Despite recently marking five years of service with the type, Air Canada's A220s still have a sleek, new feel. Cabins are smart and practical, and the crew on my flight were excellent. I would happily travel in business class on these birds again, and indeed would prefer a flight on an A220 over Air Canada's 737 or A320 fleet.

Check-In and Security

I flew out of Air Canada’s busiest hub, Toronto Pearson. As a business class passenger I had access to a “priority” check-in lane along with, it seemed, half of the travelling public. Rather than wait in a growing queue I instead went to a self-serve kiosk as I was only travelling with carry-on bags: were I checking a bag, I likely would have been faced with a wait of 15-20 minutes. Economy passengers looked like they were faring much worse. Not the best start.

The "Priority" lane had a lengthy, not-very-prioritised line.

Business class passengers on Air Canada or any Star Alliance airline have access to the Gold Track at Pearson Airport, which plops passengers out at the front of the security line. I instead opted to use the Nexus lane, and was through in about five minutes.

Lounge and Boarding

Air Canada operates two Maple Leaf Lounges accessible to US-bound passengers at Pearson. The primary Maple Leaf Lounge is directly after security, and was the one I used on this morning flight. Breakfast options included scrambled eggs, sausages, home fries, and assorted pastries, along with numerous self-serve coffee machines scattered about the lounge. Alcohol is served from 11 a.m. onwards.

The lounge was packed, even at 7 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. I primarily went to the lounge to print off some visas I needed for an extended South America trip, and after this was accomplished I found it more comfortable to grab a cappuccino to go and instead sit by the gate.

The lounge was packed when I visited, and so I opted to leave early.

Air Canada also offers an Express lounge outside gate F84. While I usually prefer these smaller lounge offerings, getting there involved a seven-minute walk from my gate, F82, so I passed.

Boarding started just after the scheduled time of 7:40 a.m. with passengers needing assistance. After this business class and Star Alliance Gold passengers were invited to board in group one. Boarding groups were strictly enforced, and I was seated less than a minute after having my boarding pass scanned.

Business class passengers are invited to board in group one, with boarding groups actually being enforced on this flight.

Both business and economy class cabins were completely full, and boarding wrapped up after about 20 minutes. No pre-departure beverages were offered.

Seat and Entertainment

Air Canada’s A220 fleet uses the standard 2-2 configuration in business class, with a total of three rows. Overhead bins at the front of the plane are reserved for business class passengers, with this also being strictly enforced.

Air Canada uses a smart, muted colour scheme, complemented by their signature red maple leaf logo stitched on each headrest.

The seat is well-designed and comfortable. Table trays fold out of the armrest, though I still found the seat to be plenty wide. A small drinks tray is also shared between each seat pair. There is a small storage cubby in the centre armrest, large enough for a book. This storage cubby also houses a universal plug; USB charging ports are below the entertainment screen. A small water bottle was waiting in each seat-back pocket. Below the entertainment screen you’ll find a small literature storage area, which is also ideal for holding phones, wallets, and passports.

Each seat has an individual air vent and reading light. Head rests are adjustable vertically and also bend to fit your head. Every window seat has access to two windows, with one feature I love on A220s: the window cut-out has a small notch at the top to fit the window shade handle, so you can fully open the window (rather than having to leave it ever so slightly covered when the handle hits the top).

Both seats get their own air vent and reading light. Note as well the WiFi light, showing when this service is available.

Free and fast WiFi is offered to all business class passengers along with Aeroplan members travelling in any cabin. This switched on roughly ten minutes after take-off, and was available right up to the arrival gate.

You'll have no trouble streaming or browsing on an Air Canada A220.

The entertainment screen was crisp and responsive, with adjustable brightness. Screens also tilt to match the recline of your seat, or that of the person in front of you. Cheap, disposable headphones were distributed to business class passengers after boarding had finished; unfortunately Air Canada’s A220s do not let you pair your own Bluetooth headphones, so I appreciated these free ones nonetheless.

Aside from the mandatory ads, this was a strong IFE offering.

Air Canada forces passengers to watch unskippable ads before every show or movie, an infuriating practice that cheapens the experience—especially in a premium cabin. The moving map, which I defaulted to rather than sit through 90 seconds of ads, never worked on the flight.

Food and Service

Service on this flight was textbook: competent, efficient, and friendly, exactly how I expect service is meant to flow in this cabin on this aircraft. The service manager was personally handling the business class cabin on this flight, with service starting with hot towels roughly ten minutes after takeoff.

Meal pre-ordering was available on this flight from ten days to 36 hours before departure. I pre-ordered the cherry clafoutis, and the service manager addressed all passengers by name on the ground to either confirm or take meal orders. These arrived around 15 minutes after takeoff.

Breakfast pre-order options on Air Canada's morning flight from Toronto to Houston.

Breakfast is rarely a standout on airplanes, and this meal was no exception. The fruit was a touch too cold, and the cutlery was downright glacial. The meal itself was…fine. I won’t remember it this time next week, but it served its purpose and I had no complaints.

Not the best, but not the worst. I was also offered a bread roll (no croissants), but passed.

Exactly one hour before landing the service manager came through offering warm nuts (about 75% almonds) and a beverage service. I ordered a glass of sparkling wine, which as with all beverages on this flight was served in proper, Air Canada-branded glassware.

Calling this a nut "mix" is a bit of a stretch.

I found the crew to be helpful and proactive. Trash never lingered at my seat, and the service manager made regular appearances in the cabin. Service can be hit or miss on Air Canada, and this flight was definitely a “hit”. The crew serving business class also did a good job of intercepting economy passengers who tried to use the forward washroom, which is reserved for business passengers.

Cost and Final Thoughts

We landed 20 minutes early in Houston, with a gate-to-gate time of just over three hours. This flight tends to, conveniently, use either gate A8 or A9 in Houston, which are both about a dozen steps from an oft-forgotten United Club serving the A-gates.

I paid $641 CAD for a one-way ticket, booked through United, from Toronto to Georgetown, Guyana, which included this flight with Air Canada from Toronto to Houston, onwards to Panama City with United, and then on to Georgetown with Copa Airlines. This was a fantastic deal, especially considering Air Canada wanted $693 for the one-way Toronto-Houston flight alone (even worse: United was charging $1,534 one-way from Houston to Panama City). I intentionally chose to fly on New Year’s Eve to pre-empt Air Canada’s changes to its Aeroplan reward program: since I flew on the last day where Aeroplan points earned on Air Canada flights are calculated based on class of service and distance flown, not dollars spent and elite status, I earned over 7,000 Aeroplan miles for this itinerary. At a conservative valuation of three cents per point, those $210 in miles made this business class ticket cheaper than economy.

Even had I not gotten such a good deal, I’d have still left this flight with a positive impression of Air Canada’s A220 business class product.