AC 854 Toronto - London Heathrow
31 August 2024

I originally booked a Toronto - Newark - London itinerary on mileage with a 5.5 hour connection to explore and have dinner in the Big Apple. It costed 26,400 Aeroplan points and a further CAD $145 in taxes, which doesn't include checked baggage or seat selection. It's a bit stingy compared to my Asia Miles redemption on American Airlines for my inbound flight via Charlotte 2 weeks earlier, which costed a similar amount but I could check 1 bag and pick my seat.
With a good weather forecast in New York, I was excited to secure window seats during online check-in the day before for both my Newark and London legs when their seat maps opened up. That's why I was quite surprised when less than 5 hours before departure just past 11am, I got a message that my Newark leg was cancelled due to weather. It was clear in Toronto and New York was having a good day as well. That seemingly automated email also stated they are working on rebooking me and an update will come in 30 minutes.
Half hour later exact, I got a second email saying they're still working on it. I started to get worried and checked Air Canada's flight status page to see if how their Newark flights are doing for the rest of the day. Surprise surprise, they cancelled all 3 afternoon and evening flights, so there was no way I could make it to my United flight for the red-eye to London. That's when I decided to call.
Air Canada's hotline has a good function where they would call me back instead of waiting on the line until an agent answers. During the wait, I researched my options so I was ready for them when the phone rang about 40 minutes later :
- fly the same itinerary the next day via Newark
- get on one of the 4 direct flights from Toronto to London that evening
The agent was very kind and when I asked whether these Newark cancellations were common, she suggested they were so I moved to the second alternative right away. She pulled up the 6:25pm flight, the first of their evening red-eyes, and I was then on hold for about 40 minutes while she sorted it out internally to get me on. She mentioned she needed Scheduling and supervisor to rebook.
I eventually was confirmed on that direct flight by 1:12pm. My new routing leaves Toronto later than my original itinerary while arriving in London earlier. It's a best case scenario and I would gladly skip dinner in New York this time. So everything was sorted 2 hours after it all began, a reasonably good feat and I didn't need to be at the airport to fix all this.

Soon after, I got an email to check into my flight online, and was able to secure the last window seat after a few tries. It was out back where the 777 narrows and the row of 3 becomes 2, a place I always like to be in with additional room to stretch and place my bag.
About 15 minutes later, I got another email that I could check my carry-on for free because the flight was full. This was a great surprise, as I could now pack some larger bottles of liquids through. Air Canada is on a roll today!
Getting to Pearson has gotten easier in recent years. Tourists and businessfolks hanging around downtown can take the UPX diesel train to the airport. Otherwise, for people living in the huge Greater Toronto Area, GO Transit operates a number of bus routes from the suburbs to the airport.

I reached the airport a little over 2 hours before departure at just past 4pm. Terminal 1 was quite busy and I made my way to a crowded aisle 5 for international departures. There were plenty of kiosks to print my bag tags and I was able to find one right away around the back where the crowd had seemingly forgotten. However, it still charged me CAD $75 to check the bag in so I had to flag a staff who pressed a few buttons to check a carry-on instead on the interface to clear out the charge.

The bag tags are not the smart Heathrow ones that stick automatically without peeling off something.
Next up, I moved to a machine to drop the bag. I didn't need to physically scan it in but there was an issue with the belt so I waited a bit to see the bag move, then get stuck half way to the main pipe. I had to flag another staff to manually send it on its way after a long wait. The airport experience was not so pleasant with these technology issues.
Security, however, was a breeze and there was barely a wait to get my items scanned and done. Then it was a long walk to the international E gates at the end of the building.

This part of the airport was quite busy. Although there are many shops and restaurants as well as seating areas, it's not enough for a number of widebodies departing around the dinner hour. The food court had a refugee camp feel to it and there was also a long line that snaked outside the Tim Hortons.

Mississauga's growing skyline is easily visible in the distance. The airport is actually not located in the city of Toronto but just outside the municipal boundary.

If you're in a hurry, head to the vending machine instead for an emergency snack.

The duty-free stores had a good selection of Canada-branded foods for your last minute souvenir needs.

I did have a good time plane spotting though, with an almost entirely Air Canada selection of various sizes, but the highlight was the Lufthansa 747 coming in to park.

I'm seeing more and more airports selling electronics air-side, and this machine will definitely be useful before a long-haul flight if you accidentally packed your charging equipment into your checked bag.

At 5:39pm, I got an email that the flight was boarding. I quite like Air Canada's electronic notifications and they seem more engaged with the customer on this front than other airlines.

Air Canada really packs the 777 full with a huge Economy cabin and a 3-4-3 high-density configuration for some 400 passengers. I had my doubts over how pleasant a full plane would be like and the first signs of trouble arrived even before sitting down. Each seat already had a blanket and pillow placed on it and as I lifted both up to get in, I noticed plenty of crumbs and even a candy wrapper right on my seat. There was more garbage off to the side by the wall. I wonder if the cleaners forgot about the entire row and the crew didn't bother to check.

Slightly delayed, we departed a completely full flight and I think I snatched the very last seat on the plane as part of the last minute itinerary change. We taxied to the northern runway and with my right window, it seems I won't be able to see Toronto on departure today.
Their welcome announcements note the many languages their crew speak, in addition to the standard English and French.

We departed towards the west over Mississauga and looped around to fly over Lake Ontario just south of Toronto, so the left window would have had a spectacular view of the downtown skyline. The sun was starting to set at the dinner hour and the weather was beautiful. Tonight's transatlantic crossing will take just 6 hours, only a little longer than a westbound flight to Canada's west coast.

Hamilton is in the distance around the bend.

The sun was setting by the time we reached Ottawa and I couldn't spot any large cities anymore.

The IFE selections has improved with a lot of selection to keep me entertained. They even stocked The Simpsons, which seems to have disappeared from the other airlines I've flown with recently.

The menu has also been digitized. We've got 2 meals on this short hop - a main dinner and a snack before arrival.

I've never associated Air Canada with good food, and this flight is no exception. the appetizer salad was a bit weird but the chicken main was sufficient albeit salty. I wish there were some fruits but at least they gave a good branded cheese to finish the meal.

As we reached the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, the skies got a bit more choppy. I've just finished my dinner by now and decided to doze off a bit.
1.5 hours before landing, we got a simple breakfast with a bread and yogurt. They didn't even bother putting them on a tray and just handed them out to everyone.

We landed into a grey London from the west at 6:44am and I survived Air Canada's high-density 777 Economy! To make the trip less torturous, consider the back few rows where you will get a little more stretching space. I had a little more off to my right as the fuselage narrows.

There was barely a line for immigration at such an early hour. I reached the luggage belt at 7:20am and was out the exit 9 minutes later. Not bad for Heathrow!

I reached the Tube by 7:35am.

Despite the cancelled flight and a last minute itinerary change, I was able to snatch a better option while at home instead of getting surprised at the airport and scramble. Otherwise, the flight was uneventful and I got across the Atlantic safely and on time.



I originally booked a Toronto - Newark - London itinerary on mileage with a 5.5 hour connection to explore and have dinner in the Big Apple. It costed 26,400 Aeroplan points and a further CAD $145 in taxes, which doesn't include checked baggage or seat selection. It's a bit stingy compared to my Asia Miles redemption on American Airlines for my inbound flight via Charlotte 2 weeks earlier, which costed a similar amount but I could check 1 bag and pick my seat. With a good weather forecast in New York, I was excited to secure window seats during online check-in the day before for both my Newark and London legs when their seat maps opened up. That's why I was quite surprised when less than 5 hours before departure just past 11am, I got a message that my Newark leg was cancelled due to weather. It was clear in Toronto and New York was having a good day as well. That seemingly automated email also stated they are working on rebooking me and an update will come in 30 minutes. Half hour later exact, I got a second email saying they're still working on it. I started to get worried and checked Air Canada's flight status page to see if how their Newark flights are doing for the rest of the day. Surprise surprise, they cancelled all 3 afternoon and evening flights, so there was no way I could make it to my United flight for the red-eye to London. That's when I decided to call. Air Canada's hotline has a good function where they would call me back instead of waiting on the line until an agent answers. During the wait, I researched my options so I was ready for them when the phone rang about 40 minutes later : - fly the same itinerary the next day via Newark - get on one of the 4 direct flights from Toronto to London that evening The agent was very kind and when I asked whether these Newark cancellations were common, she suggested they were so I moved to the second alternative right away. She pulled up the 6:25pm flight, the first of their evening red-eyes, and I was then on hold for about 40 minutes while she sorted it out internally to get me on. She mentioned she needed Scheduling and supervisor to rebook. I eventually was confirmed on that direct flight by 1:12pm. My new routing leaves Toronto later than my original itinerary while arriving in London earlier. It's a best case scenario and I would gladly skip dinner in New York this time. So everything was sorted 2 hours after it all began, a reasonably good feat and I didn't need to be at the airport to fix all this. Soon after, I got an email to check into my flight online, and was able to secure the last window seat after a few tries. It was out back where the 777 narrows and the row of 3 becomes 2, a place I always like to be in with additional room to stretch and place my bag. About 15 minutes later, I got another email that I could check my carry-on for free because the flight was full. This was a great surprise, as I could now pack some larger bottles of liquids through. Air Canada is on a roll today! Getting to Pearson has gotten easier in recent years. Tourists and businessfolks hanging around downtown can take the UPX diesel train to the airport. Otherwise, for people living in the huge Greater Toronto Area, GO Transit operates a number of bus routes from the suburbs to the airport. I reached the airport a little over 2 hours before departure at just past 4pm. Terminal 1 was quite busy and I made my way to a crowded aisle 5 for international departures. There were plenty of kiosks to print my bag tags and I was able to find one right away around the back where the crowd had seemingly forgotten. However, it still charged me CAD $75 to check the bag in so I had to flag a staff who pressed a few buttons to check a carry-on instead on the interface to clear out the charge. The bag tags are not the smart Heathrow ones that stick automatically without peeling off something. Next up, I moved to a machine to drop the bag. I didn't need to physically scan it in but there was an issue with the belt so I waited a bit to see the bag move, then get stuck half way to the main pipe. I had to flag another staff to manually send it on its way after a long wait. The airport experience was not so pleasant with these technology issues. Security, however, was a breeze and there was barely a wait to get my items scanned and done. Then it was a long walk to the international E gates at the end of the building. This part of the airport was quite busy. Although there are many shops and restaurants as well as seating areas, it's not enough for a number of widebodies departing around the dinner hour. The food court had a refugee camp feel to it and there was also a long line that snaked outside the Tim Hortons. Mississauga's growing skyline is easily visible in the distance. The airport is actually not located in the city of Toronto but just outside the municipal boundary. If you're in a hurry, head to the vending machine instead for an emergency snack. The duty-free stores had a good selection of Canada-branded foods for your last minute souvenir needs. I did have a good time plane spotting though, with an almost entirely Air Canada selection of various sizes, but the highlight was the Lufthansa 747 coming in to park. I'm seeing more and more airports selling electronics air-side, and this machine will definitely be useful before a long-haul flight if you accidentally packed your charging equipment into your checked bag. At 5:39pm, I got an email that the flight was boarding. I quite like Air Canada's electronic notifications and they seem more engaged with the customer on this front than other airlines. Air Canada really packs the 777 full with a huge Economy cabin and a 3-4-3 high-density configuration for some 400 passengers. I had my doubts over how pleasant a full plane would be like and the first signs of trouble arrived even before sitting down. Each seat already had a blanket and pillow placed on it and as I lifted both up to get in, I noticed plenty of crumbs and even a candy wrapper right on my seat. There was more garbage off to the side by the wall. I wonder if the cleaners forgot about the entire row and the crew didn't bother to check. Slightly delayed, we departed a completely full flight and I think I snatched the very last seat on the plane as part of the last minute itinerary change. We taxied to the northern runway and with my right window, it seems I won't be able to see Toronto on departure today. Their welcome announcements note the many languages their crew speak, in addition to the standard English and French. We departed towards the west over Mississauga and looped around to fly over Lake Ontario just south of Toronto, so the left window would have had a spectacular view of the downtown skyline. The sun was starting to set at the dinner hour and the weather was beautiful. Tonight's transatlantic crossing will take just 6 hours, only a little longer than a westbound flight to Canada's west coast. Hamilton is in the distance around the bend. The sun was setting by the time we reached Ottawa and I couldn't spot any large cities anymore. The IFE selections has improved with a lot of selection to keep me entertained. They even stocked The Simpsons, which seems to have disappeared from the other airlines I've flown with recently. The menu has also been digitized. We've got 2 meals on this short hop - a main dinner and a snack before arrival. I've never associated Air Canada with good food, and this flight is no exception. the appetizer salad was a bit weird but the chicken main was sufficient albeit salty. I wish there were some fruits but at least they gave a good branded cheese to finish the meal. As we reached the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, the skies got a bit more choppy. I've just finished my dinner by now and decided to doze off a bit. 1.5 hours before landing, we got a simple breakfast with a bread and yogurt. They didn't even bother putting them on a tray and just handed them out to everyone. We landed into a grey London from the west at 6:44am and I survived Air Canada's high-density 777 Economy! To make the trip less torturous, consider the back few rows where you will get a little more stretching space. I had a little more off to my right as the fuselage narrows. There was barely a line for immigration at such an early hour. I reached the luggage belt at 7:20am and was out the exit 9 minutes later. Not bad for Heathrow! I reached the Tube by 7:35am. Despite the cancelled flight and a last minute itinerary change, I was able to snatch a better option while at home instead of getting surprised at the airport and scramble. Otherwise, the flight was uneventful and I got across the Atlantic safely and on time.

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AC 854 Toronto - London Heathrow 31 August 2024

AC 854 Toronto - London Heathrow
31 August 2024