Air Canada has invested heavily in improving its long-haul business class product in recent years, including retrofitting a number of older jets with its flagship Signature Class cabins. Those seats had only been available on 777 and 787 aircraft, but yesterday Air Canada's first Airbus A330 featuring the improved business class seats took to the skies.
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The plane in question is a 20-year-old Airbus A330-300 with the registration number C-GFUR. After flying to Seletar Airport (XSP) in Singapore in October to begin the retrofit process, the plane returned to Canada at the end of February. Yesterday it operated its first commercial flight with the new cabins: Flight AC311, a 4:41 flight from Montreal (YUL) to Vancouver (YVR).
While the economy cabins (laid out in a 2-4-2 configuration) have been refreshed as well, the biggest improvement comes for business class passengers. The planes used to feature a 1-1-1 herringbone seat, similar to what you'll find on Delta's older A330s (but not the new A330-900neos). The seats were fully flat and offered direct aisle access for every passenger, but they weren't especially competitive in today's market.
Based on the photos Air Canada shared on its Twitter account, the A330 business class cabin now features Colins Aeropsace Super Diamond seats, similar to those found on the carrier's 787s and 777s. This is also the same seat you'll find in China Airlines business class cabins and on WestJet's new 787s, and it's one of the best “off the rack” seats an airline can buy.
Further Reading: Upping the Ante: Air Canada's 787 in Business Class From Shanghai to Montreal
According to Flightradar24.com, the aircraft is scheduled to operate between Montreal and Vancouver over the next several days, likely to give crew a chance to familiarize themselves with the new cabin. After that you'd expect Air Canada to put this premium offering on longer international routes, such as the many flights it operates to Europe with A330s.
How to book Air Canada business class
As a member of Star Alliance, you have plenty of options for booking Air Canada business class using points and miles. Normally the carrier operates a fairly robust route network to Europe and Asia, though that's obviously been slimmed down due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Given that the A330s are primarily used for flights between Canada and Europe (as well as transcontinental flights like Montreal to Vancouver), let's take a look at how you could book those routes using points and miles. The prices below are for one-way business class awards:
| Program | One-way business class award rate | Transfer partners |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 55,000-57,500 miles | Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Marriott Bonvoy |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 63,000 miles | Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, Capital One Miles, Marriott Bonvoy |
| United MileagePlus | 66,000 miles | Chase Ultimate Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy |
Bottom line
Air Canada's business class is a very underrated option for North American travelers looking to connect to major cities in Europe and Asia. While the airline had invested a lot of time and money in improving the seats on its 787s and 777s, this is the first A330 to be retrofit with Air Canada's top-of-the-line business class cabin. Many airlines have paused or deferred nonessential expenses during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but according to Flightradar24.com Air Canada has two more A330s that are currently in Singapore, likely undergoing the same cabin improvement and retrofit (C-GEGP and C-GKUG).
Featured image courtesy of Air Canada