My step dad was kind enough to drive us down to the Airport on the day of departure. It was surprisingly mild for Edmonton weather in December which was very welcome. The trip to the airport was uneventful and I was not nervous at all to let my new car depart without me!
Checkin at the Air Canada Priority check in was pretty seamless and we were off and through security quickly. We used the NEXUS line which was fast and efficient. I usually travel with a back pack but this time chose to take a roller bag. I will admit, I was a bit slow getting my laptop out of the bag. Guess I need more practice.
We decided to head up to the Maple Leaf Lounge which has just recently reopened.
They had a self serve area for food but also had the new QR code to order items directly to your seat. We gave both options a try.
A nice empty lounge.
This was actually really good. It was available directly from the fridge self serve. I could have eaten about 5 of them I was so hungry.
My wife had the first of many Captain and Diet cokes of this trip. That is her drink of choice and it was nice to see that it was available in the lounge.
A quick shot of the food and beverage area. While the options were quite limited there was more than enough to choose from for our short stay.
Alcohol is no longer self serve. When you walk up to the area you just let them know what you would like and they are more than happy to make it for you. I never saw anyone wait for than a minute to get a drink.
A view down from the lounge. The Chilis was really busy, though I am not sure why. We have never had a good meal when dining there.
The view in the other direction. The airport was fairly busy.
With about 20 minutes to boarding we decided to go and stretch our legs and hit up the bathroom. We went for a walk from one end of the terminal to the other. For those that have been to Edmonton airport you will know that this does not take very long.
Captured a picture of this Royal Canadian Air Force Polaris Airbus A310 taxing out for departure.
Before we knew it we were back at gate 50 for the start of boarding. We were fourth in line when they called boarding group 1 for what would be a very full flight off to Toronto.