"We are excited to welcome Air Canada and Star Alliance eligible customers to our new St. John's Maple Leaf Lounge. This unique space has been created to enhance the overall travel experience of our premium customers," said Andrew Yiu, Vice President, Product at Air Canada. "Showcasing contemporary design and artwork, the lounge features maple wood screen walls, Canadian-made furnishings and we are also proud to host local art and crafts that reflect the charm of Newfoundland and Labrador's landscape and people. Customers will be warmly received and will enjoy a calm environment in which to work or relax before their Air Canada flight."

"Tourism and visitation depend on high quality experiences, and having this new Maple Leaf Lounge at the recently upgraded St. John's International airport will help advance our goals to attract more visitors and build our province's reputation as a first-class destination," said Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. "I congratulate Air Canada for establishing this new lounge, and I thank them for their investment, and commitment to our province."

"Congratulations to Air Canada and the Airport Authority on the addition of the new Maple Leaf Lounge, which will enhance the experience of locals and visitors to our province. Business tourism is an area of growth for our city and I look forward to working with all levels of government and businesses as we foster a positive environment for this industry," commented the Mayor of St. John's Danny Breen.

"We are delighted that Air Canada has made such a significant investment at our airport to enhance the experience for many of our passengers. This much-anticipated new Maple Leaf Lounge will offer additional amenities in a beautifully designed space, and will be very well-received by frequent travellers," said Keith Collins, President and CEO, St. John's International Airport.

The Maple Leaf Lounge is the only lounge available to travellers departing from YYT and has the capacity for up to 84 customers in an elegant space. With 77 per cent more space than the lounge it is replacing, the 46 additional seats provide visitors with a spacious and relaxing environment. Air Canada premium agents on site, are available to assist customers with travel requirements.

The space features a self-serve bar, offering a wide selection of beverages, including Canadian wines and Lavazza specialty coffees, a selection of light snacks, a business centre and comfortable seating with a view of the tarmac. Business travellers planning to work on site may also take advantage of a cyber counter equipped with PCs and colour printing, complimentary Wi-Fi and access to more than 7,000 digital newspaper and magazine content via the PressReader app.

As a leading global carrier, Air Canada offers eligible customers access to 23 Maple Leaf Lounges worldwide including 17 at Canadian airports. Customers travelling abroad may also enjoy lounges at New York-LaGuardia, New York-Newark, Los Angeles, London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Paris.  More information about Air Canada's award-winning Maple Leaf Lounges is here.

Air Canada, including its regional partners, operates over 180 weekly non-stop scheduled flights in the summer to seven destinations across Canada and is the only carrier to operate an international flight to London-Heathrow from St. John's. The service to London-Heathrow provides customers with seamless same-terminal connections throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa in close cooperation with Star Alliance partners. It offers up to nine daily non-stop flights to Toronto, five to Halifax, three to Gander, three to Montreal, three to Deer Lake, one to Ottawa and one to Goose Bay. In 2017, the airline served more than 860,000 customers at St. John'sInternational Airport.