With his bouffant hair, sequin-encrusted gowns, flaming red lips and painted-on eyebrows, Harald Gloeoeckler has made a career out of being instantly recognizable, at least in his native Germany. Sometimes, though, even publicity hounds such as Gloeoeckler want a bit of privacy and are willing to pay something extra for protection from autograph seekers. Something like 405 euros extra—the price of a day pass at Frankfurt Airport’s new VIP lounge.
“It’s impossible for me to go incognito,” says Gloeoeckler, 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 traveling.”
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’s caviar and camel-milk chocolate for the peckish, a bar stocked with Hennessy XO cognac and single-malt scotch and a smoking room with Robusto, Torro and Churchill cigars.
The cost exceeds what many travelers 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, of course). For 770 euros, customers can bring a friend and get four hours in one of eight suites with a daybed and private bathroom. The biggest “royal suites” are about 600-square feet, feature a bath with tub, and run 1,300 euros for three people. Access is limited to just 15 parties at once, 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 AG, 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 over 10 million euros, more than doubles the space available for guests, and both are open to travelers from any airline. While some carriers foot the bill for first-class passengers, airport officials say many pay their own way.
The lounges highlight the trend toward ultra-luxury among people with no limitations on their budget. While most people opt for discounters such as Ryanair or Southwest, where they’ll queue for a half-hour before being crammed into their seats, at the other end of the spectrum travelers will spend lavishly to get pampered.
Airlines’ business class lounges, once the redoubt of a chosen few, have become crowded as parvenus use their miles to upgrade or gain access even when in cattle class. And while virtually all big airports these days have pay-per-use lounges that cost around $50 per visit, they’re usually not a whole lot more comfortable—or private—than waiting outside among the hoi polloi. Only a handful of airports, mostly in Asia, have facilities as plush as Frankfurt’s, though industry-watchers expect more in the coming years.
“Travelers 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.”
Travelers at Changi airport in Singapore can avoid public areas and get a suite with private bathroom, champagne and a personal butler for about $1,000. European airports such as Munich, Amsterdam and London’s Heathrow let celebrities avoid crowds with VIP packages that start from 300 euros, but their facilities are less extensive than Frankfurt’s.
While some travelers could go to a hotel for a few hours and get similar service for less money, the lounge is inside the security perimeter. That means it’s open to transfer passengers who lack a visa for Germany, and it lets even those who do have one avoid queuing at the metal detectors. There are conference rooms for up to 18 people, and escorts will usher local guests through security for 30 euros per head. For kids (from age 3 they pay full price) there’s a game room with consoles, a pinball machine and a foosball table.
Designer Gloeoeckler 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,” he says. “If I go out without makeup 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.”
LAX Caters To The Stars
Los Angeles International Airport has opened a new terminal—for those who can afford it.
The Private Suite terminal at LAX is meant to appeal to the rich and famous-—those who don’t mind paying thousands of dollars to avoid crowds or scrums of paparazzi.
For $7,500 a year, a person can join the Private Suite. It costs another $2,700 (for up to four people), for every visit, and $3,000 for international flights. It’s also possible to skip the initiation fee and use a shared waiting-area suite for $2,000. Still, no matter which option, it’s pricey. Even taking into account a long layover or a super early arrival, the hourly rate of use is astronomical.
At LAX, the Private Suite was devised by Gavin de Becker, a well-known security consultant in Hollywood.
Because of the droves of celebrities who come and go at LAX on account of Tinseltown, a private terminal makes sense. It is often maddening for average travelers to navigate the lines of photographers, videographers, so-called interviewers and security guards who surround a celebrity upon arrival or takeoff.
For celebs and high-net-worth individuals willing to pay the price, a hassle-free experience may be well worth the cost of admission.
Arriving at the Private Suite, guests are stopped by an armed guard before driving through the gate. Inside the terminal area, a valet awaits and guests are escorted to their own private suite inside the terminal building. Luggage is handled, so too are security checks.
As might be expected, the suite is loaded with top-shelf beverages and snacks. At flight time, a BMW sedan takes guests across the tarmac to their plane.
To be sure, airlines themselves have long offered VIP services. American Airlines’ Five Star Service, for example, offers curbside meet and greet, expedited security, gate escort and early boarding. Airline representatives also coordinate car services. It costs $250 for domestic-first and business-class travelers and $300 for the same classes of travelers flying internationally.
The Private Suite is meant to be a notch above escorted services and designed to be a step closer to flying private, where a charter passenger has his or her own waiting area because it’s his or her own private plane ride.
Of course, the downside of the Private Suite service is that once on the plane, VIPs have to endure like all the rest of us. Lately, that seems to come with even more confrontation than curbside pickup.
—Thomas M. Kostigen
