What is it like to fly the completely refreshed Air Canada North American Business Class cabins on their once-aging Airbus A320 and A321 single-aisle aircraft? And, more importantly, is it worth the price to upgrade to this premium Business Class product?
Air Canada has given its domestic, Caribbean, and transborder services a fresh face with its new Air Canada Signature Service Dream Cabin. Having flown Air Canada North American business class in these newly refurbished planes extensively over the past year, I believe the refresh is class-leading and currently better than what the other North American airlines are offering. This business class review is not sponsored in any way, and all opinions are my own.
The product isn’t perfect, but it is definitely my pick from the big four carriers in North America offering premium travel. Sorry, Southwest, you didn’t make the cut here!
All New Cabin and In-flight Experience
Flying on Air Canada’s A321 ‘dream cabin’ business class across Canada, North America or to the Caribbean is a very nice experience. At the time of this review, I had just flown Calgary YYC to Toronto YYZ on my first leg of my trip to Trinidad and Tobago. The Flight was on ‘fin’ number 460, a recently fully refreshed Airbus A321-200 with the new 737 Max 8 style cabin.
The fully renovated aircraft includes updated seating, interior panels, LED mood lighting, and new luxurious large luggage bins that Airbus calls the “Airbus Airspace XL design”. You wouldn’t be blamed for mistaking these interiors for Airbus A321 Neos at first glance.
I also loved the new connectivity options detailed below!
Refreshed Airbus Business Class Tech
The cabin refresh includes three really exciting new tech features. All new Bluetooth connectivity to the entertainment system that connects you wirelessly to the Entertainment System. Tail and belly-mounted camera systems provide exterior front-facing camera views on the large touch-screen controlled seatback screen.
Even the Air Canada Boeing 737 Max 8 planes don’t have tail-mounted cams or Bluetooth! I thought it was pretty cool to see the landing gear go up on takeoff from the camera. Finally, reliable, free WIFI that actually works rounds out this tech upgrade.
Free WiFi on Air Canada is Amazing for Long Flights
This year, Air Canada has included free, high-speed WIFI in all cabins across its fleet to Aeroplan members. This includes destinations within North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
I was pleased to finally have usable WIFI on Air Canada after years of struggle, and now having connectivity like you do at home, allows you to stream directly to your device, play games, or simply check emails in flight. The WIFI is amazing, and it’s free!
I’ve previously had terrible luck with AC’s old WIFI included with my Aeroplan Super Elite Status. I never once successfully used the service, and was very disappointed. This new service from Bell, however, is excellent. I’ve used it seamlessly on every Air Canada flight I’ve taken this year in both business and economy.
Inflight Entertainment
I scrolled through the large, bright seatback screen and was quite pleased with Air Canada’s entertainment offering.
DJs from around the world was a current highlight, which was a new music feature onboard. Alongside the music was a wide selection of newly released movies, classic movies and TV shows, and a small handful of podcasts and books on tape by Audible. A large selection of wellbeing and health content was also there from Apple Fitness+.
AC’s Entertainment selection is wide across many genres, including movies and TV collections by Apple TV+ and Disney+ that are pretty extensive, including the OG Star Wars trilogy. French films, to be expected on Canada’s flag carrier, as well as films from India and an international films category. Each category is about 30-40 films deep.
Business Class Seating
The large comfy seats have plenty of shoulder and leg room, with a t-bar style footrest. The seats also have recliner-style rest that deploys with the recline buttons on the console. I continued to fly in this same style seat overnight to the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago on the 737 Max 8 and was surprisingly comfortable. You can see a great diagram here featuring the Air Canada A321 Seating layout.
A bottle of water was at my seat, along with basic earbuds, when I sat down. I liked the additional space under the armrest between the seats; it fit my Bose headphones perfectly. The only downside to this cabin is the tiny Airbus A321 windows, though! Complimentary wine and beer were offered on this flight, so that made up for it.
Air Canada North American Business Class food and beverage service
Plenty of food was provided in AC business class with a choice of French toast and fruit compote or an omelette. I chose the omelette. It was served piping hot with a single chicken sausage and cubed potatoes, with a tasty tomato compote. This is the same meal they have been offering for many years, but it is still tasty. It seems to be an Air Canada classic.
The beverage cart in business class offered full service with mini bottles of prosecco, beer and wine and more. In economy class, beer and wine were also served free of charge even at 7 a.m.!
Conclusion
Air Canada has been completely overhauling their Airbus A320 and A321 cabins over the past few years, with their refreshed look mirroring the experience of the newer Boeing 737 Max 8 and Airbus A220 cabins. Having flown these newly refurbished planes extensively over the first few months of this year, I believe it’s a class-leading refresh for business class amongst North American airlines.
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