2018年10月25日纽约时报：争夺高端乘客，航空公司豪华休息室大战升温
Luxury Lounge Wars Heat Up as Airlines Vie for High-End Passengers
争夺高端乘客，航空公司豪华休息室大战升温
So you think your only choice during a long layover or a flight delay is to suffer in the airport terminal?
当你遇到漫长的中转停留或是航班延误，你以为唯一的选择就是在航站楼遭罪吗？
Think again.
再考虑考虑吧。
But be prepared to pay handsomely one way or another for the alternative.
不过准备好为替代方案付出不小的数目就是了。
The airline lounge competition is heating up around the globe, and two new entrants, American and United, have, somewhat belatedly, become serious contenders.
航空公司机场休息室的竞争正在全球升温，新加入的两位，美国航空和美国联合航空来得迟了点，却成为认真的竞争者。
Like the difference between first-class and economy seats, the luxury lounges offered by many major airlines are yet another way in which air travel is separating the haves from the have-nots.
就像头等舱与经济舱的差别一样，许多大航空公司提供的豪华休息室，是航空旅行把富人和穷人区分开的另一种方式。
Entry usually requires the purchase of a business- or first-class ticket, and some VIP lounges charge thousands of dollars per visit by individuals or small groups of travelers. There are some exceptions for holders of certain credit cards, and occasionally a traveler can make a one-time visit for a relatively low fee.
进休息室通常需要购买商务舱或头等舱机票，有的贵宾休息室对个人或小团体旅客的单次使用收费数千美元。对某些信用卡的持有人会例外，普通旅客偶尔能以相对低的费用进一次休息室。
But regardless of the cost, lounge access has become paramount for business travelers, especially those on overnight flights from the Northeastern United States to Europe, experts say. They want to shower and eat fresh food in the lounge, and then sleep on their flight, so when they arrive in Europe they can head directly to their meeting.
专家称，不管花费多少，对商务旅客来说使用休息室非常重要，尤其是乘夜航班机从美国东北部飞往欧洲的旅客。他们要在休息室淋浴，吃上新鲜饭菜，然后在飞机上睡一觉，这样到达欧洲时他们就能直接去开会。
For other travelers, lounges can provide “a reprieve from the chaos of the airport, an oasis from the storm,” said Jack Ezon, president of New York-based Ovation Vacations, an upscale leisure travel agency.
对其他旅客，休息室能让你“从机场的混乱中解脱，就像风暴里的一片绿洲，”纽约高端旅行社Ovation Vacations的总裁杰克·艾宗(Jack Ezon)说。
To Michael Holtz, owner of SmartFlyer, another upscale travel agency, a lounge can extend a luxury hotel experience. Guests staying in certain high-end suites at the Rosewood London, for example, qualify for free access to the VIP private terminal at London’s Heathrow Airport. Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa first-class lounge at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, offers 12 private bedrooms.
另一家高端旅行社SmartFlyer的拥有人迈克尔·霍尔茨(Michael Holtz)认为，休息室能延长豪华酒店的体验。比如入住伦敦瑰丽酒店(Rosewood London)一定级别套房的客人就有资格免费进入伦敦希思罗机场的贵宾私人航站楼。在卡塔尔的多哈哈马德国际机场，卡塔尔航空的Al Safwa头等舱休息室还备有12间私人卧室。
American Airlines offers Flagship Lounge access to first- and business-class passengers on transcontinental and international flights and has opened new ones at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Miami International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and O’Hare International Airport outside of Chicago since last year. The lounges have hot and cold buffets, wine, Champagne and create-your-own cocktails, showers and quiet rooms. All lounges except O’Hare’s also have restaurant-style dining for first-class passengers.
美国航空为跨洲及国际航班的头等舱与商务舱乘客提供旗舰休息室，自去年起已在纽约肯尼迪国际机场、迈阿密国际机场、洛杉矶国际机场和芝加哥奥黑尔国际机场新设旗舰休息室。休息室备有冷热自助餐、葡萄酒、香槟和顾客自调鸡尾酒，有淋浴和静音室。除奥黑尔机场外，所有的休息室还为头等舱乘客提供餐厅式的正餐。
United opened its first Polaris Lounge — available only to passengers flying in its Polaris, or business class, and to first-class passengers on Star Alliance airlines’ flights — at O’Hare in December 2016. Since spring, it has opened other lounges at San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
联合航空也于2016年12月在奥黑尔机场开设了第一个北极星休息室——只供北极星舱也就是商务舱乘客，以及星空联盟成员航班的头等舱乘客享用。自今春以来，北极星休息室也相继在旧金山国际机场、位于新泽西州的纽瓦克自由国际机场和位于休斯顿的乔治·布什国际机场开放。
Other Polaris lounges are also planned in Los Angeles and at Washington Dulles International Airport. These will feature a restaurant offering local cuisine; relaxation areas, including daybeds with Saks Fifth Avenue bedding; and shower suites with valet service.
洛杉矶以及华盛顿杜勒斯国际机场的北极星休息室也在计划当中。这些休息室将会设有提供当地美食的餐厅，休息区会有使用Saks Fifth Avenue品牌床具的床位，淋浴间有代客洗衣服务。
But American’s and United’s lounges are in many ways overshadowed by older and newer top-tier airport lounges operated by carriers based outside the United States.
但相比美国以外的航空公司经营的那些或新或旧的顶级机场休息室，美航和联航的休息室在很多方面都黯然失色。
Take for example Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal, which opened at Frankfurt Airport in 2004 and was refurbished in 2014, and Cathay Pacific Airways’ Pier first-class lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, which opened in 2001 and was refurbished in 2014.
比如汉莎航空的头等舱航站楼，2004年在法兰克福机场开设，2014年重装修，还有国泰航空在香港国际机场的玉衡堂(The Pier)头等舱休息室，2001年开设，2014年重装修。
And then there is Qantas’ Perth Transit Lounge, which opened in March for business-class flyers on the airline’s new 787-9 flights that originate in Melbourne, Australia, stop in Perth and continue nonstop for 17 hours to London; the lounge is also available on return flights from London.
再就是澳洲航空的珀斯中转休息室，今年三月开始服务该公司由波音787-9梦幻客机执飞的新航线的商务舱乘客。新航线从澳大利亚墨尔本出发，经停珀斯然后17小时不间断飞往伦敦；由伦敦返回的航班也可以使用休息室。
The Perth lounge offers seasonal menus from Rockpool Bar & Grill, a Sydney restaurant; an outdoor barbecue and hydration station; bathrooms that provide light therapy and help travelers adjust to the time zone to which they are flying; and a well-being studio that has stretching and breathing classes conducted by a yoga teacher, also custom designed to combat jet lag.
珀斯的休息室由悉尼餐厅Rockpool Bar＆Grill供应时令餐点；还设有户外烧烤炉和饮水点；浴室提供光照疗法帮助旅客调整到目的地时区；健身房有瑜伽老师指导的伸展和呼吸课程，也是专为克服时差设计的。
Luxury lounges are also operated by the airline alliances. They are often at highly competitive hub airports and their costs are jointly shared by alliance members. The Star Alliance has seven lounges worldwide, with an eighth scheduled to open in Amsterdam early next year. The SkyTeam Airline Alliance has six worldwide, with new ones scheduled to open in Istanbul and Santiago, Chile, next year.
航空联盟也会经营豪华休息室。这些休息室常常设在竞争激烈的枢纽机场，运营成本由联盟成员共同分担。星空联盟在全球已有七处休息室，第八处计划明年初在阿姆斯特丹开放。天合联盟现有六处，计划明年分别在伊斯坦布尔和智利的圣地亚哥开放新的休息室。
Since 2013, American Express has opened a Centurion Lounge at eight airports in the United States and in Hong Kong. New lounges are scheduled to open next year at New York’s JFK, Denver and Los Angeles airports. The lounges are only for holders of its Platinum and Centurion credit cards. These lounges offer menus designed by well-known chefs, shower suites, noise-buffering work spaces, family rooms and staff members who provide credit-card and concierge services.
自2013年以来，美国运通公司已在美国和香港的八个机场开设了百夫长休息室。明年还计划在纽约肯尼迪机场、丹佛和洛杉矶的机场开设新的休息室。休息室只对运通公司白金信用卡及百夫长信用卡持卡人开放，提供名厨设计的餐食、淋浴间、隔音工作区、家庭活动室，还有工作人员提供信用卡及礼宾服务。
And for travelers in London who want privacy, there are suites available through the Heathrow VIP service. Originally used by members of the British royal family, heads of state and diplomats, 17 suites are available for business- and first-class passengers. Up to six travelers can buy a two-hour visit in a suite for 2,750 pounds, or about $3,600, which includes concierge and baggage handling services, food prepared by a Michelin-starred chef, private security clearance and transportation in a BMW 7 Series to the airplane. The car can also transfer travelers from London to the airport.
在伦敦，对于希望保有隐私的旅客，希思罗机场的贵宾服务可以提供套房。17间套房最初由英国王室成员、政府首脑和外交官使用，现在商务舱和头等舱乘客也可享用。2750英镑（约合3,600美元）可购买一间套房的两个小时，最多六位旅客使用，其中包括礼宾和行李服务、由米其林星级厨师烹制的餐食、私人保安服务和宝马7系轿车摆渡登机。轿车也可以从伦敦把旅客接到机场。
Tyler Dikman, co-founder of LoungeBuddy, an app that rates airport lounges worldwide and sells travelers access to many of them, said elaborate lounges introduced by many carriers based outside the United States “raised the bar and have required U.S.-based airlines to compete if they want to maintain or grow their market share.”
移动应用LoungeBuddy可以给全球机场的休息室评分，也向旅客销售许多休息室的服务，它的联合创始人泰勒·迪克曼(Tyler Dikman)说，许多外国航空公司悉心经营的休息室“提高了业务标准，这要求美国的航空公司如果想保持或提高他们的市场份额就必须奋力追赶。”
Many carriers use their top-tier lounges as “an extension of their premium onboard experience,” promoting them on their websites, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group.
很多航空公司把顶级休息室用作“其机上优越体验的延伸，”在网站上宣传推广，旅游业分析师、Atmosphere Research Group的总裁亨利·哈特维尔德(Henry Harteveldt)说。
Indeed, Paul Priestman, director of PriestmanGoode, a London industrial design company that was hired by United to help develop Polaris, including its website and lounges, said his company’s concepts for the Polaris experience were designed to create consistency, which he called “everything in the travel experience. It’s what people remember. We try and make sure all touch points are similar, so the overall effect is calmer, and travelers enjoy the experience more, so they repeat, become regular.”
联合航空雇佣了伦敦的工业设计公司PriestmanGoode来协助开发北极星品牌，包括其网站和休息室。公司董事保罗·普里斯特曼(Paul Priestman)表示，他的公司对北极星体验的设想是要让它制造出连贯性，他称之为“旅行体验中的一切。是人们记住的事。我们尝试着确保所有的品牌接触点都是相似的，所以整体效果更稳定，旅客更享受这个体验，于是他们再来，成为常客。”
