Airport Lounges
Sitting pretty at Miami International by RONNIE LOVLER
The Turkish Airlines Lounge in Concourse E at Miami International Airport is open 24 hours
E
ver-busy Miami International Airport (MIA) is introducing additional perks to make travel even more comfortable with the expansion of its lounge offerings. Turkish Airlines will be opening its second lounge at Miami International Airport in April and Delta Air Lines is planning improvements to its Sky Club here as well in 2020. American Express recently finished upgrades and renovations to its Centurion Lounge and LATAM Airlines also just concluded the expansion of its lounges.
56 THE AMERICAS DUTY FREE & TRAVEL RETAILING MARCH 2020
Turkish Airlines is opening a brandnew business lounge at Miami International Airport, while Delta and others are upgrading their offerings
“The lounges are all seeing strong demand from their customers and are expanding to accommodate that demand,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Department Communications Director Greg Chin in an exclusive interview with Americas Duty Free. “After beginning its Istanbul-Miami service in 2015, Turkish Airlines has chosen Miami for the location of its fifth lounge outside of Turkey and only its second in North America, after Washington D.C.” The Turkish Airlines Lounge in Concourse E is open 24/7 and serves Priority Pass members, a boon to many of those traveling to and from Latin America, as this is the main departure point for those traveling south of Miami. The airline’s Business Lounge, which is still under construction, will be in Concourse J, the departure and arrival point for Turkish Airlines’ daily service to Miami. It is expected to resemble the airline’s lounge in Istanbul, which includes a piano and a small museum as part of the decor.
One of a kind
In January, LATAM Airlines opened its newly renovated VIP Lounge in Miami, the only one of its kind in North America. “We applaud the investment by LATAM Airlines to upgrade its only VIP Lounge location in North America,” said Lester Sola, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, who attended the official reopening. “As one of our largest airline groups, LATAM will now provide an even more appealing lounge experience for the millions of passengers it serves annually at MIA.”