Travel Associates Advisor Melissa Poole experienced comfort and Canadian classics onboard Air Canada's Signature Class.
Offering direct flights daily from Sydney to Vancouver/Toronto and Brisbane to Vancouver, Canada's national airline is one of the best ways for Australians to travel to Canada.
As a luxury travel advisor, I've had the privilege of experiencing many airlines' business class seats. However, I had never flown in Air Canada's Signature Class until recently, when I boarded a Boeing 777-200LR bound for New York City (via Vancouver).
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Luxury Before You Leave
Even before boarding the plane, I was impressed with the level of luxury Air Canada offered. Check-in was quick and efficient, and access to the priority security line meant I was in the lounge within minutes.
Air Canada Signature Class guests can use the Air New Zealand Lounge at Sydney and Brisbane airports, or Air Canada's Maple Leaf Lounge on your return home.
Our flight to Canada was a morning one, so the well-stocked breakfast buffet was welcome, as was the self-serve coffee machine and the staff shaking up espresso martinis. At 9am the lounge was crowd-free, and the wi-fi fast.
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In Flight Experience
While a comfortable seat is undoubtedly most important for a long-haul flight, easy access to move around the cabin comes a close second for me. When boarding I was immediately impressed with Signature Class' reverse herringbone layout, with a 1-2-1 configuration, meaning each seat offered direct aisle access for every passenger.
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The Seat
The seat itself was very spacious, with an ottoman at the foot of your seat and handy compartments for water bottles, books, phones and in-flight essentials in the arm rests.
The seat transforms into a 203cm (6 foot, 7 inch) flat bed at one touch which was very comfortable, and I loved you could adjust the firmness of the mattress, as well as the in-seat massage function to make your sleeping arrangements just right.
A mattress cover, light doona and large pillow are provided, along with slippers but no pyjamas, so if you are planning on sleeping for most of the flight consider packing something sleep-friendly in your cabin bag.
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The Entertainment
The large fixed-screen TV had a remote control as well as a touch-screen menu. There was a variety of new releases with a wide range of language options (if you like French movies you’ll love the selection) as well as classics, binge-worthy TV series, audio books and podcasts, mostly on travel destinations.
I especially loved the inflight map displayed at the bottom of your screen, so that you could check your flight's progress without interrupting the show.
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Food & Beverage
Air Canada's food and beverage selection was a celebration of Canadian classics. Laurent-Perrier champagne was offered before takeoff, followed by a bar service with a choice of Canadian and European wines as well as delicious non-alcoholic options.
Lunch was served around an hour after takeoff, with smoked duck and celeriac rémoulades and salad to start, a choice of lamb shoulder, chicken cacciatore, barramundi with asian greens or falafel soy balls for mains, followed by french cheese and dessert to finish. Breakfast (omelette, pancakes or museli) was served an hour before landing.
Should you get peckish mid flight, hot, savoury pies and healthy vegetable bowls were available on demand as well as fruit and packaged snacks at the front of the cabin.
I throughly enjoyed my experience onboard Air Canada's Signature Class from Sydney to Vancouver. Service was professional, personable and unpretentious - exactly what you need on a 14 hour journey.
