INDIA – 9 NOVEMBER 2022: Collinson, owner and operators of the original and market-leading airport experiences programme Priority Pass, has promoted Sumit Prakash as Country Director, India and South Asia. With over 20 years of experience across the financial services, payments and travel sectors, Sumit’s enhanced role – strengthened by the wider Collinson India team’s extensive knowledge of the market – will see him continue to deliver innovative and enhanced solutions that benefit Collinson’s partners, clients, and their customers.   

Whilst travel recovery in many Asia Pacific markets remains below 2019 levels, the India market is bucking this trend. According to the Centre of Aviation (CAPA), the Indian market is already rapidly approaching full recovery in the international segment. At over 1.3 million scheduled international seats, it is only approximately 11% below its 2019 figure. The total air passenger traffic is also expected to increase from 341 million (during 2019 – 2020) to 827 million by 2033, according to the Airports Authority of India. 

To cater to the growing frequency of travel over the next few years in India, Collinson has embarked on several locally-led initiatives. This year, Collinson launched Priority Pass Access India, a dedicated domestic lounge experience programme that enables eligible cardholders to enter over 50 lounges across major cities in India by simply tapping or swiping their payment card.  

Two strategic partnerships were also forged with local Indian brands – Pine Labs and PoshVine. Leveraging Pine Lab’s Point-of-Sale terminals, brands can reward their customers with seamless access to Priority Pass Access India’s extensive lounge network. By incorporating PoshVine’s loyalty platform into the Priority Pass Access India programme, members can further gain access to discount offers across dining, retail, spa, airport transfers and meet and greet services.  

“India is an extremely important market for us at Collinson. We have been operating in India for almost two decades. We are strongly committed to investing in innovation, technology and our people, to continue supporting our clients and their customers’ needs,”   

Todd Handcock, Asia Pacific President, Collinson.

“Sumit’s extensive knowledge of the India market, particularly within the financial services, payments and travel sectors, positions us well to continue growing our presence in India, and deliver differentiated and innovative solutions that will add value to our clients and their customers in a dynamic and competitive market. I am confident that Sumit, in his expanded role as Country Director, India and South Asia, will continue to elevate our business, working in close partnership with our clients to help enhance their customer experience and bring additional returns for their own organisations.” 

About Sumit Prakash, Country Director, India and South Asia  

Sumit is a seasoned business leader with over 20 years of experience in the financial services, payments, travel, and loyalty sectors. He has a proven track record in establishing and scaling businesses in highly competitive environments, delivering robust business outcomes, collaborating with clients to engage and build loyalty amongst their most valued customers and working with local partners to deliver enhanced value to various customer programmes. Over the years, not only has Sumit built long standing partnerships, he has also developed high performance teams to deliver compelling business value. 

“At Collinson, we are building a future that is as exciting as its legacy and I am fortunate to be a part of this transformation,” said Sumit Prakash, Country Director, India and South Asia. “As Collinson continues to invest in its resources and technology to continue its growth trajectory in India, I’m looking forward to working with our valued network of clients and travel ecosystem partners to help shape the most effective traveller experiences.” 

Prior to this appointment, Sumit was Collinson’s Commercial Director for India and South Asia for close to three years. Earlier in his career, Sumit worked with major organisations including Mastercard, GE-SBI, HDFC Bank and Standard Chartered in roles encompassing business strategy, business development and new ventures, product management, partnerships, and client relations.  

Sumit holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Allahabad, India.   

About Priority Pass 

Priority Pass is the original and market-leading airport experiences programme operated by Collinson. It provides discerning frequent travellers access to 1,300 lounges and experiences in over 650 airports across 148 countries, including a growing number of airport dining and spa offerings worldwide that can be accessed in the same way as lounges. Using the Priority Pass app for iOS and Android, members can quickly and easily discover locations welcoming Priority Pass, instantly check their visit entitlement and use their Digital Membership Card to access airport lounges and experiences. 

Priority Pass celebrates its 30^th birthday this year.  

About Collinson 

Collinson is a global leader in customer benefits and loyalty solutions that win deeper, more valuable customer relationships. We deliver exceptional travel, loyalty and insurance products designed to help companies differentiate their value propositions. 

Our customer benefits products include the original and market-leading airport experiences programme, Priority Pass, as well as travel insurance, identity assistance, flight delay and international health solutions. Our loyalty expertise uniquely combines strategy, award-winning technology, and programme management to create greater engagement and experiences for our clients’ customers.  

For over 30 years, we’ve been chosen by the world’s leading payment networks, 1,400+ banks, 90+ airlines and 20+ hotel groups to craft customer experiences for over 400m end consumers, that win competitive edge. This enables them to acquire, engage and retain the most profitable, but most demanding customers Our clients include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Air France KLM, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Accor, Radisson, Chase, HSBC, Revolut, Sephora and UnionPay. 

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