17 Oct 2016 06:30
Etihad Airways’ Premium Lounge at Melbourne Airport has been voted Australasia’s Leading Airport Lounge for 2016.
The
announcement was made at the 23rd Annual World Travel Awards Asia
and Australasia Ceremony in Danang, Vietnam on 15 October.
Etihad
Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Peter Baumgartner, expressed delight at the
win, the airline’s first ever at an Asia and Australasia World Travel Awards
ceremony.
“This award is a powerful endorsement of the superior quality of
our Premium Lounge at Melbourne Airport and the hard work and commitment to
excellence of the team.
“It attests to the competitive benchmark we have set in Melbourne
and the high level of guest satisfaction with the world-class hospitality
experience we deliver.
“It’s especially gratifying as it comes just months after the
lounge opened in May this year and adds to the growing acclaim for our
remarkable collection of premium lounges worldwide.”
The award
for Australasia’s Leading Airport Lounge is one of the many the airline has
received throughout 2016. Only last month, its new First Class Lounge and Spa
at Abu Dhabi Airport was voted the Middle East's Leading Airport Lounge at the
Middle East World Travel Awards.
Etihad
Airways has a collection of 15 airport lounges worldwide. This includes the
flagship First Class Lounge and Spa in Terminal 3; Premium Lounges in Terminals
1 and 3; a Premium Lounge within the unique US Customs and Border Protection
facility; and a Premium Arrivals Lounge – all at Abu Dhabi Airport – plus
Premium Lounges in Sydney, Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Manchester, Dublin,
Paris, New York JFK, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles.
Its
lounges resemble in style and ambience a luxury hotel or private members’ club.
They offer guests a tranquil environment where they can relax, re-energise,
dine or be entertained, while enjoying the intuitive service and hospitality
for which the airline is world-renowned. In its lounges and in the air, Etihad
Airways aims to provide a seamless hospitality experience with the same high levels of innovation, care,
attention to detail and service delivery guests have come to expect from its
people and brand.
Now in
its 23rd year, the World Travel Awards celebrates excellence across
key sectors of the travel and tourism industry. Votes are cast by travel
industry executives and travel consumers.
About the Etihad Airways Premium Lounge at
Melbourne Airport
The
Etihad Airways Premium Lounge at Melbourne Airport opened officially on 9 May
2016.
A natural
light-filled space with floor-to-ceiling glass, it offers guests expansive
views across the runway and surrounding countryside. At more than 800m2
and with seating for up to 133, it is the airline’s largest Premium Lounge
outside Abu Dhabi.
Blending
the essence of a fine-dining restaurant with a chic city cocktail bar, the
lounge is a showcase of intelligent design and urban sophistication. Guests
enjoy the comfort and luxury of top-quality custom furnishings and the
hospitality, culinary excellence and cutting-edge beverage technology, which
are the hallmarks of an Etihad Airways Premium Lounge.
Its
features include an intimate 26-seat dining area and a fully equipped kitchen
where a team of professional chefs prepares everything on the premises. The
centrepiece is a sculptural showcase bar serving a wide selection of local
wines, one-of-a-kind signature cocktails and mocktails developed exclusively
for the airline by Fluid Movement, a world-leading London-based mixology
consultancy; and more than 70 varieties of spirits. It also has an exclusive
space for guests travelling in The Residence, the world’s only private
three-room cabin on a commercial aircraft, available only on Etihad Airways’ A380.