The Worlds Ten Best Airport Lounges Tourism Essay

An airport is a building where people from all over the world take flights to travel to any part of the world for their business or holidays. An airport is not only to board the flight today is more than a comfortable zone for the passengers and making their travelling easy. There are loads of shops, eating outlets, toilets and entertainment areas for all passengers. If any passenger has a long stay to board the next flight there are special area for making the passenger comfortable i.e. AIRPORT LOUNGES. At the airport there are loads of different lounges for people of different age’s groups.

My dissertation is on lounges for kids who are travelling all by themselves and are the responsibility of the crew to make them reach to their destiny safely. During their flights kids might have to wait for the next flight so all the unaccompanied kids are in the kids lounges where they can play, eat, make new friends and make themselves comfortable while waiting for their flight.

Everyday many people travel from one place to the other and airport is one such place which never sleeps all year long. Airports are the busiest during any season or any month of the year. People who travel are on a business trip, holiday, students going back to meet their families or people going for their honeymoon be it any reason airports are the busiest and need to be up to mark to make the passengers happy. Over these years kids have become more independent and can travel alone if their parents are busy or can’t take them to meet their families or friends. I realized that these lounges help people to be comfortable when they are away from home. So I decided to do my final project on airport lounges. Since there are loads of different lounges and its a very vast topic I focused myself on lounges for kids. During my graduation I have done my previous graduation final project on a retail outlet and my interest has always been in commercial building so I opted for airport lounges.

My main aim is to build a comfortable and friendly lounge for kids and my design concept will be based on different color full themes, Disney characters because the lounges are for the kids. In the lounge all the basic and luxury facilities will be available for kids such as sleeping area, food hall, playing stations, play area, services to call their homes, baby sisters looking after the kids and giving each and every kid a safe and homely environment.

The kids are travelling alone and they ought to miss their families and they are also scared if they miss their flight and the whole airport is like a huge building for them where people are running from one place to the other. In the lounge the kids will feel secure and will be collected from the aircraft and will be dropped back to the aircraft. It would be the responsibility of the airport staff and care takers to check that each child is safely boarded the flight.

My main aim will be focusing on kids and the facilities that will be offered within lounge and making kids feel at home. The areas that will be focused are play area, food area, entertainment zone, sleeping zone and other services like collecting the kids from the aircraft and dropping them back to the aircraft. My final project is all about interiors and specially what young kids will like and get attracted towards the lounge.The staff of the lounge will be responsible for looking after the kids and their luggage. The kids will be escorted at all times with the airline crew or staff of the lounge. The design concept is designed in such a way keeping the kids in mind.

The important factors that have strong impact on space design for children are:-

Space

Gender

Age

Activity

Size

Color

The planning of a child’s room is shaped by gender. While a girl’s room demands a certain ambience and space allotment, a boy’s room has different set of requirements. Even the size of wardrobe depends or varies with gender. Decorative themes are also dependant on the gender factor. For girl’s pastel colors and floral effects are used whereas for boys, generally sports them is used.

Different age groups involve different space and size considerations. The age group I’ve selected is two to five years. Their activities and social dynamics differ. Space for such children is theme-based. Kid’s room should be filled with color, cartoons and toys but sensibly designed. Storage is of particular importance for the young and space is a challenge because children’s rooms are often “little rooms”.

Innovative solutions involve mobility for furniture or accessories within a structure. Interesting accessory features add color, utility and customization to any space. Children’s spaces must evolve with the child. They must themselves have a life- cycle that resonates with their young and developing dwellers. So a ‘baby’ space is obliged to transform into ‘teen’ space with minimal disruption and expense.

TYPES OF AIRPORT LOUNGES

Airport is one such place which never sleeps all year along. The airport authorities with the help of hotel companies have opened various lounges, eating joints and shops in the airport in order to make travelling easy for all passengers and keep them entertained during their stay at the airport. All year long many passengers travel from one country to another. There are times when a few passengers like kids, disabled, old people. There are different types of lounges for different age groups. These lounges offer a variety of services for passengers.

Different types of Lounges are:-

Lounges for older people

Lounges for disabled

Lounges for unaccompanied minors

Lounges for general people

Lounges for business class people

What services can passengers expect from the lounges?

To be treated like a VIP

Free snacks

Free soft and alcoholic drinks (champagne is extra)

Newspapers

Magazines

Comfortable seats

Business desks

Televisions

Special care for disabled, old age and minors

Cable cars for old age and disabled for travelling inside the airport

These services are all available by paying a very minimum fee to access them during your stay at the lounge. Many passengers have access to these lounges with their respective credit cards of different banks in order to promote the services and attract the public for using the best services on their holiday. Since there are many different kind of airport lounges with different airlines the services available will vary from one lounge to the other. But majority have the same services at different price rates.

The below table shows major airports of United Kingdom have same services for the customers.

NAME

FOOD AND DRINKS

DISABLE ACCESS

WIFI,PHONE AND FAX

TOILETS

FLIGHT INFORMATION

1Birbimghim Airport

2Manchester Airport

3Newcastle Airport

4London Airport

5Liverpool Airport

6Gatwick Airport

HISTORY OF AIRPORT LOUNGES

7A lounge is a lounge which is owned by any airline which is open to its passengers for having a stress free environment while waiting at the airport. The lounges can be accessed by any passenger by paying a minimum fee and getting access to all the best services of the lounge. The lounge offers free drinks and food. The passengers can access to wifi, private meeting rooms, fax, telephone and the lounge has comfortable leather sofas to relax.

8Heathrow is the busiest and largest airport every year it carries over 86 million people. The airport started in 1946 with a group of army with small tents and grass airfield and was privately owned. In 1944 the Air Ministry developed as a transport base for Air Force Royale. Soon there was a need of a large airport and in 1946 one runway was ready to be used. By 1947 three runways were completed ready and the tents were replaced by a building in the start of 1950. Due to the need and demands of the customers terminal-2 was opened in 1955.

Today Heathrow has a well developed terminals and a direct access to underground metro, [9] taxis are available at all terminals and has totally changed its old structure with new structure and services for passengers travelling every year.

Over these years the world has changed into a total new world of high technologies, inventions and every thing has been changed into a higher advanced things. Airports were just a big land where there was only one runway and a small building from where passengers could get their luggage and exit into the country. The airport building was not very well designed and it dint even have any kind of proper services like food stalls, bars, casino, restaurants, or lounges. The airports were very under developed and over these years airports have completely changed and have a new definition of what airports are.

Airports all over the world are serving its passengers with the best facilities and have totally changed and entered a new era of advanced technology. Airport lounges are basically a room or an open space where all passengers can relax themselves during their stay at the airport.

10THE WORLD’S TEN BEST AIRPORT LOUNGES

Since the attack on the twin towers in Unites States has forced the security at the airports to do a tight check on passengers travelling. Even on every domestic flight the security check has increased and the passengers have to stand in long queues for security check. There are business class lounges who cannot afford to miss on their business while waiting at the airport. Over the years the travel and tourism industry has flourished and there are lounges for the general entertainment as well.

Clubhouse Virgin Atlantic, San Francisco International Airport 

Terraces Lounge British Airways, JFK International Airport

Silver Kris Singapore Airlines, Singapore Changi Airport 

President’s Club Continental Airlines, Ronald Reagan National Airport, Washington D.C. 

Smoker’s Lounge Swissair, Zurich International Airport 

VIP Lounge LanChile, Santiago International Airport 

Golden Lounge Malaysian Airlines, Kuala Lumpur International Airport 

SAS Lounge Copenhagen International Airport 

Star Alliance Lounge Zurich International Airport 

The Wing Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong International Airport

Terraces Lounge British Airways, JFK International Airport

The Wing Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong International Airport

Golden Lounge Malaysian Airlines, Kuala Lumpur International Airport

VIP Lounge LanChile, Santiago International Airport

Silver Kris Singapore Airlines, Singapore Changi Airport

Star Alliance Lounge Zurich International Airport 

PSYCHOLOGY OF AIRPORT LOUNGES

A passenger’s point of view a lounge is a small area at the airport where the passengers can access comfortable sofas for relaxing with complimentary refreshments with free wifi, phone and fax services. But behind the scenes psychology is used a lot to define how comfortable the environment and services are and in what manner is it beneficial to the people who need a special attention. Since the lounge is for kids there has to be kept special preference to kind of services kids want. Through my research work I have found the following points need to be used in a lounge.

EASY ACCESS OF SERVICES

The kids who will be using the lounge will be of age 5-12 years old. Kids at this age are not very independent and solely depend on their parents for each and everything. During their stay at the lounge they will be fully dependent on the staff. While designing the lounge it should be designed to access the services at ease by the kids themselves.

EXAMPLE- the height of the furniture should be of standard kid’s size. The toilets also need to be of the same standard size for kids.

HOMELY ENVIRONMENT

Since the kids will be travelling alone for them the airport will be a little big to handle and they might get scared but these lounges will be designed in such a way that the kids feel like they are home safe and sound. They will have their own area where they can play, eat, and enjoy without being scared of being alone.

ATTENTION TO SPECIAL NEEDS

The age of kids vary from 5-12 years and they might be kids with any form of disability so they need special care and attention from the staff. The toilets and the furniture would be different for the disabled. A special kind of facility will be available for kids with special needs to make them feel comfortable with the rest of the kids.

DESIGN CONCEPT

The lounges are for the kids and the design concepts for the kids have to be very colorful and comfortable and lot precautions will have to be taken for the safety of the kids. The color combinations and the outlay for the lounge have to be very colorful and have a more of an open plan rather than having too many doors or partitions which could make the kids feel a bit lost in the lounge. In the lounge no kind of dangerous material can be used like glass which could break easily while the kids play and cause an injury to the kids. The materials like wood, plastic are the best materials to be used in the lounge.

SERVICES AVAILABLE AT THE LOUNGES

Every airport is different all over the world but they all are for the same purpose. It depends in which country the airport is to make it look different from all the other airports in the world. For example an airport in Las Vegas, United States will definitely have a casino at the airport to entertain the people as [11] Las Vegas is known for gambling, fine dinning and shopping. There are many other facilities available at the airport varying from one airport to the other.

12Lounges offer a variety of services for all age group and making every passengers journey stress free.

Every lounge offers the following services to its passengers:-

Complementary refreshments

Free access to wifi

Comfortable sofas

Newspaper and magazines

Alcohol and non alcohol drinks

Variety of buffet

And many lounges for example Emirates Lounge offers facilities like:-

Swimming pool

Personal meeting rooms

Massage rooms

Spas

Gyms

Kids play area

ANTHROPOMETRY

Anthropometrics deals with the measurements of the physical characteristics of human beings particularly shapes and sizes, the range of human dimensions from foot length to shoulder width. It also includes the minimum or optimum dimensions needed for a human being to perform activities.

HEIGHT

Age (years)

Height (inches)

2

33″

3

36″

4

38″

5

40″

REACH

Age (years)

Reach (inches)

2

40″

3

43″

4

45″

5

47″

SITTING POSITION

Age (years)

Space Covered(inches)

2

20″ x 20″

3

20″ x 20″

4

22″ x 22″

5

24″ x 24″

SQUATTING POSITION

Age (years)

Space Covered (inches)

2

27″ x 30″

3

30″ x 30″

4

33″ x 33″

5

34″ x 34″

STANDING – STRETCHED ARMS

Age (years)

Length (inches)

2

33″

3

36″

4

38″

5

40″

DESIGN CONCEPT OF THE LOUNGE

The lounge is for kids and keeping this mind the design of the lounge will be very unique and attract kids towards the lounge. The lounge is spread on an area of 200×200 square feet forming a shape of a square. The lounge will be having different zones or rooms specially provided for the kids.

Entertainment zone

Food court

Toilets

Play area

Sleeping area

Drink Bar

ENTERTAINMENT ZONE

Area

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

This zone is especially for boys who love to play video games and enjoy themselves. This room is like a big open area with very minimum furniture and more of gaming stations so that kids can have fun during their stay at the lounge. The lounge will have proper gaming chairs and sofas only.

FOOD COURT

Area

Type

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

The food court is going to be very unique in design and menu concept. There will be all kind of food served such Chinese, continental, Italian, Indian, Mexican and Thai so that kids can get food of their choice even being away from home. There will be a buffet system 24 hours a day. The kids can eat as much they like and when they like. The furniture will be very funky and colorful in design and will be made according to the ergonomics for the kids.

PLAY ZONE

Area

Type

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

The play area is for kids under the age if 12years old and the room is an open plan. It’s a big room where there are doll houses, stuff toys, slides, swings. All the games and swings will be in door. Every corner will have a different theme concept like jungle, doll house, sand pit area and teddy bears. Sand pit area will be depicting an area on a beach where kids can play in sand build sand houses. This room is specially for keeping the kids occupied with board games as well like chess, ludo, snakes and ladder and card games.

SLEEPING AREA

Area

Type

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

DRINKS BAR

Area

Type

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

Entertainment zone will include xbox stations and television for keeping the kids well occupied. The room will have special gaming chairs where kids can play and enjoy themselves in the comfortable chairs. The room is

Food court will serve different variety of cuisines from all over the world.

Sleeping area is for children under the ages of 5years who need cots or beds for sleeping.

A drink bar is making the kids feel they are grown ups and to make it look different a bar will be provided where only soft drinks will be served.

COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

Color adds meaning to life if there were no colors it would make all things dull. In the lounge the colors used will be more bright and vibrant like red, blue, yellow, pink, green, and purple.

Color psychology is about how colors make them feel since different colors reflect different parts of the brain it is very much required while designing any creative space or using for inspiration or to reflect mood.

Reflection of these colors will throw a big impact on the mood of kids therefore it is very important to choose the right colors for the interiors of the lounge.