IRELAND. Dublin Airport has opened a new premium lounge for Business and First Class passengers who are mainly travelling to the Middle East and Asia.
East Lounge is located airside between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 and will cater for passengers travelling with Emirates, Etihad Airways, Cathay Pacific, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways.
“We are very excited to open this dedicated lounge for Business and First Class passengers travelling eastwards,” said Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison. “East Lounge is an oasis of calm offering customers the space to relax, to dine or to work before boarding their flight. The concept and design of the lounge has a uniquely Irish feel which is warm and welcoming with fantastic views of the airfield and Dublin mountains.”
The interior design is underpinned by the concept of east meeting west. The logo for the lounge was inspired by the Ogham alphabet, which was used to write the Irish language in the medieval period, and means the point where east meets west.
The Irish landscape and craftsmanship are featured in the lounge, showcasing contemporary Irish food and drink, hospitality and design.
“The lounge design and ethos fits in beautifully with our Sense of Place Project, which provides passengers flying to Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai, Hong Kong and Istanbul a last opportunity to enjoy Irish art, culture, design, food & beverage at the airport before they depart,” Harrison said.
The lounge is divided into work, relaxation, bar and dining areas and can accommodate up to 86 guests. As well as food and drinks, it offers a concierge service, luxury shower rooms, a quiet prayer room, an entertainment area, charging outlets for multiple devices and high-speed unlimited WiFi.
Chefs from catering company KSG have created a food & beverage menu aimed to showcase Irish produce. All products are sourced locally and nationally with beef coming from Dawn Meats from Meath, chicken from Cork, sausage and puddings from Galway and Irish bacon from Tipperary. Seafood dishes are sourced from firms in Dublin and Kilkenny, cheeses from Cork and Wicklow. A signature noodle style dish is also available.
There are over 150 blends and flavours of tea from Dublin firm Wall & Keogh and four different roasts of barista style coffee.
The base colours chosen for the lounge are greys and greens from Kilkenny limestone and Connemara marble. The grain in the Irish oak wood tables and panels have angles between 45 and 135 degrees, all pointing towards the east.
The furniture was made in Dublin by a family-owned business, Delaney’s Bespoke Furniture. Each strand of yarn used in the seating fabrics was individually handpicked, dyed and woven in Ireland, said DAA. The custom-made wall hanging, cushions and sofa coverings were created by leading textile designers, Frances Duff and Sonia Reynolds, from Stable of Ireland, and pay tribute to the work of Irish modernist designer Patrick Scott.
More than 22.4 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport between January and August, a +7% increase on the same period last year.
