Plaza Premium Group
In-Terminal Hotels and Airport Lounges for More Relaxed Air Travel
This article first appeared in the Airport Industry-News magazine, Issue 1 2022.
Although air travel is often considered the quickest way to move from A to B over a significant distance, the airport experience indubitably adds time and inconvenience that can deter people from choosing to fly.
Once time is set aside for travelling to the airport, checking in luggage, clearing security and reaching the departure gate, flying short-haul distances may not be the most convenient choice for all passengers. Such factors may also deter people from travelling further afield, as the hassle of transatlantic flights may
motivate holidaymakers to choose a destination that is closer to home and can be reached by road or rail.
To support the return to air travel and promote international tourism following the Covid-19 pandemic, it is thus imperative for airports, airlines and suppliers to work together to make the airport experience more appealing for passengers. With its mission to ‘Make Travel Better’, Plaza Premium Group aims to accomplish this.
Aerotel
Airport accessibility plays a key role in enabling passengers to use air travel. Although many people choose to drive to the airport to efficiently transport themselves and their luggage, this puts airport parking and local roads under considerable pressure and comes with a significant cost per car.
Meanwhile, passengers who are unable or choose not to drive may find that ground transportation options limit their ability to catch certain flights, even when an airport is well-connected to public transport links. For example, LHR is served by London’s rail and tube network, but the first train to Heathrow Airport from Paddington arrives at 05:47, while the last train leaves Heathrow at 23:25. For early morning flights that require passengers to arrive outside of these hours or for passengers travelling from further afield, it may be necessary to also book a hotel and taxi.
To mitigate this inconvenience and remove the need to organise a transfer from a nearby hotel, in-terminal hotels are becoming popular at some airports. Plaza Premium Group has thus opened landside and airside hotels in airports across the globe, including an impressive 82-room facility nestled in the arrivals hall at LHR Terminal 3.
