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Passengers departing Calgary International Airport (YYC) and heading to the United States will clear U.S. immigration before departing Canada. Thankfully, passengers who end up in this special Transborder Departures part of the Calgary airport still have a lounge that they can visit for the flight, and it’s a pretty good one at that. The Aspire Lounge Transborder Departures Calgary is an excellent lounge.
Passengers with Priority Pass can access the Aspire Lounge Transborder Departures, as can Air Canada passengers with certain tickets and status.
Priority Pass lounges can be of varying quality. However, the Transborder Lounge in Calgary is one of the better ones I’ve visited.
For starters, the space is huge, bright, & airy, which is perfect if you’re making a long international connection after flying on Air Canada from Frankfurt like I was. There were hardly any people in the lounge. Even if there had been more, there was plenty of space for everyone. The entire terminal was quiet, but the lounge was especially so.
The lounge had lots of different seating options including private seats, pods, and counters.
There were dining tables that even had individual TVs, so you weren’t stuck watching whatever was on the main TV.
In addition to being a comfortable place to relax, the Calgary Aspire Transborder Departures Lounge also has a good food selection. There was a hot meal selection that included chicken cordon bleu, veggies, and rice. There was also cheese & meat, plus decent amount of other snacks, including dessert.
Additionally, the lounge had local craft beer from Big Rock Brewery. I always like to try new craft beer from around the world when I travel, and there was no other way I would have been able to get to sample some Calgary beer on a short layover. Every lounge should do this!
Plus I got to drink Canada Dry in Canada. It tastes better there, as you know.
One other thing the Aspire Lounge got right – well, really, the entire airport got right – the WiFi was incredibly fast. Again, this is something that seems like it should be such a simple concept, but few places do it well.
Layovers are hell, but the Calgary Aspire Transborder Depatures Lounge is a very pleasant place to kill that time. It’s spacious, quiet, and has solid food & drink options.
Have you visited this lounge? What did you think?
