This is Part 1 of my trip from Montreal to Mauritius via Paris CDG where I flew in economy from Montreal YUL to Paris CDG then in business class from Paris to Mauritius. Part 2 of the review is the Air France Terminal 2E Lounge (Gates L) Review and Part 3 is the Business Class Flight review.
A pleasant surprise when flying business class with Air France is that you get to use the Skypriority line at check-in and boarding even if only one of your flights is in business class! When dropping off my luggage at Montreal Airport, there was no one in the business class line and two booths were open to help priority passengers. My luggage received the priority tags at Montreal Airport which meant they would be first off the plane when I arrived in Mauritius (two days later…)
Air France Montreal Airport Lounge (YUL)
Lounge Entrance Stairway
Unfortunately, the business class benefits do not apply to the lounges as well. As such, I did not have free access to the Air France lounge in Montreal Airport but I was able to enter anyway due to my Scotiabank Passport Infinite Visa credit card. The Lounge entrance is conveniently located right next to the Air France gate. There is a grand staircase after the entrance and the lounge itself is upstairs.
Air France has also installed these new self-service booths that light up in green or red when you scan your boarding pass, indicating whether your ticket includes lounge access or not. The hours of opening were listed as 3 - 10 pm. However when I asked at the reception, the lounge attendant mentioned that boarding would start around 10.30 pm and as such, the lounge would only close after the passengers have started boarding. It seems we might have been the last and only Air France flight leaving that night. Air France has seriously improved their service in recent years!
The lounge had ample seating, an open buffet with several hot meals and a bar with a bartender that sounded very French! I had champagne and a preflight meal. The food was delicious and included warm baguettes.
Dinner with brie and champagne.
The lounge was not very crowded. It seemed to be mostly business travelers leaving this late on a Saturday night.
The bar also has multiple dessert options! I chose the brownie while I finished my work before the flight.
Desserts are found at the bar and not at the open buffet. You can ask the bartender for your choice.
The Lounge has several showers available, They looked modern, fresh and clean and a great place to freshen up before your flight.
Soon after dinner there was an announcement that boarding is starting and everyone started to head out. The Air France Gate is located downstairs and just to the right. I always leave an AirTag in my suitcase so I quickly checked my luggage location using the Find My App to make sure that it was loaded on the plane (AirTags only work with iPhones but you can also use a Samsung SmartTag or a Tile). They are also useful to locate your luggage in case the airline loses them). To my surprise, there was no lineup at the Gate(despite Covid). I was able to walk right onto the plane without any delay. We were actually 45 minutes early and the pilot announced that since everyone was already on board, we would be leaving right away. I have never had that happen on an international flight before!
The Air France Lounge is a great place to kill some time before your flight and I would say it’s fancier than the National Bank Lounge next door!
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