Prologue:

After a very stressful initial flight from SFO-YUL that thank God ended well we arrived at YUL and proceeded directly to the AC Maple Leaf lounge at the international side after Passport Control.

To my surprise I found that the AC Maple Leaf - intl lounge @ YUL is seldom reported with few videos and written reports. I will try to convey my impression of it here and of the flight experience aboard AC PEY.

Summary:

YUL was a pleasant airport for connections and looked fairly easy to navigate.

The AC Maple Leaf lounge is a nice facility with great staff. The buffet provided a good assortment of choices but I noticed that most of the wine bottles were empty. Was the wine that good? :P Another advantage with this lounge is the great view of the tarmac and for avgeeks that is always a plus. I like how this lounge is divided into different sections instead of a big open space with lack of privacy.

AC PEY on the 773 is a small cabin with 2 WC's in the front which was very convenient. Seats were comfortable and spacious but I dislike that the bulkhead seats did not have leg rests nor foot rests. On most carriers the bulkheads feature leg rests in their PEY cabins. The rest of the seats had foot rests.

It took us 1:30+ to receive our meals after take off which is too long of a wait in this cabin and for such a short transatlantic flight. FA's were pleasant and polite if not overly efficient. One of them forgot to deliver the meal tray to one of my party in the back but she corrected it immediately when she realized this. During the breakfast service the banana bread was never delivered to the second row pax.

Catering wise the meals were solid except for the meager slice of banana bread that was passed as breakfast before arrival. Running out of meal choices by the second row is a big disappointing. You would think that when one pays more to sit at a better cabin having your food choice is a benefit that is part of the upgrade.

Overall I would fly this cabin again despite the minor shortcomings. The small cabin, wide seats and easy access to dedicated WC's are big pluses for me. Most of the staff that I have encountered with AC were extremely friendly and helpful.