We liked…

Eco friendly touches

Ability to order inflight vouchers for savings

We didn’t like…

Inconsistent meal quality

Basic lounge experience at Paris CDG

Overall

Flying with Air Canada in economy class offers a mix of complimentary meals on long-haul flights and a unique Bistro inflight meal program for North American and Caribbean routes.

While the meal quality can be inconsistent and the service slow, eco-friendly touches and a variety of appealing buy-on-board options add value.

The ability to pre-purchase meal vouchers for savings is a practical bonus.

Overall, there’s room for improvement, but the experience is largely positive, particularly on shorter routes.

With complimentary meals on long-haul flights and a unique Bistro inflight meal program for North American and Caribbean routes, I embarked on this flight to uncover the Air Canada economy class experience.

THE LOUNGE PARIS

My journey started at Paris CDG airport at the Maple Leaf Lounge. While the lounge has seen better days, they still offered an adequate selection of food and drink options at various stations.

It was a decent spot to relax before my flight, even if it didn’t wow me.

INFLIGHT MEALS

PARIS TO MONTREAL

My flight, AC 871, took off from Paris at 14:30 with a flight time of seven hours.

The crew offered two complimentary meal services: the main meal and a small snack service.

About 15 minutes after takeoff, the inflight service commenced. Complimentary headphones were provided, and special meals were served.

However, the meal service was relatively slow, with my meal arriving about 1.5 hours after takeoff.

Chicken and pasta were the two meal choices, and I went with the chicken. It was served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, which were a bit bland.

The chicken, though tender, lacked seasoning, and the vegetables were steamed to the point of mushiness, offering little in terms of flavor.

The side salad wasn’t very appetizing, so I mainly picked at the vegetables and mashed potatoes.

However, the wooden cutlery was a nice touchโ€”eco-friendly and forward-thinking. It’s great to see an airline reducing plastic use.

Between meals, I visited the rear galley to see what snacks the airline had to offer.

I asked for sparkling water and was given some pretzels, which was a nice little snack to have.

About 1.5 hours before landing in Montreal, the crew began the second meal service, a choice of vegetarian or non-vegetarian snack.

I opted for the non-veg item, which was a Sweet Pepper Chicken-filled pastry. It was pretty good and hit the spot.

Overall, the free meals in economy class on Air Canada were pretty standard, offering a lazy pre-packaged dessert with mediocre hot meal offerings.

However, their buy-on-board program on the following flight was pleasantly surprising.  

BISTRO PROGRAM

MONTREAL TO LOS ANGELES

From Montreal to Los Angeles, I continued my Air Canada journey in economy class for another five hours.

Meal inclusion depends on your fare type. Latitude fare includes a meal and two snacks, Comfort fare includes one alcoholic beverage, and all others require purchasing meals.

Air Canada offers a plethora of drink options like soft drinks, juice, tea, and coffee from Lavazza for free on North American and Caribbean flights.

And, if you’re smart and pre-plan like me, you can purchase a voucher online before the flight, which can save you up to 35% on onboard prices.

Air Canada’s bistro program offers various meal options such as pizza, wraps, breakfast rolls, and even mac and cheese.

And if you’re feeling extra fancy, you can even purchase a meal from the premium cabin of the aircraft.

Check out the inflight entertainment for the inflight menu or, better yet, ask the crew during your flight.

The meal service started 20 minutes after takeoff, I inquired about the premium cabin meal and was offered two choices.

I went with the chicken tagine with pearl couscous, it cost CAD$14.00, was delicious, and the portion size was generous.

I also redeemed my voucher for the cheese and fruit platter and hummus snack.

Both items were good, and I didn’t have any complaints.

CONCLUSION

The complimentary meals from Paris to Montreal were basic but showed eco-friendly touches.

The flight from Montreal to Los Angeles was a marked improvement, with a variety of appealing buy-on-board options and a standout premium meal.

The engaging crew and practical pre-purchase meal vouchers added value to the experience. Overall, there’s room for improvement for economy class long haul flights.