My husband’s parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, so we offered to take them on a trip anywhere they wanted. They chose Japan. Our routing was Edmonton to Vancouver, and then Vancouver to Tokyo (Narita). The Vancouver-Tokyo flight was on the Air Canada 787 Dreamliner, which we had not flown before (and were quite excited about). My husband Randy had used his points to book us all in International Business Class. As we wanted everyone to have window seats, the two of us were seated in seats 2A and 3A, while his parents were seated in 2K and 3K. Two of Randy’s aunts had also decided to join us on the trip to Japan, but they had purchased economy tickets. Here are the details:
Air Canada 3Vancouver (YVR) – Tokyo Narita (NRT)Thursday, April 7, 2016Depart: 1:40pmArrive: 3:25pm (April 8)Duration: 9hr45Aircraft: 787-8Seats: 2A & 3A (International Business Class)
A lot of planning had gone into this trip, and the Air Canada concierges in Vancouver and Edmonton were also involved. My husband flies a lot (Air Canada Super Elite and Million Miler) and had gotten to know a lot of the concierges in the Vancouver airport. So, he asked a favour of them to pick up a cake we had ordered from a Vancouver bakery to bring onboard the plane. So, needless to say, all the Air Canada concierges and the gate staff knew about the special trip and so gave us special treatment not only in Vancouver, but also in Edmonton and Narita.
On the flight to Edmonton, Randy’s parents were surprised with a cardboard bouquet of flowers and chocolates at their seat. At the gate in Vancouver, the concierge pulled our group out of the Zone 1 line before they started boarding and led the 6 of us on the plane. Once on the plane, the flight in-charge took it upon himself to move Randy’s aunts from their economy seats to premium economy seats. That wasn’t anything that we had asked for, or even expected – so it was greatly appreciated. Even the pilot had been informed of the 50th anniversary, so came out to congratulate Randy’s parents. As for Narita, more on that later. But first, some details about the business class seats on the 787.
I was a little distracted boarding the plane with the rest of the group, and didn’t get a picture of the cabin before it filled up, so here are a couple of pictures from the Air Canada site. Our seats were the window seats, but you can see that the middle seats have partitions that can be lowered if you are travelling with someone.
The seats are in a reverse herringbone pattern – so that the seats face inwards or towards the window. At the seat was a pillow, a duvet blanket, an amenity kit and a bottle of water.
Under the entertainment system and tray table was room to stow a backpack. The table tray could be lowered and flipped over to double its size for use during the flight.
The entertainment system was a 18 inch touch screen, but there was also a controller in a compartment to the left of the seat. This compartment also had USB and a power outlet, along with the headphone jack. This was very handy for keeping electronics such as a phone or camera during the flight.
Just below the compartment was a touch screen to control your seat, lighting and call for service.
At the bottom corner of seat was another storage compartment. The arm rest could also be lowered to be level with the seat when sleeping (but had to be raised during take-off and landing).
Under the tray table there was lots of leg room (especially for short people like me).
For flights to Asia, Air Canada provides slippers along with the standard amenity kit – which I really like. As one that likes to kick off her shoes when flying, slipping on the slippers when I needed to get up was much more convenient than having to put my shoes back on.
The amenity kit contained socks, toothbrush/toothpaste, eye mask, earplugs, hand lotion, lip balm, a mint and a wet wipe.
Noise cancelling headphones were handed out, along with earbuds – as Air Canada only allows earbuds to be used for the entertainment system during takeoffs and landings.
The entertainment system had a good selection of movies, TV and music. Other options were podcasts and audiobooks – which I didn’t check out, but feel that they are a welcome addition to an entertainment system.
Pre-departure drinks of water or sparkling wine were offered. I took the sparking wine (of course).
Menus were handed out. As we were leaving in the early afternoon, our first meal of the flight was Lunch.
There was the option of a hot snack midway through the flight (which I did not partake of), and then a light meal prior to arrival. We were going to be arriving in the afternoon in Tokyo, it was another lunch-type meal.
After take-off, the champagne being offered was Drappier, along with the following white and red wines.
The other beverages on offer were as follows.
Once in the air, the flight attendants came around with nuts and drinks. I had a vodka and cranberry – which went well with the cashews.
A while later they came around to set our trays for the lunch meal. With the tray table extended out, it provided for a nice large surface – which was nice. If you needed to get up, the full-size tray could be pushed up towards the entertainment system – allowing you to get out of your seat.
As we was about to begin a Japanese vacation, I decided to go with the Japanese meal. The first tray consisted of various Kaiseki items and green tea. There were a few items that I didn’t recognize, but most of them were quite delicious.
Next was some miso soup, and then the main course of beef with steamed rice and vegetables, which was also very tasty. I found that this meal was just the right amount of food – and didn’t make me feel uncomfortably full (like I do after some other meals).
We had arranged with the in-charge to serve the anniversary cake after the main meal, but before dessert. We took the cake over to Randy’s mom’s seat and brought the aunts up from premium economy to wish them a happy anniversary. We dished out about half the cake for ourselves and then gave the rest to the crew.
After the cake ceremony, I went back to my seat, just in time for the dessert service. I wasn’t really hungry after having cake, but I ended up having the dark chocolate fondant with some port. I nibbled at it, but didn’t eat a lot as I was quite full. I am not a big fan of port – but thought I would give it another try. I realize that I still don’t really like it.
Once the meal service was completed, I went to check out the bathroom. It was pretty much your standard Air Canada bathroom – but I did like that there was a window in it.
I decided to stretch out and relax until the next meal service. I watched a few movies, but unfortunately was not able to sleep. Probably because I was enjoying the Dreamliner seat and entertainment system too much!
Just as I was thinking I might be able to fall asleep, the cabin lights turned up and they started the second meal service. This time I had the grilled chicken. It was quite good, and I think I ended up eating it all (but I passed on the bread rolls that were offered).
After the second meal service was done, we began our arrival into Narita airport. There were 2 bridges brought out to the plane, so the business class cabin was able to exit out the front door. Waiting at the end of the bridge for us was an Air Canada concierge. She then walked us to Customs, which was insanely busy because two A380s had also come in at the same time. Unfortunately she was unable to expedite us through customs, but she went ahead to the baggage area to grab our checked luggage for all 6 of us. She was waiting for us with our luggage when we came out of customs, and escorted us to the limousine bus counter to book our ride to our hotel.
With celebrating a special occasion, the service was just amazing – probably the best service we have ever received on Air Canada. The concierges and gate agents all went out of their way to make it a special trip for Randy’s parents, and we really appreciated it. Even without the extra-special service, flying on the Dreamliner was very comfortable, and I look forward to flying on it again.