[Air Canada Rouge 1984+1985, A319, Slaveship Class] First world Caribbean "slave ship"

"Leisure" Airlines are increasingly popular in North America (well, in Canada at least) after Sunwing tour group started their own Airlines in 2015 instead of relying on chartering/wet-leasing planes to transport people between Canada and the Caribbean every winter. (correct me if I'm wrong). However, the concept itself isn't new at all... Even in Canada, we had all sorts of "charter airlines" such as Canada 3000, Skyservice in the past and not to mention Air Transat which is still going strong with their infamous 9 abreast Airbus slaveships and recently joined 737 fleet.

Air Canada has eventually joined the battle in 2012 with their new subsidiary Air Canada Rouge,
a new subsidiary that specialised in Holiday destination, trafficking transporting human who have very little standard or not care at all on air travelling experience between their home and holiday destination. Hence, the so-called leisure airlines.

Since people who travel south do not usually care about or value the air travel experience as long as it takes them to their holiday destination in one piece, the service and products on those leisure airlines can hardly compare with regular airlines. To reduce cost, pretty much like LCC, all In Flight Entertainment (if any) and In Flight Services such as meal and snacks are offered with a cost, except checked luggage policy are quite generous (even more than regular airlines) due to the nature of their target audience/market. Seats are LCC standard if not worse, the more seats the merrier, below 30" seat pitch is pretty much the norm, because, again, people don't really care as long as it's cheap and takes them to their destinations.

As an aviation enthusiast who values the flight more than the trip itself,
I'm not sure how leisure can it be, considering being confined in a 29" pitch seat for 4 hours,
but there's a way to find out.

So I decided to take Air Canada Rouge to the south.

After confirming my holiday schedule with my girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend...), we decided to go on a holiday in the Caribbean to a little escape, and to celebrate our first Valentine's day.

For obvious reasons, I'm the one who does all the research and booking.
After we decided to go to a specific hotel in Varadero, Cuba
There were few options in terms of Airlines, Air Canada, Air Transat, Westjet and Sunwing

With Westjet being insanely expensive, my options were down to AC, Transat and Sunwing.

Aircraft type was of course taken into consideration,
Air Canada Rouge offers 29" pitch and standard 18" wide seat
Air Transat and Sunwing's 737's seat not only being narrower, the pitch is even an inch shorter...

Air Canada Rouge's A319 is the obvious winner, seat comfort wise, and the bonus 3.5k Aeroplan miles + 1.6k base miles. I decided to go with Air Canada although it was slightly more expensive.

Let's get back to the flight report itself.

Flight Info:

Airlines:           Air Canada Rouge 1984

Origin:             Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL/CYUL)

Destination:     Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA/MUVR)

Departure:        12 Feb 2016, 1525  EST 

Arrival:            12 Feb 2016, 1920  CST

Duration:          03hr55min  

Aircraft Type:  A319-114 (reg: C-GBHY, 17.9 years old)

Seat:                 18B Economy Class (Exit Row)

After driving 2 hours from Ottawa to Montreal and getting on and off the shuttle from the "value" parking lot to the airport with 2 luggage in -28 degree centigrade (-42 with humility and wind chill), I could not even spare a moment to take out my phone for pictures.

Check in was smooth and easy, the airport wasn't busy at all, I was half expecting a situation like Person during Christmas time.

Fast forward to the gate,
my ride to Cuba was C-GBHY, arriving from Tampa Intl (TPA/KTPA) as AC1619

We were lucky to be seated at the exit row,
got some extra legroom without any extra charges.

and If turn slightly to the left.. 

The only down side is that,
the window is far out of reach...

and the view is obstructed by the wing

Safety card

I did not know the mobile lounges were still in service at YUL, 

I have seen it and ride it at IAD a few years ago

Push back,
it's funny how the image Air Canada want to promote the Rouge brand,
the cabin crew empathises "We will be onboard together in the next 4 hours, so here is our home, welcome aboard"  not exact words as I forgot, but something similar, the idea of "family" and "home" were mentioned.
I guess so this way we won't see them as slave master?

After some taxing... we pull aside on the maintenance area
and got bad news from the captain...
apparently the emergency slide could not be aimed properly due to extreme cold temperature (below -25 °C)

Take Off: 

Some IFE, perhaps? 

It doesn't work....
It was not made available until 2 hours after take off,
somebody forgot to flip the switch?

Well, I'm well prepared.
I have my own IFE

And IFS too, Brought my own bagels on board

only the coke was offered by Air Canada Rouge. 

I don't blame them, considering how poorly they were paid ... 

Light remained dimmed throughout the rest of the flight.

We arrive at Varadero not too far behind the scheduled time despite the "little drama" before take off. 

This was my first time visiting Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA/MUVR), I was surprised how well equipped it is compare to Cayo Coco, we entered the terminal via a Jet bridge so we didn't have to feed the local mosquitoes. Although the security and passport checkpoint is as chaotic and slow as in Cayo Coco if not worse.  

We had a pleasant stay in Varadero, and managed a ride to Havana. 

Her ladyship enjoyed it, that's what all that matters. 

Here are some bonus pictures of the trip

  

Despite my first experience with AC Rouge was not too bad, the return trip was another story, probably one of the worst air travel experience I have ever had. 

Flight Info:

Airlines:           Air Canada Rouge 1985

Origin:             Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (VRA/MUVR)

Destination:     Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL/CYUL)

Departure:        20 Feb 2016, 2025  CST 

Arrival:            20 Feb 2016, 2359  EST

Duration:          03hr34min  

Aircraft Type:  A319-114 (reg: C-FYJP, 18.8 years old)

Seat:                 26F Economy Class 

Only AC has their own boarding pass paper..

Other airlines boarding pass paper are provided by the local authority.

For those who have been to Cuba will understand how inefficient their boarder control is...
It took us almost 2 hours to get through...
Security is another chaos ..

Many flights including ours were delayed due to checked in passengers not showing up at the gate...
Who would have figured out where they went.....
The plane just can't leave half of its passengers behind, I guess?

Things did not improved after getting on the plane,
The standard 29" non-exit row pitch for the next 4 hours...
I literally could not move at all

For comparison, Sunwing's 28" pitch on their 737-800... 

I guess ACR is slightly more humane.

I bet most passengers on board these kind of flights would not remember their flight number...
Filling it out before disturbing the form saved themselves from being bothered by dumb questions from the passengers... but only on the French side.

I didn't take many pictures on this flight because I was really exhausted, and I still hadn't got over the chaos at the airport.
Crew on board weren't friendly and provide bare minimum service... (Which I understand, considering their long working hours, working 2 flights back to back and how poorly they are paid).
It took them almost the entire duration of the flight to serve the complementary beverage,
all on board cafe items were sold out by the time the cart reaches out row...

Midnight at YUL
I hope I'll never have to take Air Canada Rouge again...
If necessary, I guess premium rouge would be my bottom line.

The End. 

Past Trip Reports:
[Cathay Pacific 542, Boeing 747-400, Economy Class, HKG-HND]
[JAL Japan Airlines 735, Boeing 767-300ER, Economy Class, NRT-HKG]
[JAL Japan Airlines 9, Boeing 777-300ER, Economy Class, ORD-NRT]
[American Eagle 2936, CRJ-200ER, Economy Class, YUL-ORD]

[Air Canada 464, Boeing 767-300ER, Business Class, YYZ-YOW]

[KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 692, MD11, Economy Class, YYZ-AMS]

[Air Canada 444, ERJ190, Business Class, YYZ-YUL-YOW]

[Cathay Pacific 542, Boeing 747-400, Economy Class, HKG-HND] Farewell to the Queen of Cathay Pacific, 2016 Mini-Mileage Run to Asia Part 4/6

May has been a busy month for me this year, 

I haven't got much time to finish writing the remaining portions my trip reports. 

This is part 4 of my Mini-Mileage Run, 

returning to Canada from Hong Kong

Here is a list of the previous parts in this series:  

Part 1: [American Eagle 2936, CRJ-200ER, Economy Class, YUL-ORD] 

Part 2: [JAL Japan Airlines 9, Boeing 777-300ER, Economy Class, ORD-NRT]

Part 3: [JAL Japan Airlines 735, Boeing 767-300ER, Economy Class, NRT-HKG] 

After my 6 days stay in Hong Kong,

it was time to return home. 

Hong Kong international airport can be considered my "focus city" if not a hub. 

In my log book which I started doing so since 2007 alone has recorded 41 times of usage,

followed by Toronto Pearson (26 times) and Ottawa MacDonald Cartier (10 times). 

The actual number may possibly be doubled as I traveled much more frequently within Asia prior to 2007. 

The Airport has evolved and upgraded over time, 

but the general layout remained the same in the past decade, 

I can pretty much roam around with my eyes closed. 

While I was checking in, something wasn't quite working as they should. 

I scanned my passport at the kiosk, it successfully retreated my booking information but I was not allowed to check in nor print my boarding pass and it said on the screen that I had to visit an actual check in counter to do so. 

Strange... eh? 

So basically, I have made a rookie's mistake... not a fatal one but severe enough to destroy my original plan.  

I am still quite embarrassed by it considering my extensive air travelling experiences I had in the past. 

I booked myself to Haneda instead of Narita without realising until checking in at the airport as I was distracted by the "Aircraft Type" section. 

I got a new nickname "Mr. Wong Airport" from my friends after they named my girlfriend "Ms. Flight delay" when she missed her second ever flight. 

My connecting flight departs at Narita the next morning and I booked a hotel room at Narita Rest House next to the Airport, intending to just spent a night at the airport as most businesses and restaurants will be closed after 20:00 prior to my arrival.  

Time wise it shouldn't be a problem as I have more than enough time to get to Narita, I could probably walk from Haneda to Narita by foot between my transfer (17 hrs according to google, maybe not then). 

The real concern was most railway lines and public transport will be out of service soon by the time I arrive Haneda. 

It wouldn't be an issue to most other travelers as there are few scheduled train en route to central Tokyo. 

However, the hotel I booked in Tokyo is located at Narita Airport and by the time I arrive central Tokyo, most services to Narita would be out of service and will not be resumed until 0500 the next morning. 

My options were very limited and taking the Taxi to Narita would probably cost more than what I have spent for the whole trip... 

The most convenient options such as N'EX and Skyliner were obviously out.  

Trust me, travelling in Tokyo after regular hours by public transport is way harder than you think, even google couldn't give me any good suggestion, most of them require me to find somewhere else to stay until the next morning. 

I probably have not been this adventurous since I was 16 when I lied to my parents that I was visiting my relatives in England while actually travelling across Europe to 6 countries on my own with a tipsy head...

Good old days... Good old days... but that is a story for another time.

Let's back to the main topic, 

Flight Info:     

Flight:             Cathay Pacific 542

Origin:            Hong Kong International Airport (HKG/VHHH)

Destination:    Tokyo (Haneda) International Airport (HND/RJTT)

Departure:       20 April 2016, 1625 HKT 

Arrival:           20 April 2016, 2135 JST 

Duration:        04hr10min 

Aircraft Type: Boeing 747-400 (reg: B-HUJ, 21 years Old) 

Seat:                52K Economy Class

The Queen of the Sky, 

It is arguably the most iconic plane in commercial aviation history. 

747-400 is not a rare type in my log book, 

I have taken pretty much all variants of the 747 Family except the SP and 400D (and have yet to take the latest -8). 

With the high fuel price in the past few years, and much superior and efficient products such as the 77W,   

many airlines have withdraw the 747 from Passenger's service, just like the MD11 (click here for my report on KLM's last MD-11).  

Cathay have just announce the retirement of the remaining 3 passenger's 747 fleet in October this year.

This is almost for certain my last time to be on board a Cathay Pacific's 747 and I was lucky enough to get the rare original RR engined variant, not the one transferred from SQ with PW engines. 

At the gate next to my flight, a Lufthansa's A340-600 just arrived from Munich, 

one of my favioured planes, ranked just after the MD-11 and A340-500. 

The same flight and exact same plane I took a couple years aso. 

I have to admit that I have a special admiration toward 4 engines planes

Sad to see them going away... 

I couldn't print my boarding pass at the kiosk due to the mistake I made...
But I ended up getting a "real" boarding pass thick and sturdy, printing out fresh from the counter.
It wasn't so bad after all?
It also indicated that my ticket was sold as JL7032 as I purchased it through JAL.

I wonder what was it in the middle of the road...

Oops.

The flight was fairly empty,
I made myself to the plane soon after boarding was called.
No queuing was needed.
My view for the next 4 hrs.

The infamous fixed shell Long haul economy seat was introduced in around 2008. 

It was very innovative and way ahead of its time, 

The idea is that the seat unit is fixed, and you recline with the seat cushions sliding forward, very much like business class, hence you won't be interrupted by the passenger in front of you as they recline and take up all your spaces.  

I personally quite like the idea and this product, but I also understand the reason why it deserves so much hate and shortly swapped out by Cathay. 

1. The seat cushion is very thin and hard, I remember how much it hurt my back the last time I took it from Toronto to Hong Kong on a 15 hours flight. 

2. The fixed default recline angle as you can see below is rather awkward. I think most people would prefer a more upright seating position...  

3. Your legroom would be severely reduced as you "recline"

4. It is really a pain in the arse to maintain... with the added complexity of the seat, some of them don't even function properly after a few years in operation.  

Legroom shot, 32" pitch
Not the greatest (certainly not as good as JAL) but still way better than what North American and European carriers offer.


Overhead bin is probably the easily way to tell an airplane's age.
The very classic boxy design from the 70's through 80's.

The 747 in Cathay are known to be troublesome due to their age.
the flight was delayed for about half an hour as the PA system was not functioning properly at the rear economy cabin, and they soon discovered that the they plane has some anti-ice system malfunction.
Well, at least it is not leaking water from the overhead bin onto my head this time.

They probably didn't figure out a way or bother to fix the PA system..
you can hear it from the video below, the volume of the safety demo could barely be heard.
Push back and take off :

Cathay is keeping their policy quite up to date.

Meal service begin soon after take off.
Tea and some peanuts

I forgot the other option,
but I opted for the pasta with some white wine on the side...
a little disappointed that I didn't get an individual bottle which many airlines do in economy class.

eww... plastic utensil
and what kind of stupid design is that...
not only they are ugly but also way too thick and wide to be useful...
probably the awfullest utensil I have used.

Tea and coffee were offered after the meal,
not thing special afterward.
I felt asleep in the remaining 2 hours as I really needed the energy for my "grand crossing" of Tokyo

Descending into Haneda

It was way too dark to take any decent pictures..
I tried, and my phone did a much better job capturing it in video. (maybe it is really the time to upgrade my camera equipments)

The landing:

ANA's 787
I believe the trouble teens were all returned to Boeing?

Parking next to another Queen of the sky.
747 looks great in TG's livery

I certainly did not have much time to fool around the plane and the airport...
I did figure out a way to get myself to Narita before sunrise.
However, my time frame was rather tight.
I have to rush to Ginza (central Tokyo) and then take the only overnight Airport bus to Narita.
If I couldn't get on the train before 2300 and the bus by 0115, I'd have to give up the hotel and find somewhere else to stay.

Here is my "grand crossing" of Tokyo from Haneda to Narita

Arriving hall

Right next to the train station, very convenient.
My first step is to take Keikyu Line then Asakusa Line to Ginzaeki

After living in Canada for so many years...
I have forgotten what public transportation is like...
It took me a while to figure out how the system works...

I don't really have a clue what kind of ticket I bought,
I guess I can use it to wherever I want as long as the price does not exceed 570 yen.

I guess I'll stay away from the underground ... 

The east bound Platform
Very clean, tidy and bright

Although it looks complicated,
but it's actually quite easy to understand.
Different tier of trains running on the same route with different set of stops, just make sure you're on the right one or you'd see your stop passing by the windows.

Underground on the other hand...
oh deer deer...

Japanese's art of queuing.

Everyone is on their cellphone.

Finally made it to the central district...
Totally unexpected/unplanned visit to Ginza...

iconic landmark at Ginza,
even my local ramen restaurant has a picture of this exact same building, lol.

Wondering around as I have more than an hour to  kill before the bus arrives

Thank goodness there was a 24hrs sushi restaurant.
You have not been to Japan if you don't treat yourself with a meal of sushi.
I can get decent Ramen, Yakitori and Teppanyaki in Canada but good sushi...
Here I can get excellent sushi without costing an arm or a leg.

with a pint of Kirin

 heading to the bus stop

It really was a big relief...
I can make it to my hotel before sunrise...
apparently the overnight bus cost double... 2000yen instead of 1000yen
what a ripoff... well...  monopoly...

Everything in Japan is better than in North America...
maybe not the long haul bus for this instance.
For once, I think grey hound in Canada was slightly better comfort wise, except their buses are much older.

power outlet is provided.
However, it is the type A which doesn't have the ground wire pin.
type A  is still very common in Japan.

The bus was surprisingly (or not?) empty,
it was about an hour bus ride, I pretty much slept my entire way to Narita..

Arrived at Narita Terminal 2
all the doors were locked... oh well...
apparently the only way to get to my hotel is going through the parking lot.

It was really dark outside and I was way too tired to take any picture... 

It took me a while to find the hotel (Narita Rest House) 

I asked a security guard for direction 

his English wasn't so good to show me the direction nor my Japanese was good enough to tell him not to worry... 

He ended up escorting me to my destination... 

the single room I booked was essentially a double room with one fewer bed... 

interesting. 

I took a hot bath and went to bed to make my money worth as I have only 4 hours until heading to the terminal again for my next flight... 

To be continue in Part 5,

[JAL Japan Airlines 6, Boeing 777-300ER, Economy Class, NRT-JFK]
JAL's Longest non-stop flight with the Best Economy Product, Mini-Mileage Run to Asia Part 5/6

Past Trip Reports:
[JAL Japan Airlines 735, Boeing 767-300ER, Economy Class, NRT-HKG]
[JAL Japan Airlines 9, Boeing 777-300ER, Economy Class, ORD-NRT]
[American Eagle 2936, CRJ-200ER, Economy Class, YUL-ORD]

[Air Canada 464, Boeing 767-300ER, Business Class, YYZ-YOW]

[KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 692, MD11, Economy Class, YYZ-AMS]

[Air Canada 444, ERJ190, Business Class, YYZ-YUL-YOW]