Dubai's Concourse D marks its first anniversary on February 24 following a successful inaugural year that saw over 16.6 million passengers enjoy its customer-friendly design and top-flight retail and food and beverage offering.
 
Concourse D, which represents the final major piece of infrastructure to be built at Dubai International Airport (DXB) as part of the $7.8 billion Strategic Plan 2020 programme, was a timely addition to the airport when it first opened its doors for passengers on February 24, 2016. The $1.2 billion facility became the home of 60 international airlines that operate into DXB’s Terminal 1 and connect it to 90 destinations around the world. The facility increased the annual capacity of the airport from 75 million passengers to 90 million passengers.
 
“Concourse D is the outcome of a well-designed and meticulously planned project that was built around the evolving needs and expectations of our customers – the hundreds of thousands of passengers that pass through our airport every day,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Airports; president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; chairman and CEO of Emirates Group. “After a successful first year of operations, it is very clear that Concourse D has achieved its goal of delighting our passengers and our business partners.”
 
During the first year of its operations, Concourse D handled 115,118 flights and welcomed an estimated 16,686,272 passengers from destinations across six continents while setting new heights in customer service. Over the past year Concourse D has exemplified Dubai Airports’ commercial strategy to design and deliver an integrated environment featuring walk-through retail, adjacent food and hospitality concepts, a comfortable central atrium and investment in the world’s best airport wi-fi. It has also been a showcase for Dubai Airports’ special events having hosted numerous musicDXB performances and Hang Out DXB engagements designed to surprise and delight passengers with prize giveaways, special discounts and interactive games all of which serve to heighten the customer experience.
 
The new concourse has delivered an upgraded lounge experience with nine lounges spread over 6,926-sq-m, including five airline lounges (British Airways, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, SkyTeam) a new Al Majlis lounge, two Dubai International Hotel lounges and a Marhaba VIP lounge.   
Concourse D has also surpassed expectations with over 3600-sq-m of food and beverage options that cater to all tastes and budgets. That includes a number of world renowned brands that were introduced to Dubai and the region for the first time when Concourse D opened its doors – including celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s The Kitchen and the first Pret a Manger to operate in a Middle Eastern airport. In total Concourse D has served up 20 dining options catering to all tastes and budgets including Butlers Chocolate Café and Camden Food Company which bring healthy yet tasty dining options. For those who enjoy a little theatre with their food, YO! Sushi has been a popular addition, while the CNN News Café is a favourite for news junkies. Lebanese favourite Sharwarmanji and Taqado Mexican Kitchen have been popular local examples of street food, in addition to Masale by Taste of India. Establish traveller favourites such as Giraffe, Starbucks, KFC, Krispy Kreme, McDonald’s, Brioche Doree, The Noodle House, Caviar House & Prunier, Draft House sports bar, and Costa Coffee have been similarly popular.
 
The retail offer has also been positively received. Dubai Duty Free has a total of 175 vendor installations in Concourse D spread over an area of 7,000-sq-m, bringing the operation’s total retail space at DXB to 33,000-sq-m. - TradeArabia News Service