LaGuardia Airport has long been known for being, well, awful, though the airport’s new Terminal B Eastern Concourse has just opened. This looks like a beautiful new terminal that you’d think was at another airport.
As part of that, Air Canada has today opened the Maple Leaf Lounge LaGuardia, which is the first lounge to open in the new concourse. Air Canada used to have a lounge at LGA, which just recently closed (until September it accepted Priority Pass, but at that point they stopped).
The new lounge is 7,015 square feet and has the capacity for up to 126 guests. It’s open daily and located on level 2 of the Terminal B Eastern Concourse, near Air Canada’s departure gates, which are 49, 50, and 51.
Here’s how Air Canada describes the new lounge:
With capacity for up to 126 customers in an elegant space that overlooks the concourse, the new LaGuardia Maple Leaf Lounge combines Canadian design and art with metropolitan modern style. The 7,015-square-foot lounge features a self-serve bar, offering a wide selection of beverages, including Canadian wines and Lavazza specialty coffees, a business centre and comfortable seating with a view of the tarmac. Business travellers planning to work on site may also take advantage of a cyber counter equipped with PCs and color printing, complimentary Wi-Fi and access to more than 7,000 digital newspaper and magazine content via the PressReader app.
The Maple Leaf Lounge will be open to Air Canada business class passengers, Star Alliance Gold flyers, and Air Canada Altitude Elite 35K members.
Now, there is some bad news. The old Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge LGA belonged to Priority Pass, meaning that Priority Pass members traveling in economy and on other airlines could use the lounge. Unfortunately I’m being told that the new lounge won’t belong to Priority Pass.
As it stands, the only two Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges open to Priority Pass members are those in Newark and Paris.
Here are some pictures of the new Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge LGA:
Does anyone plan on visiting the Air Canada Lounge New York LGA anytime soon?
The new terminal at LG is fantastic... also has hilariously overpriced "chocolate pizza" and "chocolate drumsticks", but overall the new space, shops, and restaurants are 1 million times better than the old terminal.
The terminal area got busy around 9am, but if you are there early when the gate area is empty, there's not much need for the lounge
@1K - thanks for the explanation. I suppose AC didn't realize I had booked on an Aeroplan classic flight reward when they switched me from the Austrian Airlines flight to theirs. I certainly won't complain! And I will arrive extra early to visit both lounges.
@Charlie McMillan - you have access on a Market Fare Flight Reward as it's booked into a revenue fare class (J, C, D, Z, or P). Essentially Aeroplan booked you a revenue Air Canada Signature Class fare at a dynamic mileage rate.
Fixed Mileage Flight Rewards booked in I class (including Star Alliance partner redemptions on AC) are not eligible, along with upgrades booked into R class.
I walked out of the old on the P pass .Trash old Food take care of the food or don't have it.
Bit of history, the old MLL was a CO Presidents Club and before that EAs old Ionosphere Lounge.
@ GLOBAL STEVE I completely agree with you.
ENDRE:
really? 10 years ago? and why would you be on this blog site as someone who is referencing a major NYC airport from 10 years?
@iv - Any idea why AC would prohibit award ticket access there, but not in any other location? Also, do they provide other options in Toronto?
Looks much nicer and more spacious than the old one, thats for sure. That place was sort of a dungeon, despite it being up top.
Looks like its much bigger which is great too, I believe AC only flies A320 and E175s so it'll never be crowded (fingers crossed).
United is also opening a United Club in the spring, when they make the transition over, and I'm fairly certain there's an Admiral's Club as well....
Looks much nicer and more spacious than the old one, thats for sure. That place was sort of a dungeon, despite it being up top.
Looks like its much bigger which is great too, I believe AC only flies A320 and E175s so it'll never be crowded (fingers crossed).
United is also opening a United Club in the spring, when they make the transition over, and I'm fairly certain there's an Admiral's Club as well. I think I've read about a general use/PP lounge opening at one point as well, but that may not be until the head house opens in 2020
Excited to see what the new Centurion Lounge looks like eventually as well. The new LGA is shaping up to have some nice lounge options for sure. You'll need it too, because despite the shiny new terminal, the runway/taxiway layout will stay the same, which means you'll just have a nicer place to wait out your chronic LGA delays in.
@iv @Christian - I have an Aeroplan standard award ticket in business class to Europe next summer and I noticed the AC app told me I will have access to the Signature Suite at YYZ. I checked my booking and sure enough, the booking class was "Z" which is eligible. Maybe they're changing the rules? Although I was originally booked on Austrian but then AC switched me to their flight when the airlines swapped routes,...
@iv @Christian - I have an Aeroplan standard award ticket in business class to Europe next summer and I noticed the AC app told me I will have access to the Signature Suite at YYZ. I checked my booking and sure enough, the booking class was "Z" which is eligible. Maybe they're changing the rules? Although I was originally booked on Austrian but then AC switched me to their flight when the airlines swapped routes, so maybe that has something to do with it. Either way I'm not complaining, as I visited the Signature Suite earlier this year on a paid ticket and it is awesome.
I spent some time in the old ML lounge at La Guardia during a summer weather delay. It was way too crowded because of Priority Pass and also due to it's small size. I look forward to visiting the new lounge but I'm even more pleased to see that AC has left that truly awful gate area in the old wing. The new one has to be better.
@Christian
No Air Canada does not forbid award ticket holders from accessing their lounge other than their Signature Lounge in Toronto (International T1)
What are the criteria to be admitted? Doesn’t Air Canada forbid award ticket holders from using their lounges?
@ CP@YOW, Yes I know! But Ben initially wrote that the lounge was closed since September. He corrected it now! :)
@Marc, the new terminal area only went into use on Dec 1, so not surprising that the old lounge was still open on Nov 30
I was there on Sunday and was looking forward to it, but unfortunately the MLL didn't open until Monday. But the new area is great, like a real airport now. The footprint of the restaurant near the AC gates looks almost as big as the entire AC gate area in the old building
The old Air Canada lounge was still open as of November 30th. I believe it never closed, it just stopped being a Priority Lounge pass.
The future UA gates are in the same building as the AC lounge, and indeed there will be a UA lounge directly facing the AC lounge -- you can see the UA lounge under construction now. So I assume UA *Gold members traveling domestically would in theory be allowed to use the AC lounge per *A rules. That might lead to some crowding here over time, if people figure that out.
Plus anyone with a UC membership, UC Card, or Pres Plus Card?
Will United travelers be able to use this lounge when United moves over in 2019 or are the gates going to be somehow separated?
Awful Airport. Had the misfortune of using it twice 10 years ago.
Not if it's not Priority Pass.