Either I'm in for the trip of a lifetime, or I'm gonna get a very unhappy surprise. I finally scraped together enough United frequent flyer miles to go Business Class to Paris in September. When I called to make reservations, they quickly found flights for me on Air Canada via Montreal. Fortunately, Air Canada has no business class -- only economy and first. So, I am booked all the way through from SFO to Paris in first class, including a lie-flat bed "pod" on the transatlantic leg. I have written confirmation numbers for both airlines, and I even have seat assignments (thank you seatguru)! Is this too good to be true? Are they gonna pull the rug out from under me? I can't believe my good fortune.
Posted by
TN/USA
208 posts
Margie, what luck for you. I am booked in Sept to CDG also, so if you can't use that seat CALL ME.
See good things do happen!
Posted by
OP
Oakland, CA, USA
20 posts
Oh, I'll be using it, as long as they don't find a way to take it from me! I just keep pinching myself to make sure I didn't make the whole thing up.
Posted by
OP
Oakland, CA, USA
20 posts
I hope so. I'm one of those people who usually can't sleep on an airplane. Hopefully this will be a different experience. And I'm trying really hard not to gloat...I just hope this isn't some kind of huge error that they're gonna discover and "correct."
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
Just remember not to gloat when you arrive well rested in Paris.
Posted by
Powell River, Canada
359 posts
Margie, I'm an Aeroplan (Air Canada points) regular user and as long as the Air Canada/United communications worked out when you booked, shouldn't be a problem.
Wife and I did Europe last spring on Aeroplan points and did business class. Vancouver/Heathrow was the usual business/first class wide seats with a 'lots of room' cabin scenario; coming back was the 'pod'.
Always fly with Aeroplan miles and the choice is Economy, Business, First. Not sure what the business/first class differences are as their overseas planes are front cabin/back cabin only; at least those I've been on over the years. Not like the old 747's where you had two levels and several 'classes'.
Get onto the Air Canada website, check your particular flight, and 'click' on 'seat availability' or some such thing. It'll show you the configuration of the aircraft and what types of seats/pods you've got both ways when you plug in your seat assignment.
The pods were lovely, by the way; although they're staggered so your travel partner is either a bit behind or a bit in front of you across the aisle. Upsides and downsides.................. Have fun.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Margie the one time I booked myself first class I actually booked my flights to include good layovers to enjoy the lounge,, I didn't want to waste a penny of my privilidge so to speak,, LOL
Posted by
Ottawa, Ontario,, Canada
521 posts
Yes, Air Canada has been getting away from having First Class sections. As you can see on their website describing the cabins at http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/onboard/cabincomfort.html Air Canada has two classes, Economy and "Executive" which is their equivalent of first-class and business class combined. Both Economy and Executive class have domestic and international varients. You will obviously be flying Executive International. Just go to the link I provided and you can view what it will be like. Enjoy!
Posted by
OP
Oakland, CA, USA
20 posts
I just re-verified my information, and everything seems to be in order. I will have regulation first-class seats between SFO and Montreal, and "pod" seats on the over-ocean legs Montreal-Paris. The only potential glitch is that I notice that United has my full name correct, but somehow Air Canada has combined my first and middle names into one name. I'm sure this happened when United transferred my information to Air Canada, so I'm gonna call United and hope they will straighten it out. It seems like a small thing, but I sure don't want anything to go wrong on travel day.
Posted by
Ottawa, Ontario,, Canada
521 posts
By the way, if you have much time on the stop-over in Montreal, you should make use of their Maple Leaf lounge there; your ticket will get you access. The one in the International departures area of Montreal's airport even includes showers.
Posted by
OP
Oakland, CA, USA
20 posts
Steven,
The First Class lounges are one of the things I'm very much looking forward to. I do have about 2 hours layover on my outbound and 3 hours on my return, so I will definitely be hanging out in the lounges. Plus, even though I did carry-on baggage on my last trip, I think this time I will enjoy the luxury of checking a bag and knowing that it will be first off the carousel. At least, that's what I'm told.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
519 posts
Margie,
I concur with Pat! We used miles to fly the equivalent of business class on BA this past summer and we made sure to book enough of a layover in London so we could use the lounges. Since we never travel this way, we wanted to make sure and take advantage of a perk we never get to use. We also showed up early at the airport to leave and for our flight home! Was a great time! Enjoy your flights!