- New 97-seat Air Canada Café offers eligible customers a locally inspired setting to relax, work, and recharge before boarding
- Enchanting, nostalgic, and poetic, Québec City-inspired design and artwork reflect the region’s art de vivre and French culture
- Follows recent opening of new Air Canada Café and refreshed domestic Maple Leaf Lounge at Montréal-Trudeau, deepening the airline’s investment in the Québec market
MONTRÉAL, June 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Air Canada has opened its newest Air Canada Café at Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB), introducing the first dedicated premium lounge experience to the airport’s terminal. The new 97-seat Air Canada Café, operated in partnership with Plaza Premium, offers eligible customers a modern, locally inspired space to relax, work or recharge before their flight, featuring menus that celebrate Québec City’s heritage, culture, and renowned art de vivre.
The YQB location marks the seventh Air Canada Café, deepening the airline’s investment in the premium customer experience in Québec, and expanding the successful café concept as part of its multi-year global lounge modernization program.
“Travellers love Québec City for its food, charm and character,” said Jacqueline Harkness, Managing Director, Product & Services at Air Canada. “With this new Air Canada Café, we’ve created a space that feels like a love letter to the city – warm, calm, and inspired by its rich and unique character. Québec City is one of Canada’s great treasures, and we’re proud to bring a little taste of its magic into the travel experience.”
Reflecting Air Canada’s Glowing Hearted design philosophy, the new Air Canada Café blends inspiration from Québec’s natural landscape and the charm and character of the Québec City region to create an atmosphere of calm and comfort. The space is anchored by two significant works from celebrated Québecois and Canadian artists. These include Flow, a vibrant abstraction in acrylic, oil and ink on canvas by the award-winning abstract artist Antonietta Grassi, and 1982, a colourful, geometric acrylic on linen by visual artist and novelist Douglas Coupland.
“The opening of the brand-new Air Canada Café is fully in line with our commitment to offering an ever more welcoming and distinctive experience to travellers who choose to fly from our airport,” said Stéphane Poirier, President and CEO of Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB). “We are proud to partner with Air Canada and Plaza Premium Group in welcoming this popular and unique lounge concept. We are also pleased to count on these valued partners to help us develop a modern, attractive airport that meets our passengers’ expectations.”
“We are immensely proud to debut this space at YQB—a unique hybrid lounge that brings together a premium common-use experience and world-class service,” said Eric Pateman, Senior Vice President, North America at Plaza Premium Group. “This opening celebrates our continued partnership and a shared vision to innovate, collaborate, and truly make travel better.”
Local Food and Beverage Offerings
The Air Canada Café’s menu proudly features locally sourced products and items developed with Québec-based and Indigenous partners, celebrating the city and region’s rich character. Designed as a place to relax before a flight, the Air Canada Café features a full self-service station with hot and cold menu items to be enjoyed on site. The menu also caters to a range of dietary preferences and is supported by comprehensive allergen labelling.
Here are some of the menu highlights featured:
- Signature breakfast pancakes with maple butter, fleur de sel, and Sigewigus pumpkin seed spread sourced from the Mi’gmaq Nation of Gespeg Indigenous community
- Fresh, locally sourced ingredients at build-your-own power bowl bar
- Curated selection of local cheeses and artisanal jams
- Menu items designed for dietary preferences and restrictions, including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options
- Full-service bar offering premium specialty coffee from Lavazza, handcrafted cocktails, featuring la distilleries du Fjord, and beers from local brewery La Souche
Amenities and Space
- 97 seats across 3,616 square-foot (336-square-metre) premium space
- Productivity-style seating for working and taking calls
- Power at every seat, including USB-C ports with wattage to charge a laptop
Glowing Hearted Design
Inspired by the vast range of Canada’s landscapes and regions, this new Café reflects Air Canada’ new design standard for creating warm, distinctly Canadian spaces that authentically reflect the local culture, character and sense of place. This is the latest expression of our “Glowing Hearted” end-to-end customer experience. At the new Air Canada Café at YQB this includes:
- Design inspired by Québec City’s art de vivre, the region’s natural beauty, and unique French character
- Works from celebrated Québec and Canadian artists, including Antonietta Grassi and Douglas Coupland
- A design approach that reflects a deliberate investment in timeless quality, balancing refined aesthetics with premium, durable materials that will stand up to daily use
Eligibility for Air Canada Café Access
Access to the Air Canada Café at YQB is available to eligible domestic customers, including Aeroplan Elite members (50K and above), Star Alliance Gold members, Aeroplan premium co-brand cardholders, and Business Class customers departing on Air Canada and Star Alliance flights from YQB.
Elevating the Airport Experience
The new Air Canada Café at YQB is the airline’s latest investment in premium airport experiences that are tailored to the communities and markets it serves. Air Canada continues to modernize and expand its lounge network, focusing on customer care, convenience, and comfort. Last year, the airline added over 500 lounge seats worldwide, delivering more space and amenities for its customers. This latest expansion builds on a series of recent lounge upgrades, including a new Air Canada Café and refreshed domestic Maple Leaf Lounge at Montréal-Trudeau, introducing elevated design, modern seating, and improved power access to select airport locations across the airline’s global network.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada’s largest airline, the country’s flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network. Headquartered in Montréal, Air Canada provides scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and Internationally on six continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is Canada’s premier travel loyalty program, with more than 10 million members worldwide. Members can earn or redeem points on the world’s largest airline partner network of more than 50 airlines, plus through an extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners. Through Air Canada Vacations, it offers a selection of vacation and Flight & Hotel packages, tours, cruises, car rentals, excursions, and a variety of activities and experiences. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada’s passenger and freighter aircraft. Air Canada’s climate-related ambition includes a long-term aspirational goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. For additional information, please see Air Canada’s TCFD disclosure. Air Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX (AC).
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/32ec1395-7a1c-49d1-8744-6d8ea833d743
