The Air France KLM lounge at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 3 serves international passengers on Air France and KLM flights. However, the lounge is also open to Priority Pass holders regardless of airline. This article will be a review of my experience at the lounge in early November 2019.

The lounge is fairly spacious and offers a great view of the runway and tarmac. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying

Getting to the lounge

Arriving at the lounge isn't too difficult. The most unfortunate part, if arriving at the airport by train, is having to transfer to the airport's shuttle train. You'll need to go from Terminal 1 (where the Union-Pearson Express terminates) to Terminal 3.

After clearing security it's a little bit of a walk to the end of the pier. However, similar to the Air France KLM lounge at YUL, the gates just outside/below the lounge are saved specifically for Air France and KLM flights. Therefore, once it's time to board it's not too much of a journey.

The lounge serves Air France and KLM Business class passengers as well as elite status holders and Priority Pass holders. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying

Space and seating

If you arrive rather early for your evening departure and overnight flight, then you might just have the entire lounge to yourself. However, once you're an hour or 90 minutes away from boarding time then it might be difficult to find a comfortable chair for yourself. The night I was departing there were two KLM flights to Amsterdam Schiphol in addition to my Air France flight to Paris CDG. It definitely felt crowded later in the evening.

The one difficult thing is access to electrical outlets. These are limited to certain tables and seats against the walls. Of course, if you don't need to charge any devices then it's not an issue.

The lounge offers plenty of seating options - not all of them have access to electrical outlets. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying
Another view of the seating options. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying
The dining area of the lounge. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying
Another view of the lounge's dining area. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying

The food

Teriyaki chicken and white rice. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying

Unfortunately, the food here was somewhat disappointing. This was my second visit and I seemed to remember my first time more fondly. This time around for the hot food options, the pasta was somehow overcooked and undercooked at the same time. Furthermore, the vegetables were fairly soggy and overcooked while the chicken seemed overly sweet. I've certainly had better lounge-food experiences!

Steamed vegetables and tomato pasta. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying

The salad bar options and pastries were a little better. It's more difficult to mess up I think! The cold cuts were great and as you can see in the photos below, there was fruit salad, cucumber salad, pickles, hummus and more.

The cold salad options.. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying
Another view of the salad bar. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying

Beverages

The standard lounge coffee machine. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying

As mentioned in previous reviews - I'm not much of a drinker (of alcoholic beverages). However, there seemed to be a decent selection of wines and spirits as well as a fridge full of beer. Self-service makes it a little more convenient!

For hot drinks, there is the coffee machine which also makes hot chocolate and a variety of coffees. My 2018 visit had MightyLeaf brand tea available. With this visit that tea had been replaced by Canadian brand David's Tea.

Cold beverages were quite standard: coca-cola, sprite, ginger ale, tonic water, and club soda. Apple juice and orange juice are available via dispensers.

Caption. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying
The liqueurs on offer. Photo: Chris Loh/Simple Flying

Conclusion and overall impression

Overall I might give this lounge a six or seven out of 10. The view of the tarmac is fantastic and the food might be better on another day. Seats and general atmosphere are fairly comfortable as well. The internet speed isn't blazing fast but it's fast enough.

What impressed me the most during this visit was the kindness of the reception and management staff as I had to borrow the reception desk's phone to deal with snow storm-related flight issues.

If you are a Priority Pass holder, then it's worth walking across the hall to the Plaza Premium Lounge to check out the situation. I'll definitely do that next time!

Have you been to this lounge? How accurate was this review? Let us know in the comments!

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