Yesterday I wrote about the news that Etihad Airways will no longer operate their own lounge at London Heathrow, but rather they’ll be turning it over to No1 Lounges.
Continue reading: More On Etihad’s New Lounge Concept, “The House”
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Does't "white-linen dining experience" automatically exclude the lounge from the Priority Pass brand? 😉
I'm curious how they intend to manage the Etihad brand when you'll have multiple airlines' pax in the lounge simultaneously. What's to make EY pax in F or J feel special when the cubes of cheese and packaged snacks are available to anyone for a small fee? I see this playing out similar to SJC's The Club being utilized for BA F and J pax. While the Galleries Lounges both at LHR and at out-stations (and even the CCR) are not trend-setting, they certainly put to shame any sort of brand-damaging, contracted out-station lounge.
I think it's more likely that they will create cash access for $50-$60 than open up to PP
That will bring in revenue while limiting crowding.
This is akin to the White Star Line announcing a new lounge on the Titantic. This will do nothing to address the iceberg that is directly in their path. At some point the SS Etihad is going to have to change direction or suffer the consequences.
Granted it has been a few years since I visited an EY lounge, but how different is this new arrangement than how outstation lounges are currently operated? Furthermore, aren't most outstation lounges for airlines operated similarly? I highly doubt that most of the lounge workers are employed by the airline (aside from a duty manager or two). Since they are just contract workers, they are just going to subcontract the rest of the lounge and most likely the lease. Looks like an easy way for Etihad to get out of leases they don't want to pay for and only pay by use for the passengers that they do. Food/drinks may change under new management - but it's not like if EY kept running the lounge themselves, it wouldn't happen. I just see this as a way for them to get out of a longterm lease and monetize an asset they already have, while limiting their future exposure.
I’m on an Etihad ride (biz) out of London next week. Should be an experience since the last time I hitched a ride with ‘em. I’m optimistic. This kinda makes sense so long as it ain’t over crowded down there. Their lounge was just fine the last time. Not sure I care that much about a lounge so long as there’s a place to park it.
If it's anything like the contract lounge at EY uses in GVA, there's definitely reason to worry. That was the only downside to my F Class experience.
I think it’s smart. Rather then shutting the lounge entirely and diverting passengers to a third party lounge, they are outsourcing the operations to a third party meaning that they can retain some parts of the experience at a viable cost.
Apart from the costs, ultimately this also exposes other customers to Etihad Airways creating an experiential touch point for the brand at virtually no cost. If this is not optimization by innovation then what is?
Etihad has approximately 10 residence seats across their network and even considering it in value terms it would amount to no more then 400 economy seats- far too insignificant in the context of its network to restrict a game changing strategy.
Moreover, Etihad can also innovate to enhance its ground experience for Residence passengers. They can provide Residence passengers with Helicopter transfers to the airport and negotiate with airports to provide these guests with VIP fast track meaning they could be in their seats within 10 minutes of reaching the airport. I am sure this would be far more appealing to them versus wasting hours in a private room and being force fed by over-eager staff.
Changeover looks like it happened this morning (Friday). Signage and lounge invites have been changed. Lots of management types wandering around, heavily staffed at 7am. For now, service seems to be at expected premium levels and dining remains unchanged. Certainly the current experience at LHR is way superior to the post security lounge at AUH for US bound pax.