Airlines want to lure their well-paying passengers back to the airports

French design and better food - with pimped up airport lounges, the airlines want to lure their well-paying passengers back to the airports after the Corona crisis. Passengers with economy class tickets should also get access to the VIP offers - for a certain surcharge on the flight price. "There are more and more such offers with which airlines develop new sources of income - provided the lounges are not fully utilized," says Michael Di Corpo, head of the IT company IEG, which offers software for managing airport lounges. Premium customers, with whom the airlines achieve particularly high margins, are to be offered even more in the lounges so that they can enjoy traveling again after the restrictions have been relaxed. In August, for example, Air France inaugurated a 3,000 square meter lounge in a luxury French design in one of the main terminals at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport - with lots of leather, lava stone and terrazzo floors. Herbal teas are served in a detox area for relaxation. Air Canada and Emirates from Dubai want to offer high quality food and improved service in their lounges. "Next year a lot will revolve around food and the way in which we serve our customers in order to improve the experience," says Mats Winter of Air Canada, describing the strategy. The airline wants to attract not only business customers, but also tourists, who increasingly accept such premium offers and also pay for them.