Emirates Reopens 20 Lounges Following Rise In Demand

As travel demand continues to recover, Emirates is bringing back an essential part of the premium experience: lounges. The Dubai-based giant is reopening 20 lounges across the globe to travelers holding elite status or flying in business and first class. This will include Emirates’ flagship lounges in London Heathrow, New York, Bangkok, Dubai, and more.

Emirates’ luxury branding is rooted in a premium ground experience for all passengers. Photo: Vincenzo Pace/Alvin Man | Simple Flying

Welcome back

Emirates is bringing back its flagship lounges across the globe between now and early 2022. Most of the carrier’s lounges have been closed since March 2020 due to health measures and low demand, leaving premium passengers without a key part of the experience. However, all of that is set to change in many cities now.

Across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, Emirates has started reopening lounges or will do so in the coming weeks and months. This includes major destinations like Heathrow, Frankfurt, Boston, and smaller markets like Birmingham. Here’s a look at the lounge schedule in detail:

• EU: Already open – Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Milan, Rome. Opening in December 2021 – Paris
• UK: Late December 2021: London Heathrow, Birmingham, and Manchester. January 2022: London Gatwick and Glasgow
• US: Open – Los Angeles, Boston Logan, and New York JFK. February 2022: San Francisco
• Rest of the world: Open – Cairo. Reopening soon – Colombo and Bangkok.

In addition to foreign locations, Emirates has reopened all of its pre-pandemic lounges in Dubai. Photo: Emirates

We’d be remiss to mention Emirates’ sprawling lounge selection at Dubai International Aiport (DXB). While these were the first to open, the airline had only resumed service at select concourses at Terminal 3. However, the carrier is now back with all of its lounge capacity as its home airport.

• Concourse B: First and business class lounges open with full service
• Concourse A: East Wing – First and business lounges open. West Wing – Both lounges opening soon.
• Concourse C: Both lounges to open in “early 2022.”

Time to return

After flying at limited capacity in 2020, Emirates has been growing its network in 2021. As of today, the carrier is back at 120 destinations, or 90% of its pre-pandemic capacity. While passenger numbers remain far from normal, premium demand has bounced back quickly. Given the higher yield on these seats currently, the full experience is vital to keep travelers satisfied.

Notably, Emirates’ lounge reopenings coincide with the return of the A380 to many of the aforementioned cities. This signals that while business traffic might be lacking, there is still an appetite for business and first class seats among leisure passengers.

The A380 is a good indicator if the Emirates lounge is reopening in your city in the near future. Photo: Emirates

Indeed, the carrier has brought back nearly 60 of its 121 A380s into active service, miles more than all others operators combined. With pent-up demand set to buoy the airline into a strong ending to 2021, Emirates is making sure it checks all the boxes for passengers.

Expensive affair

Leasing and operating lounges is an expensive affair for airlines globally. This explains why many airlines have kept their lounge doors closed despite resuming flights to a destination: it’s simply too expensive. However, as more travelers take to the skies, expect to see more exclusive areas open up soon!

What do you think about Emirates’ lounge reopening plans? Let us know in the comments!

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