TBM Staff - Hyderabad Priority Pass, the world’s leading airport lounge and experiences programme, owned and operated by Collinson, has announced it has added a total of 183 airport lounges and experiences to its global network in 2021. The latest additions mean that Priority Pass has at least one experience covering 95% of all international flights from the top 100 airports*, with new additions in airports worldwide, including the US, Russia and China. The brand has also focused on making more premium experiences accessible for its Members, by adding further dining, sleep and spa offerings to its network as well as recently announcing a partnership with CarTrawler.
As part of its dedication to growing its premium lounge network, Priority Pass added 134 new premium lounges in 2021, each designed to be a luxurious oasis for travellers pre-flight. As part of this, through its sister company, Airport Dimensions, Priority Pass Members were also given access to a new lounge concept in partnership with VIP Ambaar Lounge brand. The exciting, new, premium ‘Ambaar Club’ launched at Viracopos International Airport (VCP) and has since been rolled out to two further airports in Brazil this year with more to come.
Separately, as previously announced in June 2021, a relationship with JP Morgan Chase will give Priority Pass Members access to lounges within the brand new, premium airport lounge ‘Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club’. Three lounges are already in development at Hong Kong International, Boston Logan and New York La Guardia airports.
As part of its commitment to expanding the range of options available for Members beyond airport lounges, Priority Pass introduced 49 new experiences in 2021. These include: Sleeping Pods at airports including Moscow Sheremetyevo, New York La Guardia and Bahrain International; nine new spas, featured in destinations such as Istanbul, Lagos and Dallas; and even a brand new gaming experience at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Further premium dining experiences were added, where guests can dine on delicious local cuisines and, in some cases, enjoy the scenery nearby with expansive window views.
Be Relax also joined the Priority Pass network, offering Members the opportunity for a relaxing spa experience before or after their flight. With numerous locations across the US and around the world, Be Relax offers a large range of wellness services, including chair massages, loungers, and aromatherapy. Priority Pass Members can visit Be Relax locations at San Diego International Airport (SAN), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Airport (DTW), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Dallas International Airport (DFW), and New York Airport (JFK and La Guardia), with more locations coming soon to the network.
As well as expanding its airport experiences, Priority Pass added a range of new Travel Services to its app, allowing Members access to more things to enhance their overall travel experience, including a global partnership with CarTrawler. The partnership gives all Members access to competitively priced car rental and airport transfers through CarTrawler’s network of over 2,200 vehicle partners across 50,000 locations worldwide. The partnership is a result of Priority Pass’ desire to constantly evolve its propositions in accordance with travellers’ evolving needs and wants, and joins COVID-19 travel testing and Duty-Free Shopping services.
Priority Pass launched a number of innovations last year to help rebuild traveller confidence and welcome passengers back safely. During the pandemic, the company launched a groundbreaking new ‘Ready 2 Order’ food and beverage system in recognition of the challenges traditional Food & Beverage (F&B) models in lounges faced as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. The solution meant a number of lounges were able to protect the provision of F&B for guests, whilst ensuring all Members and lounge staff could stay safe via a contactless ordering process. To date, over 143,000 orders have been placed via the app and in November, following this incredible response, Priority Pass announced it was expanding its Ready 2 Order footprint from 16 lounges to 46, with a view to be up and running throughout 2022.
Priority Pass Members were also offered COVID-19 travel testing discounts on both PCR and Antigen tests for arrivals and departure to help make taking to the skies again more accessible.
“2021 has been a massive year for Priority Pass,” said Christopher Evans, Joint CEO, Collinson. “Not only have we expanded the network into more locations, but we’ve expanded with a whole host of new experiences and services. One of our key goals this year was to bring more premium, digitally-enabled travel experiences to our Members, to help them feel a bit of luxury and boost their confidence while travelling during what has been a difficult time. Our aim has always been to enhance the experience of getting from A to B and make access to these benefits more seamless. I am delighted with the incredible range and quality of the additional lounges, experiences and partners that our customers now have access to.
“As we move into 2022, thanks to innovations like COVID-19 travel testing, the roll out of vaccines and increased health and safety measures across the industry, we can expect confidence in travel to return. And our lounges will be ready and waiting to welcome passengers when they take to the skies again.”
“It’s no secret that the travel recovery in Asia Pacific is taking longer than other parts of the world; however, it will come, and we’re pleased to already be seeing progress in certain markets in our region. We remain committed to furthering our global aim of achieving the safe return to travel through a range of initiatives, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) Foundation’s ‘Go Give One’ campaign; which sees Collinson partner together with WHO to help ensure everyone, no matter their location in the world, has access to COVID-19 vaccinations. Our desire to support and elevate the experience of those who wish to travel today and, in the future, has also remained steadfast, reflected through a range of investments and new partnerships across Asia Pacific in 2021. These include new lounges and experiences in key markets such as China, Australia and Malaysia through partnerships with leading brands including THAI Airways, Sama-Sama Hotels Group and marhaba. We look forward to announcing additional enhancements and partnerships throughout the region in the coming weeks, in support of both domestic travel within Asia Pacific markets, and our region’s continued re-opening to international travel,” added Todd Handcock, President, Asia Pacific, Collinson.
