Ladyexpat - 16/09/2011 13:34 GMT
I traveled from Seoul (Incheon) to Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is a long flight with two plane changes. Check-in at Incheon went without a hitch and we departed on time. Since I had paid extra for a bulk head seat, there was no in front of me. I noticed quite early in the flight that the plane was extremely cold. I dug out my sweater and socks and was still freezing. I finally managed to get the attention of a flight attendant and asked her if they might have an extra blanket (economy blankets are like tissue paper). She wasn't optimistic, but did find me a first class blanket. I was so grateful!
The food between Incheon and Vancouver was not memorable. Of course, except for the breakfast. Does AC ever serve anything besides those horrible eggs and sausages?
Also, one of the toilets was out of order for the entire flight. Since the flight was full, this meant very long wait times.
We arrived in Vancouver on time, but ended up having to wait 30 minutes to disembark. Apparently, we were sharing our gate with another flight. I did not have much time between flights, so I was a little anxious. I arrived at the baggage hall and waited for 45 minutes for my bag to show up. Then it was off to the conveyor belt, through security again and onto the gate. I arrived at the gate with only minutes to spare. I cannot understand why Air Canada does not give more time between connecting flights.
The flight from Vancouver to Toronto was uneventful. Again, one washroom was out of order. Again, the flight was horribly cold. The flight attendant came along as asked me if I wanted a hot water bottle. That was much appreciated.
All food on the flight from Vancouver to Halifax had to be purchased. The attendant checked the first sandwich she was about to sell and discovered that it was out of date. She had her co-worker check the remaining sandwiches and every one of them was out of date. I couldn't help but wonder why she had to broadcast this to the entire plane. It makes a person wonder how often they check the food they're selling. I remained hungry.
As soon as I arrived in Toronto I was told that gate for my flight to Halifax had changed. I headed to the new gate, which was deserted. I wandered around and finally spoke to another AC ground crew. They informed me that my flight had been canceled! I said to the ground crew that this must happen a lot. She was rather snippy with me, and said NO it doesn't. I smiled and informed her that the exact same thing had happened to me five years ago on the exact same flight. Short of calling me a liar, it was pretty obvious that she didn't believe me.
Then there was the issue with my seat. I had paid extra for a seat with leg room. I was told that my money would be refunded. I said I would prefer the seat that I had paid for. I was informed that families would be seated together first, and then I would get what was left over. Then I was asked how many in my party. When I said ONE, she was a little surprised. I'm not sure why, but she was. She said she would see what she could do.
I sat down and waited, hoping that I would get upgraded. That in fact did happen and I was grateful. The flight from Toronto to Halifax was uneventful. As usual with Air Canada, it took forever for the bags to come out in Halifax. We arrived after 2:00am, so it wasn't like there were any other flights!
Overall, the flight was okay, but not great. I do thank the flight attendants who gave me the blanket and hot water bottle, and the attendant who upgraded me to business class for the lag of the journey.
