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It took me this long to finally decide to sort out my pictures and post this report. Other reports from this past summer will arrive in due time 
Date: 28 May 2005
Flight: AC 15
From: YYZ-Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport
To: HKG- Hong Kong (Chek Lap Kok) International Airport
Aircraft: C-GKOM (#952)
Type: Airbus A340-500
ETD: 0945
ATD: 0952 Rwy: 24R
ETA: 1320+1
ATA: 1352+1 Rwy: 7L
I am very glad to have another chance to ride Air Canada's A340-500 so soon after my previous ride in Christmas. This time, I was lucky enough to be selected for the summer trainee program at HAECO (Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company). This ticket was booked through the United reservation system using all of my 56000 Mileage Plus miles (+4000 miles from my parents). Despite all the horror stories I heard, the United reservation system was surprisingly quick and efficient. In a few minutes, I was already speaking to a representative. What I love about the Star Alliance is that when I told the rep to search for a Toronto to Hong Kong, the system automatically searches all possible flights from all of the member airlines. I ended up with Air Canada on the outbound trip, and UA on the return. I asked whether there are any SIA tickets available, but no luck
Anyway, on the day of the flight, I arrived early at about 0730 at Pearson International. There were only a handful of people in line, so I was served in less than 5 minutes. My seat for the day would be 18K, near the middle of the wing. There was no line at the security, so I went through that in a breeze. There was so much time to waste, so I walked all over new Terminal 1 and visited every single store inside the terminal!
Around 75 minutes before boarding time, I boarded the bus towards the infield terminal where my flight would be departing. It wasn't a very pleasant ride, but at least it afforded me a rare opportunity to see some airside scenery.
Hybrid scheme: AC A320 with new tail colour but old white fuselage
Arriving at the IFT, I took a peek at my home for the next 15+ hours. Sure enough, it's #952! My 2nd time within a year!
C-GKOM: this is the best view I could get
Gate 523
For the rest of the time, I just sat and watched the overhead TV until they called for boarding. I was among the last to board due to my seat being close to the front.
Pushback began at 0952, and afterwards, we began a long taxi towards 24R, where we allowed a jet to land before beginning the takeoff roll. This time, the takeoff run didn't seem as long as my first experience. Maybe I got used to it.
Taxiing to runway 24R
nice view of the Highway 407&403 interchange just minutes after takeoff
First it was the news in English (CBC) and French (Radio-Canada). It seems like I was only one of the few who actually watched it. After that, we're free to fool around with the AVOD! I just love watching AIRSHOW moving map and looking out the window at the same time to see where I’m flying. I can never get enough of it!
Soon after climbing to initial altitude of FL320, drinks service began. I took the advice of another fellow JP member and ordered tomato juice on ice. The FA just gave me the whole can when I didn’t even bother to ask!
Tomato juice + snack mix
There was nothing really interesting for the next 10 or so hours other than meals. I watched Meet the Fockers and a few other television show, and that's about all. The touch screens are really convenient, but unfortunately are prone to crashing if someone (me) selects too quickly! This time, the screen froze only once, compared to 6 months ago where it crashed a total of 3 times.
Lunch consisted of fried noodles with beef + salad bowl. I tried the Motts Spicy Clamato for drinks this time. It's too spicy for my tastes though.
They served ice cream at the end, but everyone had to wait for 10 mins before eating it because it was so rock solid frozen. They said they forgot to take them out of the freezer in time. Man, those were the hardest ice creams I ever saw. A lot of people around me had to replace their spoons because they tried to dig with it
There was cup noodle and sandwich, right when I was about to get hungry. Great timing
A regular dinner would have been nice though.
In the middle of the flight, we were served "dim-sum". Obviously you can't compare these to the Chinese dim-sum we're used to, but at least they looked good tasted all right and I was full.
Here are some pictures out of the window from inflight:
Cool cloud formations
Two curious looking peaks, looks like they are in Japan according to AIRSHOW. Can someone confirm that?
About 3 hours until landing, we began to hit some nasty turbulence, and the altitude indicator on my screen promptly rose to FL370. Then it went even higher to 390, and eventually 40000 ft. This would be my highest altitude record ever.
FL400: I was here
About 90 mins to destination, we were served another lunch. Again, it lived up to typically Cara (AC’s catering company) quality, but unfortunately served in those cheap plastic tubs again.
Lunch: beef + potatoes + carrots + fruit bowl
It was at the end of this meal that I decided to pick the "right" FA to ask for a possible flightdeck visit. She went to ask the pilots and said they didn't mind!
There was really nothing to see during the descent, as there was thick cloud covers. I only saw land when we’re less than 1 minute away from contact with the ground.
Note HAECO hangar on the left; LH, OZ, and CZ jets lined up for 7R
On land, with tower in foreground, and typical super-intensive density residences in the back
The aircraft landed smoothly on 7L. I waited for everyone else to leave, and the FA led me to the front. It was my first time in a flightdeck, and it sure looks cool! Too bad the pilots were in a hurry so I couldn't talk to them, but I was still a happy dude! This picture was taken by the mechanic.
It was strange that there was no line at the customs, and my baggage turned up almost as soon as I arrived at the carousel. The longest time I spent waiting was 3 mins for the train to take me from the Y-shaped concourse to the main building.
I have to say that after my two recent longhaul flights with Air Canada, I have nothing but good things to say about them. Service was professional, meals were on time, and they came around often with water, tea, and coffee in between meals. Not to mention the decent legroom and comfortable seats in Y-class.
Cabin inflight
Cabin, after landing
Question: Last time on this same flight, the aircraft flew on the polar route, but this time, it went with the more conventional route through Alaska and Japan. Anyone knows why they use different routing? Perhaps the season had something to do with it? (The previous flight was late December)
Thanks for reading!
Date: 28 May 2005
Flight: AC 15
From: YYZ-Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport
To: HKG- Hong Kong (Chek Lap Kok) International Airport
Aircraft: C-GKOM (#952)
Type: Airbus A340-500
ETD: 0945
ATD: 0952 Rwy: 24R
ETA: 1320+1
ATA: 1352+1 Rwy: 7L
I am very glad to have another chance to ride Air Canada's A340-500 so soon after my previous ride in Christmas. This time, I was lucky enough to be selected for the summer trainee program at HAECO (Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company). This ticket was booked through the United reservation system using all of my 56000 Mileage Plus miles (+4000 miles from my parents). Despite all the horror stories I heard, the United reservation system was surprisingly quick and efficient. In a few minutes, I was already speaking to a representative. What I love about the Star Alliance is that when I told the rep to search for a Toronto to Hong Kong, the system automatically searches all possible flights from all of the member airlines. I ended up with Air Canada on the outbound trip, and UA on the return. I asked whether there are any SIA tickets available, but no luck
Anyway, on the day of the flight, I arrived early at about 0730 at Pearson International. There were only a handful of people in line, so I was served in less than 5 minutes. My seat for the day would be 18K, near the middle of the wing. There was no line at the security, so I went through that in a breeze. There was so much time to waste, so I walked all over new Terminal 1 and visited every single store inside the terminal!
Around 75 minutes before boarding time, I boarded the bus towards the infield terminal where my flight would be departing. It wasn't a very pleasant ride, but at least it afforded me a rare opportunity to see some airside scenery.
Hybrid scheme: AC A320 with new tail colour but old white fuselage
Arriving at the IFT, I took a peek at my home for the next 15+ hours. Sure enough, it's #952! My 2nd time within a year!
C-GKOM: this is the best view I could get
Gate 523
For the rest of the time, I just sat and watched the overhead TV until they called for boarding. I was among the last to board due to my seat being close to the front.
Pushback began at 0952, and afterwards, we began a long taxi towards 24R, where we allowed a jet to land before beginning the takeoff roll. This time, the takeoff run didn't seem as long as my first experience. Maybe I got used to it.
Taxiing to runway 24R
nice view of the Highway 407&403 interchange just minutes after takeoff
First it was the news in English (CBC) and French (Radio-Canada). It seems like I was only one of the few who actually watched it.
After that, we're free to fool around with the AVOD! I just love watching AIRSHOW moving map and looking out the window at the same time to see where I’m flying. I can never get enough of it!Soon after climbing to initial altitude of FL320, drinks service began. I took the advice of another fellow JP member and ordered tomato juice on ice. The FA just gave me the whole can when I didn’t even bother to ask!
Tomato juice + snack mix
There was nothing really interesting for the next 10 or so hours other than meals. I watched Meet the Fockers and a few other television show, and that's about all. The touch screens are really convenient, but unfortunately are prone to crashing if someone (me) selects too quickly! This time, the screen froze only once, compared to 6 months ago where it crashed a total of 3 times.
Lunch consisted of fried noodles with beef + salad bowl. I tried the Motts Spicy Clamato for drinks this time. It's too spicy for my tastes though.
They served ice cream at the end, but everyone had to wait for 10 mins before eating it because it was so rock solid frozen. They said they forgot to take them out of the freezer in time. Man, those were the hardest ice creams I ever saw. A lot of people around me had to replace their spoons because they tried to dig with it
There was cup noodle and sandwich, right when I was about to get hungry. Great timing
A regular dinner would have been nice though.In the middle of the flight, we were served "dim-sum". Obviously you can't compare these to the Chinese dim-sum we're used to, but at least they looked good tasted all right and I was full.
Here are some pictures out of the window from inflight:
Cool cloud formations
Two curious looking peaks, looks like they are in Japan according to AIRSHOW. Can someone confirm that?
About 3 hours until landing, we began to hit some nasty turbulence, and the altitude indicator on my screen promptly rose to FL370. Then it went even higher to 390, and eventually 40000 ft. This would be my highest altitude record ever.
FL400: I was here
About 90 mins to destination, we were served another lunch. Again, it lived up to typically Cara (AC’s catering company) quality, but unfortunately served in those cheap plastic tubs again.
Lunch: beef + potatoes + carrots + fruit bowl
It was at the end of this meal that I decided to pick the "right" FA to ask for a possible flightdeck visit. She went to ask the pilots and said they didn't mind!
There was really nothing to see during the descent, as there was thick cloud covers. I only saw land when we’re less than 1 minute away from contact with the ground.
Note HAECO hangar on the left; LH, OZ, and CZ jets lined up for 7R
On land, with tower in foreground, and typical super-intensive density residences in the back
The aircraft landed smoothly on 7L. I waited for everyone else to leave, and the FA led me to the front. It was my first time in a flightdeck, and it sure looks cool! Too bad the pilots were in a hurry so I couldn't talk to them, but I was still a happy dude! This picture was taken by the mechanic.
It was strange that there was no line at the customs, and my baggage turned up almost as soon as I arrived at the carousel. The longest time I spent waiting was 3 mins for the train to take me from the Y-shaped concourse to the main building.
I have to say that after my two recent longhaul flights with Air Canada, I have nothing but good things to say about them. Service was professional, meals were on time, and they came around often with water, tea, and coffee in between meals. Not to mention the decent legroom and comfortable seats in Y-class.
Cabin inflight
Cabin, after landing
Question: Last time on this same flight, the aircraft flew on the polar route, but this time, it went with the more conventional route through Alaska and Japan. Anyone knows why they use different routing? Perhaps the season had something to do with it? (The previous flight was late December)
Thanks for reading!
and awsome pictures!
and 
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