Airport Lounges Are Sexy Again—if You Can Get In | EUROtoday

“The best spaces feel more like high-end hospitality than a pre-flight pit stop,” he provides.

In order to cater to completely different tiers of vacationers, each airways and bank card corporations have debuted new “lounge-within-a-lounge” ideas—reservable, personal areas supreme for an influence lunch or energy nap. Last yr, Air France launched personal suites inside its already-exclusive La Première lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). These 500-square-foot sanctuaries are linked to the principle first-class lounge and have a spacious dwelling space, a bed room with a double mattress, an out of doors patio, and a devoted butler. Meanwhile, Chase’s “Reserve Suites,” personal rooms with a private attendant, embody a welcome caviar service, á la carte eating, and an ensuite lavatory with Augustinus Bader facilities. The smallest suite, with a four-person capability, prices $2,200.

The most unique airport lounges supply facilities past the bodily lounge itself, from personal TSA lanes to tarmac transfers.

ILLUSTRATION: Alex Green

Easing Airport Stress

Beyond in-lounge facilities, easing airport stress for enterprise vacationers is about eliminating factors of friction. Karp says that features “skipping the line to enter, accessing a private security checkpoint, or avoiding crowds altogether.”

In 2023, Delta Air Lines opened an unique check-in space at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for Delta One prospects. Tucked away on the arrivals degree, the 4,200-square-foot area not solely affords white-glove help (sizzling towel, anybody?) but additionally a particular TSA lane and direct entry to the lounge upstairs.

Several US airways, together with American Airlines and United Airlines, permit prospects to ebook a VIP concierge (on a pay-per-use foundation) who can meet you curbside, examine your baggage, safe lounge entry, and even escort you to the gate. However, it’s restricted to sure hubs and is focused to particular company prospects.

Then, there are the airport terminals that perform extra like personal FBOs. Here, vacationers will pay to bypass your entire industrial terminal, with perks like devoted safety, customs clearance, and being pushed on to or from the airplane. PS (previously known as Private Suites) affords these facilities at each LAX and Atlanta (ATL). Instead of the congested entryway for pickups and dropoffs, vacationers arrive at a separate facility throughout the airfield.

“We sit in a space that, until now, didn’t really exist—the white space between commercial and private air travel,” says Amina Belouizdad Porter, CEO of PS. New openings for PS are set for Miami (MIA) and Dallas (DFW) in 2026.

Karp believes this mannequin will proceed to develop, particularly on this facet of the Atlantic. “Europe is ahead of the US in many ways when it comes to offering bespoke airport experiences,” he notes. “I think we’ll see more here, especially for travelers who are used to the control and calm of flying private.”