Boosted by a £500 million (US$665 million) investment from parent company Collinson Group, Priority Pass plans to expand beyond its traditional airport lounge programme with a growing range of experiences and services.
It is enhancing its lounge network, digital capabilities and the wider Priority Pass experience.
“Looking ahead, where we see technology playing a key role in both helping us understand what someone needs at that exact moment and making it possible to deliver a highly personalised experience,” said Christopher Evans, chief executive of Collinson International.
Priority Pass connects travellers to more than 1,900 airport lounges and travel experiences across 865 airports in 143 countries.
Lounge pre-booking is available at more than 250 lounges globally, while airport fast track is currently available at 28 airports, with plans to expand to more than 170 bookable lanes across more than 130 airports.
Priority Pass says that parts of travel once viewed as simply functional are increasingly becoming an integral part of the overall experience.
Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (74%) in company research said a great airport experience influences how they feel about their entire trip, highlighting the growing importance of the journey itself to the overall travel experience.
“For years, much of the focus in luxury travel has been on the famous destination, the star rating of the hotel or the cabin you fly in. Those things still matter, but what we’re seeing is that affluent travellers increasingly expect the same level of attention to be paid to the journey itself,” said Evans.
“I also think we’ve been too quick to associate luxury with either the price tag, or adding more. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can give someone is an hour of their time back, or a quiet place to sit when everything around them is busy.
“That’s not necessarily the most extravagant part of a trip, but it can make all the difference to how someone feels and therefore how they remember it.”