Airport Lounges: Working To Restore Traveler's Confidence

Plaza Premium Group’s Plaza Premium Lounge made its debut in the US on Sept. 1 at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, following the group’s airport Meet & Greet service Allways launched last year.

The latest opening is the 18th location joining the group’s lounge portfolio in the Americas with locations currently in Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg of Canada, and Rio de Janeiro of Brazil.

Located near Gate E31, it is the only common-use airport lounge in Terminal E with a two-minute walk away from Skylink connecting travelers to other terminals. The newly opened lounge implemented heightened hygienic measures to take care of travelers by encouraging social distancing, assisting guests at self-serve food counters and ensuring all common touched areas are disinfected frequently.

Occupying more than 1,400 sq. ft., the Wi-Fi-enabled space with lounge chairs and dining seating offers charging pods in addition to AeroBar with high chairs, creating zones to suit different travelers’ preferences when they depart and transit at the terminal. AeroBar is accentuated with a 3D-ceramic illustration portraying the shape of Texas map, offering a drink menu of wines, liquors and beers including local brands with the likes of Rahr, Shiner and Dallas Blonde or Italian Lavazza coffee. As part of heightened hygienic measures, pre-portioned and pre-packaged food items are offered at the self-serve counters.

SkyTeam’s lounge at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in Canada has reopened seven days a week after COVID-19 closure. Most SkyTeam-branded lounges, however, have or remain closed in line with local airport guidelines and government regulations.

“Once lounges are open, customers can be assured that their personal safety will be taken care of,” a SkyTeam representative told ATW, adding that all its branded lounges fall under the alliance’s new SkyCare&Protect pledge.

Relevant measures have been taken and adapted to the lounge setting. Including but not limited to the following:

• Social distancing, via furniture arrangement;
• Floor markings for guest movement and flow and controlled queuing;
• Face masks and/or shields and disposable gloves available;
• Hand sanitizing stations throughout the lounge;
• Adapted food and beverage services limiting no-guest contact;
• Individually package food and beverage with À la carte service;
• Air-conditioning, maximum functioning of ventilation, air exchange, and dehumidification equipment; and
• Deep intensified and increased cleaning of all high-touch areas.

Plaza Premium Lounges at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 and 5 recently reopened after COVID-19 closures and said it is well-prepared to serve passengers from new airline partners, including Air Vistara, Etihad, Finnair and Virgin Atlantic as well as SkyTeam Alliance airlines.

Plaza Premium Lounge at Terminal 5 will also host Qatar Privilege Cardholders. Meanwhile, the lounge is open for all travelers without eligible entitlement.

The reopened lounges follow a set of enhanced hygienic protocols to safeguard the health and well-being of all guests and lounge staff members, including but not limited to frequent sanitization of all surfaces, provision of hand sanitizers, practice of social distancing, tailored food services manned by staff and pre-packaged food items at self-serve counters to minimize human contact.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) and JAMCO partnered to test a new hands-free lavatory door at the ANA Lounge in Tokyo's Haneda Airport. The “elbow doorknob” first began trials in mid-June and includes components that allow people to unlock and open lavatory door using their elbows.

The product is currently in the development and testing stage and ANA is gathering feedback from customers.

As part of the ANA Care Promise, this innovation aims to reassure passengers while also creating a clean and comfortable flight experience.

UK airport facilities company OnGround Hospitality (OGH) offers sleeping “pods” or cabins on a pay-by-the-hour basis. Sleep ’n fly sleep lounges are available at in Dubai International Airport’s (DXB) Terminals 1 and 3, with sleep pods also located within third-party lounges under a separate pod-in-lounge concept.

OGH launched its latest property at Doha International Airport (DOH) on Sept. 1, representing its new sleep ’n fly flagship lounge in terms of size and innovation. This latest sleep ’n fly location features OGH’s own brand-new pod design called FlexiSuite.

FlexiSuite, which is available from 1- to 24-hours’ duration, features include a 90°-180° seat to flat-bed with individually controlled back and footrests connecting with a fixed ottoman seat, a 200x70 cm leather surface area for a comfortable rest, overhead carry-on baggage storage, a coat hanger, large mirror and all LED indirect lighting with dimmer switch for a cozy ambience.

Further amenities comprise power/USB sockets, a reading light, a solid wooden folding table (which doubles as a small desk), a small waste bin, cup holders, as well as lots of storage space for your shoes, tablet or mobile phone.

Each FlexiSuite further features individually controlled air-conditioning, a 32-in. screen to be connected to your laptop, tablet or smartphone via HDMI, and all airport-mandated fire and safety features.

OGH has a very strict hygiene policy, applying products and best practices from both the aviation and hotel industries. Operating in a 24x7 environment, there is always a housekeeper on duty to ensure highest levels of hygiene throughout the entire lounge.