At new lounges, fliers wait in style
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Lounges are seen as essential to attracting elite passengers, who don’t want to settle for Panda Express at the food court. Together with improvements to first and business class cabins, upscale lounges help convince these customers - who account for up to 20 percent of airline passengers on long-haul routes but generate up to 50 percent of ticket revenue - to keep coming back.
Many US carriers also view the lounges as a way to generate additional revenues. They have opened the once-exclusive clubhouses - formerly reserved for first and business class passengers and uber frequent fliers - to anyone willing to pay.
American Airlines’ new $6 million lounge in Terminal B is open to any passenger who pays a yearly membership fee of up to $500 or shells out $50 for a day pass. The new club, with bright lighting and a wall of windows looking out onto the airfield, is a vast improvement over the dark, colonial feel of the old club, which hadn’t been renovated in 20 years.
Source: The Boston Globe
Something Hot At NuVita
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That said, how can a frozen yogurt place survive in the winter when most ice cream shops are closed for the season?
It's all in the planning: there's a reason that the sign outside has "Cafe" on it.
All along, Jason knew he would someday introduce drinks to the business. First it was a cooler with bottled water, soda, power drinks, etc. and then, last month his vision became a reality and the brewing machines and specialty coffee and tea arrived.
He set up a coffee, espresso bar at NuVita. You won't find a commercial drip machine in this place. According to his customers, Jason's espresso is special, not bitter, and even those who usually take their restaurant coffee with milk and sugar, are drinking his very strong coffee straight up and loving it.
"We have coffee beans that are known to be in the top 10% in the world quality wise," Jason said.
The coffee beans come from different regions, of Africa, Ethiopia, Brazil, Panama, Columbia, Kenya and Nuvita's House Blend, which is a mix of three different regions.
Source: Patch.com