HOSPITALITY

HOSPITALITY

Airport lounge company Plaza Premium Group picks DFW as its U.S. expansion hub.

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KELSEY J. VANDERSCHOOT

when jonathan song’s father left his role as a senior vice president at a hong Kong investment bank 31 years ago, he realized he had given up the benefits that came with flying business class. “Then he had a eureka moment,” says Song, global director for business development at Plaza Premium Group.

His father realized there was a market for airport lounges that were open to anyone. “Regardless of your airline, or cabin of travel, you could pay a fee to access the lounges,” Song explains. His father launched Plaza Premium Group to meet the need. The company develops and operates airport lounges both independently and for airline and financial services partners. It now has lounges in more than 70 international airports and serves 20 million customers a year.

Having conquered the world, Plaza Premium is now focused on expanding across the United States and North America—with DFW International Airport as its national headquarters. “Being an iconic airport globally, it is the right place for us; it meets our demographic and our culture,” says Stuart Vella, an Australian native who, as vice president of commercial development and operations, is driving Plaza Premium’s American expansion. DFW’s designation as the world’s second-busiest airport was also a key factor in the decision. Plaza Premium entered the U.S. market in 2020 with the construction of an independent lounge in Terminal E. It has since built a Capital One Lounge in Terminal D. The company operates its facilities entirely in-house. Last year, Plaza Premium announced a partnership with Virgin Atlantic to operate five U.S. lounges, and this year, it aligned with Capital One to offer certain cardholders access to Plaza Premium lounges. It also recently opened an independent lounge in Orlando and is expanding their hospitality services into Denver. Plaza Premium Lounges provide a space to refuel, and all offer house-made food and various beverages. DFW’s lounges includes showers and prayer and exercise areas. Within two or three years, Plaza Premium hopes to double its international presence, growing from 250 locations to 500. In America, it aims to have thousands of employees in the next couple of years. DOWN TIME It it currently has roughly 80 workers Plaza Premium lounges give in North Texas and hundreds more travelers a quiet place to refresh on the country’s coasts. “Ultimateand refuel. The ly, we want to be a household name DFW venues also include showers. within the USA,” Vella says.