Air Canada YYZ-YOW return

Sorry no pics, but here’s my report from my weekend trip between Toronto and Ottawa.

Saturday, February 17
Air Canada
E175
Seat 18A
Dep: 9:15
Arr: 10:05

I was extremely excited for my first trip on a E175 and for my first flight out of Toronto’s new Terminal 1 (combination of former terminals 1 & 2 – still under construction – completion date 2008).

I arrived and checked in with my frequent flyer card at the Air Canada electric kiosk. I made my way to the gate 145, and after opening my belt for whatever reason at security, I entered the massive rotunda that is terminal 1. The terminal is spacious and very quiet.

Soon after arriving gate side we learned there was a gate change, so I high tailed it down one of the piers to gate 135. The aircraft was towed to the gate and settled in between an AC320 and 763. We boarded shortly thereafter and taxied to runway 24R. Without hesitation we rolled onto the runway and throtles were applied. We were airborn in seconds with a westerly heading. Within moments of breaking a thin layer of clouds, we made a 180 degree turn and headed north east for Ottawa. The E175 was surprisingly spacious and very quiet. The crew was passing out juices and water. I passed.

We were barely cruising, or so it seemed, when we began our decent into Ottawa’s MacDonald-Cartier International Airport. We made a very smooth approach to runway 32 and slow down very quickly to exit on taxiway D. We had to wait about two minutes for a Jazz CRJ700 to clear our gate (we were ten minutes early). The regional jet was pushed back and cleared the stand.

Ottawa airport is new, not sure how new, but is very spacious, clean and modern. Very, very tasteful and calm. This was my first visit and I was impressed.

Sunday, February 18
YOW-YYZ
AC A320/changed to A321
Seat 18A
Dep: 11:00
Arr: 11:50

I arrived back to Ottawa airport at 20:30 for a 21:30 departure. Again, I went to the electronic kiosk, passed through security, and again, undid the belt, took off the shoes, and felt a bit stupid for about five minutes.

At gate 17 I waited for our A320 to board and observerd the arrival of a Westjet B737-700, Zoom 763, Continental Embraer and an AC 319. We boarded the aircraft. The door was closed when we were advised that there was a problem noted with the flaps on the final go round. It would take 15 mintues to clear. I was over the flap in question, and it became apparent that the problem would not be resolved quickly. We were given headset to use the entertainment system, which was great! Soon though, we were told the aircraft was to be grounded that night as mechanical and would board the arriving aircraft next to us at gate 16.

The A321 arrived from Vancouver (a fairly long journey) and was turned around in about 35 minutes. We boarded quickly and kept the same seats. The seats themselves were extremely comfortable but no inflight system. We taxied out to runway 32 again, reved up and were airborne very quickly. We headed northwest for two or three minutes and then made a hard left turn to the southwest for Toronto. We made a slow and gradual climb and were in Toronto in roughly 40 minutes. We never really banked again and basically cruised straight into runway 24R in Toronto. We took a rapid exit off of the runway and made it to the terminal area; however, there were no ground staff to meet us so we held off of the gate for about seven minutes (argh). Finally we pulled alongside an AC 320 readying for departure. I was back in the terminal sometime around midnight.