AC20/19 Singapore to Vancouver Nonstop on Air Canada, and a Solar Eclipse in Montreal

[yflyer]

At the gate, Air Canada's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registration C-FVLU, a 6 year old aircraft first delivered in March 2018.



I wasn't sure what to think of the black "mask" around the cockpit windows, but overall I thought this was a fairly attractive paint scheme...



Another shot of the plane, with an SQ 737 MAX 8 parked at the next gate...

[yflyer]

There was a manned noodle station...



Quite a few possible variations here...



Self service laksa was also available...



I could not resist making myself a bowl...



I gobbled it all up, and washed it down with a second glass of Taittinger before heading to the gate...

[yflyer]

There was also yogurt...



Fresh fruit...



Sandwiches and muffins...

[yflyer]

There was a good buffet breakfast selection in the lounge, comprising both Asian and International dishes...



Croissants, sardine puffs, onion pakoras and hara bhara kebabs...



Minced pork congee...



Chicken "ham" with mushrooms, and smoked garlic chicken bratwurst...



Scrambled eggs, baked beans...



Chwee kueh...



Har gao and siew mai...



Gyoza and dumplings...



Veg Lemon Sev and Veg Dalcha...



Multi-grain fried rice with mixed vegetables...

[yflyer]

My first stop was the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge at Changi T2.

This was the designated lounge for business class pax on this flight.



This lounge had only been lightly refurbished from what it was before T2's major renovation.

It ticked the right boxes as far as lounge facilities were concerned, but there was nothing special about it. It was also an inside-facing lounge with no windows or airside views.



The lounge was fairly busy...



...but not packed to the brim. It was still possible to find seats...



The dining area...



The wine and liquor selection...



The wines on offer...



A glass of Taittinger to kick-off my trip...

[yflyer]

TR INDEX

1. Introduction
2. Changi T2 SilverKris Lounge
3. AC20 SIN-YVR in Business Class
4. YVR Maple Leaf Lounge (Domestic)
5. AC306 YVR-YUL in Premium Economy
6. DoubleTree by Hilton Montreal Downtown
7. Montreal City Run
8. Montreal Dining - Poutine Resto Bar, The Keg Steakhouse etc.
9. Hotel Nelligan
10. Total Eclipse of the Sun (Montreal, 8 April 2024)
11. Hampton Inn by Hilton Montreal Downtown
12. Montreal Run - Jacques Cartier Bridge, St Helen's Island, Biosphere etc.
13. Montreal Dining - Au Pied de Cochon
14. YUL Maple Leaf Lounge (Domestic)
15. AC311 YUL-YVR in Premium Economy
16. YVR Maple Leaf Lounge (International)
17. AC19 YVR-SIN in Premium Economy
18. Final Reflections

________________

AC20 SIN-VVR had a scheduled departure time of 9.10am. Mrs yflyer was kind enough to drive me to the airport in the early morning of Saturday, 6 April.



Air Canada departs from Changi Terminal 2.



T2's covered driveway.



In Singapore we take covered airport driveways for granted, but not all airports have them -- as I would find out a week later when I got out of my Uber at Montreal Airport on a wet, raining evening...

A new logo on the door signage, signalling the welcome return of Air Canada to Singapore!



T2 has been beautifully renovated.



No queues at check in to speak of.



The inaugural had taken place 2 days prior, on 4 April, but I did see a freebie from the inaugural at the check-in counter, and the staff were kind enough to hold it up for me to take a few pics...





Passport checks were now fully automated, with facial recognition cameras.

[yflyer]

Earlier this month I travelled to Montreal for a business meeting. My trip was perfectly timed to catch the new Air Canada nonstop service from Singapore to Vancouver, operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

I flew AC20 SIN-YVR in business class on 6 April, just 2 days after the inaugural on 4 April, and returned on AC19 YVR-SIN in premium economy a week later. I also did domestic sectors YVR-YUL-VVR in AC premium economy, on an A330 and 77W respectively.

In between, I spent a week in Montreal, exploring this city for the first time. Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec by population, and the 2nd largest in Canada. French is the first language here. Folks greeted you "Bonjour!" rather than "Hello!" or "Good morning!".

Montreal was lovely: a modern city with an old town at its heart. There were beautiful running routes along the St Lawrence River, and superb dining, including a memorable dinner at Au Pied de Cochon.

It was also serendipitous that a total eclipse of the sun was taking place 2 days after I arrived, visible over parts of the Mexico, USA and Canada, and that Montreal was one of a handful of citiies in the world that was in the so-called "path of totality", where the effects of the eclipse would be the most dramatic.

I had experienced a solar eclipse before, in Singapore in 2019, but that was an annular eclipse, and to be frank it was underwhelming. Would I be underwhelmed again? Read on to find out!