Air Canada 777 Business Class Review – Toronto to Calgary

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When I first started looking at flights for our Canadian Rockies trip, I wasn’t expecting much special. But then, in my search results on United’s website, something special appeared indeed.

An Air Canada flight from DC to Calgary with a connection in Toronto. The flight from Toronto to Calgary was a widebody aircraft (a 767). That meant that we would have LAY FLAT seats for our flight from Toronto to Calgary. (I later learned that that particular flight continues onto Tokyo after Calgary. Hence why such a large aircraft is used.).

I was stoked to see that there was points availability for two tickets. So, I transferred 50,000 points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to United, and I booked those tickets so fast I didn’t even ask Ken if those dates worked for him.

In my review of the Toronto Airport Sheraton, I mentioned that Air Canada announced a schedule adjustment a few months after booking these tickets. With the schedule adjustment, we only had 1 hour and 4 minutes for our layover in Toronto. The minimum “legal” layover in Toronto is 1 hour and 10 minutes. But, since I had already booked my tickets, I wasn’t going to draw attention to that measly six minutes.

But, as our departure date approached, I started to panic. And, long story short, we took the DC to Toronto leg of our flight the night before to avoid any missed connections. United was very accommodating in making the switch, since the change had been beyond our control.

Air Canada’s 767 didn’t look like anything super luxurious, but hey, lay flat seats are lay flat seats.

When we arrived at our gate in Toronto for our flight to Calgary, the gate agent announced that there had been an equipment change, and that seat assignments would be changing for many people. I had a first world panic moment. Would the plane now be a standard domestic first class? Or *gasp* would we be moved to coach due to the equipment change?

Well, as it turns out, this ended up being an UPGRADE. The new aircraft equipment was a 777, not a 767! The 777 had a newer, improved layout in Air Canada’s business class.

The cabin was bright and airy. Seats were in a 1–2–1 layout.

I was seated in 6K, while Ken was seated in 7K.

Seat Features

The TV screen was a good size for the seat, and didn’t require any adjusting like my seat on Cathay Pacific’s Business class.

Legroom was plentiful, obviously, but the footwell was a bit tight when in a layflat position.

Seat controls were on the right, with simple options to select seat positions.

The panel under the window lifted for storage of smaller items. I kept my headphones in here, as well as my eyeglasses when I took a little nap midflight. There were also some plugs for electronics and the remote control for the TV screen.

I was initially perplexed, since there didn’t seem to be an armrest on the aisle-side of the seat. But, I later realized that it can be raised and lowered as desired. When the armrest was in a raised position, it was quite tight to get in and out of the seat, so I can see why they made it adjustable.

On the upper right was a nice reading light that could be extended when desired.

Ken and I were totally stoked for this flight!

Food and Beverages in Air Canada’s Business Class

Once situated after we boarded the aircraft, Ken and I were offered pre-departure beverages. I got a glass of Orange Juice. I typically would have opted for a wine, but it was only 8:30AM after all!

We also were able to browse the menus.

Once airborne, I ordered a glass of white wine (hey, it was probably close to 10AM by that point! Totally acceptable, right!?).

Then, flight attendants brought a tray of fruit, bread, and yogurt.

I’m not certain of how the flight attendants were taking orders, but they did not do it in any methodical fashion. Ken and I were one of the last ones to have our orders taken in the cabin though. I’ve seen other bloggers surmise that some airlines put award-seat passengers last when taking food orders. Whatever the reason, it did not work out well for us. Ken and I were both looking forward to the french toast with Canadian Maple Syrup, but by the time flight attendants took our order, only one option was left – the Omelette and sausage. It was not great.

But, luckily Ken and I had bought some light breakfast options at Toronto Airport before we boarded our flight, like a chocolate chip muffin, a banana, and a ham and cheese croissant. So, it’s not like we were starving or anything.

During the flight

The cabin had some fantastic lighting that gradually changed throughout the flight.

I also had a lot of fun with the Air Show displays, and I watched a quick TV show.

Ken stretched out and did some reading on his Kindle, and got in a short nap as well.

The restrooms were quite spacious (I mean, for an airplane!) And, I think this might have been a first for me: An airplane bathroom with a window!

There was even some lovely maple leaf designs on the wall across from the toilet.

Closing Thoughts

The seats had decent privacy. When seated or laying down, I wasn’t able to see anyone else around me except the very top of the head of the passenger in front of me.

It’s worth noting that this probably isn’t the best cabin if you’re traveling with another person, especially if you want to be able to talk to that person easily. Even the two seats in the middle were spaced apart quite a bit. They had dividers that could be lowered, but you’d still be a bit far away from the person you’re traveling with.

This is different than a few of the other business class cabins we have flown. For example, Turkish Airlines business class seats were great for conversation. And, Air Berlin’s seats had alternating rows of middle seats that were closer to each other and farther away from each other. On that flight though, our seats were a bit TOO close to each other. Our elbows touched pretty much the entire time.

Ken and I didn’t mind sitting apart from each other. I mean, after all, we were about to spend the next week with each other nonstop, so we’d have plenty of time for conversation then. But, I do like having a hand to squeeze during turbulence, so that’s always one downside.

So, there you have it, our upgraded equipment flight on Air Canada! Although we had some minor complaints about the quality of the food, this was a fantastic way of spending our 4.5 hour flight from Toronto to Calgary.

Have you been on any short haul lay flat flights recently?  Tell us about it in the comments below!