I have recently used this airline for the first time, firstly flying from London Heathrow to Vancouver in May 2007, and returning to London three weeks later from Calgary. We were travelling as a party of four, planning to enjoy a touring holiday of the North West U.S. and the Canadian Rockies.

It developed so that we were left with the choices of flying into Seattle or Vancouver, and returning from Calgary or Edmonton. This would involve a one-way car hire, which we discovered, not unreasonably becomes much more difficult if one collects and drops the car in different countries. Therefore our entry port became Vancouver, returning through Calgary because the flights worked better with what we wanted to do.

I had read quite a few reviews on Ciao, Tripadvisor and other such sites before booking in order to see if there were any recurring problems that we should beware of. As always when reading user reviews, there was a wide spread of opinion, some singing the praises of the airline, others slating them off as nothing short of incompetent. My personal approach to these sites is not to take much notice of individual posts, but to look for trends and recurring themes. Being unable to find anything which made me too nervous, we made the booking via the Air Canada website.

Twenty-four hours before the flight departure time, one is able to use the on-line check in facility. By giving details of the baggage that you intend to check onto the flight it is possible to print out your own boarding pass at home, enabling one to by-pass the check in queue at the airport. You are instructed to look for the baggage drop off point at the airport if you are taking baggage to be checked into the hold.

Baggage handling and retrieval at on both legs of the journey was handled well. There was a little confusion at Cargary airport where again the on-line boarding information directed us to a baggage drop off point. However, on arrive at the airport it became apparent that there wasn’t one as such. We found an Air Canada rep who pointed us towards the customer services desk where our luggage was taken from us, but I thought it would have been better if they had signed this desk at the airport in the same way as it was described on the paperwork, and the same way it is signed at Heathrow. A small matter, but a little niggle none the less.

I mentioned this to one of the stewards who told me that the company had effectively bought the base model of the aircraft without the up to date entertainment systems. However they had quickly realised their mistake and they are embarking on an upgrade programme. However this won’t happen on these new aircraft until their first major overhaul, which means several years away.

We were served two hot meals during our nine-hour flight, as well as a cold snack. By a long distance, the best airline I have ever experienced in terms of the food served is Virgin Atlantic, who offer a wide choice from a menu. Air Canada did not equal this level of service, but the dinner consisted of chicken or beef on seasoned rice which was really rather good.

On the outward flight, the crew made a particular fuss over a young child who was travelling with her mother. The child was little more than a babe in arms and was obviously uncomfortable on the flight causing it to cry. The crew did what they could to help the woman calm the child but she was obviously getting a little flustered, so three of the stewardesses took it in turns to take the child away to allow the woman to eat and try to sooth the child. To the grateful thanks of everyone in the vicinity they managed it, and spent the rest of the flight checking that they were both comfortable. These efforts made everyone’s flight more pleasant and were really beyond what they needed to do. They certainly had my thanks.

I have a very pragmatic view of flying. It is never particularly enjoyable in my view, merely a necessary chore if one requires to get somewhere quickly. Therefore, in my opinion, the best a flight can be is painless. Being an engineer, with some experience in the military aviation field, I also believe I have a fairly practical view regarding what is perceived as a problem on an aircraft. As a result of which I have little sympathy when I hear people bleating about the headphones not working properly, or the crew running out of cold drinks. Flames coming from an engine are a problem, having a warm beer isn’t.