Having been in Toronto for a few days, I was bound for Regina, Saskatchewan – the Queen City – and provincial capital. Booking through tickets from Edinburgh is challenging, so it had made the most sense from a ticketing perspective to book separately from Toronto. This also suited my own preferences as I wanted to break my journey in Toronto to visit friends. At the time of booking, there was almost no distinction between flights being offered by Air Canada and by WestJet on the Toronto-Regina route. This is the norm in Canada, where domestic flights are expensive and where competition is limited. I opted for Air Canada as I was taking advantage of an offer via the American Express travel agency and needed the fares to be loaded there, which WestJet were not.
I had an early start to make to get to Pearson Airport on my day of outbound travel. I had been staying directly adjacent to Toronto’s Union Station, so I didn’t have far to go to catch the first UP Express of the day at 04:55. The train was pleasantly quiet and before I knew it I was at Pearson. Here, I took slightly longer than expected to find the left luggage unit as I wanted to leave my suitcase in Toronto and only take a backpack to Regina. This safely dealt with, I cleared security and was able to grab some coffee and toast in the Plaza Premium lounge courtesy of my Priority Pass. The lounge was rather underwhelming (tinned music and no power in the sockets), but it served its purpose. Boarding for the flight was bilingual. The aircraft was an E190, which makes for an interesting experience of 2+2 seating across 33 rows (although there are a few rows of Business Class seating as 2+1 at the front) leading to a very long and thin aircraft. I was seated in row 31, which meant there was a lot of plane ahead of me. Leg space on the Embraers is decent, although overhead luggage storage was an issue in both directions – with most passengers taking full advantage of their allowance of one bag and one personal item.
Everything ran smoothly, and we got away on time. Interestingly, despite pushing a buy on board catering service, there was also free provision hot drinks and soft drinks – with two drinks runs during the flight. Other features you might not encounter on a similar flight in Europe included personal entertainment screens for each passenger, USB charging points (mine didn’t work on the outbound) and chargeable WiFi.
The outbound flight was marked by a fair amount of turbulence throughout the 3 hours in the air. Arrival into Regina involved a fly by of the city before dropping into the airport on the outskirts. The arrivals process was straightforward enough, with the terminal being rather small. The lack of city buses to the airport is something I have discussed in another post.
On the return from Regina a few days later, I was booked on the final flight of the day to Toronto. I had hoped I might move my travel forward, but due to the major conference in town, all flights were sold out. Consequently, I was left to kill time in Regina as colleagues departed for other destinations. I walked to the airport, which took me just an hour from the downtown area. The lower level of departures featured check in desks, while upstairs a small security area led into a small airside waiting area. Fortunately, I didn’t have too long to wait and there were ample charging points for devices as well as free WiFi. The run back to Toronto was largely uneventful, with the same aircraft as on the outbound. Arriving into Toronto after midnight, I had booked a hotel given that I feared I would miss the final UP Express back to the city, so I was obliged to find the shuttle bus.
This was my first experience of Air Canada, and despite a soso reputation I found it to be pleasant and punctual. I’d be keen to try them for a long haul international sector, although as domestic sectors go, three hours is a long time. The most striking issue is the cost of domestic air travel in Canada, which would certainly make you think twice. Colleagues in Regina commented that it was often cheaper to buy a ticket to Europe than to Toronto. Nevertheless, I’m glad to have had the opportunity to try a new aircraft type, airline and city.
TransportIan 