Originally Posted by RTR
The lounges are on airport property, but I think you mean are the Maple Leaf Lounge "gate keepers" Air Canada staff? I believe this is so.
All AC MLLs are designed, built (i.e. paid for), furnished by AC and staffed by its personnel, albeit are in leased spaces from various airport authorities. In the case of the LHR lounge (but not the Arrivals Lounge), it is a joint operation of AC and SK. And yes, these passes are only valid in branded MLL lounges and the LHR Lounge (its official name) and the LHR Arrivals Lounge.
Originally Posted by Tax Dude
I got 4 MLL passes with my 2005 SE kit and none of them has the blue heat sensitive box. Other than that they're identical to the one remaining pass I have from the Elite kit at the beginning of the year (which has the blue box.)
Okay, seems like the mystery may be solved, and AC appears to have done a second print run that omitted some of the features found on the original one most of us received with our qualifications kits early last year, or through most of the year. However, given TD's credible explanation (I mean, knowing him personally, what he reports would be credible) and the explanation provided to me in a PM from the OP by the person who sent him the passes in the first place, certs in kits mailed out towards the end of the Instant Qualification period are different.
However, I don't think some of the other missing features mentioned in the PM fall into this explanation. I suggest that the OP PM TaxDude directly to explain the variances on his certs, so he can get a confirmation that the ones he received off Coupon Connection are genuine.