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page 6 places january 1978 i first class is an experience you owe yourself b n r i a 1 oj le j c tj it- li s v its wicked its decadent and its costly but just once in your lifetime you owe it to yourself to fly first class places sent two of its staff members on a roundtrip class flight from toronto to van couver a couple of months ago and despite being seasoned travellers theyre still raving about how pampered they were from the moment you board the aircraft and in some cases even before since there are some airports with first class lounges your every whim is catered to even before takeoff as you settle down into your extrawide seats a flight attendant is at your side asking you if youd like a cocktail or glass of mumms champagne free of charge of course and with the pun in tended everything is up from there until the pilot begins his descent into the airport at your destination movie and stereo headsets which cost you 2 when you travel economy are com plimentary as are the pair of sockslippers that are passed around before takeoff and which make a nice gift for the children when you get back home and face the inevitable question what did you bring me to determine whether cp air or air canada offered the better first class service places booked its staff members on cpairs morning flight on the toronto to vancouver leg of the journey and air canadas midafternoon flight from vancouver on the return we found that each airline knows how to treat its first class travellers although there were a couple of areas in each case where im provements could be made paradoxically alt hough cp airs first class compartment was only about onethird full and air canadas was filled to capacity the service on this particular trip was better on air canada with the flight attendants working as hard as stevedores from takeoff to touchdown the cp air attendants an island in the mainstream make time for a wsit to the historic 17th century fort st catherine one of the more than 20 old fortifications on bermuda visitors may rent motor assisted cycles or use the friendly efficient bermuda taxi and public transportation system bermudas clear clean waters boast a balmy 80t av erage in july and a moderate temperature of 62f a erage in january stores and boutiques feature local crafts and merchandise from around the world with special emphasis on goods from the british isles the choice of dining in bermuda ranges from international fare to countryside pubs like a jewel glistening against a soft setting of bluegreen water lies bermuda rising majestically out of the atlantic ocean and blessed by the gentle influence of the warming gulf stream bermuda has beckoned visitors for vk centuries just over 2 hours by air from the major centres of toronto montreal and halifax there is an abundance of pleasures awaiting you here among this group of islands that once inspired mark twain to proclaim them paradise sunshine is bountiful over 300 days annually the temperature is moderate 703t average there are miles of uncrowded soft pink beaches and a year round calendar of sporting activities for every taste from the clean and colourful architecture through the custom of proper dress for evening dining to the restricted use of motor vehicles there is a sense of old fashioned style in bermuda beautiful relaxed friendly and a touch of elegance thats he bermuda experience for further information on a bermuda holiday experience write to the bermuda department of tourism ref pl1 78 2 btoor street west toronto ontario m4w 3w2 or call your travei agent unspoiled unhurried uncommon while gracious and ready to serve you whenever you asked tended to sit at the rear of the com partment a great deal and chat with each other at one point one of our thirsty places staff after repeatedly pushing bis seat call button in vain had to go back and ask a stewardess for a champagne refill she claimed the call button was out of service and quickly attended to his request we were disappointed to learn that the movie islands in the stream would not be shown to cp airs first class passengers because according to one of the attendants it took too long to serve the meal on the air canada flight however we had a leisurely dinner and still had time to see the other side of the mountain the cp air hostesses on the other hand seemed to have more personality than their air canada counterparts although the latter as mentioned earlier were extremely busy making small talk while serving the meal and recommending the wine with each course an amusing and homey touch was added by one cp air attendant who when dishing out the caesar salad at lunch served the anchovies on the side rather than putting them in the salad because she couldnt stand them herself and speaking of meals this is where both airlines truly shone with cp air perhaps having the edge as far as the actual menu was concerned each meal began with the pleasant ritual of the passengers being handed a steaming hot hand towel slightly perfumed to refresh themselves before dining then the meal was served in dividually course by course- with each passengers tray covered in white linen and real china and tableware being used instead of the usual styrofoam paper and plastic the cp air lunch began with consomme celestine a broth with garniture of thinlysliced pancakes and a dollop of sherry if you wished delicious next the anchovyless caesar salad and then a seafood casserole of shrimp scallops oysters and salmon mixed in a wine sauce and covered in puff pastry while this was as good as it sounds it wasnt quite hot enough even though we were the first to be served the attendant suggested a chilled bottle of macon villages with the casserole and this set it off perfectly the next course con sisted of a broiled new york steak served with herb butter and an assortment of vegetables and- with the assistance of a bottle of les chatelains it was as fine a meal as weve had in most toronto restaurants the cheese tray was oj also excellent topped off with small individual bottles of port and a fruit meringue couldnt be resisted finishing off the meal with a coffee and cour- voisier our intrepid places staffers wad dled off the flight in vancouver with belts loosened surrounded by a happy glow that good food and good booze create the ceremony on the air canada flight was similar although our appetite was perhaps not as keen since we had gone j out for sunday brunch in vancouver before cat ching the 230 pm flight the first course con sisted of an assortment of smoked salmon lobster medallions prosciutto ham and melon and mushrooms in olive oil this was followed by a lessthanmemorable trjji salad and a choice of roast rib eye of beef or shrimp casserole both of which were very good if rather standard fare another fine cheese tray was offered then a dessertlovers choice of black forest cake mocha parfait or lime sherbet and a fruit q basket j if there was any criticism to be made of the flight attendants it was that they tended to expect you to be a wine connoisseur not offering any suggestions as to what was the best of the selections they had but then other passengers with more wine ex perience would probably have been offended if they had so either way the overworked hostesses couldnt win the one real disap pointment on the air canada flight was that one of our staffers had managed to secure a collectors item- in vancouver a firemans helmet with- the now- defunct vancouver blazers crest on it and intended to give it to his young son one of the hostesses took it away for safe keeping during the flight and forgot to bring it back r when we reached toronto our staffer also forgot to ask for it and when he called air canadas baggage enquiries office the following day and several days thereafter there was no sign of it all in all both first class flights were worth the additional 100 or so extra it costs over the economy fare pragmatists will point out that the meal and the free drinks wouldnt come anywhere near 100 in even the fanciest of toronto restaurants and members of the canadian proliteriat will fume that its the economy passengers who subsidize first class but all logical arguments aside its still a terrific way to go a