Future of luxury travel? This company wants you to feel like you're always flying private

Description

Joining us this week is Amina Belouizdad Porter, the CEO of PS, the first operator of private airport terminals for commercial flyers in the US. Its mission? To make you feel like you're flying private — even when you're not. This means even if you're flying — let's say, coach with Delta Airlines — you're getting valet service. Massages. Caviar and champagne. A chauffeur waiting to drive you to your plane. This is what PS, the company formerly known as Private Suite, sees as the future of luxury travel. And it's betting many more people will see it that way, too. In this episode… we actually go there — so you can see it for yourself. (Watch on YouTube — link below!) PS was first born in Los Angeles as a haven for paparazzi-weary celebrities — helping high-profile people avoid traipsing through the airport. Now, the company's expanded to Atlanta, with more terminals coming to Paris, Dallas and Miami. It was recently acquired by Groupe ADP, the operator of dozens of airports, including Paris-Charles de Gaulle. | 00:00 — Introduction | 02:19 — Amina's upbringing  | 04:36 — Getting called to become CEO for the first time — and how she felt she was 'designed in a lab' to build PS  | 05:14 — Taking inspiration from airports in Singapore, Dubai, Paris and London to offer a hospitality experience at the airport | 08:08 — The itch to become an entrepreneur  | 09:14 — How Amina's experience in the US after 9/11 and being from the 'Middle East' shaped her world view  | 13:05 — Amina's professional journey — her polyglot background, working in China, attending Wharton Business School, working in real estate | 16:43 — How PS got started  | 19:49 — A 'zero-tolerance' approach to error | 21:08 — Lobbying Congress for approval for years | 22:05 — The serious congestion + security problem the company is tackling | 25:13 — The typical PS customer  | 28:50 — The "once-in-a-career" moment Amina instantly recognized | 34:10 — Working with private equity + picking the right financial backers in a capital-intensive industry | 36:0