Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Edmonton Airport

Air Canada operates a fairly extensive network of lounges both within Canada, as well as around the world. While I had a chance to visit the currently-closed Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Paris CDG Airport in the past, I haven’t visited one within Canada until my recent trip to Yellowknife.

On that trip, I had a chance to spend some time in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Edmonton Airport prior to my departure to Calgary. Continue reading to see what the lounge was like during my weekday visit between about 11AM and 2PM.

Location & Opening Hours

The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Edmonton Airport is located past security in the airport’s domestic/international terminal (i.e. the terminal used by all flights other than those departing to the United States). It can be accessed using stairs or an elevator found across from gates 54 and 56.

There is also a Plaza Premium Lounge in the same location (above the Maple Leaf Lounge). I wasn’t able to access that one, though, as I transited in Edmonton before Plaza Premium rejoined Priority Pass.

When I went, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge was open every day from 4:30AM until 12:30AM.

Entry Requirements

As hinted earlier, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Edmonton cannot be used by passengers departing to the United States as those flights depart from the transborder terminal. Eligible passengers on any other Star Alliance flights out of Edmonton can access the lounge.

Like other Star Alliance business class lounges, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Edmonton can be entered free of charge by business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold status holders traveling in any class departing on an Air Canada group or other Star Alliance flight. Interestingly, Star Alliance Gold members cannot bring in guests free of charge.

Air Canada Aeroplan 50K, 75K, and Super Elite status holders enjoy slightly more generous access including:

• Being able to enter the lounge with their partner, up to 5 dependent children, and one additional guest free of charge
• Being able to access the lounge not only before departure but also after arrival on an Air Canada group flight

There are also multiple other ways to access the lounge free of charge including through co-branded credit cards. Bringing in guests outside the free allowance (if any) costs 59 CAD per person.

Those ineligible for free access with booked in selected fares can pay to access the lounge. The prices range from 49 CAD for premium economy class passengers all the way to 79 CAD for Flex fare passengers. That said, the extra charge is not worth it in most cases in my opinion.

Lounge Tour

The lounge itself was relatively small and consisted of one main fairly narrow and long room and a separate business center.

Just past the reception, on the left side were also restrooms and a cloak. There were no showers in the lounge.

Past that was the business center which had over half a dozen large corner desks with comfortable office chairs. Aside from the desks, there was also a printer/copier.

Each of the desks was also equipped with a number of power outlets and a memo pad. Some of the desks also came with a PC – although given that more or less everyone that needs to work on a PC brings a laptop with them nowadays, they were more in the way than helpful.

In the main room, the right side was lined with windows overlooking the terminal and, by extension, some of the outside world (the views of aircraft were very limited). Along those windows was a large chunk of the lounge’s seating – mostly in the form of two and four sofa chairs with coffee tables between them.

There was also a fireplace (although it was off given that I visited in May) with a few of larger sofa chairs surrounding it. In addition to being a nice seating area, it also made for a good partition that essentially broke down the seating area into two smaller ones.

Large partitions were also separating the seating area from the rest of the lounge for additional privacy.

Lastly, on the left side of the room – behind the business center – were a buffet area that I will talk about in the next section and some extra seating.

The seating consisted of a couple of sofa chairs around a TV and a counter with a few bar chairs.

Food and Drinks

The buffet area in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Edmonton consisted of a couple of counters with self-serve food and drinks. While hot drinks were self-serve, alcohol and cold soft drinks were for some reason behind a rope and served by staff.

Starting with the hot drinks, there were a pair of coffee machines and a selection of nine different teas.

Soft drinks included canned tomato juice, a variety of other bottled juices, and a selection of soda including Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, ginger ale, and Sprite from a soda fountain.

Alcohol included a selection of wines and liquor (Crown Royal Whisky, Kahlua, Smirnoff Vodka, Captain Morgan, etc.). There was also draft beer.

The food was spread across two counters.

One of the counters was home to cold items including pasta salad, sandwiches, a salad bar, and whole fruits. Raspberry vinaigrette and Caesar dressing were available too.

Warm items including tomato soup and chicken soup, vegetable samosas, and cheese mushroom bacon quiches could be found on the other counter. Later on, during my visit, the quiches were replaced by spring rolls.

Lastly, there were some cookies, brownies, and potato chips.

During my stay in the lounge, I had some chicken soup, a sandwich, a quiche, a couple of samosas, and some pasta salad. While the sandwich was a bit dry, the rest of the items were decent. That said, none were above average.

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Edmonton Summary

While the main seating area stayed quite busy throughout my stay, the business center provided a (mostly) quiet place to get some work done in. I say mostly because, for about 30 minutes, one of the guests decided to do a video call in the business center which visibly annoyed most of the other guests in the area.

Combined with the fairly average drink and food selection (although some more substantial warm options would have been nice), the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is a perfectly fine lounge to spend some time in before departure. That said, I would definitely not pay to enter the lounge.