Irene King: aviation commentator on Air New Zealand's plans to build a new luxury lounge

Air New Zealand has confirmed it is looking into developing a new luxury lounge for frequent flyers.

The airline is staying tight-lipped about what these plans entail - but the idea was floated during a presentation for investors during their Investor Day late last year.

Aviation commentator Irene King says Air New Zealand's existing lounges tend to crowd out during peak times - and the airline might be looking to address that.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And Bridge Rich Good news this evening. If you don't
want to sit in a packed airport lounge. Air New
Zealander is looking at a new luxury lounge for elite flyers.
They're being tight lipped about the idea. It was floated
apparently at an invested day presentation. And if it looks
anything like what Quantus offers could include restaurants style dining
and free massages, wouldn't that be nice? Aviation commentator Irene

(00:24):
King is with me Iren good evening.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Good evening.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
So a lounge is a lounge, is a lounge, but
some are beautiful and some are crowded. Is Air New
Zealand's lounges two crowded? Now?

Speaker 2 (00:37):
I think? So? I mean that's really I think you
for the volume to going through the use how much?

Speaker 1 (00:44):
How much extra do you charge to put on a
fancy lounge? And if you do, you just do one
at one airport or do you is there any an
expectation that you would have one everywhere?

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Look, I've seen this concept floated about four or five times,
and I've seen it as executed once here in New Zealand.
So I think in per degree they're just flying a kite.
But when they did execute it, it was so exclusive
that hardly anyone knew where it was. I saw it,

(01:19):
I knew it existed, and it was just intended to
be for the very high ball high you know, high
worse travelers. So most people were excluded and most people
ended up in the normal lounge, and so the normal
lounge became very crowded. This particular lounge that they did

(01:47):
put in place lasted from them We're about two years.
And that's because it's just not the demand here in
New Zealand for that level of exclusivity.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Right, how much would it cost?

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Very expensive?

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, how much would it cost you to put it on?
Because you've got to staff it all the time too,
don't you.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Oh? Absolutely, And you know you're competing with Emirates, which
already has a high end lounge in Auckland, and you know,
any ChIL just doesn't offer the first class service. You know,
they just don't compete with the likes of Emorates, and

(02:27):
so the patronage is very low, the cost were very high.
You know, you do anything at Auckland Airport and the
costume down in the league, and like I say, it
only lasted about two years because the demand just.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
He wasn't there interesting, Irene, Thanks for that. Irene King
Aviation commentated with us. For more from Hither Duplessy, Allen
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