FLYING THE COOP
BY CAPT. VIC
THE BRIEF
I recently had to fly the coop while the world was LOCKING DOWN in response to the Covid19 plague. It was not a pleasant experience and one I hope never to have to repeat. I had just barely got into Perth when the state of Western Australia locked down its borders. For the most part, the businesses in town were already closed. Now the hotels were threatening to shut down as well. The song “Should I Stay, or Should I Go” started playing in my head.
“Should I Go” won the day so I got into flying the coop mode. I began frantically searching for any flights that were still operating. It would have to take me back to Canada at a reasonable fee. There were only a few airlines still flying by that time. The price varied from 10000 dollars to around 6500 for a business class seat to Toronto. Ouch! I settled on a QANTAS red-eye to Sydney. Then, to hop on an early morning Air Canada flight to Vancouver, British Columbia. Total flying time to Toronto would be close to a gruelling 21 hours followed by 2 weeks of quarantine. Happy Days!
Having many decades of flying and travel experience has led to a pretty relaxed, sedated, attitude during the planning stage. This was different. Flying the coop was something I had never done in my travels. I would admit to being a little anxious about this booking. If either one of these flights were cancelled for some reason, it would reduce the options significantly. It would force me to get comfortable in Australia probably to the end of the year.
I got to Perth airport a bit early. There were no airport lounges to relax in. They were closed at all airports throughout the country earlier. Everything except the odd coffee shop was closed. The empty, dark aisles, created a spooky milieu as I made my way toward the departure gate. When I reached the seating area for the flight I was rather surprised. There were so many people here to catch this red-eye to Sydney. Apparently, flying the coop was on a lot of people’s minds. Boarding was on time and I was relieved to get into my seat.
Qantas A330-300 has nice large bins for storage. My seat, 1K, behind the bulkhead had generous legroom. The 73 pitch was fine although I found the width of 23 a bit tight. It’s a full recliner and came with the standard amenities. The real surprise was the service provided during the flight.
THE LONG TREK BEGINS
WELCOME TO BUSINESS
I had already heard a rumour that besides the lounges being closed, the service was not quite up to snuff. After climbing into smooth air the service began. It was clear that we were in the midst of a crisis. The biscuits and an apple were all we got. No hot meal, no wine or drinks of any kind. I thought to myself…how can they even sell business class at this price and deliver this product instead? I hoped that my next leg would include a hot meal and some wine. It would be a gruelling 14-hour leg.
O DARK HUNDRED ARRIVAL
I avoid SYD as a rule as you can wait up to a half-hour for an inter-terminal bus. This is followed by an excursion through the grounds to get from one terminal to the other. No social distancing here as they crammed us onto a small bus shoulder to shoulder. Anyone who has been to Sydney International Terminal would be familiar with the large size and the variety of shops. On this day I walked through empty corridors and closed businesses. There was an eerie quiet that pervaded the halls of what had become a Mausoleum of sorts.
WELCOME TO SYD
After navigating the empty halls of the International Terminal I grabbed a coffee. I started to make my way to the gate. I kept checking the flight status. The aircraft was there at least. Now it was time for the agents and crew to show. I wouldn’t be comfortable till we were airborne and midway over the Pacific.
The agents and crew began to assemble. They had a long discussion, no doubt about the current status of the airline, by the seating lounge. Finally, the aircraft was prepped and the boarding process began. I was first in line at business and quickly made my way to the aircraft. There are nice big bins in the 787-9 and stowing the carry on was easy. I settled into my seat, 1A of course, and got comfortable.
Air Canada’s cabin has a 1-2-1 arrangement which is great for most. The window is great for solo travellers. It gives privacy and freedom from interruption. The 80 pitch fully reclining seat has comfortable legroom. I found the width of 21 to be a tad tight. The seat controller is a touch screen affair and it will adjust the headrest, lumbar, and massage functions. The seat provides satisfying comfort in the lie-flat position.
There were none of the usual pre-taxi amenities provided during boarding. Air Canada has a good reputation for service, especially in business. Not today though, and sadly, not for the entire flight. We got off the gate on time and taxied out to 34L at Sydney for departure. Not much traffic anywhere this morning so take-off clearance was swift in arriving. We blasted off for what I hoped would be an uneventful flight.
It was a fairly smooth flight on the quiet and competent 787. There were no menus and when I asked if there was any wine the answer was negative. The crew was unhappy about not being able to serve up to the expected standard. I don’t think there was a happy soul on board the entire aircraft. Soon it was snack time though and the now customary bottle of water and boxed lunch was handed out. Longing for the good old days, and a decent meal with a drink, I dug into what we were given instead.
Maybe I was just hungry, but the boxed lunch wasn’t too bad. Washing it down with water though left a bad taste in my mouth. If this was flying in the COVID age, then I didn’t want any part of it. I planned on going nowhere unless I absolutely had to when I got home. After lunch, it was time to try out the lie-flat seat. I found it very comfortable in the recline position. The only thing I wanted to watch was the moving map to keep track of progress. We would be crossing datelines and all kinds of time zones following the route we were on.
As we approached the Big Island in the Hawaiian chain I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew the worst we could do is land in Honolulu. Normally, that would be a good thing, but the island was in lock-down. New arrivals faced a strict 14-day quarantine. I wondered if in 2020 I would be able to get to WAIKIKI for the winter.
The last boxed dinner and bottle of water offering came out. We had departed Friday morning, crossed the dateline, and were getting into early Friday morning PDT time. Dawn was starting to break outside my window at 1K. The longest leg was coming to a close. We touched down early morning Vancouver time and taxied up to what would be another empty Terminal.
EMPTY IN YVR
There were still two more legs to travel before I would be safely home in Toronto. As I transitioned from the international side to domestic I was greeted by a repatriation committee. There were COVID questionnaires and forms to fill out indicating my acceptance of 14-day self-isolation requirements upon returning to my domicile. Welcome to Canada indeed! After a one hour layover, I was on my way to a cold and snowy Edmonton International Airport to pick up the last flight home.
The calendar said April but for a large portion of Canada, it was still winter and the last place I wanted to be. There was another short layover in Edmonton. I was actually looking forward to this last leg. It would be my first flight on Bombardier’s new C-series aircraft. The C-series had been sold to Airbus and was renamed the A-220. This super fuel-efficient airliner is known as the Whisper Jet because it’s so quiet (check out the take-off video below).
WHISPER JET DEPARTURE YEG
I was the first to board and introduced myself to the pilots. They let me have a quick look at the highly automated flight deck. It has joysticks instead of a control column and a mouse of sorts on the console for applying inputs on the numerous screens. The aircraft will automatically upload information from Flight Ops reducing paperwork and workload for the preflight. Whish I had one of these in my day!
I had seat 1c on this trip. I found the overhead bin to have generous room for the carry-on items. The seat with a 71 pitch and 21 width was comfortable during the 4-hour excursion. The bulkhead was not a problem, nor was the proximity of the galley. The armrest tray was a little difficult to extricate and stow.
Air Canada has a small Premium Economy section on this aircraft they call PREFERRED SEATS. These seats offer a little more legroom and personal space at an additional fee. Not all Premium products are the same. See my POST reviewing different offers from various airlines.
We arrived at cruise altitude very quickly on the more than half-empty plane. By now the customary boxed lunch with a bottle of water appeared. Again, I must have been hungry because it tasted pretty good. I settled in for a nap on what would be my last flight back to winter temperatures.
THE DEBRIEF
The circumstances I found myself in were unheard of. The word “unprecedented” and “plague” was being used by everyone I ran into. One could argue that the authorities’ response was excessive and extravagant. The result was pure panic by many in government. This led to an economic collapse for many and an end to most travel. The travel that was allowed was restrictive and uncomfortable. In most cases, if you did arrive, you faced a quarantine and shortages of products or services.
👎
Editors Note: This is the first thumbs down We’ve ever issued to date. Well deserved for the year that never was. A year of navigating the plague.
