Priority Pass is sort of known for democratizing airport lounge access, in the sense that more people around the globe get access to airport lounges through Priority Pass than through any other program. Well, the company has now announced a new concept, which goes the opposite direction — it’s only available by invitation, and is intended for high-net-worth individuals.
In this post:
Priority Pass Private offers new luxury airport experience
Collinson International, the parent company of Priority Pass, has just launched the new Priority Pass Private concept. As it’s described, this is a new luxury full-service airport experience for the most discerning travelers, and it’s launching in the Middle East and Europe, across 70+ airports in 30+ countries, with further expansion planned.
The idea is that people can’t sign up directly for Priority Pass Private, but instead, it’s intended to enable businesses (like financial institutions, private banks, and wealth management companies) to reward their most valued, high-net-worth customers, with access to private terminals and lounges, expedited security, and gourmet dining experiences.
Priority Pass Private promises to offer an experience typically reserved for private aviation, for the most exclusive segment of commercial airline passengers. The idea is that the Priority Pass Private experience begins with a personalized meet & assist service, followed by expedited check-in, security, and immigration. Guests are then welcomed into a private VIP lounge. Then when it’s time to board, an airside chauffeur transfer will take guests to the plane. Each location will deliver its own distinctive take on luxury.
Here’s how Christopher Evans, CEO of Collinson International, describes this:
“In today’s evolving world of luxury travel, the most discerning and high-net-worth travellers expect more than a seamless airport experience; they value time, privacy and exclusivity. Priority Pass Private was created to meet this need, transforming time in transit into time well spent. We are proud to bring this vision to life, reimagining travel for the world’s most elite travellers.”
I’m curious what this is going to be like in reality
As you can see, with this concept we’re looking at a little more than just cubed cheese and the ability go get on the waitlist to enter a lounge. 😉 That being said, there are currently a lot more questions than answers.
In theory, I can see the merit to this. While airport lounges are nice, there’s a higher tier of airport service that exists, and Priority Pass’ goal here is to bundle this into a product that can be sold. And just as has been the case with Priority Pass memberships in general, the goal seems to be to work with other businesses, to offer this experience for clients.
I’m curious about the logistics of this, though, in terms of both the actual facilities and the economics:
- There’s talk of all kinds of private terminals and other uber-exclusive experiences, so do the 70+ participating airports really all have such high level services? Are we talking about truly top tier products, like The Windsor by Heathrow, which typically costs thousands per visit, or…?
- Since a truly customized airport VIP experience can sometimes cost thousands of dollars, how will the economics of this work? Presumably Collinson International gets some sort of a volume discount, but will the partner institutions pay Collinson International a fixed fee for a membership, or pay per visit?
- We must be talking about some very good clients of companies, if they’re to get experiences worth that kind of money every time they travel…
So we’ll see how this plays out, but it certainly sounds a bit more luxurious than your typical Priority Pass experience, eh?
Bottom line
Priority Pass Private is a new experience being launched by Collinson International. While the company is known for its basic Priority Pass program, this is on a totally different level, and is intended to offer access to the most exclusive experiences at commercial airports.
The idea is that the company doesn’t sell these memberships directly, but instead, works with other businesses, who can invite their customers to be part of this. I suspect most of us will never be eligible, but it’s still interesting to see a new form of monetization of the highest end airport experience.
What do you make of the Priority Pass Private concept?
I would love to see the reaction on the face of a "high net worth individual" when they step into a Priority Pass lounge.
If it's their local non-hub airport in Europe, it'll either be an upgrade on their usual LCC's lack of lounge (flag carriers only fly from/to their hubs so the likes of easyJet get a lot of traffic, and sometimes strong yields, due to being the only carrier flying on lots of non-hub routes) or the same contract lounge they can already access with their ticket/frequent flyer status.
Oh good. One more reason to tax the rich and eat them.
Invite-only programs for key customers are nothing new. Concierge Key, Cobalt, etc. The Centurion-Card-only restaurant in Manhattan. The former United secret lounge in NY. In the present case, Priority Pass is cobbling together premium airport ground services into its own offering. Fun to think about but I won't feel cheated if I'm not invited.
This isn't likely to be about separate terminals, more like a private escort through check in and immigration formalities and into the lounge. Some airports may have dedicated VIP lounges, but a lot of them will be of the cubed cheese variety. This is normally a service that's sold for a few hundred Euros, and, like first-tier 'private banking' and other services aimed at the 'mass affluent', it may mostly be an attempt to create...
This isn't likely to be about separate terminals, more like a private escort through check in and immigration formalities and into the lounge. Some airports may have dedicated VIP lounges, but a lot of them will be of the cubed cheese variety. This is normally a service that's sold for a few hundred Euros, and, like first-tier 'private banking' and other services aimed at the 'mass affluent', it may mostly be an attempt to create a veneer of exclusivity in order to cross-sell stuff that's available to everyone out there (e.g. 'here's a membership of an exclusive concierge service that's going to help you make reservations for pointlessly overpriced restaurants where most customers only go for the Instagram clicks'.), charging a set fee for each time the service is used.
Sour grapes. There was a time when an airport lounge was a quiet refuge from the concourse. Today's typical lounge is only sometimes that and there will be some with the means to pay for that calmness if only it were available . . . as well as an elevated dining experience (not cheese cubes as you suggest). They are not there to feel exclusive or feed their egos or an Instagram image. Lose that chip on your shoulder.
I don't get what you're saying. I often have that type of service pitched at me and I always turn it down because it's never worth it. I can buy the shares and indices I want, there's no need to pay someone a fee to do it for me. I may go and have a look at the fridge to see whether my lack of interest in wealth management has affected the taste of the...
I don't get what you're saying. I often have that type of service pitched at me and I always turn it down because it's never worth it. I can buy the shares and indices I want, there's no need to pay someone a fee to do it for me. I may go and have a look at the fridge to see whether my lack of interest in wealth management has affected the taste of the grapes therein.
Priority Pass won't be building new lounges, and most airports out there don't have multiple tiers of them. This product is being launched in Europe, and I am familiar with dozens of airports within the continent. If it's not a hub, it's usually just one non-Schengen option and one or two for Schengen pax. You'll end up there whether you've got a business (or even first!) class ticket, have access through your frequent flyer status, a credit card, or this newfangled scheme. In many places, it will even be legally impossible to offer anything 'elevated dining experience' because the terminal has been designed in a way that makes it very difficult to cook anything in a pan.
I'm not saying there's no demand, or willingness to pay, for a better product. What I'm saying is that it's impossible to deliver such a product at most airports (at least in Europe) and, as a result, this scheme is likely to be more of a gimmick than a solid proposition.
FYI I am suddenly having a lot of issues getting your website to display properly (mostly images) in Chrome. Been like this for at least a few days...
I use chrome too (mobile and desktop) and have had no issues at all
Lucky, I'm not sure if you're aware of the somewhat "middle of the road" private experiences that exist between the ultra-lux options in the US and Priority Pass lounges at certain airports overseas. A client of money recently gave me a pass to the "private" terminal in SZX when I was in town for business. In reality, it was no more than a dozen different small one-room "lounges" cobbled together into a slightly nicer built...
Lucky, I'm not sure if you're aware of the somewhat "middle of the road" private experiences that exist between the ultra-lux options in the US and Priority Pass lounges at certain airports overseas. A client of money recently gave me a pass to the "private" terminal in SZX when I was in town for business. In reality, it was no more than a dozen different small one-room "lounges" cobbled together into a slightly nicer built building. Each "lounge" was sponsored by a company, the one my client gave me the pass to was by a regional bank. No cubed cheese to speak of and only access to a larger shared restaurant that really wasn't much better than a PP lounge. The only special part of the experience was being ushered into a van (with the rest of the qualified individuals) during boarding time and being driven to your flight vs. having to walk through the terminal.
I imagine this is what PS Private is going for.
What you described is typical in China, mostly bank-sponsored VIP terminal and the majority are only available for domestic flights. The access fee for walk-in guest is usually 800 RMB and can be redeemed points into if you are a high value customer to the bank ( platinum card holder and no need to be private bank customer). Since the cost is not so high that explains the mediocre experience.