British Airways to give its lounges in Chicago, Edinburgh and Berlin a make over
- Customer to benefit from more relaxing atmosphere, extra charging points, and new interactive welcome
- Lounges to be refreshed as part of £6.5bn investment for customers
LONDON, UK, 2020-Jan-17 — /Travel PR News/ — British Airways has today (January 16, 2020) announced it is refreshing its First and Club lounges at Chicago O’Hare Airport, as well as revealing more details on its lounge improvements at Edinburgh and Berlin, all part of the airline’s £6.5bn investment plan for customers.
Due to be completed in Spring 2020, customers travelling through Chicago in the First or Club lounges will receive a personal and more interactive welcome in new look reception areas. The lounge will have a lighter and more relaxing atmosphere for customers with new décor, flooring and furnishings. There will be more charging ports, built into new marble tables, as well as specially crafted chairs to help customers to relax. In terms of dining, there will be redesigned serving stations which will continue to offer customers a wide range of local and international cuisines.
British Airways is also refreshing its lounge in Edinburgh. As in Chicago, customers will enjoy a fresh, brighter look, with new furniture and carpeting, as well as a more interactive welcome experience. There will also be enhanced levels of comfort with bespoke armchairs while reconfigured working and dining areas will give customers more room to work or eat.
The Edinburgh lounge serves customers travelling in Club Europe on one of the up-to-20 flights to London each day, from which all carbon emissions are offset by the airline as part of its commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The lounge is also open to those connecting on to a Club World or First flight, or those with Silver or higher Executive Club status. Changes will be complete by the end of Spring 2020.
Finally, by early Spring customers using the airline’s lounge in Berlin will see new furnishings, carpet and décor, with up to 10 daily flights between the two capital cities.
Photos of previous lounge refreshes, which give a feel of the changes being made, are attached to this release.
Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said: “Lounges are incredibly important to our customers travelling in our Club and First cabins, or to those with Executive Club status, and they are rightly a focus of our £6.5bn customer investment. We’ve recently refurbished nine lounges across the network, and we’re looking forward to refurbishing more in 2020.”
As part of its 2020 lounge upgrade activity the airline will also be refreshing a number of its lounges at Heathrow Terminal 5 as well as redesigning and relaunching the Elemis Spa at JFK. More details on this will follow in due course.
Other investments (please see details in notes to editors for lounge activity) across the airline include the installation of the best quality Wi-Fi and power in every aircraft seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. Last year the airline introduced its Club Suite, a new business class seat with direct aisle access.
Notes to editors
Lounge refurbishments
British Airways’ lounge investment has extended across three continents with a new design concept which premiered in Rome.
Full details of all improvements from the airline’s £6.5bn investment programme are below:
- Heathrow’s Concorde Room – November 2017 – revamped taking inspiration from the very best of British Design.
- Rome Fiumicino – April 2018 – the lounge followed a new design concept for the airline featuring the very best of British and European design and delivering a luxurious and contemporary look and feel.
- Aberdeen – May 2018 – featuring bespoke furniture and fittings such as feature walls, lighting, marble topped tables and a beautifully crafted granite topped bar.
- JFK First – October 2018 – 60 per cent larger than its predecessor. Highlights include a new wine room, opulent bar and upgraded dining.
- JFK Club – April 2019 – includes elegant, relaxed seating areas as well as ample work stations, a craft beer room, and the reopened Elemis Spa.
- San Francisco – July 2019 – the lounge features fantastic views of the runway, thanks to floor to ceiling glass windows, a study area, a deli bar and boutique dining for First customers.
- Milan Linate – October 2019 – featuring new look armchairs, decorative lighting, a new reception area and Italian finishes.
- Johannesburg – November 2019 – new and improved space converted into one large lounge with a dedicated boutique dining area for First customers.
- Geneva – November 2019 – extended to 327 square metres including a lobby bar, craft beer room, and peaceful, separate seating area.
Contact details:
For more information please contact press.office@ba.com
Source: British Airways
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