Air Canada is taking its service to a whole new level, and is giving other North American airlines something to seriously think about.
Canada’s largest airline today announced its new “Signature Service,” including lie-flat seats on some flights.
Available today for international customers and, starting June 1 on select flights within North America, the new service makes Air Canada the first North American airline to designate aircraft with lie-flat seats for premium customers on select non-stop, transcontinental flights within Canada and to the U.S., including overnight daily flights from Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Francisco to Toronto.
I don’t know about you, but I often visit the west coast and sometimes need to be home the next morning. Having the option for a lie-flat seat will be tempting for regular folks, and likely a “must-book” for folks who regularly travel in business class.
Air Canada Signature Service customers will receive priority service at every stage of the journey, including access to airport concierge services, expedited check-in and security clearance, priority baggage handling and preferential boarding, all features that business folks and most others will love.
Customers will also enjoy Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge access and, for eligible customers travelling to international destinations from Toronto-Pearson, access to the exclusive
Air Canada Signature Suite, featuring à la carte restaurant dining from a menu created by celebrated Canadian chef David Hawksworth.
“Our new Air Canada Signature Service and Air Canada Signature Class brands reflect the ongoing refinements to our premium travel service,” said Benjamin Smith, President of Passenger Airlines, Air Canada. “We know our premium customers travelling on longer flight itineraries place a high value on convenience and comfort when in airports or onboard an aircraft, and with Air Canada Signature Service we provide a level of service unsurpassed in North America on every wide-body flight,”
“Customers travelling Air Canada Signature Class on international itineraries and, beginning in June, on select transcontinental flights within North America, will receive seamless Air Canada Signature Service. They will enjoy added amenities throughout their journey, from curbside-to-curbside and at all points in between.”
Lie-flat beds on an Air Canada B787.
Air Canada recently introduced basic economy on select, limited flights where they need to boost traffic. This is a move in the entirely opposite direct, a program that undoubtedly will help them attract high-end fliers and business people who need or want lie-flat beds on long flights and are willing to pay for the privilege.
The move also could strengthen the airline’s bid to lure travellers who fly other airlines from the U.S. to overseas destinations, a key plank in the Air Canada business model for the coming years.
“Available starting today on all Air Canada international flights and beginning June 1 on select transcontinental flights within North America, Air Canada Signature Service and Air Canada Signature Class incorporate and elevate the award-winning attributes of Air Canada’s International Business Class, featuring its next generation lie-flat suites,” officials said.
Air Canada Signature Service will be available on select trans-border and domestic Canadian transcontinental flights when operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 777, Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 aircraft. This includes routes between Toronto and the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, and between Vancouver and the cities of New York-Newark and Montreal.
Air Canada Signature Class also introduces new amenities to make the journey even more comfortable, including:
Other improvements include:
– Updated, onboard menu items from chef David Hawksworth, including for the first time on flights serving lunch and dinner in North America Air Canada Signature Class starting June 1, and a South Asian menu by chef Vikram Vij on flights to Mumbai and New Delhi, complemented by an expanded wine selection chosen by Air Canada sommelier Véronique Rivest; service on new restaurant style dishware and glassware;
– For transcontinental travellers, enhanced wine and spirits, and the added option of espresso and cappuccino served with dessert or a new cheese selection, while for international travellers Air Canada will now offer Laurent-Perrier champagne; on all routes, customers will be able to enjoy the new Air Canada Signature Cocktail;
– For international travelers, personal comfort items by Canadian brands, including enhanced amenity kits by Want Les Essentiels, with premium care products by vitruvi;
– Mattress pads to enhance the sleep experience;
– At Air Canada’s Toronto-Pearson global hub, full fare Air Canada Signature Class customers departing on International flights will have access to the Air Canada Signature Suite. The suite is an exclusive airport retreat, where eligible customers can dine à la carte at a complimentary, full-service restaurant from a menu created by chef Hawksworth, or enjoy, Moet & Chandon champagne, fine wines and premium cocktails in an intimate, Canadian-designed and decorated setting;
– For full fare premium cabin customers originating in Toronto-Pearson or arriving at Toronto-Pearson originating from a domestic flight with onward international travel, Air Canada will also provide Air Canada Valet Service, powered by BMW, starting later in 2018. It is the first dedicated service offered by an airline in North America for customers booked in a premium cabin, where a dedicated fleet of BMW sedans whisk customers over the tarmac to connect, making connecting at Toronto-Pearson truly exclusive and seamless.
ROGERS BOOSTING 5G NETWORK
Canadians are one step closer to 5G, the next evolution in wireless that will change the way they connect to the world around them. Rogers this week announced a multi-year network plan that includes working with Ericsson, a North American leader in 5G deployment.
Given how dependent we are on our phones and iPads and such these days, and how much we all seem to love the next big thing in technology and better quality, this should be a significant change for millions of Rogers customers.
“We are at the advent of the fifth generation of wireless networks. Similar to how 4G powered the proliferation of the smartphone and on demand economy, 5G will make the mass communication of IoT a reality, changing how we live and work,” said Jorge Fernandes, Chief Technology Officer, Rogers Communications. “We’re setting the table to lead on 5G with the right infrastructure, spectrum, partners and investments, so we’re ready when the ecosystem is ready. Ericsson has helped pioneer the 5G infrastructure across North America, so we couldn’t think of a better company to support the reliable and consistent network that our customers will use today and in the future with the performance and consistency they expect from us.”
At Rogers Centre on Monday, the companies demonstrated multiple live 5G examples as a part of Rogers 5G testing program. Participants wore virtual reality (VR) glasses to toss a baseball back and forth, virtually shopped in a retail store, and controlled robots with real-time responsiveness. Rogers also demonstrated Quad-band Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) on Gigabit LTE to show how LAA provides high bandwidth, simultaneously across several devices. Rogers Centre is an ideal real-world testing environment with thousands of connected devices, dense concrete, and high peak data usage.
“The future of our businesses, our industries and our daily lives will be impacted by 5G, led by innovative service providers like Rogers. Rogers is taking a significant leap forward today and we are very excited about the opportunity to jointly develop innovative services and new customer experiences,” said Niklas Heuveldop, Head of Market Area North America, Ericsson. “Ericsson is working hard each day to make 5G a reality, here in Canada and around the world. We estimate that there will be one billion 5G subscriptions worldwide by the end of 2023.”
The first generation of wireless networks brought consumers analogue voice calls, then SMS with 2G, web browsing with 3G, and high-speed data and video streaming with 4G. 5G will open up a whole new world, a world that moves beyond connecting people to connecting machines and mass connectivity through the Internet of Things (IoT). Not just about speed, fifth generation wireless technology will deliver always-on reliability and real-time connectivity. With ultra-low latency, the lag between sending a request and the network responding will theoretically drop to one millisecond, 400 times faster than the blink of an eye. This allows for a massive increase in the number of connected devices and a range of applications that require quick responsiveness, like driverless cars, virtual reality and low-power IoT innovations for smart cities.
Rogers network plan includes the continued rollout of its Gigabit LTE network with technology and equipment that is based on the latest global 3GPP standards, including 4×4 MIMO, four-carrier aggregation and 256 QAM. The company will boost and densify its network with small cells and macro sites across the country. Working with Ericsson, Rogers will trial 5G in Toronto and Ottawa, in addition to select cities over the next year.
