Comfort Zones

Airport Dimensions CEO Mignon Buckingham enhances the airport experience for travelers with posh lounges and new technologies

- Boyd Farrow

WHILE MANY PEOPLE working in aviation are contemplating an era of sustainable supersonic flights and electric planes, Mignon Buckingham is focused on how technologies can mitigate what is often the most stressful part of every air passenger's journey-the period between leaving home and reaching the departure gate. She is optimistic, for instance, that there could soon be a single app that will enable travelers to plan their route to the terminal, zip through security, preorder a steak in a cushy booth, book a massage, and collect their online purchases prior to boarding. "There are many moving parts to juggle," she admits, "but there is actually a lot of joined-up thinking now going on in this space." As CEO of Airport Dimensions-part of Collinson Group, owner of the world's largest lounge-access program, Priority Pass-59-year-old Buckingham does a lot of juggling. She is tasked with enhancing passenger experience, boosting airport revenues and preserving the relative tranquility of lounges such as The Club, Club Aspire and No1.

Complicating things further, passengers are a capricious bunch. "If someone is traveling for business three times a week they may want quiet lounge space," she explains. "If that same person is traveling with friends, they might want a leisurely lunch. Traveling with kids, they might prefer something else. There really is no such thing as a typical flyer." What has definitely emerged since the pandemic are new behaviors. Unsurprisingly, passengers have grown more accustomed to using digital services during their journey, just as they are in their everyday lives. At the same time, millennials and Gen Zers have pulled ahead as the primary drivers of airport spending.