Looking to lounge before your next easyJet departure from Gatwick? The airline now has an option for that. Or at least for a lounge with its branding.
We’re always looking for opportunities to offer travelers more choice and great value, so we’re proud that The Gateway will be able to offer something for everyone whether it’s all the essentials for a workspace, somewhere comfortable to relax before jetting off or to entertain the family.
– Rachael Smith, Commercial Proposition & Innovation Director for easyJet
The new jointly branded ‘The Gateway by easyJet & No1 Lounges’ opens on 21 October, offering freshly prepared food options, a self-serve buffet, and a full bar. But, as the name implies, it is not entirely an easyJet lounge.
It is another location for the No1 Lounges chain, already well established in the UK market. It also happens to carry the easyJet branding on the front door. Other than an easyJet model aircraft inside, however, the branding appears to be entirely neutral.
Indeed, this appears to be a straight ancillary marketing play, with a smidgen of branding included to help drive business a bit (and certainly to generate media coverage).
And booking services will be powered by Holiday Extras, a partner that already handles similar bookings for the other lounges across the UK and the rest of the easyJet network. Travelers searching online on the easyJet site for a lounge at Gatwick will see the new option alongside a Plaza Premium option and the other No1 lounge in the terminal.
No1 Lounges Managing Director Shaun Weston describes the new lounge concept as “the first opportunity for us to develop a new market segment in partnership with easyJet.” With the relatively light touch branding from the airline it is unclear what the value proposition there would be. But it is an option.
By virtue of its position as Gatwick’s largest airline and the main operator in the North Terminal most guests at the new lounge will likely be easyJet passengers. But it is not an exclusive relationship.
Lounge access is open to all passengers departing from Gatwick’s North Terminal, assuming they pay the entry fee.
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Is the ‘x hours before your flight’ common? I usually see it as ‘x hour entry’. Selling entry for an hour before the flight when people are usually leaving the lounge to get to their gate 30-40 minutes “before the flight” seems a bit sketchy, and many might not realize they’ll only have a few minutes in the lounge.
I’ve seen it before, but not typically also tied to paying for a number of hours in the lounge. It’ll be interesting to see how it actually plays out, but since the access is timed – you book/buy based on when you want to show up – I think there’s probably some flexibility. But only allowing the access close to flight time would prevent someone from buying a 1 hour pass then showing up 5 hours early and camping out. Which is a logistical mess for selling access for limited time blocks.