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Here’s my review of the flight I took between Montreal and Marseille on Air Canada Rouge, travelling with my baby.
A few weeks ago, Air Canada was showing very low fares on many flights. Was it a pricing error? Probably.
Either way, I paid only $288 for my round trip to France.
So there are cases where miles aren’t useful! At least I put this on my American Express Gold Card from Scotiabank, which will still let me use 28,800 points to wipe out the expense entirely!
After that, I added my baby to the booking for a cost of 10% of the adult fare plus airport taxes, or $57.
When booking the ticket for my baby, I took the opportunity to choose my seat and request one that offers the famous “bassinet.”
My seat is 12H, right behind Premium class. It’s a “Rouge Plus” seat: 35 inches of pitch, 18 inches wide, and 5 inches of recline…
Still better than the other seats, which offer 30 inches of pitch, 17.5 inches wide, and 3 inches of recline… basically nothing!
Travelling on Air Canada Rouge for flights to Europe, you’re entitled to one free checked bag.
I was able to check in online. Once at the airport, bag drop was quick, with a lane reserved for families.
With a baby, you can go through the dedicated security lines. We’ve already talked about this perk offered by Montreal Airport.
Security screening was therefore fairly quick and organized, even though an agent almost put a bin away without noticing that a woman had forgotten her rings in it! Luckily I spotted it. Always pay attention!
I was carrying my son in a baby carrier. To go through the scanner, you have to take it off. I expected an agent to offer to hold my son, but no, this time I was able to go through the gate with him in my arms.
We recommend re-reading this article about going through security with children.
Thanks to my Aeroplan Plus Platinum card, I had access to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. Without it, I would have gone to the National Bank Lounge – a Priority Pass lounge accessible via my American Express Platinum Card.
The staff at the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge were welcoming. At the time of my visit (7:30 pm), a chef was on hand serving hot dishes. That wasn’t the case during a previous visit around 4:30-5 pm.
The buffet was well stocked: a pleasant surprise with mac and cheese and maple chicken, along with other tasty dishes and traditional cookies.
Too bad the soda fountain was out of order, but the bar was right next to it to fix that inconvenience if needed.
There are two coffee machines placed on either side of the lounge.
There’s a good selection of magazines and newspapers to pass the time.
This isn’t my first stop at this lounge, but every time I find it pleasant, cosy, with its different areas. Everyone can find something here, whether to work, eat, or watch the planes. Lots of different, comfortable seating. Always clean.
It’s also handy for changing baby in the comfort of a lounge restroom… rather than in the airport’s public restrooms, where the changing table was high with no trash bin or paper within reach!
Even Arthur finds the lounge comfortable!
The lounge closes at 8:30 pm, which gave me plenty of time to enjoy it before my flight scheduled for 9:15 pm.
Bad surprise arriving at my gate: the plane is running about 45 minutes late. Fortunately, staff kept us regularly informed.
Once the plane arrived at the gate, I was able to board with priority since I was with my son. That’s a good point, since in the past Air Canada hadn’t given us priority boarding with our first child.
The plane seems fairly pleasant… but only at first glance. Jean-Maximilien texts me that it’s a “young” plane of… 24 years.
Once on board, I realize what flying on Air Canada Rouge is really like. As a reminder, my last flights were in business class on Swiss…!
The seat is very stiff… and barely reclines. I wonder what it must be like a few rows further back, with even less recline and narrower spacing to the seat in front! Also, in my row, the armrests don’t lift up.
I really don’t understand what these seats are doing on long-haul flights. Matthieu had already commented on this for a medium-haul flight between Montreal and Fort Lauderdale, where it remains “tolerable.”
The plane’s age also shows in the lighting, which becomes annoying after a while with a somewhat clinical feel! The armrests show their age too!
The downside of being right behind the Premium class partition is that legroom is limited. Passengers in other rows should be able to stretch their legs under the seats in front of them… Also note that Premium class is far from matching business class:
Fortunately, no passenger was seated next to me, which gave me a bit of space to take care of my son.
The air conditioning was at max. Sure, it was hot in Montreal at departure (about 30 degrees at 9 pm…), but the cabin was really cold: several passengers complained getting off the plane.
I’ll say it right away: I was glad I’d had dinner at the lounge, because the meal on Air Canada Rouge is really not great.
I chose the pasta. The presentation of the dish wasn’t appetizing… and the pasta was way overcooked.
The potato salad looked like a good idea visually… but only visually: the potatoes were rather undercooked.
The only comfort was dessert: a good brownie!
For breakfast, a simple slice of banana bread is served in its plastic wrapper. Far from exceptional.
Storage space is really very limited. Obviously… no TV. However, via the plane’s Wi-Fi and the Air Canada app, you can watch movies on a phone or tablet. The selection was fairly good.
The bassinet sits lower than on Swiss, which is one of the only positive points of the flight. Being rather short, it’s easier for me to get my son in and out. Also, the safety flap uses velcro/clips instead of the zipper Swiss uses. A good point in my book.
Unfortunately, a lot of turbulence during the flight forced me to take Arthur out each time. Still, once inside, he felt like he was in a cocoon and was able to sleep comfortably… unlike his mother.
The cabin crew was very pleasant, helpful, and unobtrusive. It has to be said that the average age of the staff is younger than on other airlines, which perhaps helps with the friendliness?
I wasn’t expecting great comfort… and on that front, I was right not to set the bar too high! Air Canada Rouge wasn’t designed for that. And after all, how demanding can you be when the price paid is so low for a direct transatlantic trip to your final destination?
Air Canada Rouge did fulfill its mission of getting me from point A to point B. Despite a delay of nearly 45 minutes at takeoff, I arrived on time in Marseille. Let’s just say the 7 hours of flying were a tough stretch to get through! Fortunately, lounge access before the flight brightened up the start of the trip!
So I’d think twice in the future between Rouge and another airline for the same route.
If you have questions about Air Canada Rouge or travelling with a baby, feel free to ask on the Facebook group!
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