New Delhi: A vast majority of international travellers booking business and first class tickets for a comfortable journey get the experience they paid for only after boarding aircraft at Delhi Airport. There reason: There is a severe lounge crunch for premium travellers with two lounges — Air India and a common one for all others — unable to handle the rush with a large number of eligible credit card holders travelling economy also using the common lounge. A major conflict is brewing between many airlines and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) on the issue as the former are unable to offer a premium experience to many of their high-paying passengers at Terminal 3 international side.
While international travel is yet to reach pre-Covid levels, IGIA did not face this situation before 2020. Several international airlines had their own lounge at T3 (in the wing that houses the transit hotel at T3) that were closed during the pandemic and have not been reopened. Now the Air India lounge, space-permitting, is used by other Star Alliance member airlines. And the common lounge has a long queue at peak traffic times as it caters to both the large number of eligible credit card holders and premium passengers.
It is not uncommon to find upset passengers waiving their business or first class boarding card (not of AI) at this lounge, exasperated at the long lines. “Very often there are more eligible credit card holders in the lounge than business or first passengers,” said an airline official.
While DIAL is learnt to be planning a mega lounge — just like Mumbai Airport’s erstwhile GVK and now Adani Lounge, — the existing ones that airlines like Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Lufthansa, Air France/KLM, SWISS and one for Star Alliance gold members — have been shut without making an interim arrangement that is adequate to handle the post-Covid rush.
A DIAL spokesperson said: “Delhi Airport is delighted to inform you that the new Business Class Lounge is now operational at Terminal 3 International. This will further enhance the passenger experience for the travellers. A unified lounge strategy is to ensure better utilization of lounge space and create a world-class experience for passengers at Delhi Airport.”
11/07/2023 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
0 comments:
Post a Comment