Prime-rib lounge for those not of the cattle class
With his bouffant hair, sequinencrusted gowns, flaming red lips and painted-on eyebrows, Harald Glööckler has made a career out of being instantly recognisable, at least in his native Germany.
Sometimes, though, even publicity hounds such as Glööckler want a bit of privacy and are willing to pay something extra for protection from autograph seekers. Something like €405 extra — the price of a day pass at Frankfurt Airport’s new VIP lounge.
“It’s impossible for me to go incognito,” says Glööckler, a fashion and furnishings designer known for hosting television shopping shows and posting Instagram selfies sporting little or no clothing.
“I just want a little peace when travelling.”
The lounge, about the size of three basketball courts, is a tranquil oasis of custom-made couches and hand-woven carpets. Original Warhols, Christos and 19th-century ink drawings from Japan line the walls.
There are caviar and camelmilk chocolate for the peckish, a bar stocked with Hennessy XO cognac and single-malt scotch and a smoking room with Robusto, Toro and Churchill cigars.
The cost exceeds what many travellers pay for a flight, covering access to the lounge, a ride in a Porsche or Bentley to and from the plane and an escort through customs and immigration (no pesky lines).
For €770, customers can bring a friend and get four hours in one of eight suites with a daybed and private bathroom. The “royal suites” are about 150m², feature a bath with tub and run to €1,300 for three people.
Access is limited to only 15 parties at once, to be served by a staff of about 30 on hand at any given time.
“While these services are exclusive to a small, wealthy group of guests, that group is growing continuously and has high expectations,” says Anke Giesen, operations chief at Fraport, the company that manages the airport.
The facility opened in January after a slightly smaller one, built in 2014, proved so popular that it was soon turning away customers. The new lounge, which Fraport says cost more than €10m, more than doubles the space available for guests. Both are open to travellers from any airline.
While some carriers foot the bill for their first-class passengers, many travellers pay their own way.
The lounges highlight the trend towards ultra-luxury among people with no limitations on their budget.
While most people who fly opt for discount airlines where they will queue for half-anhour before being crammed into their seats, at the other end of the spectrum travellers will spend lavishly to get pampered.
Airline business class lounges, once the redoubt of a chosen few, have become crowded as parvenus use their air miles to upgrade or gain access even when in cattle class. And while virtually all big airports these days have payper-use lounges that cost about $50 per visit, they’re usually not a lot more comfortable — or private — than waiting outside among the hoi polloi.
Only a handful of airports, most of them located in Asia, have facilities as plush as Frankfurt’s, although industry watchers expect more in the coming years.
“Travellers want ever more unique and personal experiences, and an offering like Frankfurt’s fits right in,” says Merilee Kern, a luxury travel consultant in San Diego. For airports, “if the balance is maintained between exclusivity and a steady flow of guests, it can be a good investment.”
Travellers at Changi Airport in Singapore can avoid public areas and get a suite with a private bathroom, champagne and a personal butler for about $1,000.
European airports in Munich, Amsterdam and London let celebrities avoid crowds with VIP packages that start from €300, but their facilities are less extensive than Frankfurt’s.
While some travellers could go to a hotel for a few hours and get similar service for less money, the lounge is inside the airport’s security perimeter. That means it is open to transfer passengers who do not have a visa for Germany and it lets even those who do have one avoid the long queues at the metal detectors.
There are conference rooms for use by up to 18 people. Escorts will usher local guests through security for €30 per head. For children (from the age of three, they pay full price) there is a games room with consoles, a pinball machine and a foosball table.
Designer Glööckler insists the facility has become almost a necessity since he risks getting chatted up even in first-class lounges.
“I no longer do it any other way, it’s too exhausting,” Glööckler says.
“If I go out without make-up or my hair done? That’s even worse. The paparazzi will take photos when I’m not styled, and these are precisely the photos that you don’t want.”