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World first: At the official opening were (l-r) CNN International Emerging Markets Editor John Defterios, CNN International Chief Commercial Officer Rani Raad, Abu Dhabi Airports Board Member H.E. Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, SSP regional CEO Nick Inkster and SSP local business partner Nawaff Ghobash |
UAE. The world’s first airport café from CNN was officially opened on Sunday (7 December) by Abu Dhabi Airports in partnership with SSP.
The CNN Traveler café, situated at Abu Dhabi International Airport Terminal 3, features CNN International broadcast in HD on a number of screens, with an integrated audio system for each table; online, social and visual CNN content displayed on a media wall comprising four Samsung digital units, plus latest news headlines in an RSS news ticker situated above the serving counter.
The café offers customers a wide range of food and beverages in CNN-branded packaging and crockery. Items on the menu include local specialties such as fatoush or taboule salad as well as a selection of open sandwiches, breakfast and all-day sandwiches and wraps. Customers also have access to free Wi-Fi.
The café was officially opened at the weekend in a ceremony attended by Abu Dhabi Airports Board Member H.E. Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, CNN International Chief Commercial Officer Rani R. Raad and SSP WEMEAP CEO Nick Inkster.
H.E. Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei said: “At Abu Dhabi Airports we are always on the lookout to partner with innovative companies like SSP to bring leading concepts to our airports. This direction is in line with our continuous commitment to provide passengers with world-class services and sensational experiences each time they travel through any of our airports. CNN Traveler café is the first CNN-branded news inspired café in any airport in the world and Abu Dhabi International Airport presents an ideal location as it poses as one of the fastest growing global aviation hubs connecting regions across the world.”
He added: “This is echoed in the preparation for the iconic Midfield Terminal Building’s (MTB) 28,000sq m commercial space currently under construction, where some of the most creative retail, food & beverage, and hospitality concepts from around the world will be housed. The MTB will also incorporate the very latest designs and systems in all aspects of its operations.”
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The café features a rolling new service and food served on CNN branded crockery |
“We are excited to be launching the world’s first CNN Traveler café as part of an expansive consumer engagement initiative,” said Rani Raad. “The CNN Traveler experience is another way for business and leisure travellers to connect with CNN, the world’s number one news brand, which engages with more consumers globally on multiple platforms than anyone else. We’re delighted that Abu Dhabi is the location for our first airport café as this is one of CNN’s major global production, newsgathering and commercial hubs.”
Kate Swann, CEO of SSP said; “We’re delighted to be partnering with the world leading media brand CNN and with Abu Dhabi International Airport to introduce this highly innovative new concept. The café is ideally suited to the unique passenger demographic at the airport, and we are certain that it will be very popular with both local and international travellers.
In the first ten months of 2014, Abu Dhabi International Airport handled 16.5 million passengers, 8.5 million of which came through Terminal 3. Traffic volumes registered a +20.5% increase in the January to October period compared to the same ten months in 2013.
