Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal Airport (YUL)

During my low-key adventure to Oman, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours at the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Montreal. This happened during my vacation as I flew from Miami on Air Canada's A220 Business Class and connected to Zurich on SWISS's A330 Business Class. In particular, I spent my time in the international Maple Leaf Lounge (not to be confused with the domestic lounge or the cross-border lounge, as Canadian airports are complicated in this regard).

Anyway, I was impressed with the Maple Leaf Lounge in Montreal. The lounge has lots of natural light and a great selection of food and drinks. However, it can get crowded during peak hours, and it doesn't quite match the level of Air Canada Signature Suite facilities you'll find in Toronto and Vancouver (which is fair enough!). Let's get to the review…

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal Location

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is located in the Montreal International Terminal, near Gate 52. As I mentioned earlier, the Montreal airport has several special areas for domestic flights, cross-border flights (to the US) and international flights (all international flights). destinations other than the United States).

I went to the international Maple Leaf Lounge, which is generally considered the best in the airport. I also have to mention how seamless the transit experience was coming from the US and connecting to Europe. There is a special channel for international and international connections and it took a few minutes.

After entering the international terminal, turn right and you will see the Maple Leaf Lounge entrance on your left.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal Hours of Operation

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is open before all international flights from Montreal Airport. The lounge opens at 5am, 5:30am or 6am depending on the day of the week and closes at 9pm each night.

As you might expect, the Maple Leaf Lounge is busiest in the afternoon and evening before all flights to Europe, as most of the premium international services arrive from this airport.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal Entry Requirements

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge When it comes to access requirements, typical Star Alliance lounges are:

• Star Alliance Gold members flying on a Star Alliance airline on the same day can access the Maple Leaf Lounge and bring one guest.
• Air Canada Business Class passengers flying on the same day may enter the Maple Leaf Lounge and may not bring guests.
• Passengers traveling on a Star Alliance partner airline such as Lufthansa or SWISS can also access the lounge; business class passengers cannot bring any guest and first class passengers can bring one guest
• Air Canada Maple Leaf Club members, as well as United Club members, have access to the Maple Leaf Lounge.

There are other ways to access the Maple Leaf Lounge, so you can find Air Canada's complete lounge access page here.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal seating and layout

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal is approximately 11,000 square feet, seating 259 passengers. While it's huge during the day, maybe not so big in the evening before transatlantic flights (then again, all the lounges seem to be full during peak hours these days).

The Maple Leaf Lounge has an interesting design, with tons of natural light thanks to its floor-to-ceiling windows, but otherwise a very dark and cozy finish, with wooden floors and lots of dark furniture (which you can do). you can wait in a windowless facility). The hall was renovated in 2016, and I would say that it is correct. The design is not advanced, but it is not outdated either.

When you enter the lounge, you first find a few sitting areas with sofas and chairs, many of which seem to walk past them to enter the main part of the lounge.

Then the main part of the lounge consists primarily of one large, rectangular room, with two passages running the entire length of the lounge.

There are chairs facing each other along the windows. If you want to enjoy the view from the lounge, this is the place to sit.

Then in the middle of the lounge you will find the bar area where you can enjoy a cocktail, barista coffee or wine.

Then you'll find a dining area with cafe-style tables and even some booths, since it's close to the buffet.

Head deeper into the living room and you'll find more seating options, including plenty of chairs and couches.

If you're looking for more privacy, at the back of the lounge you'll find half a dozen chaise lounges where you can relax and look out over the apron.

There are also six semi-private seats facing each other.

As an aviation geek, I can't stress enough how great the lounge views are, especially when the plane is parked at Gate 52 (especially when it's in a nice new Air Canada fan outfit!).

Another unrelated tidbit — there were two Air Algerie A330s on the ground in Montreal during my visit. I thought the airline only had one flight a day. Did I make a mistake, was there a maintenance issue or…?

One thing to be aware of about the rest room is that the socket outlet is not perfect. There are outlets in the lounge, but it's not one of those lounges where every seat has an outlet. Instead, you have to hunt for outlets, especially when the lounge is busy (and I've noticed that some outlets don't even work).

Finally, I have an awkward interaction to share. I take a lot of pictures of lounges, but I think I do it carefully and without invading other people's privacy (as you can tell based on the pictures above). 😉

Early in my time in the lounge, I noticed what appeared to be lounge managers sitting at desks with laptops and notepads making schedules for the staff. One of the guys looked at me strangely when I was taking a picture.

Finally he asked me, “Are you a passenger?” he asked suspiciously. When I said I was, he didn't say anything further. I found this a bit strange. Who else would I be…a flight attendant who walked into the lounge and started taking pictures?

It's also not very welcoming. Let me know if you have a problem taking pictures with me (although I didn't violate any Air Canada policies). If you're wondering why I'm taking pictures, how about starting the conversation in a friendly way like, “Do you like being in the lounge?” or “first time to the gym?”

Speaking of them, even outside of my personal relationship, I didn't find their presence in the lounge very professional. They made the staff's schedules for the coming weeks. It's weird to do this in public in front of customers, especially when you're discussing how unreliable X is and can't be trusted to be on time, etc.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal Food & Beverage

The food and beverage selection at the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal exceeded my expectations and was excellent. The food and beverage spread was located near the center of the lounge and consisted of a self-service buffet and a live cooking station.

I was surprised by both the quantity and the quality of the selections. One area had chips, carrot cake, hummus, guacamole and veggies on the buffet.

Then the lounge had a great cold selection of delicious and healthy options from Greek salad to beet salad to carrot salad.

There were two soups, including an Italian wedding soup and a cream of mushroom soup, which were served with a roll.

The buffet featured three hot dishes, including sriracha cod, fries and roasted beets. Needless to say, all three versions were surprisingly tasty.

Then there was the live cooking station.

On display were samples of three dishes you could order, including poutine, arancini and a smoked meat sandwich.

There were three other options at the live cooking station, including Moroccan chicken, pasta with tomato sauce and rice.

In addition to food, the buffet includes soda, water, coffee, tea, and beer.

The bar then had several wine options to choose from, including three white options, three red options and one rosé.

What I was most excited about was the barista coffee at the bar, so that was a real treat.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal Bathrooms and Showers

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal bathrooms are located in the lounge and to the right. The men's room is not that big, but well equipped. It has three sinks, two toilets and several stalls with Molton Brown toiletries.

There are two shower rooms in the guest room which are very nice. Each has a walk-in shower with two shower heads, as well as a toilet and sink.

The bottom line

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Montreal is a very cool lounge. It has lots of natural light, a great selection of food and drinks, and several types of seating. While not at the level of Air Canada Signature Suites at other airports, this is a solid Star Alliance Gold and Star Alliance Business Class lounge that I would be happy to spend time in again in the future.

How about the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Montreal?