No longer will the elite airport lounge experience be only for international, business and first-class travelers. Lounge access will now be delivered to all travelers.
Plaza Premium Group (PPG) is shaking up “the lounge” experience in airports across the world and will bring the “independent” lounge to two US airports soon. PPG will open two locations in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and one location in Denver International Airport in 2020. PPG’s Plaza Premium Lounge opens this exclusive experience up to all types of travelers, delivering a VIP guest opportunity to passengers who otherwise would not have access due to their class of travel or airline.
Plaza Premium Group, based in Hong Kong, just recently entered the US market with the opening of Allways, its airport meet-and-greet service, in DFW Airport in 2019. These new US Plaza Premium Lounge locations and Allways offering are part of the company’s USD100 million global expansion plan over the next two years.
I’m including more information below about how the independent lounge industry came to be when Founder and CEO Mr. Song Hoi-see created Plaza Premium Group and the first Plaza Premium Lounge. As this concept enters North American airports and opens up more elite access for all travelers, I would be happy to provide more information and/or set up a time for you to speak to Mr. Song and the PPG team. Please let me know if this is of interest.
How Independent Lounges Began:
Plaza Premium Group Founder and CEO Mr. Song Hoi-see has transformed the airport hospitality industry, creating a VIP airport experience for more than just the elite traveler. Mr. Song took his own past poor travel experiences and turned them into an entire independent airport lounge industry, establishing the world’s first pay-in airport lounge for all travelers, regardless of their airline or class of travel.
Following a career in investment banking, Mr. Song launched his own business which found him flying economy class without the airport lounge privileges he had previously enjoyed. His travel experience was incomplete as he struggled to work effectively while on-the-go. Driven by a heartfelt desire “to do something for the majority,” he launched the world’s first Plaza Premium Lounge in the airports of Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong in 1998. Through his initiative and vision, Mr. Song broke the stereotype that airport lounges are reserved for premium travelers only.
Still consistent with its mission to Make Travel Better, today Plaza Premium Group is in more than 160 locations in 44 international airports globally, and has expanded to five business lines—in addition to Plaza Premium Lounge and Plaza Premium First (a “first-class” airport lounge concept launched in 2018), PPG also offers Aerotel, an in-terminal airport hotel designed by travelers for travelers; Allways, a seamless meet-and-greet service; and Airport Dining, offering comprehensive dining brands and a selection of top-quality cuisines built by a talented global culinary team. PPG is also an airport hospitality solutions consultant to leading airlines, alliances and financial institutions by consulting, designing, managing and operating their lounges, including American Express, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and SkyTeam, among others.
Mr. Song has been recognized with numerous awards for his innovations and transformation of airport hospitality. In 2018 he won the revered Malaysian Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) and Master Entrepreneur Of The Year, among numerous other prestigious awards. He served on the World Economics Committee of Airport Councils International (2010-2014); was formerly the President of Rotary Club of Shatin, Hong Kong (2015-2016); the Chairman of Hong Kong Airport Manager Association; and is a founding member and the Vice Chairman of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong and Macau).
