Air Canada - YYZ to Barcelona!!! Virgin Voyages here we come!

[lesters]

The countdown is on 52 days until we fly out via Toronto for Barcelona on Air Canada.

 

Its been a few years since I last travelled AC let alone to Europe (Germany twice over the years).  This is for our first European sailing which I am so excited for - and first Virgin Voyages sailing.

 

Looking at seats for our flight and I would love to be one of those people who can purchase or upgrade to Premium seats but that is not in the cards this trip.   So with the Economy seats in mind what are the pros cons to the locations?  Going to try to select an aisle & window as lots of open seats still - hoping we are able to keep that middle seat free for a bit more hip room 🙂  Other than that any tips or thoughts on the trip?

 

Also - any experiences as a Canadian on a European sailing?  We are doing the French Daze & Ibiza nights itinerary - Barcelona - Marseille, Cannes, Palma de Mallorca  and 2 days in Ibiza!  Can Not Wait!! 

 

 

[mom says]

Re Seat selection, just try to avoid the rows near the galleys and toilets. You can look up your flight on Seat Guru, where the good and bad seats are color coded. But the site is a bit outdated. If you get an offer for an upgrade bid to Premium, seriously consider it.

Edited March 19 by mom says

[Fairgarth]

Sorry to rain on your parade but your flight will be full.

 

My wife and I flew Vancouver to London back in October.  The flight was only two thirds full so that meant there was well over 100 open seats when we did seat selection.  Two together?  Easy, right?  Nope, none.  A and C were all taken and there was a whole row of empty B's the full length of the aircraft on both sides.  I'm disappointed that my fellow Canadians would be so inconsiderate and selfish but there you have it.

 

Don't know when you get to select your seats but it may already be too late and there's nothing left but singles.  If you find two together grab them, don't get fussy.

 

You will have fabulous time over there, enjoy!

[Fouremco]

5 hours ago, mom says said:

You can look up your flight on Seat Guru, where the good and bad seats are color coded.

Seat Guru appears to be out of date. A poster on another thread recently recommended https://seatmaps.com and https://www.aerolopa.com

 

2 hours ago, Fairgarth said:

 I'm disappointed that my fellow Canadians would be so inconsiderate and selfish but there you have it.

I fail to see how this is inconsiderate or selfish. Anyone booking a flight has the option of picking their seats on a first come, first served basis. No one likes middle seats, so picking a window or aisle seat is quite logical. In your case, you still wouldn't have had two seats together even if all of the passengers in the aisle seat had picked the middle seat instead.

 

I'd add as well that DW and I often book aisle and window, hoping that the middle seat won't be taken. Sometimes we benefit from that extra space, but not very often. However, we always offer the aisle seat to the happily surprised third person in the row so that DW and I can sit together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Barwick Cruiser]

In case you still have a decent selection of seats I’d go for the bulkhead seats if they’re still available so you can have some extra legroom. Easier to get in and out without the aisle passenger having to also stand up. For the overnight flight I try to put my backpack on the floor in front of me and have a leg rest. Of course for takeoff and landing you’ll need to stow it in the bins but nice for stretching out a bit. Enjoy your cruise, sounds like lovely ports!

[gnome12]

35 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

In case you still have a decent selection of seats I’d go for the bulkhead seats if they’re still available so you can have some extra legroom. Easier to get in and out without the aisle passenger having to also stand up. For the overnight flight I try to put my backpack on the floor in front of me and have a leg rest. Of course for takeoff and landing you’ll need to stow it in the bins but nice for stretching out a bit. Enjoy your cruise, sounds like lovely ports!

But the seats are narrower because the tray table is in the arm rest.

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, gnome12 said:

But the seats are narrower because the tray table is in the arm rest.

True enough, but I'm not a little teapot, short and stout, so I'm always happy trading a bit of seat width for the extra leg room. 😇

[broberts]

1 hour ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

In case you still have a decent selection of seats I’d go for the bulkhead seats if they’re still available so you can have some extra legroom. Easier to get in and out without the aisle passenger having to also stand up. For the overnight flight I try to put my backpack on the floor in front of me and have a leg rest. Of course for takeoff and landing you’ll need to stow it in the bins but nice for stretching out a bit. Enjoy your cruise, sounds like lovely ports!

 

It's a decent idea. But some body types may have issues with the trays. The trays come out of seat arms and may not extend enough to accommodate some.

[CDNPolar]

Not to rain on your parade, but we have abandoned the window / aisle concept expecting that maybe, just maybe, we will have the full row.  

 

We have watched flights and seats for many years and now more than ever flights rarely operate under full and it is like a lottery win if you get an empty seat beside you.

 

We will watch the seat maps and even the day of the flight they show open seats - lots of them - and then we are amazed as the people keep coming and coming and coming until every seat is full.

 

We have perhaps a unique strategy if we are flying economy.  I especially do not like to be blocked in on an overnight flight, so will never book a window.  I don't want one or two people between me and the aisle.  I also cannot tolerate a middle seat.

 

We book aisle seats one in front of the other.  I will be 25C and my husband is 26C.

 

We love this strategy!  

 

We also add to this strategy, because we are both right handed, that we only book aisle seats on the left side of the aircraft - so mostly the "C" seat.  This is because during the meal, your right arm is on the aisle and not encumbered by whoever is sitting in the middle seat.

 

We don't talk during a flight anyway...  my husband sleeps for most of any flight and I watch movies.

[d9704011]

10 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

We book aisle seats one in front of the other.  I will be 25C and my husband is 26C.

We do the same thing whenever necessary/possible.  Don't see many empty seats these days and would never plan on a vacant 'middle' seat in a row of three (or four)

[gnome12]

I fly alone. On a wide body plane, I always choose the centre section, and since my left leg needs to stretch out some of the time I go for seat D. I want to be able to get up without having to climb over anyone. Particularly if the plane is 3-3-3 I hope that the other 2 seats will be a couple and if they want out the middle seat will climb out on the other side. And if the centre section has 4 seats I can hope for an empty seat beside me, since those middle seats are the least desirable.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

8 hours ago, broberts said:

 

It's a decent idea. But some body types may have issues with the trays. The trays come out of seat arms and may not extend enough to accommodate some.

10 years on the KLM plane ran into this not only with the tray table in the arm rest but they also had the remote control for the tv on the inside of seat , 

Touch ! 

[debfed65]

We are flying AC Vancouver-Sydney for a TP on Celebrity. We are flying on a 777-200 and have chosen a pair of seats at the back for just the 2 of us so we get the window & aisle. There are four rows of just two seats on each side of the plane.   Anyone have experience sitting in these seats? 

[Fairgarth]

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

We will watch the seat maps and even the day of the flight they show open seats - lots of them - and then we are amazed as the people keep coming and coming and coming until every seat is full.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I now believe that the seat map doesn't tell you anything.  Here's what I think is happening.  The Barcelona flight has 398 seats in economy.  There is a whole range of fares that people may choose.  With higher fares, you may select your seat at booking.  For a lower fare, you may select your seat for an extra charge, which some people decline.  So they are booked but there is no seat blocked.  Then there may be fares where seat selection is delayed until check-in at the airport.  Again, there is a booking but no seat selected.  So you might easily have 398 seats available, 300 people booked but only 200 seats selected.  In which case the seat map shows 198 open seats i.e. the flight is only half full.  T'ain't so.  If anybody else can shed light, please do.

[CDNPolar]

19 minutes ago, Fairgarth said:

 

I now believe that the seat map doesn't tell you anything.  Here's what I think is happening.  The Barcelona flight has 398 seats in economy.  There is a whole range of fares that people may choose.  With higher fares, you may select your seat at booking.  For a lower fare, you may select your seat for an extra charge, which some people decline.  So they are booked but there is no seat blocked.  Then there may be fares where seat selection is delayed until check-in at the airport.  Again, there is a booking but no seat selected.  So you might easily have 398 seats available, 300 people booked but only 200 seats selected.  In which case the seat map shows 198 open seats i.e. the flight is only half full.  T'ain't so.  If anybody else can shed light, please do.

 

Absolutely right on. 

 

Many don't care about their seat assignment, or won't pay for it in advance so they are left to assignment at the airport on their arrival.

[Barwick Cruiser]

13 hours ago, broberts said:

 

It's a decent idea. But some body types may have issues with the trays. The trays come out of seat arms and may not extend enough to accommodate some.

Good point…fortunately DH and I don’t have that issue and the seat width even with the tray in the armrest is plenty for us…we enjoy stretching our legs out, especially on longer or overnight flights. If we can’t get bulkhead we’ll book opposing aisle seats. I tend to read while he watches movies so not a lot of chitchat going on anyway.  

[em-sk]

On 3/20/2024 at 5:49 AM, debfed65 said:

We are flying AC Vancouver-Sydney for a TP on Celebrity. We are flying on a 777-200 and have chosen a pair of seats at the back for just the 2 of us so we get the window & aisle. There are four rows of just two seats on each side of the plane.   Anyone have experience sitting in these seats? 

 

Those are good.  The aircraft narrows towards the back and front.  So those seats are typically in an area where there is not enough room for 3 seats but still more space between the two seats and the wall. 

 

The only disadvantage is your are at the tail or the aircraft so on arrival you end up having to wait for everyone to get off.

 

On the domestic narrow body aircraft, the last row is usually blocked for cabin crew rest.  However on the widebody aircraft (like the 777), the crew have a private cabin upstairs so not a worry. 

 

Some people may complain about lineup for the washrooms, however I don't think that is a big issue on a widebody like that.

 

 

 

[debfed65]

6 hours ago, em-sk said:

 

Those are good.  The aircraft narrows towards the back and front.  So those seats are typically in an area where there is not enough room for 3 seats but still more space between the two seats and the wall. 

 

The only disadvantage is your are at the tail or the aircraft so on arrival you end up having to wait for everyone to get off.

 

On the domestic narrow body aircraft, the last row is usually blocked for cabin crew rest.  However on the widebody aircraft (like the 777), the crew have a private cabin upstairs so not a worry. 

 

Some people may complain about lineup for the washrooms, however I don't think that is a big issue on a widebody like that.

 

 

 

Thank you for this information. I think it is a good option for us on such a long flight to Australia!

[Magicat]

On 3/20/2024 at 6:20 AM, CDNPolar said:

Not to rain on your parade, but we have abandoned the window / aisle concept expecting that maybe, just maybe, we will have the full row.  

 

We have watched flights and seats for many years and now more than ever flights rarely operate under full and it is like a lottery win if you get an empty seat beside you.

 

We will watch the seat maps and even the day of the flight they show open seats - lots of them - and then we are amazed as the people keep coming and coming and coming until every seat is full.

 

We have perhaps a unique strategy if we are flying economy.  I especially do not like to be blocked in on an overnight flight, so will never book a window.  I don't want one or two people between me and the aisle.  I also cannot tolerate a middle seat.

 

We book aisle seats one in front of the other.  I will be 25C and my husband is 26C.

 

We love this strategy!  

 

We also add to this strategy, because we are both right handed, that we only book aisle seats on the left side of the aircraft - so mostly the "C" seat.  This is because during the meal, your right arm is on the aisle and not encumbered by whoever is sitting in the middle seat.

 

We don't talk during a flight anyway...  my husband sleeps for most of any flight and I watch movies.

We have done the strategy of sitting same letter different row and it works out great. 

[*Miss G*]

On 3/20/2024 at 8:49 AM, debfed65 said:

We are flying AC Vancouver-Sydney for a TP on Celebrity. We are flying on a 777-200 and have chosen a pair of seats at the back for just the 2 of us so we get the window & aisle. There are four rows of just two seats on each side of the plane.   Anyone have experience sitting in these seats? 

 

Just in case you are relying on a window, I specifically took a look at that row on my last flight as I was curious as to the layout.  My favoured seat is a window but I don’t enjoy having to disturb my neighbours in the middle and aisle if I have to get up.  There is considerable space between the “window” seat and the actual window which, if I recall correctly, is a bit forward of that seat, so more towards the row in front of you than beside you.  For me, it just won’t work because I like to lean against the wall to get away from my neighbour and to try and get some rest.  (Impossible, of course, but I do try.)  On the bright side, there is room to put your under seat carryon beside you for easy access during the flight.  My sister likes these seats because there is only one person beside you when you are flying solo.  If you don’t mind the bathroom traffic next to the aisle seat you should be fine.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Much noisier in the rear of the plane 

aisle seats get bumped by everyone walking by 

 

really the best is to walk to first class , not that I ever been there but the videos look nice 😉😁