NEW! Airport Oasis Lounge: Project Summary

The Market Need

Flying today often involves long waits, missed flights, stressful delays, and rigorous security, not to mention increased costs! The frequent traveler often takes advantage of the luxury airline lounge as a quiet and civilized escape. But not everyone has access to such a priviledge- especially those who do not travel often.

The Solution

The Airport Oasis Lounge grants the priviledge of the “quiet and civilized” escape to a much broader group of the population: credit union members. These lounges will include amenities such as free Wi-Fi access, surcharge-free ATMs, free power to recharge laptops and PDAs, light refreshments, and a comfortable place to relax.

The Benefits

Through high-visibility locations in major airports, the Airport Oasis Lounge will:

• Create a broader awareness of credit unions and the value they offer
• New member growth, particularly if a new member enrollment system were to be developed essentially placing each prospective non-member with a participating credit union
• New member and possibly new SEG growth as people see this tangible credit union benefit and ask about it at work (like AFLAC)
• Brand loyalty as members appreciate the value of their CU membership
• Significant word-of-mouth advertising as members virally spread their appreciation of this program with others
• Highlight the benefits of membership and the credit union brand
• Bring luxury privileges to a large population

For members, the lounge provides:

• A comfortable lounge in which to relax while awaiting a flight or connecting flight
• Light refreshments
• Free Wi-Fi access
• Recharging stations- “Power to the People” recharging bars for members to use to charge cell phones, PDAs, laptops and iPods
• Shared branching access via kiosks with the ability to manage money and withdraw cash without a fee
• News, information, and up-to-the-minute filght status reports
• Temporary luggage storage in order to shop and browse the airport unencumbered by baggage.

The First Step

A credit union looking to move forward with this or a similar project might consider the following steps:

• Contact either BAA-USA (Carol Fearns is the main contact) or Westfield group, another company involved in airport retail operations for further guidance and exploration of co-development opportunities.
• Harness more industry support. The shared brancing network FSCC is an example of one industry partner that sees the win-win opportunities this project might generate. We see opportunities to partner with industry design and build firms, other ATM and shared branch networks, and others to further advance and support this innovation.
• Gain trade association support. Much has been said about a “national branding campaign” for credit unions and much money has been spent in that advertising effort. This concept might be far more impactful than traditional advertising as it would be a tangible value for members (not merely propaganda), would capture as many, if not more, “eyes”, and gives members something to talk to others about.

The vision is to have the initial pilot lounge located in a major U.S. airport by 2008. For more information on getting involved, contact any of the team members, David, Troy or Dave (information here).