The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Frankfurt (FRA) has aged well, with comfortable facilities and a nice selection of food and drinks, plus nice shower suites.
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Frankfurt Review (FRA)
Before transferring to the Z gates for my flight to the USA, I stopped here.
Hours + Access + Location
You’ll find this lounge in Concourse B of Terminal 1, toward gates B41-B48. Look for the white Maple Leaf Lounge signs. As you approach B43, take the escalator up to the mezzanine level (level 3) where you will find the lounge.
The lounge is open daily from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Access is available to:
- Star Alliance business class passengers (no guests)
- Star Alliance first class passengers (plus one guest)
- Star Alliance Gold members can also use the lounge (plus one guest) when departing on a Star Alliance flight
- Maple Leaf members (plus one guest)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve cardmembers (plus one guest)
Seating
This lounge is 726 square meters (about 7,800 square feet). You’ll find varied seating in this lounge, including faux fire pit artwork in the center of the lounge with seating around it, plus more chairs clustered in pairs and quartets.
There’s more seating in the dining area:
Quiet Area
In addition to normal seating, there are sevearl semi-private relaxation seats.
Note each one has a 220-volt power outlet plus USB-A port.
Business Center
A business center includes several desks as well as a printer and scanner.
Food + Drinks
I was in the lounge early in the morning, and the breakfast spread included yogurt, fruit, breakfast breads, sliced meats and cheese, scrambled eggs, sausage, and potatoes.
The beverage selection was 100% self-serve and included soft drinks, water, tea, coffee, beer, wine, and spirits (nothing stood out in particular). Coffee is from Lavazza (decent), but the coffee machines are poor, so head to the nearby Lufthansa Lounge for a much better coffee.
Restrooms + Showers
Clean restroom and shower suites are available. It was nice to shower here after my redeye from Addis Ababa.
Lockers
Near the lounge entrance, lockers for carry-on bags are available.
CONCLUSION
As the only non-Lufthansa Star Alliance lounge at Frankfurt Airport, it’s a nice alternative, especially if the Lufthansa lounges are crowded. On the other hand, I do prefer the Lufthansa Lounge in B for the barista-made coffee and fresh orange juice.
My original review, from December 27, 2016, is below.
Perhaps familiarity does breed contempt, but the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Frankfurt was a welcome relief from the oft-crowded network of Lufthansa departure lounges nearby. Located in Terminal 1 in the B-Gate Area (non-Schengen), the lounge is one of Air Canada’s best.
My friend Denny and I were traveling in Turkish Business Class from Frankfurt to Istanbul and had no trouble accessing the lounge. Access is granted for Star Alliance Gold members traveling in any cabin and for passengers departing Frankfurt on a Star carrier in business or first class. We were welcomed in and provided Wi-Fi instructions.
The lounge never filled up during our mid-morning visit. The centerpiece of the lounge is a seating area with a sculpture resembling a fireplace in the center. Around that are additional seating areas, work areas, and a dining area.
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Frankfurt Food & Drink
The breakfast spread included hot and cold items, though I had already eaten in the Lufthansa Welcome Lounge earlier. Best of all, though, was a coffee machine that dispensed tasty espresso-based beverages. Perhaps it was the Lavazza Coffee, but the coffee was much better than in the Lufthansa lounges.
Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Showers
Showers are available and feature rainfall showerheads.
No boarding announcements were made (except for Air Canada flights) but departure boards indicate when your flight is boarding.
CONCLUSION
During this visit, I spent about an hour in the lounge and found it a quiet place to work with comfortable seating, a nice selection of food and drink, and plenty of power ports. Unlike the Maple Leaf lounge in London, I have never seen this lounge crowded. Hours of operation are from 6am to 10pm daily.
Anytime i’m transiting FRA I always go to this lounge. I don’t even bother with LH.
Thanks for this review – I would think FRA would be ripe for a United Club – with flights to 5 hubs. From my read: United Club membership does not grant access to the MLL lounge
United had a Red Carpet Club in FRA for many years. Closed around 2011.
I thought it closed in October 2009…
Did it?
Unlike LHR, FRA isn’t known for having many great outstation lounges from other airlines. At least they have this one.
Anyone visited the JAL lounge at FRA recently?
Have not visited the JL or AF lounges since the pandemic, but I bet they both remain below-average lounges.
SkyTeam are in the process of creating a shared lounge for their extra-Schengen pax. The problem with Schengen zone airports is that departure facilities and traffic are split between the domestic and international sides so lounges will struggle to attract traffic/income from partner airlines- few LH flyers would want to cross the border twice just in order to try the Lahmaçun in the TK lounge etc. As a result, the vast majority of European non-hub airports have zero airline-run lounges even if they handle an enormous amount of traffic (over 55 million pax per year in the case of BCN) and/or are a country’s main gateway (e.g. OTP, PRG).
I still don’t understand why Air Europa cannot operate a lounge of its own…same with Tarom. I view it as pure cheapness, though your point is well made.
In FRA, I would think a TK lounge in the B Gates area would be very successful, though and there is still plenty of foot traffic.
Air Europa have lots of passengers, and some of their tickets are very cheap indeed, so I can’t imagine they’re saving huge amounts of money by not operating their own lounges (particularly since I believe Skyteam airline FFPs pay the operating carrier for each Elite Plus member using the lounge and AENA basically are a monopoly, so I can’t imagine UX being able to take advantage of any meaningful margin there) – but the logistics of designing and operating new lounges can’t be very straightforward.
TAROM are, of course, a different story- they’ve been shrinking for years and I am quite surprised that they’re still around as an independent airline.
TK should be better placed to open outstation lounges compared to most of their rivals, as they work with TAV/Primeclass in a number of places. Still, I imagine they can only do it at airports with substantial non-Schengen traffic in order to ensure sufficient income.
For real. LHR T2 has ample Star Alliance options… Air Canada, Lufthansa, Singapore, United. Like, can’t think of too many airports with that many options for S*G.
I actually prefer this AC lounge over the big one in YYZ. Much more modern decor even if it’s much smaller.
I would agree, though the only AC lounge I truly love is the SFO one…one of my favorite lounges in the USA.
A highly recommended lounge with a fantastic ambiance and a decent selection of food & drinks.
Arent united club members also available to use the lounge?
United Club Card includes complimentary access to United Club lounges and allows you to earn access to Star Alliance partner lounges, such as Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges, when flying on an eligible Star Alliance airline by meeting a $50,000 spending threshold each calendar year.
Interesting that in 2016 the coffee in the MLL was better than the Lufthansa lounges, but now you rate them the other way around. But yes, I always like the FRA lounge.
FWIW, I think the Vancouver and Montreal Maple Leaf Lounges in the International areas are among the best Air Canada offers. Calgary is pretty good, too. And of course the jewels in the crown – the Signature Suites in Vancouver and Toronto. (And Vancouver has easier access to showers, being just above the regular lounge.)