Note that Air Canada operates a second 777-300ER configuration with just 28 seats, all in one cabin, with premium economy located just behind door 2. I’m a big fan of Air Canada’s reverse-herringbone seats. Air Canada Boeing 777-300ER (77W) Three Class Layout 1. Note: There are 2 versions of this aircraft.

Air Canada operates 3 versions of Boeing 777-200. Boeing 777-200 is used by Air Canada on long-haul routes.

First version Boeing 777-200 may transport 300 passengers in three classes.

Business class has 40 open suites that are located in two sections. First section includes 7 rows of seats: 6 rows contains 4 seats and the last 7th row of the section has 2 seats. All the seats of the first section are standard only the seats 7A and 7K have such a disadvantage as close location of the galleys.

The second section of business class contains the other 14 seats. Proximity of the lavatories and galleys may be bothersome for passengers of the seats 8D and 8G and for passengers of the seats 9A and 9K.

Behind the business class the seats of Premium Economy class are located. There are 3 rows of seats here that have 2-4-2 configuration. The seats of the 12th row are considered the best seats as passengers of these seats will be able to take advantage of extra legroom. These seats have basinet location that is why passengers traveling with infants are often seated here.

The seats of the 14th row have extra space for passengers’ legs but at the same time they are less reclining than standard because of the bulkhead position behind.

Economy class may accommodate 236 passengers. The seats in the economy class are divided into two sections. First section contains 11 rows of seats. Most of the rows in economy class have 3-4-3 configuration. Passengers of the seats of 18th row will feel comfortable thanks to the extra legroom. This seats are designated by Air Canada as preferred seats. An extra fee should be paid to reserve these seats. The only disadvantage of the seats 26ABC, 27DEFG and 28HJK is proximity of the lavatories.

The second section of economy class seats contains 15 rows.

The seats of the 30th row are designated by Air Canada as preferred seats. These seats have extra legroom. To reserve these seats an extra fee should be paid. Other passengers tend to gather in this area while waiting to visit lavatories causing some discomfort to passengers of these seats.

Passengers of the seats 31ABC and 31HJK will also take advantage of extra space for their legs. These seats are also classified as preferred seats.

As there are no seats behind, other passengers tend to bump into the seats 40C and 40H.

The seats of the last 44th row are considered bad seats as they are less reclining and proximity of the galleys and lavatories will also represent problem to passengers of these seats.

The second version of Boeing 777-200 may accommodate 270 passengers in two classes: business class and economy class.

Business class is divided into 2 sections. First sections contains 6 rows of seats per 4 in each. The second section contains 5 rows of seats.

The seats of the 1st row have extra shelf in front of them. The seats 1A and 1K have misaligned windows. When these seats are fully reclined, they have more space.

The seats 6A and 6K are one of the most private. These seats have more storage space behind. At the same time these seats have misaligned windows and are located close to the galleys.

Most of the Business class seats in the second section have 1-2-1 configuration. Only the 7th row contains just 2 seats. Other passengers tend to gather in this area while waiting to visit lavatories. That is why passengers of the seats 7D and 7G may feel some discomfort.

Passengers of the seats 11A and 11K will take advantage of extra privacy that these seats provide. However, these seats have misaligned windows.

Most of the seats in the Economy class have 3-3-3 configuration. These seats are also located in two section. there are totally 228 seats in the economy class.

The seats of the 18th row and the seats 19C and 19H are designated by Air Canada as preferred seats that may be reserved by any passenger for an additional fee. Elite level members may reserve these seats free of charge. All these seats are a little narrower than standard as the tray tables of these seats are built-in the armrests making them immovable. Also these seats have no floor storage during take-off and landing.

Passengers traveling with babies are often seated in 18th row as these seats have basinet location. Passengers of the seats 18AB and 18JK will take advantage of extra leg and knee space. As there are no seats in front the seats 19C and 19H have extra legroom as well.

The seats 28ABC, 29DEG and 29HJK are less reclining than standard as these are the seats of the last rows of the 1st section and their close location to the lavatories may be bothersome.

The seats of the 30th row as well as the seats 31ABC and 31HJK are considered preferred seats that may be reserved by any passenger for additional charge or by elite members free of charge. As the tray tables are in the armrests the width of these seats is reduced a little and there is no floor storage for these seats during take-off and landing.

Passengers of the seats of 30th row will feel comfortable thanks to extra leg and knee room. These seats are intended for passengers with infants as they have basinet location.

The seats 31A and 31K are considered bad seats as there are no windows here and it can get cold by the exit during the flight. However, passengers of these seats will take advantage of extra legroom.

The other seats of the 31st row also have extra space for passengers’ legs. However, passengers may also get cold during the flight as this is a full exit row.

The seats 42ABC and 42HJK as well as the seats 43AB and 43JK are narrower than standard. In addition, the seats 43AB and 43JK have less space for passengers’ legs because of the curvature of the plane in the tail.

Close location of the galley and lavatories may represent a problem for passengers of the 44th row. The seats 44DEG have no overhead bins but the seats 44AB and 44JK have less legroom.

The third version of Boeing 777-200 includes 300 seats divide into two classes: business and economy.

Business class has 40 open suites. 26 open suites are located in the first section. The seat 1D has basinet location that is why passengers traveling with babies are often seated here.

The only disadvantage of the seats 7A and 7K is close location of the galley.

The second section contains 14 seats. The seats 8D and 8G as well as the seats 9A and 9K are located close to the lavatories and galley that may cause inconvenience.

Economy class may transport 260 passengers. The seats of the first four rows of Economy class are designated by Air Canada as preferred seats. These seats may be reserved by any passenger for extra fee.

Boeing 777 Air Canada Seat Map

Passengers of the seats of the 12th row and the seats of the 18th row will take advantage of extra space for their legs. These seats are considered the best seats.

The seats of the 14th row have extra legroom but at the same time these seats may be less reclining.

Proximity of the lavatories may cause discomfort to passengers of the seats 26ABC, 27DEFG and 28HJK.

The seats 30DEFG and the seats 31ABC and 31HJK are classified as preferred seats. All these seats have extra space for passengers’ legs. The seats of the 30th row are located close to lavatories that may be bothersome. These seats have basinet location that is why passengers traveling with babies are often seated here.

As there are no seats behind, the seats 40C and 40H are often bumped by other passengers and crew members passing by.

Passengers tend to congregate in the tail of the airplane while waiting to use lavatories causing discomfort to passengers of the seats of the last 44th row. Also these seats have limited recline.

I recently flew to the Province of Québec as part of a whistle-stop tour of the region.

My Economy flights were serviced by Air Canada. I thought I would share my experience and a few tips.

My return flights from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) were happily uneventful and landed on-time too. Both were in the comfort of a Boeing 777-300ER (77W) jet and sadly not the fancy new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

The flights from and to London Heathrow were from the newly renovated Terminal 2, known as The Queen's Terminal.

This light, spacious terminal was very comfortable to wait in - and I did a lot of that. I had arrived the suggested three hours before the international flight departed and effortlessly breezed from the terminal entrance to airside in less than 10 minutes. That includes checking in, dropping off my bag, and passing security. Was I just lucky?

I couldn't take a photo of my Boeing 777 so here's a neighbouring plane taken from the gate!

The Terminal may well be newly built, but it has one flaw - it is massive. Air Canada flights all took off from the opposite side of the main terminal building, a good 10-minute walk at a brisk pace. Buggy carts are available for those not up to the challenge, but vast walking distances seems a result of poor planning. A mass people mover (perhaps pods similar to the parking pods at Terminal 5 or even a small train system) would have been a better option.

As for the flights, here is what I made of them.

The good

• Good legroom - There was a generous amount of legroom in economy class, with a seat pitch of 31 inches. I did not expect to find acres of floor space around my economy seat, but I was pleasantly surprised not having my knees pressed up against the rear of the chair in front.
• Comfortable seats - The black leather-effect seating was comfortable, and the adjustable headrest sides made dozing a little easier. Noise-cancelling headphones would help reduce the ambient noise.
• On-demand entertainment - The on-demand personal entertainment system enabled me to skip around the good range of available programming. Movie titles included the likes of Disney's Inside Out, Pitch Perfect 2, and Mall Cop 2. TV programmes were relatively recent and included American favourites such as The Big Bang Theory and The Goldbergs. Music programming left a lot to be desired, with albums available from obscure artists, none of whom I recognised.
• Pleasant staff - On most long-haul airlines, flight attendants tend to follow the same sort of pattern as the passengers - everyone is relatively happy at the start of the journey, becoming tired and fed up by the end. The Air Canada teams on both outbound and inbound flights were genuinely amongst the most pleasant I have ever experienced. Considering they have to hop between speaking French and English for every announcement and every passenger interaction, I expected them to tire far more quickly into the journey. As red-eyed passengers filed off the plane, the smiles continued. It is a small touch, but as airlines are as much service businesses as they are travel companies, the little things matter.
• Tasty meals - The main meals were on the whole surprisingly delicious. On the outbound flight, I opted for salmon with orzo pasta and a tomato sauce. Extras on the plate included a chewy white bread roll with butter, a cookie and a pot of couscous salad. On the return leg, I followed the anti-jet lag advice in the in-flight magazine and rejected the main meal (an unappetising pasta dish) but took the extras, including a pot of minted salad and a slice of chocolate cake.
• Bar service - A regular drinks service was offered, with crew wheeling the cart through the cabin several times as well as walking through occasionally with cups and a large bottle of water in hand.
• Mood lighting to reduce jet lag - Coloured lighting illuminated the cabin throughout the flight, and periodically it changed shade. On querying this with Air Canada, this is part of an initiative to reduce jet lag. I wondered if the pattern was random, but a spokesperson from Air Canada told me it was all carefully choreographed. 'The changes in the lighting are intentional and are part of the aircraft's mood lighting programme. The mood lighting sequences match activities in the cabin and are designed to create a calm, relaxing environment while easing jet lag. The lighting sequence during the first service slowly diminishes, emulating a sunset, until the cabin reaches dark blue tones, ideal for rest and sleep. Prior to beginning the second service, lights slowly illuminate in varying shades of orange and pinks, similar to a sunrise, gently rousing passengers and getting the cabin ready for arrival.' It is a good use of passive technology that many passengers may not pay much attention to but could benefit from. So did it work? I'd like to think so. I only needed a couple of hours sleep at home to catch up, but that was it. On previous long haul flights, I have been knocked out for days.

A light cabin with subtle mood lighting

Soothing blue mood lighting on boarding the return journey

Air Canada Boeing 777 Business Class

The not so good

Boeing 777 Air Canada After Turbulence

• Poor placement of entertainment system control buttons - While the economy seats had a reasonable amount of legroom, the inevitable downside was the seat width at just 17 inches. The poor placement of the entertainment system buttons on the armrests was frustrating. Besides accidentally turning on and off my system and the one for the adjacent seat, my clumsy elbows kept turning on the reading light. It can be quite a disorientating experience suddenly having the spotlight thrust upon you as you doze. The flight attendant call button was also located on this pad and from the medley of 'dings' in the air, I am doubtful I was the only one suffering from this problem.
• Inedible snack - A spinach and feta cheese wrap sounds like it could be quite delicious. Heating it in its cardboard box made it a vile snack on the outbound flight. Aromas of spinach and feta cheese lost out to that of cardboard. On the inbound flight, the snack was a chilled piece of banana cake. Apart from it being served chilled, it was delicious.

Tips for travelling to Canada

To disembark the aircraft, I had to walk through the Premium Economy and Business Class sections, allowing me a glimpse into what more money can buy you. Looking past the extraordinary amount of mess created by these passengers (how can so few passengers leave so much mess?), my illusions of grandeur were not quite matched.

The seats in Economy class were set up in a 3-4-3 configuration. Premium Economy was set up as 2-4-2 with a seat pitch of 38 inches and a seat width of 20 inches. Perks included a better entertainment system (without the elbow controls!), a hotel towel service, and meals plated on crockery instead of plastic trays.

The very grey Business Class was set up with alternating rows of 2-2-2 and 1-2-1 seats. While this class offered more personal space and better facilities than the other categories, it was not as elegant as I had pictured. The seats were certainly not a patch on the Executive pods on the new Dreamliner. Seats here were only 20.5 inches wide - a tiny fraction wider than Premium Economy - although they did transform into lie-flat beds which would have been very nice to have on the overnight return leg especially. Onboard perks included better meals, a massive entertainment system, and an amenity kit. If I were travelling on the Boeing 777-300ER again, I would most likely opt for the Economy cabin although if the price for a Premium Economy seat were reasonable, I would be tempted to book that as a happy medium between luxury and value. If I were fortunate enough to find a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner servicing my flights, I would love to fly in the very stylish and comfortable Executive Pod.

If you think an upgrade might tempt you, speak to the airline long before arriving at the airport, or book the next category up at the time you pay for your flight. When I checked in at each terminal, I was offered an upgrade for the eye-watering price of C$8,000 (≈ £4,572) each way.

Brace yourself for a relatively long immigration queue when you arrive at Montréal. It took me half an hour to work through the snaking line in the customs hall. There was no special treatment for families either - unhappy, tired babies and toddlers were in the same queue so bear this in mind if you are travelling as a family.

This process may well speed up with the introduction of Canada's eTA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) system in March 2016.

Read my review of a domestic Air Canada flight between Québec City and Montréal.

Have you flown long-haul with Air Canada? What did you think of their service? Leave a comment below.

Disclosure: Montréal and Québec tourist boards supplied my flights. The opinions in this article are my own.

• Comfort and cleanliness
• Entertainment
• Food and drink
• Hospitality

Summary

I enjoyed a good flight, with good comfort, good entertainment, and overall, good food. As far as economy class goes, this is a good all-rounder.

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