As a fairly new Gold status member of the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program, I was able to experience their exclusive lounge at the Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International airport. Located between Gates 55 and 57, all Air France and KLM aircraft depart from these gates for the convenience of lounge guests.
Arrival and reception
On this occasion, I was transferring from a domestic flight over to the international area of the airport. This was extremely easy and only consisted of a gate/checkpoint area where automated glass doors were activated by boarding pass scanners. From there, it was a manageable walk out to the lounge.
The lounge is clearly marked with a sign showing the Air France, KLM, and SkyTeam logos. As with many lounges I've experienced, it is located on the floor above and thus required either an elevator ride or walking up a flight of stairs.
Unlike more high-traffic AF-KLM lounges in Amsterdam or Paris, this lounge did not have boarding pass scanners at reception. Rather, there were actual humans there to check guests in and give them a basic orientation of the lounge. This was fairly quick and easy to do.
The space
The lounge is relatively small, but offers a fantastic view of the tarmac and lets an abundance of natural light into the space. In the photo below you can see that there is a specific place that offers a selection of magazines and newspapers.
Seating is decent with an assortment of lounge seating, bar seating and restaurant table style seats. The lounge seating was a little bit tight. With the tables in the middle, it meant having to awkwardly climb over fellow guests if you were sitting at the window and needed to get out.
Food options
Below are photos of the food options available for our evening departure. The cold salad bar has an assortment of vegetables and greens as well as a corn and pea salad. Next to that is an assortment of three cheeses - brie, aged cheddar, and something that might have been Gouda.
For hot dishes there were two things: a creamy pasta and beets:
Beverages
For refreshments, guests have access to a Coca-Cola soda fountain as well as bottled beer and a selection of spirits located at a self-serve table.
Conclusion
The lounge is small and the overall vibe is more "utilitarian" than welcoming and comfortable. This probably has much to do with so many white walls and the white tile floor. The location is fantastic, with its wide view of the tarmac. Watching aircraft big and small from around the world coming and going was lovely.