TBM Staff - Mumbai Priority Pass, a leading global airport lounge programme, 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 sea port lounges, this represents 20% 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. 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% growth in locations since 2015.
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.”
“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% 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.”
