Flying During Covid - AC 15 Flight Report 2nd Leg
(Toronto - Seoul - Hong Kong)
12 November 2021

We landed in Seoul at 4:33am for the crew change and I noticed the fuel truck pulled away from our plane at 5:14am. The captain announced at 5:31am we were almost ready to go but had to complete some maintenance paperwork first, reassuring us there is nothing wrong with the aircraft. We pushed back at 5:43am. This short stop for a crew change was indeed short as advertised.

Air Canada's safety video takes you across the country to see how beautiful it is. I quite liked the variety and focus on natural landscapes.

We took off at 5:55am just as the sunrise started to show ever so slightly beyond the horizon.

We were first given a snack pack with water, followed by a cold sandwich which was the tastiest meal on the flight.

This flight seemed to pass quickly and I was enjoying the in-flight entertainment.

The Dreamliner's advance window tinting technology makes taking photos a bit difficult, but Taiwan was cloudy this morning so there wasn't much to spot out of my window.

Properly rested on the long transpacific flight, I was refreshed and alive on this short sector. The clouds dissipated near Hong Kong as we descended. As much as I wished I could fly Cathay and save a few hours, but was not possible as they didn't fly from Toronto that day, it didn't feel like an 18+ hour journey after all.

We landed from the west so flew south of the city. Although it was a beautiful day, I couldn't spot the city since I was sitting by the left window, but got a few islands instead.

We turned south slightly and I could see the city in the distance as a surprise.

As we turned back north towards final approach, I noticed a large wind farm that I haven't seen before. That's Macau in the distance.

The 3rd runway's reclamation seems complete so it was a bit odd to land on the north runway to see more land next to it when it was formerly the sea.

It was then a short taxi to the terminal where we parked near the new bridge to the satellite concourse.

I wasn't in a hurry to get off since we have to go through COVID testing before being sent to the quarantine hotel anyway. Since I was at the back of the plane, I took some more photos of the cabin before losing my freedom to 14 days of quarantine.

I was surprised Air Canada's extra long flight via Seoul would be pleasant, mostly due to the empty row I got. Flight schedules are drastically reduced because of COVID so I was quite grateful that after all the cancellations and changes along the way, I could still get on the plane in the end. The 18+ hour journey was bearable in my DIY Economy flat bed. In the lead-up to this trip, I did see Premium Economy redemption availability come up at a small mark-up to Economy, but the seat map looked quite blocked up so I gambled I could keep my empty row out back. Luckily, it worked out.


We landed in Seoul at 4:33am for the crew change and I noticed the fuel truck pulled away from our plane at 5:14am. The captain announced at 5:31am we were almost ready to go but had to complete some maintenance paperwork first, reassuring us there is nothing wrong with the aircraft. We pushed back at 5:43am. This short stop for a crew change was indeed short as advertised. Air Canada's safety video takes you across the country to see how beautiful it is. I quite liked the variety and focus on natural landscapes. We took off at 5:55am just as the sunrise started to show ever so slightly beyond the horizon. We were first given a snack pack with water, followed by a cold sandwich which was the tastiest meal on the flight. This flight seemed to pass quickly and I was enjoying the in-flight entertainment. The Dreamliner's advance window tinting technology makes taking photos a bit difficult, but Taiwan was cloudy this morning so there wasn't much to spot out of my window. Properly rested on the long transpacific flight, I was refreshed and alive on this short sector. The clouds dissipated near Hong Kong as we descended. As much as I wished I could fly Cathay and save a few hours, but was not possible as they didn't fly from Toronto that day, it didn't feel like an 18+ hour journey after all. We landed from the west so flew south of the city. Although it was a beautiful day, I couldn't spot the city since I was sitting by the left window, but got a few islands instead. We turned south slightly and I could see the city in the distance as a surprise. As we turned back north towards final approach, I noticed a large wind farm that I haven't seen before. That's Macau in the distance. The 3rd runway's reclamation seems complete so it was a bit odd to land on the north runway to see more land next to it when it was formerly the sea. It was then a short taxi to the terminal where we parked near the new bridge to the satellite concourse. I wasn't in a hurry to get off since we have to go through COVID testing before being sent to the quarantine hotel anyway. Since I was at the back of the plane, I took some more photos of the cabin before losing my freedom to 14 days of quarantine. I was surprised Air Canada's extra long flight via Seoul would be pleasant, mostly due to the empty row I got. Flight schedules are drastically reduced because of COVID so I was quite grateful that after all the cancellations and changes along the way, I could still get on the plane in the end. The 18+ hour journey was bearable in my DIY Economy flat bed. In the lead-up to this trip, I did see Premium Economy redemption availability come up at a small mark-up to Economy, but the seat map looked quite blocked up so I gambled I could keep my empty row out back. Luckily, it worked out.