We chat to Plaza Premium’s Deputy CEO Bora Isbulan about the future of lounging

A month ago Rhys sat down with Rami El-Dahshan, the new CEO of No1 Lounges, to chat about his plans – see here. By coincidence I had agreed to have a similar chat with Bora Isbulan, the Deputy CEO of Plaza Premium Group. Bora is based in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi so this was a rare opportunity to chat face to face.

Whilst No1 Lounges is, so far, purely a UK (and soon Channel Islands) business, Plaza Premium is a truly global operation. It operates airport services – not just lounges – under 14 brands which are active in 600 airports across 150 countries.

As you will see, many of the same themes cut across from our No1 interview – primarily the push into more premium lounges and plans to offer multiple airport services to customers in a single transaction.

Plaza Premium airport lounges

Heathrow improvements

Bora began by flagging the recent ‘soft’ refurbishments in the Heathrow Terminal 2 and Terminal 5 lounges, which have seen new furniture installed. Whilst he wasn’t willing to go into details, Plaza Premium sees the British Airways Executive Club changes – which will see huge numbers of elite members losing lounge access from April 2026 – as a big opportunity at Heathrow, although available space remains an issue.

Plaza Premium spends a huge amount of time knocking on airport doors trying to persuade them to carve out more space for independent lounges, but the opportunities are limited. Many of the Plaza Premium UK sites are in lounges which were originally dedicated airline sites.

Lounge pre-booking is coming to Priority Pass

Bora revealed that the company is working with Priority Pass to integrate lounge pre-booking into its app. This is already available via DragonPass but, of course, Priority Pass is a far larger player in the UK.

The company is also looking at allowing shower suites to be pre-booked and for larger groups to reserve a table in the lounge.

Rolling out Plaza Premium First lounges

The focus of the airport lounge business is currently on expanding Plaza Premium First.

HfP readers will know that the huge success of independent airport lounges has led to their original key benefit – a quiet haven away from the terminal chaos – being somewhat diminished.

Plaza Premium First is a move back towards highly personalised and private lounge spaces. There are plans to open 20-25 sites over the next 2-3 years, building on existing lounges in airports such as Vancouver, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Macau.

Plaza Premium First will not be accessible with lounge club cards. There is a focus on table service, a focus on a la carte dining, the opportunity to book private rooms or a personal shopper or airport assistance. There is a vision for ‘end to end’ services, where Plaza would pick you up from home, transfer you to an airport concierge to fast track you through the airport and to the First lounge and then provide a buggy to your gate.

‘Lounge to Go’ will be expanded

‘Lounge to Go’ is Plaza’s move into ‘grab and go’ airport lounges. Rhys wrote a long piece about this concept in 2023.

This can operate in a number of ways. In the US, standalone ‘grab and go’ lounges now exist – eligible lounge passengers can scan their boarding pass to get access to what is basically a small corner shop, where they can take whatever food they wish.

Plaza also sees value in building this into its existing airport lounges for passengers who are tight on time. It is also a way of dealing with specific dietary requirements, with ‘grab and go’ boxes available for pre-order in some lounges.

Beyond lounges

A changing economic model

The move to offering additional services may herald a new economic model. Typically airport lounges spaces are rented from the airport. Plaza Premium is looking to move to a concession model, offering airports a revenue share and greater say over the offering. It also believes that this model will encourage airports to make ‘joined up’ airport services easier.

Plaza Premium still sees a large number of small independent operators running key airport services in a sub-optimal way, with real opportunities for both professionalising these services and integrating them into a broader offering.

In Europe, for example, there are multiple ground handling operators who have moved into premium services but do not have the culture or management to make it work properly alongside their traditional low margin, high volume work.

Airport dining is a new focus

Plaza Premium is pushing into airport dining. Part of this is allowing paid members of its Smart Traveller programme to get a dining credit at various independently-run restaurants, in the same way that Priority Pass and DragonPass offer dining discounts.

Plaza is looking at taking it a step further, however. At some Asian airports it is now bidding for airport restaurant concessions itself, giving it full control over a site. This would allow it to specifically tailor menus to suit holders of airport lounge cards which offer food and beverage restaurant credits. As airports run out of space to offer to independent lounge operators, a hybrid restaurant / lounge could be the way forward.

Aerotel in-terminal hotels are very successful

Plaza Premium is the largest global operator of in-terminal hotels. It now has 10 sites including the one in Heathrow Terminal 3 which we reviewed here.

Rhys also reviewed the impressive Singapore Changi Aerotel hotel here.

Bora said that it is often possible to sell the same hotel room three times per day, creating a revenue stream which is hugely attractive to airport operators.

The focus is growth in the top global airports

The key markets for Plaza Premium are currently the Middle East, South East Asia, the US, China and India.

The focus is to get a presence in all of the top 100 airports globally – it is currently in 60% of them. There is less appetite to push into second tier airports, so whilst No1 Lounges is moving into Jersey and Manchester Airports Group has taken over the lounges at Bristol Airport, Plaza Premium is keen to put its resources into pushing for larger integrated contracts at gateway airports.

The hope is that, one day soon, your journey from your home to your airport gate can be booked seamlessly via the Plaza Premium Smart Traveller app.

Thank you to Bora for his time.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (March 2025)

Here are the five options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here.

You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.