By Contributor Rebecca Suhrawardi
While Elle Fanning (pictured here) is not a client of SKyVip, celebrities such as her flock to their service to ensure quick and seamless VIP airport service, skipping all the lines.
Angelina Jolie. Paris Hilton. Selena Gomez. The biggest brands in luxury fashion. Even royal families. These are the sort of people who trust SkyVip Services for the ultimate skip-the-line, luxury VIP meet-and-greet experiences in airports. SkyVip has been in business since before the days Global Entry was common, and this is exactly how they garnered their A-list clientele and built a business that spans all major airports in the world. Back then, there was no faster way to move through an airport than SkyVip and that’s still true today.
The founders, Anna Kunakkuzina and Elena Ermolenko, are among my favorite female founders. The airport VIP service they provide is easy to fall in love with, although falling in love with these women and their story has been the real revelation.
Their names ring loud in fashion circles as they handle VIP logistics for the front row guests of every major fashion show during Fashion Week, from couture to NYFW. Their business prowess, discretion, and the stealthiness of how they keep their boss status under wraps is legendary. Especially in the age where everyone broadcasts their worth. Between their access to hospitality, trendsetting brands, and celebs, they are a vault of deep insider information on travel secrets (more on that later).
These founders created this niche luxury travel business in 2014 when Kunakkuzina was working for an airline. She saw firsthand the demand from customers to be escorted through the airport for one reason or the other, but it was a service airlines didn’t offer. She spotted the business opportunity, quit her job, and with Ermolenko proposed the idea for SkyVip to the airport. They became the first small, independent business to have an office in an airport besides an airline. They remain the undisputed leader in in the business of VIP airport travel because of their unparalleled service and are known for treating every customer like a celebrity.
Building a business within an airport when you’re not an airline or a Starbucks is no small feat. Airports are incredibly tricky spaces to navigate due to legal restrictions, red tape, and regulations, so it takes vision and resilience. “But we got the office our first month, something that no one had received until then except for the airlines,” says Kunakkuzina.
Being escorted like a VIP through airports is easy with SkyVip.
The Secret Weapon for Summer Travel
Beating the summer travel crush is not just for those with influential names or global brands. SkyVip’s price is set so anyone who wants to lighten the stress of travel can do so. The basic meet and greet for 2 at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)? 300 dollars, or 150 per person. The cost of date night in New York City.
Which means most of their clients are everyday people with children who need help navigating busy airports, have mobility restrictions, are elderly, or simply need to make a tight connection.“The big names only make up less than 10 percent of our business,” says Ermolenko.
This basic VIP meet-and-greet service means customers are met at their gate, escorted to the front of the immigration line, walked to baggage claim where the greeter collects your luggage and places you into your transport.
It doesn’t stop there, there are different levels to what they offer. The Salon Service gives travelers access to the highest-end and ultra-exclusive private airport lounges. Then, there is the Rolls-Royce of all the services: the Private Suite experience. A completely private terminal and suite just for you with private chefs, private security screening, champagne, showers, goodies, and a luxury car to take you across the tarmac directly onto the plane so you never have to set foot in the airport.
“This is one of the ways consumers can fly private without actually flying private,” says Kunakkuzina.“In the Private Suite experience, there is nobody else around except for professionals to serve and service you,” adds Ermolenko. The Private Suite experience can run upwards of thousands of dollars and the prices differ from airport to airport. Los Angeles and London are more expensive, for example, than Lebanon and Dubai.
CDG is the most important airport for their clients because it’s one of the most difficult to navigate. Between its size, the language barrier, the French POV on efficiency (read: slow) and the sheer number of tourists who travel there, “CDG is madness,” says Ermolenko. “If you have a tight connection, even 30 minutes, the meet and greet service can ensure you make it. They can call gate agents to flag you’re on your way. It’s not a service we provide, but the greeters can do this if they have to.”
“When people try us once, they don’t want to travel without our service at all. No one wants to stand in line for two hours at an airport in any capacity, especially after a long flight,” says Kunakkuzina. “We always hear new clients say, ‘Why didn’t I know about this before?’”
When you know, you know.
Want these founders’ insider tips on where to stay and eat this summer? Here are the three top places they see their celeb clients traveling to– “Ibiza is the number one destination for the rich and famous all of the time,” says Kunakkuzina–and their picks of their favorite spots in each place. Read until the end for the real secret spot in Ibiza.
PARIS: The Experimental Marais
The recently opened Experimental Marais is the newest luxury chic property by this hotel group known for high design, celebrity chefs, elevated gastronomy, and contemporary elegance. It’s the definition of Haute Hospitality.
High-design and elevated cuisine creates a vibe of modern luxury for which the Experimental is known.
Mr Tripper/Experimental Marias
IBIZA: Atzaró Agroturismo
An oasis in the center of the island, this hotel is nestled within a cultivated estate known for its spectacular gardens, detailed property design, wellness-oriented culture and its connection to the land. It’s a place to experience style and glamour through the grand subtlety of nature.
Aztarò Agroturismo is an estate oasis in the center of the island designed with wellness, natural food, and nature in mind.
Atzaò Agroturismo
Nela Pop up
Chefs Óscar Salazar and Ori and Hari of Nela Restaurant Amsterdam bring this pop-up of only wood fired food to life amongst the Ibizan coastline. On the more quiet western shores of the island overlooking the water with clear views of Es Vedrà, this pop-up is a novel addition to Ibiza’s restaurant experiences.
Overlooking the sea with clear view of Es Vedrá, the Nela pop-up brings its celebrated wood-fired menu to the west coast of Ibiza.
SARDINIA: 7Pines Resort
Set amidst 15 hectares beside the sea, this is the resort for when all you want is a resort. It caters to every preference and desire, from couples to families, from beach club vibes to private villa moments. The 7Pines is always included as one of the island’s top properties in Sardinia.
One of the top properties on the island, 7Pines is a proper resort.
BONUS SECRET: Can Jaume, Ibiza
Ibizan relaxation through land, geometry, and simplicity.
Those who frequent Ibiza know that where you stay on the island is key to how much you will enjoy it. Which is why Can Jaume, a rural hotel set inland on the island east side, is ideal. It is close to the old town, hotspots, and the port, but gives the experience of pure retreat amidst Ibiza’s high energy. Between the Loewe amenities, generous cuisine, spacious rooms, and its sharp, serenity, and geometric architecture Can Jaume is the under-the-radar hotel to know in Ibiza.
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