Introduction

When I first started planning this trip, all the nonstop services I could find between Calgary and Vancouver were operated by a Boeing B 737 Max, which didn’t exactly fill me with the warm and fuzzies. Eventually, I booked a trip from Calgary via Kelowna to Vancouver with Air Canada, with both flights operated by a Bombardier Dash 8-400. But then as the weeks went by, I kept receiving schedule change after schedule change, until eventually, the departure had moved from 12h40 to 20h45. No thanks.

Luckily, by this time Air Canada had done its inventory, which meant good news for me because the B 737 Max had been replaced on most of the services by an Airbus A 320. So, no Kelowna, but at least no B 737 Max either.

Getting to the Airport

My flight to Vancouver departs at 11h35. I check out of the Fairmont Palliser at 08h20 and walk the short distance to the bus stop for the airport line 300 in front of the Calgary Tower. The fare is CAD3.70. However, not all bus stops have ticket machines, and tickets cannot be purchased from the driver either. The easiest option is to download the Calgary Rapid Transit app and purchase the ticket there. The journey to the airport takes about 45 minutes. The first stop at the airport is domestic arrivals.

Check-In

Departures and check-in are located one floor up from arrivals. The Air Canada check-in area is at the opposite end of the terminal from where the bus drops me off. I’ve already checked in on the app. I think the Air Canada app is one of the better ones out there. If you activate the live information option, you receive very detailed and timely information about your flight.

Security is a bit of a mess. The guy before the checkpoint is doing a good job managing the growing crowd. The guys behind the checkpoint, not such much. But eventually we manage and I find myself airside in the domestic terminal at the start of the C concourse.

Air Canada Domestic Maple Leaf Lounge

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is located at the beginning of the C concourse, off to the right. It’s quite a large lounge, and when I arrive it’s still mostly empty. However, it quickly fills up as the Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and Edmonton flights leave fairly close to each other around noon.

The lounge’s most attractive feature is the view of the ramp. When I enter the lounge, the previous flight to Vancouver is in the final stages of preparations for its return. Later on, this will be the gate from which my flight will be boarding.

It turns out that the inbound from Vancouver is running behind schedule. As a result, our departure has moved back from 11h35 to 11h50.

Boarding

It’s started snowing while we were boarding, and by the time we’re ready to push back, there’s enough of the white stuff accumulated on the aircraft to warrant a stop on the deicing pad. The app shows that the overall journey time from gate to gate will be two hours, including deicing, of which only 55 minutes are spent in the air.

The last passengers to board are a family of four – classic set up with mother, father, a boy, and a girl. The mum and the boy are sitting on the other side of the aisle from me on 3A and 3C. In addition to the copious amounts of luggage, they also have a dog in a carrier with them. The father and the daughter are on 1D and 1F, which is a good thing because the little girl is a conceited little brat that apparently loves the sound of her own voice. No doubt her parents do not miss a single opportunity to tell her how immensely clever and talented she is. And in doing so, they have created a vain little sociopath. Her father is putting all their hand luggage in the overhead bin when the little sociopath pipes up and tells him that, “I will not have you put my backpack up there”. Dad tries to explain that it’s a safety requirement, and it’s about the same time that the tantrum begins…

The Cabin & Seat

Air Canada has a dedicated Business Class cabin in a 2 + 2 configuration. The seat is rather wide and so is the space between adjacent seats. The seat pitch is excellent and there’s also a footrest. Every seat has its own private video screen. The inflight entertainment system is responsive and available from gate to gate. The lady on 2F is watching Kong and Gozilla, which, frankly, looks like complete trash – even without listening to the probably cringeworthy dialogue…

We push back from the gate and make our way to the deicing pad. I guess they must be used to it here in these temperatures, because the whole procedure is quick and efficient. As we taxi out from the deicing pad to the active runway, I become aware of a rhythmic panting sound. It turns out to be the small dog in the carrier bag brought on by the little sociopath’s mum. I’m just thinking to myself that if he’s panting like that, the poor dog is either about to die from stress, or it’s because he needs to have a sh*t. Just as the first officer opens the throttle and we go thundering down the runway, the revolting smell of dog sh*t starts wafting through the cabin. The mum opens the carrier bag and begins mopping up the bottom of it with disinfectant towels. Charming family, I’m sure…

The Service & Crew

The crew on the flight are not overly friendly, but professional. The purser is a lady of Indian descent and she does a great job managing the cabin crew.

Once we’re airborne, the crew distribute hot scented towels. They’re really quite nice and very fluffy. Apparently, there should have been a bottle of still water at every seat when we boarded, but the crew explain that they were only given three bottles from catering.

The Meal – A Lunch Snack

Fortunately, the smell of dog sh*t has dissipated, which leaves us to dine to the sound of the little sociopath extolling (shrieking) about how clever she is, “look, Daddy, I’m making his face green”. She makes sure they can probably even hear her all the way back in the rear galley as she closes, then raises, the closes, then raises again the window shade like she’s just invented the wheel.

The tray has cutlery and a plate of cheese, dried fruit, chutney, and pumpernickel on it. I’m rather surprised, I honestly wasn’t expecting anything beyond a cold drink on such a short flight. To drink, I have a ginger ale.

As a side note, the mother of the little sociopath and dog sh*t cleaner extraordinaire also has lunch. Apparently, though, she can’t be bothered to go wash her hands first after what she’s just been doing.

Arrival

The flight to Vancouver takes us right over a range of snow covered mountains, which look quite remarkable. Eventually, we start our descent into Vancouver, where the weather is positively dreadful.

We’re already running late, and then there’s a further holdup on the ground while we wait for two Air Canada wide bodies to be towed from the international pier over to the domestic terminal. Just as the purser finishes telling passengers to remain seated until we reach the gate, two passengers march up to her from Economy Class, telling her that they have a tight connection because of the delay, and that they therefore expect be allowed off the plane ahead of anybody else.

Getting into Town

As you exit arrivals to reach landside, do not follow the signs marked Ground Transportation, as that will take you down to ground level to where the busses and taxis are. Instead, look out for the signs for Trains to the City. The journey to the centre of Vancouver takes about twenty minutes by train. You don’t need to buy a ticket in advance and can just tap on and off with your credit card.

Conclusion

The flight with Air Canada was good, at least for those parts of the journey that were in the airline’s control. The lounge in Calgary was nice, and the amount of private space in the Business Class cabin is very generous.