In a nutshell:
The only flight you’ll find Premium Economy on right now is Montreal to
Paris, starting on July 11th, 2013. Air Canada says it will continue
to add the new class to other international flights, but haven’t given many
details about that yet.
A normal, round-trip economy ticket from Montreal to Paris in August of
this year will cost you about $950 (taxes and everything included). The same
flight in the Premium Economy section of the plane will cost you about $1700. A
first class ticket: $4100.
* * *
How perfectly thrilled I was to find in my email inbox this morning an advertisement from Air Canada announcing that they are introducing a “Premium Economy” class on selected flights. You understand what this means, don’t you? Just when you thought travelling on Air Canada couldn’t get worse, it assuredly will. Buckle up, fellow third-class travellers: however neglectful or rude the flight attendants have been in the past we’re about to usher in a whole new era of neglect.
Think
about it. The flight attendants in business class are always much nicer than
the ones in economy. With the addition of this new class we in the back are
being bumped down a notch. Whichever attendants used to be assigned to the
economy section will now get the economy-plus section, and those of us sitting the
back of the plane will be left in the care of employees just back from forced
leaves of absence for anger control issues.
The
only surprise is that the new class was so late in coming. Other airlines have
been using economy-plus classes for years and cackling with glee over the added
opportunities to trim the benefits of economy class.
Last
year Air Canada cut the checked bag allowance for most overseas travellers,
including me, to one. Until then I had been allowed two bags between Canada and
Europe or the Middle East for as long as I’ve been travelling.
Duration
of stay has never been a consideration for baggage allowance, which seems odd, not to say unfeeling, to me. If I was travelling to a nearby city for a week the single bag limit would be reasonable. When I'm coming from half-way around the world to park at my destination for two months I like to have more than one pair of everything with me in order not to spend the entire vacation soaking my washing in the sink. I need that second bag.
You
can bring a second bag, of course. I believe that Air Canada hopes you will. To
travel from Lebanon to Canada that extra bag will cost you a hundred dollars (plus
taxes) each direction, and while I’d sooner take that hundred bucks and buy a
dartboard with the head of Air Canada’s CEO custom-printed onto it, the option
is yours.
It
won’t surprise you to learn that Premium Economy passengers are allowed two
free checked bags. What a coincidence that we at the back of the plane just
lost that privilege last year.
The
Premiums are also promised priority check-in and boarding. Instead of improving
baseline service generally, Air Canada is making whoever expects reasonable service pay extra for it.
A
hot towel, wider pillow and amenity kit are some of the features of Premium Economy.
I used to bring my own amenities until they wouldn’t let me anymore, and I’m
not going to pay hundreds of dollars extra for a microwaved wet wipe. Of more
interest to me is the promised wider seat, 7 extra inches of leg room and “more
recline”. The seat width and leg room are the only two features I might want
badly enough to pay for. The extra recline in the chair worries me, however.
I’d want to see how far the guy’s head in front of me projects into my face
area before deciding whether I like it or not.
There
was something in the email from Air Canada which shocked and astounded me far
more than any of all this, though. It was the sight of a little gold medal near
the bottom of the page with the accompanying message that Air Canada had been voted the
best international airline in North America three years in a row.
It
didn’t say which three years in a row. Maybe it was in the 1960’s. But no. A
moment’s reflection has brought me the recollection that according to -- well,
everyone I know, Air Canada is pretty fair when measured against most US airlines.
I never go to the States myself but friends and family have assured me that Air
Canada is positively luxurious compared to the dirty, squashy tubs chugging
from point to point through the skies of America.
I
wonder how it would measure up to European airlines in a global poll. My vote,
I can assure you, would be sadly unpatriotic. In my limited experience the
national carriers of Germany, Holland and the United Kingdom are much better
than Air Canada. For real gold medal service, at least as viewed from the back
of the plane, I can confidently recommend Emirates Airlines. They have the best
economy service of any plane I’ve been on. Middle East Airlines, our national
airline here in Lebanon with unfashionable, peacock-blue seats and the proud
reputation of having been among the last airlines in the world to prohibit smoking
on board, serves far better food than Air Canada.
What
irks me about all of this is that flying is not an optional luxury for some
people yet airlines continue to operate as if it were. I’m not talking about
the chartered vacations on which people buzz from Canada down to Mexico in the
winter, or anything like that. I think people make those kind of plane
reservations with appropriate expectations. If you don’t like being jammed into
a tiny seat for five or six hours, you won’t go. But if I don’t fly home to
Canada I don’t get to see my family. Unless I become a serious hot air
balloonist or am prepared to sail on a series of ships which would take me to
the western side of Canada with just enough time to spare for me to touch soil
and turn around again, I have to fly. Usually, I have to fly on Air Canada.
I
know what you’re thinking. Stop griping and just pay the extra for the Premium
ticket. Enjoy the room to spread your bum cheeks, stretch your legs, soak up
the comfort of your “wider pillow”. Well, I won’t do it. It’s what they want,
don’t you see? They’re trying to drive me out of my home at the back of the
plane and I tell you, I won’t go.