I've abandoned Air Canada....having experienced them at their "user friendly" worst. Surprisingly, my return to being a Qantas customer has been quite enjoyable. The direct flight to Vancouver was the big plus with AC, but now that QF are offering that service in January ( and possibly extending the offer) I have no desire to fly AC again.
Returns via LAX in Feb or March can be a bit tedious (unless you've tagged a USA resort onto the end of your Canada experience) but I would still go out of my way to avoid the Air Canada offer. By your report, Robbo, I guess AC are not on the improve.

 

Most airlines worked out a long time ago that you don't have to please anyone in Economy
As long as the price is right, they will fill

 

I will tell this to my travel agent and personal assistant, thanks.

 

Interesting. I was thinking of booking flights on their new Brisbane to Vancouver route for our trip next winter. Maybe LAX is a better option now.

Problem is Air Canada fares are not cheap on their Aus to Canada route. My research is showing going via LAX offers a better price.

 

Sure, but when was the last time you saw an empty seat on a trans Pacific flight?
They will sell

 

We have just arrived home on the new reconfigured 777-200, and I can confirm that the new seating arrangement is appalling. Heaven help you if you get even a moderately large person sitting beside you.
Also, they have removed a toilet on the right side middle, so that all the passengers on the right hand side aisle have only two toilets they can easily access. They are also noisy, you can here them flushing from several rows away, so they must have reduced insulation in an attempt to save weight.
The flight attendant told us that they had also reduced the crew count by 3 as well.
After 6 trips with AC, we will not be travelling economy with AC again.

 

Are there better economy options?

 

Premium..........

 

So it's same old same old
Economy is downsizing with every airline , everyone moans and bitches, but they can only fill about 21 seats of PE on a 777
They could make you stand all the way to LAX and most people would still buy that over a more comfortable seat that they actually have to pay more for
Makes me lel

 

At some point you draw the line. I discovered that on Tiger.

 

So if you had a choice.

a. shorter flight (straight to Vancouver), narrow seats, less legroom AND costs your family $8000
or
b. longer flight (via LAX to Canada), slightly wider seats with more leg room AND only costs your family $5000

Which one do you choose ?

 

Cathay Pacific and a longer flight ......difference in costs was quite substantial. Flying in June and yes cattle class but cost was $1600 each return......compared to Air Canada of $2400 each return ....mmmm
Both cattle class
I would have chosen Qantas with an upgrade on points however my friend does not operate on FF points at all.......now she is separated from the control freak it may change.

Would NEVER EVER fly British Airways .....

 

The higher price of the Brisbane Vancouver flights is enough to have me looking for alternative options but this new seating lay out would rule AC out all together.

Premium economy isn't worth double the price if you are paying for yourself

 

My daughter came back from Canada last week, went on Qantas via LAX on a Thursday, had 3 seats to herself, returned with her boyfriend on a Tuesday, same story, plenty of spare seats.

 

Im usually a supporter of direct being best but i am lazy and $3000 is a lot of biscuits! That and the comfort factor make for a tough decision.
Kids' ages would be the decider for me regarding convenience

 

Well there you go
Maybe it's a long time since I flew outside school holidays midweek!

 

For 3 k extra you could throw in a free trip to Disneyland

 

Which is why people will bitch and moan about narrow seats and pitch but still buy the cheapest return fare they can.
Believe me, the airlines wouldn't do it if they thought it would in any way undermine their bottom line
For me , the journey is a major part of the trip, so I like to do it in some degree of comfort.
Not withstanding my 6'5" Mr Legs 1988

 

I'm slightly taller than that and used to travel exit row or get a points upgrade. But now with kids I'm buying four tickets and kids can't sit exit row. So 500-600 extra per ticket adds up especially if AC are more expensive and more cramped

 

We enjoyed Cathay Pacific.
Stop over in Hong Kong broke up the trip and added an extra flavour to the holiday.

 

Well, I have a mortgage, pay child support and I'm on a fixed wage. The cost of getting from point A to point B is very important to me. Any money I can 'save' on an airline flight can go against the mortgage. So long as I can squeeze my butt into a seat on a widebody jet I'll go. It's still way better than those old Southern/Northern Service flights I did as a youngster.

 

Cruisin along, can you recall if Cathay Pacific still include the free stop over option in Hong Kong? (ie no extra cost to flight price if you decided you wanted to stop over). Our prices where very similar to yours as well compared to Air Canada (some years ago now).

 

Don't worry, just answered my own question in a quick search.
Seems like they are charging $20 extra on this ticket (under terms and conditions) if you want to stop over for a day or two in Hong Kong.
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_...economy-class-to-vancouver-origin-sydney.html

 

JAL 777 have skywider in Economy class. 3 3 3

 

Flew on that bird in Jan. Good space for economy, but JAL like to run their cabins warm, so you'll only need a t-shirt.

 

*Japan.

 

yep
we even have a direction for warmer cabins on japan flights

 

Same situation Harper
I try to book 2 exit row seats + the row of 3 behind
Or else I wait for the PE specials!
@Donza have noted the ANA pitch and legroom also at 34 and 18.5
J* at 30 and 17...that'a @ biiiiiiiiigggg difference on a 9hr flight
Can get a flight to Tokyo around New Year about the same price as Jetstar on ANA
No Brainer really....and correct me but they also offer 2x23kg to economy passenger luggage and no xs baggage if your bag is within weight and less than 203cm

 

Yeah 2 x 23

 

My usual routine is to be first in the queue to check in whenever I can manage it, and ask for an exit row. Almost always get it, which makes Jetstar tolerable. Still rather be flying ANA to Japan though.

 

You are such a large human though.
They must be intimidated

 

Hah! ANA domestic were not intimidated, those little Japanese women wouldn't give me one!

 

Japanese domestic are the model of efficiency and overstaffing.

 

Korean air do the same. Warmest cabin temps i have flown in. My only real gripe about the flight apart from the longer flight. It was uncomfortable temp wise. They were also cheaper than AC by more than 3k so that us a lot of dollars i save for the ski trip esp when i need 6 tickets. It all adds up.

 

I always wear a tee shirt on a plane ...

 

I do too. It was still uncomfortable.

 

Yuck.
My daughter will be happy.

 

Been looking at flights to North America. The money you save shopping around with a family, can pay for 5 days skiing in Alaska.

Which I'm now investigating.

 

I counted 7 people measuring and conferring over my 185cm Dakine roller from Osaka to Sapporo one time
I remember thinking "This cannot be the first time someone has taken a skibag to Hokkaido from Osaka"
But it was early/mid 00's ...so maybe not as common then

 

Just a little rough mudmap volumetric maths...but the difference in personal space between the J* and Japanese carriers 787's economy seating is about 25% given the vertical height is constant

 

Which, well, in terms of seat height, it really isn't Having flown Tiger on the weekend and found the headrest topping out below shoulder height...

 

I guess I was thinking more about the distance from the floor to the overhead luggage bins
That pic Don-san posted of the JAL seats is pretty enticing

 

Agree. You know what else would be nice? The tray table being hinged just a couple of cms higher than it always is currently.

 

Isn't that a joy
I particularly like it when the air waitress starts banging the bloody thing onto your femurs as though that will somehow achieve a level feeding platform

 

they do like it hot

 

sometimes its nice to be Danny De Vito.

 

I am lucky sometimes.....being only 5'4" my legs fit comfortably in cattle class and my bum has no trouble fitting on the seat .....headrest is higher than I would like but seriously ..I now have a silk and alpaca wrap that doubles as a soft pillow.....Bose noise cancelling headphones with brilliant music and a penchant for good scotch ......

Who cares what seat I am in .......I did a horrific 20 hours back from London once with nothing but the 3 day old clothes and an inflatable pillow donated by some feral next to me......then on returning after more flight changes immediately got on a bus with 60 kids to travel from the QLD border to the snow .......

Harden up peeps ......or do what I did and get a few of life's luxuries to help in times of need.

 

It would be nice to have retractable femurs and tibias
If 20 hrs was horrific for you at 5'4, imagine what it's like at 6'5

 

Shit on a stick horrid I would say