This is good news for the airline industry. This summer marks the a major comeback for airline and alliance lounges dedicated to premium traffic. Certainly a tangible sign of air traffic recovery around the world, particularly in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. What's more, the reopening of the First Class lounges finally heralds the long-awaited upturn in demand from ultra-high-spending passengers.
United States
In response to the surge in demand on US domestic routes, the major US carriers have generally speeded up the reopening of their lounges. With the opening of a the brand new Sky Club lounge in Fort Lauderdale, Delta Air Lines has announced that it is operating all its lounges. That's around fifty Sky Clubs in the United States and abroad. The company has announced the forthcoming inauguration of a Sky Club in Tokyo Haneda. A catering service has also been in operation since May.
American Airlines once again operates 33 Admiral Clubs lounges in 24 cities. Internationally, only Mexico City and Sao Paulo are open again. A Paris CDGThe show is closed until further notice.
United Airlines remains a little behind in terms of reopenings. The airline states on its website that it operates 23 lounges in 12 American cities. United Polaris lounges for international flights are not yet operational.
Gulf
In June, the company Emirates has finally reopened its 1st class lounge. It will have taken almost a year for the Dubai-based carrier to reopen a second lounge. Its business class lounge has been operational since July 2020. Outside Dubai, only six destinations welcome Emirates passengers in the airline's lounges. These include Manchester and Milan in Europe.
Etihad is once again operating its five lounges in Abu Dhabi? This includes the First Class lounge, the one on arrival. The airline has also reactivated openings in several European cities. This is the case in Paris and Geneva. However, Brussels remains temporarily closed.
As for Qatar AirwaysAl Maha is once again operating its three lounges at Doha's Hamad International airport, as well as four of its premium lounges at Paris CDG and London Heathrow, and in Beirut and Singapore. The Al Maha service at the airport also offers its transit and arrivals lounge to all passengers.
Europe
Air France recently celebrated the reopening of its Première Classe lounge. Since 4 May, this privileged location has once again welcomed passengers in a hushed setting. The only thing missing at the moment is wellness service in the spa - due to health restrictions.
In a few days' time, Air France will also be introducing its brand new lounge in Terminal Freserved for short- and medium-haul flights. A total of 3,000 m² spread over two floors will be available to Business Class and Flying Blue Elite Plus passengers.
Six Lufthansa lounges are once again available at Frankfurt airport with a catering service available since 16 June. The First Class lounge is the latest to reopen to the public. On 1 July, the First Class lounge reopened in Munich, Lufthansa's second hub.. The airline is once again operating 54 lounges, but Paris is not among them. Terminal 1 at CDG is still closed. As are the airline's lounges in Bremen, Cologne/Bonn, Dresden, Leipzig and Nuremberg.
At SwissSince June 1, only the Business and Senator lounges in Lounge A have been open in Zurich. All the other lounges remain closed for the time being. In Geneva, the airline operates the Horizon Lounge for 1st classes and HON-circles and the Swiss Business Lounge.
After an eight-month break, Brussels Airlines has finally reopened its two lounges at Brussels airport. These are "The LOFT" and the Sunrise Lounge. The airline has also taken the opportunity to call on a new catering service provider, Aramark. Aramark is renowned for its sustainable culinary production.
A London HeathrowHowever, the number of operational lounges remains severely limited due to the health constraints still in force. Terminal 5, only the British Airways Galleries South Club, First Lounge and Concorde Terrace are receiving passengers. All other lounges operated by the airline and its OneWorld partners remain closed for the time being.
The reopening of the terminal 3 at Heathrow on 15 July is good news. Used by Virgin Atlantic and its partner Delta Air Lines, the reactivation of the terminal will also allow the return of of the three Virgin Atlantic loungesoften regarded as models of comfort...
A Madridthe reactivation of Terminals 3 . On 14 June, Iberia also announced the reopening of the Velázquez Premium Lounge in the T4S terminal.. It completes the Lounge Dali offer. From the On 1 July, terminals T1 and T2 reopened to the public with four lounges (Plaza Major; Cibeles, Neptuno and Puerta de Alcala) available to business passengers of various airlines.
Finally to Istanbulthe company's three lounges Turkish Airlines - Business, Miles&Smiles and Domestic - are fully operational... despite health constraints!
