Shareholder

Of course, YOW has been trying to coerce the airlines into using a single airport operated business class lounge and AC has refused...which is why the MLL remains in the old part of the building. This is an action by WestJet to further twist the knife, with the cooperation of the airport authority. Since this cannot be a paying proposition, we're all covering the cost of operating the lounge with our user fees when flying from YOW.

And the YWG lounge is a privately operated lounge that will go belly up...or is about to until WestJet jumped in. I doubt it will last since it cannot make money for the private operator.

It doesn't appear that the lounges have any exclusivity to WestJet so this is just a joint promo for the operators of these lounges to get noticed. Same way Air Miles acts as WestJet's defacto FF program.

StuMcIlwain

I don't quite follow your logic here. The YOW lounge is operated by Penauille Servisair, a private operator that has lounges around the world and the same one that operates the lounge in YWG. The YOW lounge occupies space rented from the airport authority, the same as any other lounge, thereby reducing (by a very small margin) the percentage of costs that must be covered by the AIF. WS has developed a marketing deal with Servisair that allows them to offer lounges at no additional cost or risk to themselves. While this is no dount an attempt by WS to get more business travellers from AC, it is hardly an attempt by the airport authority to screw AC.

I also do not understand why you think the lounges will not be able to cover their costs. How much do you think those costs are?

Q Shoe Guy

Stu the lounge in YWG is run by Palliser, and Servisair is using it for their customers.

http://www.waa.ca/?pid=59

StuMcIlwain

Oops ... I thought they were the same.

Regardless, the YOW lounge is not run by the airport authority.

Cloud Lounger

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7780/3.7.1)

Sounds to me like Clive's pride was hurt after getting the heave ho from the MLL awhile back, so his ego gets the better of him, and he gets himself into a lounge arrangement.

If it works, good on him, but one word of caution... landside lounges suck.

YOWkid

I have investigated this a little more and if you look at the current floor plan carefully, there is no room for the MLL. So I'm not so sure that your info is all that correct.

That being said, AC did not have money during CCAA to build the new MLL, so the plan was put on the backburner by the airport authority, but there is a location for it (don't know if this is public information or not though).

As others have noted, the YOW Authority is not operating the lounge. I suspect they have turned the boardroom into a lounge to make a bit more money. Good move on their part, but I agree with CL, landside lounges do suck.

Shareholder

These lounges will go under in less than a year and the airports will be left holding the leases...and have not recouped the cost of building and furnishing these lounges.

At $14 a shot, you'd need 100 or so customers to cover salaries and day-to-day ops, and still not start paying off the rent. How many can WS really generate at YWG or YOW? Particularly on slow days?

DanJ

My take was that these lounges are open to anyone, not just WS pax. You may even have some AC pax who don't have MLL access going there.

robsawatsky

[QUOTE=Shareholder]These lounges will go under in less than a year and the airports will be left holding the leases...and have not recouped the cost of building and furnishing these lounges.
[QUOTE]

It would be a strange lease if the airport paid for furnishings and/or any leasehold improvements other than the bare space at all.

StuMcIlwain

[QUOTE=robsawatsky][QUOTE=Shareholder]These lounges will go under in less than a year and the airports will be left holding the leases...and have not recouped the cost of building and furnishing these lounges.
And in both YOW and YWG, the rooms were already there.

I have no idea if the lounges will survive (although I'd guess their operating costs are considerably less than Shareholder's estimate), but I don't see how this will hurt the airport authorities.

ProudEdmontonian

Although my travel patterns won't see me in the initial designated airports - especially YYC - it's hard to say whether Ms. PunishedEdmontonian won't ask to be taken in since she believes that the restroom facilities in lounges (with the big exception of the MLL in LAX) are superior to general facilities.

Q Shoe Guy

Wow, 15-18 bucks to take a pee.......

DanJ

I thought the regular washrooms at LAX were scummy. In fact, my wife thought the one in that bar in the non-touristy area of Puerto Vallarta was much nicer than the LAX washrooms.

ProudEdmontonian

I should clarify that there is no restroom in the LAX MLL as it is a public one that is across the hall. But, at least there is an MLL something that can't be said for other US destinations that AC services.

Simon

...as opposed to the huge number of lounges that US carriers run in Canada.