed this Premium Econ cabin with the exception of breakfast. ;)
AntoinePil — Dec 07,2019

Hi Panda thanks for sharing it! I liked the lounge, it looked very nice, same as the first meal in the plane. However, the breakfast, i don't get it! Have you switched to an AF domestic flight in between?!
Nice cabin in premium.
See you!
Reply

jetsetpanda — Dec 11,2019

Hi Antoine,

Lovely lounge @ YUL. The flight experience on AC was very good with the exception of the "breakfast" as you could see. Such a drastic difference between the first and second meal.