More Air Canada Cafes Open In Montreal & Vancouver, Bringing Network To Six

This Air Canada lounge concept is amazing in decor and food & beverage offerings. It sure beats the copy cat grab-and-go lounges by US airlines which look like your corner 7-Eleven!

I like the concept idea and it works well if you have a short time in the airport. Unfortunately during long layovers or IRROPS, the lounge is a better place to spend time, and AC is falling behind in terms of expansion at major hubs. The cafes will temporarily reduce some crowding but as more and more people with cards and business class tickets, the lounge experience will need to be improved. If you look at other major *A hubs (SIN, BKK, FRA, ZRH) there are a lot of carrier lounges there, AC has like what 3 medium-sized lounges per hub (1 for domestic, 1 for US, 1 for Intl; or 4 if you include Signature) and these get slammed constantly.

@Ben, I was at YTZ last week and they no longer had paper bags nor packaged food items (salads, wraps, etc.) to take with you.

Unsure if it was because of the hour (9AM) or if the grab&go option has been removed altogether.

Breakfast buffet was same as usual.

Just checked AC's website and unlike the other cafés, YTZ's no longer says "Grab ‘n’ Go snacks for when you’re in a rush."

Slightly better food and a brighter/ fresher space that gently persuades people not to hang around too long is a great improevement in my opinion.

We pay a preimium in Canada for flights and airport services so this keeps the AC crowd happy for the rest of the year until we see how the new Elite Status system kicks everyone down a few pegs 🙁

This is just a slightly sad-feeling concept to me. Enshittification

While it may be nice if you have a tight connection, any other time, a relaxing, sit-down experience is much better.

These are in addition to already existing main lounges. They help reduce congestion in the main lounges.

the YTZ "cafe" isn't really a AC cafe... its a swissport lounge with the AC branding partnership... also the q-400 isn't really some they want grab and go food to be on for both AC and porter

Last year when I visited YTZ's, it did have a grab-n-go section. But not anymore.

I think this is pretty cool. More airlines should incorporate mini-lounges.

i wonder if the CSR users can get access haha

the real issue is Air Canada lounges have become tired crap places. the YYZ trans-border lounge is a joke. just nasty.
Signature Lounge in YYZ is an overcrowded restaurant. YVR is a disaster.

I think this is a good concept and could complement a main loung but not replace. It's good because it creates more lounges around the airport especially as many airports have limited space for a full lounge and it deals with many issues of customer complaints such as overcrowding or the lounge not meeting expectations. Hope we see this from more airlines.

Love this concept, a great add-on to existing formal lounges. I just wish AC had a Cafe in the transborder wing at Pearson. I think would cut down foot traffic at their existing lounge. Though the mini-lounge they have in the weird extension (F gates I think?) is basically an AC Cafe.