SkyTeam to open its seventh lounge in Vancouver

The 20-airline SkyTeam alliance will open its first branded lounge in North America later this year at Vancouver International Airport. The move comes as new figures show robust annual growth in the premium segment and that fares are holding up well. The latest financial monitor from the International Air Transport Association showed premium origin and destination traffic accounted for 5.5 percent of global travel in the first three months of this year, down slightly on the same quarter a year ago, but 27.2 per cent of total passenger revenues, up from 26.4 per cent. Annual growth in premium passenger traffic was also stronger than its economy counterpart in most premium markets, particularly in Europe-Asia and the north and mid-pacific. The Vancouver will be the alliance’s seventh branded lounge —  joining facilities in Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London Heathrow and Sydney — designed to give premium passengers an upmarket environment. Its most recent addition, at Beijing International Capital Airport, opened at Terminal 2 in May and offers a range of amenities for 12 carriers servicing the Chinese capital. The lounges are open to first and business class passengers travellin on, or connecting to, a same-day international flight operated by a SkyTeam member airline as well SkyTeam Elite Plus members travelling on a flight. SkyTeam Elite Plus members can also invite a guest. Nine SkyTeam members service Vancouver: Aeroméxico, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air and Xiamen Airlines. “With the opening of Vancouver later this year, SkyTeam will offer more branded airport lounges around the world than any other airline alliance. Increasing the number of shared facilities worldwide realizes significant synergies for our airlines while offering a greatly enhanced airport experience for our top customers,” SkyTeam chief executive Perry Cantarutti said in a statement.  “Meanwhile, we continue to invest in technology so that we can capitalize on emerging customer trends, drive greater efficiencies and continue to deliver value for our airlines and their passengers.” SkyTeam services more than 1000 destinations in 177 countries with almost 17,500 departures and some 665 million passengers annually.