[Flight Report] Air Canada Rouge Toronto - Bogota

AC 1944 Toronto - Bogota

Getting to South America from Asia is a very long journey, so when I had a chance to stay in Canada for a prolonged period of time, heading south for a short winter escape seemed much more manageable. In late 2017, prices to Colombia became very affordable, costing less than CAD $600 including taxes costing over half of that total already.

On the aviation forums, Rouge has a notably bad reputation, being dubbed a low-cost leisure carrier. However, this 6-hour international flight came with surprisingly free perks, including 2 free checked bags and a meal on board. To put into perspective, my earlier trip to Yellowknife, which had a longer overall flight time, provided none of these.

My gate today would be a long way from the security check at the further parts of the pier. Even with the express moving walkways, it was a fairly lengthy journey out there.



Air Canada has a respectable South America network out of Toronto. From the departures board, I could see flights to Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Santiago later in the evening.



With a meal expected for free, I wasn't interested in stocking up on food before boarding. Some of the eateries had nice modern decor though that was quite attractive.





Toronto's winter can get unpredictable. Luckily there wasn't much snow on the ground this evening.



Today's flight is operated by an old but renovated 767, which is a nice widebody with a 2-3-2 configuration, a far more preferable option than the high-density 777 on the mainline. My window seat would only be 1 away from the aisle for easier washroom access. However, the plane didn't seem thoroughly cleaned with lots of food bits strewn on the floor's corners. I had this problem with the mainline as well.



The crew looked younger than the mainline and were dressed in more catchy red uniforms. They also appeared to work faster to get everyone on board, luggage stowed, and seated. We departed on time and took off towards the east. My left window had a good skyline view as we turned south shortly after take-off.







As we left wintry Toronto, the first meal was served. The main's portion was a bit small but in-line with mainline meals I've had on other international AC flights. The bread and dessert seemed disproportionately large though.



There are no television screens on board, but wifi is available to stream their entertainment. Make sure you download their app before departure, which the crew announcement also noted.













Otherwise, the flight was uneventful and we landed in Bogota just slightly behind schedule at 10:12pm.  



The worst part of the journey would be at the airport. Canadians and foreigners use different lines to cross immigration. Canadians have a dedicated line as they need to pay an extra head tax to enter the country. I understood this was a reciprocity tax as Canadians want the same from Colombians, so this diplomatic spat would cost Canadians extra. The major difference with their counters is a credit card machine to make payment.

However, the other foreigner line was also long and snaked around for quite a bit. Then the power went off intermittenly, but the agents' computers seemed to still work. An hour and a half later, I was finally out to the baggage claim. Welcome to Colombia.



More on my website : http://www.globalphotos.org/acrouge-bog.htm
My Bogota photos : http://www.globalphotos.org/bogota.htm