Canadian North Montreal - Kuujjuaq

5T164

Boeing B737-400C / C-FFNF

13A Economy

Montreal (YUL) - Kuujjuaq (YVP)

20/10/2021 10:10 - 12:13 | 2h03

5T165

Boeing B737-400C / C-FFNF

13A Economy

Kuujjuaq (YVP) - Montreal (YUL)

20/10/2021 15:29 - 17:36 | 2h07

At the time of flying special covid measures were taken flying between both cities to prevent the spread of the virus.

Boarding/Check in

I arrived well ahead the departure time at the airport to proceed to the check in desk, Canadian North and Air Inuit have their desks away from Air Transat and Air Canada since they have a different type of passenger and operations. Before you could check in , a health setup was positioned in front of the check-in desk to verify if you had a negative covid test. Since Kuujjuaq is one of the most northern airports and thus an isolated community no risk was taken during the pandemic. This explains the use of a combi plane with half seats half cargo compartment as they transport cargo/mail/food/supplies to Kuujjuaq (it's the transport hub for the whole Nunavik region). Since I was flying up and down I was exempted from testing and after some phonecalls I got accepted for check in where I got my boarding pass and proceeded to the gate area to board the flight. The plane was parked at the Aéroquai gates which is the remote terminal where usually smaller planes are parked.

Boarding was through the rear since the front side is a dedicated cargo compartment, once on board I was greeted by the friendly female flight attendant. For the 2hr flight I was originally seated on 13E (which in this case is the last row) but after asking the flight attendant I could move to 13A which was a window seat. The plane was an ex KLM bird and it showed, parts of the seats were still blue as well as the curtains.

Once the doors were closed the plane taxied to the active runway and took off for a 2hr flight up North to Kuujjuaq airport.

Inflight Service

As soon as the seatbelt sign was off the crew started with the inflight service, in normal times it's an extensive meal service with a wide range of hot and cold drinks and a hot meal but today it was a bottle of water and a health pack. During cruise I enjoyed the change of scenery as far as one could see. And after roughly 1h45 the descent into Kuujjuaq airport started.

After a short taxi the plane arrived on stand and a walk across the apron to arrive at the terminal gave spectacular views of the aircraft / airport and cargo operations.

The return flight

Arrived in the arrivals/departure/check in area I stepped outside to admire the endless views of the area and the outside of this tiny but important airport. It shows it is really remote and far away from everything and everyone but so needed for the area. The airport itself doesn't feel like one but rather like a community center where everyone knows everyone. When it was nearly time to check in for the return I headed back inside. Here again it's different from any ordinary airport. You have 2 sort of offices of the main airliners being Canadian North and Air Inuit where you had to check in and when the flight was nearly ready for boarding an announcement was made to pass through security as it's a tiny airport with a waiting area. Once through security and a short wait at the waiting area (which can be compared to a train station) we walked to the plane across the apron again for the return flight to Montreal.

Inflight service

After take off the inflight service started, this time no water bottle but a cold meal service which was pretty tasty and complete compared to other airlines during the pandemic. With a complete full cabin the crew had something on their hands to pass the time since the way in was nearly empty and only water bottles were given.

Around 17:30 the plane touched down at Montreal airport and was taxied to the same stand where it left in the morning.

Bottom line

All in all it was a great experience flying with Canadian North, it didn't feel like flying a commercial airline but rather like a shuttle service from a capital to a closed community where people take the flight to visit their family in the big city or go to work in Kuujjuaq. People were so friendly and welcoming as they see straight away you're not from around. Would definitely fly them again to compare their service after covid and to fly one of the smaller jets out of YVP airport.