Air Canada Boeing 787 Signature Class, Vancouver to Brisbane

Air Canada is an obvious choice for flights between Australia and Canada, and a less obvious but often better one for flights between Australia and the United States. The airline runs non-stop services from Vancouver to both Brisbane and Sydney, and the connection through Vancouver is fast enough that the quickest routing between Brisbane and New York runs via Canada rather than through any American airport.

Signature Class is Air Canada's long-haul Business Class. On the near-15-hour Vancouver to Brisbane crossing, it delivers one of the better flat beds in the sky, excellent crew and a well-judged meal schedule. The problem sits on the ground in Vancouver, and it affects travellers booking with partner points specifically.

Transiting Vancouver

The Vancouver connection is the underrated part of this itinerary. Arriving from the United States, there is no need to clear security again or touch your checked bag. You walk off the aircraft, scan your passport in the transit zone, and are escorted through a side door into the departures hall.

Canada calls this One Stop Security, and your boarding pass carries an 'ITI OSS' marker. A transit of around 90 minutes is genuinely workable here in a way it would not be at most US hubs.

Paperwork is the trade-off. Routing through Canada means a Canadian Electronic Travel Authorisation on top of whatever you need for the United States, whether that is an ESTA or a visa. It is applied for online, but it is an extra step to remember.

Air Canada's communication during delays is worth noting too. A delayed inbound flight prompted an SMS, quickly followed by a second advising that the Brisbane departure had also been held to accommodate late connections — exactly the information a connecting passenger needs and rarely gets.

The lounge problem in Vancouver

Air Canada operates two lounges in Vancouver: the basic Maple Leaf Lounge, and the Signature Suite, a far superior space reserved for long-haul Business Class passengers and accessed through the Maple Leaf Lounge.

Flying Signature Class to Australia would seem to qualify you for the Signature Suite, and check-in staff may well tell you it does. Buried in the fine print on Air Canada's own Signature Suite page is a clause excluding Business Class flight rewards booked and ticketed by partner airlines. Book with Velocity Points and you are not eligible, regardless of what your boarding pass says about your cabin.

You are not stranded — the Maple Leaf Lounge remains open to you — but it is a clear step down. The space feels dated, with dark furniture, dark carpet and wood panelling, and on this visit the buffet was being packed away while several flights were still on the departures board. Windows overlooking the airfield are the main redeeming feature.

No other airline comes to mind that withholds Business Class lounge access from a passenger ticketed in Business Class purely because the booking came from another programme's points. Even the ability to buy entry at the door would resolve it. At present there is no workaround.

The Signature Class seat

The seat is why you book this flight. Air Canada uses a customised Collins Aerospace Super Diamond — the same underlying product Virgin Australia fitted as 'The Business' — which means direct aisle access from every seat and a seat shell angled away from the aisle.

The bedding is the difference-maker. Between the mattress cover, duvet and the firmness adjustment, eight hours of genuine sleep on this sector is achievable, which is the whole point of a flat bed on a transpacific overnight.

The side nook is a small piece of design that works well: your phone charges out of sight rather than on display. The shelf beneath the screen means there is always somewhere to put a drink or a book, and it pulls forward and opens out into a full tray table. Taller passengers should expect the occasional knee against that shelf even in its parked position.

Food and drink

The Vancouver to Brisbane flight pushes back around midnight and reaches the gate in Brisbane at roughly 7am. That schedule is ideal: dinner after take-off, a full night's sleep, then breakfast as the sun comes up at your destination — which is about as close to defeating jet lag as this crossing allows.

Champagne is poured on the ground, and it is Laurent-Perrier. Air Canada also hands out a properly printed wine list with tasting notes and pairing suggestions, which is increasingly rare and genuinely useful. A CVNE Crianza Rioja was the pick on this flight, served with warmed nuts.

Dinner arrives on a single tray with everything at once. On a daytime flight, course-by-course service would be preferable, but on an overnight where everyone wants to sleep, speed is the right call.

Mains ran to beef short rib with mashed potato, tomato and asparagus; braised chicken leg with spicy noodles and bok choy; roasted salmon with lemon butter, wild rice, carrots and broccolini; or mushroom ravioli in arrabbiata sauce with parmesan and basil. Alongside came a gravlax salmon starter with fennel and orange salad, a cheese plate of Oka, cheddar and brie with grapes and melba toast, and a brown sugar tart. A glass of port appeared during the main course, ready for the cheese.

Two pieces of flexibility are worth knowing. Tell the crew before take-off and they will hold your dinner until whatever time suits you, and a separate 'light bites' menu covers the overnight hours with dishes such as chicken pot pie with potato wedges.

Breakfast can be served as late as 75 minutes before landing, which on a 7am arrival means eating around 5:45am. That is a deliberate design choice in favour of rest rather than crew convenience, and it works. Options were an omelette with parsley, chicken sausage, cottage cheese, roasted potatoes and capsicum relish, or French toast with berry compote, with fresh fruit, muesli and a croissant on the side. The French toast was the highlight; the croissant would have benefited from a plate and some warmth rather than arriving plastic-wrapped at room temperature.

Coffee is a strength — a skim latte arrived unprompted shortly after waking, and refills were no trouble.

Service and entertainment

Crew performance was the standout. The default register is polite and unobtrusive: they say hello, they do the service, and they leave you alone. Open the door to conversation, though, and it becomes one of the more engaging cabins around. Every Air Canada crew member is fluent in both English and French, so take your pick, and the follow-up questions felt genuine rather than scripted.

The entertainment system is solid, with a healthy mix of new releases and older titles. Beyond film, the screen doubles as a control panel: you can dim and un-dim the windows from your seat, check the weather at the destination before deciding whether to pack your jacket, and switch the moving map between metric and imperial. There is also a preference panel through which you tell the crew whether to wake you for breakfast or let you sleep through, which removes a lot of ambiguity on an overnight. One nice touch on descent: the cabin mood lighting shifts to match the actual sunrise outside.

Before landing, crew hand out Australian passenger declaration cards along with an airport express card for Business Class passengers, a real timesaver at Brisbane Airport's main Customs exit on a busy morning. Wi-Fi is available for purchase.

The verdict

For anyone travelling between Australia and North America with Velocity Points to spend, Air Canada deserves a place on the shortlist. The Vancouver hub connects to both Brisbane and Sydney, the transit is fast, and availability can be more generous than on the direct options. On the day of this trip, the choice was a direct Economy reward seat with United or a Signature Class flat bed via Vancouver. The bed won easily.

What you get is eight hours of real sleep across the Pacific, bookended by good food, a thoughtful wine list and crew who are a pleasure to deal with. The seat, the bedding and the meal timing all point the same way: arriving rested and already on destination time. The Vancouver lounge policy is the one genuine blemish, and it is entirely self-inflicted. On a short transit it matters less; on a long one, it is a reason to look elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Canadian visa to transit Vancouver? Australians generally need a Canadian Electronic Travel Authorisation, applied for online, in addition to any US entry document such as an ESTA or visa.

Do I have to clear security again when connecting in Vancouver? Not when arriving from the United States. Canada's One Stop Security programme lets you scan your passport in the transit zone and walk straight through to departures without re-screening or collecting your bag.

Can I use the Signature Suite if I book with Velocity Points? No. Air Canada's terms exclude Business Class flight rewards booked and ticketed by partner airlines, so points bookings are directed to the Maple Leaf Lounge instead, even when you are flying Signature Class.

Does Air Canada provide pyjamas in Signature Class? No. A mattress cover, duvet and pillow are supplied, but you should bring your own sleepwear.

Which seats should I avoid? Row five is missing a window, which is worth avoiding if you are flying during daylight. Centre pairs suit couples travelling together.

Can I delay dinner or sleep through breakfast? Yes to both. Tell the crew before take-off if you want to eat later, and use the seat's preference panel to indicate whether you want to be woken. Breakfast is served as late as 75 minutes before landing.

This information is general in nature. It does not take your personal circumstances into account.