Skift Take
Traveling can be nerve-racking and airline lounges have traditionally provided a place of respite for weary travelers. As the pandemic recovery continues and lounges are reopening, this is the time to add a dose of safety, healthy good food and innovations to win passengers back.
For some passengers, there's no surer sign that the world is returning to normal than the reopening of airlines' airport lounges. Most lounges closed at the start of the pandemic, but airlines around the world are taking tentative steps toward reopening just in time for the expected summer surge in leisure travel.
The challenge, of course, is safeguarding public health while still maintaining the level of service their premium passengers have long been accustomed to.
Lounges are powerful marketing tools, if not loss leaders, for airlines, making them more important than ever as flyers unleash the pent-up demand on bookings.
In one of the world's busiest international airports, London's Heathrow, British Airways is offering passengers traveling in Club World the opportunity of taking a nap prior to their flight in the Heathrow First Lounge. The facility currently is open to all lounge-eligible passengers, the airline's website said.
To ensure customer safety, British Airways is providing contactless entry, hand sanitizing stations, social distancing with screens between seating areas, preordered food and drinks via "Your Menu" delivered directly to passengers, using antibacterial wipes to clean the sleep pods between passengers, and enhanced cleaning in communal areas, its website said.
British Airways has a l
