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MLLs in the time of COVID - re-openings, food, distancing, etc [READ WIKI FIRST]

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Old Nov 22, 2020, 1:01 pm
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Last edit by: vancouver25k
As of July 2022, MLLs appear to be largely back to normal operations.

Ordering to the table has been shut down, with most MLLs offering self-serve buffets similar to what was available pre-COVID.

Note that the EWR MLL has been permanently shut down as a result of changes/construction at EWR.

Showers
YYZ​​​​​​ int - closed (Aug 12. They claimed all showers closed at YYZ but I was only at int.)
YVR tb - open
YVR int - open
YUL int - open

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MLLs in the time of COVID - re-openings, food, distancing, etc [READ WIKI FIRST]

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Old Jun 11, 2020, 2:34 pm
  #31  
 
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
When non-essential travel is no longer discouraged.

Lounges are an expense, and no one's flying right now who doesn't need to, so there's very little to gain by opening them.

I'd say any time in June is unlikely, but if I had to guess, it'll be July 15, July 1, or August 1, in that order.
Im flying to the US via Toronto on AC Business at the End of December and back at the 8th of January, I hope I get the opportunity to try the signature suite then.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 2:55 pm
  #32  
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December?!?!

I have almost no doubt they'll be open by then.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 7:34 pm
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by Alisamix
Im flying to the US via Toronto on AC Business at the End of December and back at the 8th of January, I hope I get the opportunity to try the signature suite then.
Originally Posted by canadiancow
December?!?!

I have almost no doubt they'll be open by then.
No one knows, really. The evolution of this thing is highly unpredictable. Today I read an article saying that the decrease in viral activity might be due to seasonality and that late fall/early winter could bring a strong new wave of infections in the Northern hemisphere. And just after that, I read an Italian study hinting that the virus might be mutating and becoming less contagious and less lethal. This really highlights how little we know about this bug and how shaky any predictions and "what to expect" blog posts really are.

December? Maybe the Signature Suite will be open. Maybe it will still be closed. Maybe it will be open but just offer snack boxes. Maybe we will all be back in lockdown then. Or maybe we will all be back flying. But we need to manage expectations.
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Last edited by jasdou; Jun 11, 2020 at 7:45 pm
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 10:27 pm
  #34  
 
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And don't expect buffets to reappear anywhere anytime soon.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 11:02 pm
  #35  
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Originally Posted by Bohemian1
And don't expect buffets to reappear anywhere anytime soon.
You don't have to look further than YEG to know they're fully capable of replacing self-serve at different times of day, if it suits them.

The SS is obviously fine with no buffet. I haven't been to the Cafe, but it seems like everything is individually wrapped, which would make it easy to transition from self-select to them serving you a wrapped item.

The MLLs, without food or drink, may still be better than the terminal. With a YEG-style bar station, I'd generally take it over the terminal. If they can figure something out for food (like an employee with a snack basket and tongs), it's basically no change from existing offerings.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 11:26 pm
  #36  
 
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
You don't have to look further than YEG to know they're fully capable of replacing self-serve at different times of day, if it suits them.

The SS is obviously fine with no buffet. I haven't been to the Cafe, but it seems like everything is individually wrapped, which would make it easy to transition from self-select to them serving you a wrapped item.

The MLLs, without food or drink, may still be better than the terminal. With a YEG-style bar station, I'd generally take it over the terminal. If they can figure something out for food (like an employee with a snack basket and tongs), it's basically no change from existing offerings.
Pay an employee to handle food service? Look at this joker.
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Old Jun 12, 2020, 1:10 am
  #37  
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Originally Posted by nexusCFX
Pay an employee to handle food service? Look at this joker.
Huh?

You've clearly never been on an AC airplane. Or like... anywhere near an airplane.
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Old Jun 12, 2020, 1:15 am
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
Huh?

You've clearly never been on an AC airplane. Or like... anywhere near an airplane.
AC flight attendants do put the food on the tray by hand but I've always assumed this stems from the limited space to set up a self-service system or a conveyer belt on the plane. As far as actual service goes, I can't remember getting so much as a drink refill in any proactive manner. In fact they tend to be very adamant that their job is "my safety" and not any sort of service. When I envision the re-opened MLL I think of individually-wrapped items more than I imagine a staff member being paid to serve out portions.
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Old Jun 12, 2020, 3:49 am
  #39  
 
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Certainly there will be some modifications, but currently the numbers don't warrant the handful of flights leaving in a 4 hour time frame @ YYZ
LHR
FRA
ZRH 3 weekly
TLV 3 weekly

Hoping to see some movement with the next wave of flying which is approaching in June/July:
AMS
ATH (shift to ML)
DUB
FCO
LIS (shift to ML)
MUC
PVG
Plus: AUA/BGI/BDA/CUN/CCC/GND/KIN/MEX/MBJ/NAS/PVD/PUJ/UVF/SVD/VRA (All Mainline)

Last edited by ACYYZ/SD; Jun 12, 2020 at 3:55 am
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Old Jun 12, 2020, 9:21 am
  #40  
 
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Originally Posted by ACYYZ/SD
Certainly there will be some modifications, but currently the numbers don't warrant the handful of flights leaving in a 4 hour time frame @ YYZ
LHR
FRA
ZRH 3 weekly
TLV 3 weekly
That's more passengers than you will see all day in a Saskatchewan MLL.

In YVR where the domestic and international security check points are combined, it should be easy to justify opening the domestic MLL.
Lots of flights and lots of employees being paid to stay at home.
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Old Jun 12, 2020, 4:40 pm
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Bohemian1
And don't expect buffets to reappear anywhere anytime soon.
Believe it or not, they already have at some restaurants.
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Old Jun 12, 2020, 5:11 pm
  #42  
 
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At the end of March I had a flight out of YVR where I used the Plaza Premium lounge (due to dropping from SE to nothing). Due to concerns with Covid, things there organized differently than normal. They still had the "buffet" but there was an employee there that would serve you food. IMHO something similar would be fairly easy to implement at most MLL's.
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Old Jun 14, 2020, 2:31 am
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by nexusCFX
Pay an employee to handle food service? Look at this joker.
More like pay 25% of the salary of an employee to operate the MLL vrs pay 25% of the salary of an employee to stay at home. Is it not.

Even if contracted out the contractor will have the same dynamics.
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Old Jun 14, 2020, 3:24 am
  #44  
 
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Originally Posted by Fiordland
More like pay 25% of the salary of an employee to operate the MLL vrs pay 25% of the salary of an employee to stay at home. Is it not.

Even if contracted out the contractor will have the same dynamics.
Very true. I hadn't thought about the interesting COVID wage support economics.
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Old Jun 14, 2020, 8:58 am
  #45  
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Originally Posted by nexusCFX
Originally Posted by Fiordland
More like pay 25% of the salary of an employee to operate the MLL vrs pay 25% of the salary of an employee to stay at home. Is it not.

Even if contracted out the contractor will have the same dynamics.
Very true. I hadn't thought about the interesting COVID wage support economics.
But remember that AC has decided in many cases that it's better to pay employees 0% by laying them off entirely than pay 25%. If your revenue is only 5% of normal, there are only so many employees you can keep paying, even if you're only paying them 25%.
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