Priority Pass and the paradox of airport lounge access

Priority Pass revolutionised airport comfort but is now racing to put that rope back up. Can luxury survive its own popularity?

- John Gapper

Imagine bypassing the crush at many airports by being chauffeured to a private VIP suite and onward to the steps of your aircraft when the flight is ready. It is a far cry from having to line up for a busy terminal lounge and being refused entry because it is full.

The experiences are at opposite ends of the travel spectrum, yet they are now spanned by one brand. Priority Pass, the world's largest airport lounge network, with more than 30 million members and 1,800 lounges and other facilities, was joined in September by an elite offshoot called Priority Pass Private.

The launch is part of the rapid expansion of the lounge access business pioneered with Priority Pass three decades ago by Mr Colin Evans, a British entrepreneur. Collinson Group, the family-run UK company that he named after himself and his then-young sons Christopher and David, is on track to surpass £2 billion (S$3.43 billion) in sales this financial year.

But the industry is having growing pains, with travellers who qualify to use airport lounges with premium credit cards complaining of overcrowding, particularly at airports in the US and UK. “We are victims of our own success when customers are being turned away,” says Mr Andrew Harrison-Chinn, marketing director of Dragonpass, a leading competitor.