If you fly around Canada long enough, you’re eventually going to end up in Air Canada A321 economy class. There’s no avoiding it. It’s gonna happen.
When that day comes, you’re probably not going to be all that thrilled about the outdated interior.
The generations-old in-flight entertainment system is sluggish (and inoperable much of the time). The lack of legroom cancels out how surprisingly squishy (and comfy) the seats are.
It’s as basic as it is unavoidable.
AC1012
Vancouver, BC (YVR) – San Diego, CA (SAN)
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Aircraft: A321-211
Registration: C-FCEU
Duration: 2 hours 37 minutes
Seat: 14A (Economy)
My full review of Air Canada A321 economy from Vancouver to San Diego
Remember my Air Canada A321 business class review? I hope not, because what you’re about to see will be nothing like that. There’s a pretty big difference between business class and economy on these airplanes. Spoiler alert: go for business class – if you can swing it.
Arrival at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
The 12 PM departure time for this flight was pretty much perfect. There was no need get up early, and I was able to get myself together without feeling like I was in a rush.
I arrived at the entrance for US departures exactly 9:10 AM. That’s a bit lot early for a 12 PM flight, but I was expecting a long line at US Preclearance. The fact that I made it through in less than 5 minutes was both a blessing and a curse.
I killed about an hour by having breakfast in the YVR Plaza Premium Lounge (thanks to my AMEX Platinum card). I knew that the chances of eating well in Air Canada A321 economy was slim to none, so I made sure to get my money’s worth in the lounge.
The boarding process for this flight to San Diego
The boarding process got underway at exactly 11:20 AM. With a Zone 3 boarding pass, I had to wait a bit – but it wasn’t all that long due to what seemed like a very light a load of passengers loitering in the gate area.
Economy class seat overview
Air Canada is one of the most inconsistent airlines in all of North America – at least when it comes to seating. The economy seats on this A321 look nothing like the economy seats in Air Canada 787-9 economy. Not that I would expect them to be exactly the same, but they could’ve at least used the same fabric. It’s like they’re not even tryin’.
It worth noting that some of Air Canada’s A321s were purchased from EVA Air (and were not converted into the Air Canada spec). The lack of the video screens – and gray fabric – leads me to believe that this is one of those aircraft.
Our departure from YVR
We pushed off the gate one minute late at 12:01 PM. Hey – these A321s may not be all that exciting, but they are simple and “routine” (and reliable) enough that there are hardly ever any surprises for the ground crew.
Total taxi time was 15 minutes. Which was 5 minutes longer than what was scheduled.
In-flight entertainment
Warning: not all Air Canada A321s have video screens at every seat. Some do, but this one didn’t. Not that it matters all that much – the video screens in those other A321s are very low quality anyway. They’re nothing like the video screens you’ll get to play with in Air Canada 737 MAX 8 economy.
Food and drinks
The last time I flew from Vancouver to San Diego, it was in Air Canada A320 business class. The food was pretty darn good. Drinks were unlimited.
This time? Bigger airplane, less free food (and drink). That’s what I get for flying economy class I guess. I did appreciate the extensive food for purchase menu though.
In addition to a free snack (and beverage), Air Canada offers complementary beer and wine on all flights within Canada and the US. Even in economy.
Seat comfort
The best thing about the seats (by far), is how soft and squishy they are. The worst thing? The legroom. Definitely the legroom. It’s nowhere near as bad as Air Canada Rouge 321 economy legroom is, but it’s tight.
It bums me out to report that the comfort of this seat wasn’t all that much better than what I experienced in Air Canada CRJ-900 economy. Bruh.
The descent and arrival into San Diego
The weather had been absolutely perfect all the way down the West Coast of the United States. This no doubt assisted us in being 2 minutes ahead of schedule as we began the descent into San Diego.
Touchdown on runway 27 happened at exactly 2:53 PM. Still two whole minutes ahead of schedule!
The taxi over to Terminal 2 West took only 5 minutes, and we ended up docking at gate 50. Easy peasy (and extremely uneventful).
Pros and cons
If I had the choice between an Air Canada A321 and a 737 MAX 8, I would choose the 737 every single time. The A321 is better than the CRJ though – so it’s certainly not the worst aircraft in the fleet.
Pros
- Free beer and wine on all flights within Canada and the United States!
- Overhead bin space is decent – much better than what you would get on a CRJ.
- Streaming in-flight entertainment is available (though it may not be actually working).
Cons
- In-flight entertainment is hit or miss on the A321. Not all aircraft have video screens at every seat.
- Not all A321s have power outlets at every seat either. This one didn’t.
- Legroom ain’t all that. I recommend bringing your short legs.
“If you fly around Canada long enough, you’re eventually going to end up in Air Canada A321 economy class. There’s no avoiding it. It’s gonna happen.” To quote Princess Anne to her kidnapper, “NOT BLOODY LIKELY.” In a reply to a review on this site, I’ve previously explained that I have economy class anxiety dreams where I’m a passenger in economy. The horror!
Although I don’t use it, I’m always concerned about paying a price for wi-fi on international long haul (or any haul), and then it stops working. Do you get a refund?
Viz. poutine: it’s tariffed out; didn’t you get the memo? ;~}
Never say never. One of these days you’re gonna find yourself with an urgent need to go somewhere where a completely sold out Air Canada A321 will be your only option. You’ll be so desperate to go that you’ll take whatever seat they can give you – even if it’s the one all the way in the back next to the lavatory door (one with a broken latch). It’s inevitable! Haha…
Good question about the Wi-Fi. It’s never happened to me fortunately, but I’d imagine you’d have to make a pretty big stink about it to get a refund. I’m not even sure that’s something that the flight attendants can do on the spot. You’d probably have to contact customer service after the fact.
Hey Scott, great review as always! Just wanted to clarify one tiny error… you actually had C-FCEU, not C-GYFY…you were right that both of these units are formerly from EVA Air. AC is currently in the process of removing the nasty blue seats for the 737 MAX and A220 seats. About time!
Thanks Justin! How did you find the registration? The Flighty App says it was GYFY – but I know that isn’t correct, because when looking at pictures of that specific aircraft online, it doesn’t have sharklets. Was there a specific app or tool you used to get that info?
At least I got the EVA thing right. 🙂
Hey Scott, I use flightera.net to find the registration- simply plug in the flight number and then go to the calendar at the bottom. They have flights from over 8 years ago depending on the flight you choose. You were correct that C-GYFY is not equipped with sharklets- good catch! Thanks for the great review.
Thanks Justin! I’ll be sure to use that whenever I run into any discrepancies.