A NEW Boeing 777 IN AIR CANADA’S SKY
April 4, 2007

Air Canada adds new Boeing 777 to fleet
 
Montie Brewer, president of Air Canada
More than 30 years ago, Air Canada welcomed a new bird to the skies: the Boeing 747. I remember queuing up for hours to see the original model. Last Saturday, hundreds of people relived the same experience, this time for the 747’s younger sibling, the Boeing 777-333ER.

With their eyes searching the sky, Air Canada employees and their families gathered on the tarmac at Trudeau Montreal airport, waiting for the two stars of the day. Still in service since its inaugural flight 70 years ago, Air Canada’s very first plane, a Lockheed 10A, approached the landing strip and did a low-altitude flyover. A few minutes later, the company’s new aircraft, the Boeing 777, did the same before landing.

Twenty-five lucky Air Canada employees each won a seat for the inaugural flight of the 777, from Seattle to Montreal. They exited the plane, followed by Air Canada president Montie Brewer, who cracked open a bottle of champagne as confetti flew through the air.

The newly christened plane is the first of eight Boeing 777 models being delivered to Air Canada. Air Canada employees had the opportunity to approach the plane and visit the cabin.

Once arriving inside, the Super Business Class grabs one’s attention. The arrangement is completely different from previous aircraft models and quite original. Here, each passenger has its own “cocoon” where a comfortable armchair turns into a bed, and the television screen is movable. Thanks to its design, all 42 seats have direct access to the aisle.

 
Economy Class is also exceptionally comfortable. The 307 seats are wider and have adjustable headrests. In front of each passenger, a screen offers over 80 hours of video programming and 50 hours of audio programming at your fingertips, on-demand. Each seat also has a 110V electrical outlet for laptop computers. Rest areas for the staff have been created above the passenger cabin.

Air Canada’s Boeing 777 will service the Toronto-London route starting in the next few days, and eventually will service Toronto-Frankfurt, Toronto-Tokyo, Vancouver-Tokyo, Toronto-Hong Kong and Vancouver-Sydney.

Business class and economy seat configurations

 

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