ACfly

I was at the YYZ AC MLL Domestic lounge this morning, travelling with a collegue from YUL.

Decided to use the AC YYZ MLL Domestic upon arrival and invited my collegue to join me. the two Lounge dragons denied access, stating that the lounge was for me only and not for my collegue as an arrival lounge. I asked them to call the SE Concierge for confirmation and told them I have done this a few times before, so this would be a change in policy.

They called a few numbers/collegues and got different stories... I gave up and called SE Concierge and she sent me the official policy from AC....

You would think the agents who work at this lounge would know the policy.. which states at E50k, E75k and SE*100k are allowed to bring family member and/or one guest to to MLL lounge in Canada as arrival.

Was absolutely frustrating experience.

BlueMilk

You'd think there'd be a cue card behind the desk somewhere.

Maybe we should print some off, laminate them and deliver them to all the lounges.

ACfly

Here's the link to the official AC MLL Access should anyone get the run around for the Lounge dragons..

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...ounges/tc.html

superangrypenguin

To be fair, it took me 3 years of being an elite member before I even knew you could do this. Cow invited me to the Pre YVR Dorian Do at the MLL and I was shocked I could do this.

So I'm not surprised agents don't know either.

expert7700

As a somewhat new AC flyer, has there ever been mention of a YYZ arrivals lounge for international flights?

It seems inconsistent that after exiting customs, we can freshen up/shower at LHR or even on an AC codeshare arriving in Johannesburg South Africa... but not in Torono (where a full day of activities await us followed by a 3hr drive to our home in the US).

When we fly 7 to 12 hours nonstop back to YYZ we have no lounge access since we are corralled straight to CBP. We have occasionally added a stop in YUL for the sole reason that we would be pre-cleared before YYZ so we could make use of the Maple leaf lounge.

cooleddie

It would be nice to have a real arrivals lounge in YYZ or YYC with showers for international arrivals like in LHR or JNB.

Air Canada, please read this. Thanks.

yvr76

I would think a separate arrivals lounge would be restricted to international arrivals so as not to be overrun with domestic travellers. The YYZ domestic has showers, so provided the MLL agents are aware of policy it shouldn't be a problem. It's clearly stated on the web site.

OP - were you eventually able to get in? And hopefully the offending agents are now aware of proper protocol?

canadiancow

The SFO-YYZ flight would be so much more bearable.

j_the_p

Has anyone ever used the YQR MLL on arrival (i.e. without a connection)? Have you had to convince the GA that you're allowed to come into the departures area for this purpose?

nave888

From what I've seen at YQR, if there are connecting pax, there will be an agent at the gate to let you through, usually with a list of connectors (only seen it used for YYC/YEG-YQR-YYZ pax during IRROPS). This is rare of course, because nobody connects in YQR!

Otherwise, I'd say your best bet is to knock on the glass and try to get the agent at the podium to turn and let you in! I've never seen anyone try that though...That being said, I find the YQR agents to be generally very good, and perhaps the most "by the book," so I'd expect they'd try and help you out.

j_the_p

I've actually connected in YQR years ago, just so I could check out the MLL. These days, I fly to YQR weekly. I'm familiar with what I'd have to do to actually try using the MLL as an arrivals lounge (i.e. knock on the glass). I just haven't ever had the need to do it. This is more of a curiosity to see if anyone has actually tried it and what their experience was.

canadiancow

I've had to knock on the glass when connecting.

Another time, there was an agent shooing everyone downstairs, but I showed her my connecting boarding pass, and she started apologizing profusely and let me in.

I think you might have to do a bit of explaining, simply because they've never seen it done.

I've had to explain the arrival perk at both YYC and YYZ, and those are airports where I would think it's done somewhat regularly.

DrunkCargo

I'd like to know how it goes. YQR has the best domestic MLL of all. Best lounge agent, Good sandwiches, never-empty soup, showers are never full, and a bartender that isn't slow to pour.

I'm curious if the system would let you in using your arriving BP.

canadiancow

In my experience, it's hit or miss whether you can get in with your DEPARTING BP

I seem to recall using my card quite a few times, since it worked better.

DrunkCargo

That's a good point... I remember having to punch in my number a few times, card not used. But I honestly don't remember what other questions I had to answer, besides # of guests or something like that.