Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2026

of touchscreens throughout YVR as one example, noting that average transaction value is higher when customer service is part of the experience. “Relying on volume alone isn’t going to help us. You need to put new life in it. When you feel like it’s not resonating as much as it used to, provide a new look and feel.” Favors agreed that the employee experience matters as much as the guest experience. “We want the airport to be a great place to work and a place our employees want to come to.” Carlos Bernal, U.S. CEO of Areas USA , sees the issues through the lens of hospitality “There’s so many things that influence a customer buying a product other than just price,” he said. “Our job is to create price value, customer service, ambiance. It all has to be there for it to work.” While panelists agreed on the benefits of self serve kiosks, Bernal drew a firm line. “You cannot automate hospitality, and we’re in the hospitality business. Let the customer decide how they want to be taken care of.” Lounges And Concessions Later in the programming, another panel discussed the challenges encountered as common-use and airline lounges continue to multiply in North American airports, encroaching on territory that was once occupied by traditional airport concessions. Common-use lounges are expanding fast, fueled by traveler demand, credit card partnerships and a new kind of airport customer. But as more passengers bypass terminal concessions in favor of premium lounge access, traditional food and beverage operators are feeling the squeeze. Kylies Fung, airport contract specialist for business and development concessions at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), moderated the session. “Lounges

rest is credit cards. “Airlines used to make money from flying planes,” Bissett said. “Today they make money from credit card partnerships.” Internal research from Paradies Lagardère showed that 20 to 30 percent of food and beverage revenue transfers to a lounge when one opens nearby. “It’s very hard to call this incremental when we’re obviously competing,” he said. Belinda Jain, vice president of customer experience and commercial at JFKIAT , offered a view from the airport side. With 135,000 square feet of lounge space at JFK ’s Terminal 4, Jain has watched the relationship between lounges and concessions up close. “Lounges are not perceived as competition to the F&B program we’re developing, but as an addition,” she said. “There are passengers who spend time in the lounge and also spend time in retail areas.” Bélanger agreed. “Lounge operators are more and more looking to find ways to work together and co-exist with F&B,” he said. “We can augment revenues with key strategic partnerships that are thoughtful and that move the needle. There’s enough food on the table for everyone to eat.”

aren’t new,” she said, “but their role in the terminal has changed in recent years.” Pascal Bélanger, senior vice president of Americas for Plaza Premium Group , framed the conversation around opportunity. The lounge customer has changed, he said. “It’s no longer just suits and ties. The days of average food and average drinks and average experience is certainly not good enough anymore.” That rising standard, Bélanger argued, lifts the entire terminal. “To say a lounge is bad news for F&B, I don’t have a lot of evidence that supports this.” David Bissett, executive vice president and chief development officer at Paradies Lagardère , brought the data. Lounge access has doubled at most airlines since the pandemic, and today only 20 percent comes from elite frequent flier status. The Above: Belinda Jain of JFKIAT, David Bissett of Paradies Lagardère and Pascal Bélanger of Plaza Premium Group shared their perspectives on the lounge-concessions balance as an airport, concessionaire and lounge operator, respectively.

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2026