Maple Leaf Lounge YYZ
 

So I am here 2 hours before my flight to FLL( until it was delayed 2 1/2 hours)) and was given a 10.00 food voucher.

Bought a sandwich from Upper Crust went to the lounge and was told

NOT ALLOWED TO BRING OUTSIDE FOOD IN.

After a week of 8 AC flights 1 cancellatition and 6 delayed flights this should be the last straw but its hard to fly business on Westjet

Who is the AC moron that thought up this policy?

Psssst!
Do like the rest of us, and hide it in your bag.
Don't tell ac!

I´m actually in favour of such a rule as long as some common sense is applied.

I don´t mind people discreetly eating a sandwich or similar non-smelly item in the lounge (I´ve done so a few times myself, especially at breakfast time, when the AC food offering isn´t very impressive), but the rule is there to prevent people without any manners bringing in stuff from McDonalds etc.
While this may be common sense for most pax, unfortunately such rules are needed as some people haven´t made much progress in terms of manners since going to kindergarden.

But the worst part is that they don't offer any REAL food inside!! Just snacks!!! So difficult on those times where there isn't time for a meal or lounge time.

I share your frustration!! :)

Go to the Premium Plaza lounge.. if you have a Amex Plat, it gets u in or use Priority pass... There's a hot food buffet.. 2 kinds of soup, salad, and two hot entrees. Last week it was fried rice and Kung Poa Chicken.

The one who understood that the MLL is not a food court.

I happen to like the rule. If you want what the MLL offers, then by all means, come on in and enjoy. If you want a meal, go to a restaurant or food court.

+1

This is pretty standard rules for a lounge. In a CO lounge I was carrying a small bag of mixed bulk snacks that I'd bought for the flight. I had forgotten to put in my brief case and was dutifully warned not to eat outside food in the lounge.

Also watched an amusing exchange in LAX PC where a passenger first pleaded ignorance to the rule while caught eating his hot sandwich. Then proceeded to hide in a small room after proclaiming that he would stop now that he knew the rule.

As well as smells and garbage I think there may be food service regulations as well.

Agree with the rule. It's bad enough now that the cabin is filled with smell of pizza and hamburgers and the like. Do we need this extra litter around the lounge. The rule is also there for liability reasons too, just as in any restaurant that doesn't permit outside food. As noted, you should have put the food into one of you're bag and they'd have been none the wiser. The rule is clearly stated by the entry and on the web site.

What do you consider soup and salad? That can be a pretty substantial and healthy meal. And international lounges now have a hot pasta dish. That's REAL food!

I guess this is the view of people like me who need meat to consider something a meal. Spoiled too much by the Amex lounges where there are a few hot food choices. I only use MLL lounges now when there isn't another option.

I do agree though with not bringing food into the lounges. There may be legal implications and other factors such as allergies that need to be taken into account, apart from the obvious smell of some outside foods :).

Soup, salad, pasta... That sounds like real food to me. If you mean that the lounge is not a restaurant, I agree but I don't see what the big deal is.

Would that include transborder MLLs, or just non-US international?

I agree with the rule. The last thing I want in the MLL is the smell of McDonalds food. I find the food choices to be more than acceptable for a quick snack while waiting for your flight.

Like others have posted, if you want a full/hot meal, there are several restaurants in YYZ.

Just non-US international. In Canada, transborder flights/MLLs are treated essentially as domestic flights (service-wise).

To the OP. This is standard practice at every airline lounge I've been to... LH, LX, UA, CO, AC, SK, SQ etc. Nothing to be outraged about at all. As other posters have mentioned, this is not some irrational judgement call by a random AC functionary, but very deliberately to help control the ambience... especially with regard strong smells. If you want a proper meal go to one of the restaurants or the food court.