YEG - Edmonton Int Airport

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

^^ now that would have been awesome.

^ pics I say, pics

You still have time, I think it is arriving on the 6th. The 748 is pretty neat to see, but you have to be a bit of an avgeek to spot the differences versus the 744.

[CanadianCentaur]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

You still have time, I think it is arriving on the 6th. The 748 is pretty neat to see, but you have to be a bit of an avgeek to spot the differences versus the 744.

Actually, it's not that hard to spot the difference between the 747-400F and the -8F. The -400F has winglets on its wingtips, while the -8F does not - it has raked wingtips instead.

The other big diff between these two is that the -8F's engines look a little fatter and also have jagged edges in the rear nozzles (these are supposed to help improve the flow of hot air out the back and reduce noise levels).

These thumbnails (click on them if you want to see larger!) below show the differences between these two variants. I've used two pics of Korean Air Cargo to better illustrate the engine differences, as Air Bridge Cargo's engines are dark blue, making it harder to spot the the jagged rear nozzles in the -8F.


www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/188132/hl7605-korean-air-cargo-boeing-747-400f/


www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/190535/hl7609-korean-air-cargo-boeing-747-8f/


www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/190093/vq-blq-air-bridge-cargo-boeing-747-8f/

[Coldrsx]

See Bigtime, simple...

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

See Bigtime, simple...

Haha yup, simple for avgeeks like me! I still argue that the average Joe would have a difficult time spotting the differences, the only obvious one is the winglet of the 744 versus the raked wingtip of the 748.

[LO 044]

Perhaps someone can help me out with this question.

Heading down to the Mayan Riviera (Cancun) with my wife and 1.5 year old daughter. The options are Air Canada (763) or Air Transat (310) based on resort pricing, availability, etc.

This is the first time we will have the "luxury" of but feel privelaged to to take the little one on a trip. Saying that, i have read many reviews of how cramped Air Transat's 310's are and the fact that my daughter will be sitting in our lap worries me a bit. I have read reviews like "if the person in front reclines, i have to as well" and the word cramped seems to be rampant in most of the reviews. I understand that AC uses the non XM'd 763 for their flight but i have been on that aircraft and one big bonus is the 2-3-2 seating configuration. I wouldn't have to deal with a 3rd person perhaps being bothered if the little one doesn't take kindly to flying. From the comments, i also imagine that the AC seats are not as cramped width, reclining and legroom wise.

Can anyone with experience flying Air Transat's 310 aircraft give me any additional info? As well, if anyone knows how TS's YEG-CUN flights are doing that would be appreciated as well. I suppose we could get lucky and get a 3rd spare seat which would help with the supposed cramped seats.

[Coldrsx]

Flown both and prefer 763 by far. AT's 310s are cramped, as you would suspect and unless you pay to upgrade, I would not want to even attempt with a child.

[Bigtime]

Go with Air Canada and pre-select seats to save yourself the hassle. Every now and then you get lucky and they operate a XM'd 763 on the route too. I've had that happen on the YYC-Hawaii flights a couple of times.

If you are feeling really adventurous, pre-select the two aisle seats in the middle row, leaving the middle seat open. Chances of someone actually selecting that seat are low, so if they flight isn't 100% full you will end up with a free seat for your kid! This is awesome, when my daughter was about 10 months old she almost slept the whole way from YYC-Maui in that middle seat.

[dansk]

Air Canada 100%

[tuffyy]

Pretty much each and every TS flight to CUN is almost always full. Most flights from YEG are at about 80% to full. My advice if your TS flying pre select your seats or club class!

[lubicon]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Go with Air Canada and pre-select seats to save yourself the hassle. Every now and then you get lucky and they operate a XM'd 763 on the route too. I've had that happen on the YYC-Hawaii flights a couple of times.

If you are feeling really adventurous, pre-select the two aisle seats in the middle row, leaving the middle seat open. Chances of someone actually selecting that seat are low, so if they flight isn't 100% full you will end up with a free seat for your kid! This is awesome, when my daughter was about 10 months old she almost slept the whole way from YYC-Maui in that middle seat.

There is zero risk to trying this. As Bigtime says, the chances of someone actually selecting the middle seat is pretty much zero. And if someone does by chance, all you do is switch seats with them and you are right where you would be if you didn't try. There's absolutely no downside to this strategy.

[LO 044]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

It's a big toss up for us because with AC you get the Bahia Principe Coba or Tulum for about $200 less than TS who takes you to Barcelo Maya Colonial. We have stayed at the Barcelo and Iberostar and really enjoyed the Barcelo and the reviews for Bahia Principe are quite sub par so i'm thinking you get what you pay for at that resort. If Barcelo wins then it is tough because do you trade some misery on the flight for 7 days of fun at a resort that you enjoy? Or do you take the proven AC flight and take a chance on the Bahia Principe?

Saying that i am already unimpressed with TS. Called them to find out that i cannot book the 2 seats at the back of the plane since those don't have an extra oxygen maks for infants. I was told that i can only sit in the C and D seats since those have extra oxygen masks. Called a 2nd time and was told only the C seats have the oxygen masks. Seems you get a different story with these guys every time you call. Does anyone know which seats have extra oxygen masks on AC's 763? The things you don't think about until you bring a little one into the world.

Not trying to make this into an all-inclusive discussion board but i have never flown Air Transat and i figured this is a good place to ask people who pay attention to some of these things. I have heard Sunwing is worse in terms of seat space and WestJet has little availability or very expensive.

[Hardhatdan]

Air Transat's sardine can/tin can is terrible and always rammed full.

At 6'3", I hate their planes.

Barcelo Colonial is aight, good for kids as there is lots there and they have a giant spray park and the "The Jaguar" night club is a good place for getting messy.

Other than that, it's just another resort with average food, average room and average service.

[EdmTrekker]

What do SunWing and Westjet fly on their routes to CUN? I imagine WJ is 737-8? Not sure about Sunwing. Btw isn't the AC flight through Calgary - versus a non-stop? That said I assume you get aeroplan miles on AC...I may be wrong. How long is the layover?

I am flying on an AT AB310-300 to MBJ this week. The rows at the rear in 2 seat layout were sold out from the get go....couples obviously.

[LO 044]

All flights are non-stop to Cancun.
Air Canada: 1x weekly, 767-300ER.
WestJet: 3x weekly, 737-800.
Air Transat: 3x weekly, 310-300.
Sunwing: 3x weekly, 737-800.

The flights are roughly 5.5 hours to Cancun and 6 hours back to Edmonton. Yes i was looking at those seats myself but like i had mentioned, not bookable with an infant in tow.

[tuffyy]

LO44 watch your pm I can set you up with my favorite resort in the area and get you upgraded for free if your interested? It's the grand palladium they have several sections but I'm friends with the resort manager and several staff. Let me know if your interested?

Also looks like flight ABC 6755 will actually arrive at 0330 on the 7th from prestwick and depart to KIAH at 0930 in the morning.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by tuffyy

Also looks like flight ABC 6755 will actually arrive at 0330 on the 7th from prestwick and depart to KIAH at 0930 in the morning.

Come on YEG spotters, get us some pics of this bird!

[Rocket252]

Originally Posted by tuffyy

LO44 watch your pm I can set you up with my favorite resort in the area and get you upgraded for free if your interested? It's the grand palladium they have several sections but I'm friends with the resort manager and several staff. Let me know if your interested?

Also looks like flight ABC 6755 will actually arrive at 0330 on the 7th from prestwick and depart to KIAH at 0930 in the morning.

I stayed at the Grand P - it was very nice. Quite a big place.

Tuffyy - a few friends of mine just came back from Cancun and have heard of an increasing number of people having their drinks spiked at bars and even swim up bars at some resorts.

Have you heard of this being a big problem?

LO44 - just a heads up

[LO 044]

Thanks Rocket. And let us know how good / bad those 757's are to Maui. If you can get some cabin picks that would be great.

We are a bit delayed in our decision as the little one got sick. If we do fly Air Transat, i'll try to get some pics of the interior as there are only a few on airliners.net and since they want to keep these old birds around til 2016 i believe, it would be good info.

It is interesting that TS is one of the very few carriers that still fly the 310. Not only that, they are only one of two airlines left who configure this aircraft 3-3-3. The other airline being S7 (formerly Siberian). The normal configuration of the 310 aircraft is 2-4-2.

[tuffyy]

Having lived in and worked in and around the area, I'm can honestly say I'm puzzled by these reports. I'm not gonna say it doesn't happen but I have never personally had it happen. I've eaten at out of the way resturants in places like playa and Akumal and never had a problem. I just wonder how many of these alleged spikings are actually being authenticated or just people getting extremely carried away from consuming copious amounts of tequila and mezcal. I can inform you that having drank a large amount of mezcal in the past the end result can certainly make you feel for days after as though your drink was indeed spiked!!!

I would say when in doubt, be sure to observe your drinks being poured. This is easy at most swim up bars and lobby bars as your right there. But honestly I've lived in the area for almost 5 years and never had a issue. There are a large number of expats here from Canada and the US. I'm baffled...

[240glt]

I'm more concerned that the people sitting and drinking all day at the swim up bar never seem to have to go to the bathroom