"We are continuing priority for Air Canada flight 21"
Well good morning and welcome back to another video. Well it's been five weeks since I returned
to Canada, we did lots of traveling: we've been to Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Thunder
Bay, and even Winnipeg for about 15 minutes, but it's time to head back to Japan. Today we got a
long day we're going to fly direct from Toronto to Tokyo Narita it's about 13 hours so got a big
day ahead of us, but at least it's a nice start to the day. It's a lovely day here in Toronto
just waiting to go back to the lovely weather of Tokyo I guess (hehe). The flight's at 1:35 and
it's just about 9:30 now. I'm just about to grab the bus to the airport so come along should be a
nice day we'll see how it unfolds and uh yeah we'll see what happens as we go from A to B.
First order of business of the day is getting the A-Okay to fly. In August 2022,
PCR tests were still required to fly to Japan. By Fall 2022 Japan reopened its borders to tourism
and just a reminder that if you are planning on doing some travel,
do check well ahead for current and updated travel requirements for your destination.
So I got my negative test results a couple days ago - two days ago,
but to fly to Japan you need to have their specific form so I just had to run back to
the clinic which is right in the airport in the parking to to get the paper done.
All right so we just took the train to Terminal 1 and uh as you can tell I'm
not wearing a mask right now there's a mask mandate at the airports in Canada.
So what's interesting is when they did that the definition of what is the airport and
what's not the airport: the parking garage, this walkway, all this for all intents and
purposes is not the airport but right after this point... here let me flip it around for you...
...that's when you have to wear it. And there's a person that watches you
just before we go inside the terminal. So it's kind of interesting how they defined
what is an airport and what's not an airport when they decide to put that mandate in place.
Nonetheless let's go ahead and check in and drop the bags off.
In a summer where there was plenty of news about the poor state of air travel in Canada,
we once again find ourselves in Terminal 1 which doesn't look like how the news
depicted it. It was busy but not chaotic. Check-in did take a bit of time however as
this individual didn't have her papers in order and Airlines won't check you in unless you do.
All right so that was a very lengthy check-in process half an hour and then some and as they
turn the corner for the security it's... not too busy actually. So there's not too much on
the street side of this airport so I'm gonna get through security as quickly as possible,
make my life a little bit easier, and relax on the other side so let's do that.
After security you're rewarded with a long trek
to the E-gates which are used for international destinations.
I do gotta say the international area - departures kind of zone for Terminal 1 in Toronto I think is
relatively small - comically small. It's at the end of kind of the pier and as I'm walking along
here below us is the American Gates and there's a lot more American uh gates than International.
It's just kind of like the the end part over here. It's kind of down this long corridor. And
beside me here you see this big white thing. That used to be claimed as like the fastest
moving walkway in the world and no word of a lie I believe I've only used it once. Every
other time it's been out of commission and now it's boarded up so I guess as days are done.
I'm not a big fan of this part of the terminal. Besides the lengthy walk it
can get pretty crowded so finding a seat can be hit or miss. And since the gate
area is relatively small for the aircrafts which are used on these long-haul flights,
when a flight boards passengers tend to line in the walkway which impedes a flow of traffic.
With some time to spare, I thought I'd get out of the way and grab a coffee.
EE: Ask to get the Ice Capp with chocolate milk. Thank me later.
Today we'll be departing from gate E77 and here's our Dreamliner which would take us to Tokyo.
Ten minutes before boarding time and I was notified of a nice little surprise!
Well a stroke of good luck today, I didn't say the start of the video because I didn't want to jinx
it, but I did get the upgrade - I put an upgrade request for this flight so we're off to Tokyo in
premium economy! So I'm very happy because we tried a couple times - couple flights earlier
and I didn't get it... then I got it (today) and for a 13-hour flight I think it's definitely worth
it. So I'm pretty happy right now. I guess I didn't hear them call me on the overhead sound
system but I found the check mark on the app so I just went up and they gave me the boarding pass so
I'm very happy with this right now so this can be a very nice flight!!
Initially I was upgraded to 12H the bulkhead row of premium economy and an aisle seat.
Every premium economy seat had a blanket, pillow, Air Canada's clean care kit, and a
water bottle already in place. A couple flying together wished to sit beside each other so I
was more than happy to help them out and switched for 12A the window seat and win-win for everyone.
We ended up pushing back both 30 minutes late and in the meantime
the menu was handed out and our order was taken.
Our flight to Tokyo will be on one of Air Canada's 787-9. The aircraft has 298 seats
over three classes with premium economy being the smallest with only 21 seats. Now with all that
being said it's time to get underway so enjoy this rare southerly takeoff and the views of Toronto.
We are looking east. You'll see HWY 401 / 427, & Burnhapthorpe Rd.
Our 12 and a half hour flight would take us North across Ontario, the territories, and Alaska,
but for turning southwest to Tokyo. The flight path would take us over a very sparsely populated
part of the world soon after leaving Toronto we fly over Sudbury, Ontario and this will be the
last community of at least a hundred thousand we'll see before reaching the Japanese Coast.
The premium economy cabin consists of three rows in a two - three - two seating configuration with
dark grey seats with red accents on the headrests. Seat pitch is 38 inches with a few more inches in
the bulkhead row by the looks of it. Plenty of space to set up camp for the long flight ahead.
The 19 inch wide seats are very comfortable and I'm willing to say that they are better than some
of Air Canada's older business class seats. The headrest is nicely padded and adjustable.
A small cocktail tray separates the seats and below is a small
pocket which probably could use some cleaning.
In the bulkhead row, one armrest houses the tray table which is adjustable and you're able
to easily leave your seat when it's folded in half. The other contains the IFE, and I prefer
the screen in the armrest rather than post it on the bulkhead which sometimes is the case.
After dinner we'll take a closer look at the entertainment system on board. Also each seat
contains a power outlet, headphone jack, and remote. And Air Canada went with the personal
air control on their Dreamliner's. Overall a very comfortable way to enjoy a long haul flight.
Alright,
so that was the take off, fantastic take off! First time I seen it fly over downtown Toronto
like that, amazing views today. The seat belt sign just went off and like I said in
the video when I came over from Tokyo - always good to have a change of clothes just to keep
the airport clothes kind of fresh, because I still got a nice little train ride after
landing in Tokyo. And uh yeah, this is the washroom,
in the Vancouver to Toronto flight - same one in the back of the plane, so you seen this all before
(hopefully!). So time to go back for lunch, and to watch some movies and do all that fun stuff.
[soft Jazz]
Back in my seat it was time for the first meal service of the flight.
We started with the pre-meal drink and pretzels and I went with the classic Caesar.
I followed that by the chicken option. The dish was prepared with apple and a maple sauce. A
selection of ingredients which paired surprisingly well! It was accompanied by a roasted cauliflower
and potato salad, the same which we enjoyed a few flights back, and a carrot cake for dessert.
I was pleased with the meal and I had no issues polishing off every last morsel.
After the meal service I decided to do some light reading to pass the time.
About two and a half hours into the flight the cabin lights and the shades were dimmed.
A small amenity kit is provided in premium economy. It consists of socks, earplugs,
eye mask, and most importantly a toothbrush.
And the red zipper bag itself is a nice handy little article I keep on me whenever I travel.
I think they did a great job with the IFE. The screen itself has a USB and headphone jack and
the system has a wide range of content to watch. I also enjoyed and employed
the picture-in-picture feature so I can keep track of the moving map while watching a movie.
And I was able to have this nice little setup to keep me occupied for a few hours.
Air Canada also provides Wi-Fi on these flights. For 25 bucks (CDN) I was able to access the
browsing pass for the entire flight which allowed for everything except for streaming videos.
It was fast and reliable for the duration of the flight and I was able to keep my eye on JAL 5 as
we both raced to Tokyo... who do you think won? Along with the Wi-Fi you also gain access to
Rress Reader which has dozens of publications to read. And as always I invite new viewers to
subscribe for continued Aviation and travel related content :)
One thing is for certain you won't go hungry on an Air Canada flight.
A few hours later they handed out tuna rolls, cookies and drinks to those who were awake.
And should you find yourself even more peckish just head to the rear galley.
Aright so we are already about 8hours in, or something like that,
into the flight, and there is still four more
hours to go. So for myself these 13 hour flights are just a very
long flight... you gotta find some way to break it up... watch a movie,
go for a walk around, do another task. Kind of break it into chunks.
So four more hours to go and we're we're getting closer but still a very very long flight. And uh
pretty quiet in here no one's really walking around all the sandwiches are still here so
I'll probably grab a sandwich. I tend to eat a lot on these flights because I can't... I
really don't sleep on planes so that's what I tend to do. 4 more hours to go.
And during my stroll of the aircraft I stumbled Upon A loo with the view and I
didn't even know that this existed on Air Canada's Dreamliners. It's
the laboratory between the premium economy and business class. A little
nicer than the lavoratories in the rear the aircraft what do you think?
With about two hours left the cabin lights began to brighten and we were getting close
to Japan with just enough time for one more meal: breakfast and I went with the omelet.
And once again I fulfilled my duty of eliminating any food waste.
Shortly after we get our first glimpse of
Japan and these islands out in the ocean are technically part of Tokyo.
Overall it was a nice smooth flight over to Tokyo. It's not too often you can go 13 hours
and not have any turbulence. And I think the premium economy on a flight like this provides
a more enjoyable experience especially for those who don't or can't sleep on plane.
Oh and for those wondering, we ended up beating JAL 5 by a few minutes but they went to Haneda!
This flight was the final flight of my round trip itinerary between Tokyo and Toronto which came
up to $1,760. The premium economy upgrade costed 12 upgrade credits and 250 bucks.
All right so after 13 hours we made it to Tokyo and no way you you break it down a
13-hour flight is is a long, long time on a plane. But Air Canada's premium economy seat
is you know very comfortable, the seat itself is equivalent or better than what you'd expect
to find on a domestic business class seat. There's lots of space , it's comfortable,
and the food - the food's delicious on the plane. And there's there's a lot of it there. You're not
going to go hungry and you're not going to go thirsty on an Air Canada flight. and uh the
bulkhead row is is a nice seat as well. It was first time I think I sat on the bulkhead row and
um I know you've got you have to put your bag up for the taxi, take off, and landing but you
get a lot of extra space there at the front so I really enjoyed that. And um overall is a nice
smooth flight from Toronto to Tokyo so very happy with Air Canada's premium economy seat,
and the service on board with the the staff , was very friendly um you know they in premium economy.
I surprised they they called you by your your name and they're handing out the uh the dinners.
And I chatted with one in the back throughout the flight uh very lovely staff very happy.
So I had a great time on this flight. And for the price I paid uh.. what did I pay? I did 12
credits and 250 dollars but I think if you can get it for a long 13-hour flight I definitely
think premium economy is is definitely worth it and I think you'll thank yourself later.
Anyways let me know what you thought about Air Canada's International premium premium
economy seat. I'm going to head home now and I guess try and go to sleep or do whatever
jet lag does.. it's 5:30 at night so thanks for watching let me know let me know what you
thought and I'll see you around in the next video somewhere on a train playing or wherever I'm at.