Review: Air Canada Domestic Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver Airport

Pretty impressive for a North American domestic lounge. I wish American would take a hint and add some finger sandwiches or real salads to the Admirals Clubs. I dream...

Nicer than the Transborder lounge at YVR.

But that's "fairly crowded"? Looked like empty seats all over the place, no one sitting on the floor. You should check out a domestic UC sometime! 😉

There is no denying Air Canada has the best lounges in North America compared to that of other North American carriers.

"I walked all the way towards the left, where Air Canada’s premium check-in was located."

I believe the premium check in area is at the right far end of the domestic terminal.

Good to hear you enjoyed YVR and the Maple Leaf lounge. It is quite silly that alcoholic beverages aren't available before 11am. It is very civilised to enjoy a pint of Guinness while watching the action on the apron!

Although I fly exclusively on OW carriers these days due to my London base and mainly eastbound travels, I still look forward to flying AC whenever the opportunity presents itself. It is still the only airline where I can get a real glass of caesar cocktail (Clamato is an acquired taste 🙂 My peak AC years were 2008-2012. The domestic J product is far superior to any intra-Europe product I have experienced since moving to this side of the pond. The international J product is pretty competitive, and preferable over same class from BA/LH (but not LX). The international Y product used to be quite tolerable (did a YYZ-HKG in the back of the 77L when it was only 9-across and my employment contract less generous), but I shall steer clear of the high-density Y configurations in the 777 and 787 fleet. Overall, I have found AC to be a solid performer. Many Canadians like to badmouth AC, but like most complaints in Canada, that's probably because they have no idea how good they have it, when compared to the rest of the world.

I was in this loung back in February arround noon. It was fairly crowded but ok, the beer selection has to be the best thing in the lounge. I managed to get an earlier flight to Toronto and fly the 787 for the first time, so that was nice.

I've been to the Maple Leaf Lounge in the trans boarder terminal and it was top notch

@Lucky "though the agent could only issue my boarding passes as far as Frankfurt (and not my connections from Frankfurt to Johannesburg to Cape Town)."
Weren't you still heading to London at this point?

@ Matt -- Yes, good catch, typo on my part. Thanks. Fixed.

@Lucky p.s. Loving the trip reports as usual! Sorry for being anal!

@ Matt -- Not being anal at all, appreciate the correction, as I don't catch these on my own sometimes. 🙂

I've been to that Maple Leaf lounge at YVR and indeed it is nice. Not sure if that one has showers (I was also there mid-day and already clean!) but the international Maple Leaf lounge in Toronto has and they're good, especially before an overnight flight. AC's lounges make the Admiral's Club or Red Carpet Club look pathetic with their shortbread cookies wrapped in plastic.

Oh the many, many hours I have spent in that lounge 🙂

As I've said before - anyone who complains about Air Canada must simply have never flown on a US carrier.

On the "no alcohol before 11am" thing - that's a general rule in keeping with liquor licensing rules and is that case in most Canadian provinces. That said, it's worth remembering that the legal drinking age is either 18 or 19 - as opposed to 21 in the US, so that's a plus for younger travellers out there 😉

@Lucky I'm glad you enjoyed our Canadian hospitality!

is this pass accessible with a day pass option? if so, do you know how much a day pass costs?

thanks,

I love Canadien. It is such a twisted way to speak French with a mix of the Louis XIV-era vocabulary and English idiomatic constructions.

"Bière disponibl à compter de 11h" should be "Bière disponible à partir de 11h".

Vive la Québec!

Gary says:
May 31, 2016 at 2:01 am

Vive la Québec!

-It's "Vive LE Québec." MDR :=)

“Bière disponibl à compter de 11h” should be “Bière disponible à partir de 11h”.

-Not true. "À compter" is a correct synomym for "à partir". Voir http://www.wordreference.com/fren/%C3%A5%20compter

You did, however, catch the typo in the sign. It's "disponible" (the final "e" is missing in the sign).

if you wish to make snarky comments about the French spoken and written in Canada, you should at least be correct. It might enhance your credibility.

Pax

I recently visited the transborder AC lounge at YVR and it looks like they have the same spread as they do in the domestic lounge. It also looked identical to the spread they had at the YUL international lounge as well. My only complaint is that in the afternoon, once they run out of sandwiches, they do not seem to replace them (at least in Montreal), which seemed odd as there were quite a few flights leaving at the time I was there. Overall, a nicer feel than a US carrier's lounge. But on the same trip, I visited UA's lounge at SFO and they seem to be adding nicer food, with salad on offer these days. So US carriers are improving, slowly.

Hi Lucky,
Back in the day, when there was Canadian/CP Air and AC, that was the CP lounge. So it is a pretty good domestic lounge, because AC "inherited" it from CP. But I don't think it's indicative of the overall quality of domestic lounges AC has across the country. Funnily enough, the international lounge at YVR isn't better. It's a tad smaller with not as many diverse options for sitting, working, etc., as the domestic. Montreal might be a better example where the international lounge is spacious and newly renovated and inviting whereas the domestic is a little like a dentist's waiting room.

Yes, the 11:00AM liquor service is a provincial government rule, no liquor service anywhere at YVR before 11:00. Unlike Alberta, there is a travelers liquor license bars and restaurants can apply for and most at YEG (can't specially speak towards YYC) have the license. If you want a Hoegarden at 7:00AM, there is a really good Belgian style Cafe, otherwise they all serve liquor as soon as they open for service. However, I believe the MLL does not and it's either they have chosen the social responsibility route and roll out the liquor at 11:00; they want to save money; or, can't get that license. Not sure. I don't get why airports say at Vancouver and Toronto don't follow Alberta's lead - they are leaving a pile of liquor tax money behind from people that arn't going anywhere except on a plane. Need to get with the times...