DreamFolks Faces Challenges as Banks Seek Direct Partnerships with Airport Lounge Operators

(DreamFolks Services), India’s leading airport lounge aggregator, is facing a potential crisis as major banks like Axis and ICICI, along with card networks such as Mastercard, are exploring direct partnerships with airport lounge operators like Adani, GMR, and TFS. This shift comes in the wake of a recent disruption in DreamFolks’ services, which temporarily cut access for thousands of travellers to its 49 lounges across 43 airports. The incident highlighted the risks of over-reliance on a single aggregator and has prompted financial institutions to diversify their lounge service providers. American Express has already transitioned part of its lounge access to Adani Digital, setting a precedent for others. To retain its market position, DreamFolks must enhance its technological reliability, strengthen redundancy systems, and offer added value through better customer experience or exclusive benefits. Diversifying partnerships and improving transparency with clients could also help rebuild trust and prevent further erosion of its dominant 90% share in the domestic lounge access market.