The Ultimate Ancillary: VIP Treatment in the Air

Airlines and airports offer high-end, personalized services to celebrities and dignitaries, and your clients can get their own taste of the lifestyle of the stars – for a price. VIP programs for air travelers just may be the ultimate ancillary.

In London, Heathrow Airport’s VIP program is suitable for a star’s entourage, or a family.

Passengers arriving at the Windsor Suite entrance at Terminal 5 are met by a staff member who escorts them to a private suite while the baggage team retrieves their luggage. An immigration agent will quietly check passports as the VIPs enjoy snacks and a beverage.

When they are ready to board, the pampered passengers are escorted through security and into a sedan car that takes them to the aircraft. Then they go up the stairs to their premium cabin, where fellow passengers no doubt will wonder who they are.

All this for just under a cool $2,500 for one to six passengers.

Growing trend
The Heathrow VIP program, available to premium passengers departing, arriving or connecting on any Heathrow-based airline, is part of a growing trend, according to a report from IdeaWorks, a company that tracks and analyzes ancillary revenues.

About 15 airlines around the world have developed programs that cater to their high-value customers.

Some, like the Heathrow program, are quite pricey. Others are priced lower in the financial stratosphere but may limit availability to premium passengers.

High-value customers “are not necessarily frequent travelers, but when they travel, they are willing to pay a higher price for the best service,” the IdeaWorks report said.

AA’s Five Star Service
American Airlines describes its Five Star Service as “personal one-on-one airport assistance.”

While it too was designed with high-end travelers in mind, it also can be useful for an elderly or frail person traveling alone.

American’s offering includes coordination with a car service; curbside meet-and-greet; assistance with check-in; access to the expedited security queue, where available, and to the Admiral’s Club; an escort to the gate, and other services.

Once available to the masses, Five Star Service is now offered only to first and business class passengers at five international airports, for $300, and at nine domestic airports for $250. Additional passengers in a group are charged $75 per adult and $50 per child.

Delta’s VIP Select
Delta Air Lines’ VIP Select service is not easy to find on its website or anywhere else. It appears to be offered primarily through its corporate sales department.

VIP Select, available for flights between New York’s JFK and Los Angeles or San Francisco, provides a representative who will meet the client and expedite the entire airport process.

The representative will coordinate with the client’s car service, meet him or her curbside or at the arrival gate, assist with baggage, porter service and check-in and accompany the client through baggage drop, check-in and security.

The program includes access to the Delta Sky Club and discreet boarding.

The representative also will watch over the client’s journey around the clock and protect the confidentiality of travel plans.

The price is $125 for one person or $200 for two.

UAL decides
United Airlines has a VIP program but doesn’t like to talk about it. It decides which passengers are offered the service.

IdeaWorks says airlines miss additional revenues when they limit their programs’ availability to a select few or only make the service available to passengers flying in a premium class.

Many high-value customers have money to spend, but it hasn’t necessarily made them stupid. They will fly in first or business class on an overseas flight, for example, but fly economy on connecting flights operated on regional aircraft. First class on a short flight on a small jet may seem wasteful to them.

Affordable options
While many passengers would forgo the privilege of paying for personal service along the lines of the VIP programs, most airlines offer packages of services that allow customers to have the experience of an elite frequent flyer without having to rack up qualifying miles.

American, for example, offers Choice Essential and Choice Plus fares, which include priority boarding, one checked bag and more flexibility.

United offers a Premier Access bundle that includes dedicated airport check-in lines, exclusive security lanes at select airports and priority Group 2 boarding.

Best of all, these programs don’t break the bank and, in some cases, offer excellent value.

Delta, for example, offered a Smart Travel Pack for $199 over the holiday season that paid for itself after one roundtrip by a non-elite family of four if each of them checked one bag.

The bundle included most of the perks of Silver Medallion status and applied to all trips taken by the SkyMiles member and up to eight traveling companions from mid-September through Jan. 5.