I still wonder why Air Canada took out the Rapidair brand from its express Toronto/Montreal/Ottawa service. The Rapidair name was unique in the sense that it described well what it was about, but also an unique branding initiative in the airline business (I see you coming, but neither KLMAsia nor SwissairAsia liveries count).

Only Air Canada had a distinct brand name for its express service which catered mostly to business people. It’s my first time on an Air Canada Rapidair flight in a long time. Although it’s been rebranded Air Canada Express, for me it’s still Rapidair.

Air Canada used to have some interesting TV ads in the 80s and 90s when it flew exclusively to Toronto Pearson (YYZ).

My flight AC7951 is the first of the six direct daily flights to Toronto Billy Bishop airport. Of course that’s on top of the Toronto Pearson hourly service.

Check In

The Air Canada app is pretty intuitive and has been enhanced in the last years. 

I was able to check in on the app 24 hours before the flight. Since I had to take photos of this trip, I chose a different seat and went for 15F. That was available on the seat at no fee.

Note that seat selection is free only 24 hours prior to the flight.

Boarding

Most passengers on Rapidair flights are business travellers. They know the drill: they pack super light, use all of the technology available to them and don’t look lost like unfrequent business fliers and leisure passengers.

Boarding was done by zones and was managed efficiently by one veteran agent. Everyone was seated within 20 minutes. 

Aircraft

The Montreal Trudeau to Toronto Billy Bishop express flight was on a Bombardier Q400 operated by Jazz Aviation. Actually all of the flights are serviced by this aircraft, including competitor Porter.

The propeller plane was very noisy at times but you have to live with it as it’s a one hour flight.

Seat

Q400 aircrafts are not equipped with inflight entertainment system. The pitch is decent and thanks to Covid, enRoute inflight magazine is not available in the seat pocket.

Inflight Service

The inflight service is limited to complementary coffee, tea, juices and water. A small pack of biscuits was offered. I only took some water, I didn’t want to get a surge of sugar so early in the morning.

YTZ Bus Shuttle

Air Canada and Porter offer a free shuttle to and from Billy Bishop Airport. It run every 15 minutes to the Fairmount Hotel on Front street at the corner of Dundas. Union Station is located across the street if you need to catch a train or the Union Pearson Express train to Toronto Pearson Airport.

The bus has complimentary Wi-Fi which runs impressively well. Check the Billy Bishop amenities link to know more.

You can check more flight reviews. I has a chance to experience Air Canada Signature Class Cabin on it’s 777-300ER from Frankfurt to Montreal.

Check my Qatar Airways Business Class experience from Doha to Zurich as well!