World Traveller 73 
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
Review: The Westin Ottawa
Tonight’s stay was courtesy of MrsWT73, who happened to be in town on business. She was staying at the Westin Ottawa. My business travel budget doesn’t allow me the luxury of staying at this hotel, since the rates are always 30-40% more than the older Sheraton in downtown. The Westin does have the better location being closest to the Byward Market and many more restaurants than deserted downtown after dark. As a double Marriott Titanium status family, she had some Suite Night Awards that were also expiring in a month or two at the end of the year. She plunked them down and they ended up clearing into a suite.
Westin Ottawa.
Junior Suite, 1 King, Sofa Bed, City View
The Room: A Junior Suite, 1 King, Sofa Bed, City View
I wasn’t around for check in, but the suite itself was quite large and comfortably sized. It was a full proper two room suite.
The blue grey Kate Spade purse is not included with the room.
The room also featured a large bathroom for two with a soaker tub.
Dinner near the hotel; “Sur Lie Restaurant and Wine Bar”
Being date night, and that we hadn’t seen each other in a week thanks to competing work schedules, I had planned dinner out at Sur Lie Restaurant and Wine Bar in the Byward Market. I hadn’t been before, but I had recommendations from colleagues who indicated that it was a great place. It certainly met and exceeded our expectations.
A short walk from the hotel, the restaurant was in a renovated house.
I ended up with an east coast dish, the duck confit with poached pear, date reduction and parsnip puree with spiced beets. It was excellent.
MrsWT73 went with the traditional steak frites with mixed mushroom, truffle oil and bordelaise sauce. She reported this to be sensational.
It’s sometimes difficult to get a quality meal on the road but the meal here was terrific and is highly recommended. I would easily return to Sur Lie for a nice meal in a heartbeat.
Air Canada offers Canadair Regional Jet service throughout Atlantic Canada. Despite being a regional jet, they still offer a small business class product. I would get the opportunity to test out their business class product on my short flight to the nations’ capital today.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
Review: Air Canada Business Class, CRJ 900, Halifax Stanfield International Airport – Ottawa International Airport
As in on my Air Canada Business Class Ottawa – Halifax flight on the way out, I used Air Canada E-Upgrades courtesy of Elite Status to upgrade this flight from an economy fare. The E-Upgrades expire every year and I had little use for them otherwise.
After spending time at the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Halifax, I eventually headed down to the concourse to look for my departing flight. It was a pretty serene experience, unlike the crowds you can experience at American or other larger airports. Today’s CRJ was parked at the gate, a tiny aircraft, in its spacious surroundings.
Air Canada
AC 8637 – Business Class (R)
YHZ – YOW (Halifax Stanfield International Airport – Ottawa Cartier International Airport)
Nov 10, 2019
3:40 PM – 4:31 PM (scheduled)
Booked: CRJ-900
Flown: CRJ-900
They were oversold today and were offering flight bumps at the gate in the amount of $600 for travel the next day. I was tempted there for a minute but I had arranged date night in Ottawa with MrsWT73 tonight who was to be in town on business so I passed.
On Board Air Canada Short Haul Business Class:
Eventually getting on board, the seat was the same as on the way out. The configuration in Air Canada Business Class on the Canadair Regional Jet is a 1 – 2 configuration in Business Class.
Pre – Departure Services:
There was water on the seat which served as the de-facto pre-departure beverage.
The climb out was over the now familiar rural terrain; with not a building or other occupation for miles around.
The Meal: A Light Lunch
Today’s lunch offer was a couscous wrap with a gin and tonic. Unfortunately, I had apathetic crews today that seemed to be just going through the motions. The food was dropped off and they pretty much disappeared for the rest of the flight; a formidable challenge on such a small aircraft as a CRJ.
I passed by the flight time by watching the scenery out of the window and following along on the moving flight map.
It was a short flight today, eventually landing in rainy Ottawa. As you can see, the arrival hall was very busy, like everywhere else so far on this trip (laughing).
I would transfer over to the Westin Ottawa for a brief stay on my visit to the nation’s capital.
Air Canada Short Haul Business Class summary:
The business class service on these narrow body jets are better than sitting in the back but not all by much. I suppose if you add the checked bags, priority boarding and lounge access it represents a bit better value than being cramped in the tail of the plane, but I wouldn’t expect too much more than that.
If you’ve flown Air Canada’s Canadair Regional Jets, how do you find the travel experience?
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Halifax is the only lounge in the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Halifax is a Star Alliance Gold Lounge and is one of the few lounges accessible as an Air Canada elite member. I visited the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge on a trip from the Halifax airport.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Halifax Stanfield Airport, Halifax, Canada
My Air Canada Business Class Halifax – Ottawa flight was set for the mid-afternoon, and after the morning’s events, I headed up to the airport from the Westin Nova Scotian, returned the rental car, happy to have made it out of the snow belt, and headed to the mostly deserted departures hall of the Halifax airport.
Surprisingly, there was a Clearwater fresh lobster vendor immediately in the airport. I can’t recall ever seeing a lobster kiosk in an airport, let alone fresh lobster tanks. These lobsters have a view of the Air Canada check in agents!
It was certainly unusual to see a lobster vendor in an international airport in North America.
Locating the Maple Leaf Lounge:
I located the Air Canada check in desks and eventually headed through security to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. The Halifax Stanfield International Airport is much like other Canadian airports; clean, small format, empty and institutional in style.
The lounge was shortly after the security checkpoint through a small elevator and stairway access.
Accessing the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge was accessed today courtesy of a business class ticket for an Air Canada Business Class Halifax – Ottawa flight. Unlike in the United States, Air Canada allows for lounge access when flying in domestic or trans-border first class. No guests are permitted under these circumstances.
You could also get access into the lounge through a business class ticket on Air Canada under the Star Alliance Lounge policy, by purchasing an annual lounge membership, or through select Canadian based credit card memberships affiliated with American Express.
Access to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is also permitted for Star Alliance Gold Customers travelling in any class of travel. Access is permitted for a Star Alliance member airline operated flight which departs at the same day as the visit or latest by 05:00 AM the next morning. If your boarding pass does not carry the Star Alliance Gold indicator, you will need to also show your valid Star Alliance Gold card. Under these circumstances, one guest is permitted.
I presented my boarding pass to the scanner at reception and was given access to get in. I was welcomed and I led myself into the lounge.
Inside the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Halifax:
This version of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is one of the smaller and more tired ones in the system. It seems like all the attention and love have been focused on Canada’s major business cities such as Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, leaving these smaller outposts in need of a bit of renovation and repair. The lounge had standard Maple Leaf Lounge fare, although the color scheme on my visit was stuck in the early turn of the century with browns and greys.
This Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge had a peaceful fish tank in the lounge area. It was unusual to see a fish tank in a Canadian Lounge since these are usually more reserved for tropical destinations.
The lounge was completely deserted on my visit. As a result, you had your choice of seats at almost anywhere in the lounge. Seating was on a choice of loungers or tables and chairs in the dining area.
Food and Beverage:
The lounge offered a small seating area with tables and chair seating. This was situated next to the food offerings. During my visit, the food offerings consisted of light salads along with self service wine and beer.
I filled up with a little snack prior to getting onto my Air Canada Business Class Halifax – Ottawa flight.
Summary of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Halifax:
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Halifax was one of the older outposts in the Maple Leaf Lounge system. Your time here won’t be spent enjoying wonderful views or any spa treatments. However, it does have enough food and beverage to keep you entertained before your flight, as long as you’re not expecting anything else (except for a peaceful fish tank).
If you fly through Atlantic Canada, is the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Halifax on your travel circuit?
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
Region Visit: Visiting Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
As I got back to the hotel from the Halifax day tour, it was only 3 PM. Unusually, I didn’t have any set schedules, meetings or traveling partners today so I was completely on my own schedule. Since it was such a beautiful day, I decided that I would take the drive up to Peggy’s Cove to visit the other attraction I had on my list for this visit.
Peggy’s Cove was essentially “ground zero” for the recovery efforts into the air crash of Swiss Air 111 on September 2, 1998. The fated flight crashed approximately 8 miles off shore in the harbor in between Peggy’s Code and Bayswater in St Margaret’s Bay of the above photograph while it was attempting to land at the Halifax airport. The crash was blamed, in part, on a faulty in flight entertainment system wiring, which may have caught fire and caused a burn up of the electronics and in flight controls used to fly the aircraft. Many of the town residents initially used their boats to assist with the recovery .
Driving out to Peggy’s Cove:
It was a beautiful drive up to Peggy’s Cover from Halifax through many smaller communities.
I eventually arrived to Peggy’s Cove, population 30 persons (rising to a full 35 persons in summer per Wikipedia). Peggy’s Cove is the quintessential Canadian fishing village and is one of many fishing villages around St Margaret’s Bay.
One of the most famous features of Peggy’s Cove is the lighthouse. The lighthouse has been on site since 1868, although the current version has been here since 1915. It makes for some iconic Canadian photography.
Sunset at Peggy’s Cove:
I ended up sticking around for sunset and got some nice photos, despite it bring quite cold on shore at about -2 degrees with a little bit for wind chill on top of that. I facetimed’ my wife who was on the west coast (4 time zones over) from the site in order to share the sunset view but it was so cold my iPhone promptly died. Nevertheless, I was still able to capture some beautiful cool sunset views as the sun set for the day. There were a lot of other sunset goers out here tonight as well.
Local Dinner at Five Fisherman:
After sunset, I drove back to the city in the dark. I warmed up at the hotel and went out to Five Fisherman restaurant for dinner. I figured that I may as well sample some seafood while I was in town, given the Maritime’s focus on fish.
I ended up with the “Five Fish” dinner, featuring scallop, shrimp, salmon, halibut and lobster over a green pea lobster risotto. It was a really neat meal well that was totally filling.
The next morning, I took in Pier 21, the immigration museum. It was well done, although there were not many photo worthy photographs of the visit.
A re-cap of the visit to Peggy’s Cove:
Peggy’s Cove is worth the effort to visit if you ever find yourself out in Halifax. It’s very picturesque and my only additional move would be to bring a thick winter jacket.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
City Visit: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
After breakfast, with unusually no set plans for the day, I started my walking tour of the day around the inner harbor of Halifax.
I started at a weekend Farmer’s Market immediately behind the hotel. It appeared to be the place to be for this weekend. It was selling everything from local artisan crafts, to some very fresh local produce.
From the farmers’ market, I walked next door to Pier 21, the Canadian version of the United States’s Ellis Island. Many thousands of immigrants to Canada fleeing World War II passed through Pier 21 before taking the train to various new settlements across Canada.
It was a sunny winter’s day as I passed through the start of many statutes, including one of Samuel Cunard; one of the first modern cruise line leaders.
The harborfront walk had a lot of historic significance to both war ships, sailors that passed through, and immigration into Canada. These were all marked by various monuments in the area.
The Harbourfront walk continued across many waterfront spaces. It would probably be a popular space in the summer months, although it was pretty quiet on my winter walk through, along with shuttered concession stands and market spaces. One thing that it did was make the photographs look brilliant in the crisp winter air.
During the walk, I passed an entertaining wave that was completely frozen in the morning dew and the well positioned shade. There were many kids trying all day to run up to the top without any success and sliding to the ground. It was very entertaining.
I continued the walk in to a more deserted area. I ended up down at the Marriott Hotel which anchored the other end of the harbour. I passed by the local harbor pedestrian ferries
Having finished the harbor walk portion of the walk along the waterfront, I headed back into through town wandered up the hill to the citadel. The Halifax Citadel was the fort built to protect Halifax’s harbor from 1749 to 1906. The Harbour was never attacked n all those years. There was supposed to be admission to enter the Citadel but it appeared under renovation and as a result, it seemed to be free for the day.
As a fort protecting the city, The Halifax Citadel had a commanding view over the town. As I wandered down from its elevated postion, I eventually found the bar district in town. It had a mix of historic refurbished places between the new places.
Since my walk had taken less time than anticipated, I decided to walk back towards the hotel. In doing so, I passed by some unusual stores, and the brewery for Alexander Keith’s.
Halifax was a neat little town that would be the perfect spot for university students, a convention / conference stop or a stopover on the cruise ship circuit. The harbor area had enough to keep you interested for the day with enough food and beverage outlets to keep you entertained for the evenings.
The Westin Nova Scotian is located in a historic hotel located along the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It’s an older hotel that has been modernized to current business standards. While I typically avoid older historic hotels, this version of the Westin was reasonably appointed to modern standards making a good base for a two day stay.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
Review: The Westin Nova Scotian
“Halifax’s Historic Hotel that has had a reasonable update to modern business standards but still feels like a part of history”
Planning and Booking:
There isn’t much tourist traffic to Halifax, Nova Scotia in the winter time. There were a choice of several Marriott branded hotels in the downtown area ranging all the way from a Four Points up to the plusher Marriott Waterfront. I ended up at this location, saving myself $20 a night off the Marriott rates. Being a weekend, there wasn’t much competition for rates. I had some Suite Night Awards expiring, so I plunked them down. They cleared me from a base level Traditional, into a Premium corner room.
Getting to the Westin Nova Scotian:
After arriving off Air Canada Business Class Ottawa – Halifax, and a quick trip to Moncton, I found my way by rental car to the Westin Nova Scotian. The Westin Nova Scotian is located in the waterfront area near Pier 21. It is within walking distance from downtown Halifax, although it’s not the nearest hotel to the downtown area.
The hotel itself shares a building with the historic train station. You could consider it a historic railway hotel that is mostly occupied today by Fairmont after they acquired them from Canadian Pacific Hotels and Resorts. The hotel is very grand in appearance, and you won’t mistake it for anything else.
Surprisingly, the hotel also contains the Dutch embassy; which is marked by it’s seal on the front columns.
The Room: A Premium, Guest Room, 1 King Harbour View
The lobby was under renovation so the check in desks were set up in a temporary space in the lobby. After checking in, I was given keys to the room. The rooms and hallways had all been renovated but being an older building, they had their own unique creaks and personality to them.
The Premium Guest Room was well appointed with the usual Westin amenities. It offered a King Sized Heavenly Bed, with ample space around the bed for maneuvering.
There was a comfortable space for the weekend couch and for watching television. Being a corner room, there were windows on both sides of the room which made for a bright space.
There was also a small work desk adjacent to the bed. As can be expected for a Westin business hotel, the space was adequate for working.
The bathroom, as is the case in most historic hotels, was pretty compact. There was just room for a tiny shower and single sink.
The view from the room was pleasant. It over looked the train yards, along with a view of the harbor.
Overall, the room was of pretty good quality and nicely featured. The only drawback was the small bathroom and the some what historic nature of the property.
Food, Beverage and Breakfast:
Marriott Platinum Breakfast:
The next day after a late 1 AM arrival, I slept in a little. I made it down to the breakfast restaurant called “Elements” for a Marriott Titanium / Platinum Benefit breakfast.
In the continuing trend of the new world under Marriott, this former Starwood Hotel is now charging $5 CAD up charge for the buffet which came to $5.75 CAD after tax.
These sorts of things were previously free under the previous management where the terms and conditions would typically offer a continental breakfast but in reality, offer the full American breakfast. It was super chintzy and really off putting but it would be something I’ve had to get used to under the new world order. Despite that, buffet was really popular and had lots of families being the weekend enjoying the space. The Elements breakfast room was pretty typical hotel décor without much redeeming to it.
The Westin Nova Scotian Bottom Line:
Overall, it was a reasonable stay at the Westin Nova Scotian. Everything worked as it was supposed to. Despite this, my preference for newer hotels wasn’t overcome by a stay at this particular property. While the rooms were updated, they were still historic rooms. It was a very forgettable stay and I’d probably stay somewhere else next time just for a new experience.
If you have stayed at the Westin Nova Scotian, did you find the historic hotel charming or needing an update?
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
City Visit: Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
On arrival, I went to the Hertz counter and picked up the rental car. Today’s assignment was a Dodge Charger. I was expected a stripper kind similar to the usual ones found in the rental car fleet, but I actually ended up with a full GT version.
Driving from Halifax to Moncton:
I headed out on the highway for the 2 and a half hour drive up to Moncton. The plan for the rest of the day was to take in the Honor Garden in Moncton, then meet up with a colleague of mine that I hadn’t seen in 17 years. Time goes all too fast.
The drive up to Moncton, New Brunswick was pretty un remarkable. It was time passed through rolling hills amid a comfortable four lane highway. I was surprised to learn there was a short tolled section, and was even more surprised to see the highway signs that they only took “Cash” or “E-Pass”. Since I had neither, I had to backtrack and locate a run down Petro Canada gas station in order to find an independent ATM to withdraw $40 to pay the toll.
Crossing the Provincial Border:
Eventually, I made it to the provincial border marked by 6 flags; three for the Nova Scotia side and three for the New Brunswick side. With my arrival into Nova Scotia and now New Brunswick, I entered into the last 2 Canadian provinces that I had yet to actually visit. Winter conditions started to prevail the further north that I got with the first snowfall of the year (in early November!).
Visiting the Honor Garden:
There are not many typical tourist attractions in Moncton, New Brunswick. However, there is one particular memorial which is unique for Canada, the Honor Garden.
On June 4, 2014, a twenty four year old from Moncton went on a shooting rampage throughout the town of Moncton shooting at 5 members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; killing three. After a twenty eight hour manhunt, he was captured alive and found hit to stand trial. He ended up pleading guilty and was sentenced to 3 consecutive life sentences or 75 years; the harshest penalty ever sentence in Canada since the abolishment of capital punishment. He had claimed his rampage was a rebellion against the Canadian Government, whom he believed served the wealthy.
The three fallen members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were honored by artist Morgan MacDonald who was commissioned to create three life size statues of the fallen police officers.
I eventually made it to the Honor Garden of Moncton New Brunswick. The garden was covered in the first snow of the year. It made the visit a little erie and somber thanks to the grey and and the cold. It featured the fallen 3 in the various uniforms of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police: the ceremonial red serge, the patrol uniform and the police dog services uniform.
The statues were exceptionally detailed and very accurate to the uniforms themselves. Right down to the fonting on the uniform Velcro name tags.
Overall, it was a fitting memorial for these heroes that perished all too soon.
Leaving the Honor Garden, I then met my colleague for a beer at The Old Triangle Irish Ale house for two local pints. We had some good laughs and good catch ups over times gone by. During my time there, it started to snow. Instead of hanging around, I headed back on the two and a half hour drive to Halifax where I intended to stay the night.
Driving back from Moncton to Halifax:
Unfortunately, my “weather” luck ran out. As I was driving back from Moncton to Halifax in the snow, I came to a full stop on the highway. I ended up stuck on the highway from 8:20 PM to 11 PM without so much as a word of information. It was snowing heavily around me and at one point I was a little worried about running out of gas. I had set out with half a tank but having to idle the car for two and half hours to avoid freezing over wasn’t something I was planning on, especially with the mild rolling hills I had experienced on the smooth drive out.
Eventually, the weather appeared to break and the plows must have unstuck the semi trucks littered all over the highway. Of course, the terrific rear wheel drive Dodge Charger was terrible in the snow, and I ended up getting stuck on the highway with the 10 centimeters of snow that had accumulated around the car in the past 150 minutes. At least I was in good company with all the trucks surrounding me whom had gotten stuck without chains. Once the back log traffic had disappeared, I rolled backwards and was able to get the car moving.
I eventually made it to the hotel in Halifax at 1:00 AM after an 8 ½ hour day in the car. Ughh, not what I had planned when I set out this morning, but happy to have made it to my home for the night.
Air Canada offers regional jet service from it’s national capital to several provincial capitals. I would have the opportunity to test out their Air Canada Business Class on board a Canadair Regional Jet 900 series today. How would the short flight fare in terms of a business class product?
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
Review: Air Canada Business Class, CRJ900, Ottawa Cartier International Airport – Halifax Stanfield International Airport
Air Canada offers a few direct flights from the nations capital to select provincial capital destinations in eastern Canada. One of these flights is the Ottawa – Halifax flight that links the national capital of Canada with the provincial capital of Nova Scotia.
I used Air Canada e-upgrades to upgrade on this route from a paid economy fare. On the day I was traveling, there certainly weren’t many business travellers flying and the cabin was wide open with up to 9 seats available for sale. With up to 5 non stop flights per day, it seemed that there was plenty of upgrade capacity on this short route.
Air Canada
AC 8632 – Business Class (R)
YOW – YHZ (Ottawa Cartier International Airport – Halifax Stanfield International Airport)
Nov 8, 2019
9:30 AM – 12:00 PM (scheduled)
Booked: CRJ-900
Flown: CRJ-900
At around T-45, after spending some time in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Ottawa Domestic, I headed down to Gate 25. Gate 25 was the among the furthest most gates away from the main access points.
On my way down, I happened to see one of the Canada North B737’s parked off the terminal. They fly several times a week from Ottawa to Iqaluit after Air Canada exited the Nunavut Territory market several years ago.
On Board Air Canada’s Short Haul Business Class:
I boarded with Group 1. It is a tight fit on the Canadair Regional Jet 900 series with a a 1-2 configuration in business class up front. Similar to the Embraer’s regional jets, there exists only space for a full size rolling suitcase on the right hand side of the overhead bins.
Thanks to having two suits in my garment bag, my bag was a little fatter than it should have been and I was unable to get my Tumi into the overhead bin. With no sky check service, I was aiming for under the seat storage when the cabin attendant pro-actively offered the front locker near door L1 for storage.
I ended up in the single bank of seats on the right hand seat. The single seat keeps you on your own, but isn’t super private thanks to the open view to the aisle.
Pre Departure Services:
American flights typically offer an open bar pre-departure beverage at most hours. While no pre-departure beverage was offered on today’s flight, but there was a bottle of Naya water waiting at the seat.
Departing Ottawa:
There was a snowy take off over Ottawa suburbs under bright sun. It was a beautiful view over a wintery landscape.
In Flight Entertainment:
This Air Canada flight offers a thinned down version of the slow Air Canada En Route entertainment system. At least it is on demand, but there are not many shows available to watch. There is a working flight map and a brief selection of movies.
The Meal: A Breakfast Omelette
The usual Air Canada parsley omelet with sausage and red potatoes offered. It was exactly the same breakfast offering I had on Vancouver – Calgary in Business earlier in the week. This breakfast, or slight variations of it, have stayed the same for almost 10 years.
Landing at Halifax:
The flight was a short one. As we approached Halifax Stanfield International Airport, it seemed like we were landing into the middle of nowhere. It seemed like a grassy field.
Before I knew it, we were out into the quiet Halifax Stanfield International airport. Like Ottawa, there was a complete absence of people around, despite this being a minor hub for Air Canada’s operations.
I transferred myself over to the Westin Nova Scotian hotel for a two day stay in this part of Atlantic Canada.
Air Canada Short Haul Business Class summarized:
The upfront ride on a Bombardier CRJ won’t ever be mistaken for a wide body service. It’s a much slimmed down version of a narrow body jet. Despite this, it’s better to be up front on any flight than in the back.
If you’ve flown an Air Canada CRJ Business Jet, do you have a favourite feature if this particular regional jet?
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Ottawa, Canada marked the sole lounge at the Ottawa International Airport for many years. The lounge was a popular place for all of Ottawa’s politicians and frequent travellers alike, and marked a reasonably nice space located in one of Air Canada’s focus cities which doesn’t serve as a connection hub. Read on to see what Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounge offering features at Ottawa International Airport.
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, Ottawa – Domestic, Canada
I woke up at about 5:50 AM and checked out and left my work hotel for the week. I happened to have been driving a beautiful blue Volvo V90 for the week which was a generous upgrade from an Intermediate I had booked at Hertz courtesy of Five Star status. As I arrived to the rental return in Ottawa, I was sad to see this one go.
The Ottawa International Airport is a fantastic but compact space for the most part. It has beautiful open spaces with open air spaces that are fitting of an international airport for a capital city of a first world country. Despite the open spaces, there are quite a few bottlenecks at the security check point and immediately after security.
There are also odd ball airlines at YOW that service the capital, including Canadian North.
Security screening is situated one level down from the check in concourse. It has a view of the arrivals’ hall and baggage screening. I don’t know of many airports where you can look at the baggage claim at 7:45 AM on a weekday and not see a single person except for two stone statues sitting around.
Locating the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:
After a slow security screening, I headed over to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. For many years, this was the only available lounge in Ottawa. Porter Airlines used to operate a lounge here but that has been closed for several years. Recently, there has been a Priority Pass option under the Aspire Lounge brand that has recently opened.
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Ottawa is located in the domestic departures zone to the left of the security screening checkpoint. The lounge is located one level up from the concourse level by stairs or the elevator. The lounge is not able to be accessed by those departing to destinations located in the United States.
The lounge is located to the left after security. Since the construction that is occurring in the area, the lounge entrance is a bit hidden. I’ve taken a reverse angle shot here.
Accessing the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:
I took the elevator up to the reception level where there were a group of people blocking reception and access into the lounge. Everyone seemed to be trying to get re-booked to Toronto to make meetings. Thanks to the first of the season heavy snowfall, this was proving to be a challenge for most.
The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge was accessed today courtesy of a business class ticket for an Air Canada Business Class Ottawa – Halifax flight. Unlike in the United States, Air Canada allows for lounge access when flying in domestic or trans-border first class. No guests are permitted under these circumstances.
You could also get access into the lounge through a business class ticket on Air Canada under the Star Alliance Lounge policy, by purchasing an annual lounge membership, or through select Canadian based credit card memberships affiliated with American Express.
Access to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is also permitted for Star Alliance Gold Customers travelling in any class of travel. Access is permitted for a Star Alliance member airline operated flight which departs at the same day as the visit or latest by 05:00 AM the next morning. If your boarding pass does not carry the Star Alliance Gold indicator, you will need to also show your valid Star Alliance Gold card. Under these circumstances, one guest is permitted.
Inside the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge:
The lounge itself is pretty standard Maple Leaf Lounge fare. This version happens to have great windows on both sides of the lounge that let in a lot of natural light.
The seating area of the lounge features mostly relaxed lounge recliners. As a result, it’s a comfortable place to sit. Although at times, I find it can be challenging to locating a place to sit at peak periods as the seating configuration isn’t very dense.
Food and Beverage:
I stuck to coffee as the lounge only offered the usual cereal silos and some cut fruit for breakfast. I had a Lavazzia Latte for breakfast, which was dispensed from the sole machine.
There are typically reasonable food offerings out at the set meal periods that offer both a hot and cold buffet option. Since I was flying outside of a regular meal period time, the food offering was limited to some small snacks.
There were good airside views, although there isn’t much moving around on the apron here at most times.
I enjoyed the views before heading off on my regional Air Canada Business Class Ottawa – Halifax flight.
My Thoughts: The Ottawa Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
For many years, the Ottawa Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge was the only option in Ottawa. It probably caters to most of the government destined travellers through here. The views and the space are probably among the best part of this particular lounge, although I have seen it when it has been completely full here. It beats the concourse for sure.
If you travel through Ottawa, do you visit the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge – Ottawa Domestic?
This post is one chapter on our trip to Atlantic Canada on Air Canada. This trip was booked and credited to Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.
If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.
Read More from this Trip:
- Introduction: Peggy’s Cove
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Ottawa, Ontario
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Halifax
- Moncton, New Brunswick
- The Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge: Halifax Domestic
- Air Canada Business Class: Halifax – Ottawa
- Westin Ottawa
- Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony, Ottawa, Ontario
Trip Introduction: Peggy’s Cove, Halifax, Canada via Air Canada Business Class
Trip Planning:
Time for another quick trip report. . . I have always wanted to take in Canada’s National Remembrance Day ceremony which takes place every year in Canada’s capital of Ottawa, Ontario. I didn’t get my act together last year, despite being in Ottawa on a work trip the week after. This year, I upped my game a bit (or schedule organization depending on your perspective) and was lucky enough to have work meetings the week prior to Remembrance Day which is recognized in Canada on November 11, 2019.
I didn’t fancy staying in Ottawa for the weekend at my own expense after the business travel portion ended, so I decided to leave town and return for the ceremony. I checked around for easy connections from Ottawa and didn’t find to many which didn’t gobble up whole days of travel. With a toss between expensive New York, Chicago and Atlantic Canada, I opted for the cheaper Atlantic Canada provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; the only two provinces I have yet to visit in Canada. Air Canada offered 5 flights per day and I used an 15% discount code courtesy of a promotion on the Canadian American Express Platinum Card. I then used Air Canada e-upgrades courtesy of Air Canada top tier status to upgrade myself into business class.
The routing ended up like this:
YOW-YHZ-YOW (paid)
I hope you’ll follow along on a short Atlantic adventure…
World Traveller 73 
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