Airports, bless them, have never been accused of moving too quickly.
For decades, they’ve operated on a simple premise: passengers will come regardless. After all, where else are they going to catch a flight? But that quiet confidence, some might call it complacency, is now being tested by a traveller who is better informed, better connected, and far less patient.
Growth of the Lounge Experience
The latest AX26 research from Airport Dimensions suggests the mood has shifted decisively. A solid 77% of global travellers now want a single digital platform to manage their entire airport journey. Not three apps, two emails, and a hopeful glance at a departure board on one platform, clean and simple.
And if that sounds like a nice-to-have, think again. Around 30% say they would actually spend more if airports got their digital act together.
There it is, the line that gets boardrooms leaning forward.
From Transaction to Relationship (Finally)
The study, based on more than 11,000 regular travellers, reveals something the industry has danced around for years: passengers don’t just want to pass through airports, they want to interact with them.
At present, only 30% have any form of ongoing relationship with an airport. It’s a fleeting acquaintance at best, hardly the stuff of loyalty. Among Affluent Leisure Travellers (ALTs), that rises to 48%, which sounds better until you realise it still leaves more than half disengaged.
Driving Value for Money
And yet, the appetite is unmistakable.
About 71% see value in reward programmes, and an emphatic 83% say proactive flight information delivered before they even arrive improves the experience. Not during. Not after. Before.
It’s not rocket science. It’s timing.
Mignon Buckingham, CEO of Airport Dimensions, didn’t dress it up:
“Our latest AX research signals an evolution in the traveler’s relationship with the airport. We are moving away from a fragmented, day-of-travel transactional model toward a more continuous, supportive, and valued partnership. Travelers are clearly asking for a joined-up journey, they want choice and control at their fingertips accessible on their phone.
The opportunity for airports is to lead the orchestration of this journey by building high-trust digital relationships that begin long before the passenger reaches the terminal. By shifting engagement earlier, offering support and delivering proactive, personalized communication, airports can transform the passenger experience while unlocking significant new revenue growth.”
Strip away the corporate phrasing, and the message is simple: engage earlier, do it properly, and the money follows.
The Quiet Power of the Big Spenders
If there’s one group airports should be paying close attention to, it’s the Affluent Leisure Traveller.
New and Integrated Retail
They make up just 26% of travellers but account for 57% of spend. That’s not a segment; that’s the balance sheet.
These travellers don’t dabble; they commit. Retail, dining, experiences they’re in. Spend levels run at four times the average, and satisfaction sits comfortably at 89%. In short, they’re happy and valuable.
They’re also predictable in one respect: they like lounges. About 75% use them, often as a base of operations before a flight. Not a surprise. The lounge is the one place in an airport where time slows down a little.
More interesting is their digital behaviour. Nearly half are already engaging with travel-related platforms. Which means the door is open wide open for airports to shape decisions before the traveller even leaves home.
Loyalty, when done properly, is less about points and more about recognition.
Premium Is No Longer Optional
There was a time when premium airport services were a quiet upsell. A bit of indulgence for those inclined.
That time has passed.
Joined Up Relationships
The AX26 data shows 62% of travellers and nearly 70% of ALTs are willing to pay for services that make life easier. Fast-track lanes, meet-and-greet, premium parking, it’s all on the table.
And then there’s the lounge.
While plenty still gain access through credit cards and memberships, 57% of lounge users say they’d pay outright if needed. That’s a telling figure.
Even more telling? Families are now driving lounge demand. Not business travellers. Families. It seems the promise of a calm space and perhaps a snack that doesn’t come in a crinkly packet is worth the price of admission.
For airports, the message is clear: premium needs to be flexible. Not everyone wants the same thing, and pretending otherwise is leaving money on the table.
Retail: Still Alive, Just Smarter
Duty-free isn’t dead. It’s just had to grow up.
Travellers are no longer wandering aimlessly through shops, hoping something catches their eye. They’re researching, comparing, and, crucially, deciding before they arrive.
Growth In Satisfaction
Around 34% say they would spend more for better value, while 29% want to engage digitally with retail ahead of time. That’s not a subtle hint, it’s a blueprint.
The opportunity lies in joining the dots. Digital discovery leading to physical purchase. A seamless path from phone to storefront.
Do it well, and retail becomes an experience again. Do it poorly, and it remains what it has always been at its worst: an expensive distraction.
Satisfaction Is High, But That’s Not the Point
Yes, global airport satisfaction has hit a record 82%. On paper, that looks like a win.
But context matters.
Millennials and Gen Z both at 84% are driving that figure, and they are the most digitally literate travellers in the mix. Which means expectations will only climb from here.
Perhaps the most telling insight is this: nine out of ten high spenders say they enjoy the airport experience.
Enjoyment, it turns out, is profitable.
A Turning Point, Not a Trend
The AX26 findings don’t describe a future scenario; they describe the present, arriving a little faster than some in the industry might have liked.
Airports are no longer just transit points. They are environments, platforms, and if handled properly, destinations in their own right.
The challenge is not understanding the shift. The data has done that job.
The challenge is acting on it.
Because the traveller has already moved on.
For those keen to dig deeper, the full report is available here: https://www.airportdimensions.com/ax26.
by Prea Lee – (c) 2026.
Read Time: 5 minutes.
About the Author.
You can tell a great deal about a person by how they meet a Bangkok morning. Prae Lee doesn’t charge into it; she glides, unhurried, as if time itself has agreed to behave. There is a calm assurance about her, the sort earned by knowing both your roots and your destination.
A graduate of Chulalongkorn University, she earned her business degree with quiet pride, then further polished it in Singapore and Australia. Travel didn’t change her. It refined what was already there: curiosity, discipline, grace.
Back in Bangkok, she slipped modern life into the family business, mastering social media with an instinct for listening and selling with Thai gentleness.
Prae never seeks attention, yet everything she touches grows brighter.
Now with Global Travel Media, she writes with authenticity, drawing on culture, travel and a rare, steady confidence.
