Airport Lounges: For the Many or the Few?

Airport Lounges: For the Many or the Few?

From The Bottom Line by BBC Radio 4

January 22, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the growing popularity of airport lounges and the challenges of maintaining exclusivity while expanding the customer base.

In the years after the COVID pandemic we are travelling more and expecting more from our journeys. Travel is increasingly viewed as an end-to-end experience that begins before you even set foot on board your flight. As people look to inject luxury into their travel, airport lounge usage has boomed. But lounges’ rise in popularity has created a unique problem for their operators: how do you grow your customer base whilst maintaining a degree of exclusivity? Evan Davis speaks to industry operators and experts about balancing the scales. Guests: Mignon Buckingham, CEO of Airport Dimensions Claude Roussel, VP of Sky Clubs and Lounge Experience at Delta Airlines Nicky Kelvin, Senior Director of Content at The Points Guy Production team: Presenter: Evan Davis Producer: Mhairi MacKenzie Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Sound engineers: Dave O’Neill and Tim Heffer Editor: Matt Willis The Bottom Line is produced in partnership with The Open University

People in this episode

Host: Evan Davis

Guests: Mignon Buckingham, Claude Roussel, Nicky Kelvin

Topics covered

  • airport lounges
  • travel experience
  • luxury travel
  • customer base
  • exclusivity
  • COVID pandemic

Keywords

  • airport lounges
  • travel
  • luxury
  • COVID
  • exclusivity
  • customer experience
  • industry experts

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Airport Dimensions, Delta Airlines, The Points Guy, The Bottom Line, The Open University

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