- [Sam] Welcome back guys.
I'm flying in to Calgary, Canada on this WestJet 737.
I was invited by the WestJet guest experience team to test fly their new 787 Dreamliner
from Calgary to London but first, let me show you some of the amazing nature of Canada.
Let's go!
Good morning from Calgary - I'm all warmed up.
I'm very excited to be going to see Canadian nature today.
I have just arrived here at the world famous Banff national park.
Isn't it beautiful?
Turquoise blue water with floating ice around.
So, before I came to Canada, I didn't know that it was this beautiful and you ask me:
What's Canada like?
I'm looking for the answer to that question too.
But I think that a big part of it is the profound beauty of the nature here.
Love where you're going guys?
At the Banff national park - this is so beautiful!
I love the nature here - it's uniquely Canadian.
In May, I get to see the snow here and earlier, it was sunny - so, sometimes, you see sun and snow.
There are lots of animals that can be seen here in Banff and right behind me, there's a deer.
It's not even disturbed by me.
Right now, looking at the clock, it's about three o' clock.
I have to go back to Calgary airport.
I'm very excited - we're going to fly on the WestJet 787-9 Dreamliner today to London Gatwick.
Let's go!
[All] Love where you're going!
[Air attendant] Hey, wonderful!
You're in the business class cabin - if you just cross over and turn left.
- Welcome on board nice to have you.
Hello Sam.
- Thank you, hi.
- You're in our business class cabin today, 4K.
- Thank you so much.
- May I direct you to your seat?
- Of course, let's go.
- Lovely, let's go.
- Would you like me to familiarise you with the seat?
- Thank you very much.
- We do have your widescreen here that you can either touch or, inside this compartment
here, we've got a remote option also and then you've got your plug in for your noise cancelling
headset, your USB port and also your proper electronic plug in there.
We do have the seat recline here.
Something a little bit different about our Dreamliner, from what I've been told, is that
when you want to change the recline, you just hold it to the desired angle but you must
keep your finger on it.
Most importantly, the piece de resistance - your vanity mirror.
- Wow.
- [She laughs] So, it's a nice little feature.
Sam, in this compartment, you will find your bottle of water and your noise cancelling
headset to use during your flight which plugs in to the slot there and then this arm rest
will go up during the flight for your convenience and then it's just lowered for take off and landing.
- Oh, thank you so much. - My pleasure.
- Hello everyone.
Welcome aboard!
My name is Captain Andy Waite - I have the pleasure of flying with Captain Ian Caldwell
today on the 787 Dreamliner, Westjet flight one to London Gatwick.
This afternoon's flight is eight hours and nine minutes.
It should be a fairly smooth ride - much better weather in London than it is here; as you can see,
the snow is falling outside.
Like I said, eight hours and nine minutes en route and eventually up at 36,000 feet.
Hope you enjoy the ride - thank you very much for joining us.
- [Sam] As far as 69 north, crossing Greenland, Iceland and, okay...
- Good evening Mister Chui.
My name is Crystal.
Welcome aboard WestJet flight one with service to London Gatwick.
Is this your first time in our business pods?
- Yes, it is.
- It is? May I show you a few things about it?
- Sure. - Fantastic.
First and foremost, I would like to give you your complimentary Matt and Nat amenity kit,
that is for you to keep today.
- Is this a Canadian amenity kit?
Is this Canadian?
- Matt and Nat is a Canadian company. - Oh right.
- I just wanted to stop by and ask if I may offer you an orange juice or the WestJet signature drink.
- Let me try the WestJet signature drink.
- That sounds fantastic.
- What is inside, actually?
- So, we've got the gold peak green tea, cranberry cocktail, ice with a fresh lemon wedge.
- Quite refreshing, this cocktail.
- So, right here is how you get started.
In the bottom left hand corner, you've got your main menu.
This is how you call a crew number - we'll never be too far away but just in case,
I'd like you to know where the button is.
This is your entertainment.
Movies, TV shows, music, magazines and games.
All very interactive and all very current.
I'd like to leave it on "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" just because it happens to be
my favourite and it is my official duty that if you get past 64,000, that you have to call
a crew member so that I may come by and high five you.
And if you phone a friend, it actually calls the captain.
- Oh really?
- I'm kidding!
[Both laugh] I'm pushing for that technology!
- Our premium economy guests get a sparkling wine or orange juice as their welcome beverage.
Would you like a sparkling wine or juice?
- I just want to try out all the seats on this flight here, so this is the economy seat here.
You know what, I think this is a Canadian little knot here.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
- [Woman] Yeah, it's a Canadian landscape
- It's a Canadian landscape here, like little knots here.
- [Sam and air attendant] Bye. -[Women] Bye. Thank you.
- London, here we come.
- So, we were delayed because it's snowing outside.
There was ice on the wings so the de-icing vehicle had to come and do the de-icing.
I can't believe it in Canada.
This is May and there's snow outside and the de-icing is in progress.
They have popcorn on board.
Very cool.
- [First Woman] We're doing a 3 PM service, a dinner service in the premium cabin, at the moment.
Just setting up for that.
So, this is a service tray - the TSU we call it - the tray service unit.
They're specially made for us and designed for us.
It's a non-slip service and it's very flat, as you can see.
-[Sam] I know, it looks so different, yeah. - It's...
- [Second woman] Nothing moves.
- [First Woman] It's different from...
- [Sam] Nothing moves, oh wow. This is cool.
- [First Woman] Ginger beef.
And the goats cheese and bean salad.
- [Sam] I was just saying, I was looking at it and the salad looks really nice, looks really healthy.
- [First Woman] Interesting, Canadian, locally sourced.
- [Sam] Canadian locally sourced...
- [First Woman] She has here her specially made brew for the Dreamliner. The...
- [Sam] Oh yes. - [First Woman] ...Dreamcraft.
- [Sam] Dreamcraft limited edition 787 ale.
- [First Woman] Big rock provided us with that.
- [Sam] Very cool.
When I was filming, I was getting hungry by smelling the food here.
Really good, really good.
- [First Woman] This is the vegetarian option.
It is a delicious shepherd's pie.
- [Sam] Oh, that looks nice.
- [First Woman] It's incredible. It's...
- [Sam] Is this chicken with (mumbles) sauce?
- I've seen so many airlines who roll a trolley out in premium economy but here in WestJet,
they're actually served tray by tray.
They are brought straight and direct to the guest's table.
It's really, really good.
It's like a restaurant style.
- Going to go and do a little wine service.
When we present it...
- What is this?
- It's a rose - a fortant de France - that is a French rose.
- So, here's an economy class...
I really like this tray.
This tray is very smart but non-slippery.
And if you see, this turquoise colour resembles the Canadian nature as well, it's like a lake.
This is what she's wearing - a sweater in the WestJet colour.
This is the main course.
So, this main course goes on top of the tray.
Today, we have a lovely chicken stroganoff or a Penne pasta - what can I interest you in today?
There you go.
- In Canada, this is actually the shape of the Rocky mountains.
- [Sam] Yeah, I thought so.
It's the Rocky mountains. - Yes. - The three sisters, right?
- Yes, you got it and that is for you to take home as well.
- WestJet have an interesting concept which is "dine any time."
And they have a lot of little, small dishes so that you can combine a few small dishes,
instead of having one big course, for your meal.
I think that the meals are really high quality.
I personally really liked the antipasto and also the salmon mille-feuille.
- I just wanted to tell you a little bit about the ice wine that you're having today.
This is a 2017 ice wine.
It takes...
Each grape makes just one drop of ice wine.
It's bottled in Ontario - it's a Peller Estates wine.
Each frozen grape makes one drop.
- This is very delicate, okay.
Let me try it.
This is very sweet. - Yes.
- Very sweet like a port, almost.
- Yeah, absolutely. - Very Unique. - Yes.
- Canadian, right? - It is Canadian.
- Canadian ice wine. - Yes.
- This is another main course of ours.
This is our ravioli - scampi ravioli - with dill sauce and peppers.
Our bowl is handcrafted and the rims are uneven and no bowl is the same.
All of the bowls are different and it's designed to represent the nature of Canada.
- [Sam] This morning, I was at Banff national park.
- Oh, really?
- And when I look at this bowl, this blue colour seems like the lake - it's blue.
- Yes.
- And the colours change.
- Sam, I also wanted to show you our bread bowl.
It represents the mountain terrain.
- You've got the texture on the bowl. Look at this.
- To give the feel of our mountains, yeah. - Look at the texture of the bowl. Yeah.
- So, you are ready to have your sleep now.
May I spray your pillow with rose mist?
- Sure.
- It took about three and a half hours to finish all of the food.
No doubt it is a little in the slow service.
But I also thought about...
WestJet never had a business class - some of the crew were flying business class in
the 787 for the first time.
So I'm sure that they can improve upon this.
This is just the first week of the operation.
Talking of the meals - phenomenal.
It was a restaurant style dining service.
It was one of the best transatlantic meals I have ever had.
This is really good quality.
Now I'm going to go and get some sleep now.
Good night.
- Just wanted to give you a Canadian farewell treat.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
So, I've just arrived at London Gatwick.
It's such a pleasure to fly on WestJet.
I think that WestJet have come a long way from a value carrier - a low cost carrier
- now in to a full, flash international global airline.
With the 787, this is a tremendous experience.
I really like the food on WestJet - I think it has a lot of good Canadian elements in it.
Equally, the service was exceptional.
The crew were so proud of the airline, with the 787 finally going global and transatlantic,
so you can see that immense display of pride in this plane, from the attitude, and it was good, it was great service.
I'm really happy to have taken this flight because I discovered so much about Canada
and I'm looking forward to my next WestJet flight.