The FINANCIAL — Emirates, a global connector of people and places, on June 11 celebrated the opening of its 38th dedicated lounge at Terminal 2 of Narita International Airport. The opening not only showcased Emirates’ premium lounge, but provided a unique opportunity for guests to experience the airline’s on-board food offering on its Japan routes.
The Emirates Lounge at Narita International Airport is the first airline-owned lounge in Japan. It will provide an experience of seamless luxury and comfort for its First and Business Class customers, as well as Platinum and Gold members of Emirates Skywards – the airline’s frequent flyer programme. This first lounge opening in Japan reinforces Emirates’ ongoing commitment to the Japanese market, according to Emirates.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Tokuhisa Takano, Senior Vice President, Narita International Airport Corporation; Mohammed H Mattar, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President Airport Services; and Nick Rees, Emirates Manager, Japan – was held to formally open the lounge.
On the occasion of the lounge opening, Makato Natsume, President & CEO, Narita International Airport Corporation said, “I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to Emirates for opening its world-class lounge here at Narita Airport. This is a Japan first. I look forward to further developments as Emirates and Narita International Airport move forward.”
“Our commitment to the highest standards of quality in every aspect of our business is the secret of Emirates’ success. The new Emirates Lounge at Narita expresses that commitment in a very concrete way,” said Mr Mattar.
“Japan is a very important market for Emirates and the dedicated lounge at Narita demonstrates our ongoing efforts to provide the best airport experience to premium Japanese travellers and our Skywards Platinum and Gold members,” added Mr Mattar.
Ryuta Sato, Executive Sous Chef at Emirates Flight Catering, flew in for the lounge opening to present Emirates’ on-board dishes and talk about the concept and preparation of the service. Chef Sato led guests as they sampled First Class, Business Class and Economy Class dishes in traditional Japanese crockery with a selection of food in kobachi bowls served on kaiseki trays.
The Emirates Lounge at Narita International Airport provides a seamless transition to the elegant environment of the onboard First Class and Business Class offering with a colour palette reflecting the neutral, earthy tones that customers have come to associate with the Emirates brand.
In the lounge, passengers are able to choose from a complimentary selection of fine beverages and a wide range of hot and cold delicacies from a gourmet buffet.
State-of-the-art LED TVs ensure passengers remain up-to-date with the latest news and entertainment, and a fully equipped business centre is available for those needing to catch up on that last bit of business before flight. Complimentary Wi-Fi service is also offered throughout the facility to ensure passengers remain connected. Passengers are also able to freshen up prior to their flight with the lounge’s shower facilities.
Emirates has invested more than US$330 million in its lounges worldwide serving over 22 million customers since the opening of Emirates’ first international lounge outside its Dubai hub.
The airline currently has 37 dedicated lounges around its six-continent network including in Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Birmingham, Brisbane, Colombo, Delhi, Dubai (x6) , Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, Milan, Munich, New York – JFK, Paris – Charles de Gaulle, Perth, Rome, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Zurich.
Emirates commenced services to Japan in 2002 with four weekly flights to and from Osaka. Since then, more than three million passengers have chosen Emirates to fly from Dubai to Japan and from Japan to Dubai. Presently, Emirates has daily flights to three gateways in Japan – Osaka, Narita and Haneda. Globally, the airline employs over 430 Japanese nationals.
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