The first Starbucks to open in the Grand Duchy and P&B (Press & Books) were inaugurated in the public zone at Luxembourg Airport on Monday morning, in addition to the new Aelia luxury products show in the restricted-access departure zone, with Luxembourg's Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, Francois Bausch, together with the CEO of Lux-Airport, Johan Vanneste, leading the presentations.
Johan Vanneste welcomed the three new establishments which have gone some way to transform the internal look-and-feel of the airport whcih will see a total of 12 new establishments. With others still to come - including an Oberweis in the public zone and a Luxembourg speciality shop in the departure zone (replacing the bar which will move to a larger location nearby) - the transformation has only just begun with Phase 1 rolled out on Monday. The new tenants have signed 10-year contracts with the airport.
The 115m2 Starbucks has already proved a hit, with busloads of students, for example, arriving at the airport to sample the coffee and socialise at the Starbucks, without having other business at the airport. He explained that it had been a race between Lux-Airport and the Aire de Berchem to see which would open its Starbucks outlet first, with the former winning out.
Minister Bausch welcomed the 8% growth in passenger numbers experience by the airport in 2015 (announced last week) and said that the growth of the airport and its network of connections are crucial for the Grand Duchy's economic growth and prosperity. He thanked Mr Vanneste for takign the steps to grow the airport and commended the decision to expand the service offerings, both commerically and socially. He is looking forward to further growth at the airport, including the planned terminal B.
The Starbucks Managing Director for France, Belgium, The Netherlands and now Luxembourg, Gérard d'Onofrio, acknowledged that the opening of the Starbucks outlet at the airport is emblematic for the company which is lookign forward to the new bars and restaurants to be opened in May. Already the Lux-Airport Starbucks, which opened to the public last Monday, has seen up to 600 customers daily, a very encouraging sign he acknowledged for a great success ahead. He said that it great to see it full of young people and welcomes Oberweis as a new neighbiour shortly.
The new Press & Books store was officiall opened too by Myriam Filali, General Manager of Valora Luxembourg; it occupies 55m2 and is a sister of the P&B shop recently open at Zurich airport. In the departure zone, a P&B facility also opened last October.
The Departure Zone has been completely transformed with the new Aelia Duty Free shop occupying the former corridor linking the departure gates to Shengen desinations and non-Shengen destinations (departure gates 7 & 8). Set over 595m2, this retail and duty-free shop is more than double the previous duty free area and its layout is based on the Art of the Gift concept. The General Manager of LS Travel Retail France, Michel Pérol, weclomed the evolution at the airport and introduced the Aelia Duty Free Next Generation concept.
The total floor space dedicated to shopping and catering services weill exceed 2,000m2, an increase of 20%
Photos by Geoff Thompson
