Toronto to Tel-Aviv: Air Canada - Business Class Dreamliner

Business Class Seat View 1

I have previously written about the various changes that Air Canada has made to its "Altitude" program - which have made it harder and harder to earn a high level status.  Up until two years ago, I was earning one mile for each flight, regardless of the cost of the air fare.  This also applied for flights on United Airlines and a number of other Star Alliance partners.  Now, Air Canada is only providing half the air miles for most of the lower end fares.  Some fares don't earn any points.  As a result, to qualify for "altitude 100k" (formerly "super-elite") status, you would need to fly 8 1/2 times between Israel and Toronto, at the much higher priced "flex" fares.  These fares can cost anywhere from $200 to $800 more on a round trip flight than a discounted "Tango" fare.  Same seats, same food, same plane.  Just a lower air miles reward (only about 2,850 each way instead of 5700).  So it is probably quite unlikely that I will qualify for "Super 100k" status again.  But I still have the status until February 28, 2015. So I decided to try and use it before it expires.

I booked a flight from Toronto to Tel-Aviv on an Air Canada flex fare.  This meant that I would be eligible for a free upgrade to business class, if the space was available.  If not, I could be upgraded to premium economy.  Since I had the upgrade points and I still had the status, I decided that it would be worthwhile (especially during low season) to take my chances.

I arrived at the airport and inquired about the likelihood of an upgrade.  I was told that there were three other people ahead of me and only two spots.  Oh well, I figured, at least I can probably fly "premium economy" which would get me a bit more leg room.

About an hour before the flight, I checked with very helpful lounge staff.  They told me that I had been upgraded and was seated in 5D....so I was all set.

Air Canada is now using 787 "Dreamliners" on its flights between Tel-Aviv and Toronto.  These are very new planes.  Apparently, they fly at a cruising speed of about 60 km/h faster, so the flight time is reduced by about half hour to forty-five minutes.  I have to say that the planes are also quite smooth and much less noisy than many other planes.  Beyond that, the seats in the economy class seem to be as crowded, if not more so, than other planes.

But for this flight, I was quite fortunate.

Business Class Seat View 2

I was seated in an aisle seat in business class.  Unlike the previous planes that Air Canada used for flights to Israel, this plane has a separate entrance into the business class section.  Economy class passengers cannot pass through and gawk at the personal cabin-type seats.

Business class seats include a fully reclining, extra-wide seat and a large sized personal screen.  They also include a side table, a storage compartment and a handy electronic remote control that controls the seat, the TV, the entertainment and can even call for flight attendants.  The seat was very comfortable though I did  not use the down comforter that was also provided.

At the start of the flight, the attendants come around and offered a choice of orange juice (freshly squeezed) or sparkling wine.  Since I had already been in the lounge for a couple of hours, I declined these drinks.

Air Canada Vegetable Platter

I found it interesting that in such a fancy new plane, there were no overhead compartments for the aisle seats in the middle in rows 4, 5 and 6.  There was plenty of overhead storage room elsewhere, but it seems bizarre that they built the plane without overhead compartments for some of the business class rows.

Our flight left on time and the attendants came around with the menu.  I had pre-ordered an Asian vegetarian meal but was still given the choice of one of the business class options.  I went with a cod dish, which was served with wild rice and vegetables.

Fruit Platter

The appetizer was a plate of grilled vegetables, including asparagus, zucchini, artichoke and red pepper.  It was quite tasty and the plate was quite attractive.  Shortly afterwards, the attendants delivered a fresh fruit plate including pineapple, watermelon, kiwi, strawberries and grapes.  Sublime.

The main course was reasonably tasty - cod served with wild rice, fennel and carrots.  Not particularly memorable but edible and served with a reasonably artistic flair.

Main Course

Meanwhile, I managed to sample some of the different wines that were being offered.  A California Meritage, a Spanish wine and a French wine.  None of the wines were particularly enticing but I preferred the California selection.  The flight attendants were quite eager to help me find a wine that was most suitable to my palate.  They insisted that I try each of the wines until I find one that I really liked....

Cheese Platter

After the meal, a cheese platter was delivered.  I was getting a bit worried about the caloric size of this meal, so I passed on the chocolate mousse which was also offered.  Instead I opted for some Courvoisier VSOP Cognac to accompany the cheese platter.

During the meal, I watched the movie Transcendence, which started off as an interesting concept but fizzled.  I also watched a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

By the time the movie ended and the dishes were cleared, I enjoyed one last drink - a decaf coffee.  I then reclined the seat-bed fully - and tried to go to sleep.  Next thing I knew, I was hearing an announcement that we were less than two hours away from Tel-Aviv and that a hot breakfast would soon be served.  I really wasn't that hungry at this point.  The flight attendants came around with a choice of pancakes or quiche, both served with chicken sausages.  I would not have eaten either dish and would have had my Asian vegetarian breakfast.  But instead, I had a yogurt and a coffee and I was fine.

Overall, this was certainly one of the more enjoyable flights that I have had between Toronto and Tel-Aviv.  I really don't think I would spend the $5,000 to buy a regular priced business class ticket - and I am not even sure I would pay the $500 cost to upgrade from "flex" class to business class that Air Canada is now charging its passengers (other than Altitude 100K passengers).  But I took advantage of this rare opportunity and enjoyed the free upgrade knowing that it is probably unlikely that I will have too many similar chances in the near future.

On hearing about my flight, a number of people, here in Israel, told me that I probably didn't want to get off the plane...

Well, as nice as the flight was, I can't really go that far.  After all, I arrived to a sunny 22C day, having left the -3C temperature of Toronto.  Winter? In Israel?  Maybe for a few days - but even the roughest winter days here would be like early fall in Canada, unless you happen to live in Jerusalem or way up north, in which case you might get a few odd days of snow.  Of course, it might feel like winter inside the homes since most homes are built without insulation.  But you can always step outside and enjoy the sun.

And now that January has almost come to an end, there are likely to be very few "wintry"days left in Israel - and even fewer when measured by Canadian standards.  Of course, that all makes sense, since the holiday of Tu B'Shevat, the "New Year of the Trees" is quickly approaching and the weather should be nice enough to allow us to plant some new trees.

Hopefully, on my return to Toronto I will hear that the groundhog has delivered some good news about the Toronto forecast.

KLM: Toronto to Tel-Aviv. Stopover in Amsterdam

KLM wing view

With all of the changes to Air Canada's Aeroplan program (the "altitude program" for frequent flyers), it has become much less attractive for many people to fly Air Canada regularly.  For starters, Air Canada now awards Aeroplan points at a greatly reduced rate for most flights.  With some partners, no Aeroplan miles are earned at all.  And the price for an Air Canada flight is often several hundred dollars more than a flight on one of the other airlines.

So I decided to take a cheaper flight on a different system.  I flew KLM this time from Toronto to Tel-Aviv with a lengthy stopover in Amsterdam.  The price was significantly lower than any available Star Alliance flight.  Only flights with Turkish Air or Alitalia were close in price.  Since I was traveling with someone this time - and he was changing through Amsterdam, I decided to join him.  I should note that he purchased a KLM flight, round trip, Toronto to Tel-Aviv, for just over $700 Cdn including all taxes.  That was at least $500 less than the lowest priced Air Canada or El Al flight.  These are my notes about the flight and about the stopover in Amsterdam.

Overall, I would say that it was quite fun to stop and spend the day in Amsterdam.  But to do so, you have to get through the KLM flight, which was brutal, compared to just about any other airline that I have used in the past 5 years (and reviewed on this site).

The main advantage of KLM was the price.  It was quite a bit cheaper than just about any other carriers - other than Turkish or Alitalia.  I was considering trying one of those but opted for a day in Amsterdam.

KLM leaves Toronto from Pearson International's Terminal 3, which is the older terminal.  There was little difficulty in the boarding process.  We were offered lounge access for about $30 Cdn (I had no special status on KLM so I would not have been able to get into the lounge otherwise).  My flying companion decided that this was a good idea so we spent a couple of hours in the lounge.  It was not nearly as nice as the Air Canada lounge in Terminal 1.  The food and drink selections were more limited.  Even the seats were less comfortable.  But even with the additional cost of paying for the lounge, flying KLM was still far less expensive than Air Canada.

Boarding was quite a jungle.  It was fairly disorganized, although the ground staff did their best to board passengers by row number.  They tried to stick to that but it was all taking place in such a crowded space that it seemed like a far lengthier and more disorganized process than many other airlines.

The biggest problem with KLM was the seats.  While I may have gained a couple of pounds since my last flight, this clearly felt like the narrowest seat I have sat in over the course of my five years traveling back and forth between Toronto and Israel.  I could barely get into the seat, let alone move in any direction once I was in it.  I was sitting at window seat and there were two people in the other seats next to me (the plane configuration was 3-4-3).  I was so uncomfortable, I just didn't know what to do.  I couldn't concentrate on the book I had, so I wound up watching a really dumb movie.

The plane did have personal entertainment systems, though they were the old-style systems, like those used on many Austrian Air planes.  The screen was low resolution and was not a touch-screen.  The selection was quite limited.  The sound was terrible.  While this was still a step up over El-Al (the planes between Toronto and Israel have no personal screens), it was nowhere close to the systems used by other airlines like Air Canada, United, US Air, Lufthansa, etc.,.

I had ordered an Asian vegetarian meal.  It was one of the smallest meals I have seen on a transatlantic flight.  It was served more than 2 hours into the flight (which was only 6 1/2 hours in total to begin with).  The meal included lentils, white rice, tofu and salad but I was still quite hungry.  The "house" wine was a South African Cabernet-Shiraz.  It was tasty.  The flight attendants also offered a variety of after dinner drinks including cognac.  So the drink service was comparable to most of the other European airlines or Air Canada.  (The American airlines all charge $7 for a bottle of lousy wine).  The flight attendants were cheerful and friendly and came around often.  I have no complaints about the beverage service or the flight attendants themselves.  But it is difficult to get past the tremendous discomfort of sitting in such a tiny, cramped seat on an overnight flight.

For all of my complaints about flying on KLM from Toronto to Amsterdam, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed being in Amsterdam.  It was my first time.  We had approximately 13 hours from the time our flight arrived in Amsterdam until the next flight to Tel-Aviv.  We decided to try and make the most of it.

Getting to the centre of Amsterdam is quite easy and convenient.  I should note that we first found a locker in the Amsterdam airport to store our carry on bags.  This was a great idea and made our trip that much easier.  Locker locations are clearly marked, easy to find and reasonably priced.  We then took the "inter-city" train from Schipol Airport to Amsterdam Centraal Station.  The cost was about 18 Euros for two of us, round-trip.  The train ride itself was about 15 minutes.  It was smooth and comfortable.

Anne Frank House Line-Up

Our first stop was the Anne Frank House.  I had read that it would have been better to buy tickets in advance to avoid the long line-ups.  But when I had visited the on-line site, about a week before the trip, the advance tickets were already sold out.  Since the attraction is so highly rated, we decided to wait to see it despite the line up.  But I have to say, it was a 2 1/2 hour wait to get into the museum.  It was cold and windy outside, perhaps 10 or 12C.  Not pleasant at all. 

The Museum itself was definitely worth visiting, though ideally without the lengthy wait.  Centred around the life story of Anne Frank and her famous diary, the museum is, essentially, a Holocaust museum, using the story of Anne Frank as the vehicle.  The museum is housed in a reconstructed version of the Frank house and involves climbing up some very steep and narrow staircases and traveling from room to room in the house in which Anne Frank hid from the Nazis for more than two years.  There were some very moving exhibits including the actual Anne Frank diary, the exhibit with information about Auschwitz-Birkenau and a video montage at the end with comments from a range of personalities about the story of Anne Frank.  The museum is apparently one of Amsterdam's most visited tourist sites.  It is a fascinating place and it is heartening to see so many people, from so many different countries, visiting the site.

After our museum visit, we took a short walk over to the Pancake Bakery, a well known and highly recommended pancake house.  Since we had planned this in advance, we had a Google map route.  It was a short walk and very convenient.  I had a veggie pancake - a giant pancake with a melange of stir fried veggies including broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, onions and some feta cheese.  It was quite

Cinnamon Ice Cream Dessert - Pancake Bakery

good.  My dining companion had a salmon cream cheese pancake which was somewhat less tasty.  We both had coffee which was okay but nothing more.  Overall, it was a neat place, moderately priced and reasonably filling.  We shared a dessert - cinnamon flavoured ice cream with fruit compote, Belgian chocolate shavings and whipped cream.  Neither of us ate the whipped cream and we couldn't finish the whole dessert.  But it was quite tasty.

From there, we headed off the old Jewish Quarter.  We had a Google map for this route as well.  We took a short walk, got on a tram car and we were dropped off right next to our destination in less than 10 minutes.  We had purchased an all day pass for the Amsterdam transportation system so, again, this was quite easy and convenient.  Once you buy these passes, you simply swipe the pass as you get on the tram car and then again once you get off.  No cash is used anywhere on this system.

Portuguese Synagogue Amsterdam - Entrance

Our main destination was the Portuguese Synagogue.  This is a wonderful place, originally completed in 1675.  It is a beautiful synagogue with ornate detailing.  When used, it is lit up entirely by candle light with no electricity or heating.  It is currently used on Yom Kippur and on selected special Shabbat services during the year.  It is also used for concerts and some holidays.  Visitors can pay an admission fee and take a tour of the entire synagogue complex with an audio device that provides pre-recorded information about various spots in the complex.  The cavernous synagogue includes rows of original wooden benches, and huge candelabras.

Portuguese Synagogue - "Esnoga" - Amsterdam

Esnoga Respository - Judaica

Esnoga Library

The synagogue complex also includes a basement repository of religious articles - Torah breastplates, crowns, pointers, Etrog boxes and many other items, hand crafted in silver and gold and often studded with ornamental precious or semi-precious stones.  The repository also includes a massive library, that is still in use.

We spent more time than we had planned in this complex and wound up skipping the nearby Amsterdam Jewish museum and the old Ashkenazi synagogue.  But this synagogue (known as the "Esnoga") alone easily justified the lengthy stopover in Amsterdam.

Traveling through Amsterdam, I couldn't help but feel that I was in a special place.  The architectural style of the buildings is attractive, the canals running through the city are enticing and there are so many cafes, museums, interesting stores and other places that I felt that I would need at least another week in Amsterdam - or perhaps several more lengthy stopovers.  We wound up missing the Van Gogh museum, the Rembrandt museum and the other great museums that Amsterdam is known for housing.  We didn't even make it to Amsterdam's unique Sex Museum, though we passed by the entrance.  We also ran out of time to hit the red light district, the famous coffee houses (and hash bars) and the Heineken beer factory.  From what I could see, I think it would be quite a bit of fun to just wander around or bike through the city without any set list of places to visit.

Overall, even though the KLM flight from Toronto to Amsterdam was cramped and uncomfortable, the stopover made it all worthwhile.

We took a train back from Amsterdam to the airport and even had time to wander around the duty free shops for a bit.  Our flight was uneventful.  The plane was very modest with no entertainment screens or other amenities.  Fortunately, it is only a 4 1/2 hour flight to Tel-Aviv, though it arrives at 2:20 a.m., which is also brutal.

Would I do it again?  Well, despite the discomfort of KLM, the price was right and Amsterdam was great.  There is lots more to see there.  So if I have another opportunity to save lots of money on an airline ticket and spend the day in Amsterdam, I will probably do it again, despite the various drawbacks, which, in particular, include the awful flight times and the super-cramped seating. But as you probably know from reading previous blogs, I tend to choose experience over luxury...

More Downgrades at Aeroplan: Mileage Accumulation is Tougher and Tougher

I saw another one of those dreaded "announcements" from Aeroplan announcing mileage accumulation changes, this time for flights on United Airlines.  Aeroplan card holders will now find it even more difficult to achieve the various "Altitude" status levels when collecting Aeroplan miles from some key partners. 

I suppose it was only a matter of time.  Last year, Aeroplan introduced "Tango" flights for the Israel route and other international destinations.  With these tickets, passengers only accumulate 50% of the Aeroplan miles.  Plus, these fares are not eligible for free upgrades to first class.  It would take 20 round trip flights in a year between Toronto and Tel-Aviv on these fares to be eligible for "super elite" status (now called s100k).

Until now, there was at least one way around this problem.  Passengers could fly United from Toronto to Tel-Aviv (through Newark Airport) and still collect 100% of the air miles, even at the cheapest air fares.  Now this latest announcement from Aeroplan indicates that most of the cheapest air fares on United will only provide accumulation of 50% mileage, effective March 31, 2014.  This was already the case with Swiss, Lufthansa, Austrian, Turkish and other partner airlines.  The long and the short of it is that if you are flying with the least expensive air fares, it is getting harder and harder to accumulate Aeroplan points.  It is also worth pointing out that US Air is leaving the Star Alliance effective March 31, 2014 - so perhaps it is no coincidence that United made the change once it realized it had no Star Alliance competition between the U.S. and Israel.

This is not the only negative change that Aeroplan has introduced.  Over the past few years, the "tax and fuel surcharge" has skyrocketed on Aeroplan tickets.  So, let's say you want to use 80,000 points to get a "free" ticket on Air Canada.  It will cost you $680-$800 in "fuel surcharges."  Aeroplan calls these charges "tax and fuel surcharges."  But they aren't really fooling consumers.  These "fuel surcharges" allow for significant profit for Aeroplan on "free" tickets.  They aren't really "fuel surcharges."  They are simply ticket charges.  Paying $800 in surcharges to go to Israel in the winter, for example, is absurd.  You could probably find a ticket on another airline, taxes in, for close to $900, without wasting 80,000 points.

In fact, I looked into taking a trip to Montreal two weeks ago from Toronto.  The "surcharge" was $170.  A ticket with Porter would only cost $199, taxes in, if you could find a deal.  So what kind of "free" ticket is that.when you have to pay $170 AND 15,000 points?

This year, Aeroplan introduced "e-upgrade charges."  If  you are not Super Elite and you want to upgrade your seat on a transatlantic flight into the first class cabin, it will now cost $500, if there happens to be room.  Up until this year, there was no charge. That was one of the incredible benefits of flying Air Canada regularly - the ability to upgrade for free when there was space available.  I guess these changers are all intended to ensure that only the customers paying the much higher fares, on a regular basis, will get the benefits (that they probably won't need as much anyways).

Overall, it seems unlikely that I will come close to making Superelite status this year and it sounds like it will be less and less worthwhile to even try.  Mileage accumulation has become harder and harder, benefits have been reduced significantly and some of the better benefits have been eliminated.

To really try to fool everyone, Aeroplan rolled out its "Distinction" program to run parallel to its Aeroplan program.  Nobody that I have spoken to has been able to determine that there any benefits whatsoever of this program.  At first, the program made it sound like customers could, by achieving "Distinction" status, get discounted rates on Aeroplan tickets.  The advertised discount was as high as 35%.  But, on close reflection, people realized that Aeroplan is only offering the discount on "market rate" fares.  So in other words, let's say that an Aeroplan ticket to Israel would go for 80,000 points.  Aeroplan might say they are "sold out" and the market rate is now 130,000 or even 200,000.  (Or some other ridiculous, inflated, arbitrary number).  "Distinction" status holders will get their percentage discount on that number.  So instead of being able to pay $750 for a "free" ticket along with 80,000 points, you can now pay about 84,500 and $750, when the "market rate" is 130,000 points.  If the "market rate" is 200,000....well, you follow?

For someone flying back and forth on a long haul flight - like the Toronto-Tel-Aviv route, seven or eight times a year, this was enough, up until last year, to earn Super-Elite status and get some great benefits like free upgrades, double Aeroplan miles, wider available for "free" tickets and other perqs.  You could do this, even while buying the cheapest fares.  But now, it looks like you would have to pay an average of at least $300 to $500 more per ticket, which adds up considerably.

The difficulty is that there are very few options for Canada-Israel "commuters."  El Al still lacks the same in-flight amenities and has a horrible mileage accumulation program.  If an El Al ticket would get passengers full mileage accumulation on another system's program, that might start to make the decision a bit more complicated.

Ultimately, for a direct flight between Toronto and Tel-Aviv, Air Canada still offers the most convenient flight from Toronto and significantly better service.  The flight leaves at 5:30 p.m. and flies overnight, arriving in Israel at about 11:00 a.m. This is a great schedule, although it would probably be better if it were to leave around 8:00  or even 9:00 p.m.

The flight back on Air Canada, which is a 13 hour day time flight, is atrocious.  It leaves at 12:30 p.m. Israel time and arrives at 6:30 p.m. in Toronto.  The flight goes on forever.  For flights from Israel to Toronto, in my view, it is better to fly El Al or take United through New Jersey on its overnight flight.  At least that way, you can get some sleep.

Overall, the cumulative effect of all of these changes at Aeroplan is that the program seems to become worse and worse each year, while the benefits seem to be fewer and fewer.  Its quite unfortunate.  Maybe one day, some other airline, like Westjet, will start offering flights back and forth to Israel at a reasonable price with decent amenities.  For now, there are even fewer good choices.

Air Canada "E-Upgrades"...More Costs For Non-Super Elite Travellers

Well the "free ride" is just about over...or at least the free upgrade ride.  In a warm and fuzzy email earlier this week - Air Canada announced that starting on March 1, 2014, it will charge "e-upgrade add-ons" for passengers looking to upgrade into the executive cabin from economy class on all flights other than those within North America.  For this year, at least, Super Elite members (now called "Altitude 100k") will be exempt from these charges.  But for all other travellers, it will cost $500 plus a pile of e-upgrade points to move up into the executive cabin.

The deterioration of benefits for non-super elite passengers over the past couple of years has been significant.  Last year, Air Canada introduced its "Altitude" program and effectively reduced the status of benefits for most Aeroplan members, other than previously named "Super Elite."  These changes made it much more difficult, if not impossible, for non-super elite passengers to be upgraded into executive first.

Now with the latest change, passengers hoping to upgrade from a cheap fare into executive first will have to pay $500 unless they are Superelite 100K.  That's $500 in addition to the exorbitant number of e-upgrade points that they will need- which have become harder and harder to collect.

There is now a greater and greater discrepancy between the value of Air Canada's highest level status, Altitude 100K and all other levels.

For those travelling back and forth between Israel and Canada, this will reduce the benefit of flying Air Canada for anyone travelling less than 8 1/2 times a year. Air Canada still offers a direct flight, with AC power outlets, personal entertainment screens and complementary alcohol (to name a few of the benefits).  But the loss of the ability to get a free upgrade, even once in a while, is a major change and it is certainly not a positive one.

The flip side is that anyone who is close to Altitude 100K status by the end of December will need to consider the value of taking an extra flight just to meet the required threshold.  The value of having 100K status will now include free upgrades (with e-upgrade points), double Aeroplan miles on Air Canada and United flights, and the ability to use Aeroplan points for priority bookings, even when most reward seats are no longer available.

For passengers on the Tel-Aviv-Toronto route, this will affect, most significantly, those passengers who might be flying 4 to 7 times a year.  Only two or three years ago, passengers in that category would have enjoyed regular upgrades to executive first at no additional charge.  Now they will be lucky to be eligible and when they are, it may cost more than half of the price of the ticket (during low season).

So if you are an Altitude member, but not 100K, the time to enjoy the free upgrades is now - or between now and March 1, 2014.  After that, well, luxury will have its price...

Here is the link to the Air Canada announcement:  Air Canada Add Ons

Superelite - Toronto-Tel-Aviv Route: Review and Comments

Leaving Israel Nov 2012

This past year, I have taken advantage of Air Canada "Superelite" status, which I managed to acquire by travelling back and forth between Toronto, Canada and Tel-Aviv, Israel.  This status is achieved by flying back and forth on this route 8.5 times (17 one way trips).  An advantage of Air Canada is that it is part of the "Star Alliance," so you can also accumulate points, for this route, on United, U.S Air, Lufthansa, Austrian Air and Swiss as well as some other airlines.  (Though I have to say, I am simply not interested in flying to Israel on Turkish Airlines...).  It is worth mentioning that Lufthansa and Austrian do not always provide full Aeroplan points accumulation.  For some fares, Austrian does not provide any points.  So if you are close to the borderline of making a status goal - it can be quite costly to take a trip with the wrong airline or ar the wrong airfare...

One of the big advantages of being Superelite is that you can collect Air Canada upgrade points and then use the points to try to upgrade into an Executive First Class seat.  Although you can also do this with Elite status, it is harder to get the upgrades.   Air Canada gives out 15 upgrade points for each 20,000 miles flown but then charges 17 points for upgrades on this route.  You also get an initial alotment at the beginning of the year.  If you have the upgrade points, you can phone Air Canada or log on to the website one week before the flight (to the minute) and request an upgrade.  Superelite flyers will often be upgraded during the week.  Most others trying to get an upgrade will have to show up at the airport and hope for the best.

The biggest advantage of flying in the Executive First Cabin is that the seats recline completely flat into beds.  For the flight from Toronto to Tel-Aviv, this is terrific.  Since the flight leaves Toronto at abou 5:30 p.m., the timing is perfect.  You can have a meal and then go to sleep and wake up about 7 or 8 hours later just in time to arrive.  The flight back is a different story.  Air Canada only flies from Tel-Aviv to Toronto during the day - leaving at about 12:45 p.m. and arriving in Toronto at 6:20.  This is the most significant drawback of flying Air Canada.  The flight is almost 13 hours long, all during the day.  Even with a reclining seat, this is still a dreadfully long flight.

Air Canada offers some very nice menu options on its Executive First Service.  I would describe my eating habits as "liberal kosher," which means that I will eat dairy and fish out of the house, though our house is strictly kosher.  I have tried ordering kosher meals (for much of the time that I have been commuting) but they are simply horrible.  Mainly carbohydrates and beef.  Nothing is fresh.  And due to the various banned ingredients by different rabbis, including many vegetables, the meals seem to be less and less healthy.  So I have also tried vegetarian, asian vegetarian, Indian vegetarian...and other vegetarian meals.  But when flying on Air Canada Executive First, they offer a fish option and that is suitable for me.

Main Course - Salmon on wild rice with asparagus

This is a bit of a risky strategy since the fish can run out.  If that happens - and you can't eat the chicken or beef - you can go hungry.  But the helpful Air Canada staff are then usually able to find an extra Kosher meal on this route from the economy class cabin so there is something to eat.  Of course, superelite flyers get their choice of meals first (supposedly), so when I have been upgraded, I have almost always been able to get a fish dinner.  Here is the salmon dish, served on  wild rice with asparagus.  Quite a good meal for airplane food - in my experience.

Cheese Platter

After the main course, there are usually some different dessert options.  While this may not be a great choice for watching calories, every now and then I can't resist a cheese platter...I might try to eat the cheese without the crackers to save a handful of calories...and the grapes are pretty healthy..Since I am not doing this that often, might as well enjoy the offering along with a glass (or two) of a big oaky California Cabernet...

Fruit Platter

The cheese platter is not the only dessert.  There is usually a subsequent choice of either a three-scoop ice cream platter...or a fruit platter.  (If you are really trying to take advantage of the occasion, you can request both and sometimes get it...not that I would ever know about this kind of gluttonic request).  So, as you have probably guessed, of course, I went with the fruit platter to wash away all of those cheese calories.  I'm not sure that it really works that way...  I am refusing to answer any questions about whether or not I also had the ice cream platter and I certainly do not have any pictures of chocolate, mocha and vanilla ice cream to post on this blog.  Nor do I have any photos of the Remy Martin VSOP Cognac, which is a great finish for this type of meal.

As I mentioned earlier, this would have all been great as a dinner.  However, this was the meal served at abou 2 p.m., near the beginning of a 13 hour flight.  Hard to sleep after that, even after all of these calories.

I try to read, get some work done or watch a few movies.  As it gets later, the sun starts to set and there are some great views from the window.  The Air Canada movies selection is not as varied as the selection offered by United Airlines.  But there were some interesting movies.  I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Little Shop of Horrors.  I hadn't seen either of these movies in years, so it was quite fun to go back to these two bizarre flics.

Finally, as the flight approached Toronto, about two hours out, there was a second meal service.  For the second meal, the choices are only meat choices.  But I had requested, early on, that the crew save me a vegetarian meal and they agreed to do so.  So I had this vegetarian pasta dish, which was quite light in comparison to everything that I had eaten earlier in the day... I believe that it was made with eggplant and zucchini, though I could be wrong.

If you are thinking of trying something like my completely insane commuting schedule, you should have a careful look at Air Canada's 2013 Aeroplan changes.  Essentially, Air Canada has scaled the benefits back dramatically for most categories of frequent flyers.  It will be much harder to achieve Superelite status on this type of route and the benefits will be reduced.  A few examples:

1.  The cheapest fares - "Tango" will now be treated as a lower class between Toronto and Tel-Aviv and will only allow for 50% mileage accumulation.  If you fly
Tango fares, you would need 17 round-trip flights in a year to get Superelite designation.

2.  Less upgrade points will be awarded for every 20,000 miles flown.

3.  Other categories of Air Canada frequent flyers will lose many different benefits.  The most significant impact will be on the "Elite" members who, up until 2012, enjoyed most of the benefits of the Superelite flyers, with some minor distinctions.  That will change dramatically. 

For me, it looks like I will barely make it to Superelite for 2013 but it is now much less likely that I will be upgraded as often as I was in 2012.  Even so, for this route between Toronto and Tel-Aviv, Star Alliance still seems to offer a much better package of services than the alternative of flying El-Al.

Air Canada or El Al?

Over the past year or so, I have flown a number of times between Toronto and Israel on both Air Canada and El Al - the only two airlines that currently fly direct between these two cities.

While there are positives and negatives about each - here are a few comments.

Aeroplan (Air Canada's loyalty program)is a huge plus in favour of Air Canada. You can collect more than 10,500 points on a round trip flight - 2/3 of the way to a short haul ticket. After just about 3 flights in a year - you get upgraded to Elite Status - and you wind up with a range of benefits - including being able to take 3 bags instead of 2, bypassing most line ups, and getting some upgrade certificates. Many of these benefits can be used with any Star Alliance airline - not just Air Canada. El Al's loyalty plan, "Matmid" is much more limited, has fewer partners, and generally requires you to fly much more often to obtain the benefits of the program. You even have to pay to join it!

Air Canada has personal video/tv screens on its Toronto-Tel Aviv route - with a wide selection of movies and audio entertainment. The seats feel more comfortable and the overall experience is somewhat more easy going. El Al has a few portable units available for rent on each flight - but most passengers are stuck trying to watch the communal movie.

El Al currently has much better flight times. You can leave Israel late at night - just before or just after midnight, depending on the time of year - and sleep for most of the 12 1/2 - 13 hour flight. Flying from Toronto to Israel, you can also fly in the early or late evening. This is a huge plus for El Al - since the flight times also affect how easily you can adjust between time zones. Air Canada recently changed its flight times to travel at 12:45 p.m from Israel for all of its flights. This means a 13 hour, daytime flight. It makes for a very long day.

El Al has its own security system, which is generally more sensible, thorough and comforting than that of any other airline. Recently, Air Canada added in supplementary security for flights leaving Toronto to Tel Aviv - but the advantage here goes to El Al.

Pricewise - they are usually about the same - though occasionally you can find a better deal with one or the other which can make a difference of as much as $500.

With El Al, all the food is Kosher. So if you are interested in a Kosher meal, the food is more likely to be fresh, properly cooked and properly thawed - than Air Canada - where you usually wind up with frozen fruit pieces for breakfast.

In the area of "intangibles" - well it's Canadian service versus Israeli. Air Canada would probably be more attentive and polite; El Al - less formal - and sometimes friendlier - though often much less attentive.

One other option (aside from the various flights available with transfers in Europe and New York) is to fly through Philadelphia with US Air. You can still get the Aeroplan points - but you can get the evening flight back from Tel Aviv. The hassle is dealing with U.S. customs - including checking back through in Philadelphia.