Even before flying Air Canada 737 MAX 8 business class for the first time, I knew it was going to be great. Unfortunately, this resulted in me being 100% satisfied without being surprised by anything. I hate when that happens.
The business class seats on the 737 MAX 8 (also known as the 737-8) are stylish, fairly comfortable, and the video screens are phenomenal.
The fact that they served a full meal on a 1 hour flight was just icing on the cake. Or, as you’re about to see in the pictures, it was more like salsa on the potatoes.
AC201
Calgary, AB (YYC) – Vancouver, BC (YVR)
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Aircraft: 737 MAX 8
Registration: C-GELJ
Duration: 1 hour 6 minutes
Seat: 4F (Business Class)
Air Canada 737 MAX 8 side view illustration by NorebboStock.com.Our route from Calgary to Vancouver this morning as AC201.
My full review of Air Canada 737 MAX 8 business class from Calgary to Vancouver
The truth is I didn’t really want to take this flight. Having flown in on a WestJet 787-9 in business class from Toronto the day before, I stayed the night at the Calgary Airport with the goal of continuing on home to San Diego today. A 6:30 AM flight sounded like a horrible idea, but that was my only option if I wanted to get home at a halfway decent hour.
Arrival at the airport
The Marriott Hotel connected directly to the airport was a lifesaver. I basically rolled out of bed, into the shower, and down into the airport within a span of 30 minutes. Having checked in online for this flight 24 hours prior, I was able to skip the Air Canada check-in queue and head directly towards the security checkpoint.
The Air Canada Priority check in area here at YYC. $20 says I’m not the only person here who thinks 6:30am flights are ludicrous.My flight to Vancouver is departing from the C gates this morning. And I still can’t believe I voluntarily chose the most obnoxiously-timed flight of the day. Seriously?Hold on a sec. My brain needs a few more minutes to process what is happening…Thank goodness for the telephoto camera on my iPhone. I didn’t even have to get up to take a pic of the departure gate (C52).BTW, this was the first time I had been in the domestic side of the Calgary Airport, and I have to say that I was impressed. This was easy to appreciate even at such a ridiculously early hour!
The boarding process for flight number 201 to Vancouver
After all of the effort I put into getting up so early, I really needed this flight to be on time today. Especially since I knew that I would have to go through US Preclearance upon arrival at YVR. I already know that 1 hour layovers are enough time in Vancouver (for all types of connections), but still. I’m a bit of a worrywart, ok?
What’s not to like about an airplane with a bandit mask? This Air Canada 737 MAX 8 is my ride to Vancouver this morning.Half of the boarding announcement was in French, and I was too far away to fully comprehend the English portion of it, but no worries. I got this.
The boarding process started right on time. With my Zone 1 boarding pass, I was one of the very first passengers onboard.
Watch me get lost on the way to the plane. Yeah, I’m that tired.Also, will someone please remind me never to take a 6:30am flight again if I don’t really have to? Thanks.Almost there. Although I see no sign of life, I do smell coffee and there is blue mood lighting. Things are already looking up.
My first impressions of the Air Canada 737 MAX 8 business class seats
Long story short, the business class seats on the 737 MAX 8 are really nice.
Say what you will about Air Canada (and I’ve heard some of you say some really nasty things), but these bulkhead business class seats on the 737 MAX 8 look fantastic.Right off the bat, this reminded me a lot of American Airlines A321neo first class. But hang with me for a sec, because you will soon see why there’s very good reason why Air Canada would likely be offended by that comparison…Here’s a good pic showing a comparison of the business class seats with the economy seats. Yup, anyone who says “iT’s bAsIcAlLy eCoNoMy cLaSs!!1” can suck it. Seats 4E and 4F. I wish they were fully cloth seats, but knowing how disgusting we humans can be sometimes, I totally understand why they went the hybrid route.The comparison I made with American Airlines earlier officially ends here. Air Canada didn’t cheap out on the in flight entertainment!They did kind of cheap out on the pre departure drinks though. Naya? Never heard of it.Leg room is really good. And if you look closely……you’ll find the highly adjustable foot rest. These things are an acquired taste, and I’ve yet to fully understand their usefulness. Maybe my body is just weirdly shaped or something? I don’t know. Despite the insults I made about the pre departure drinks earlier…I’m totally nabbing those bottles of water if nobody sits there.Or maybe not.I know. It’s really hard to be disappointed when sitting in domestic business class seats this good. They look great, and the individual power outlets (USB and electrical) are much appreciated.Best movie ever. Even at 6:30am!You read my article about babies in business class, right?
The departure out of Calgary
As happy as I was to be in Air Canada domestic business class this morning, I probably would’ve been happier in WestJet 737-700 economy on a nonstop flight home to San Diego. After two days of traveling, I was more than ready to be home.
But hey. Business class is never really a bad place to be, so I couldn’t really complain. At least not a lot anyway.
It’s hard to convey motion in static pictures like this, so I just want to let you know that we’re pushing off the gate now.WTF is that on the video screen?? This is normally where I’d make a positive comment about pushing off the gate right on time, but…I just can’t. Looks like the guy in 4A is trying to make whatever that is go away. And I don’t blame him one bit.Whatever. It’s shaping up to be a beautiful morning for flying!Oh, and yes, we did push off the gate right on time.Thanks for the hospitality Calgary! I promise I’ll stay longer take a later flight next time.
In-flight entertainment
As you saw in my review of Air Canada 737 MAX 8 economy class from San Diego to Toronto, the video entertainment on this aircraft is impressive. The selection of movies and TV shows it’s just bonkers (in a good way), and I really like the fact that the video screens are so large and bright.
This is the home screen of the video entertainment system, showing a beautiful picture of our destination. But seriously, have you ever seen an ugly picture of Vancouver? Me either.And here is the main menu. It’s a lot to digest so early in the morning, but I’ll do my best.We’ve come a long way from overhead projectors being aimed towards the bulkhead wall, haven’t we? The Air Canada in flight entertainment system is legit!If you choose anything other than a Molson Canadian on a flight between Calgary and Vancouver, you’re doing it wrong.Just double checking to be sure that I am indeed on a flight between Calgary and Vancouver. It is early after all, and there were a lot of gates and airplanes back at the airport.
My only complaint about the in flight entertainment is the audio. I would definitely recommend bringing your own headphones, because the complementary earbuds they hand out are pretty much worthless.
The food
After being served and outrageously delicious snack in Air Canada A321 domestic business class several months ago, I had high expectations for the meal service on this flight. Yes, Air Canada served a full breakfast on this short 1 hour flight between Calgary and Vancouver. And it was pretty good! We can only dream of US airlines being this generous.
It was either this or French Toast. This looks pretty good and all, but as an American who has never tried Poutine, I was let down once again.When was the last time you were served a meal like this on a 1 hour flight in the US? 1985 perhaps?I seriously don’t understand people who say they hate Air Canada.I would certainly like Air Canada more if they served Poutine for breakfast, but come on. Ain’t no reason for the hate!Good God how I love flying north of the border. BTW, I ate another complete breakfast in Air Canada A320 business class from Vancouver to San Diego just two hours later. It was shameful, but delicious.
Seat comfort
Although a 1 hour flight was hardly enough time to properly evaluate the comfort of these seats, at least I have the experience to compare them with how the economy seats felt.
Basically, both the business class seats and the economy seats are equally firm. They both lack lumbar support as well. However, the business class seats are much wider with a lot more legroom. This will allow you to squirm around them a lot easier, which will make it easier to find a position that feels good(ish).
Yeah, I found these seats to be decently comfortable. But don’t take my word for it……because she seems comfortable as well. I didn’t hear a peep from her for the entire flight!
The arrival into Vancouver
The sun was just starting to rise as we began to descent into Vancouver. Anyone who has flown into Vancouver from the east knows how disappointing that is.
You see, the mountains just east of Vancouver are some of the most spectacular on the planet. Skimming over them on the approach into Vancouver can be a life-changing experience. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of it this morning, and my life remains exactly as it was when we left Calgary.
Frick. It was too dark to see the mountains. #sadfaceWhy does this look nothing like the picture you saw on my video screen? And do I win an award of some kind for my impossibly unflattering pics of Vancouver?Oh well. This ain’t my first rodeo, and I’ve been here enough times to know that Vancouver is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. From certain angles, anyway.Speaking of beautiful things, are these not some of the best looking domestic business class seats you’ve ever seen?Maybe I’m biased because they match my love for neutral colors. So what?Not sure, but I think this guy would agree. On a more serious note, this pic gives you a pretty good idea of how generous the leg room is in these seats.Ain’t no time to waste when you know you’ve got to go stand in the US Preclearance line!And there you have it. Even at such an ungodly early hour, they pulled off yet another really great domestic business class experience. I raise my Molson Canadian to you, Air Canada. #cheers
Air Canada 737 MAX 8 business class pros and cons
Honestly, I didn’t find the seats on the MAX 8 to be all that comfortable, but there was a lot about this experience that makes me consider it to be one of the best domestic business class products in the world. Let’s break it down with a list of the pros and cons:
Pros
It’s an extremely stylish domestic business class product. No, that probably won’t matter to everyone, but for me, it goes along way towards making the experience feel more upscale.
The video screens are phenomenal. They are bright, extremely responsive, and there is a ridiculous amount of on-demand content available (TV shows, movies, and music).
To this American, being served a full meal on a 1 hour flight felt extravagant. But it was glorious – even at 7 o’clock in the morning.
Great review! I really liked to seeing you respond to all the hate Air Canada gets, as well as the early-morning jokes.
I agree that these seats (as well as the Economy seats) look very similar to American Airlines. Both are very stylish, with a slight edge to Air Canada.
On a side note, the first thing I thought of when I saw the seats was “Premium Economy”.
And I have to say, AC knows how to do Domestic Business Class food properly. The presentation of this meal doesn’t look quite as high-quality as what you got on the A321 flight, but I’m glad to hear that it tasted great.
To be honest, it’s easy to be snarky about ridiculously early flights. Haha! But that was 100% on me. There were a lot of other options if I didn’t mind getting home later in the day.
And I thought the exact same thing about the food. This meal seemed fairly generic (and exactly like what we’d get on any other airline), and it didn’t match the quality of the snack I got on that YYC-YCR flight earlier this year. Not even close!
Hey Scott! Great review! I only started following you in the last couple months but really enjoy the content, and I even binged watched a lot of your older content and caught up to present haha. I really feel like I picked the wrong airline on a flight home from LAX to our hometown of Victoria (YYJ) recently. We flew home on WestJet in Premium class, 0900hr departure out of LAX, 3 hour flight to Calgary and all we got was drink service and a pesky meal box. Not even a bagel for breakfast. And of course, flying out of terminal 2 we didn’t have enough time to go over to Terminal B for the Centurion lounge. The 90 mins flight from Calgary to Victoria International wasn’t much better for food, just a snack box. The cabin was nice and the crew was amazingly attentive though, so I guess there’s that. Oh, and we did enter the WestJet Elevation lounge at YYC with priority pass so we at least got a meal there 🙂
I also write an amateur blog about our family travels, nowhere near as good as yours though =-D
Hey Daniel – yeah, Air Canada continues to surprise me. It’s been a while since I’ve last flown WestJet, but your experience sounds a lot like mine. However, I will say that WestJet 787 business class (a review I will be posting soon) is every bit as good as Air Canada – and perhaps even more.
Sounds like you had a fun trip though. Lounge access makes all the difference, doesn’t it? Haha!
Glad you’re enjoying the content! I’ll definitely be checking out your blog as well…
Looking forward to that review! We’re booking our next flight down to Fort Lauderdale soon and man what’s going on down south? Airfare across the continent is crazy expensive down there compared to what I see available on our side, and I’ve played with the VPN all over haha. I’ll need to pick between WJ and AC and your review is definitely swaying me towards AC 🙂
I know, right? I just booked tickets to visit family in Florida over Christmas / New Year and I was shocked when I saw the prices. It was easily one of the most expensive airline tickets I’ve booked all year, but I had no choice.
Great video + review as always!
However I did notice that in the first little information part, you said “Vancouver, AB” while Vancouver is in British Columbia, not Alberta
Peter
Great review! I really liked to seeing you respond to all the hate Air Canada gets, as well as the early-morning jokes.
I agree that these seats (as well as the Economy seats) look very similar to American Airlines. Both are very stylish, with a slight edge to Air Canada.
On a side note, the first thing I thought of when I saw the seats was “Premium Economy”.
And I have to say, AC knows how to do Domestic Business Class food properly. The presentation of this meal doesn’t look quite as high-quality as what you got on the A321 flight, but I’m glad to hear that it tasted great.
Scott (SANspotter)
To be honest, it’s easy to be snarky about ridiculously early flights. Haha! But that was 100% on me. There were a lot of other options if I didn’t mind getting home later in the day.
And I thought the exact same thing about the food. This meal seemed fairly generic (and exactly like what we’d get on any other airline), and it didn’t match the quality of the snack I got on that YYC-YCR flight earlier this year. Not even close!
Daniel
Hey Scott! Great review! I only started following you in the last couple months but really enjoy the content, and I even binged watched a lot of your older content and caught up to present haha. I really feel like I picked the wrong airline on a flight home from LAX to our hometown of Victoria (YYJ) recently. We flew home on WestJet in Premium class, 0900hr departure out of LAX, 3 hour flight to Calgary and all we got was drink service and a pesky meal box. Not even a bagel for breakfast. And of course, flying out of terminal 2 we didn’t have enough time to go over to Terminal B for the Centurion lounge. The 90 mins flight from Calgary to Victoria International wasn’t much better for food, just a snack box. The cabin was nice and the crew was amazingly attentive though, so I guess there’s that. Oh, and we did enter the WestJet Elevation lounge at YYC with priority pass so we at least got a meal there 🙂
I also write an amateur blog about our family travels, nowhere near as good as yours though =-D
Scott (SANspotter)
Hey Daniel – yeah, Air Canada continues to surprise me. It’s been a while since I’ve last flown WestJet, but your experience sounds a lot like mine. However, I will say that WestJet 787 business class (a review I will be posting soon) is every bit as good as Air Canada – and perhaps even more.
Sounds like you had a fun trip though. Lounge access makes all the difference, doesn’t it? Haha!
Glad you’re enjoying the content! I’ll definitely be checking out your blog as well…
Daniel
Looking forward to that review! We’re booking our next flight down to Fort Lauderdale soon and man what’s going on down south? Airfare across the continent is crazy expensive down there compared to what I see available on our side, and I’ve played with the VPN all over haha. I’ll need to pick between WJ and AC and your review is definitely swaying me towards AC 🙂
Scott (SANspotter)
I know, right? I just booked tickets to visit family in Florida over Christmas / New Year and I was shocked when I saw the prices. It was easily one of the most expensive airline tickets I’ve booked all year, but I had no choice.
Hope you have a good trip!
David Hoffman
Hey, do they have blankets on the San Diego flight? Your review was excellent.
Scott (SANspotter)
Thanks David! They don’t provide blankets in business class on flights out to SAN unfortunately.
CB
Great video + review as always!
However I did notice that in the first little information part, you said “Vancouver, AB” while Vancouver is in British Columbia, not Alberta
Scott (SANspotter)
Thanks for letting me know! I just went back and make the edit. Glad you enjoyed the review!