Priority Pass has announced it will add over 150 new luxury airport lounges across the world in 2021. Alongside 100 new premium dining and relaxation experiences and railway and seaport lounges, this represents 20 per cent growth for the network. This announcement comes at the same time that evidence mounts that travel is set to return, with encouraging growth in domestic travel in the US, China and Russia, as well as recent announcements around the relaxing of border closures for vaccinated travellers – with premium experiences more in demand than ever.
Priority Pass has already added 59 new airport lounges this year – including three in India and 14 in China – as well as revealing that nine No.1 Lounges have re-entered its programme. In addition to increasing its lounge footprint, the company is focusing on quality, premium dining and spa experiences, with 17 new locations added in 2021.
As India remains one of the world’s busiest travel hubs, the decision to expand lounge presence in the country remains of considerable strategic importance to Priority Pass and its lounge partners in India, who are invested in elevating the airport lounge experience across the country.
The Priority Pass network is a mix of partnerships as well as lounges owned by its sister company, Airport Dimensions, both owned by Collinson Group. Airport Dimensions has continued opening new lounges and sleep and rest experiences during the pandemic and is positioned to achieve a 483 per cent growth in locations since 2015.
12 months of agile transformation to ensure a safe and reassuring experience
Over the last 12 months, Collinson has adapted its offerings to reflect the ongoing needs of travellers during the COVID-19 era. Collinson’s ‘Ready to Order’ food and drinks technology in partnership with Grab launched across select Priority Pass lounges in India, including Cochin, Pune and Mumbai, enabling lounge guests to order complimentary food and drink from their mobile. While achieving a contactless F&B service, the offering also supports social distancing and reduces food waste.
Supporting the travel industry with shifting traveller expectations
With a customer base of more than 50 million global travellers, Collinson has leveraged its unique insights into consumer expectations to support the travel industry. Most recently this has taken the form of new research The Return Journey, which analyses and compares data collected from 18.5k global travellers in late 2019 (pre-pandemic) with data collected from 12.6k travellers in late 2020 (during the pandemic), providing guidance on the critical path airline, airport and premium credit card brands can take to meet the changing expectations of travellers.
Parent company Collinson Group, working to get people travelling safely and with confidence
Collinson – a global end-to-end travel experiences, airport services and travel medical company – has spent the last 12 months working with airlines, airports and other members of the travel ecosystem as well as governments around the world to restart travel safely. Collinson has also used its travel medical resources to become the world’s leading COVID travel testing company, with partnerships with more than 30 airlines, airports and health passport providers.
Collinson Joint CEO David Evans said, “Our investment in Priority Pass is a clear reflection of our confidence in the travel recovery, which our research has shown will also include an increased appetite for premium spaces and experiences while travelling. But the strong growth of our Priority Pass network is only one facet of the work Collinson has done in the past year to restart travel. As a family company with a more than 30-year history sitting at the intersection of travel and financial services, we know the damage that COVID has done to travel, international commerce and trade, and that is why we’re committed to efforts such as rolling out testing and working with governments and the travel industry to build and roll out new solutions. And now, with a network growing to include over 1,500 lounges and premium experiences available, we look forward to welcoming travellers back to our Priority Pass programme as they return to travel.”
“India continues to be a core growth-driver for our clients and their customers, and as such, we have a strategic, long-term – and most of all, exciting – growth plan that supports our clients’ objectives, while delivering an enhanced experience for their customers,” said Priyanka Lakhani, Commercial Director Middle East & Africa and Director South Asia, Collinson, Priority Pass’s parent company. “We’re aware that travellers are wary of returning to the skies, with a recent study by Collinson revealing that 41 per cent of Indian travellers are specifically looking for visible health and hygiene measures when during their next trip, as well as socially-distanced spaces to ‘de-stress’ and ‘relax away from the crowds’. In line with this, we remain committed to growing our network of premium, relaxing airport lounge experiences to continue to help instill confidence and enable travellers to once again enjoy their journeys.”
