STAR ALLIANCE LOUNGES, HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

The newly formed Star Alliance included ten international airlines: United, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Varig, Air Canada, ANA, Ansett and Air New Zealand.  Our aim was to create a series of lounges for the group offering services and amenities that would outshine any non-participating airline.

We designed a series of First Class lounges, charter flight lounges and a large Business Class lounge based around a central reception area. Due to the fire restrictions in the airport we were one of the few lounges with carpet on the floor instead of hard surfaces. Well before LCD screens, we designed a customer flight display by projecting the information on a one way mirror so customers could easily see when their flight was due.  Commissioned artworks were integrated into the custom walls, and coffee tables were designed with special loudspeakers incorporated to keep sound levels discreet and minimal.

Working at Hong Kong Airport was difficult in itself, being a construction site. With train connections and bridges yet to be built, one had to take a 1 hour ferry ride and pass through a security check point before walking 1.4 kilometres to the site. Approvals were long and arduous. With the British handover of Hong Kong to China being the deadline for opening, Tony worked 3 days a week in Hong Kong and 3 days a week in Sydney for 6 months, flying back and forth at night.

Voted one of the best lounges in the world by the Skytrax survey of customers, The Star Alliance lounges were an enormous success and are still in use today.