Flight check: Los Angeles to Vancouver on Delta Airlines

An Embraer 175. Photo / redlegsfan21

The plane: An Embraer 175. I have never flown on one of these aircraft before but I am a big fan of them now. The flight was comfortable and quiet. It's a surprisingly small aircraft for this route, operated by Compass Airlines, a Delta Connection carrier.

Class: I was in Comfort Plus, which gives passengers Sky Priority boarding, complimentary snacks and beer and wine (though I never did see the alcohol on my flight), as well as approximately 10cm of extra legroom.

My seat: 7C with a 34-inch pitch and 18.25-inch width. A surprisingly comfortable seat with a good amount of legroom. There was also decent storage in the overhead compartment. The aircraft has two seats on either side of the aisle and the cabin feels light and spacious.

On Time? Scheduled for 1hr 10m, our flight left on time and arrived 20 minutes early. Pretty awesome considering the chaos for which LAX is renowned.

How full? Two of the 76 seats were empty.

Fellow passengers: Primarily business people, though there were a few tourists on board, some completely baffled by the fact they had to complete a customs declaration for Canada.

Entertainment: There's free entertainment on Delta Studio, streaming content into personal devices.

Food and drink: A snack tray was brought through the cabin containing yoghurt bars, crisps and other small bites as well as some fruit. The drinks selection was fairly limited. The coffee was Starbucks, and was decent, but decidedly lukewarm.

Service: The two flight attendants were very chilled out and accommodating. In fact, everything about this flight was quiet, despite the frequent, though moderate, turbulence. It was actually an almost tranquil experience. How weird (and wonderful) is that?

Toilets: Two small cubicles, one of which (at the front of the cabin) was inoperable halfway through the flight.

Airport experience: The flight left from Terminal 5 at LAX, which has precious little to recommend it. The duty-free shop is small, uninspiring and expensive and the restaurants aren't much better. Delta has since relocated to Terminals 2 and 3. Going through security was like arriving at a prison camp. Why does it always have to be such an intensely miserable experience in the US? Vancouver Airport in comparison was a pleasure to arrive at. In just 15 minutes, I had passed through customs, collected my bag and boarded the SkyTrain for the journey into the city. You couldn't ask for more.

The final word: This was one of the most relaxing and pleasant flights I have had anywhere in some time. American carriers get a lot of grief from passengers, but this flight was a positive experience on every level.