The smallest member of Air Canada’s fleet, versus one 6 foot 8 flight reviewer…
What have I done?
Good afternoon everyone, my name is Alex, and welcome to this… unique trip report!
Today I’m in the small city of Lethbridge, in Southern Alberta, where I’ll be flying
back home to Calgary.
Today’s flight is Air Canada flight 7218, operated by Air Georgian on their Beechcraft
1900D.
With 18 seats on these aircraft, this is the smallest member of Air Canada’s fleet.
More on that a bit later.
Here’s the check in area, which is clearly in the middle of a revamp on the Air Canada side.
Lethbridge has a fairly small terminal, but it’s pretty much exactly what you would
expect for an airport of this size, where it only has one destination.
Also here is a wide variety of vending machines with… no food whatsoever.
Security in Lethbridge is pretty different from what I’m used to.
The doors through the checkpoint don’t open until an hour before the flight leaves, which
makes sense when there's 5 or 6 flights a day.
Once through security, this is pretty much it.
More seats, a couple TVs, and another almighty vending machine.
It IS just a bit windy right now, 40 knots gusting to 51 knots out of the west.
Should be a fun ride!
Here’s my aircraft arriving from Calgary, a 21-year-old Beechcraft 1900D, registered
as C-GHGA, operated by Air Georgian under the Air Canada Express banner, or, lack thereof.
A few months ago, Air Canada announced that they would be suspending their contract with
Air Georgian, in favour of flying larger Dash 8 aircraft with a reduced frequency, into
smaller cities like Lethbridge.
What you’re seeing here was all filmed in early April, and seeing as the last Air Georgian
Beechcraft flight was earlier this week, I thought now was a fitting time to share this experience.
Several 1900s are still flying for Air Canada Express in the Maritimes, but operated by
EVAS Air instead.
There were only about 10 people on today’s flight, and boarding started by calling for
all zones at once.
It’s not like they mattered here!
Here’s my seat for this 45 minute flight, 2A.
If you’ve watched me for a while now, you know I’m 6’8”, so legroom is more of
an issue for me than most!
However, I’ve gotta say, it’s not too bad.
These aircraft are in a 1-1 configuration, so every seat is an aisle seat.
The aisle armrests are also adjustable, which was much appreciated as the seats were a bit narrow.
There are no window shades on this aircraft, instead each window has a strange sepia tint
to them.
No headrests, either, obviously, but there is a small air vent.
- Alright! Welcome aboard Air Canada Express service to Calgary!
We’re gonna be on our way here shortly, and we will play a passenger safety briefing
for you in English and French.
You’ll find a briefing card like this in the seatback pocket in front of you to follow along.
There’s four exits on board the aircraft, they’re located in the cabin, row 6 on the
left and right side, over the right wing at row 4, and then the door you came in through
here the front, which I’ll explain to you in a moment.
And from startup to shutdown, you’re usually looking at about 50, 55 minutes.
It is a little breezy out there, so you can expect a bit of bumps as we do the takeoff.
Apparently though, when we do get to altitude, it’ll be a bit smoother, it should be a
pretty good ride.
Hope you enjoy your flight, while you’re sitting down, we do ask that you keep your seatbelt fastened.
Hope you enjoy the flight, and we’ll see you again in Calgary, thank you!
If you watch my trip reports on a regular basis, you know that I much prefer to film
handheld instead of slapping a GoPro on a window and doing nothing else.
However, since GoPros have a wider angle lens and given just how windy it is, I think you’ll
appreciate this much more watchable footage.
Does anyone actually read these? Let me know in the comments if these are useful at all. - Alex
I did like being able to see the flight deck on our taxi out, but as we lined up, they
closed the partition.
Sad times.
Here’s our departure from Lethbridge, taking off from runway 23.
Now that we’re airborne, let’s take a look at the… minimal contents of the seatback
pocket.
Included is an air sickness bag, and a safety card.
The tray table is also fixed and doesn’t slide, but is surprisingly, at a good height.
There’s obviously no flight attendant or snack service, so your choice of food or drink
is strictly limited to whatever you can bring through security.
Since every seat is essentially an aisle seat, I had lots of room for my legs
(after asking my neighbours first, of course).
There was also a surprising amount of headroom.
One thing I will point out is that, when you sit right next to the engines, there is a
lot of vibration, which…
makes sense.
Aside from that, not a whole lot to do but admire the landscape of Southern Alberta.
Thanks to the weather, we were treated to a runway 29 arrival into YYC.
- Alright, we’re all set! Follow me.
Thanks!
- Have a good day!
You too- *hits head*
Since this flight was so short, there’s not a whole lot to comment on.
But honestly, it was fun!
It’s such a different flying experience than what you’re used to flying in a larger
aircraft, and it really was kinda special.
There’s sort of a small-town feeling flying with only 9 other people, and there were quite
a few laughs exchanged about my legroom situation.
I will miss seeing the Beechcrafts here in Calgary, but I am glad I had the chance to fly one.
As usual, thank you very much for watching and for your support.
I do hope you enjoyed this special trip report on the smallest member of Air Canada’s fleet.
If you did, leave a thumbs up, and subscribe if you’d like to see more!
Safe travels, and I’ll see you next time.