Last year, Aéroports de Paris launched the Extime brand dedicated to hospitality. What was the background to this new offering?

Caroline Blanchet: The creation of this brand came from a process of reflection that began even before covid. As studies in sociology and psychology have shown, passengers experience two moments at the airport. The first phase, before check-in, is quite anxious: you wonder whether you’ll be at the right place, on time, with all your papers, whether you’ll have excess baggage… And it’s even more stressful for families with children, the elderly or people with reduced mobility.

In the second phase, after security checks and customs, the peak of stress subsides, and you feel in the right place, safe, even a little euphoric. It’s at this point that we can create a passenger experience. On average, people spend 2 hours in the boarding lounge at an airport. It’s the beginning of the journey, and it has to be an enchantment.

“On souhaite que le voyage soit une fête”

What is the meaning of the name Extime?

C.B: It refers to an English word of French origin, conceptualized by Lacan: l’extimité, which is opposed to intimité. It’s the ability to reveal your intimacy. It also means “extraordinary time” or “extra time”. We needed a name that spoke to all communities. It’s a cocoon outside of time: for two hours, you’ll enjoy an extraordinary experience. We may travel less in the future, but travel will remain a celebration.

What is your vision of hospitality?

C.B: First and foremost, it’s a design experience.We’re convinced that when you enter places you don’t expect, it stays with you.Some passengers in transit to other destinations will only see this from Paris.We need to offer them a different image of the capital, without sticking to the clichés of the Moulin Rouge or the Eiffel Tower.

We worked with designers from the hotel and restaurant industries, such as Dorothée Meilichzon for terminal 2G, or Hugo Toro and Maxime Liautard for T1.We spent a lot of time with them observing passenger behavior in boarding lounges. Some are very stressed and sit right in front of the boarding gate: they need upright seats. Others, on the contrary, slouch in the seats: they need enveloping seats. We can no longer offer the same type of seat for everyone.

What about shopping?

C.B: At the airport, there’s plenty of time for shopping and taking home souvenirs.We’ve created a collection of “boutique-terminals” like boutique-hotels: non-standardized, with personality, and specific to each terminal’s clientele.On T1, which is dedicated to international flights, you’ll find the great French luxury houses, wine and cigar cellars, a bistro signed Alain Ducasse, as well as McDonald’s, Paul’s and Starbucks for passengers who want fast food.In the terminals dedicated to short- and medium-haul flights, there will be a lifestyle offering with Lacoste or Longchamp, a brasserie operated by chef Michel Roth… We have also focused on entertainment, with PS5 consoles and an agora for watching major sporting events.

You welcome the whole world to your airports. How do you adapt to all cultures?

C.B: It’s all about offering a diverse range of services.Americans are very sensitive to catering, as they love to have a last drink or croissant before taking off.The Chinese travel a lot in groups and don’t like to be separated, so we have to provide places where people can be grouped together.

We have trained hostesses who embody the spirit of the place: they don’t just direct passengers, they create a relationship with them, meet them and offer services. As in top restaurants, quality alone is not enough: hospitality is also essential. When faced with an agitated passenger, we know that you have to let them speak to release their anxiety, and that a few words are enough to deflate the stress. In Paris, we’ve learned a lot, and we’re the world benchmark in hospitality skills, along with the top hotel management schools.

Interview by Pascale Caussat