Air Canada Café Opens at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ)
The Aspire | Air Canada Café has finally opened at Toronto City Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ/CYTZ). We first reported in 2022 about this Air Canada Café, noting that it would be opening sometime in 2023, well last month (June 1, 2023), the lounge opened. The café is open from 05:30 to 20:30 daily and spans 4,271-square-foot (367-square-metre) with seating for 133 customers. The café is located in the Domestic departures area and appears to be limited to passengers traveling within Canada.
The new Toronto City Airport Café marks the 27th lounge in Air Canada's lounge network and the sixth Canadian location for Aspire lounges. This is the second location for these Café type of lounges that Air Canada has opened following its first location Toronto Pearson.
We know how much Air Canada customers, who travel frequently within the busy Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor, really value the convenience of flying out of Billy Bishop,
Jacqueline Harkness, Managing Director, Product & Services, Air Canada
The café features self-serve hot and cold buffet food with freshly baked bread. They offer grab-and-go items as well as in-lounge dining. There is a central bar that serves beverages of various types.
The lounge features quiet workspaces and a private meeting room. There are also additional workspaces for making calls. They have free high-speed Wi-Fi, TVs, and wireless charging at almost every seat in the lounge.
The LEED-certified lounge features many environmentally conscious features, including local food and drinks. Some of their other eco-friendly features include tap-served wine (eliminating 9,000 glass bottles per year) and water provided via a filtered water system without any need for plastic bottles.
The lounge was formed by a partnership with Swissport International's airport lounge brand Aspire and Air Canada, so access can be gained via a handful of ways. You can access the lounge if you are an Air Canada Aeroplan 50K, 75K, or a Super Elite status member, Star Alliance Gold, and Aeroplan premium co-brand cardholders, as well as travelers connecting to an Air Canada business class ticket. You can also access the lounge if you have an American Express Platinum, Priority Pass, or DragonPass membership. As a final option, you can purchase a day pass on the Aspire website for around $40 per person.
Air Canada and Porter Airlines offer convenient service for customers traveling between Toronto City (YCZ) and Boston (BOS), Chicago (MDW), Fredericton, Halifax, Moncton, Montréal (YUL), Newark (EWR), Ottawa (YOW), Quebec City, Sault Ste Marie, St. John's, Sudbury, Timmins, Thunder Bay, Washington-Dulles, and Windsor.
The Toronto City airport is located near downtown Toronto and connected via Ferry or a Pedestrian Tunnel for quick access for business travelers or those visiting Toronto and wanting to avoid commuting to Toronto Pearson (YYZ).
Closing Thoughts
When visiting Toronto many years ago, I saw this airport from the CN Tower. I remember thinking how cool it would be to fly from that airport and how the view would be amazing taking off over Lake Ontario. Now that there is a lounge to visit and airline service to many places, I think I will put this on my bucket list. This is the only lounge located at Toronto City Airport, so I expect the demand will be high.
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