Last week (in 2014), I flew on Air Canada rouge for the first time. They began operating on July 1, 2013 with a start-up fleet of two Airbus A319 aircraft and two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. By the end of this month, they’ll operate a total of 27 aircraft including 19 Airbus A319s and 8 Boeing 767-300ERs.
At launch, their planes serviced a network of 14 routes flying from Toronto and Montreal to Europe and the Caribbean but they’re now up to a total of 52 routes from Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver—including 11 to Europe.
I recently flew them roundtrip from Los Angeles to Calgary in both classes. Here are 10 things you need to know about flying Air Canada rouge:
1. Same check-in as Air Canada
Although Air Canada rouge is a separate airline from Air Canada, you still check-in for your flight as if you’re flying Air Canada.
2. Cool flight attendant uniforms
All the Air Canada rouge flight attendants that I came across were young and attractive, and sporting funky uniforms that included a gray pin-striped trilby hat. The look was created by Maybelline and Redken and their burgundy Fluevog shoes were designed and manufactured by Canada’s own Fluevog Shoes. Rob Lowe famously made fun of their uniforms but I like them—especially the hat.
3. The planes aren’t brand-spanking-new
I was expecting Air Canada rouge’s planes to be brand-spanking-new since the airline is only a year old, but they’re actually just converted Air Canada planes. According to Renee Smith-Valade, Vice President of Customer Experience, “the aircrafts Air Canada rouge operate (the Airbus A319 and the Boeing 767-300ER) have been transferred from Air Canada’s fleet. Air Canada rouge aircraft are restyled inside and out. They have modern charcoal and burgundy cabin interiors, featuring new Slimline seats with a streamlined profile, and branding accents throughout the cabin (e.g. bulkheads, curtains) and onboard service elements (e.g. tray liners in Premium rouge). Both aircraft types sport a sleek white, red and burgundy livery that clearly establishes Air Canada rouge as part of the Air Canada family.”
4. There are no built-in entertainment systems
Although Air Canada rouge’s planes don’t have Air Canada’s seatback entertainment systems, they do have a very cool app that you need to download BEFORE getting on the plane. Air Canada rouge aircraft are all equipped with Player, a next generation in-flight entertainment system that streams unlimited live entertainment to customers’ personal electronic devices. Customers should bring their own fully-charged laptop or iPad, iPod, or iPhone and download the latest Air Canada app (from the Apple App Store). For those with a laptop, make sure you have Adobe Flash Player installed. Availability on other platforms like Android is coming this fall.
5. You can rent an iPad
If you don’t own a tablet, you can rent an iPad on-board for $10 (free for Premium rouge passengers). They hand them out after takeoff.
6. There are no electrical outlets
Rouge planes don’t have electrical or USB outlets to charge your devices so be sure to have everything fully charged before getting onboard.
7. Coach seats are TIGHT
I flew on rouge’s A319 and the seats are really tight in coach. The A319s are configured with 3×3 seating and they only have 29 inches of pitch (distance between the back of your seat and the back of the seat in front). In comparison: American Airlines has 30 inches, United has 31, Virgin America has 32 and regular Air Canada has between 31-35. The good news is rouge does have 18-inch wide seats, which are wider than American’s and Virgin America’s. FYI: On rouge’s other style of aircraft, the 767, which flies longer distances, they offer 30 inches of pitch in economy.
8. You can buy food
Just like on Air Canada, you can buy food—including pizza—on rouge on flights in coach. But on their flights to Europe, they do offer complimentary meals and non-alcoholic beverages. FYI: Food pic is from Premium rouge.
9. Premium rouge (UPDATED on May 19, 2016)
Air Canada rouge let me know that after I took my original flight that they improved their premium product on their Airbus 319 aircraft. The premium cabin in Air Canada rouge’s fleet of 20 Airbus 319 aircraft has been converted from 3×3 seating configuration with a blocked middle seat to two side-by-side larger seats in a 2×2 configuration. This seating offers the same or more space than equivalent seating on Air Canada rouge’s Boeing 767 aircraft. They also increased carry-on space throughout its Airbus A319 fleet by 30 per cent with the installation of new overhead bin doors – dubbed “pillow doors” because of their curved shape – which allow carry-on items to be stowed more efficiently. In addition, they also have full power charging capacity with a 110-volt power plug and a high-powered USB port at every seat.
10. They write the flight number on landing cards
This was a first for me…When the flight attendants handed out the landing cards for Canadian immigration, the airline and flight number were already filled out. When I asked the flight attendant if they always do this they said they try to on all rouge flights. That’s a nice touch.
Because Air Canada decided to pack in way too many seats on this plane I would only take Rouge again on a short flight or if I was upfront in Premium Rouge. How about you? Have you flown Rouge?
rouge employees are union but compensated at much lower levels than mainline Air Canada staff…except pilots who resisted the pay decrease because they bid/fly both rouge and AC routes and exercised more bargaining power than the ditzy 20 year old cabin crew hired by rouge.
All the things people say about how rouge is a downgraded “discount” product in everything except ticket prices is true! The thing that is most annoying is that Air Canada has taken entire routes away from mainline and classed them as rouge. Now if you fly certain “sun destination” routes (e.g., YVR to LAX or YYC to Phoenix) and want to accumulate Air Canada status miles you have NO CHOICE but to be treated like an excursion customer. The further spread of this rouge rash to European routes really makes AC a second-class airline.
Good for WestJet in offering gold and silver tier rewards to air canada altitude elite members. If they do it again this year for those who missed the cut-off in 2014 they will grab even more North American business away from Air Canada who seems to think that Canadians will just put up with paying more for less on rouge!
My mom just arrived up from Bahamas on Rouge. She always books AC but said was surprised to see the Rouge plane show up. My mom is turning 80, and about as big as my leg. We have to turn the fans off in the house so she does not blow away.
When I met her in Toronto the first thing she told me was how terrible the seats were for space.
Im just sitting down to book a YYZ to NAS flight, and decided to see what this Rouge was all about. Im over 6 feet and I have to tell you Im getting a much more warm and cozy feeling to book with WestJet. They are basically the same price. I agree WJ is friendlier, and the seating was acceptable.
If this is AC discount airline, where is the discount going????
Is there a plug for ur iPad and that kind of stuff
No power on Rouge. But it doesn’t matter as if the seat in front reclines you cannot work anyway. Take a sleeping pill.
take westjet, i have flown all over the world for over 50 years and air canada used to be my preferred airline. now i will fly any alternative i can find. a 2 hour flight in the space they now allow is far too uncomfortable. i would not even consider a longer flight
i guess i’m doomed. i booked from montreal to rome on july 17 .boeing 767-300er rouge
anybody has any good reviews on air canada rouge? I chose air canada instead of airtransat as I had a crappy experience on airtransat as well (their seats r horrible!). what are people’s positive experiences with air canada, if any
I love AC…. But rouge sucks… Stay away…
are there any good reviews on air canada rouge?? I thought it would be a better option than airtransat but now I’m reconsidering. I also had issues with air transat and how tight the seats were!
I was rouged as well and am also 6’4″. My back is still killing me. I travel AC for the perks of being loyal. I was primarily Westjet or anything but AC for a few years but decided to try them out again. It was very good until I booked and Air Canada flight and ended up on Rouge. I hadn’t thought about it until know but where is my discount for the change. If I am “Rouged” once more then I am done with the bast#$ds. It was truly aweful.
Oh no! Your back is STILL killing you from sitting for a few hours? I think your issues run deeper than just an airline seat. Air travel is a privilege not a right, you should have done your research before booking. It’s your own fault.
Why the attitude? This happened to me a year ago. I’ve never been on a flight before where I physically did not fit in the seat (I’m 5’11”), so while I ‘did my research’, I didn’t check the legroom since it’s not been an issue before. After my 3.5 hour flight, I arrived in good time to go and see people for a few hours, but instead decided to go to the hotel and ice my knees that had bumped into the seat ahead for all that time.
This has nothing to do with ‘privilege’ vs ‘right’. It’s a question of quality of service vs cost. And a surprise downgrade seems like a form of breach of contract.
So yes, I won’t make the same mistake again, and it seems that means ‘no Air Canada, over 1.5 hours’ if any non-rouge flight can be turned into a rouge.
Not entirely sure why anyone would give like what Dailyflyer dished out unless they were somehow affiliated with Rouge. I am super elite and have been for years. I am also 6’4″ 220lbs and have been “Rouged”. Premium is like economy on a real plane so for the exorbitant upcharge, it’s just not worth it. I was eating when the person in front reclined into my lap and had my entire meal rifled at me at high speed! I went so far as to write an email complaining about how horrific the flight experience was, but also to complain that there are just no options to book a non-rouge flight to those destinations unless I book on other airlines. Perhaps sensing that I was simply going to leave, status be damned, they gave me a $250 credit as an apology. I was shocked but then I realized that they must be losing customers in droves to offer up $250 and I didn’t even ask for anything, just that they offer one flight per route that was non rouge for those of us that simply can’t fit into their Liliputian seats. Anyway, might be worth an email, you never know. :-)
I love your sense of humor! Great coments!
Are you knutz? When anyone buys something there are minimum reasonable expectations based on past experience. When you buy a bag of milk do you not expect it to come in a container?.. How would you feel if you paid for it and then the clerk pulled out a hose and started dumping it? ‘Everyone who shops here knows you’ve got to bring your own bucket.’ You’re paying for this, it’s not a gratuity and you should get (within reason) what’s expected.
Sorry, I thought we might be limited in ‘size of post’. Rouge is clearly not meeting any reasonable expectations except their own. Ignoring the other “reduced” services, when a person who is not over-sized can’t comfortably fit in the seat they’ve rented, IMHO that borders on fraudulent. What’s next?.. Will they provide you with the leather cap & goggles for a small $10 charge – Oh, by the way, we’ll also give you bilingual instructions on how to spin the prop and pull the chocks when the pilot is ready for take off.
Those stupid hats and their repeated use of the word “Rouge” made me never want to travel with them again. Everything else was terrible but the hats and attempt at branding were too much for me.
I love what you guys are up too. Such clever work and coverage!
Keep up the awesome works guys I’ve included you guys to my blogroll.
Super Elite? Where did you get the idea that they are non-unionized?
They are CUPE members just the same as the Mainline FA’s
Yes–I have to agree 100% with all the negative comments. I fly Air Canada regularly–once a month–Montreal to Toronto and Toronto to Phoenix. I think Air Canada has simply re-configured their existing aircraft to squeeze more passengers in to the plane. I have never complained before about any Air Canada Flight until I discovered Rouge. I am 5ft 8 and my knees touch the seat in front of me. On A 5 hour flight to Phoenix from Toronto–this is not fun—you just want to get there and get off. The seat reclines–maybe 2 inches?? So if you do log in to their weird entertainment system with your Ipad–it is right in your face as the seats are just too close to the one in front–same with eating any meal–its plain uncomfortable.
May a 1 hour Flight from Montreal to Toronto–you can put up with this–but not any longer.
Air Canada is going to lose –Big Time on this Venture.
I have already used WestJet a number of times on these flights that I take every month. Old Planes–But very comfortable—with Satellite TV–and a crew that is very professional—but will always make you laugh and have fun though the boring safety instructions—they have a great time with the passengers–even in coach.
Thank god WestJet just this year have regular convenient flights from Toronto to Phoenix—because–I am on them now. I have also advised friends about Rouge–one in particular always flys Air Canada–after telling about Rouge–he booked WestJet–Direct to Phoenix–he is 6 ft–and would be very uncomfortable on Rouge
If I cant Get WestJet –I have options to and from Phoenix- US AIR–Delta–American Airlines and United.
I would rather take a quick 1 stop flight now–than book Rouge–Direct
Question for Air Canada Rouge—what is the point of getting 2 or 3 more rows of seats–when eventually you will have 5 rows empty- because of unhappy customers–and the rest- that are onboard–unhappy customers. As you can see–everyone is already shopping around.
Air Canada–very bad idea—were rated #1 –but are headed for last place now
I am also a Super Elite flying more than 125K a year and agree with everybody that Air Canada Rouge is garbage. Fly to Vegas a lot and not so much any more directly specifically because of these Rouge flights. I modified my trip to fly to PHX and rent a car to drive over and sure enough, PHX is now rouge as well.
Air Canada Rouge – you are killing yourselves with the seats you offer and the lack of room. I don’t mind the entertainment being used on individuals tablets or phones and that makes sense but some things you have done such as the lack of leg room does not. Did you test this solution with any consumers and understand their needs or is this purely a finance equation not taking into account the people that pay your bills. Yes but cutting leg room you get more seats on a plane but that doesn’t mean anybody on the plane is happy. You’ve done a great job at scaring customers and as with myself I will start flying Westjet and Westjet is starting to offer you up the same status that you have with Air Canada so not too many downfalls to switch to different flights and routes.
WestJet is way better than Rouge
I know tell my listeners and guests (I own a travel agency) that I will pay more to fly WestJet than AC. While I find the AC service on the aircraft similar (though often not as friendly) It is the way WJ handles customer concerns. Had a recent situation where there was no food left on the flight. When I returned, a five minute phone call got me a 20.00 credit as I had paid for Plus seats. WJ empowers their people to solve issues. We have to call both all the time, WJ wait times are minimal in comparison to AC. As far as Rouge, I am flying them for the first time and called to ask them why the have the most complaints online and in person of any airline. They make the purely charter airlines look good. Explanation was sad and what we all know. Will go on my Trans Atlantic in a few weeks and trying to be positive. It is only 8 hours of my life so hopefully it won’t be too awful.
Yeah, just booked a flight from Newark to Venice with a switch of planes in Toronto on what I thought was an Air Canada flight, only to find out it’s Rouge. Never hear df about it, sounds scary… At least going back is on Swiss Air, hope that’s halfway decent!!!
OMG…..Rouge is just awful. Between May and night before last I flew 10 times between LA and Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary etc.) and each time it has been worse than before. The space between my nose and the seat in front of me was 11.5 inches!!!!! Really! My luggage has been so beaten up and rummaged through that I don’t trust them. The flight from Calgary was almost comical except that our flight took off at the exact time we SHOULD have been landing in L.A.. We sat on the plane for over 2 hours with only a sip of water offered. I finally told the stewardesses to STOP being so Canadian by apologizing for the airline. The flights into LAX are ALWAYS LATE.
Wow… So is Aeroflot… Your comment doesn’t really say much.
For point #6, which type of aircraft’s do not have an electrical outlet? I recently flew Rouge on the 767, and there were power outlets between the seats, underneath the tray table to the left. Only in middle and aisle seats.
On the 767-300 West Jet aircraft their seat pitch is 31 inches for economy, rouge is 30 inches. So when comparing the seats I’m not sure how people are saying Rouge isn’t as good as westjet its an INCH.
Hi:
The entertainment section write-up in “10 things to know about flying Air Canada rouge” says, “For those with a laptop, make sure you have Adobe Flash Player installed.” Does this refer to a laptop running Microsoft Windows? If yes, how do you access the Rouge system – just turn the PC on, or?
Any help appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Did you get an answer to this? Wonder if the AC Rouge player will work on a Microsoft Surface?
thanks,
Just came off a Rouge flight and the player didn’t work for me on my Surface Pro 4 – it only played trailers, but not the full length movie. It has something to do with the DRM plugin that is also required. In short:
– Make sure that you have the Adobe Flash Player installed and enabled
– Make sure that you also install and explicitly enable the Digital Rights Management plugin that seems to be the cause of the non-playing movie.
The web-based inflight help is completely insufficient to help resolve this and I didn’t bother to ask the flight attendants for tech assistance.
Oh well – better luck next time – if in fact there is a next time.