Wardair 747 upstairs.
For us paupers, the first-come-first-serve upper deck coach seats on the Wardair 747's were fantastic in the 80's. For the same price as the poor bu**er in the middle seat back of the bus on row 60, one had the opportunity to climb the spiral staircase and enjoy the lounge bar atmosphere of the 'upper' floor with about 20 other pax that showed up 3-4 hours early to be assigned upstairs seats. This combined with bone china, edible food, and a champagne welcome before the doors closed. Ah, the good ol' days when cattle class wasn't really that bad.
I had the misfortune to sample the new high-density seating (3-4-3) on an AC 777-300 LHR-YYZ over Xmas, a horrific experience. My knees are still in recovery. When I tell tales of the Wardair days, the young ones don't believe me that a 'charter' op would offer that kind of service and comfort. Congrats to the AC execs, their seats and service is now on-par with the lowest discount carriers. Shame it has to be that way to compete these days. Or does it?