Earlier this week, Air Canada announced that it’s introducing a three-hour time limit on some lounge visits. While the change only affects passengers who show up remarkably early for their first departing flight, and doesn’t affect passengers with layovers or delayed flights, there has surely been a lot of mixed reaction to this news.
As someone who spends a fair amount of time in Maple Leaf Lounges, I thought it would be good to take stock of the lounge-crowding situation, and what other steps could be taken to address the issue, if any.
These Days, Lounges Are Crowded
If you’ve been to an airline lounge ever since they reopened in the wake of the pandemic, you may have had to spend time in line before you could enter. Two years ago, this was probably due to social distancing rules and reduced overall capacity, but even with those rules now long-gone, the lineups remain.
Once you’re able to make it inside the lounge, you may then be hard-pressed to find a quiet place to sit. If you’re travelling as a pair or family, the search for a place to sit together might be even more cumbersome.
What’s supposed to be a calm, relaxing refuge in the midst of a bustling airport can become exactly the opposite when lounges feel less like tranquil, sophisticated spaces and more like zoos.
After all, it’s hard to enjoy a plate of balsamic-glazed chicken or a Nanaimo bar when Speakerphone Steve has had one too many glasses of Molson Canadian and the entire lounge can hear him regale the details of his latest fishing expedition to one his buddies.
If you’re lucky, you won’t have to deal with lines or crowding, and you can waltz into the lounge of your choice without any further delays. However, this type of delightful situation would depend entirely on many factors that are largely outside of your control.
Lounge Lizards Take Heed
When Air Canada introduced the three-hour time limit for some visitors, it was taking aim directly at one group: lounge lizards.
If you haven’t encountered such a creature in your travels before, here’s how to identify one in the wild.
Lounge lizards post up in airline lounges hours before the departure of their flight. At the bare minimum, they’ll enjoy two meals before exiting, and maybe even a few drinks or cups of coffee.
Wi-Fi is of the utmost importance to lounge lizards, and they often cluster around charging stations to ensure their…
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