Good evening from Calgary International Airport! My name is Alex, and today, I’m flying with
Air North, from Calgary, Alberta, to Whitehorse, Yukon.
Air North is a northern Canadian airline that serves Canada’s Yukon Territory, using a
fleet of 737s, ATR 42s, and Hawker-Siddeley HS748s.
While the latter sounds much more interesting, I’ll be flying up north on their Boeing 737-400.
On February 1st, Air North held a 40% off sale on almost all of their flights to celebrate
their birthday, and having never been to Whitehorse, I jumped at the chance!
I’ve always wanted to see more of Canada’s North,
and figured this would be the perfect way to visit another territory.
My aircraft for today is a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 registered as C-FANB.
This aircraft was originally delivered to Asiana Airlines in 1992, and
flew with a few different operators before joining Air North’s fleet in 2010.
Air North flies to Calgary as part of a triangle route,
flying Whitehorse - Edmonton - Calgary - Whitehorse.
I flew with Air North in December last year on the Edmonton to Calgary leg, so I’m curious
to see what they’re like on a longer flight.
My seat for today is 18A, and the legroom is…
really not good. Actually, surprisingly so.
There is pretty much zero space between my knees and the seat in front.
Like I said earlier, I flew on their 737-500 last year between Edmonton and Calgary, and
the legroom there was great, especially for someone who’s 6’8” like me, so I’m
a bit confused and kinda disappointed that it’s worse this time around.
On their website, Air North claims to have a “roomy 32" average seat pitch”, which
is… definitely not the case here.
This feels more like 30”, which is a shame, to say the least.
That aside, here’s our departure from Calgary, taking off from runway 17R.
The seats on this 737-400 are fairly old,
and that tray table is as uncomfortable as it looks.
As far as seatback pocket contents go, Air North has this safety card,
… air sickness bag,
… these suggestion cards,
… and plenty of inflight reading.
Between Calgary and Whitehorse, Air North offers complimentary drinks, as well as this
tasty snack plate of meat, cheese, and fruits and veggies.
In fairness to Air North, this is a LOT more than you’d get on most North American airlines
in economy, and for free, no less!
One of the more well-known things about Air North is that they also give out free, freshly
baked chocolate chip cookies! Mine was still hot, and was absolutely delicious.
For what it’s worth, I did try to book the exit row on this flight, but Air North doesn’t
allow you to select those seats online.
When I called to ask why, they said that they block
off those seats, and only give them out at the airport so they can determine whether
or not you’re okay to sit there.
The issue is, because of the triangle routing, they had already given out the exit rows to
people who were flying from Edmonton, so even though I showed up 3 hours early, there wasn’t
anything they could do in Calgary.
Even the bulkhead row wasn’t a good option according
to the Air North rep that I spoke with, because there’s a good chance of getting moved if
anyone with mobility issues needs that row.
Flying is always tricky for tall people, and I do acknowledge that, so I try to mitigate
it as much as I can by paying more and being careful with my seat selection.
So, when I try all of that only to be misled by Air North themselves, it’s… frustrating.
On a lighter note, when I arrived in Whitehorse, I paid a visit to Air North’s headquarters
to see if there was any way I could get a hangar tour.
It was a weekend, so I wasn’t expecting much, and ended up not being able to get a tour.
However, the person who was
there was super nice, and even gave me some more Air North cookies as consolation, so
that was much appreciated!
The cabin crew also ended up giving me a second cookie on this flight, most likely out of
pity but hey, it was a nice gesture.
Shortly before landing, the crew came around with a second drink service, and I opted for
a cup of coffee, which is made locally in Whitehorse by Midnight Sun Coffee Roasters.
Speaking of which, the crazy thing about flying up north in the summer is, it’s almost 11:00
at night, and it’s still daylight!
With that announcement, we started our descent into Whitehorse, landing on runway 32L.
Now that I’m here, I can honestly say that I fell in love with Whitehorse
and Yukon, and that’s something I’ll talk
more about, and show, in a later video.
But in more ways than one, I was glad to be on the ground.
Overall, Air North has a lot to offer over most North American airlines. The free snack
plate, and two drink services really stand out, as does their very generous baggage policy
of two free checked bags.
The one downside, of course, is the inconsistency of their seats, and that was really disappointing,
if I’m being honest.
I don’t see any possible advantage to Air North for not telling you a basic function
of the seat or row that you picked. It really is a shame because aside from that, the flight
would’ve been great.
However, like I said earlier on, there are undoubtedly some very nice people that work
at Air North, and I don’t think my experience should be taken as a proper representation
of the whole company. I am certainly in the minority when it comes to airline seating!
So, to summarize, I had a wonderful time in Whitehorse and Yukon, and I will definitely
visit again, but I’d have to think twice about flying with Air North,
purely for my own well being.
That concludes my experience, with Yukon’s airline. Thank you very much for watching.
As always, leave a like if you enjoyed the video,
subscribe if you’re new, and I’ll see you in the next one.