I left Phoenix on August 30th mid-morning to catch a flight to Vancouver. It was a three hour flight till I arrived in Vancouver. I had my layover here until I left for Tokyo the next day. I had a great flight to Vancouver. It was in a CRJ-700 series jet. It was spacious for a jet, and I even had a touchscreen LCD player. The food on the flight wasn't that bad for airline prices. Obviously more than what you would pay at any quick sand-which shop. But, it almost felt like a deal when compared to any of the food shops in the airport. I got a vodka/water, sandwich and snack for $12 US. I was thinking if the whole trip is gonna be like this then I'm good!
I spent the day walking around Vancouver, shopping at Zara, and eating some great food. I loved that the exchange rate was $.75 USD to $1 CAD. It pretty much means that everything was 25% off before any discounts. I bought some good shirts at Zara for cheap! And the food was cheap cheap, and yes, cheap again.
But, I'm digressing from the point of this post. You're probably thinking, well... Marc all of this sounds great. But, why weren't they a real contender!?
Well... the following day on my trip to Tokyo is why. The flight was a little over 9 hours which isn't bad from North America. The entertainment on the flight was the same one on the way to Vancouver, but it had a few more movies. And, I flew in the new Dream liner 787 planes (aren't we fancy...)
The biggest reason for some of the disappointment was the food, the food, and one more time, the food.... It was the very definition of bad airline food. It was a small portion of food that was tasteless, included a hard dinner role, and the desert was a cold brownie. Now... as I was eating this food the first thought that popped into my head was man.... I could really go for some United Airlines food. And, when this is something you think about while 30,000+ thousand feet in the air on a competing airline, then there is a problem. The airline has failed. This is clear cut. And with so many things that went right during the flight the food on the flight to Tokyo and and back was the same. I thought about the food I had on International flights with Delta, United Airlines, and Singapore Airlines. Maybe next time Air Canada you can impress me. Your goal is to give something that doesn't make me wish I was eating FOOD ON UNITED AIRLINES! Overall, you were close to providing a good experience going across the ocean. You could have been a real contender.