A detailed (and nerdy) look at Air Canada 737 MAX 8 economy

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Watch the full (unedited) takeoff of this flight:
• Air Canada 737 MAX 8 f...
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It had been many years since I had last flown Air Canada from San Diego to Toronto, so I was more than a little excited to try it again on the 737 MAX 8. Even in economy class.
This is a full review of Air Canada flight number 1092 from SAN to YYZ, which ended up taking 4 hours and 21 minutes from wheels up to wheels down.
Was it worth all the excitement? Not really (lol), but at least it was leaps and bounds better than Air Canada Rouge.
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[@anitascarr7982]

Great video Scott! I flew the Max from YVR to HNL. I was impressed with the leg room and the entertainment system.

[@sanspotter]

Thanks Anita! That’s a long flight on a MAX. At least you ended up in paradise afterwards. 😄

[@vigodrakken7916]

Nice Video, im still avoiding the Max myself, very happy with the 787 I flew in 2 weeks ago.

[@thereisnoaddress]

Great video as always Scott! As an AC frequent flier, I think you made the right choice on not paying extra (not even $300) for business. You get a meal and more legroom, but the differences are minute. The Max 8's seats are quite nice and more comfortable than AC's 787s / A330s IMO because they're newer and sturdier. The IFE reminds me of Delta's; responsive and lots of content. Oh, and a (belated) welcome to Toronto!

[@sanspotter]

Thanks! Yeah, my back probably would have been hurting just as much in business class as it did in economy. 😄 No regrets on skipping the upgrade!

[@rarespiritwendy]

I just read your “Chui” blog post from a while back and I had to come and subscribe, “like” and comment. Very interesting and well written. I’m glad to see you are doing so well on social media. Nice! Ty 😊

[@sanspotter]

Thanks so much Wendy - glad you’re enjoying the content!

[@Jack3md]

I agree when you said it’s time to move on. Each and every day the number of MAX flights keeps going higher and higher. Right now I think it’s about 2,500+ a day worldwide. And there hasn’t been a single MCAS related incident since. I flew on a -9 with Alaska and it was a great flight, didn’t have any second thoughts..hope to fly on one again soon

[@sanspotter]

Wow! I didn’t realize there were that many MAX flights on a daily basis. Seems like it’ll be one of the most common airplanes in the sky 10 years from now.

[@Johnnysixpac]

Until your door blows out and you get viscously sucked out of the aircraft

[@bretrichard7971]

Once again scott another amazing video!! Keep up the awesome work my friend.

[@sanspotter]

Thanks Bret! More videos to come…

[@itsnotme07]

Solid review as always Scott. I'm always tempted by those last minute upgrades, especially when flying solo...but I agree...price wise you made the best choice. Good to see AC has something good as I'd heard lots of not so good stuff from other KZbinrs...and I haven't flown them since 2002. Until your next video.... Interesting Top Gun trivia there, I had no idea they didn't actually use that island as part of the base at Miramar.

[@sanspotter]

Thanks! Yeah, I can usually justify a last minute upgrade due to the fact that it’ll be good content for my blog and KZbin channel, but…I just wasn’t feeling it that day. 😄

[@Brandon-jp5ow]

Lots of KZbinrs have good reviews

[@TheRareVideosXL]

A very nice flight experience and a great video. I love Air Canada and Canada in general. Keep up the amazing work as always.

[@sanspotter]

Thank you! The more I fly Air Canada, the more impressed I get. They are doing many things right at the moment!

[@TheRareVideosXL]

@@sanspotter You're welcome.Glad to hear that.Cheers.

[@714Fantasy]

Absolutely loved how you said (and nerdy) immediately clicked as I’m an aviation nerd myself.

[@kiddo817]

As an AC FF, I also think you made the right choice not paying for that $2K J ticket or even the $300 last min upgrade. The only time I’d consider paying $1K or above for a transcon flight is on AC’s widebodies where they offer Signature Class (a more full service J experience similar to long haul international J). AC does this daily between LAX (even has its own lounge at LAX) and YUL/YYZ, so maybe give it a go in the near future 😊😊 thank you again for the enjoyable review

[@bsheinberg1]

Scott, love the videos! You had shots of the glass window at the far west end of terminal 2 and along the front of the terminal at the ceiling line. That work was done by my wife Joan. My grandkids get a kick out of seeing her work and her name plaque by the elevator down to baggage claim. I showed my wife your video and she loved the shots.

[@sanspotter]

That’s awesome! It’s such an iconic part of T2 west, and I’ve always wondered who the artist was (I didn’t realize there was a plaque - I’ll have to check that out next time). What an honor it must have been for her!

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Excellent review Scott!😸

[@sanspotter]

Thanks Ryan!

[@stodakhizzle9049]

People don’t realize how nice AC is in Canada until you fly any US domestic airline. For NA domestic travel, Air Canada is the way to go

[@sanspotter]

Totally agree - Air Canada is easily one of the best airlines in North America right now.

[@edvaira6891]

AC Jazz sucks though,…just awful experience to Vancouver

[@ManualFlying]

agreed.

[@Brandon-jp5ow]

@@sanspotter Unfortunately many Canadians would disagree but that’s just because we like to complain and don’t realize how good we have it! If we took away our two biggest airlines tomorrow, it would wake up a lot of Canadians to realize how lucky we have it. Unfortunately the media is incredibly biased against the airlines only feeding peoples narrative that they are big evil corporations out to get you, when there are factors affecting Canadian airlines that don’t affect other carriers like higher taxes…anyways great video as always keep them coming!

[@LiamWalsheliamskitchen]

@@edvaira6891 unless you're on an E175. Those are actually pretty darn good.

[@andreworiez8920]

I lived in San Diego when Top Gun was at (at the time) Naval Air Station Miramar. My father was active duty USN and his work space was across the street from the control tower. For those not in the know Top Gun was moved to NAS Fallon in Nevada, and Miramar went straight to the dogs ... Devil Dogs as it were.... And is home to a US Marine Corps Air Wing. To this day whenever I hear the "Top Gun theme" or "Highway to the Danger Zone" the roar of the GE-F110s inserts itself from my memory into the background and sometimes see the ghost of them raising along I-80 as they used to up the I-15 corridor.

[@kevinkong2178]

Thanks for the update

[@sanspotter]

You’re very welcome Kevin!

[@cincinatti_matt21]

Great review!🙌

[@sanspotter]

Thanks!

[@jfmezei]

One reason that Air Canada de-Rouged many cityt paids is that it rediuced comfort levels on its mainline coach so the difference is lesser now. But seat pitch is still more than the Rouge one that is painful at 29" vs 31" for mainline on the 321. AC also cut meal service some time ago. The visible difference is IFE on mainline and an empty cavity on seat on Rouge that has no IFE. For very long flights, Air Canada has narrower seats on its 777s and 787s than on Rouge 320 and 321s. Imagine 15 hour flight Vancouver to Sydney. When I did it on 2011, they still had 9 across with 32" seat pitch and that was hard enough. Now, they have 10 across whe reduiced seat pitch to 30/31.

[@sanspotter]

Interesting! Now I kind of wish I would have had the opportunity to try domestic AC economy before they simplified it…

[@lorencasuto1249]

Hope you got some poutine and had fun in Toronto. Another solid review.

[@sanspotter]

Hate to admit that I’ve never tried poutine before. 😬 Next time!

[@rollingtroll]

Seems decent. Love the lit logo on the wing :D

[@sanspotter]

Yeah, that was pretty cool. I wish more airlines did that!

[@dustinmuniz9170]

Scott will always be my fav. Stan!

[@sanspotter]

Thanks Dustin!

[@flyinghighoverthesky]

Looking forward to your next video. Vancouver. Yay.

[@sanspotter]

Thanks! The next video is actually going to be YYZ-YYC on the WestJet 787-9. 👨🏼‍💻

[@gparyani]

One nice thing Air Canada does for their economy passengers that none of the U.S. airlines do is they offer complimentary meals on the short-haul segments to those who are connecting to/from a long-haul flight. Makes them definitely better than a domestic connection when flying to Europe as the experience feels "long-haul" all the way.

[@MilesMiser]

Maverick seemed satisfied lol ! As always I love the commentary. It always amazes me how much airlines will try and charge for business for a 4 hour flight. Ugggg 2k no way hard pass. But the 300+ for the upgrade is almost doable! Can't wait to see the business class review Scott! Keep up the awesome work!

[@sanspotter]

Thanks Miles! Yeah, AC business class is good, but not $2k good. 😅

[@AaronandTodd]

You’re an inspiration! Your trip reviews are so helpful. What plug-in are you using for your Boarding Pass graphic at the beginning of your vlogs?

[@sanspotter]

Thanks - glad you’re enjoying the videos! I actually created that animation myself in Adobe After Effects. 👍🏻

[@duaneowens7777]

Great video. I would like to know if they were strict on the 23kg allowance or they allowed 2-3kg extra.

[@mtascp05]

Oh, nice. I’m taking AC for the first time SFO-YVR in a few months.

[@sanspotter]

Have fun! Air Canada is surprisingly better than most US airlines. 👍🏻

[@pavanatanaya]

Flown the Max aircraft a few times now. More and more impressed with the flight

[@sanspotter]

I really like the MAX as well. It might take a while for the general public to become more accepting of it, but it’s a darn good airplane IMHO.

[@pavanatanaya]

@@sanspotter I flew fron SAN-SEA on a max9 Alaska They couldnt get the APU started so they had to cart start it,. The first Cart couldnt start the Max engine so they had to get a second cart. It was rather entertaining watching the ground crew jump start our 500 mph flying tube

[@donnyoh1]

AC is always my first choice!

[@stevemclean9411]

you get aeroplan miles forunited bpokings too, often united sells AC for less than AC does.

[@sanspotter]

Very true 👍🏻

[@dragon32210]

I enjoyed the fruit and cheese plate on AC. Especially the crackers.

[@davidcole333]

I think I would have preferred Downton Abbey: A New Era for the in-flight entertainment, as featured at 07: 54....okay, maybe not, that would cost me my man card. But great review Scott, if nothing else, the Air Canada 737 Max 8 is a sharp looking aircraft.

[@sanspotter]

Haha, at least you were man enough to admit it. 😄 Glad you enjoyed the review!

[@dbowlus0]

Great to hear Air Canada is flying SAN-YYZ. Go Leafs Go!

[@sanspotter]

The Leafs are the Curling team, right? 😆

[@carterpiwowarczyk7919]

Great video! I just flew the same aircraft from YLW-YYZ!

[@sanspotter]

Very cool!

[@franklynbrice4232]

Man I really miss your video’s.. I am currently catch up to all I missed!!!

[@sanspotter]

Thanks Franklin!

[@bigeyejim]

Hey Scott!!!! WHAT KIND OF SHOES ARE THOSE???? I remember the stripe design, but can't for the life of me remember the brand...Are they Gola?

[@theEtherealimage]

did you feel like the noise in row 27 behind the wings were bearable? I'd like to try further back but not sure if the noise is any better.

[@gabea6460]

Oh yessss, Air Canada!

[@sanspotter]

I have even more Air Canada content coming soon… 👨🏼‍💻

[@clausstimpfig3803]

thank you. You know already my opinion

[@sanspotter]

Haha, thanks! But I do have some business class flights coming up you might like…

[@erik_griswold]

So can we please see an Air Canada Rouge Business Class review?

[@justinjohn5114]

It's not often you release videos but when you do it makes me happy because I know that the video is gonna be an absolute banger! Nothing is better than watching Sanspotter on a cold evening. Thank you for this amazing video!

[@sanspotter]

Thanks for the kind words Justin - glad you’re enjoying the (infrequent) videos!

[@akaju1c3]

Im new to this but how did you know your planes total flight hours and when it was delivered ?

[@wolfganghofmann3977]

Canada 🇨🇦 is awesome , I like Vancouver and Calgary , cool cities .

[@sanspotter]

Totally agree. I like Canada too!

[@sdflyer28]

Miramar was navy base in 80th but now is marine base . North Island is navy base and so technically second movie is correct (top gun is naval aviator school)

[@prettymiffedbrit]

Bad Scott! You should watch Top Gear Maverick on the big screen! It is great! 😂😂😂

[@thefozzybear]

Hard to find someone thrilled about Air Canada these days.

[@sanspotter]

Well, they are pretty good compared to most of the US airlines. 😄

[@stefankoelsch788]

They maxed it out.

[@sanspotter]

#rimshot 👌🏻😄

[@88slj]

Flying this plane soon. How tall are you for reference? Great review. Thank you

[@sanspotter]

Thanks Sam - I’m 5’-10”, and it was pretty much perfect for me.

[@1NOnlyAce]

Is it now safe to fly on the max 8s? I’m concerned about flying on them lol

[@sanspotter]

So far so good - they seem to have everything sorted!

[@Planes_Games]

When is that WestJet 787 business review? Or… what about that HNL-NRT a380? 😅 Anyway… great video as always

[@sanspotter]

Thanks! WestJet 787 is the next video. 👍🏻

[@tspryaviation]

I wonder why Swoop stopped service to SAN. But at least it's not AC Rouge

[@sanspotter]

I’m curious about that as well. They pulled out halfway through the summer without any announcement of any kind.

[@touchingheartsmin]

Are you taking Air Canada kind of meat you can pre-pay for your food on board and save yourself a few dollars

[@flyboiii28]

For as much as you fly I’m surprised you don’t have a plug in Bluetooth adapter and bring your own wireless headphones.

[@sportsMike87]

I like the average joe economy reviews!

[@sanspotter]

Making business class videos is a lot more comfortable. 😄

[@Mahomie132]

Sa spotter fly Lufthansa from San Diego to Munich.

[@sanspotter]

I’m waiting for business class award availability to open up… 👀

[@michaelleetrini3635]

I am Canadian and will rather fly AC than anyone for US flights . United has steeped up but ac did a full change since 2020

[@tymgames8307]

When do we have the pleasure to see you making videos where you are going to fly inner Europe

[@sanspotter]

My next trip will be to Europe, but I won’t be doing any intra-Europe flying this time unfortunately.

[@joja4323]

How did it not crash?!!!?

[@sanspotter]

Got lucky I guess!

[@vap57]

As a Canadian, I categorically REFUSE to fly Air Canada Rouge.

[@jennifergala]

I'm sorry San Spotter but the seats are too narrow and the width is terrible. Never again for me. Business is good though. Bathrooms are too small. Great video.

[@sanspotter]

Yeah, I definitely agree about the seat width. Hopefully we’ve reached the point where they can’t legally make them any narrower. 😬

[@prettymiffedbrit]

Has anyone said that you look like a younger Scott Adams? 🤔

[@JohnAnderson-sq8lt]

Recently few 737 max 8 to Mexico, terrible aircraft, tiny bathrooms, skinny hard seats, small windows, noisy, no comparison to A220 Airbus ( Bombardier) which is great

[@edvaira6891]

Air Canada Jazz isn’t particularly good, either! The three hour plus flight from San Diego to Vancouver was a miserable Tin Can experience squeezed into an Embraer! Much more miserable than similar length service to Seattle on Several airlines

[@sanspotter]

Very true! The good news is that AC is now running a mainline A320 between YVR and SAN. A much appreciated upgrade!

[@edvaira6891]

@@sanspotter Not as recently as Sept 10 they weren’t! That week they were only running CRJ’s…Worst flight experience I’ve had in Decades!

[@Brandon-jp5ow]

AC doesn’t have EMBs….the RJs aren’t terrible. Lots of legroom

[@dougbriggs4176]

Rouge…where you pay full price for half the space.

[@sanspotter]

Haha, pretty much. 😂

[@exempli646]

Biodegradable utensils with a plastic lunch box

[@sanspotter]

At least they are making progress. 😄

[@michaelsharp3615]

At least masks are no longer required when flying to Canada now

[@sanspotter]

Yeah, just too bad it happed the day after I returned home. 😩😆

[@prettymiffedbrit]

It isn't competitive if I have to wear a bloody mask!

[@jstelm]

Canada’s seriously still requiring masks??

[@sanspotter]

Not anymore! The mandate ended shortly after I returned home from this trip.