The Plaza Premium Lounge network operates over sixty lounges under the Plaza Premium Name worldwide. The Plaza Premium Lounges typically offer a consistent lounge experience with a broad food presentation, even when visiting outside of regular meal hours. Today’s travel took me through the Plaza Premium Vancouver International lounge where they have constructed a temporary pop up lounge during their transition to their new Plaza Premium Vancouver International space. How would their temporary solution work out for our international departure flight?

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This post is one chapter on a trip to the South of France and Cinque Terre, Italy. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. For information on how this trip was booked, please see our introduction. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Plaza Premium Lounge “Pop Up” – International Departures, Vancouver International Airport, Canada

Our departing flight today was on British Airways Club Suite Business Class Vancouver – London Heathrow. We had flown this route several times on British Airways between Vancouver – London in both Club World Business Class and British Airways First Class.

About Plaza Premium Lounges in Vancouver:

Previously, British Airways has operated it’s own British Airways Galleries Lounge – Vancouver in the Vancouver International Airport International Departures concourse, despite only operating one to three flights a day. At its peak, British Airways used to operate three Boeing 747 flights per day between London Heathrow and Vancouver. More recently, British Airways has scheduled its Airbus 380 aircraft to service Vancouver during the summer months.

Sadly, there has been a change of environment after the pandemic. British Airways has elected to permanently close its British Airways Galleries Lounge – Vancouver, in favour of contracting its lounge services locally with a local provider.

Despite having an excellent and spacious Cathay Pacific Business Lounge – Vancouver nearby, British Airways has contracted with independent lounge provider Plaza Premium in order to offer lounge space for passengers departing on their British Airways flights to London.

On top of this arrangement, Plaza Premium has elected to move their lounge product into the space previously vacated by the British Galleries Lounge. Instead of doing a seamless move, they’ve elected to close their regular Plaza Premium International Lounge – Vancouver International lounge space and install a temporary pop up lounge on the concourse. This couldn’t be a more complicated manner of doing things, but it does allow passengers to relax closer to their British Airways departure gate.

Plaza Premium must anticipate that a lot of travellers prefer a lounge that is further out on the concourse that is closer to departure gates, than one that is closer to the initial retail area.

Checking into British Airways Club World:

We arrived to the Vancouver International Airport using public transit today. It was a gorgeous sunny fall day outside. As a result, we took in the last of the great weather before our travel over to Europe.

We entered the international departures concourse at the Vancouver International Airport. I was not able to fully check in online using the British Airways app without a passport verification check. As a result, I had to locate the counters and complete check in “the old fashioned” way.

There was quite a long queue for British Airways travellers. Fortunately, there were only three persons in the British Airways Club World check in line. We were handled very promptly. Our sole checked bag was accepted and checked all the way through to Nice.

Our printed boarding cards were stamped with Plaza Premium Lounge. We were given verbal instructions on where to access the lounge. With boarding cards in hand, we headed off to security.

Locating the Plaza Premium Lounge:

The Plaza Premium Lounge Vancouver International “Pop Up” is located within the post security International Concourse area of the gates at Vancouver International Airport. The Vancouver International Airport – International Concourse has recently gotten longer with the addition of four additional gates partially constructed during the pandemic.

The “Pop Up” version of the lounge is quite a ways out on the concourse, and is actually at a disadvantage as a result of it being located so far out and less conveniently located. The Plaza Premium “Pop Up” Lounge – Vancouver International is located next to Gate 67, which is a substantial ten minute walk from the security screening check point.

After clearing security, we passed by the old Plaza Premium Lounge that has permanently closed. The new lounge is located well past the duty free and retail zone of the airport. It’s approximately at ten minute walk out on the concourse.

We eventually made it past the old British Airways Galleries Lounge – Vancouver. It will be the home of the new Plaza Premium Lounge – Vancouver International, once they’ve completed construction.

After approaching Gate 67, we finally made it to the Plaza Premium Lounge – Vancouver International Pop Up. The lounge was easy to locate, taking over a large footprint in an outer Vancouver International Airport atrium that filled the space with natural light.

Overall, I had no problems locating the lounge. The lounge is quite a walk from security screening and the commercial duty free area. If you’re headed out here, make sure that you’ve completed your shopping. I’d also recommend making sure that the lounge is close to your departure gate, as it’s “outer” location can be a bit of a disadvantage.

Accessing The Plaza Premium Lounge:

There are several ways to access the Plaza Premium Lounge. It’s worth mentioning that Plaza Premium “Pop Up” lounge acknowledges on it’s website. We have moved to a temporary location with restricted services and amenities as we prepare to unveil our new space in the upcoming year. Unfortunately, this hasn’t yielded a corresponding price discount.

The Plaza Premium Lounge accepts reservations for entry on it’s website. The reservations are split into blocks of time ranging from two, three and six hours. As of the time of writing, the prices was as follows:

• Two Hours = $46.33 USD or $61.92 CAD
• Three Hours = $56.56 USD or $75.60 CAD
• Six Hours. = $75.42 USD or $100.80 CAD

The above pricing includes applicable taxes and fees.

The Plaza Premium Lounge also appeared to have partnered with many other international airline partners for lounge access. At the time of my visit, the lounge was offering access to the following airline partners:

• Air China
• ANA All Nippon Airways
• British Airways
• Capital Airlines
• Eva Air
• Hainan Airlines
• Icelandair
• Japan Airlines
• Sichuan Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• Sunwing
• Westjet

The Plaza Premium Lounge network also partners with several credit cards to provide access. This includes many credit cards worldwide, which include DragonPass, LoungeKey, LoungeClub, and the Club. You do not need to make an advance reservation while using these systems.

Within North America, the lounge is also part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which offers a suite of lounges available for access with it’s premium American Express Platinum Card and American Express Centurion Cards. Access can be granted by presenting one of these cards.

The lounge has recently rejoined Priority Pass. As a result, if you have a Priority Pass membership, you can gain access to the lounge.

I gained access to the Plaza premium Lounge as a result of my departing flight on a British Airways Club Suite Business Class Vancouver – London Heathrow flight.

There was no line to gain access access today. After my boarding card was validated, I was invited into the lounge.

Inside The Plaza Premium Lounge:

The new Plaza Premium Lounge “Pop – Up” Vancouver International occupies a space on the concourse floor. Plaza Premium is quite entrepreneurial and we’ve seen them construct Plaza Premium Plaza Premium “Pop Up” Toronto Pearson International Airport Lounges before under similar circumstances.

While the idea is a great one in concept, the idea of sitting in a walled of area on an airport concourse has never been really appealing.

Immediately open entering the pop up lounge, there was a case of sandwiches and tinned self service soft drinks. I eventually wandered past that and headed over to the main lounge seating area.

The lounge seating consisted of tables and chairs located closer to the middle of the atrium. The lounge offered the conventional Plaza Premium Lounge chairs that were located in towards the glass. During my visit, at about two and a half hours prior to my British Airways flight, the lounge was almost at capacity with almost no where to sit.

Eventually, as other international flights left, the lounge seating began to open up. Given the amount of glass surrounding the lounge, the environment offered a tremendous amount of natural light. This allowed us to take in a great northern sunset.

Eventually, the lounge space got pretty dark consistent with a northern fall evening. Since this space is a pop up lounge located in an atrium, the area wasn’t designed for night time viewing or reading. As a result, it got pretty dark quite quickly. Plaza Premium could have run to Ikea for a few reading lights for tables or loungers to make the space a little more liveable.

The tables and chairs portion of the lounge offered a view over the Vancouver International Airport’s outdoor Atrium. The atrium was supposed to allow for travellers to experience the outdoor forests of Vancouver, while waiting for a departing flight. While the atrium is a terrific idea, it does make the space look a little dark and spooky at night time while we visited the Plaza Premium lounge.

The lounge seating was more than adequate for this particular lounge. While it was pretty busy during our visit, we ended up seated at a table for our visit. I did find the space a little dark after the sun went down. The space could use a little extra lighting for those after dark visitors.

Food and Beverage:

The Plaza Premium Lounge networks are normally pretty generous on food. On today’s visit, they had a substantial offering that is typically more in quantity than the nearby Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Vancouver International between regular meal times.

All the food on offer at the Plaza Premium Lounge – Vancouver International Pop Up is located around the centre island and reception area. Plaza Premium have set up a refrigerated bar area, in addition to coolers for drinks.

The lounge was serving some hot beef peppercorn, along with some rainbow tortellini pasta with artichokes. The lounge was also serving some mashed potatoes along with garlic sauteed green beans. There was also a soup offering of tomato and basil soup.

The lounge also offered wrapped sandwiches and tinned soft drinks. There were also some manufactured commercial type cookies that were available, along with a few cereal silo styled snacks.

Similar to other Plaza Premium Lounges, the bar service is split into complimentary beverages and paid beverages. The complimentary beverages were pretty basic, whereas the premium beverages were around $13 CAD per beverage.

I ended up enjoying a complimentary glass of wine. Unfortunately, this was served in a plastic cup which definitely provided a low rent touch to the place.

The Plaza Premium Lounge offered a substantial amount of snack food. The once concern that I have about Plaza Premium Lounges is that while they offer a lot of food, I don’t usually find it that appealing or tasty.

As a result, I didn’t end up snacking on any food. Instead, I enjoyed the views out of the window where I was able to see an Eva Air B777 parked at Gate 68 getting ready for it’s departure to Taipei.

My Thoughts on the Plaza Premium Lounge Vancouver:

The Plaza Premium Lounge – Vancouver International has migrated to a temporary pop up concept lounge while the group finalizes refurbishment of the old British Airways Galleries Lounge space in Vancouver.

While the pop up lounge offers everything that you might need out of an international departures lounge, it was a little crowded in space when we arrived. The lounge space has brilliant windows, but it can tend to get a little dark after the sun goes down.

While there is a substantial amount of food offered, I didn’t find much of it too appealing. While it’s a first world problem, it’s never too exciting to have wine served in a plastic disposable cup when you’re excited for an international business class flight.

In summary, it’s an average place to stop by, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get here in advance of your international flight just for the experience.

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If you’ve recently visited the Plaza Premium Vancouver International Pop Up Lounge, did the lounge meet your expectations ?

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