Seat Map Air Canada Boeing B777 300ER (77W) North America Layout 2

This is by far the WORST Air Canada long-haul plane I've ever experienced. I was in Economy class in 23K on the way down, and then I upgraded to Business Class on the way back, so have experienced both.

Economy high density class is absolutely horrific, specially if you are over 5'10 or so, or weigh more than 170. There simply is no room for your legs, arms or shoulder, you can only compare the experience to charter cheapo airlines.

In addition, due to cramming so many seats into the Econ, there's less lavatories (long line-ups), no duty free onboard (no room), not enough room for carryon, and very poor service with long waits for food. Carryon bins were full half way through the boarding and it was chaos trying to fit your stuff. Forget about bringing 2 bags or jacket with you expecting it to fit overhead, meaning you need to keep those in your tiny seat further making it less comfortable.

Lastly, while the new entertainment units are nicer than before but since you have so little room the screen is almost in your face if the seat reclines making it hard to watch.

On the way back from HKG, I paid up and got the Business Class (can't remember the seat#, it was window). While obviously it is a much improved seat versus Econ, the layout, and setup is horrendous for a business class charging thousands. The seat is so uncomfortable in any seating position you try to constantly adjust it, your knee hits the side of the seat, and if you get unlucky and get a window seat, you literally must climb over the passenger next to you to get out, are you kidding me? Further, due to more seats cramped the service is suffered compared to regular 777, 330, or 767.


Overall, I would avoid this plane at all costs! Even if you are shorter or petite, the lack of carryon space, long line-up at lavatories, poor service, no duty free, long onboarding, and very poor business class makes this a very poor plane to travel long distance on, although I have no experience with Premium Economy.

My partner and I flew this plane on Air Canada from Toronto to Munich and back again. The flight to Munich, we were in seats 18J&K and on the way back we were ... um ... upgraded to 12A&C.

You can clearly see this is an attempt to add more per-flight profit just by virtue of increasing the number of seats. Unfortunately, this means a few things for passengers: First Class features fewer seats meaning those seeking a Status upgrade are less likely to be successful. Premium Economy gets you the First Class food, but not the wine & liquor selection - and is only really worth the extra expense if you get seats A, C, H or K ... D, E, F, G are not really worth it in my opinion. The seats are more comfortable (mind you, I'm 5'6" so the overhead bin would be comfortable for me) than Economy, but the middle row still seemed crammed. Economy ... was ... just ... terrible. Even for a shorter guy like me, I was uncomfortable for the duration of the seven hour flight - my heart went out to the guy beside me who was easily over 6'.

Unfortunately, the additional seats do not mean additional storage for carry on - so the overhead bins fill up VERY quickly.

On the plus side, there seems to be an upgrade of the entertainment equipment and the front-row seats have a much better piece of folding hardware. The screen can be tilted more freely now when you unfold it from your seat to get a better viewing experience. Plus it is touchscreen.

Overall, my experiences on this plane had me lamenting for when flying was part of the joy of travelling. What was once Economy is now Premium Economy (sort of), being loyal to one carrier gets you less in-flight perks and those with the foresight of travelling light find themselves unrewarded for their courtesy.

Boeing 777-300 Vancouver-London Heathrow 2 Sep 2014

The new business class studio pod is TERRIBLE - narrow, short and ridiculously sized and shaped. It's okay as a seat, but I paid for a good night's sleep. Forget it! I'm 6ft 4 and when the seat turns into a bed, it slides the lower half of your body into a tiny plastic coffin-like box (in the area under the armrests of the two passengers in front) with no room to move your legs at all, and it wasn't long enough for me - so it wasn't humanly possible to lie down!! Hell on earth. As a result, I arrived at LHR tired and irritable, lacking the sleep I had needed and deliberately paid for. The cabin crew was brilliant, but they told me that a lot of other business class passengers had complained about this new seat. It's also difficult to get the seat back up again from a supposed "bed". My seat 2A on C-FIVO was also missing a seat-based flexible reading light. It is a reasonably new aircraft so why on earth was that missing?

Basically, Air Canada has decided to shove more seats in every class onto this aircraft at the expense of comfort and space, and every passenger is short-changed as a result. The 777-300ER that normally takes 359 passengers is being converted to 458 passengers - mine was one of them. The passenger loses. I have read that it is a plan to reduce cost per seat by 15%. It is a total disgrace - avoid this aircraft at all costs. Air Canada used to be a great airline but it is heading downhill. I have sent two emails, two letters to the LHR office and two letters to Calin Rovinescu: the CEO of Air Canada. No reply of any kind has been received to date. Air Canada really doesn't care anymore. If this is the way Air Canada is going, then it's time to change airlines folks.

Won't travel on this plane again. Observations:
Cons
If you are over 6" and weigh more than 200lbs, you will not fit in economy. Entire layout is designed for 5"11 & under 180lbs. Which is curious because the head room is ~10-11ft - crazy. You can stand comfortably if your 6'8, but can't sit. Another oddity; the overhead bin does not accommondate carry on's that are 1CM over lentgh minimums. Mine is .5CM (measured) over published Air Canada minimums and would not fit in overhead bin, even though on all Airbus, Embraer, Bombardier models the carry on fits fine. Ridiculous. Not sure on other rows, but the touch button control of lights etc. is on the inside of the armrest so rest assured your leg will often trigger lights on/off inadvertantly. Saw others with controls on the armrest itself (top) and heard complaints. If comfort/practicality are important, avoid this model.
Pros:
-lighting is good in cabin
-head room
-entertainment
-premium economy looks tolerable - not sure on $$
-business class loses the pods - still looks ok, not sure re impact on overseas/overnight
-engines are quiet and have a distinct hum
-capacity - 458, should allow more to travel at time/route of choice

Bottom line, not comfortable/useless economy, woudl avoid flying it again (Air Canada 77W-300ER-3 Cabin Configuration, unless i was in Premium Economy or First Class.

For a newly designed plane I was surprised that the seats very narrow and legroom limited compared to older planes. I am 6'3" and 210lbs and I was unable to stretch both feet out at the same time. I took the advice of a previous reviewer at changed my seat to 60A as there were 2 seats rather than 3 in the outside row. I had more shoulder room as I could lean to one side can't imagine 5 hours in a row with 10 seats across.
The entertainment system was much improved. Not sure that I would book another flight on this plane if I knew in advance the type of plane I would be in. I understand the business side of getting 448 people on a plane but unfortunately I think this plan back-fired.

The seat benefits from being in a 2 rather than 3 at the rear of the aircraft. There is a large space between the seat and window which is useful for storing a small bag and keeps the space under the seat infront free for legroom. The seats are narrow on the new high density 777 and would be a tight fit for larger passengers. Legroom isn't great but I had no issue being 6ft in this seat. The downside of being sat so far back is that you get served last with food and drink and in my case there was only the vegetarian meal left when the meal service got to my seat. Seat back inflight entertainment was good and had USB point.

This is an aisle seat which I requested. More comfortable than I expected for a four hour plus flight. Enough leg room for myself but probably not for somebody taller than 5ft. 10ish. Howowever most seats are scrunched now anyhow. Only complaint was it seemed to take more time to get the food service from the location of this seat. Seemed they were going in the opposite direction of my seat.
End of the aisle gave me only one person on my left which was nice. Nice plane, large area to stand in outside of the bathrooms to stretch your legs.

We were due to sit in 5H&K but on boarding were switched to 1H&K. I had read many poor reviews about this version of the 777. To be honest, it wasn't nearly as bad as led to believe. I'm 5'10" and 180lb so can't speak for others. Seats were firm but comfortable and it was easy to adjust them to find a comfortable position. The cubby hole for feet was decent enough. IFE was quick and responsive. Tray tables quirky and took a bit of working out . Meals and service were very good. Friendly flight attendants. I understand that this seating will be replaced with that used on Air Canada's 787's.

I am Elite Air Canada member for over 10 years but flying economy in this plane makes me say NEVER again. I strongly advise against anyone choosing this airplane. The new 3-4-4 crammed configuration is horrendous. Too tight. But AC flights are still full.... that's why they cram in so many seats. Disgusted with the configuration. Food - AWFUL. Had a small meal right after take off in FRA and nothing again until 1h from YYZ - and it was a tiny little horrible pie inside a cardboard box. That's it!! Attendants were not exactly friendly. Avoid at all costs!!!

This is the row just before the lavatories.
Seats do not recline, however the seats in row in front (22) do, which makes the right space even tighter, the screen is right in your face if the person in front of you decides to have the seat back for the whole flight, in my case for 8 hours. Not possible to watch anything in this position. Very hard in your back. I also had the AcC dripping water on my head until the plane was up and levelled, water came backdown on me once we landed.