After a night in Toronto and checking out of the Hyatt Regency at 5 p.m., we headed over to Toronto Pearson where we’d be taking the 9:40 p.m. flight AC872 to Paris in business class on board an Airbus A330.
I wanted to get to the airport because our tickets would allow us to visit the Air Canada Signature Suite. I was really looking forward to this! I’d been before and I was blown away by better business class dining than I’d experienced in airport. I’ve also been to the Signature Suite in Vancouver and it was very special. So I happily plunked down extra miles for my family to visit.
Check-in and security didn’t take long, except that we got a particularly surly screener who flagged a bag for an unknown reason and started barking orders. They weren’t having a good day, but we were headed to Paris and they weren’t going to ruin ours.
We made the long trek out to the E gates, which was perfect because our departure gate was actually just one away from the Signature Suite, which is right beside the Plaza Premium lounge (which was at capacity).
Plaza Premium wasn’t the only lounge space that was full, though.
My previous visits to Air Canada Signature Suites have been amazing. The lounges haven’t been crowded. The sit down dining and service were fantastic. Even the buffet was a draw. This time the experience was different.
We arrived around 6// p.m. for our 8:40 p.m. departure. Access is only allowed within three hours of departure. I was surprised to find a line queuing alongside the wall to be seated in the lounge.
- They told us it would only be about 10 minutes. That was optimistic.
- The line got much worse behind us. It started at the steps down into the lounge (past the check-in area) and snaked back past the elevator outside the lounge. One man who waited a bit to get it blew up “Forget this, I’m going to McDonald’s!” and stormed off.
- We waited through multiple passes of water – one round was bottles of water another round was glasses of water.
While waiting in line I saw many people turned away from the lounge. They had partner airline tickets. They had credit cards. They were being sent to the Plaza Premium Lounge next door, or to Maple Leaf Lounge in the terminal. (My wife decided not to wait in line with us, hoping for a pre-flight shower while we waited, but the shower line at the Maple Leaf Lounge was too long and 150 minutes before our flight they could not accommodate her.)
Ultimately it took us a full half an hour to get seated, though if we’d been just a party of two we’d have been seated in under 20 minutes (people behind us in line weren’t as lucky). The lounge is really designed for solo and two-person parties, and to accommodate larger groups together requires tables beside each other to free up around the same time.
So even during peak transatlantic departure times, most passengers won’t experience something quite as bad as what we did. But the guy who decamped for McDonald’s was traveling solo!
Once we were finally seated, it took ages for a server to come over. She took orders, and figuring I wouldn’t see much of her I put in the full order including dessert.
I was disappointed that my favorite dishes, from the foie gras to the burger, were off the menu. I wanted the chocolate cake dessert but they had already run out for the evening. That left ice cream and sorbet. I chose the ice cream and though I asked after it later on, it was never delivered.
Still, they have some nice cocktails, and enjoyable wines here.
And the dishes that we had were quite good.
The space itself is still lovely! And as my boarding time approached the Signature Suite began to clear out. I was leaving right when so many other flights head to Europe, carrying passengers eligible to use the facility. So when I walked around before leaving, there were plenty of spaces. If you’re on one of the latest flights (or coming here during the day) you’ll have much better luck.
And despite the crowds there wasn’t a line for one of the private room restrooms when I went to check that out.
Nonetheless, the menu didn’t impress as much as it has in the past. Worse yet, the buffet was kind of sad. There wasn’t a single item on it that I wanted to try. And there’s no dessert on the buffet, either (I looked, since they didn’t have the chocolate cake I wanted from the menu).
There was salad, sliced meats and cheese, which all seem fine but hardly stood out as ‘must try’. I saw sliders on the buffet and thought “maybe that’s a substitute for the classic burger on their menu?” but these were vegetarian, which is hardly an objection but more bread than I wanted probably. And then there were vats of polenta and pasta with red sauce. These all seemed like things I’d find in a lounge of much lesser stature.
Given how much I’ve loved the Signature Suite experience before, I decided to spring for the extra 15,000 points per person that made the awards refundable without a fee and included access. Upgrades and saver awards come with Maple Leaf Lounge access, but not Signature Suite access.
The Air Canada Signature Suite in Toronto was one of the things I was looking forward to about this trip! Truthfully, because of the crowds, poor service, and buffet that reminded me more of a United Club than upscale dining experience, I regretted the decision to spend the 60,000 extra miles on four tickets.
If I’d visited any other time than a Friday night just after 7 p.m., the experience would certainly have been better. But running out of one of only three desserts (when it’s just cake), and a really disappointing buffet, would still have made it a disappointment.
Fortunately, Air Canada Executive Vice President Mark Nasr tells me that they’ll be expanding the space this year – including the kitchen, and adding staff. Since only paid business class and a subset of Aeroplan award business class passengers, and not upgrades or saver and partner awards – retain access, that should make a difference at peak times like what I experienced.
Truthfully, after they expand I’ll probably go back – but maybe just when I’m by myself, to see it in action, before risking long lines with my family or multiplying the extra cost involved until I know that it’s worth it.
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