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Air Canada Rouge


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With Choice Air, I booked IAD/BCN via Toronto on United and Air Canada Rouge. Having never flown Air Canada nor transited through Toronto, I have a few questions: (1) Will I have to go through any immigration or customs formalities in Toronto? (2) Since the Rouge portion of the trip is a United code share flight, will I have an option to select seats in advance and will Rouge honor my United status (Star Alliance Gold)? (3) Is Rouge really as awful as internet reviews indicate? With a $231 airfare, my expectations are fairly low.

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As you are flying AC metal, you follow AC's rules on selecting seats, and will do it, if possible, on AC's website. Not UA's.

 

I only know AC's policy for Business class, which is reflected in my comments.

 

I believe you will be in transit, and only have a passport check.

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With Choice Air, I booked IAD/BCN via Toronto on United and Air Canada Rouge. Having never flown Air Canada nor transited through Toronto, I have a few questions: (1) Will I have to go through any immigration or customs formalities in Toronto? (2) Since the Rouge portion of the trip is a United code share flight, will I have an option to select seats in advance and will Rouge honor my United status (Star Alliance Gold)? (3) Is Rouge really as awful as internet reviews indicate? With a $231 airfare, my expectations are fairly low.

 

We did the BCN-YYZ route on Air Canda Rouge in April (return leg--we flew into LIS to start our cruise). We purchased the premium economy seats through Choice Air, which we felt was well worth the extra $400-500 per passenger. The coach seats looked pretty darn tight, and we appreciated having use of the free iPads to watch movies during the flight.

 

When we arrived in Toronto on the return flight, we had to go through immigration/customs. If we hadn't had Global Entry, we likely would have missed our connecting flight to the U.S.

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With Choice Air, I booked IAD/BCN via Toronto on United and Air Canada Rouge. Having never flown Air Canada nor transited through Toronto, I have a few questions: (1) Will I have to go through any immigration or customs formalities in Toronto? (2) Since the Rouge portion of the trip is a United code share flight, will I have an option to select seats in advance and will Rouge honor my United status (Star Alliance Gold)? (3) Is Rouge really as awful as internet reviews indicate? With a $231 airfare, my expectations are fairly low.

 

Going from the US to Europe, there is a passport/id check and then you end up in the international departures hall. Baggage is auto-transferred and there is no additional security.

 

Coming back from Europe to the US. You pass through US customer/migration in Toronto prior to boarding your US bound flight. You will arrive at a domestic gate in the US. Additional security check. Bags are automatically transferred.

 

Star Alliance Gold is honored. You need to ensure your loyalty number is on the reservation. That includes access into the Maple Leaf business lounge and priority baggage and priority boarding. There is both a maple leaf lounge in the International Departures area and another one in Trans boarder (US flights). You don't get access to the Air Canada Signature Lounge, however the Maple Leaf lounges are not bad.

 

You need to get your Air Canada locator for the flight. United should be able to give this to you if it is not on the reservation. Sometimes you can do seat selection online, if not you will need to call Air Canada and book seats.

 

Rouge is there discount product targeting leisure destination. It is tight. I think the problem with the reviews is regular Air Canada has better seats so it makes the comparisons harder. Rouge also does not have seat back entertainment, they stream movies etc to an app on your tablet/notebook etc.

 

When you call them you can also ask how much an upgrade to premium economy costs and then make a decision. Premium Economy is going to be a seat similar to domestic First Class on United with a slightly better meal.

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Thank you, ern-sk. You've answered all my questions thoroughly. Will contact Air Canada directly to inquire about seat assignments and/or upgrade to their economy plus equivalent.

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Thank you, ern-sk. You've answered all my questions thoroughly. Will contact Air Canada directly to inquire about seat assignments and/or upgrade to their economy plus equivalent.

 

Keep in mind, Economy Plus and Premium Economy are different products.

 

Economy Plus (similar to United is an area of Economy with more space, but basically the same seat).

 

Premium Economy is a separate cabin with much larger seats in width and recline.

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Keep in mind, Economy Plus and Premium Economy are different products.

 

Economy Plus (similar to United is an area of Economy with more space, but basically the same seat).

 

Premium Economy is a separate cabin with much larger seats in width and recline.

For Air Canada Rouge, the choices are:

Premium Rouge which IMHO is similar to Premium Economy

Rouge Plus which is similar to Economy Plus which uses the same seats as Rouge Economy with extra leg room. Rouge Plus is simply the first 3-5 rows of the Rouge Economy cabin.

Rouge Economy which is similar to a cattle car...

 

I have had the misfortune of flying Rouge 767's and have vowed to never fly them again if there is any other option available. The planes are older and while they have been spruced up a bit it doesn't change the fact they are old. The seating in Rouge Economy is painful (I'm 6 ft tall). Very little leg room and uncomfortable seats. They also use a wifi based entertainment system that requires you to download their app and either have your own iPad or rent one.... only to have a selection of VERY OLD movies and show.

 

IMHO the cost savings of Rouge is minimal and the product is subpar.

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  • 2 months later...
For Air Canada Rouge, the choices are:

Premium Rouge which IMHO is similar to Premium Economy

Rouge Plus which is similar to Economy Plus which uses the same seats as Rouge Economy with extra leg room. Rouge Plus is simply the first 3-5 rows of the Rouge Economy cabin.

Rouge Economy which is similar to a cattle car...

 

I have had the misfortune of flying Rouge 767's and have vowed to never fly them again if there is any other option available. The planes are older and while they have been spruced up a bit it doesn't change the fact they are old. The seating in Rouge Economy is painful (I'm 6 ft tall). Very little leg room and uncomfortable seats. They also use a wifi based entertainment system that requires you to download their app and either have your own iPad or rent one.... only to have a selection of VERY OLD movies and show.

 

IMHO the cost savings of Rouge is minimal and the product is subpar.

Just booked with Rouge from BCN to YUL (then SFO with regular AC) and don't expect much. I am flying back UA B787 to FRA. The good thing is 303 euros rt. I am getting a bit uneasy after reading your comments [emoji17]
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Go for Premium Rouge class. Separate cabin, seats with more pitch, extra legroom and better recline. Worth the up charge if you must fly AC Rouge.
Got one of the prefered seats. 34 inches pitch is decent. Perhaps I'll try an upgrade at the airport. It concerns me more the following leg. YUL SFO on a tiny Air Canada B737MAX. New planes but not too sure for a six hours flight. Regular seats have an appalling 29 inches pitch.

 

Enviado desde mi SM-T813 mediante Tapatalk

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