Review of YVR (Vancouver) to KIX (Kansai) flight on Air Canada Premium Economy with a Toddler

Travel day! Come with us on our journey in Air Canada’s Premium Economy cabin from Vancouver to Osaka, Japan!

Seats

We were no looking forward to an almost 11 hour flight with a busy toddler. We’ve done previous long flights (see post) with her but she was much younger and so much has changed since then. I prepped lots of snacks, toys and an inflatable airplane bed. Air Canada provided a goodie bag for her with child-sized headphones, tic tac toe, and an activity book. We flew Premium Economy this time. It’s been a while (see previous post). Business Class would not be possible with a toddler of this age since I cannot imagine her sitting all by herself in one of their Signature pods. I appreciated the extra space and attentive service. It was nice to have the extra leg room since I’m frequently bending down to get something for her. We chose row 14 in the middle with 3 seats across. It was perfect because there’s no one directly behind us to be disturbed by her shenanigans and we can fully recline without encroaching on someone elses space. There was also extra space in the seat back if needed to store things. Despite the extra space, she still managed to spill 2 drinks on me so just remember to ask for smaller drinks for the little ones and wear dark coloured clothing. The blanket provided doubled as an apron and caught most of the soda spilled on me so that was better than being drenched. 

Entertainment/Amenities

Seat back entertainment was available and wifi for texting was free for Aeroplan members. I tried to purchase wifi for streaming but it didn’t work for me so that was disappointing. 

Since our last flight on premium economy, their amenities bag is a big different. The contents are generally the same, but now it comes in a foldable tote bag instead of a little accessories pouch. The contents included toothbrush, toothpaste, eye cover, socks, and earplugs.

Food

The first meal on the flight was excellent. We had the yuzu salmon and saffron chicken as options. I enjoyed the salmon a lot, as did my toddler. It came with rice and veggies which paired well. The salad and dinner bun was the same sad ones they always serve so nothing to comment on there. Dessert was a carrot cake which was not bad. 

Later on in the flight they provided us with a “snack” which was a tuna salad sandwich and a cookie. It was ok. Nothing too special but filled my tummy up. I told the flight attendant my toddler can’t eat the tuna sandwich due to allergies but she still gave one to her. Perhaps she was in too much of a rush and didn’t hear me. It was the same snack for the whole plane.

For our meal before landing, it was breakfast. The options were yakisoba or omelette. I had the yakisoba and it was not bad. Just a little too sweet for my taste. It came with a fruit bowl so it was a nice sweet way to end the flight.

Airplane Bed

We had purchased an inflatable airplane bed for this flight. I thought it might increase her chances of sleeping. At the end, I’m not sure if it did help or made things worse. She was excited by it but also maybe too excited. The biggest benefit I find is that it helped contain her toys and snacks so it doesn’t fall down the front of the seat. It does have restrictions in terms of use so it can’t be used at take off or landing. We ended up having to deflate it while she was sleeping when landing so that was a bit awkward. We were also told that technically she’s not supposed to lie flat on it since the seat belt will be in an unsafe position across the chest instead of the lap. So the verdict is still out. I don’t know if I would recommend this since it’s an extra item to carry around. It does= have a large profile even when deflated and it didn’t fit into any of our bags without taking up half the bag.

Overall

Overall I would recommend Premium Economy class with a toddler. The extra space was definitely nice. The inflatable bed I’m 50/50 on. It has limitations and it really depends on your child and their excitability. Also I would recommend flying from Vancouver to Osaka instead of Tokyo since it was cheaper and we even got to see Mount Fuji on the plane!