Airport World, Issue 4, 2013

AIRPORT WORLD AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2013

In the spotlight: Planning & Design Airports: Miami, Ottawa & New York Special report: Route development Plus: Security, rail links & car parking

THE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE OF OF THE THE AIRPORTS AIRPORTS COUNCIL COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL THE

Planning & Design: Forward thinking August-September 2013 Volume 18 Issue 4 www.aci.aero

OPINION Airport World

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The big build Editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the capacity crunch and the ‘Planning and Design’ theme of this issue of Airport World.

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s the world’s ‘ghost airports’ will tell you, the expression ‘build it and they will come’, doesn’t always hold true.

It certainly didn’t for Ciudad Madrid (formerly Don Quijote Airport), which cost upwards of €1 billion back in 2008, but is currently up for sale after failing to live up to the hype.

Indeed, the much-troubled gateway lost its final routes two years ago when Vueling pulled its Barcelona and Palma flights, leaving the privately-funded and operated 10mppa capacity airport with no routes whatsoever.

The situation ensured that it joined the elite club of ‘ghost airports’ that have been abandoned by the airlines and sometimes boast more staff than passengers.

Things couldn’t be more different a little north in the UK, where hardly a week seems to pass without someone unveiling plans to solve its perceived future capacity shortfall – either by building new multi-billion pound airports or adding runways and terminal buildings at existing gateways.

The need to raise capacity at the continent’s airports is also on the mind of ACI Europe, which has joined forces with the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and the Association of European Airlines (AEA) to urge Europe’s governments to take action to avoid a capacity crunch that is set to cost the industry in excess of €40 billion per annum in lost revenues by 2035.

The warning is in response to EUROCONTROL’s Challenges of Growth report, which provides an unequivocal warning that despite slower air traffic growth in the next 20 years, Europe still faces a significant airport capacity crunch, which will damage the continent’s aviation system and connectivity.

As a result of insufficient airport capacity, 12% of demand for air transport or 1.9 million flights per year will not be accommodated by 2035, according to the report, which states that the upshot is that 237 million passengers will be unable to fly.

And, with the developing world facing a potential capacity crunch of its own for very different reasons, the need for more airports, terminal buildings and runways is not going away.

Nor is the need for increasingly innovative planning and design as aviation adapts to a new world order that demands it takes its social and environmental responsibilities seriously.

This means that sustainable design and initiatives such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) must become the norm and no longer an aspiration or buzzword used by airports wanting to expand, architects and academics.

Integrating sustainability into capital projects and building energy efficient terminals are just two of the topics on the agenda in the ‘Planning and Design’ section of this issue.

Out with old and in with the new also appears to be a theme for our airport features with both Ottawa and Miami boasting new bosses and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) waving goodbye to theirs.

Also in this edition we launch a new ‘airport marketing exchange’ feature in conjunction with our friends at SimpliFlying; turn the spotlight on North American airports with rail links; and, look at the adoption of new car parking technologies.

In addition we find out more about the US airports wishing to opt out of using TSA screeners for security; route development; airport museums and retail/F&B innovation.

AW Enjoy!

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CONTENTS

In this issue 3 Opinion

Issue 4 Volume 18

10 News 12 Event News 16 ACI News 19 View from the top

ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, reflects on transforming the passenger airport experience.

20 Always growing

In one of her last interviews as aviation director, Susan Baer, talks to Joe Bates about her time at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the growth and future development plans of the Big Apple’s airport system.

26 Listening and learning

New CEO, Mark Laroche, talks to Evra Taylor about the challenges and opportunities ahead for Ottawa International Airport.

28 ¡Bienvenido a Miami!

Dr Emilio González talks to Benet Wilson about his first six months in the hot seat at Miami Dade Aviation Department.

32 Front door to the world

What will the departure halls of tomorrow look like? Leo A Daly’s Timothy Hudson, considers the options.

36 Shopping list

Out of the box thinking is required to respond to changing commercial dynamics and new opportunities created by the evolving design of airport terminals, writes Alex Avery.

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CONTENTS

Director General Angela Gittens Chair Yiannis Paraschis (Athens, Greece) Vice Chair Fredrick J Piccolo (Sarasota, USA) Immediate Past Chair Max Moore-Wilton (Sydney, Australia) Treasurer Louis E Miller (Atlanta, USA) ACI WORLD GOVERNING BOARD

41 Keeping it simple

Designing energy efficient terminals that have a long-lasting impact on the environment, passengers and airport bottom lines requires a smart, yet simple approach, writes Wilson Rayfield.

DIRECTORS Africa (3) Dalil Guendouz (Casablanca, Morocco) Pascal Komla (Lomé, Togo) Robinson Misitala (Livingstone, Zambia) Asia-Pacific (8) Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) VP Agrawal (Delhi, India) Ghanem Al-Hajri (Sharjah, UAE) Dennis Chant (Gold Coast, Australia) Zhiyi Dong (Beijing, China) Seow Hiang Lee (Singapore) Kerrie Mather (Sydney, Australia) Kosaburo Morinaka (Tokyo, Japan) Europe (7) Declan Collier (Dublin, Ireland) Michael Kerkloh (Munich, Germany) Yiannis Paraschis (Athens, Greece) Tonci Peovic (Zagreb, Croatia) Ad Rutten (Amsterdam, Holland) Stefan Schulte (Frankfurt, Germany) José-Manuel Vargas (Madrid, Spain) Latin America & Caribbean (3) Philippe Baril (Quito, Ecuador) Fernando Bosque (Guadalajara, Mexico) Héctor Navarrete Muñoz (Merida, Mexico) North America (7) Thella Bowens (San Diego, USA) David Edwards (Greenville, USA) Frank Miller (San Antonio, USA) Reg K Milley (Edmonton, Canada) Fredrick J Piccolo (Sarasota, USA) Mark Reis (Seattle, USA) Maureen Riley (Salt Lake City, USA) Regional Advisers to the World Governing Board (7) Larry Cox (Memphis, USA) Stephen Gichuki (Nairobi, Kenya) Seow Hiang Lee (Singapore) Bongani Maseko (Johannesburg, South Africa) Barry Rempel (Winnipeg, Canada) Earl Richards (Jamaica) Miguel Southwell (Miami, USA) Observer World Business Partner Board Chairperson Randy Pope (Burns & McDonnell)

44 Big and bold

Steven Thompson finds out more about Heathrow’s new ‘showpiece’ Terminal 2, which opens for business next summer.

48 Order of the day

Leah Blackman discusses the reinvention of the airport dining experience in the US over the last decade.

52 Fast and furious

Joe Bates reports on the fast tracked transformation of São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport in readiness for next year’s football World Cup.

55 Delivering sustainability

Integrating sustainability into capital projects from the outset is the best way to guarantee the long-term future of airports, writes Betsy Huigens.

59 Going places?

ASM’s David Stroud contemplates the dawn of a new, more sophisticated era for route development that increasingly involves the use of social media.

64 A flight at the museum

Steven Thompson investigates the phenomenon of airport museums and what financial rewards – if any – they can bring to a gateway.

68 Airport Marketing Exchange

David McMullen and Shubhodeep Pal discuss marketing innovation in the age of the connected traveller.

70 Obstacle course

With the option on the table, why haven’t more US airports opted out of using the TSA to carry out security screening? Nicole Nelson investigates.

75 Concession news

Airport World reviews some of the latest retail and F&B projects and developments across the globe.

Correct as of August 14, 2013

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RUNNING HEAD CONTENTS

77 Centre stage

Pat Taggert reports on the growing trend of airports opening securityenhancing centralised collection and distribution centres for the delivery of food, retail and other supplies at airport terminals.

78 Driving change

Adopting new car parking strategies to improve customer service and generate revenue should be higher up the agenda of US airports, write Steven Grant and Michele Krakowski.

81 Car parking news Airport World online Visit our website at www.airport-world.com for daily news, views and developments from airports, ACI World Business Partners and industry suppliers across the globe.

Want even more?

Sign up online to receive our bi-weekly newsletter, which will bring the latest articles, videos and news to your inbox.

Joe Bates reviews a handful of car parking initiatives and developments in the US and Europe.

84 On a roll

Ian Putzger discovers that an ever-increasing number of North American airports are warming up to the benefits of rail links.

89 Project watch

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

90 ACI’s World Business Partners Airport World on Facebook Airport World is now on Facebook.

Find us at www.facebook.com/airportworld for the latest industry postings.

93 Environment news 96 The last word

Tax Free World Association (TFWA) president, Erik Juul-Mortensen, talks to Airport World about all things retail.

98 ACI traffic trends

Airport World on Twitter Airport World is now tweeting.

You can follow us @airportworldmag for the latest industry updates.

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AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2013

NEWS

Rule Britannia?

Move over Thames Estuary Airport, now we have London Britannia Airport, which its supporters claim could become one of the world’s largest hubs handling over 200mppa.

Built on a new man-made island in the Thames Estuary, the six-runway gateway would cost in excess of €54 billion and is the TESTRAD Consortium’s response to the Airports Commission’s call for ideas on how the UK can enhance its airport capacity.

Unlike Foster+Partners’ plans for a Thames Estuary Airport on the Isle of Grain, London Britannia would be built further down the river and counts consortium members Gensler, Testrad and Royal HaskoningDHV as backers.

“In many respects, this is the most ambitious of all the airport proposals, the least contentious, the easiest and the most cost effective solution,” says Ian Mulcahey, Gensler’s project director and managing director.

“Our professional team have spent many months identifying the optimum location in the estuary for the new airport. Unlike the historic Maplin Sands site and the Isle of Grain, we have settled on a location that avoids the sensitive land adjacent to the Estuary, and instead will create a new island.”

He notes that passengers would be able to access the new hub airport via high-speed rail.

Summer sales

Six of the best

Abertis has agreed the sale of its airport assets in Europe and the US for a combined fee of close to €850 million.

Its stakes in Belfast International (Northern Ireland) and Stockholm Skavsta (Sweden), along with its Orlando Sanford airport terminal concessions and TBI’s airport management business in the US have been sold to ADC & HAS Airports Worldwide for €284 million.

Elsewhere, Spanish airport operator, Aena, has agreed a €502 million price for London Luton, subject to approval from competition authorities.

As a result of the deal, London Luton will pass from the TBI group – owned 90% by Abertis and 10% by Aena – to a consortium in which Aena holds 51% and AXA Private Equity 49%.

Earlier this year, the Welsh government bought Cardiff Airport for €61 million from Abertis, which still owns or manages airports in Mexico and Jamaica, through Desarrollo de Concesiones Aeroportuarias (DCA).

Kyrgyzstan’s airport operator is seeking investment partners for six airports and is inviting bids to build a food service outlet at Bishkek, the country’s main gateway.

Asybek Arstanov, chief financial officer at the joint stock company, Manas International Airport (JSC MIA) told Airport World that the company is seeking investors to manage all aspects of the Kyrgyzstan gateways.

The six airports in the tender request are Issyk-Kul, Batken, Isfana, Jalal-Abad, Kazarman and Naryn.

At Issyk-Kul airport, JSC MIA estimates a project cost of about $70 million to construct airport facilities, so that the investor could then construct resort and tourism infrastructure.

Upgrades at Batken, Isfana, Jalal-Abad and Kazarman are expected to cost $11.5m, $10m, $6.4 million and $6.5 million respectively.

News in brief Manchester Airport Group (MAG) has reinforced its green credentials by holding on to its A+ rating in corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the Global Reporting Initiative. MAG’s fourth annual CSR report, reveals that it has reduced its carbon emissions by 5,465 tonnes in 2012/13.

Melbourne Airport has unveiled plans for a new 97-room apartment hotel in its fast developing airport precinct. It is anticipated that it will meet the growing demand for extended stay accommodation for people engaged in airport or aviation-related business and training activities. Quest, one of

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Australia’s leading serviced apartment providers, has been secured as the tenant.

(ICAT) has ranked it among the top 30% of US Airports for enplanements and the top 25% for connectivity.

Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur (ACA) has bought Aéroport du Golfe de St Tropez (AGST) from the Reybier group. ACA also operates Nice Côte d’Azur (NCE) and Cannes-Mandelieu (CEQ) airports. Dominique Thillaud, ACA’s CEO, described St Tropez Airport as “a new luxury destination in our cluster”.

Construction of Libya’s New Tripoli International Airport is underway, according to project director, Abdel Majid Saddah. The 20mppa capacity gateway has been on hold for a number of years. ADPi, VINCI, Odebrecht and TAV are among the international companies involved in the project.

Columbia Metropolitan Airport appears to have a friend in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), whose International Center for AirTransportation

Second quarter passenger traffic at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport decreased 2% as compared to the second quarter

AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2013

NEWS Credit: Kelly Barrie, Panic Studio LA.

Above politics

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has said the decision about a new Sydney airport must be “above politics”.

Speaking at CAPA’s Australian Pacific Aviation Summit in Sydney, Albanese, who also serves as Aviation Minister, called for a new Sydney airport, that would allow for more growth in the city and the rest of Australia.

“All the tinkering in the world won’t change the fact that Sydney airport is stretched for capacity. Saying no to a new airport is saying no to jobs and growth,” said Albanese.

He added: “Four out of 10 flights [in Australia] are passing through Sydney – a delay at Sydney spreads like influenza. Australia needs a new airport.”

Picture this

Virtual walkabout in Adelaide

China to fund new Khartoum airport

Stake out

In celebration of its expansion and renovation, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is staging its first-ever public art festival, entitled Influx: Art at LAX. The extravaganza – presented by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) – features 11 original, site-specific art installations located throughout LAX and includes the work of 45 Los Angeles-based artists.

The artwork includes video, large-scale sculptures, mixed media, ink drawings, and murals. “With the opening of the New Tom Bradley International Terminal, LAX is beginning a new era, and the art programme is an important part of this transformation,” says LAWA’s art manager, Sarah Cifarelli.

Khartoum’s eagerly awaited new airport is finally set to be built after China’s Export Import Bank agreed to bankroll its development.

The bank has agreed to loan the Sudanese government $700 million to fund the development of the new gateway, which is set to be built on an 80 square kilometre site about 40km from Khartoum.

According to reports in China, the Sudanese capital’s new airport will be constructed in 40 months by the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and boast a single terminal building and two runways.

Mohamed Abdul-Aziz, director of Sudan Airports Holding Company, enthuses: “Khartoum’s new international airport is a dream that all Sudanese people are looking forward to becoming reality.”

Adelaide Airport has become the first in Australia, and only the second international gateway in the world, to use Google Maps’ indoor ‘Street View’ technology.

The navigation works like Street View, so viewers can explore both the departures and arrivals levels of Adelaide Airport’s main terminal building.

The technology – available through the airport’s Google Business Photos initiative – even lets you ‘walk’ down one of the aerobridges and out alongside the edge of the runway in a 360 degree experience.

“Adelaide Airport’s terminal was chosen because it’s currently the newest and most modern looking of Australia’s airports, so the images look very good,” admits Google photographer, Carlos Zuluaga.

VINCI has paid €364 million for 4.7% stake in fellow global airport operator, Aéroports de Paris (ADP).

Once the transaction is closed, its aviation division – VINCI Airports – will hold an 8% shareholding in ADP, which owns and operates Paris’ airport system and has stakes in a number of other gateways across the world.

VINCI has acquired some of the French government’s shares in ADP, which it put up for sale earlier this year.

“VINCI will propose to ADP, within the context of existing agreements, to enter into discussions to share our respective expertise, particularly in the area of international development,” VINCI said in a statement.

Fast expanding VINCI successfully bid €3 billion for a 95% stake in Portuguese airport operator, ANA, late last year.

For daily news updates, visit www.airport-world.com of 2012. “The Canadian domestic market continues to experience strong capacity discipline on the part of the major national carriers and we have not been immune,” says Barry Rempel, president and CEO of Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA).

Maryland governor, Martin O’Malley, has announced a $125 million three-year plan to further improve Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The multi-phase development plan will involve the construction of a new secure connector between Concourse D and Concourse E; creation of a new security checkpoint to serve domestic and

international travellers; and, the reconfiguration of airline gates to support additional international flights.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport in the UK has celebrated its 80th birthday – with a visit from 86 year old Jim Keight who witnessed the original opening ceremony back in 1933 and a good luck message from Yoko Ono! The former wife of Beetle, John Lennon, said: “As you probably know, this year, I am having my 80th birthday too. In Chinese astrology, 8 is the strongest number. So let’s have a good year to start an amazing journey into the magical and mysterious future! Lots of love, Yoko.”

According to press reports, the Spanish government is hoping to raise up to €6 billion from a partial sale of global airport operator Aena by early 2014.

The privatisation of Aena, which operates 46 airports in Spain alone including Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona El Prat, has been talked about for years, last being shelved in 2011 because of “poor market conditions”.

Fraport executive chairman, Dr Stefan Shulte, says that despite predicting revenue growth of 5% for the full year of 2013, the group may not turn a profit this year due to a combination of a challenging economic environment, the euro crisis and the development of Pier A-Plus.

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EVENTS: ACI WORLD ASSEMBLY

Turkish delight Joe Bates reports on some of the highlights of the recent ACI Europe/ World Annual Congress & Exhibition in Istanbul.

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he election of a new ACI World chairman for 2014, ACI Africa joining the Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme, discussions about evolving business models, and warnings of the challenges ahead, ensured that this year’s annual conference and exhibition was a lively affair.

Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority’s president and CEO, Fredrick Piccolo, was elected the new chairman of ACI World, succeeding Athens International Airport’s CEO, Dr Yiannis Paraschis, who completes his two-year stint in the hot seat at the end of the year.

Additionally, former ACI Europe president Declan Collier, chief executive of London City Airport, was elected vice-chair.

“We welcome two very qualified airport leaders whose industry expertise and knowledge will help further guide and steer ACI to provide its members with the tools, services and strategies to continue achieving operational excellence,” said ACI World’s director general, Angela Gittens.

Commenting on his future role, Piccolo enthused: “I will do my utmost to help ACI further grow its relationships with ICAO, IATA, CANSO, IFALPA and other stakeholder groups to ensure that it continues to be in a position to help airports further strengthen their operations and enhance the standing of airports on the world aviation stage.”

The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Dynamic, airport business transformation’, so it was no surprise that in his opening address, TAV Airports CEO, Sani Sener, reflected on the rapid development of his company and Turkey’s airport system over the past decade.

“Between 1990 and 2000, Turkey was a little bit complacent in terms of coping with the growth of the global economy, and coalition governments made it difficult to cope with the new era of economic globalisation,” he admitted.

“But after 2000, with the single party government, things changed and Turkey was very successful in the privatisation of infrastructure assets.

“TAV was established after the Istanbul [Atatürk] airport tender, and in our first year in 2000, the airport handled 10 million passengers.

Last year we achieved 45 million passengers, and together with our other airports in North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus, we handled 75 million passengers.

“Last year we also sold some of our shares to Aéroports de Paris, which currently handles around 130 million passengers yearly around the world. So, together with ADP, we have established one of the biggest airport platforms in the world.

“Between us, we now operate a total of 37 airports handling 200 million passengers. We will use this extra information and knowledge to develop and grow the company.”

Europe’s challenges ACI Europe director general, Olivier Jankovec, reflected on changing times for the aviation industry during the opening session of this year’s event.

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EVENTS: ACI WORLD ASSEMBLY

He said that Europe’s airports have evolved, and now have a stronger focus on business strategy and costs, enjoy more direct engagement with passengers, provide increased quality and boast diversified revenue streams.

The developments, claimed Jankovec, have helped reinforce the status of airports as fully-fledged and competitive businesses, focused on their customers and supporting the economies of their communities.

However, despite 2012 seeing a significant weakening in the recovery of air traffic that followed the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, Jankovec admitted that being profitable remained a key issue for the continent’s gateways.

“Europe is not just about a two-speed aviation market between EU and non-EU countries. There is also a big divide between the larger hubs and the smaller regional airports,” he said.

“The hubs are showing a lot of resilience due to their reliance on intercontinental traffic. Meanwhile, small regional airports are almost exclusively dependent on intra-European demand and they have been the hardest hit by airlines’ capacity and route cutting. Overall, 48% of Europe’s airports are losing traffic.”

With the pace of growth slowing down in the global economy, record unemployment increasingly being recognised as the new Eurozone crisis, and no tangible prospects for real improvement in the economy this year, demand for air transport in Europe is likely to be stagnant at best, he warned.

Outgoing ACI Europe president, Declan Collier, shocked some of the 825 delegates from 65 countries in the audience with the announcement that an airport capacity crunch in Europe could cost the European economy €230 billion.

He said that despite recessionary pressures and the weak economic prospects affecting most of Europe, there was little appetite to capitalise on the strategic role aviation can play for growth and jobs.

“Short-termism, micro-politics, regulatory burden, red tape, bilateralism and the urge to refill the state coffers are the forces that continue to pay havoc with the European aviation sector.

“Few European countries have a thoroughly thought-through and fully formulated aviation policy. Long-term challenges are being ignored at our peril.”

He noted that the recently completed Challenges of Growth 2013 report from EUROCONTROL shows that despite slower traffic growth prospects in the next 20 years, Europe continues to face a severe airport capacity crunch.

Revenue pressures, capital costs, a lack of political support, poor planning processes and decreasing confidence are all “colluding to constrain airport development” in Europe, said Collier.

He added: “This report is a warning bell for European aviation. It means that more than ever, Europe’s airports need to be given their licence to plan, finance and deliver new facilities – all within reasonable time frames.”

He called for a European Action Plan on airport capacity that would seriously address the airport capacity crunch.

On a brighter note, ACI Africa became the latest region to join the ACI Europe launched Airport Carbon Accreditation programme (please see page 97 for more details).

ACI World Assembly Speaking at the ACI World Assembly, Gittens said: “A major feature of the dynamic airport business transformation is the increased focus on setting targets and measuring performance.

“The business has become competitive and transparent, so we now need to continuously know how we are doing, compared to targets, compared to best practice, compared to others and compared to customer expectation or demand.

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EVENTS: ACI WORLD ASSEMBLY

“Our airport service quality (ASQ) has, of course, been our standout programme in performance measurement and benchmarking. We added an enhanced retail component to the programme last year, and will add performance on accommodating passengers with reduced mobility, and more data analysis.

“All of our standing committees are engaged in developing performance measurements, developing key performance indicators in all of the major disciplines in which we work. The IT committee will have ready this year a benchmarking programme for the security of IT systems at our airports, an increasing concern given the dependence of our business and that of our tenants on the airport’s information technology functions.

“The safety and technical committee is developing key performance indicators for aerodrome safety, which will enable benchmarking, reporting and performance improvement across the sector. The facilitation committee has developed a guideline for airport service levels which we will either have incorporated in the airport design manual or issue as a stand-alone recommended practice.

“The economics committee will refine its previously published guidance for financial and efficiency performance indicators. We all know how difficult it is to compare airports but we also know that we can only manage what we can measure.”

Key resolutions passed at the ACI World Assembly included urging ICAO, states and other stakeholders to work together to support and promote the use of airport collaborative decision making (A-CDM).

Others included calling on airports to support the development of next generation security; a plea for states and other stakeholders

to work collaboratively through ICAO to reach agreement on measures to reduce aviation’s impact on the environment; and, establishing a vision to ensure that passengers’ needs are addressed both when the system operates well and during periods of disruption.

ACI also passed a resolution calling on ICAO and states to ensure that airports are consulted by air navigation service providers and aircraft operators before implementing new performance based management routes, so as to avoid adverse noise impact on those communities.

An eventful second day ended with a Gala Dinner, held in the spectacular Ciragan Palace Kempinski on the banks of the Bosphorus, which included an awards ceremony for this year’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) winners.

Four new airports were inducted into the Director General’s Roll of Excellence – Cancún, Juan Santamaria, Malta and Shanghai Pudong. The honour recognises airports that have ranked among the top five in ASQ for five years.

For the first time, the ACI World gathering was preceded by a pre-conference conference – in this case it was a Safety Symposium where delegates got to learn a little more about ACI’s Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety Programme and other key safety issues.

“Safety is the top priority for our industry,” said Gittens. “It is vital that airports identify and address their safety vulnerabilities.”

Istanbul will be a hard act to follow, but with next year’s ACI World Assembly, Conference & Exhibition being in the dynamic city of Seoul, South Korea – in conjunction with ACI Asia-Pacific – you know we are in for something special!

AW

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ACI WORLD NEWS

World in motion James Roach provides a round up of the latest ACI news from around the globe.

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CI and Aéroports de Montréal (AdM) have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) – in the presence of Montréal International and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – to promote excellence in airport management and operations at airports worldwide through ACI’s Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety Programme.

Officially launched in September 2012, the APEX in Safety Programme helps airports enhance the safety of their airside operations for the benefit of the flying public.

The agreement provides the foundation for specific cooperative initiatives between ACI and AdM under the APEX Programme.

ACI director general, Angela Gittens, stated: “The APEX Programme is strategically important to ACI and our member airports. Since relocating our World Office to Montréal in 2011, ACI has forged a closer partnership with the ICAO to enhance safety worldwide and signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with ICAO, in June 2012.

“We are now taking the next logical step in formalising this cooperative arrangement with AdM so that the APEX Programme and ACI member airports worldwide can benefit from the airport’s expertise.

“AdM has always been very supportive of the APEX Programme and this agreement takes our cooperation to a new level.”

James Cherry, president and CEO of AdM, commented: “I am delighted to formalise this new cooperative relationship with ACI. It is a great opportunity for AdM to share its expertise and leading practices and for AdM staff to further improve their knowledge of global safety practices, foster greater international cooperation and a sense of community.

“With ICAO and ACI developing technical safety standards and recommended practices here in Montréal, it is also a great opportunity for AdM to showcase these best practices in safety and our innovations in airport operations.”

ACI plans to launch similar programmes in the other disciplines of airport management and this MoC includes provisions for ACI and AdM to extend their collaboration to these programmes in the future.

Opportunities for airport safety improvements The APEX Programme is designed to help airports improve their safety performance, share best practices and collectively develop solutions to airport safety challenges.

Since its launch in 2011, the APEX in Safety Programme has successfully performed Safety Reviews at airports of varying sizes in the African, Latin American, European and Asia-Pacific regions.

Important issues encountered by the APEX Safety Review team on reviews to date, can translate into opportunities for airport safety improvements.

An opportunity for improvement suggests that improvements can be made based on any of the three criteria below: • Non-compliance with an ICAO standard • Non-compliance with an ICAO recommended practice • Compliant with ICAO standards and recommended practices, with room for improvement

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AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2013

Issues encountered on APEX safety reviews, 2011-2013 Aerodrome Manual, Safety Management Systems (SMS) and Airport Operations represent the area with the most opportunities for improvement.

This, however, does not imply that it is the area with the highest level of safety risk. Aerodrome Manual, Safety Management Systems (SMS) and Airport Operations may represent a confounding variable, along with another risk area, to increase the probability of an undesirable event.

Physical Characteristics and Pavement Management, Visual Aids and Apron Management represent a significant area in which an operator can improve their operations.

Degradation of pavement is the most common opportunity for improvement. Again, this does not mean that it is the area with the highest level of safety risk. In some cases, the APEX Team has found areas where ‘closing’ is recommended and in others, only minor maintenance is required to address the issue.

While APEX Safety Reviews have captured best practices for managing pavement, it is important to remember that every airport is different, and as a result, solution development for pavement issues may also differ.

In terms of Visual Aids, the lack of or non-ICAO compliant signs, markings and lights at airports are common among all APEX Safety Reviews. We have frequently endeavoured to provide solutions to airports with existing signs and markings that are not related to any manual, specifically ICAO Annex 14, and provide guidance that will allow airports to comply with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices.

In some cases, solutions might entail the complete removal of a particular sign, replacement of inscriptions, relocation or maintenance.

In relation to markings, solutions may include enhancing visibility, erasure of old markings using proper techniques and, in some cases, a full review to ensure that all stakeholders are operating safely within the airport environment.

Apron Management represents a large area of responsibility where significant opportunities can be found to improve safety performance. Throughout our reviews to-date, markings continually rate higher than other components within Apron Management as areas of concern. Improvements taken in conjunction with those on Visual Aids deliver immediate results for the operator.

In the course of its activities, the APEX Team has found that opportunities for continued enhancement of safety performance can be identified at all airports. While the size and scope of each airport may differ, a heightened focus on global communication and local enforcement of industry standards and recommended practices will continue to yield significant improvements in safety across airports in all world regions.

For more information visit: www.aci.aero/apex

ACI WORLD NEWS

ACI events

2013

2014

2013

2013

2014

September 22-25

March 12-14

November 2-5

October 19-23

May 26-28

ACI North America Annual Conference & Exhibition San Jose, USA

ACI Airport Economics & Finance Conference & Exhibition London, UK

ACI Latin America & Caribbean Regional Conference & Exhibition Montevideo, Uruguay

ACI Africa Regional Conference & Exhibition Lomé, Togo

ACI World Annual General Assembly ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Conference Seoul, South Korea

ACI offices ACI World Angela Gittens, Director General PO Box 302 800 Rue du Square Victoria Montréal, Quebec H4Z 1G8 Canada Tel : +1 514 373 1200 Fax : +1 514 373 1201 aci@aci.aero www.aci.aero

ACI Fund for Developing Nations’ Airports Angela Gittens, Managing Director c/o Geneva, Switzerland Tel: + 1 514 373 1200 Fax: +1 514 373 1201 acifund@aci.aero ACI Asia-Pacific Patti Chau, Regional Director Hong Kong SAR, China Tel: +852 2180 9449 Fax: +852 2180 9462 info@aci-asiapac.aero www.aci-asiapac.aero

ACI Africa Ali Tounsi, Regional Secretary Casablanca, Morocco Tel: +212 619 775 101 atounsi@aci-africa.aero www.aci-africa.aero ACI Europe Olivier Jankovec, Director General Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 (2) 552 0978 Fax: +32 (2) 502 5637 danielle.michel@aci-europe.org www.aci-europe.org

ACI Latin America & Caribbean Javier Martinez Botacio, Director General Quito, Ecuador Tel: +593 2294 4900 Fax: +593 2294 4974 jmartinez@aci-lac.aero www.aci-lac.aero ACI North America Deborah McElroy, Interim President Washington DC, USA Tel: +1 202 293 8500 Fax: +1 202 331 1362 postmaster@aci-na.org www.aci-na.org

ACI represents 573 members operating 1,751 airports in 174 countries and territories, which in 2011 handled 5.4 billion passengers, 93.1 million tonnes of cargo and 77 million aircraft movements. ACI is the international association of the world’s airports. It is a non-profit organisation, the prime purpose of which is to advance the interests of airports and promote professional excellence in airport management and operations.

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ACI VIEWPOINT

View from the top ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, reflects on transforming the passenger airport experience.

W

hile most passengers are unfamiliar with the term ‘passenger facilitation’, much of their decision making about which airport to choose is based on this experiential dimension of airport service, planning and design.

While airport operators have long embraced the concept of ‘passengercentric’ airport planning and design, the need for airports to place the facilitation of passenger flow as a central priority has become more urgent as the forces militating against facilitation have gotten stronger.

The growth in traffic, coming more quickly than capacity in some cases, the reduction in baggage allowances and meal service by airlines, the intensified – and sometimes mercurial – security screening regimens, the loss of ground service resilience by air carriers as they have trimmed staffing levels, have all served to erode the quality of the passenger experience.

With the increase in competition among airports as they strive to retain or grow air service for the economic vitality of their communities and their own enterprises, airport leaders are intensifying their efforts to counterbalance the deficits in other areas of the travel experience.

ACI assists in these efforts with the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme that can help an airport operator both to understand what is most important to their passenger population as well as to measure performance in providing the facilities and services.

Airports are deploying social media channels to better communicate with their customers and further improve the passenger experience.

Worldwide, we have seen significant investments of financial resources and creativity to design and re-design facilities, and provide a range of innovative services, activities and on site events that elevate the airport experience to new heights.

We want people to know that airport operators are committed to the passenger experience. In an era where cutbacks and passenger aggravation can run high, renewed efforts to share stories of airports placing the passenger first are worthwhile for airports, their passengers and stakeholders.

These stories reiterate the message that airports since the beginning of aviation have been invested members of the communities they serve, and as such, have and continue to be unwavering in their treatment of airline passengers as valued residents and visitors.

On the theme of airports as invested members of their communities, starting in September, ACI will use our website and media contacts to showcase standout examples of airports placing passengers first under conditions of regular and irregular operations.

I invite all ACI members to share their positive passenger facilitation stories, which we will use to help airports fully earn the credit they rightfully deserve within the larger aviation community, among industry stakeholders and the media for going above and beyond common expectations to facilitate the passenger journey.

I encourage you to share your airport passenger facilitation stories, as an airport employee or airport passenger, including photos and videos with our communications manager, James Roach, at jroach@aci.aero.

I equally encourage you to take a moment to learn more about and explore some of the tremendous offerings, old and new, available at airports worldwide.

Along with your single item of carry-on luggage, I guarantee that you will board with a memorable experience.

AW

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AIRPORT REPORT: NEW YORK

Always growing In one of her last interviews as aviation director, Susan Baer, talks to Joe Bates about her time at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the growth and future development plans of the Big Apple’s airport system.

O

ne thing comes across in abundance in any conversation with Susan Baer – her infectious enthusiasm and determination to get things done.

These attributes, and of course, her almost unparalleled knowledge of New York’s airport system – she is the only person to have run JFK, Newark-Liberty and LaGuardia – made her the natural successor to William (Bill) DeCota as aviation director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) back in 2009.

And she certainly hasn’t disappointed in terms of getting things done, as under her stewardship, all three airports have undergone or are in the midst of significant infrastructure development projects.

Indeed, Baer once famously said that if there wasn’t something going on at her airports in terms of building new facilities or revamping existing ones, she wouldn’t be doing her job properly!

She explains: “People say to me that our airports are always under construction and ask when all this work is going to be done. I tell them that I hope never, because that means we’ve stopped and we’re not really meeting the needs of the future.

“Airports are huge enterprises and consist of many facilities across vast sites. You’ve always got to be doing something, even if it’s just general maintenance and repair. Runways need redoing, from time to time taxiways have to be fixed and infrastructure needs to be replaced.”

Baer believes projects such as the JetBlue Terminal (T5) at JFK and the Global Gateway facility at Newark have helped breathe new life into airports.

“I like doing big projects. For example, at Newark I oversaw the $3.8 billion Global Gateway project from start to finish,” she says.

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“We invested $2.8 billion in the project and built it fast to meet Continental’s very aggressive timeline. The airline itself contributed around $1 billion. When I look back, this is arguably the project I am most proud of leading.”

She says that JFK has just been through a whole series of improvements over the last decade redoing all the roads, opening Terminal 1 in 2003, Terminal 5 in 2007, Terminal 8 in 2008 and, most recently, Delta’s new $1.2 billion concourse in Terminal 4.

The 346,000-square-foot expansion of Concourse B, means that T4 now covers more than two million sq ft, allowing Delta to move out of 50-year old facilities in Terminal 3.

The construction of a new regional jet concourse will follow in the second phase of the Delta development.

Also planned for JFK is an extension to Terminal 5 (T5i) to allow JetBlue to handle international flights, while PANYNJ is investing $450 million on airfield enhancements that include widening a third runway to make it A380 compatible.

However, by far and the away the biggest project on the horizon for PANYNJ for the next five years is a new Central Terminal Building for LaGuardia.

LaGuardia facelift Baer says that while the existing central terminal was modernised in the 1990s, the airport’s main concourses are all from the 1960s era and are desperately in need of an upgrade.

“Quite frankly, the concourses are terrible as they were built for the 1964 World’s Fair and have long outlived their usefulness,” she says candidly.

AIRPORT REPORT: NEW YORK Proposals currently on the table call for a two-part development programme – one financed by PANYNJ and the other by a third-party private investor.

PANYNJ is concentrating on $1.2 billion worth of infrastructure improvements such as parking garages, electrical sub-stations and roadways, while a private partner is being sought to build and operate a new $2.4 billion Central Terminal Building (CTB).

Four international consortiums out of an initial 24 teams to express an interest in building the new CTB are still in the running today.

They are Aerostar New York Holdings; (which counts Highstar Capital IV and Cancún Airport as equity members); LaGuardia Gateway Partners (Vantage Airport Group, Skanska Infrastructure Development and MI LaGuardia CTB are equity members); LG Alliance (Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets Inc and Lend Lease Investments are main investors); and LGA Central Terminal Consortium (which counts a TAV Havalimanlari/Aéroports de Paris (ADP) joint venture; GS Global Infrastructure Partners II and GS International Infrastructure Partners II as equity members).

The new CTB would replace the existing facility that opened to the public in 1964 and was designed to handle 8mppa year, although it accommodated close to 11.5 million in 2011.

Indeed, with LGA’s passenger traffic predicted to reach 34 million passengers by 2030, with 17.5 million passengers using the CTB, Baer and PANYNJ know that the new CTB cannot come soon enough.

The project will include the demolition of the existing CTB and associated infrastructure and the construction of a new 1.3 million square foot, 35 gate terminal building.

If all goes to plan, PANYNJ hopes that the CTB contract can be signed either later this year or in Q1 2014, allowing for a groundbreaking ceremony to take place next year and a potential first phase opening as early as 2017 ahead of completion in 2019.

“We are no strangers to working with private partners when it comes to building and developing terminals, you only have to look at JFK to see that,” smiles Baer.

Elsewhere, a new 1.5 million square-feet Terminal A is planned for Newark Liberty, with about 30% of the project design completed, although current financial constraints mean that PANYNJ has yet to agree a timescale for its development.

Airfield capacity Rising demand – forecasts predict that traffic across New York’s airports will rise by an average of 2.2% per annum for at least the next five years – ensures that Baer’s successor will be tasked with the role of continuing to squeeze as much capacity as they can out of the city’s airport system.

Indeed, Baer says that increasing the capacity of New York’s airports by replacing old and outdated facilities with new or upgraded ones that enhance customer satisfaction levels and operational efficiency, was her main challenge.

She does, however, take heart from a report issued by Regional Planning Association (RPA), which claims that New York’s airports will be one of the biggest winners from the full introduction of NextGen technology.

The report states that the US’s new air traffic management system will boost the capacity of New York’s airports, effectively enabling them to handle demand until at least 2030.

New York currently has the most congested skies in the world with an incredible 4,100 aircraft movements within a 15-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty on any given day.

The RPA report also suggested that the PANYNJ should start to consider ways of enhancing airfield capacity at its airports by either adding new runways or improving its existing ones.

As a result of the findings, the PANYNJ is pressing for the early roll-out of NextGen in New York and has begun working closely with the FAA on a study of its own to consider what potential different new runway options are open to it in the future.

She notes that “literally hundreds of different options” have been looked at in the first phase of the study, which is set for completion later this year.

“None of the them are cheap and none of them are easy,” warned Baer, who was quick to point out that the anticipated high development costs at LaGuardia effectively ruled out any runway enhancements there.

Phase two of the study next year will look at what new capacity enhancing new terminals, support facilities and ground access improvements might be needed at all three airports.

When both studies are complete, Baer hopes that PANYNJ will be able to gather enough political support to go to the FAA and get

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AIRPORT REPORT: NEW YORK

an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on additional runway capacity, a process that could take a minimum of six or seven years to complete.

“The important message here is that we are not just going to wait until we run out of capacity, and start to actually turn away customers and airlines before we do anything,” she says.

“We are on the case now and working very diligently to ensure that we are in a position to add capacity some time in the early 2020s.”

With some of the possible runway options available including building over water or extending out into local communities, Baer is only too aware that enhancing airfield capacity at JFK and Newark won’t be universally popular with the neighbours.

However, like her counterpart Colin Matthews at London Heathrow Airport, who desperately wants a third runway, Baer says the economic impact of aviation – it accounts for 5% of GDP in the US – means that some tough choices have to be made.

Traffic highlights A total of 109 million passengers passed through New York’s big three gateways in 2012 – a rise of 3.3% despite closures and disruption caused by Superstorm Sandy.

JFK handled an all-time high of 49.3 million passengers (+3.5%) while Newark and LaGuardia welcomed 34 million (+0.9%) and 25.7 million (+6.6%) respectively.

The traffic levels fall just short of the pre-recession record of 110 million set in 2007.

“It already has a temporary US Customs facility and we are building a new Federal Inspection Services (FIS) facility to ensure that it is fully equipped for regular international traffic.”

The Baer facts Stewart Airport Baer also believes that New York’s ‘other’ commercial airport, Stewart, will also play a bigger part in the future, but as a regional airport in its own right and as a reliever gateway for JFK, LaGuardia and Newark.

Her conviction is based on the belief that Stewart has a potential catchment area of 10 million people living within an hour’s drive of its facilities.

“Stewart can be a good regional airport that can meet the demand of those 10 million people, and that is our goal, but to think that it could serve the major New York, Manhattan, focused market is not realistic.”

Three airlines currently serve Stewart, and Baer says that its local communities have been very supportive of PANYNJ’s attempts to develop its route network and improve its facilities.

“We believe that it also has the potential to handle charter services and some international low-cost carriers,” says Baer.

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Born and raised not so far away from New York in north-eastern Pennsylvania, Baer joined the PANYNJ as a management analyst in 1988 and admits that rising to the top job was something that never entered her head 25 years ago.

She is, in fact, the only woman to have held the lofty position in the 92-year history of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

And this, together with the fact that she is the only person to have managed all three major New York airports – LaGuardia (1994-98), Newark Liberty (1998-2007) and JFK (2007-2008) – makes her unique.

Surely this is something to be proud of? She agrees, but claims to be more thrilled by being the only person to have managed all three airports than the honour of being the first woman to be appointed PANYNJ’s aviation director.

“I was the first woman to do almost every job I’ve done, so I don’t really look at things that way,” laughs Baer. “Running all three airports, though, I am proud of that one.

AIRPORT REPORT: NEW YORK

“Why did I do it? Well, I suppose I like running airports, and was probably the only one crazy enough to do it!”

And, having risen to the top via a variety of roles that have included serving as PANYNJ’s chief operating officer and the deputy aviation director, she has no hesitation in revealing that she has loved every minute of her time in the hot seat.

“I suppose I came at things from a different perspective than Bill due to our different backgrounds,” says Baer. “Whereas Bill was more financial, my strengths lay in operational experience and knowledge of negotiating with the airlines I gained during my time managing our big airports.

“He was a hard act to follow, don’t get me wrong, but I wanted to do things my way and use my skill-set to do achieve our goals. The fact that I knew, and understood how our airports worked and operated, ensured that I could pretty quickly navigate through what needed to be done at each airport.”

In terms of what still needs to be done, Baer says that PANYNJ has been working hard on providing a “consistency” of service and facilities across New York’s airport system.

“We employ best practices across the board. So, within reason and bearing in mind that our airports are all different sizes and serve different airlines and customer groups, passengers should find the same things and service standards at all our airports.”

People and history After spending her entire adult life in New York – Baer went to college in the Big Apple before joining PANYNJ – she proudly considers herself to be a New Yorker.

Indeed, she has lived and breathed everything New York for so long now it should come as no surprise to learn that she ranks “developing people” as one of the things she is most proud of achieving during her time at PANYNJ. “With the exception of bricks and mortar, probably the achievements I am most proud of involve people. Notably, staff development and what we have been able to achieve with them,” says Baer. “I was lucky enough to have a led an incredibly dedicated team of professionals.”

She also hopes that one of the legacies she will leave behind is an increase in the number of women in high management positions at PANYNJ, something that wasn’t the case when she joined back in the 1980s.

Baer also notes that in spite of all the development going on at JFK, Newark and LaGuardia, she has also done her bit to ensure the preservation of old, historic parts of the airports.

She cites the continued use today of LaGuadia’s old Marine Air Terminal (the art-deco designed facility that used to handle PanAm Yankee Clipper flying boats); the renovation and restoration of Newark’s first passenger terminal and ATC tower; and the renovation of the Saarinen designed TWA Flight Center at JFK as examples of “preserving a piece of aviation history”.

In fact, PANYNJ is currently talking to an investor that wants to build a new hotel behind the former TWA terminal and use its old historic central portion as a lobby and area for bars and restaurants.

“It’s really quite exciting,” says Baer, who insists that improving the passenger experience and raising customer service levels is a key strategy for PANYNJ. Rising score levels in its annual customer satisfaction surveys – now in its 14th year – and direct feedback from passengers certainly appear to show that visitors are happier with the service they receive now than ever before.

“We really do listen to our passengers and do our best to improve things whenever we can,” enthuses Baer.

“Early on in the survey, for example, passengers told us that they cared about restroom cleanliness, so we assigned attendants to make sure that they are. We were also told that our wayfinding wasn’t good enough, to we hired the company that did the signs at Amsterdam Schiphol to put things right. Now we score really well on both.”

It is also compulsory for all staff with an airport ID, and not just PANYNJ employees, to undergo customer service training as part of an ongoing customer service initiative.

PANYNJ also holds annual awards for its best terminals and rates federal staff such as Customs and Border Protection workers and TSA security staff.

The final word So, now that she’s going, can she admit which one of New York’s airports is her personal favourite?

“Oh, that’s such a difficult question, it’s like asking me to choose my favourite child,” laughs Baer.

“Sure, there are days when one needs me more than another or one shines out from the rest, but I love them all and wouldn’t have it any other way.”

AW I cannot help but think that she is going to miss her old job.

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AIRPORT REPORT: OTTAWA

Listening and learning New CEO, Mark Laroche, talks to Evra Taylor about the challenges and opportunities ahead for Ottawa International Airport.

W

hen most people think of Ottawa, they conjure up images of throngs of happy tourists gazing at row after row of tulips dancing in the wind at the Canadian Tulip Festival and the glide and flow of skaters swishing up and down the Rideau Canal.

But Canada’s Capital Region, long ago granted the grey-tone moniker ‘government town’, is much more than all that.

It is home to Ottawa International Airport, which singles itself out as a major employer and service provider, a hub of domestic and international activity that distinguishes itself in its progressiveness and responsiveness to the expressed needs of its consumers.

In this age of rapid-fire, real-time news and the global sharing of information – which, some say, have in themselves become the goal, rather than the means to an end – many people are asking the question, “Is anybody out there really listening?”

And, just as importantly, “Does customer service still exist?” When it comes to Ottawa International Airport – or to give the gateway its official but seldom used name Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport – the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’

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In March of this year, Mark Laroche took over as CEO from long-serving Paul Benoit, whom Laroche describes as “A high-performance CEO with a high-performance team”.

With big shoes to fill and a long legacy of success at the helm, was Laroche intimidated by the prospect? Not at all, he explains, as he puts a justifiably positive spin on it.

“I’m glad to walk into a situation with a long-term CEO and a mature organisation. Our challenge will be to drive efficiency in an environment in which our revenues are shrinking, partly as the result of greater diminishing passenger growth than what was anticipated in their long-term planning.”

In parallel with the economic situation of North America in general, Ottawa International Airport (YOW) hasn’t grown this year – something that has not occurred often. Laroche explains: “The federal government is Ottawa’s major employer and it’s spending less on travel and other initiatives.”

Less passenger travel overall, increased competition and a reduction in the number of flights, combine to paint a not-so-rosy picture, resulting in two to four percent negative growth for the first six months of 2013.

AIRPORT REPORT: OTTAWA All that being said, however, Laroche views this with a “throwing down the gauntlet” attitude, seeing the negativity as an incentive to create a uniquely high-tech yet comfortable airport environment.

“We’re planning for the installation and deployment of a new, state-of-theart baggage handling system and an updated public address system. We’re also lining up the next phases of airport expansion,” enthuses Laroche.

What all of these measures share in common is their focus on optimising the travel experience, from arrival at the airport through to departure.

“Our automated announcements will now be fully bilingual with previously absent uniformity in terms of quality,” he adds.

Now in the early planning phases of a C$500 million expansion project, part of the airport’s capital development plan is to enlarge and upgrade the facilities, including the addition of seven new gates.

In the most recent expansion of the airport terminal in December 2008, 12 new gates were added, bringing the total to 27.

Ottawa’s airfield has also undergone pioneering reconstruction and enhancement, its newly grooved and improved Runway 07/25 re-opening on August 15.

Laroche is writing a new story, a new narrative. The end-user – the airport consumer – has always had his attention. Maybe it’s that this is a relatively small facility in a city characterised by its “small-feel” government timbre; maybe it’s the history he was fortunate to inherit from his predecessor.

But, it seems most likely that it’s in Laroche’s business nature and sensibilities to react and act concerning needed initiatives, which travellers have vocalised, as well as those he and his staff have dreamt up on their own.

Like the introduction last year of a Starbucks kiosk and an iPad boutique, both in response to an ongoing programme of customer surveys to determine consumers’ needs and wish lists. In fact, if you’re a fan of java, the airport boasts Second Cup and Tim Horton’s franchises, as well.

In addition, a team working under YOW’s vice president for marketing looks at what’s trending in other airports and follows suit where applicable.

“Within reason, we do what customers ask for,” notes Laroche. “We’re never going to be the size of Toronto Pearson as we only handle 4.5 to 5 million passengers per annum, but our retailers have to turn a profit. We have a good balance of business.”

To get consistently high ASQ scores you have to have the entire airport community working hard to achieve the result, and making customer service a priority has to be within the DNA of the airport It is in fact the first major airport in Canada to introduce grooving, which enhances airfield safety by increasing friction for aircraft landing in Ottawa during all types of weather conditions. The initiative – which has been warmly welcomed by pilots – follows a major revamp of Runway 07/25 in 2012, which included the installation of new ILS technology, runway lighting, recontouring and the addition of new Runway End Safety Areas (RESA) that conform to ICAO and FAA standards.

Runway 14/32 will be upgraded next summer. The airport is also renewing its aircraft de-icing pad and introducing a number of other measures for increased safety features on its runways that exceed the Canadian industry standards.

In terms of route development, in the past five years YOW has added numerous new services as a reaction to improving market conditions and demand. They include the addition of a non-stop flight to Frankfurt.

Laroche views route development as a long-term prospect. In addition to maintaining a constant dialogue with the airlines, YOW’s route development staff collaborate with Ottawa Tourism and various Chambers of Commerce to explore possible new destinations. Indeed, studies are currently being done on a possible Ottawa-Asia route.

In 2012, the airport reported impressive rankings in ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer satisfaction programme.

“To get consistently high ASQ scores you have to have the entire airport community working hard to achieve the result, and making customer service a priority has to be within the DNA of the airport.

“We know that it will be a challenge to maintain our high ranking every year,” comments Laroche. “As new airports come on line and as our rankings shift as a result, my focus will remain on improving the customer experience at our airport. We participate in the ASQ because there is value in having something measured.”

A wine bar and a series of lounges are attractive offerings in the works, reflecting the artier high-end taste of a baby boomer demographic that doesn’t mind shelling out for a bit of atmosphere while moving from here to there.

“Do it with style!” seems to be their retail cry, and Laroche appears more than happy to oblige.

But it’s not just a matter of tricking out the airport. These folks aren’t just in it for themselves. They take the concept of community action to heart, and wear their hearts on their sleeve when it comes to proving their sincerity.

The Plane Pull Challenge and Project Clear Skies are examples of the many charities the Ottawa International Airport supports and, most importantly, Laroche pointed out that even with recent low passenger numbers they have not reduced their financial contribution to the community.

“We’re there in the good time and the bad. We walk the talk,” he says.

From an environmental point of view, the airport has undertaken measures to “green up” its ten-year-old terminal, through reduced lighting, reduced heat during off-periods, and continual energy monitoring.

Laroche reports signs of progress as being the first airport in North America to undertake an innovative glycol management programme that turns glycol into vinegar, proving that glycol can be managed in situ with no impact on waterways.

In fact, this environmental breakthrough has been recognised by ACI-NA in Washington.

Ottawa International Airport has a well-rounded and holistic view of airport management and development that combines the needs and wants of both regulators and travellers.

The result? An impressive ability to make the statement that even in leaner economic times, positivity reigns supreme and those who wish to take flight to and from the nation’s capital can look forward to, well, just about anything.

AW

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AIRPORT REPORT: MIAMI

¡Bienvenido a Miami!

Dr Emilio González talks to Benet Wilson about his first six months in the hot seat at Miami Dade Aviation Department.

I

n terms of aviation, Dr Emilio González is very much the new kid on the block having only been appointed director of Miami-Dade Aviation Department in April this year, a role that ensures he is responsible for the success of Miami International Airport (MIA) and four general aviation airports.

As part of his new job, he is overseeing the completion of one of the largest airport expansion projects in the United States, a $6.5-billion capital improvement programme that has added new terminals, roadways and other infrastructure to MIA and the county’s general aviation airports.

It is a tough first assignment in the airport environment, but it is one that won’t phase the former US Army colonel after a career spent in foreign affairs and international security that has included stints as director of the US Citizenship and Immigration

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Services and director for western hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council.

Indeed, such high profile appointments led to a US magazine once naming González as ‘One of the most influential Latinos in the country’, and he has no intention of disappearing from the limelight at one of the nation’s busiest international airports.

In fact, he notes that enhancing MIA’s capacity through the successful completion of the ongoing expansion programme is vital as the airport now handles close to 40 million passengers and two million tons of cargo annually.

For the record, an all-time high of 39.5 million passengers (+3%) and 2.1 million tons (+4.6%) of cargo passed through MIA in 2012 – the passenger total being an incredible 1.1 million up on 2011.

AIRPORT REPORT: RUNNINGMIAMI HEAD

A people place Dallas-based Corgan Associates is the international architectural and design firm originally hired by American Airlines in 1993 to oversee Miami’s capital improvement programme.

The project was overseen by chairman David Lind, who remains active in the firm’s aviation practice today.

One of the biggest requirements of the project, which has since been taken over by MDAD, was handling the sheer volume of passengers in a hub operation, recalls Lind.

“Looking at the forecasts of the time, we saw eight peaks of high passenger volume a day,” he said. “To accommodate that, we had to drive the size of the buildings and the construction to accommodate that so service levels could be maintained.”

Another challenge was when Hurricane Andrew hit Miami in 1992, which was devastating for the project, said Lind.

“As a result, all the building codes in South Florida were initially in flux. The city was changing building codes at the same time we were designing the terminal, so it was a moving target for awhile,” he said.

“There was a big emphasis on wind tunnel testing to show that structures could stand during a hurricane.”

Once that was done, the team focused on implementing construction projects done in segments in order to maintain the gates required to facilitate flight schedules, said Lind.

“Teams had to interface between new buildings and existing spaces, so we had to analyse passenger flows and security to keep operations going smoothly.”

The airline industry is very dynamic and American Airlines was evolving and trying to grow Miami even as it was being built, said Lind.

“We would get changes to their flight schedule every year, so we had to adjust so they could maintain their market share, which was a complex process to continuously go through,” he said. “Our phasing team spent 10 years working on nothing but this at the micro and macro level.”

In the end, Lind said he hopes passengers see the airport as a people place. “That’s the way I describe it. There’s an energy in the building driven by the culture of Miami. The vibrancy of the terminal is unique.” he said.

“It has a sense of place that’s fortified by the new concessions programme and the use of public art. I think it’s all driven by the culture of people who use it.”

Infrastructure development

The only remaining work is the opening of Gates D-26, D-27 and D-28, scheduled to open by September 2013, and the baggage handling system’s international-to-domestic transfer, scheduled for completion by early 2014.

In addition to raising capacity, González says the expansion project is all about enhancing efficiency and safety, reducing delays, maximising non-aeronautical revenues and modernising MIA. It includes an expanded terminal and airfield with four runways and several new taxiways, more parking, a central collection plaza and additional lanes at upper/lower terminal drives.

As a result, MIA’s terminal has expanded from 3.5 million to 7.4 million square feet and the airport now has 101 international and 27 domestic gates, 555 check-in desks and 120 self-service kiosks.

Its South Terminal, with 28 gates and an adjoining cruise ship bus depot, began operations in 2007.

It covers a total area of 1.7-million-square-feet and features a 15-gate Concourse J and a renovated 13-gate Concourse H, which serves 20 domestic and international carriers.

The $3 billion upgrade of the North Terminal, home to hub carrier American Airlines and its oneworld partners, is nearly complete.

The new-look facility now boasts a 900ft long main ticket counter, 47 international gates, 1.4 miles of moving walkways, new three-level international arrivals facility with a 72-lane federal inspection area that can handle up to 2,000 passengers an hour.

It also has a new second-level baggage claim area and a new international greeter’s lobby.

Parsons acted as the managing general contractor for the North Terminal project, and claims that its success is a testament to the power of excellent construction planning, collaboration and creativity.

“MDAD and the Parsons-Odebrecht Joint Venture worked hand in glove with a common purpose, building modern efficient gates for this key US–Latin America hub,” says Ginger Evans, senior vice president and aviation director of Parsons.

“Both the airline and passengers were viewed as clients, and the ‘client service’ goal came through in every aspect of the project.”

Appeal of Miami González claims that it was the complexity of the job that attracted him to Miami International Airport.

“I knew it would be an interesting and intriguing place to jump in as there are so many moving parts at this airport,” admits González.

He said that his skill-set – managing large and complex operations with moving parts that may not go together but are still part of the whole – made him ideal for the Miami job.

“The opportunity to be the head of an operation this large and complex was just too good to pass up. There are very few jobs like this,” says González, who reveals that he sees “surprises” every day.

“We have 115,000 passengers a day coming through MIA and another 35,000 that work here every day,” he says. “When you add this up, it’s a city that has a lot of the same problems that you have running an actual city, including maintenance, infrastructure and construction issues.”

MIA has been working on its capital improvement programme, which has had its challenges, since 2000.

“You walk through here and see the incredible work that’s been done. We now have a world-class airport,” says González.

“I travel a lot, and I now have a discerning eye when I see other airports, and Miami has nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about.”

Concessions Next on the agenda are plans to redevelop the Central Terminal to make it similar in design and layout to the new North and South terminals.

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“Some of the highlights include a diversity of concessions, a robust arts programme and a nice aesthetic,” enthuses González.

The transformation of the retail and F&B facilities formed a major part of the upgrade of in the North and South terminals, notes González.

“The upgrade was needed because we wanted to give passengers the largest variety of eating and shopping,” he says. “Passengers love it. They now see that Miami is a world-class airport that offers world class brands that are immediately recognisable.”

The airport currently has 206 retail and F&B concessions – approximately 30% of which are located pre-security and the remainder post security.

González says that between July 2012 and March 2013, the airport added 9,806 square feet of concessions to meet passenger demand.

Concession brands include Bacardi Mojito/Lorena Garcia Cocina, Bijoux Terner, the Miami Heat Store, men’s retailer Thomas Pink, and Techshowcase.

Traffic González enthusiastically describes MIA as a big airport, major gateway to South America and the Caribbean, and an important hub for American Airlines.

“All these factors have contributed to growth,” he smiles. “In fact, our numbers are off the charts. When other airports were contracting, we were growing, and we continue to grow on the back of an expanding route network.

“This bodes well for Miami, although if I was being picky, I’d personally like to see more Asian carriers here. I’d also like to see

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more European and Middle Eastern carriers use us as their gateway to the Western Hemisphere.”

Last year was one of the most successful ever for MIA in terms of route development with American Airlines alone launching six new services – Asunción (Paraguay); Barcelona, (Spain); Manaus and Recife (Brazil); Roatan (Honduras); and Seattle (USA) – and five new carriers entering the market in LAN Colombia (Bogota), Interjet (Mexico City), Dutch Antilles Express (Curaçao), Aeroflot (Moscow) and GOL (São Paulo).

New non-stop routes added so far this year include San Diego, Guadeloupe and Martinique operated by American Airlines, and Paris CDG courtesy of low-cost carrier XL Airways France.

What next?

After nine years of construction, González feels that it is time for Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) to focus more on developing a new business plan and commercial strategies for the gateway.

“We want to take a step back and look at what we’re doing as a business and to grow that business,” admits González. “MIA is a vital economic generator for the city and region, but there is so much more we can do in terms of its business potential.”

He notes that MIA “has a lot of real estate that needs to be leveraged” as an example of the possible new business opportunities that lay ahead.

“We’re in the process of working with the county to define possible future projects,” he said. “There’s lot of action here and I aim to be busy. Our plate is full for the foreseeable future.”

AW

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Front door to the world What will the departure halls of tomorrow look like? Leo A Daly’s Timothy Hudson, considers the options.

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he departure hall as we know it today serves as the front door to the airport terminal – the journey’s starting point and the passenger’s initial experience with that journey.

But the way today’s ticket lobby functions and looks – from the check-in process to passenger flow – will soon give way to passengers managing the travel process themselves via mobile and self-service technologies.

And the airlines and airports that provide and support these technologies will achieve more efficient operations, reduced operating costs and the levels of service customers demand.

With approximately 65-75% of today’s travellers using smartphones, tablets, or computer technologies to check-in, change seats or confirm flight status, airports and airlines are increasingly expected to deploy these technologies and processes more rapidly.

Passengers want efficient, fast processes with no wait times or lines, and – wherever possible – less interaction with people.

While airlines and airports may not yet be in sync with the advancements in technology that passengers use every day, when they do achieve synchronisation, it will serve as a catalyst for the functional design changes that define the departure hall of the future.

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The change in passenger behaviour and integration of new technologies will greatly change the passenger experience, leading to a paradigm shift in how a terminal is used. But what will this shift look like?

Checking-in – where it all starts SITA’s 2012 Passenger Self-Service Survey identifies self-service kiosks and online check-in as methods used by almost two-thirds of travellers.

This data reinforces what airlines already know – that passenger check-in needn’t occur in the departure hall.

With their check-in process taking place before they enter the terminal, passengers will also look for equally fast and convenient ways to get a boarding pass and check their baggage.

The best response to this need is to place check-in locations along natural passenger routes to the terminal – within hotels, rental car facilities, APM/train stations, surface parking lots, parking garages and kerbside at the terminal.

With boarding passes in hand before entering the departure hall, passengers can proceed directly to security and onto their gate.

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

The next challenge is to check bags as quickly as possible. Two opportunities to achieve this exist, and both affect the design and use of the departure hall.

One is to locate a bag drop in the parking garage or at kerbside next to check-in kiosks. While these locations can be directly tied to the checked baggage inspection system, airlines and security agencies – such as the TSA in the US – often prefer that someone with accountability matches ID with bag tags in order to track passengers should the need arise.

To allay this concern, a second opportunity exists – self-tagging of bags inside the departure hall. A few US airports have implemented self-tagging of bags using a two-step process.

A passenger tags the bag and takes it to a drop location where airline agents reconcile the passenger’s identification with the checked bag before placing it on the conveyor.

To eliminate departure hall baggage checks altogether, airports will ideally require self-tagging of checked bags off-airport.

When that happens, a passenger can once again proceed directly to the security checkpoint and then to the gate with printed boarding pass already in hand – no ticket lobby stop necessary.

In existing airports, vast areas of the departure hall are occupied by rigidly arranged, linear ticket counters, bag wells and amusement park-style, serpentine queues.

Replacing them with efficient clusters of self-service ticketing kiosks and self-bag-tagging islands will smooth passenger traffic flow.

The space freed up by elimination of counters and queues can then be used for potential landside concessions or other revenue opportunities such as office suites, conference centres or even grocery stores.

The impact to a new terminal design is significant. No longer will it be necessary to make a grandiose statement with high ceilings, deep lobbies or miles of counter positions.

Instead, the space might resemble the shopping mall game rooms of old – small efficient spaces where gamers entered, went to the first available machine, and proceeded to play.

And staff members monitoring the floor are readily available to assist where necessary.

The front door So while voluminous departure halls may make travel feel glamorous, today’s tech-savvy, time-pressed travellers will likely be happier with a more minimal, efficient approach.

Today’s departure hall may evolve into a kerbside plaza where passengers say their goodbyes or ask last-minute questions of welcoming greeters before entering the terminal.

The plaza may have enclosed check-in stations and bag drops, open seating and tables, performance stages, pet areas, concessions and even food trucks.

Airport management teams know that involving surrounding communities in their activities and business is a wise move, and a plaza provides an ideal opportunity to do just that.

For example, a summer concert series will draw community members to the airport while encouraging passengers to arrive early and eat while taking in a performance.

So a plaza is not only welcoming and efficient, it might also provide revenue from concessions and parking.

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For such a plaza to work effectively, vehicles typically arriving kerbside would instead be channelled into surface parking areas or garages immediately in front of the terminal.

Creating a plaza between the terminal and parking facility also provides additional security by preventing suspect vehicles that might cause harm from parking close to the terminal.

Entrances to the departure hall might incorporate features representative of the local area or bright, colourful elements that act as beacons.

Such entrance elements become an integral component of the festive atmosphere created by the plaza while serving a utilitarian need.

Checking out – passenger screening As the last step in the process before a passenger reaches the gate, the security checkpoint should not spoil the passenger’s so-far stressfree experience.

After all, the traveller has checked in at home, dropped off a checked bag in the parking garage and eaten a pleasant lunch while taking in some live music in the plaza.

At this point, the use of risk-based screening and walk-through security portals can maintain the relaxed atmosphere.

Checkpoints that use intelligence-driven, risk-based screening measures enhance security and reduce wait times and intrusive searches.

The process is two-fold: improved pre-screening activities before passengers arrive at the airport and advanced screening technology at the airport’s security checkpoints.

With risk-based screening, passengers are pre-screened based on personal background checks performed by the government.

The resulting information determines a passenger’s status as a known, normal or enhanced security traveller. When passengers approach the checkpoint, their status is visible to screeners who then direct them to the appropriate screening lane.

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In the screening lane, clothing and shoes stay on, liquids remain in bags and laptops remain in brief cases. As passengers walk through the portal, they are screened with X-ray technology and air sampling.

During this brief 10-second process, passengers are screened for contraband and any suspect items.

When contraband is identified, an alarm sounds, and the portal automatically closes until airport screeners give the go-ahead.

This kind of security process not only eliminates the congestion that accompanies AITs, X-rays, undressing and redressing, and repacking personal items, it also reduces time spent in line and the resulting stress.

The portals simply become the gateway to the concourse.

In summary The airport paradigm is changing before our eyes. With the primary check-in process moving out of the departure hall, the grandiose departure hall will become a thing of the past housing minimal counters, but containing more self-service islands and kiosks.

Security checkpoints will become a stress free walk through the park. The creation of pre-security concessions and businesses, along with exterior plazas, will make the airport more than a destination for passengers – and become a draw for the community and potential revenue generator for the airport.

Perhaps the concept of ‘aerotropolis’ is not too far away.

About the author Timothy L Hudson, is an architect and aviation market sector leader for Leo A Daly.

AW

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Shopping list Out of the box thinking is required to respond to changing commercial dynamics and new opportunities created by the evolving design of airport terminals, writes Alex Avery.

A

s the dynamics of the retail world change and engagement between consumer, brand, and product evolve, what are the implications for the future planning of airport commercial space and airport terminal design?

The retail component within the airside departures lounge has, in too many instances, become a predictable mix of brands and facilities similar in offer to other airports when the opposite was the original intention.

The original idea and purpose was to use the retail as a differentiator to attract airlines and passengers as much as a revenue generator to fill the coffers; so, what do airports need to do to bring back the difference?

The tried and tested airport retail format is still, in many instances, a long way from where it should be given the quality and quantity of passenger exposure. We seem to have hit a glass ceiling in terms of penetration and spend which means airports need to ramp up their offer.

Doing this requires innovation in the creation of the place and how it is laid out and inspiration in terms of how it is mixed, the brands it contains and the proposition and experience it offers.

The terminal is never going to be able to compete with the mall or the high street as a comprehensive place to shop but what it can do really well is offer a snapshot of luxury, or lifestyle, or value, or a place depending upon its location and passenger profiles.

But it needs to do this in a new, creative and intelligent way without compromise.

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Flagships for brands and customer experience Global brands are increasingly recognising the importance of airports as presenting opportunities for flagship stores, creating new demands on the type and function of commercial space requirements.

Where once leading luxury brands were reluctant to open airport units, discouraged by the low quality commercial spaces and uninspired tenant mix, a flagship unit in a modern terminal of a leading capital city is now becoming a jewel in the crown of the retail portfolio.

Global brands are keen to make a statement, and in order to do so, are looking for units situated in prime locations, with generous store footprints, and double height space, allowing them to be more innovative with their merchandising and to act as a focal point within the core commercial area of the airside departure lounge.

The challenge for design teams is in creating an environment and concept that simultaneously makes an architectural statement, whilst also providing a space for the retailers and their operational needs to flourish – not forgetting the need for efficient processing of the passengers.

Much of the growth in high street retail in mature economies is stagnating, as operators adjust to an oversupply of space, declining high street footfall, and the structural adjustment to an omni-channel offer.

Whilst the slowing rate of growth of online sales as a proportion of total sales suggests that traditional bricks and mortar will have a longer lifespan than many once feared, airports have the distinct advantage of a guaranteed captive audience, which until an alternative to aviation is invented, presents retailers with a long-term safe haven for capturing store footfall and physical interaction with the product.

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

As such, the airport store becomes a key place to capture a physical interaction between customer, brand, product, and service.

the practicality of products. Airlines may face an increasingly difficult task of pulling people out of the airport shops and onto their planes!

The future of airport transactions

The planning of flexible space

So as the appeal of airport retailing increases, to what extent will advances in technology and systems change the role of the airport retailer?

Whilst initiatives such as ‘click and collect’ and ‘buy before you fly’, have been implemented with limited success, the main appeal of the airport commercial proposition revolves around offering convenience for the consumer.

Airport retailers have been slow to capitalise on the opportunity afforded by home delivery, especially for those travellers with little time to go high street shopping.

A business traveller on a short-haul two-day trip, for example, will often shop at an airport because of the convenience but avoid buying anything because they don’t want the hassle of the additional luggage.

This might be very different if items could be shipped to their homes or be waiting for them to collect upon their return.

Indeed, the home delivery scenario opens up an opportunity for airport commercial spaces to move more towards a showroom proposition – with consumers benefitting from the tactile store based experience, with the convenience of the product being delivered home.

The shoe retailer Dune has recently refurbished its store at London Gatwick, installing iPads in the seating areas, allowing customers to order from the full catalogue, and offering a home delivery service. The move has been a great success, with a fantastic response from customers, and significant uplift to retail sales.

This has significant implications for the category mix, width and depth of range that commercial operators could potentially offer in an airport environment. White goods? Flatscreen TVs? Homewares?

The recent announcement of the impending arrival of the UK’s most trusted brand and leading department store – John Lewis – into the airport world through Heathrow’s Terminal 2, signals an innovative move for a non-travel retail specialist. It will be fascinating to see what product assortment and category mix the retailer chooses to present in its first airport store.

This could open the window for a whole host of retailers to operate in airports – traditionally prevented by restrictions on carry-on luggage and

In order to keep the offer fresh, respond to fast moving tastes, and changes in passenger profiles, there is an increasing demand to incorporate flexible space into the airside departures area of the terminal.

The airside space firstly needs to be flexible in its own right; thus of the right size, shape and height so that it can effectively respond to and provide for continual change in retail use and demand. The retail area needs to be a retail area and not a compromised mixture of processing, seating, shopping and gates, but a distinct area and volume fit for purpose just like other areas within the terminal such as the check-in hall or baggage reclaim.

With the correct base building format and suitable structural and services design, different retail concepts, categories, formats, brands, customer experiences, facilities, and information can come and go according to changing tastes, profiles and technologies that can only be achieved in a flexible environment.

The most successful malls in the world are forever remixing their centres in response to ever-changing consumer demand and retail trends. Brands will forever innovate to stay alive. Their formats and propositions will change as the experiences they offer their customers are enriched.

The airport terminal must allow for this and enable this to happen constantly. Duty free anchors, speciality stores, cafes, kiosks, pop-ups, promotions all need to be set in a flexible environment, unconstrained by unnecessary architectural principles.

Incorporating effective digital media campaigns As brands and retailers are increasingly focusing on multi-channel customer experiences, digital media programmes in the airport play a vital role, both out-of-store and in-store.

Phil Weake, managing director of the airport advertising specialist, Compass International Media, says: “The adoption of digital screens is also driving growth in Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising as brands are recognising the advantages and effectiveness of dynamic, time-specific advertising in order to reach target audiences.

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“Furthermore, the ability for brand immersion using POS display advertising that links with mobile and web is increasingly demanded and drives retail sales.”

It is crucial that the planning and designing for an optimised media and advertising programme is considered upfront at terminal concept design phase.

As digital displays and advertising formats become increasingly sophisticated, an effective programme can have a huge influence on the overall look, feel, and dynamism of the airport environment, positively impacting advertising revenues, retail sales, and the brand perception of the airport.

Which brings us on to the power of the brand. Airports have typically lagged far behind their airline partners when it comes to creating globally recognised brands with high appeal and widely understood commercial qualities – what many airports would do to obtain brands with the status and qualities of Virgin or Emirates.

But in the fast growing world of air travel, the race to capture airlines and passengers is becoming increasingly competitive for airport operators, and effective branding is the extremely powerful tool that creates a point of difference, communicates the offer, and promotes a promise to deliver.

Airports need to create a clear brand proposition from the outset, which is then conveyed and implemented across all aspects of its operations, from the statements made by terminal design and the commercial mix, to operational considerations and media programmes.

Airports as global showrooms Far from being simply a showroom for retail, primarily, airports are the first touch point for a visitor to a destination, they represent a statement for the region, and a welcome home for a returning passenger.

The importance of the arrivals experience is often overlooked in terminal planning and seems more of an afterthought relative to emphasis, planning, and design that is built into check-in halls and departure lounges. Too often the arrivals experience feels like being herded out a back door fire escape, to space

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constrained environments, with low threshold impact and distinctly unmemorable features.

A great arrivals experience should generate excitement, create anticipation, and make the passenger feel welcome – for the inbound passengers it also presents a great opportunity to make a statement about the airport and its qualities that will encourage the returning passenger to arrive at the airport early for their homebound trip, use the commercial facilities, and ultimately spend more.

Unlocking the processing constraints Advanced technology in smartphones and use of NFC and RFID has the potential to adjust the space requirements of two of the most space hungry components of the airport terminal – the check-in hall and security zones.

Mobile boarding passes are already enjoying high uptake amongst passengers, and advanced screening with TSA pre-check technology will allow faster security clearance with more space efficient processing. A key question will be whether aircraft can adapt quickly enough to changing passenger demands – evidenced by easyJet’s recent imposition of a two tier baggage sizing policy.

My many years experience in helping airports increase commercial revenues has shown me that time and again the importance of understanding consumer behaviour and how the voice of the customer needs to be at the very centre of terminal design and development, from day one.

The retail world is developing fast, but the consumer is changing even faster: more demanding, higher expectations and an increasing need for stimulation and excitement.

Those airports that take risks and inspire and innovate will be the winners. The more cautious airports will lose out.

AW

About the author Alex Avery is divisional director of airports at Pragma Consulting, which specialises in retail and consumer markets.

He can be contacted at: a.avery@pragmauk.com www.pragmauk.com

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Keeping it simple Designing energy efficient terminals that have a long-lasting impact on the environment, passengers and airport bottom lines requires a smart, yet simple approach, writes Wilson Rayfield.

L

ike in any planning process, there are a few basic principles to the design of airport terminals.

The large, expansive public spaces within an airport terminal, for example, help to alleviate a passenger’s sense of being crowded while still accommodating the flow of arriving, departing and connecting passengers.

Extensive use of glass within these spaces allows natural light to filter into buildings while providing passengers exterior views and improved wayfinding.

However, as a result of this two basic tenets, the challenge of maintaining thermal comfort while supporting passenger volumes can often become a real energy hog.

Not surprisingly, then, high performance building design for airport terminals is becoming commonplace within the industry.

Because some sustainable design strategies have higher first costs, energy-efficiency enhancements become cost-prohibitive due to tight project budget constraints.

Nevertheless, designers and operators should consider the impact that lower energy consumption and decreased maintenance costs have on a terminal’s long-term lifecycle costs.

There are several smart, yet somewhat simple design strategies that should be employed in terminal projects of any scale that will return

significant, long-lasting benefits for airports – often with a short return on investment timeframe.

Building envelope design While designing the new Maynard H Jackson International Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), the Gresham, Smith and Partners (GS&P) design team incorporated several energy conservation strategies that resulted in the project achieving LEED Gold certification.

The 1.2 million square-foot building exceeds ASHRAE 90.1 requirements for energy efficiency and included Sustainable Sites, Energy and Atmosphere & Indoor Environmental Quality credits.

For the design of the building envelope, the terminal roof was designed to meet the Energy Star reflectivity standards, which reduces the building heat island effect as well as reduces the energy consumption required to cool the building.

Building orientation played a key role in the selection of glass for each façade, while non-glazed areas were designed with continuous insulation to exceed energy code mandates.

Efficient building systems were designed to reduce energy consumption by more than 14% from a baseline building. Enhanced commissioning was conducted to ensure that the systems were designed, installed and are operating in compliance with the design intent.

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A new 10,000 square-foot skylight at ORF brings in more natural light, improves passenger comfort and incorporates lighting controls to reduce energy consumption of electric lighting.

Day lighting strategies Lighting often accounts for up to half of a building’s energy usage. Day lighting strategies that increase the amount of natural light and reduce reliance on electric lighting also create a more welcoming environment.

While the drop in electric lighting dependence not only lowers electricity usage, it cuts down on heat buildup caused by light fixtures.

Solar studies are typically conducted to understand how, throughout the day and over the course of the year, the sun’s rays will fall on a building.

Results from these studies are then used by designers to determine where shading devices such as horizontal louvers should be placed on a building to keep direct sun off of exterior glazing to reduce heat gain and glare.

Glass selection is extremely important to day lighting strategies and its effectiveness relies on a solid understanding of the varying characteristics of high performance glass.

Energy modelling is conducted during design with various alternatives being considered based on differing exposures.

A balance should be struck between solar heat gain and visible light transmission. Often, ceramic frit may be used on or within layers of glass to decrease solar transmission and impact visible light transmittance.

Dimmable light fixtures allow for the reduction of light levels to supplement natural light and to lower energy consumption. Utilisation of time clock, photo-cells and occupancy sensor controls can ensure that lighting levels match airport operational needs.

Let’s examine how these day lighting strategies were employed within the design for the new International Terminal at ATL, and how they were scaled for implementation within an expansion project designed by GS&P for Norfolk International Airport (ORF) in Norfolk, Virginia.

Within Atlanta’s International Terminal ticket lobby, the design called for nearly clear glass on the north side to maximise visible light transmission. On the building’s south side, horizontal louvres were installed to block southern sun and a very different glass was specified with a darker tint and a higher reflectivity to diminish heat gain and a ceramic frit to reduce visible light.

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The team also designed a two-story atrium space within the terminal that includes skylights consisting of high-performance glazing and ceramic frit for reduced heat gain.

The light is filtered internally by the ceiling system to reduce glare within the space.

Understanding that people like to be in beautiful, natural spaces – designing airy retail areas with ample natural light will have an added benefit of encouraging passengers to spend more time in that space.

In this particular space, that means a potential for increasing revenue for the airport and concessionaires.

At Norfolk, 18ft floor to ceiling windows were designed for inclusion within the newly designed Concourse B Security Checkpoint expansion. In addition to providing natural light and access to airside views for passengers while waiting in the checkpoint queue, the design specifies horizontal louvers that will block the summer sun, decreasing solar heat gain.

A ceramic frit interlayer within the glass cuts visible light transmission to reduce glare that is experienced from the low winter sun.

A new 10,000 square-foot skylight is being constructed in the existing departures building at Norfolk in an effort to introduce more natural light, improve passenger comfort and create a more dynamic facility experience for passengers.

To off-set the increased mechanical load, daylight harvesting and provision of a “cloudy day” system via use of photocell and time clock controls were designed to reduce electric lighting energy usage.

Individually, the design strategies are not heroic-level sustainable accomplishments. However, collectively these design decisions result in a higher performing building that places fewer demands on our environment and creates a more dynamic space for passengers.

These types of improvements will offer benefits to projects of any scale at airports for decades to come.

AW

About the author Wilson Rayfield, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP is a principal architect at Gresham, Smith and Partners, focused on aviation terminal design. He can be reached at Wilson_Rayfield@gspnet.com

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Big

and bold

Steven Thompson finds out more about Heathrow’s new ‘showpiece’ Terminal 2, which opens for business next summer.

I

t has officially been described by the airport as a spacious, open terminal that is being built and designed with passengers at its heart.

What we do know is that when Terminal 2 opens for business on June 4, 2014, it will be a significant moment for Heathrow as it will mean that the world’s busiest international airport is finally on the front foot in terms of boasting modern, state-of-the-art facilities.

The latest phase of the five-year, €12.8 billion transformation of Heathrow, Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal, will become the new high-tech home of the Star Alliance airlines at Heathrow as well as Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic Little Red and germanwings.

Its status ensures that the new €2.9 billion addition to Heathrow’s infrastructure will serve close to 30 airlines and around 20 million passengers per annum.

The project not only includes the main Terminal 2 building, but a 522-metre satellite pier (T2B), a 1,340-space car park and an energy centre and cooling station.

The energy centre is part of Heathrow’s drive to remain energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

The new terminal is bright and airy, thanks in part to an innovative roof: north-facing skylights will provide glare-free daylight without heat gain, which would mean more air conditioning.

According to the airport, its new Terminal 2 has been designed and built with “passengers at its heart”.

Indeed, Heathrow is promising a “big improvement in the passenger experience” over the old Terminal 2 and a continuation of the progress made with the opening of Terminal 5 and refurbishments of Terminals 1, 3 and 4.

About 20% of T2’s energy needs will be from renewable sources while some 1,000sqm of solar panels on the building’s canopy and a sophisticated lighting control system will keep energy use down by switching lights off when parts of the building are not in use or when daylight is bright enough.

The terminal will use the latest technology, too, offering passengers greater choice as they travel through the airport. It will offer a variety of check-in options – from self-service to traditional – as well as fast and efficient bag drops.

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Commercial facilities Passengers will also be able to choose from a selection of 52 shops and 17 bars and restaurants.

There will also be a uniquely British theme to its retail and F&B offering when it opens in just under 12 months.

Heathrow received an average of four or five bids for each retail space, enabling it to cherry-pick T2’s operators. World Duty Free will operate in the terminal but, at the time of writing, Heathrow bosses were yet to announce any other successful bidders.

“What we are trying to do is to make sure that T2 has much more of a British and London identity,” says John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow’s development director.

“Although there will be international retailers and brands here, you will get a sense that you could be nowhere else in the world other than in the UK and in London.

“We’ve had enormous demand for retailers to be in here. Typically we’ve had five bids for each space and that’s allowed us to be able to choose what we think is a really good mix of retail for different price points and different tastes.”

Heathrow’s desire to have a potentially big name department store as an anchor retail tenant will be realised following John Lewis’ decision to commit to investing a sizeable €1.1 million on a 3,600sqft outlet.

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Indeed, the upmarket British department store promises that its T2 store will offer the best of home, fashion, gifting and seasonal ranges and showcase many of its own-brand products, designer collaborations and exclusives.

Located on the top floor of the departure lounge, it will form part of the first impression for passengers passing through security.

Heathrow’s retail director, Muriel Zingraff-Shariff, says: “We’re excited to bring John Lewis to Heathrow and share this much loved British retail brand with our international audience.

“Our passengers love the retail experience at Heathrow and this shows our commitment to delivering stores that will delight them and bring real value to their journey.”

While Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, enthuses: “This new opening is a huge and exciting step forward in developing our international strategy, giving us access to one of the most concentrated, valuable and influential markets in the world.

“We recently made clear our ambition to further develop our online presence internationally in addition to increasing our international wholesale business. This opportunity at Heathrow perfectly complements and enhances these initiatives.”

Annual net sales of nearly €2 billion already make Heathrow one of the most successful retail spaces on the planet, and helps explain why

Heathrow T2 by numbers • • • • • • • • • • • •

55,000 passengers will arrive and depart daily 28 aircraft stands 60 self-service kiosks 60 fast bag drops 56 traditional check-in desks 3,000 passengers per hour at check-in One energy centre 24 security lanes 500 security officers 30 passenger service ambassadors 70 service team leaders A 1,340-space multi-storey car park

potential tenants are positively queuing up for a piece of the action.

Celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, was the big name to launch Heathrow’s Terminal 5 in 2008, but Holland-Kaye remained tight-lipped over whether the airport was courting another high profile chef for T2.

“We’re trying to match it as best as possible to the mix of passengers that we’ll have flying through here,” he adds. “We will have a range of retailers that we haven’t had before.

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“There will be a strong British flavour and we’re trying to bring out the diversity of catering and retail that you see when you go downtown in London.

We‘ll have a range of different catering for different tastes and price points.”

User friendly For families, the facility will have spacious, open, pushchair friendly concourses and numerous lifts. There will be dedicated family-friendly security lanes during peak holiday times, as well as family-friendly restaurants and a play area for children.

For business travellers, a short stay car park will offer space finding technology and a ‘find your car’ service to ensure quick and easy access.

Self-service check-in options will allow business travellers to get to the departures lounge as quickly as possible, whilst connectivity tables and Wi-Fi will allow them to work until they board their flight.

For leisure passengers, multi-lingual ambassadors will be stationed around the terminal to assist passengers and personal shoppers will be on hand to help all passengers take advantage of the duty free opportunities.

The terminal will also boast its fair share of airport art, that includes ‘slipstream’, a gigantic, twisting 80 tonne sculpture suspended up to 20 metres above the ground.

Set to become one of the longest permanent sculptures in Europe, it is described by its creator Richard Wilson as a “flowing, twisting aluminium form” that is based on the imagined flight path of a Zivko Edge 540 stunt plane.

trial people coming here on the underground and people coming here on the Heathrow Express.”

And when all the tests and trials are over, Livingstone has no doubt with what Heathrow will be left with. “It will be a magnificent, environmentally friendly building that provides a superb passenger experience,” he enthuses.

In a final move to avoid a repeat of some of the teething problems suffered by Heathrow’s Terminal 5 when it opened in 2008, the gateway has decided upon a phased opening, with the 26 airlines moving in over a period of six months.

Indeed, just 10% of flights will operate for its first three weeks, before gradually building up to full operations.

Holland-Kaye admits that Heathrow has learned a lot from the T5 opening, and is quick to point out that it is not the only airport to have experienced such problems or worse, making a veiled reference to the seriously delayed opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t concerned about teething problems, but that’s only natural of all big projects,” says Holland-Kaye.

“For this reason, we have, and continue to learn as much as we can from our own and other airports’ experiences. We need to be on the lookout for all the things that might go wrong and make sure we have a plan to deal with that.

“It’s a bit like the Olympics in London last year. I’m sure that there were things that went wrong that we don’t know about because there was a contingency plan to deal with it. And that’s the way we want to do things.”

Avoiding teething problems By the time the terminal opens for service, it will have undergone 182 trials and been tested by 14,000 volunteers.

Indeed, some trials will involve more than 3,200 people, with the whole process designed to test T2’s facilities as comprehensively as possible ahead of its June 4, 2014, opening.

“Construction is due to finish in November this year, after which it’ll be trialling and trialling and trialling,” laughs T2’s development director, Steve Livingstone.

“We’ve got some big challenges, which is why we have to trial this facility continuously, and that’s what we’re set up to do. Our job is to make sure we have tested, tested and tested again, to try and find any challenges as early as possible.

“In all honesty, our testing started in the summer of 2012, so we’ve tested IT systems and we’ve run bags all the way through the baggage system.

“We have to completely change the road layout to bring the car parking here – we’ll trial all that too. We’ll trial coaches and taxis arriving here, we’ll

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Heathrow’s evolution The eyes of airports around the world are on Heathrow’s new terminal, which is shaping up to be at least as good as its multi-award-winning T5.

“They’re quite jealous,” Holland-Kaye smiles. “It’s a real privilege for us to be able to build an entirely new infrastructure. Most people have to make do with improving the old terminal buildings and make the best of them, as indeed we have done with some success.

“But this is a 50 to 60 year investment and it allows us to completely relay out the airport along the lines of the Atlanta ‘toast rack’ model.

“T2 is an evolution of what we have in T5 and it’s a little wider – it’s basically a square, whereas T5 is long and thin. That allows us to design the space a little differently to make sure we have really simple passenger journeys to and from the plane, so no change in levels for example.

“I hope that people will see that it’s a great passenger experience and, for it to be as good as T5 would be a great start, because that is the best airport terminal in the world, in passengers’ minds. So, if we had two of the top terminals in the world that would be a huge achievement.”

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SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Order of the day Leah Blackman discusses the reinvention of the airport dining experience in the US over the last decade.

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p until the late 1990s, the term ‘airport dining’ was synonymous with overpriced, low-quality food and limited choices in not-so-welcoming settings.

In fact, travellers often viewed the whole experience of the airport terminal like they did the dining options within – functional, yet uninspired.

And with passengers rushing to catch flights, or even wanting to get to the gate with plenty of time to spare before boarding, eating was often an afterthought.

Perhaps they would just grab a bite before arriving at the airport, just in case the only thing they’d be eating in the next three hours was a small bag of pretzels on the flight.

But then 9/11 occurred. Governments around the world tightened airport security regulations and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was formed in the US to oversee all things security at airports.

The result: arriving earlier than ever for flights in order to allow enough time to take stand in the security line; take off your shoes; walk through a metal detector; grab your luggage; and put your shoes back on – all the while facing the potential of being pulled aside for further examination.

With early arrival nearly a requirement, air passengers had no choice but to treat the airport as a destination. Terminal design, however, was slow to capitalise on this market, and high-quality food & beverage concepts, like the ones already being implemented by F&B concessionaire, OTG, were the exception rather than the norm.

At the same time, the foodie movement was on the rise. People wanted memorable dining experiences. They wanted to know where their food was coming from – and who was making it.

The combination of evolving consumer expectations and longer times spent at the airport has led to more airport terminals and operators recognising the value and need in improved terminal design, with particular focus on F&B options and the gate-hold experience.

A better way to dine OTG, which operates airport restaurants throughout North America, recognised consumers’ want for better airport dining choices early on and decided to do something about it.

And Rick Blatstein’s company must have be doing something right, because it has added 174 eateries in nine different gateways to its portfolio since opening its first airport outlet at Philadelphia International Airport in 1996.

Blatstein’s goal for each terminal the company operates out of is to create restaurants that just happen to be in airports, rather than airport restaurants.

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SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN Much of the industry viewed travellers as a captive audience because they were forced to go to the airport to begin their journey, but Blatstein never saw them that way. Just because they’re at the airport doesn’t mean they have to sit down and spend time and money to eat.

In 2007, he contacted my company, New York-based design firm ICRAVE, to collaborate on the design of F&B outlets for airport terminals. We had no experience of the market, but did have a strong presence in the hospitality industry, with projects that include Lavo, CATCH, Provocateur and Crobar.

In each of our projects, the design has to come from understanding how people move through a space, how they interact, and their purpose for being there. We had a new kind of environment to explore and a different goal to meet: how to make people feel like they wanted to be at the airport instead of feeling like they had to!

Our first joint project was the design of six restaurants at JetBlue’s Terminal 5 at JFK, and the collaboration with OTG has since grown into a partnership that includes work on projects at LaGuardia, Toronto Pearson and Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP) airports.

When we approach the design development of a new eatery or bar, we have to keep the guest in mind in a very specific way. We can create a total fantasy world in a restaurant or nightclub in a city, but in an airport, we’re dealing with traveller anxiety.

As soon as they get their boarding pass and make it through the security checkpoint, most passengers head straight to their gate. They want to know where it is, how long it will take them to get there, and when the plane is boarding.

Indeed, there’s one eye on that gate at all times, and our job is to alleviate that stress and to ensure passengers are able to see the gate, or in some airports, enjoy a lounge environment in the gate-hold itself.

One way in which to reduce traveller anxiety is to emphasise service – and technology plays a big role in that. Guests are asked, “How much time do you have?” when seated at a restaurant, ensuring that they have service well before they need to board.

As an alternative, guests can also order food via iPad in 20 different languages. The iPads are available for more than simply an ordering service. It’s all about putting guests in control of their airport experience.

And guests can use the iPads at either the restaurants or gate to log in to social networking sites, check flight status, receive real-time notification of flight delays, play games, and pay for food at the time of ordering – another stress eliminator since the traveller doesn’t have to wait for the check to come while worrying about a missed flight.

In a hurry? When you plug in your flight information into the iPad, it automatically presents meal options based on how much time you have. A press of the home button securely removes personal information from the device.

With the iPad handling transactions, servers become more like concierges. Servers can focus more on the interaction, whether that’s making wine-pairing recommendations or grabbing information from a gate agent.

We’ve also helped to transform the gate-holds in some terminals into lounges and cafés. The gate-hold is the single largest piece of real estate inside of an airport in the most desirable location and have traditionally comprised little more than rows and rows of seating with nothing to do or see.

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Gate-holds now have the opportunity to become lively, engaging atmospheres outfitted with technology, USB ports, and 110v electrical outlets to charge devices. Our designs work within the existing footprint, bringing new energy into an historically static environment.

Local inspirations For every restaurant, bar, or lounge we design in an airport, we always aim to capture the spirit – both in food and design – of the city or region in which the airport is located. After all, airports are the gateway to the region.

When you’re leaving the airport, you’re getting a final taste of that city; that taste should be something authentic and specific to the location. The last thing we want to do is bring New York to Minneapolis or Toronto to Philadelphia.

To that end, OTG executives spend significant time in the regions they plan to operate. That includes the company’s concept chef, Michael Coury, meeting with local chefs to find the best talent to lead each restaurant.

His efforts have led to successful collaborations with celebrated chefs, including Andrew Carmellini, Mark McEwan, Andrew Zimmern and Garrett Oliver.

At Delta’s Concourse G in Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, we created 10 concepts driven by the Twin Cities – their natural setting, traditional foods, and cultural events. One of the most recent installations, MinniBar, takes its inspiration from Minnesota’s lakes.

Fibreglass panels form a canopy above the centre of the bar, while custom mosaic glass tiles in green, yellow, and white wrap around the base. Locally based celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern oversees the menu.

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A restaurant’s interiors also need to maximise square footage while ensuring adequate traffic flow. That means mixing high top tables with traditional restaurant seating to achieve a dense seat count.

We also make sure single passengers feel comfortable eating by themselves, as well as accommodate those travelling in groups. With all of these F&B concepts, our goal is to create fresh, inspiring spaces – nothing that people have seen before, yet something that is worthy of a non-airport location.

These F&B concepts achieve the mission to change not only how travellers view airport dining, but the overall air travel experience as well.

Passengers who are rushed and accustomed to typically uninspired design have been introduced to thoughtfully designed, chef driven concepts that cater to heightened taste preferences. To that end, these spaces become destinations in their own right.

Creating unique dining destinations is paying off. OTG outlets have the highest revenue per enplanement (RPE) of the top 50 airports in North America. According to Rick Blatstein, all indication from their business partners and customers’ reactions is that we’re making incredible progress in airport dining, which will continue to grow with several new restaurants and eateries opening throughout the remainder of 2013.

As TSA regulations continue to require early arrival at airports and consumers expect more from their dining encounters, more airport terminals and operators are taking note.

As a result, once-uninspired spaces are transforming into beautifully designed concepts that satisfy passengers’ desire for a low-anxiety, memorable airport experience.

AW

About the author Leah Blackman, is managing director of ICRAVE. www.icrave.com

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN

Fast and furious Joe Bates reports on the fast tracked transformation of São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport in readiness for next year’s football World Cup.

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s challenges go, they don’t get much bigger than the one faced by the new operators of São Paulo’s Guarhulos International Airport – doubling the airport’s capacity from 20mppa to 45mppa in just 18 months!

The urgency is the need to be ready for the 2014 FIFA football World Cup finals tournament, followed two years later by a little thing called the Olympic Games. Two major sporting events in which the city of São Paulo will play a key role.

What does Brazil’s busiest airport require ahead of the 2014 World Cup? A new passenger terminal, parking garage and upgrades to the gateway’s existing terminals 1, 2 and 4. Improvements that come with a price tag of around $1.3 billion.

And, all this, after decades of inactivity in terms of upgrading the infrastructure of Brazil and Latin America’s largest airport and São Paulo’s international gateway to the world.

Indeed, São Paulo–Guarhulos (GRU) handled 32.8 million passengers and 30% of all air traffic in Brazil in 2012, and the figure is expected to double to 60mppa by 2032.

Could the facelift realistically be done in just 18 months? Well, nobody could surely accuse the new concessionaire of a lack of effort, because, incredibly, the new terminal is all but built and is on target to open in May next year after six months of testing its key IT systems and facilities.

Technology, incidentally, that will includes SITA’s next generation airport management system (AMS), which it is claimed will “simplify the airport’s operations to deliver a world-class passenger experience”.

For passengers, a very visible difference to the norm in Brazil will be 1,000 new electronic display screens throughout the airport displaying the latest flight information.

They will also give passengers up-to-date information on boarding locations, baggage belts and other important information via seamless, automated audio and visual messaging.

Other technology will include self-drop baggage facilities; self-service check-in kiosks; electronic gates (e-gates) at immigration control; moving walkways connecting the complex with Terminal 2 and main parking

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garage; and, a state-of-the-art baggage handling system which will allow passengers to check luggage up to 10 hours before a flight.

Luiz Ritzmann, chief information officer for São Paulo–Guarulhos, says: “The new AMS will help us better integrate airside operations so we can turn aircraft around faster, increase passenger throughput and better co-ordinate our ground services.

“It will also help us eliminate bottlenecks at check-in, customs and security because we can work together with our partners, sharing data and collaborating. This integrated and ‘intelligent airport’ view will allow us to deploy resources as needed in real-time.”

A consortium comprising Invepar (90%) and Airports Company South Africa (10%) demonstrated its commitment to shaping the future of São Paulo–Guarulhos with a winning bid of $7.9 billion for a 20 year concession to operate the gateway.

Its bid also came with the promise to invest $2.2 billion on enhancing the gateway’s facilities throughout the course of the concession, which began in 2012.

As a result, São Paulo–Guarulhos is quite simply undergoing its biggest upgrade since it opened in 1985. “We didn’t need telling that the airport needed updating,” says Ritzmann. “It’s facilities were 30 years old and no longer fit to cope with demand or meet the service standards required today.

“We also knew that we had no time to waste as we had to effectively double the airport’s capacity from 20 million passengers to over 45 million in 18 months. It was an almost unbelievable challenge, but with the construction of Terminal 3 set to be completed in September, we are on target to achieve our goals.”

Terminal 3 At 192,000sqm, Terminal 3 is larger than the airport’s three existing terminals combined. It will initially boast 22 boarding bridges and have the capacity to accommodate up to 12 million passengers annually.

Expansion of the apron will allow for an additional 34 parking positions for aircraft, while renovation of taxiways and runways will ensure that T3 is capable of handling aircraft up to the size of the A380.

SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN The new terminal will be dedicated exclusively for international flights and will feature a four-star, 50-room hotel for connecting passengers. It will later be joined by 350-room, five-star hotel close to the terminal.

Operating company Guarulhos International Airport SA – which includes government-owned airport company, Infraero, as a stakeholder – also has plans for a bus terminal and taxi depot.

“It will be a crowd pleaser as it brings the best in technology and handling processes and procedures,” says Ritzmann. “People are going to enjoy using it.”

Parking facilities Evidence of the new operator’s intent was served by the opening of a new high-tech, multi-storey car park in May 2013 – just three months after officially taking 100% control of the management of GRU. The 89,000sqm complex can accommodate up to 2,644 vehicles and is equipped with a parking management system that indicates available parking spaces, cash machines for payment and flight information panels.

The airport operator has since revamped parking areas across the entire gateway, adding 500 news spaces – 200 extra outside of Terminal 4 (served

by Azul, Trip and Passaredo airlines) and the rest in front of T1 and T2 where parking is now split between 1,210 ‘premium’ spaces close to the terminals and 2,370 others slightly further back.

Existing terminals The airport operator is confident that the “customer experience” at GRU’s existing terminals has been significantly enhanced by a series of rapidly introduced measures, such as expanding and better equipping security areas and the introduction of a host of new shops and F&B outlets.

A 6,000sqm expansion of Terminal 2 has allowed for a new foodcourt with 10 outlets, and an expanded duty free area, while new concepts introduced elsewhere include Chilli Beans, Empada Brasil, Temakeria Makis Place and US fastfood chain Carl’s Jr. The revamp means that when Terminal 3 opens, the airport will have about 250 retail and F&B outlets offering a mix of local and international food, fashion, goods and brands.

Other improvements include the installation of over 900 new, “more internationally recognised signs” – 700 of which are illuminated, in a bid to enhance wayfinding.

The refurbishment or replacement of 600 seats and the installation of 1,200 new lights and as well as more passenger friendly flooring across the three terminals.

In addition, the public restrooms in the lobbies of T1 and T2 were renovated and expanded to improve ventilation and make them accessible for baggage carts and passengers with special needs.

Finally, passenger flow across the terminals has also been made quicker and more efficient by the creation of waiting areas prior to check-in queues, while the establishment of new luggage collection points has freed up space in baggage reclaims areas.

People and image Between July 2012 and October 2012 alone, 120 new people were hired from a variety of different businesses and commercial backgrounds to ensure a dynamic edge to the newly created Guarulhos International Airport SA. Indeed, around 90% of its staff today come from outside of the aviation industry, and this transformation has, in part, been reflected in a rebranding of São Paulo–Guarulhos which is now referred to as GRU Airport.

According to Ritzmann, as a result, it has a modern new logo and image that is much more in keeping with its more commercial and dynamic business approach to running the airport.

Ritzmann says: “The big challenge we face in Brazil right now is to show the world that we are capable of hosting big events such as the World Cup and the Olympics, and this essentially means having the infrastructure in place to ensure a good experience for visitors.

“This is particularly relevant for São Paulo as GRU handles some 60% of all arriving international passengers. However, with the new terminal set to open in May next year, and improvements to our other facilities complete, I know we will be ready.”

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Delivering sustainability Integrating sustainability into capital projects from the outset is the best way to guarantee the long-term future of airports, writes Betsy Huigens.

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ithout a doubt, sustainability is the buzzword when it comes to developing and operating airports today.

Indeed, airport owners are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of sustainable design, construction and operations.

And, it is not only because of the need to comply with increasing regulations on carbon emissions, as an ever-increasing number of airports now realise that sustainable development can help them maximise the passenger experience and take advantage of long-term cost savings associated with implementing sustainable design technologies.

The case for sustainability hasn’t always been an easy one. It has tended to be seen as an ‘add-on’ with an extra cost, instead of being integral to the project and therefore part of the planning process, right from the start.

To help airports justify sustainability in design and build, consultants and builders are now looking at the lifecycle-costs of projects – rather than simply at the total installed cost – and using data from case studies at other airports, in order to predict the future cost savings from various sustainable design solutions.

At London Gatwick, Bechtel has helped develop processes to assess the investments in their Capital Investment Programme based on long-term lifecycle costs, taking into account cost savings of energy reduction and other sustainable design initiatives.

Bechtel, HOK and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) also collected benchmark information on sustainability initiatives undertaken by different airports in Europe and the US.

In fact, by collecting data on the performance of different sustainable design technologies, including total installed costs and maintenance costs, Bechtel has also been able to calculate approximate return on investment (ROI) periods, allowing the client to begin to justify potentially higher initial costs in exchange for lower operating costs.

Targets and objectives Airports like Gatwick are now setting themselves tough, but achievable sustainability targets. In 2008, the UK’s second largest airport launched a sustainability plan that set out ten issues and gave itself ten years to achieve established goals.

These included specifics such as reducing carbon emissions by 50% against a 1990 baseline; reducing energy against the same baseline by 20%; cutting water consumption by 20%; recycling 70% of waste and generating no waste to landfill.

It says it has already achieved a 97% reduction of ozone-depleting gases within its cooling system and will completely eliminate them this year.

Another project involved establishing a process to store concrete waste on site to be processed and reused in future construction projects.

In December 2009, Bechtel was selected to support the management of Gatwick’s €1.4 billion Capital Investment Programme (CIP) by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the major shareholder in London Gatwick Airport.

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SPECIAL REPORT: PLANNING & DESIGN Airfield enhancement at Gatwick Airport is a top priority for owner, GIP.

Improvements include the expansion of two passenger terminals and airfield improvements. And recently, the gateway successfully delivered a €57 million runway rehabilitation project, and is currently working on a host of other projects across the airport site.

They include the renovation of North Terminal Pier 5; replacement of the airport’s oldest pier facility, Pier 1, with an integrated extension to the baggage handling facility; and South Terminal International Departure Lounge.

Use of BIM at London Gatwick has allowed it to model energy performance, interior environmental quality, minimise waste during construction and maximise efficiencies during construction and operation.

Whether designing new terminals, upgrading existing ones or building entirely new airport complexes, airport projects tend to focus on minimising environmental impacts, maximising the passenger experience, and taking advantage of long-term cost savings associated with implementing sustainable design technologies.

If sustainability objectives are included from the start with maximum design flexibility, the chances of successful delivery of sustainable solutions are improved.

For example, Terminal 3 at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, which opened last year, uses technology which has helped to increase efficiency and reduce waiting times.

Bechtel included 100% common-use systems to enable airlines to time-share facilities based upon their operational needs; new self-boarding gates to speed up passenger embarkation; and dynamic signage provided by more than 1,100 low-energy liquid crystal displays and LEDS to enable wayfinding, passenger information and airline branding with up to the minute information.

As programme manager of Hamad International Airport, it was also responsible for the overall airport master plan and managed the design of the main terminal building, whose building orientation and high-tech glazing was selected to help minimise the impacts of heat gain within the building from the hot desert temperatures.

The passenger terminal building has a canted north and south curtain-wall and high-performance insulated glass to reduce solar exposure. It also features demand ventilation controls that use carbon dioxide occupancy sensors, displacement air ventilation systems in the

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concourses, daylight and occupancy sensor controls for lighting. And if that is not enough, the complex will boast an energy management control system interfaced with the power monitoring and control systems to create a truly energy-efficient airport.

Yet, creating a sustainable airport doesn’t need to rely on technology. Even simple solutions can make a real difference.

Bechtel helped to design and build a new terminal building at Curaçao International Airport that included a number of sustainable design technologies, including a fully automated louvre system designed to cool and ventilate the building by capturing the natural Caribbean breezes off the sea.

It required little energy to operate it, was more in keeping with the local architecture and resulted in a more comfortable experience for passengers.

It is also important to remember airside operations when drafting an airport sustainability plan. By optimising the operations of the airfield including runways, taxiways and stands, capacity can be maximised, making it more energy and cost-efficient.

At Gatwick, sophisticated airfield models helped the Civil Aviation Authority to optimise the airfield traffic patterns, therefore reducing taxiing and queuing times for aircraft. Re-routing roads in and out of the airport can also reduce carbon emissions, as at McCarran Terminal 3.

Airports can grow and develop their assets in a sustainable way.

It is possible to upgrade assets to significantly reduce energy consumption and lower carbon emissions.

Identifying the issue and making the simplest of changes can often make a huge difference. Most important however, is to integrate sustainability at the start of any new build or upgrade and to look past the total installed cost and focus on the lifecycle cost of AW capital projects.

About the author Senior civil engineer, Betsy Huigens is part of Bechtel’s Project Planning & Development group. Bechtel has been involved in 40 major airport projects around the world in the last decade, including the ongoing development of the new Hamad International Airport in Doha.

ROUTE DEVELOPMENT

Going places?

ASM’s David Stroud contemplates the dawn of a new, more sophisticated era for route development that increasingly involves the use of social media.

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ver the past 20 years we have seen our industry transform.

Airport marketing, business development, air service development, route development, whatever the function has been called, each has moved from being a fringe discipline, practiced by a handful of airports, to a role that is fundamental to the business and, where those airports that do not yet have a route development team are very much in the minority.

If the long-term forecasts from ICAO, which shows 6.3 billion passengers being carried by 2030, are correct, the future of route development for airports would be straight forward.

I believe, these figures are far from the truth and that the challenge for airports in the new era is going to be much more complex. This will see airports grappling with seemingly impossible financial demands from airlines, and navigating a world where the delivery of actual traffic will become the most important route development skill there is. Through airport city and aerotropolis developments, airport managers will also become market creators for their air routes.

Financing air routes I recently took up the role of leading ASM into this new era, and the first thing we did was to talk to airlines to get a better understanding of what currently is, and what is going to be, important to them when it comes to airport route development. This survey of 25 senior network planning managers across leading global carriers provided a fascinating insight into what really matters to airlines.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, feedback about costs and financial agreements came out most strongly. This was not unexpected; but it indicated that airports cannot ignore the financial pressures on airlines and the need for sustainable route viability going forward.

For many airports this is already a tough challenge, and it will not become any easier in the next era.

According to the research, airline network planners said airports “need to understand the small profit margins airlines obtain and how these margins are placed under severe pressure with a slight increase in costs”; they need to “identify opportunities to reduce airport costs for airlines and customers”; show an “increased willingness to participate in the financial risk of launching and successfully maintaining a new route”; and perhaps more radically, “tourism would fund 50% of route marketing, airport charges are abolished and instead airport drives revenues from non-aeronautical revenues”.

Many airports will have heard these opinions before, however the age we are entering is one where instant route profitability will be a pre-requisite demanded by airlines. The days of generous maturity profiles of new routes are over, as are route start-up incentives and discounts. Long-term, probably lifetime, support partnership agreements will become the norm.

In Europe, newly drafted EU State aid guidelines for airports and airlines will, if adopted, severely limit state funding of airport infrastructure. This could well leave a gap between airports and airlines that cannot

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ROUTE DEVELOPMENT be bridged. Airport operators will need to look again at their operating models, look at driving down aeronautical charges, finding new revenue streams to replace and support these reductions; and evolve new solutions for risk sharing and route joint ventures.

While financing will be a constant feature of the new era of route development, there will be other factors, such as market creation and delivery of traffic, which means the role of the airport as a consumer marketer is returning fast.

Marketing to deliver traffic

Financial support agreements (1 = Not important, 10 = Essential)

Long-term support partnership agreements

Traffic growth related charges discount incentives

Route start-up incentives

0

2

4

6

8

10

One of the many advances airports have made is the ability to process market data, Source: Next Era of Route Development, Airline Survey 2013 Financial Support Agreements. undertake analytics, and produce route traffic forecasts using methodologies that reflect how airlines undertake this evaluation. While this will remain an important skill, it will become a Market information and implementation actions standard that all airports offer. There is a shift (1 = Not important, 10 = Essential) of emphasis coming. In the world of securing profitable, sustainable routes, those who can deliver traffic will be more powerful and more successful than those who are good at Route proposal profit / loss assessment analysis. What good is strong technical forecasting if passengers don’t actually Effective destination marketing to ensure passenger traffic support a route?

Our airline research revealed the importance for airports of not only having an Effective catchment marketing to ensure passenger traffic in-depth understanding of their catchment but also the importance of effective marketing at Catchment area and demographics both origin and destination of the service. The days of trying to impress an airline with an appreciation of route profit and loss are over.

0 2 4 6 8 10 The new era for airports in this marketing Source: Next Era of Route Development, Airline Survey field will be driven by skills across two areas.

2013 Market Information & Implementation Actions.

Firstly, there is the harnessing of passenger “big data”, primarily through the focused use potential of what airports can achieve. Our trackers are showing of social media, and secondly, by engaging key stakeholders, audience reach of approaching five million currently, with China’s particularly tourism authorities, to drive the attraction of Weibo showing 750,000 followers across 28 airports. These numbers the catchment. are growing fast, and these are just official airport sites. The scale For years, airports did not truly have a customer-based of audience reach going forward will be huge – much larger than relationship with passengers, because they had limited opportunities any other channel. And reaching this audience is instantaneous to enter into a meaningful direct dialogue with travellers. But more and route campaigns are inexpensive to produce. and more airports are now setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts Already airports are starting to use Twitter, Facebook and other and slowly starting to use these for route and traffic development. In channels to research route opportunities, for instance London City the new era, the skilled use of these channels will be essential for (@LondonCityAir) is very active in this area. Social media allows developing air services. airports to learn more about the scale of market sizes, but also Many of you would have seen the recent postings of the allows users to actually make contact with those individuals, #ASMTwitterTracker and #ASMFacebookTracker. What started for us as understand their family connections, and discuss and promote air a curious look into how airports were using these channels for route services. Social media offers a real potential to penetrate global and traffic development has become a fascinating exercise in markets and deliver passengers. understanding the diversity of airport social media activity.

This leads us to the other buzzword, and the area where we While there is a long way to go before tried and tested formulas believe airports will be increasing their levels of investment – for promoting routes, the creativity already on display shows the

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ROUTE DEVELOPMENT UK and US airports have the most social media followers May 18–24, 2013 London Heathrow

148,200

London Gatwick

66,100

Manchester 63,400 Caracas Simon Bolivar

42,000

London City

35,600

Dublin 33,800 Aena 31,500 Edinburgh 29,600 Warsaw Frederic Chopin

28,700

Dubai 24,300 Los Angeles

23,900

Boston Logan

22,500 Source: ASM Ltd.

“big data”. Through social media channels we are learning more about our catchment and the people who are currently using our airport. When we consider our other sources of data collection, such as car park transactions and retail spend, there is an opportunity to build powerful passenger marketing databases that airports can use to ensure new and existing air services are well supported.

At ASM, one of the key services we are providing is this “big data” processing and social media management to ensure air services are most effectively marketed.

Airports, though, cannot and should not drive forward on this alone. At Routes events, we are rightly seeing more collaboration between airports and tourism authority partners.

This is proving powerful in attracting new routes, and offers more strength in the marketing of these air services. When airports consider their “big data” alongside that held by tourism authorities, strong marketing databases can be developed and put to work. One of the key statements made by airlines in our research was that airports and their stakeholders should “work together as a destination rather than individual entities in a location”.

Airport cities and market creation The final piece of the jigsaw is the strategic role airports will play in market creation, and specifically the relationship between airport city and aerotropolis development. For those that have read book, Aerotropolis: The way we’ll live next, you will be familiar with the airport city and aerotropolis development concept.

Many airports and cities are now following this thinking, shaping their urban environment around successful airports. It is a virtuous

circle that is being created – a successful airport city depends on strong air route connectivity. In turn, a successful airport city and aerotropolis provides the markets that airlines need for successful and sustainable routes.

What is also fascinating is the scale of development funding that is going into Airport City projects. In the UK, the budget for Manchester Airports Airport City is €750m – much more than the cost of its Runway 2.

In the new era, airports will join their teams much more closely together. Airport cities need air services, and airport cities will support air services and strengthen the property portfolio till, which may provide solutions to the financial challenges that route development is facing.

Going forward, airports’ route development teams will be many things: they will be experts at articulating the market strength of their catchment, but more importantly, they will be powerful marketers, securing the traffic needed to ensure instant route profitability.

These teams will also become key influencers in the strategic task of market creation, shaping airport cities, the wider aerotropolis and the tourism infrastructure of the destination.

These new skills will ensure traffic is always delivered for new routes, and that is the surest way to ensure the financial support AW discussion with the airline is painless.

About the author David Stroud is managing director of ASM, World Route Development Consultants at UBM Live.

He can be reached on: david.stroud@ubm.com

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A flight at the museum Steven Thompson investigates the phenomenon of airport museums and what financial rewards – if any – they can bring to a gateway.

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t is one of the world’s most famous and iconic museums, and inside it hangs one of the world’s most famous and iconic paintings.

A trip to the Louvre to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is a must for anyone visiting Paris. Indeed, soaking up any city’s art and history is high up on the wish lists of culture vultures heading to new destinations. But now, more and more, travellers are finding they do not even have to leave the airport, to spend a night at the museum.

“It felt natural that Paris’ largest airport should reflect what Paris does best,” explains Anne de Turenne, project leader for Espace Musées, Aéroports de Paris’ new museum, which opened at the turn of the year at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

“A lot of travellers come to Paris to visit museums. Now they can see their favorite museum’s collections at the airport itself. Where passengers have long layovers, or where the waiting time is long due to the destination of the flight, passengers are delighted to find cultural entertainment of such high quality.

“From our perspective, the airport gets great passenger satisfaction, and an innovative edge. Passengers have responded very positively to Espace Musées. At first they are surprised to find original masterpieces in such an original place, and then they are mesmerised.

“All the feedback we received was very positive, and reflected our ambition to entertain, to educate, and to promote French heritage.”

Aéroports de Paris (ADP) is by no means the first gateway to install its own museum. Some have been doing it for years.

The Rijksmuseum Schiphol at Amsterdam Schiphol has been going now for more than a decade. The museum, a joint venture between Schiphol and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, was the first

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art museum beyond an airport’s passport control when it opened in December 2002.

Meanwhile, San Francisco International Airport’s museum project, SFO Museum, began as far back as 1980. From modest beginnings – a single exhibition space – it has grown to more than 20 galleries throughout the airport with more than 40 exhibitions a year.

But the question remains, why, with no tangible reward, are more airports giving over their space and time to museums?

“The Rijksmuseum Schiphol is a jewel of an asset at the airport,” beams Otto Ambagtsheer, director of consumer products and services at Amsterdam Schiphol.

“It offers millions of travellers an opportunity to enjoy truly great art during their brief stay here. Even the millions of transit passengers not stopping over in the Netherlands can get a taste of Dutch culture without leaving the airport – and admission is free!”

Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, in South Korea, has also had a museum for five years. Bora Lee, of Incheon’s public relations team, explains that passengers expect a lot more from an airport now and that an on-site museum forms part of that ‘added value’.

“The area of airport services has been broadened extensively nowadays,” says Lee. “Passengers demand not only convenient and faster use of air transportation, but also other various services such as providing passengers shopping, entertainment and cultural experiences – which has not been thought essential previously.

“There are growing numbers of passengers who want to spend their waiting time in the airport in a more productive way. We have

CUSTOMER SERVICES

noticed that people, especially transferring passengers, want to see the concise version of the nation’s culture in their brief stay at the airport.

“Museums tend to be one of the best facilities to meet such needs, presenting the nation’s history and culture to people of all ages and nationalities. For this reason, many airports are operating museums in their terminal, including San Francisco, Paris CDG and Schiphol.”

Despite the fact museums produce no direct revenue, it seems there could be a financial benefit. One possible reason for an airport to have a museum is if it is competing closely with another gateway nearby.

“All our exhibitions, additional programming and related publications are free to the public, so the SFO Museum produces no direct financial benefits to the airport,” says Tim O’Brien, SFO’s curator of exhibitions.

“However, many travellers have cited the exhibitions programme as a factor when choosing among the three international airports that service the San Francisco Bay Area.”

Augustin de Romanet, CEO of Aéroports de Paris, agrees.

“Are there any financial benefits? Absolutely none!” he adds.

“But, airports are in a constant competition. Transfer passengers can choose to connect from various European hubs, Paris–CDG, Heathrow, Frankfurt. That’s the reason why Paris’ airports have to be the most attractive and the most welcoming.”

Ambagtsheer points to the museum shop, Dutch Masters, which opened in 2011 at Schiphol and offers a range of Rijksmuseum souvenirs.

SFO’s approach allows its passengers to consume their culture in bite-sized chunks. Among the many subjects currently being exhibited at

Ten less well known airport museums • Finnish Aviation Museum at Helsinki Airport • Budapest Ferihegy Airport Museum, Hungary • The Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport, UK • The Qantas Heritage Collection at Sydney Airport • Museum of Flight at Boeing Field, Seattle • Phoenix Airport Museum at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport • Airport Museum at the Melbourne International Airport, Florida • Military Aviation Museum at the Virginia Beach Airport • Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center at the Washington Dulles International Airport • Virginia Aviation Museum at the Richmond International Airport SFO are: Pan-Asian ceramics; the tradition of travel souvenirs; the history and design variation of the flight bag; nautical arts; and an artist-inresidency programme that produces art from San Francisco’s waste stream.

Its fine arts photography galleries currently feature exhibitions ranging from landscapes of the English countryside to a photo essay on depression-era lives in the United States.

Furthermore, in the Aviation Museum and Library – an architectural adaptation of the airport’s 1937 terminal lobby – historic flight uniforms from United Airlines and the flying boats of Pan American Airways are among the several exhibitions.

“With galleries in every terminal, both prior to and after security, all of our visitors have an opportunity to view exhibitions on a tremendous variety of subjects,” adds O’Brien.

“While each exhibition is intended to provide an in-depth treatment, our curators understand that our unique location presents different circumstances than a traditional museum or gallery.

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“This approach allows the same enjoyment by those who are either well-versed or new to the respective subjects, and regardless of whether they have fifteen minutes to interact with the gallery or several hours to kill.”

But, does the thought of people whiling away the hours in a museum not send a shudder down the spine of retailers at the airport, hoping to cash in on travellers looking to use up their dwell time?

“While I’m unable to speak for all of the airport’s many vendors, those near our galleries and with whom we have regular contact are very positive in their comments to us,” says O’Brien.

“We have no reason to believe that any airport vendors see the exhibitions as a deterrent to travellers coming to their restaurants and shops.

“In fact, every indication suggests that the programme enhances the mood of visitors to SFO, whose passengers arrive earlier and use the airport’s shops and restaurants in far greater numbers and with more money spent than those visitors to other comparable airports.”

Back at CDG, the museum offers one final taste of Paris before passengers board their flight.

“From our experience, the presence of the museum in the terminal contributes to the aura,” says Turenne. “It recreates a strong yet modern Parisian atmosphere, with all that it means in terms of fashion and gastronomy. As such, it complements retailers’ offers, and does not compete with them at all.”

At Schiphol, too, the feeling is that the museum adds to the overall passenger experience, rather than taking away from retail and F&B.

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“The retailers at Schiphol are highly satisfied with the overall level of quality that the airport is able to offer to passengers,” adds Ambagtsheer.

“Facilities such as the Rijksmuseum Schiphol offer unique experiences that will encourage passengers to travel via Schiphol.

They keep passengers more active as well, encouraging them to also visit shops and catering establishments during their time at the airport.”

At Incheon, the museum is not the only distraction from shopping and eating.

“The airport has installed many spaces for relaxation, such as massage chairs,” Lee adds. “There is a PC-zone, free showers and sleepable couches across the passenger terminal and our commercial operation has been successful even with these facilities.”

While these airport museums do not bring in any direct revenue and also distract passengers from spending the last of their foreign currency, it seems there is a broader, albeit less-tangible, benefit to having such a facility.

Both Paris CDG and SFO point to competing airports, adding that a museum could be the deciding factor for a passenger; while Incheon and Schiphol point to museums adding to the overall passenger experience.

All travellers like choice, and by giving passengers that additional option of a trip to the museum, airports are broadening their appeal, and making their customers happier in the process. And, everyone knows that happy people spend more money.

AW

E G N A H C X E G N I T E K R A M PORT

MARKETING

AIR

THINKING DIFFERENTLY David McMullen and Shubhodeep Pal discuss marketing innovation in the age of the connected traveller.

A

irport marketing is waking up to the immense opportunities in today’s age of ‘connected travellers’.

These travellers, ever more hungry for new experiences, like to carry their living room with them as they travel – a smartphone, an iPad, a laptop.

According to TripAdvisor, 91% of travellers post pictures of vacations, 57% post status updates and 34% check-in while travelling. Additionally, 75% of business travellers and frequent fliers carry smartphones today. Just as many of them log-on to airport Wi-Fi when it is free.

Airports are not just engaging these travellers and providing customer service online. They are also gaining real-time, locationspecific customer intelligence, driving revenues and building their brands simultaneously. Traditional airport marketing campaigns are becoming ever more creative too.

A new regular column by SimpliFlying, the Airport Marketing Exchange, will elucidate key issues and address how airports can plan their marketing and communications strategy to affect and measure results.

Drawing from consulting experience of having worked with over 30 airports and airlines, and internal research studies conducted with hundreds of airports, this column will identify and confront the key challenges faced in airport marketing, sharing SimpliFlying’s expert opinion on how issues should be steered and factored into future strategy.

In alternate issues, a special report will feature a Q&A exchange with a senior executive working in the pursuit of marketing excellence. The exchange between leading figures in airport marketing will shed light on the latest trends and innovations, by hearing about the success of airport marketing, directly from the airport – combined with SimpliFlying’s own leading opinions, that continue to question, inspire and reinvent global airport brands.

In this inaugural issue, we dissect the current state of airport marketing and explore the gap between airlines and airports.

The state of airport marketing in 2013 – seven key trends In The State of Airport Marketing 2013 report recently published by SimpliFlying, seven key trends have been identified as definitive of how airport marketing is evolving today.

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1. Advocacy Advocacy, by those who have experienced a product or service, has always been the biggest driving force behind gaining new customers. Today’s connected age provides even more potent tools for travellers who are eager to share their experiences with their social networks.

For instance, Eindhoven Airport’s Facebook VIP initiative offers free perks, like valet parking and free meals, to randomly chosen fans on Facebook in the hope of turning them into brand advocates.

2. Social care Despite being willing brand advocates, today’s connected travellers are keen to get information on the go and are not shy to vent their frustration in an instant. Airports such as London Heathrow and Singapore Changi recognise this and provide excellent customer service over Twitter. Gatwick Airport has even installed an FIDS screen that displays its live Twitter feed.

3. Story telling At every airport, there are thousands of stories waiting to be told.

Socially caring airports not only create a memorable travel story but pay attention their passengers’ stories too, building memorable, long-lasting bonds with the community. Dublin Airport created a TV show based on real stories of travellers passing through the airport.

Vancouver Airport even had a guest staying eighty days at the airport and sharing a video blog each day.

4. Crowdsourcing Crowdsouring takes bond-building with the community a step further. Online platforms offer unprecedented opportunities for inviting customer participation and tapping into great ideas for product innovation. Helsinki Airport installed a book swap that turned out to be hugely popular – an idea that came about from its Quality Hunters initiative that has been tremendously effective in tapping into what customers want.

MARKETING

5. Red carpet The rise of a middle-class that is keen to travel, especially from developing countries, means a rapidly expanding travel market. Airports are keen to build bonds with international communities too and make them feel at home. Auckland Airport has become the first airport to tie up with Chinese social network Weibo in order to reach out to Chinese travellers and showcase its services.

6. Virtual shopping An average traveller spends at least an hour waiting to board his/her flight. How can airports and retailers penetrate into gate seating areas and sell their products?

A number of airports such as Frankfurt, Gatwick and New Delhi have installed virtual, QR-code screens that allow passengers to shop groceries and duty-free goods while they are waiting to board.

7. Innovative air service development In order to trump competition, airports must develop a sophisticated air service development strategy. This involves segmenting potential passenger markets and, ultimately, filling up planes for its airline partners.

Manchester Airport, via its ‘Fly Manchester’ campaign, seeks to win back the four million passengers from its catchment area who currently travel by road/rail to London airports even though routes operate from the local airport.

The seven trends and case studies above are just selections of the great work that is defining airport marketing today. Rather than casting a wide net, airports should focus their resources on one or two trends that have particular significance to their current marketing objectives.

Losing the gap with airline marketing Airport marketing is beginning to shed its traditional conservativeness and is catching up with its more evolved counterpart: airline marketing. That said, our internal research studies, Social Media Outlook 2013 for airlines and for airports, still show that a significant gap remains.

The most glaring discrepancy is in the ‘effort’ being put into social media management and campaigns. Whereas over 55% of airports invest fewer than 100 man-hours per month on social media, over 75% of airlines invest more than 90 man-hours per month on social media. While about 40% of airports plan to increase their social media budgets, over 70% of airlines plan to increase their social media budget in 2013.

However, the commonalities are the most instructive: first, both airlines and airports, have found that crossfunctional teams across departments work best for social media. Second, the biggest challenge social media teams are facing across both airlines and airports is the insufficient allocation of resources.

If airport marketing is to take-off, the latter must change.

Rather than sidelining social media, airports should be looking at how social media can be integrated into their entire communications and marketing plans in order to shore them up.

How can airports create a futuristic travel experience?

Ultimately, airports need to ask: can they inspire travellers to travel through their airport? Can they become traveller-friendly spaces by creating memorable travel experiences? From the evidence, a number of airports already are. But a true evolution will begin when most airports buy into this vision of the future of travel.

The learning curve to successful airport marketing does AW not end here.

About the authors David McMullen is vice president, airports, at SimpliFlying. Shubhodeep Pal is the company’s head of operations and innovation. www.simpliflying.com

we xecutive, and gX . e rt o p ir a r io n with a se marketin Q&A exchange rsation on T witter #airport a re tu a fe l il w ve The next issuecourage you to join the con en AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2013

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Obstacle course With the option on the table, why haven’t more US airports opted out of using the TSA to carry out security screening? Nicole Nelson investigates.

I

n 2005, Sioux Falls Regional Airport in South Dakota was among the first in the US to make the switch from using the Transportation Security Administration’s federal screening workforce to an equivalent operation offered by a private security firm.

It was a significant moment, and with TSA attracting a lot of unwanted headlines at the time largely due to complaints about heavy-handed screeners, many more airports were predicted to follow in the de-federalisation process.

However, the expected flood never happened, and as of August 2013, the current number of gateways to opt out currently stands at just 16, the total including seven small airports in Montana – Frank Wiley Field; Sidney Richland Regional; Dawson Community; LM Clayton; Wokal Field; Havre City County; and Lewiston Municipal.

So, why the lack of interest in the TSA’s Screening Partnership Program (SPP)? Don’t be fooled by the numbers, as the apparent slow take-up seems to be more down to political obstacles faced by airports wishing to opt out of using TSA screeners than the lack of will.

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Kansas City International Airport is a case in point, with nearly a dozen years of experience with FirstLine Transportation Security since the TSA was stood up immediately after 9/11.

As one of the first five pilot programme participants, Kansas City enthusiastically chose to continue with private screening through the opt-out programme following the conclusion of the test programme.

Director of aviation, Mark Van Loh, says that he is “thrilled” with FirstLine, as the private contractor has consistently provided the gateway with the flexibility necessary to meet security demands given its complex configuration since ‘Day One’.

“I wasn’t here during 9/11, so I can’t speak to why Kansas City opted in as part of the pilot programme back then,” says Kansas City Aviation Department’s Van Loh. “But, I think it is safe to say we have an unusual terminal layout with 12 checkpoints. It is very confusing because our gates are not interconnected, and I can’t imagine the feds managing this type of operation.”

SECURITY

In addition to meeting the flexible staffing and logistical needs driven by Kansas City’s sophisticated layout, Van Loh believes the FirstLine customer service experience is preferential.

Accolades concur: In 2010, J.D. Power & Associates awarded Kansas City International Airport the highest ranking for passenger satisfaction among medium-sized airports, in part due to its convenience at security checkpoints.

With Kansas City’s notable success under the SPP, Van Loh fields calls from airport directors around the country that want to talk about – or tour – the airport’s successful private screening operations.

He said he relays the message that SPP is not necessarily for everyone, but encourages airports to consider the programme, despite the fact that airports continually run into impediments that prohibit them from moving forward.

“The Screening Partnership Program works very successfully here in Kansas City,” enthuses Van Loh. “I believe it is saving time and money for the taxpayers, and I would like to see it continue.

“Obviously there are other airports in the US that feel the same way, but given some of the obstacles that have been put in front of them just to apply for the programme, there is a difference of opinion there.”

Since the TSA created the SPP at the conclusion of the programme’s pilot in 2004, all 450 commercial airports in the United States have been eligible to apply to have screening performed by private contractors under federal oversight.

But an exceedingly small number of airports have applied, much less been approved, to participate in the programme since then.

As a result the 16 airports to opt out to date include Kansas City, San Francisco; Greater Rochester; Jackson Hole; Tupelo Regional; Key West; Charles M Schulz-Sonoma County; Roswell Industrial Air Center; Sioux Falls Regional and the original seven Montana airports approved in 2009.

“It is fair to say that a number of airports that are in the Screening Partnership Program or that have applied to be in the SPP have faced some challenges in working with TSA as a result of their participation or their intent to participate in the programme,” said Christopher Bidwell, vice president of security and facilitation with ACI-North America.

In recent years, Bidwell said that TSA had been successful in creatively interpreting the law outlined in the Aviation Transportation Security Act, noting that additional barriers were installed within the SPP application progress before the Administration attempted to “fence in the programme altogether.”

As recently as January 28, 2011, ACI-NA was advised that TSA Administrator, John S Pistole, had rendered a decision not to approve any previously submitted applications to participate in the Screening Partnership Program.

All airports that had previously submitted applications were notified that their applications would be denied. And although the TSA said it was not killing the programme and that airports could still apply, applications would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

“Basically, the way we interpreted this was that TSA was fencing in the programme and limiting participation to the 16 airports that were already in it,” comments Bidwell.

“A couple of weeks later, it was interesting that the TSA announced that the Administrator had decided to provide limited collective bargaining rights to the transportation security officers.”

Airports throughout the State of Montana are among the gateways that have clearly sensed the political motivation behind the move to ratchet back SPP in exchange for giving transportation security officers the right to join trade unions.

Starting in the autumn of 2007, the Montana airports were recruited

by TSA Headquarters’ SPP Office to join the privatisation programme. The TSA prompt precipitated the submission of applications from a number of airports to include Glacier Park International.

As the gateway airport to a national park, Glacier Park has elected to pursue the SPP model as a means to meet seasonal staffing needs, and is among a handful of the latest slate of airports that are still smarting from a five-year chain of events that left the state in limbo with the TSA. Butte’s Bert Mooney Airport, West Yellowstone’s Yellowstone Airport and Missoula International Airport join Glacier Park as airports that were originally denied, while Bozeman Yellowstone International was a more recent addition.

The applications sat for over a year before all were ultimately denied for lack of a ‘clear and substantial advantage’ to TSA. Missoula International Airport ceased the quest, while the majority sought new answers to the ambiguous criterion.

Out of concern that TSA was limiting the airport community’s ability to take advantage of, and participate in the SPP, ACI-NA worked not only with the agency, but also with Congress, to ensure that airports are entitled to the programme as an available option.

And, through ACI-NA’s work with Congress, the FAA Reauthorization Act signed by the President on February 14, 2012, contains several SPP stipulations that require TSA to approve – within

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a 90-day time period – an application submitted by an airport to participate in the SPP. If, for whatever reason, the TSA disapproves the application, not only does TSA have to notify by report to the airport citing why their application was not approved, but the agency also has to provide data to Congress outlining the reasons. Then, TSA must work with the airport to provide information such that it can have a successful application.

ACI-NA’s Bidwell said that despite the positive amendments contained in the FAA Reauthorization Act, the new legislation still stops short of getting airports to the finish line in the multi-phased programme approach.

While an airport can apply and be approved by the TSA, the TSA itself still has to issue an RFP to solicit proposals from would-be screening providers wanting to provide the service at the airport that has been approved for participation in the programme. Upon receipt, TSA has to evaluate, and then ultimately approve, one of the providers through a contract.

Bidwell says that, in addition to selecting screening contractors, the transition from federal to privatised screening, “takes forever and a day.”

“We have been working with Congress to alert Members that, despite the stipulation in the FAA Reauthorization Act, TSA has not moved efficiently to issue the RFPs and ultimately get private screening providers in place,” states Bidwell, noting that the TSA has had a number of solicitation back steps of late.

“There have been solicitations put out there, and when TSA is getting to the point when they are ready to act upon it and issue a contract, they pull the solicitation and go out for re-bid.”

Glacier Park has experienced the gamut of such experiences. The airport reapplied, and was approved for SPP under the new Reauthorization legislation only to have the RFP for a contractor pulled in the eleventh hour.

In the grievance period of the Award to the Notification Process, the TSA decided the math did not work.

Within a week of that RFP cancellation, TSA immediately issued a pre-solicitation of another RFP, this time with a cap on the maximum bid amount. As of August 2013, Glacier Park was yet to see an RFP issued.

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However, despite all of the bobbles, a number of airports beyond Glacier Park have continued on the long course to have screening provided by private screeners.

Orlando Sanford is another airport that is awaiting an RFP after a lengthy process that began four years ago.

Sanford Airport Authority’s president and CEO, Larry Dale, said the first application was turned down with the ambiguous reason that SPP at Sanford was not advantageous to the federal government.

Upon applying again, Sanford’s bid was denied again citing that it was not equitable for the TSA. In a third attempt, made with the assistance of the Congressional mandate under the new Reauthorization Act, Sanford was finally approved for the Screening Partnership Program.

In June, TSA conducted a pre-solicitation meeting with 15 companies that toured Sanford’s screening operations at the airport as a prelude to the issuance of the RFP. Dale insists that Sanford desires less government restrictions. “It is hard for the TSA to discipline anybody, much less fire anybody,” he says.

“I am a firm believer in private business and the free enterprise system. I think you get a better service for that at a better price. My management style is hands on and we aren’t afraid to take the tiger by the tail and jump in and do it.”

As a law enforcement officer who operates an airport with its own police force, Dale is a staunch proponent of SPP. As an airport entity, Sanford has officially been approved as a qualified bidder by the TSA, with Dale’s ultimate goal to team with an approved screening company in a hybrid model.

Under this model, the personnel will be provided by the private screening firm partner, while Sanford provides the management, reporting, and administration as the prime contractor.

“We want to be the one that is ultimately in charge and ultimately responsible,” admits Dale.

Watch this space for further developments.

AW

CONCESSION NEWS

The buying game Airport World reviews some of the latest retail and F&B projects and developments across the globe.

London luxury

The opening of a new 6,500 square foot Harrods store and 10 new luxury outlets that include Ernest Jones and Aspinal of London formed part of a big summer retail revamp at Gatwick’s South Terminal. They will be joined by an additional 12 new or refreshed retail outlets later this year as the airport completes the transformation of its South Terminal departure lounge.

Better buys

Transforming Toronto

San Diego International Airport hopes that the opening of 16 new retail and F&B stores and the promise of more to come will help increase its passenger appeal.

Arguably the standouts of the latest openings include the PGA Tour Grill, Craft Brews on 30th Street – a bar and restaurant that celebrates San Diego’s local craft beer culture – and Gaslamp Marketplace.

A desire to introduce more ‘sense of place’ outlets and increase the range and variety of food, beverage and retail options on offer was also behind the revamp.

San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s president and CEO, Thella Bowens, said: “Customer satisfaction is a high priority, and these new restaurants and shops will make the traveller’s time at the airport more pleasant and enjoyable.”

When complete, the airport will host 87 restaurants and retail locations – 22 more than today.

As a result of the upgrade, concessions employees at the airport are expected double to around 1,200 in 2014.

Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) is working with retail partner, Nuance, to transform the duty free shopping offering in Terminal 1 with the addition of a host of luxury brands.

High-end retailers such as Burberry, Coach, Michael Kors, Omega, Gucci, Mont Blanc and Ferragamo will feature in what Roberto Graziani, Nuance’s president and CEO, describes as a “new, innovative retail concept” are due to open by year-end.

As part of the duty free redevelopment, Nuance will develop more than 1,900sqm in Terminal 1, including 370sqm of new space.

Pamela Griffith-Jones, GTAA’s vice president of guest and terminal services, said the overhaul will take the duty free experience to “a new level”.

“We know our guests will be excited by the high-end offerings and that a new store concept will give them the airport shopping experience they are looking for,” she enthuses.

“This is another example of how Toronto Pearson is delivering on our brand promise to provide our guests with more branded shopping options.”

According to the GTAA, the stores are being specially designed for Toronto Pearson and will incorporate global best practices focused on optimising store navigation, product visibility and in-store communications.

Coffee on the fly Passengers passing through Denver International Airport (DIA) can now grab a coffee and bagel on the go at Colorado’s newest Einstein Bros Bagels outlet located on the east side of level six of Jeppesen Terminal.

“As our passengers have seen over the last 12 months, we are making great progress towards a robust increase in the variety of retail, food and beverage offerings in our airport,” says Kim Day, DIA’s manager of aviation.

“Einstein Bros Bagels is another step in that direction, and its popularity on Concourse C has demonstrated its appeal to our passengers. We are delighted to open this additional facility in the Jeppesen Terminal.”

Earlier this summer DIA expanded its retail offering with the opening of a new TAGS evolution fashion outlet near Gate B29 in Concourse B. The gateway’s existing retail and F&B offering consists of more than 170,000 square feet inside the airport, including more than 140 locations offering an exciting culinary, fashion and retail experience.

In 2012, the shopping and dining programme generated $281 million in gross sales and more than $49 million in revenue to the airport.

The magnificent seven Norway’s Tromsø Airport is to take its retail and F&B offering to a new level with the opening of seven new outlets early next year.

As well as the airport’s first ever landside shop, new arrivals will include Upper Crust, O’Learys sports bar, Caffè Ritazza, Pizza Hut Express and a Northern Lights Bar. The concession has been awarded to existing F&B provider, SSP, which values the deal at €75 million.

“We have worked with Avinor at Tromsø for nearly 50 years, and we are very pleased that this partnership is now to move forward into another phase,” says SSP Norway’s managing director, Morten Solberg Nilsen.

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SECURITY

Centre stage Pat Taggert reports on the growing trend of airports opening security enhancing centralised collection and distribution centres for the delivery of food, retail and other supplies at airport terminals.

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hree years ago Airport World published the findings of an academic study that favoured as ‘best practice’ the centralised collection and distribution of goods and products delivered to airport terminals.

It stated that such a system would boost security and customer service levels at airports and stated that there appeared to be a swelling trend among airports to adopt the solution.

Arguably, it has been proved right, as San Diego International Airport, Dallas Love Field and London Heathrow are now among 18 airports worldwide to use a centralised collection and distribution centre today.

And, they will soon be joined by Austin-Bergstrom, London Gatwick and others as the number of airports signing up to the concept continues to grow.

Speaking about the introduction of San Diego’s facility, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s president and CEO, Thella Bowens, says: “It will make the airport run more efficiently, more securely and keeps trucks off busy Harbor Drive.

“It centralises all airport deliveries to one location, which removes 50-75 truck trips per day from busy Harbor Drive. It was sized to cost-effectively accommodate 100% screening of goods going to the terminals by the TSA. It’s a benefit for both the airport and the community.”

Other leading industry figures to feel the same include Oris Dunham, Tom Kinton, Jeffrey Hamiel, Benjamin DeCosta, Rafi Rhan, Bob White and AIRMALL USA’s president, Mark Knight.

Knight notes: “Central receiving and distribution is a very effective and very positive service. It is absolutely critical in an airport environment where space restraints and security concerns exist.

“Our experience has been that collectively, we save money overall.

It is the right thing to do in our airports.”

After all, these industry leaders believe that airports are like mini-cities with so many types of materials being consumed, which require hundreds of weekly delivery trucks to service the airport.

Under the centralised collection and distribution solution, only one known and fully vetted logistics/security entity is contracted to manage all supplier trucks and material movements into the airport terminals.

This one operator receives, inspects, consolidates and distributes product to end-users under highly customised standards.

From the airport operator’s perspective they are able to eliminate space restraints, create a much higher security environment and enable a highly timed co-ordinated delivery to the end-user, resulting in an improved passenger experience. The entire process becomes less complicated, less demanding and less congested.

The operation can be entirely automated so that every movement of product is scheduled and tracked in real-time by leveraging the use of IT system infrastructure and automated systems. The grunt work and clerical staffs’ associated with material deliveries are removed.

System oversight helps to prevent service deficiencies from occurring and greatly improves safety management including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) for food safety controls.

Additionally, all material returns associated with reverse logistics operations are co-ordinated, monitored and tracked.

At the central facility, a number of sustainability programmes have been established including recycling F&B concessionaire’s yellow grease from the fryers and instituting a rubbish and cardboard collection/ recycling operation. The concept further reduces truck emissions being released into the atmosphere.

Some airports have even been able to use their complex to collect unsold concessionaire food and then re-distribute it to needy within the community.

Other potential benefits of a centralised collection and distribution centre can be overall cost savings for the airport community.

Many airports have also even seen their concessions’ revenue per passenger increase and some have even turned their recycling programmes into active revenue generation schemes while becoming more environmentally friendly.

Indeed, such are the possible advantages of centralised collection and distribution centres that most airports that have introduced them, indicate that they would never go back to the old and arguably antiquated ways for material deliveries.

AW

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CAR PARKING

Driving change Adopting new car parking strategies to improve customer service and generate revenue should be higher up the agenda of US airports, write Steven Grant and Michele Krakowski.

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any US airports are experiencing a drop in parking revenue, which has traditionally proved a significant source of income that many use to subsidise other airport expenditures.

The combination of a slow US economy and increased off-airport competition are two of the key current contributors to this loss in airport parking revenue.

Given increased customer expectations and decreased government funding, arguably the time has come for US airports to adopt a more progressive, competitive, and even outright entrepreneurial approach if they want to keep their parking customers.

And this may be easier said that done as US airports are often guilty of, and often adverse to, shedding the government mindset and becoming profit-centred market driven organisations.

The good news is that there are several revenue enhancement strategies available that most US airports have yet to try. Even better news, is that these strategies have been proven successful for over 15 years in many overseas airports.

The best news of all is that adopting these parking strategies makes parking much more fun and even appealing than traditional methods! So let’s take a look at some of these strategies.

Know your competition Identify, evaluate, and where possible, quantify your current and future parking competition. This includes public transportation, nearby airports, drop-offs by family/friends, and of course the off-airport parking providers.

Determine the competition’s present and future impact on airport parking revenue. Use this information to develop and prioritise your goals for your parking strategy.

View all parking products through your customer’s eyes – how do your products and prices compare to your competition?

Recognise that all parking spaces are not equal, even within the same parking facility. Each parking space is a unique product so treat them that way.

Look at the least and most desirable spaces within each parking facility and determine the requirements to offer these spaces at different prices.

Evaluate the competition’s products and prices. Then look at your products and prices to see what adjustments are needed.

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Bring key organisational decision makers on board Analyse and present key data points to identify the financial impacts if significant changes are delayed.

Provide airport leadership with a realistic revenue forecast and assessment of how much market share can be retained, and gained, with or without strategic initiatives.

Listen to your customers Give priority to their needs and wants. Parking creates the first and last impression of your airport for many visitors. It isn’t a necessary evil – it’s an opportunity, and can therefore be exploited or lost.

Listening is an opportunity to connect and build crucial customer satisfaction and loyalty through identifying the services used to create products that meet customer needs. Listening to your competition’s customers is also key.

Parking service parameters that require consideration include availability of self park/valet/kerbside options, covered/uncovered spaces, distance to the terminal (walking and driving), transportation wait times, refundable and non-refundable reservations, and loyalty points.

Parking departments are also selling services such as airport lounge passes, expedited security passes, discounts at airport concessionaires, car wash and detailing, oil changes, flowers, and even chocolates.

A word of caution – don’t jump off the deep end. Start with a small subset of new products then analyse performance data. Adjust until you reach your optimal levels of service and pricing. Only then would you continue to add appropriate products.

CAR PARKING Invest in a fresh and appealing image of the parking products Time to embrace your marketing department! Be creative and give your products catchy yet intuitive names that reinforce to your customers the price and quality of their purchasing decision.

Invest in eye-catching designs to promote your parking products.

This includes the design of your website, mobile application, and local signage.

Finally, design your operating model, staff training and appearance to reflect the product being sold in that area of the parking operation.

Compete directly with your off-airport parking competition To win back customer share lost to off-airport operators, the implementation of variable product pricing can increase revenue per space.

How? By filling those empty spaces and ‘up-charging’ your full spaces. Roll up prices are the set prices that are posted on the airport property and these will always be the same, but for customers willing to pre-pay for parking online, variable pricing based on demand should be offered for the best and highest use of your parking spaces.

Pre-paid parking prices change with demand and are not posted at the airport. The concept is akin to purchasing an airline ticket – one customer pays a different price than the other sitting right next to them without knowing it.

Take parking into the 22nd century

This strategy will minimise customer confusion while allowing the airport to self-educate the yield management opportunities and refine the processes in a controlled manner.

Once your parking services have been identified, list all of the parking products and services you may want to offer and determine the degree of customer interest and price elasticity for these products.

Obtaining customer feedback on the following is critical: • Why did they park at the airport? (Or more to the point, why didn’t they park at the airport?)

• Why did they park in a particular parking facility?

• What do they like about parking in an airport facility?

• What don’t they like about parking at the airport?

• What other products or services would they like to use and at what price? (It is effective to suggest products and price points as well) Finally, develop new products and pricing structures based on customer feedback. The ultimate goal is to provide customers what they are asking for through clear communication channels.

Ensure all available services and features are clearly presented to your customers through your marketing channels when they purchase parking at the airport. The message behind each product must also be clear so customers understand fully what they are purchasing.

For example, a premium product with covered parking near the terminal versus a supersaver uncovered space with shuttle service.

Price each product according to the customer-perceived value.

The time has come to make parking simple and rewarding for your customers. Airports need only look at the initiatives airlines are currently promoting in terms of passenger loyalty programmes, usage of social media and increasing the data and information that passengers want, in order to make their experience from leaving home to arriving at their final destination a positive one.

Each mode of travel and experience from leaving one’s home to arriving at the airport, to parking, ticketing, security, concessions, departing – and consequently the return trip home – are all inextricably linked and form the entire travel experience. The concept of the ‘Connected Traveller’ is truer than ever before.

In short, in order to be successful an airport must: • Identify their customer segments to then target those customers with a product that is correctly priced for the period of time it is available • Know the competition and understand their offerings and how to provide better solutions. Identify the right price points which can often be done only through testing and learning • Understand the reservation curves and understand what is ‘normal’ and plan how to price the ‘abnormal’ • Always looks for opportunities and maximise the ability to market effectively to resolve any problems Most importantly, have fun with your new-found possibilities and enjoy the ride!

AW

About the authors Michele Krakowski (mkrakowski@lumin.us.com) is founder and owner of US based parking consulting firm, Lumin Advisors. Steven Grant (sgrant@ ltk.com) is a senior systems consultant at LTK Engineering Services.

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Stop and go!

CAR PARKING NEWS

Joe Bates reviews a handful of car parking initiatives and developments in the US and Europe.

Lighting up Detroit Metro

Parking success for DAA DAA, the owner of Dublin Airport, hasn’t looked back since launching its parking consulting services, car parks | daa, in 2011, undertaking assignments at a number of airports in the United States, the UK and Greece.

Driving the new consultancy is Dublin Airport’s ‘revenue growth model’ with its emphasis on a commercial approach to growing top line parking revenues while focusing on improved value and service levels for customers.

According to DAA, this new approach has shifted the traditional focus from car parking as a cost based service to a commercial, revenue enhancing and core business for the airport operator.

Car parks | daa has identified growth opportunities ranging from $2 million to $20 million per annum for client airports.

Some of these opportunities are said to include: creating the ability to compete aggressively with the off-airport operators to win market share and rebuild customer loyalty for the airport; promoting modal switching, such as, from taxis to driving and parking on-airport; investing in customer research – segmenting the market and offering value tailored products at attractive prices to key groups; and, understanding the off-airport competition and monitoring them more closely.

Large and medium sized US airports are generating an average of about 20% of their operating revenues from car parking and ground transportation – an average of $4 per emplaning passenger.

The range varies from less than $1.80 to almost $11.00 per enplaning passenger depending on the airport. The obvious conclusion is that the potential for parking revenue growth is significant at those airports underperforming.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is to replace all 6,050 lights in its parking structures and increase the number of fixtures by 19%, while still saving 66% on its annual electric bill by switching to light-emitting diode (LED) lights.

The anticipated annual reduction of energy consumption by more than 7,345,000 kilowatt hours in combination with reduced labour and material costs will save Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) approximately $1.2 million (at current electric rates) every year.

According to the airport, the existing lights need to be replaced on average once every 13 months whereas the new Cooper LED lights are guaranteed to meet minimum lighting levels for ten years.

“This project will produce multiple desirable outcomes,” enthuses WCAA CEO, Tom Naughton. “It will improve the lighting in our parking facilities, reduce energy consumption, save on maintenance costs and shrink our carbon footprint.”

In addition to the new fixtures, the project incorporates Smart Light Controls in both parking structures which sense activity in the facilities and observe ambient light levels allowing the airport to gain even more savings by reducing lighting levels during times when no activity occurs.

“Airport consultants believe this may be the largest single conversion from incandescent lighting to LED ever achieved in the nation,” says WCAA’s director of infrastructure and engineering, Ali Dib. “The energy saved in this project is equivalent to powering 880 US households for one year, and the reduction of 7,000 metric tons of CO2 per year is equal to taking 1,350 passenger vehicles off the road.”

Helping hands at Heathrow Heathrow has come up with a novel way of assisting the nearly 200,000 British families that are expected to fly out of the gateway for their summer holidays – an army of porters to help them with their luggage!

Kitted out in purple T-Shirts, the dedicated team of ‘airporters’ as they have been christened by Heathrow, will specifically help families get from the airport’s Long Stay car parks to the terminal buildings.

The move follows research showing that 43% of parents feel stressed or nervous at the idea of travelling with their children.

It also revealed that 64% of parents said they would welcome an ‘extra’ hand when travelling through the airport.

So, to help these families have a smoother journey, Heathrow have appointed dedicated airporters aboard the shuttle buses in the Long Stay car parks to give parents a helping hand to and from the terminals for the summer holidays.

Paul Buckley, Heathrow’s head of travel services said: ‘We want our Heathrow airporters to better understand families and how tricky it can be navigating the airport with excited children.

“We hope the Heathrow airporters will bring an extra smile to children’s faces and relief to busy parents.”

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INTERMODALISM

On a roll Ian Putzger discovers than an ever-increasing number of North American airports are warming up to the benefits of rail links.

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t may be wrong to describe it as a trend, but the number of rail projects underway in North America right now does appear to show that its airports are finally waking up to the advantages of getting train links.

They include Toronto Pearson, Denver and Washington-Dulles, and the reasons for them looking at trains covers everything from wanting to ease congestion on airport approach roads to the desire to become more environmentally friendly.

Greater Toronto Airport Authority’s vice president for guest and terminal services, Pamela Griffith-Jones, admits that traffic congestion on the way to Toronto Pearson is a “source of anxiety” for many travellers.

“People want reliable access to Toronto Pearson and a rail link can give them that,” she notes.

Relief is under way in the shape of a 3.1-kilometre rail spur that will connect the airport to a rail line to the city’s downtown transportation hub.

Both the rail link and the station at the airport are currently under construction and scheduled to be ready by the spring of 2015, in time for the Pan American Games held in Toronto that year.

“We want to make sure we get as many ground transportation options as possible to better serve the 35 million passengers than pass through our airport each year,” adds Griffith-Jones.

Washington-Dulles is also in the process of getting a rail link to metropolitan Washington. The $6 billion project, which is due for completion by the end of 2018, is a huge undertaking with 11 new stations that will increase the track length of the area’s entire rail system by 25%.

“One of the most consistent passenger complaints that we have been getting is that Dulles is not connected to metropolitan transit,” says airport manager, Chris Browne.

Somewhat ironically, a large chunk of the project is financed by local drivers who do not use the airport as the state of Virginia handed over control of some very lucrative toll roads to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) for this very purpose.

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Road tolls account for about half of the $6 billion price tag, with 25% coming from federal grant money, and the remainder from surrounding counties, the airport authority and other parties.

The cost of the rail project cannot be borne by airport users only, as this would not generate enough funds, comments Browne.

Businesses along the rail corridor need to grow to a sufficient size to attract riders, he adds.

Unlike the WMAA, the GTAA and Metrolinx – which will operate the Toronto link through a dedicated subsidiary called Union Pearson Express – are looking at a premium service.

Most likely this will not be viable for employees working at the airport on a regular basis, although the GTAA has been in talks with Metrolinx trying to find a possible solution there, reveals Griffith-Jones.

“We want a seamless experience for our passengers,” she remarks.

“They will be able to check-in and tag their bags at the downtown station, although they cannot drop off their luggage there.”

Another gateway getting a rail service is Denver International Airport (DIA), which is on target to get a 22.8 mile commuter rail between Denver Union Station and its new South Terminal in early 2016.

The East Rail Line link, which has been talked about since 1997, will be built, financed and operated by Denver Transit Partners and is expected to significantly reduce car and bus traffic to and from the airport.

DIA’s aviation manager, Kim Day, is also hoping that its introduction will mean that it is no longer necessary to expand the airport’s four-lane entry road.

Ultimately, DIA hopes that the ‘Gateway’ zone in its airport city plan will boast three commuter rail links.

“We are trying to get people who are not flying to come out on the train from downtown, see a concert in our wonderful year-round climate, spend a little money and increase non-aeronautical revenue. A lot of people love this airport,” says Day.

INTERMODALISM Business models Vancouver International Airport (YVR), which inaugurated its rail links from the downtown core and to the city of Richmond adjacent to the airport in 2009, opted for a public transit model. Minneapolis–St Paul (MSP) went the same way with its light rail link to the airport, which has been operating since 2005.

Both airport authorities report positive experiences with the system and high satisfaction expressed by rail users.

At both airports, riders can use the rail system free of charge to travel within the area. In Minneapolis, this covers the connection between the airport’s two terminals.

“Otherwise we would need buses. We can keep them off the road and emissions down,” says Arlie Johnson, assistant director of MSP operations/landside. He adds that not having to operate buses saves the airport about $2.5 million a year.

The island on which Vancouver International Airport is located has three rail stations – one between the domestic and international terminals, one in a service area (mostly used by employees) and one in an area that has been designated for commercial development.

In the first phase, which is expected to open in March of 2015, a designer outlet centre is being built there.

“This will attract not only residents but also people in transit,” says Tony Gugliotta, senior vice president, commercial services, who notes that the rail services have massively helped ease congestion on the roads and in YVR’s car parks.

“If we did not have the rail line, people would come by car and we would soon reach capacity,” he says. “We are already close to capacity on parking, so the rail links have actually relieved some of the peak-time pressure,” he says.

MSP also has a rail link to the Mall of America, which is about a ten-minute ride from the airport. “We have people who fly in for shopping at the Mall of America, who take the rail to the mall,” says Johnson.

“People with a three-hour layover also go. We get a fair amount of enquiries from people just about that.”

The airport authority has also looked at the possibility of event marketing, such as enticing visitors to a sports event in town to park at the airport and take the train to the venue.

“I think there will be a time in the future when there will be a more concerted effort to bring people to the airport via light rail,” reflects Johnson.

The network is growing. At the moment a rail link to St Paul is being built, and there are plans for a line to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, about an hour’s drive from the airport.

Opposition Not surprisingly, cab and limo operators have not shown much enthusiasm for the rail links that have come on stream or are currently being created, fearing loss of income.

At Vancouver and MSP the impact has proved less pronounced than anticipated, though. At MSP statistics indicate that the impact has been small, with enough growth in traffic to compensate for most of the loss of passengers to rail, according to Johnson.

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INTERMODALISM

“Initially there was a slight impact. I am not sure if that was from the train or from the economy,” remarks Gugliotta.

“We have a new limo provider now who is doing better than the previous one.”

Griffith-Jones is expecting some repercussions for cab and limo operators, but reckons that the overall impact will be limited.

“The train goes downtown, with two or three stops. A lot of our passengers are not going downtown but elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area,” she says.

Impact on airport revenues Does the introduction of a rail link inevitably mean a drop in car parking revenues for airports? Vancouver’s Gugliotta says an emphatic ‘yes’, but notes that it is easily manageable.

“We estimated an impact of about 10% and it has been pretty much that,” says Gugliotta, adding that a significant increase in the tax levy on parking came into effect at the time when the rail link opened.

MSP’s Johnson notes that the impact was much less at his airport, where incidentally, parking is the gateway’s largest single source of revenue.

“Most people who come to the airport, want the convenience of parking on the airport. I think there is a small number who park elsewhere and take the LRT,” he says. “With employees – yes, they do that, but not so many travellers. The effect is about 1% or 2% of our parking. It is not significant.”

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At Dulles, Browne does not anticipate a significant hit on parking revenues either. “I think the biggest erosion will be in drop-offs at the kerb,” he reflects.

Useage At MSP the trains moved on average 4,779 people between the airport’s terminals in 2011 and LRT passenger numbers to the airport have grown.

Johnson reckons that much of this is driven by employees, but a growing number of passengers make use of the system and it is well received, he says.

Rail use to Vancouver airport has exceeded projections. The airport authority had anticipated use of public transit to its doorstep to grow from 2% (who were using buses) to 8% to 12% over five years. “We are at 17 percent now,” says Gugliotta.

Washington’s Reagan National sees an outstanding 18% or 19% of airport users arrive by metro. But then, the airport is an anomaly, in as much as the existence of metro station determined the location of passenger terminal.

He does not anticipate comparable passenger use of rail to get to Dulles, at least not for a while. “I think we will see 6% to 8% for some time,” he says.

Griffith-Jones does not have ridership projections for the train to downtown Toronto, but she points out that the rail link is expected to eliminate up to 1.5 million car trips in a year, which is a positive environmental impact, she says.

AW

PROJECT WATCH

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport New terminal will ultimately be capable of accommodating up to 43mppa.

project details Location: Taiwan

T

aoyuan International Airport Corporation (TAC), operator of Taiwan’s main gateway, has awarded an international joint venture the consultancy contract for the development of its new Terminal 3.

Comprising Parsons Brinkerhoff, NACO and T.Y. Lin International (TYLIN), the JV will be responsible for overseeing the planning, design and construction management of T3, which will help raise the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s capacity to in excess of 60mppa by 2030.

Terminal 3 will be connected with Terminal 2 and the area in between are to be developed into a multi-purpose building that will contain a ground transportation centre, parking and commercial real estate.

Both terminals at the airport – home to both China Airlines and EVA Air – will be served by the regional light rail system.

The consultancy contract, worth an estimated $44 million to the JV, also includes the construction management of new A380 compatible parking positions and a new double cross taxiway.

With forecasts predicting that throughput at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA) could rocket from around 28mppa today to up to 86mppa by 2042, the need for additional facilities is obvious.

TAC’s CEO, Samuel Lin, says: “The new terminal will be good for passengers, the environment and the airlines as it will be user friendly, energy efficient and better meet the operational needs of hub carriers China Airlines and EVA Air and their respective SkyTeam and Star Alliance partners.”

Lin admits that TAC has learnt a lot from the impressive terminal buildings at Singapore Changi and Hong Kong International Airport. They include the benefits of having an open and spacious building with lots of natural light; good signage; keeping the need to change floor levels

Important developments: to a minimum; and creating different flooring for different areas – carpet for lounges and granite at check-in, for example.

Rik Krabbendam, managing director of NACO, enthuses: “The airport expansion will allow the airport to regain its position as a major aviation hub and become an even stronger driver for the national economy, following examples set by Amsterdam Schiphol among others”.

NACO is no stranger to the airport having been associated with projects to enhance TTIA’s airfield since 2007.

It will provide its expertise in terminal area master planning and knowledge of the airport.

Parsons Brinckerhoff, with its experience in project and construction management, will be responsible for the programme management of the project, and together with TYLIN will utilise their knowledge for the local engineering and site management.

TAC is confident that the new double cross taxiway system will be fast-tracked in order to clear the area for the T3 site that is currently occupied by the airport’s existing cross taxiway system.

The design package for this is expected to be tendered next year along with final designs for the new terminal.

Elsewhere, Aéroports de Paris Ingénierie (ADPi) in collaboration with JV partner, Sinotech, has been named as the detailed design consultant for the redevelopment/renovation of the existing two runways, associated taxiways and NAVAIDS at TTIA. Its teams will also work on establishing an additional quick exit lane and extra parking areas, as well as extending the south runway 100 metres west and 350 metres east to reach 3,800 metres.

Following the expansion and redevelopment work, this runway will be able to accommodate AW widebody aircraft up to the size of the A380.

New Terminal 3

Scheduled completion date: TBC

Principal companies involved: NACO-TYLIN-Parsons Brinckerhoff joint venture

Total investment: $1.65 billion

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WBP NEWS

The latest news from ACI’s World Business Partners Being neighbourly

Zagreb International Airport has upgraded its existing noise monitoring system to include flight tracks and emissions monitoring.

Whilst Croatia’s capital city gateway is not obliged by current legislation to have a permanent noise monitoring system, it wished to provide greater visibility of its compliance with regulations.

Public disclosure of the airport’s impact on the community also helps to open a dialogue and build greater acceptance between airport and neighbours.

The airport chose Brüel and Kjær’s turnkey NoiseDesk and AirTrak solutions to enhance its noise monitorig system.

Zagreb Airport’s quality manager, Zdenko Malenica, said: “The easy to use solutions provided by Brüel and Kjær give us state-of-the-art noise monitoring, track compliance monitoring and carbon emissions assessment without the need for specialist staff.

“NoiseDesk alerts us to any issues when they need addressing which frees our staff to concentrate on other aspects of their jobs.”

The new system is now active and will provide continuous monitoring of noise and track compliance at Zagreb Airport and also supports on-going INM modelling.

Parsons Brinkerhoff sign up Aerotropolis guru

Dr John Kasarda has been named a consultant to the aviation group of Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global infrastructure strategic consulting, engineering, and programme/construction management organisation.

At Parsons Brinckerhoff, Kasarda will provide intellectual guidance and thought leadership for airport development projects, with emphasis on planning and implementing the aerotropolis concept.

Kasarda is the Kenan distinguished professor of strategy and director of the Center for Air Commerce at the University of North Carolina and has published more than 100 articles – many in Airport World – and 10 books on aviation infrastructure, logistics, and urban development.

His latest book, Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next (co-authored with Greg Lindsay), was featured in Time magazine in 2011 as one of the “10 ideas that will change the world.”

“We’re delighted to have Jack engaged with the Parsons Brinckerhoff team,” said its aviation market leader, Roddy Boggus.

“He will interact with our professionals as they develop new airports or redevelop existing facilities to function not just as transportation hubs but as business magnets generating economic growth and prosperity for local communities.”

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Into the void Crisplant has been awarded the project to link the baggage handling system in London Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2 with the existing system in Terminal 1.

Working through MACE, the project’s main contractors, BEUMER Group will design, install and commission the conveyor systems for the baggage handling system link.

The new system will link the baggage handling systems in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 via the Heathrow T1 South Void Link system.

When completed, the fully integrated system will enable Terminal 1 to process the departure and transfer baggage for passengers in Terminal 2, effectively streamlining the baggage handling process in a bid to minimise transfer times for passengers on connecting flights.

Crisplant’s managing director, Klaus Schäfer, said: “Our proven ability to upgrade and integrate new baggage handling systems with minimal disruption will be a crucial factor in this project.”

The new Terminal 2 is set to open in 2014 and is the latest phase of a major transformation of London Heathrow, which is the UK’s busiest airport.

Big in Japan ARINC Incorporated is implementing its vMUSE Express solution at two Japanese airports – Naha in Okinawa (OKA) and Kagoshima in Kagoshima (KOJ).

The technology will help both airports meet the needs of a growing pool of airline customers as well as enhance passenger processing as passenger traffic continues to grow.

Both OKA and KOJ were looking for a cost-effective solution that could help them utilise check-in counters more efficiently while reducing the need for offline check-ins.

In addition, with the limited physical space, the airports needed a solution that didn’t require the set-up of physical infrastructure and servers.

With the opening of a new international passenger terminal at OKA in February 2014, the Naha Airport Building (NABCO) was particularly interested in a fully functional common use check-in solution that was cost-effective in meeting their budget.

When implemented, vMuse Express will enable agents from the various airlines to directly log into the Departure Control System at any counter over any device.

WBP NEWS

Michelin star quality comes to Malaga Malaga has become the latest airport to team up with a celebrity chef – the Spanish gateway joining forces with Dani García to create a new deli bar!

According to concessionaire SSP, the new Michelin star chef created the new culinary concept specifically for Malaga Airport. Called the Dani García Deli Bar, it will showcase some of the finest of local flavours in a cutting-edge style, says SSP. A key feature of the new outlet is a classic tapas display, which allows the passenger to choose from a range of snacks and starters as they would in a traditional tapas bar in downtown Malaga. An innovative ‘take on board’ option, which utilises pioneering new packaging that maintains the temperature of hot foods, means that passengers can choose to take their order onto the plane.

The outlet has been designed by leading agency Arquizano Interiorismo, which recently claimed the prize for best commercial interior design for the period 2010/12 at the Futureshop awards.

Adding value

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) has signed a 10-year partnership with JCDecaux Out Of Home FZ-LLC to exclusively operate the advertising concession at the Emirates’ airports.

They include Abu Dhabi, Al Bateen – the only business aviation airport in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – and Al Ain. The agreement which will further develop the airports’ indoor and outdoor advertising network, will also introduce impressive state-of-the-art technology: high definition LCD screens, spectacular video walls and interactive innovative digital technology that is entertaining and informative to passengers.

ADAC claims that these solutions will provide increased added value for the airport, its passengers and the brands it hosts in addition to enhancing the airports environment.

Mohammed Al Bulooki, ADAC’s chief commercial officer, commented: “Abu Dhabi International Airport is the ideal location for innovative and interactive advertising campaigns that enhance the passenger experience and provide high visibility for advertisers and their brands.”

Screen test

Rapiscan Systems has announced that its large tunnel RTTTM 110 (Real Time Tomography) Hold Baggage Screening (HBS) system has passed the European Civil Aviation Conference’s (ECAC) Standard 3 threat detection test for the detection of explosive threats in passenger baggage.

The newly approved equipment and earlier approved RTT 80 can screen bags at up to 1,800 bags per hour, which according to Rapiscan, is significantly faster than the CT based HBS systems currently installed at airports.

Ajay Mehra, president of Rapiscan Systems, enthused: “ECAC’s testing process is one of the most rigorous worldwide and is used by many of the world’s business airports, making this an achievement that is relevant for customers globally.”

Airbus ProSky Contact: Jessie Hillebrand, head of communications Address: 1 Rond-Point Maurice Bellonte, 31707 Blagnac, Toulouse, France Tel: +1 703 234 0863 Email: jessie.hillebrand@airbusprosky.com Website: www.airbusprosky.com Airbus ProSky, the Air Traffic Management (ATM) subsidiary of Airbus, is dedicated to improving the performance of global ATM. Comprised of recognized subject matter experts and offering intelligent ATM solutions, Airbus ProSky works with stakeholders to maximize efficiency, capacity and environmental sustainability. Airbus ProSky includes Metron Aviation, Quovadis and ATRiCS, brought together to improve the performance and efficiency of the global airspace.

Bosch Security Systems Contact: Mark Andersen, product marketing manager Address: 12000 Portland Ave South, Burnsville, MN 55068, USA Tel: +1 952 736-4143 Email: mark.andersen@us.bosch.com Website: www.boschsecurity.us The proven choice for many of the world’s busiest airports, Bosch Praesideo is the only quadruple-redundant digital paging and emergency notification system for up to 320 zones, and offers industry-leading audio quality and programmable DSP technology for ease-of-use and flexible integration. Praesideo is completely compliant with international and national standards for voice evacuation.

Frontier Economics Contact: Dan Elliott, director Address: 71 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6DA, UK Tel: +44 207 031 7000 Email: info-uk@frontier-economics.com Website: www.frontier-economics.com Frontier Economics is a specialist economics consultancy, with particular expertise in the economic regulation of the aviation sector and other network industries. Our clients include Heathrow, Singapore Changi Airport and easyJet. Hojeij Branded Foods Contact: Wassim Hojeij, business development executive Address: 1750 The Exchange, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30339, USA Tel: +1 770 953-3300 Email: wassimh@hbfairports.com Website: www.hbfairports.com Hojeij Branded Foods (HBF) is a highly focused airport food and beverage organisation operating in 10 of the top 26 airports in the US with more than 35+ high quality national, regional and local brands in its portfolio.

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ENVIRONMENT NEWS

Going green

Airport World takes a closer look at some of the latest environmental stories from across the globe.

Solar flair

Out of Africa

The Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme – which ultimately drives airports towards becoming carbon neutral – is to be rolled out in Africa.

Four years on from its launch, ACI Europe presented an update on the programme at the ACI Europe and ACI World Annual Congress and Exhibition in Istanbul.

The scheme assesses and recognises airports’ efforts to manage and reduce their CO2 emissions.

It certifies airports at four different levels of accreditation.

In the past twelve months, Airport Carbon Accredited status has been earned by a total of 75 airports in 22 countries in Europe and 10 airports in seven countries in Asia-Pacific.

Earlier in the conference, a special agreement was signed with ACI Africa, extending the programme to African airports.

Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport in Tunisia became the very first African airport to become certified.

All the airports now certified by Airport Carbon Accreditation collectively represent 22% of global air passenger traffic.

Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said: “Year four of Airport Carbon Accreditation has been an epic year.

“We’ve seen more airports reducing their CO2 than ever before, including an entire national airport group becoming carbon neutral.

“And now, year five kicks off with the extension to Africa. That’s real momentum for such a young programme.

“In Europe alone, accredited airports welcome more than 900 million passengers each year and year four has yielded a reduction of over 170,000 tonnes of CO2 – enough energy to run 71,000 households for a year.”

Munich Airport and Lufthansa are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the solar panels on the roof of Terminal 2. The system – the world’s largest photovoltaic system at an airport when installed a decade ago – annually feeds about 445,000kWh into the public grid, sufficient to provide around 155 households with ‘green’ electricity for a whole year It is expected to save around 12,000 tons of CO2 during its anticipated 30 year lifespan.

Elsewhere, London City Airport (LCY) has installed solar-powered lighting systems at its runway entry points.

The two runway guard lights, commonly known as Wig-Wags, are an attempt to reduce energy consumption and provide a 24-hour LED warning system.

The units – which represent an investment of more than €10,000 – can run for 120 days without re-charging.

London City claims that the initiative will further enhance its green credentials, which received a boost earlier this year when the airport joined ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

Kevin Wincell, airfield operations manager at LCY, said: “The solar-powered systems will not only save energy and help reduce the airport’s carbon emissions, they will also represent a financial saving in the longer-term.

“We are currently exploring other options in terms of installing LEDs for airfield lighting and will continue to look for ways in which we can improve energy and cost efficiency by advances in new technology.”

Green Dubai

Concourse D at Dubai International Airport will feature environmentfriendly measures such as 192 rooftop solar panels to cut its carbon footprint.

Green initiatives at the new concourse extend from the use of renewable energy to construction with locally sourced and recycled building materials.

A 450sqm array of 192 solar panels on the roof is set to meet 1.8% of the concourse’s power needs while reflecting light to help keep the building cool.

Dubai Airports’ CEO, Paul Griffiths, noted: “With Concourse D, we are taking another significant step towards providing our passengers with a more sustainable way to travel,” says Griffiths.

Insulation will be combined with thermal technology that absorbs heat during the day to radiate it at night. In addition, the building’s overall volume has been reduced to cut cooling demand.

Lighting in the new concourse – which is set to open in 2015 – will be activated by daylight sensors and have low heat intensity.

During construction, DAEP aims to source at least 10% of building materials from within 800km of Dubai International and to use 20% recycled material.

At least half of wood-based material, by cost, will be certified by Forest Stewardship Council criteria.

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ENVIRONMENT NEWS

Making some noise ACI’s environment manager, Xavier Oh, reflects on the highlights of ATAG’s Aviation and the Environment Workshop in Montréal.

Held in the lead up to the ICAO Environmental Symposium, four of the five workshop sessions focused on airline emissions and included carbon neutral growth, efficiency, biofuels and economic measures.

From an airport perspective, I think the most interesting session was the one on noise and it just so happens that I was invited to speak.

Noise remains the most important environmental issue for communities near airports, and is usually the key topic potentially preventing airports from obtaining permission to expand airport infrastructure and capacity.

In fact, as aviation bids to maintain and improve operational efficiency and achieve the ATAG roadmap on carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutral growth, it cannot afford to forget about the need to reduce the impact of noise.

The session, ably moderated by Helene Gagnon from Bombardier Aerospace, focused on the implementation of ICAO’s Balanced Approach (BA).

While some speakers, including myself, view the BA as a basket of measures available to stakeholders for addressing noise problems, others see it as defining a process for implementing measures with a focus on cost effectiveness. In other words, noise mitigation actions should not be taken without an analysis of the relative costs and effectiveness.

Having missed the pre-session briefing, I think I broke a rule by presenting some forbidden PowerPoint slides of aerial images of airports to make my case about airports demonstrating good noise practice based on the BA pillars.

I told the Workshop that Heathrow’s Quota Count rules for noise arguably had more effect on the A380 design than ICAO’s Chapter 4.

Based on Ldn 50 dBA noise contours, Christchurch has the most restrictive land use planning rules in the world. And, I stated that I believed that noise sharing is the key to Sydney’s noise abatement procedures.

Anne Murray, from Vancouver International Airport, and I tried to emphasise the BA shortcoming of failing to recognise the importance of community engagement and communications.

Atlanta was cited as a community that best recognised the economic significance of their airport. Indeed, almost 20 of the Fortune 500 companies are located in the city because it is home to the world’s busiest gateway.

Vienna used a mediation process to develop concepts and gain regional community permission and support for a third runway. Sydney developed the most comprehensive and transparent flight movement and tracking software to keep its communities informed and onside.

The ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection in fact has a new work item, Airport Community Engagement.

I was pleased when someone asked a question about the benefits of the forced retirement of the noisiest aircraft. It gave me a change to comment that the Chapter 2 phase-out was arguably the best single initiative for improving the noise environment around airports. I wish I had planted that question.

While the session is not going to change the world, I think it was a good opportunity to advance the recognition of the fundamental importance of continuing to work on noise issues as an integral part of efforts on the sustainable development of aviation.

Showing some bottle

Frankfurt Airport has installed a bottle return machine in its Terminal 1 that lets passengers cut waste while backing their choice from four charities.

Passengers who throw away their liquid containers at the terminal’s security checkpoint no longer add to the airport’s environmental footprint.

According to the airport, the high-tech bottle bank has been so well received by passengers that it is already thinking about installing others across its terminals.

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Seattle-Tacoma is buzzing

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) has installed honeybee hives on three undeveloped sites at the airport.

The six hives, which house 500,000 bees, were made possible through a partnership with the Port of Seattle and non-profit organisation, The Common Acre.

The project – named Flight Path – makes Sea-Tac one of the first airports in the US to have its own apiary.

And, the gateway claims that with open space around the airfield and bee populations in decline, it is uniquely suited to host honeybees and do its bit for “Bees are a critical part of the foodchain and connect with our goal of growing sustainably and increasing the economic contributions of the port while reducing our environmental footprint,” says Port of Seattle Commissioner, Bill Bryant.

The last word Tax Free World Association (TFWA) president, Erik Juul-Mortensen, talks to Airport World about all things retail.

What will the travel retail industry look like in 2030?

I believe that by 2030 the various geographic regions will have become more equal in development. Europe will have grown, but not at the same pace as others. The Americas will have grown considerably and not only South America, which we describe as a growth area today, but the US itself will have seen substantial growth.

I believe that in Asia Pacific, China will continue to be important, and the same will apply to other countries and areas which are important today. Japan will be back on a healthy growth path. However, other countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and India will have grown to become major factors too.

The Middle East will also continue to see successful growth, and I believe that by 2030 we will also see some of the huge potential in Africa materialising. All this will have been brought about by a continued growth in economies across the scale and a continued healthy growth in international travel.

What big – but realistic – changes would you ask governments to make to help travel retail?

To start accepting that the duty free and travel retail market in airports available to checked-in passengers with a boarding pass, is a unique market with its own demands and

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It is vital that airports are open and flexible in their planning and that travel retail is included in airport planning at a very early stage to secure the best possible retail landscape with excellent flow of passengers requirements different to those that apply in domestic markets.

This can take many shapes from opening hours, display and merchandising to labelling requirements of products.

What could airports do better in terms of helping travel retail operators more?

Airports are already increasingly providing support to travel retail operators.

However, in order to maximise travel retail and thereby increasing the crucial contribution which nonaeronautical activities such as retail make to the airport’s income, it is vital that airports are open and flexible in their planning and that travel retail is included in airport planning at a very early stage to secure the best possible retail landscape with excellent flow of passengers.

It is also vital that airports ‘deliver’ passengers smoothly,

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quickly and in a good mood after check-in and security, and with passengers not already stressed and anxious after a stressful and lengthy security screening process.

A lot of passengers still only travel once or twice a year and the security screening process can at times be lengthy, frustrating and also stressful for passengers less used to the process. Such passengers will not necessarily be in a mood to shop, but will instead head straight for their departure gate.

Earlier this year, you talked about forming a new Travel Retail World Council to lobby governments more effectively. How is this project progressing and what do you hope it will achieve?

The plans are progressing well and the TRWC is slowly taking shape. The plans have been discussed throughout the year

with regional and national trade associations around the globe as well as with other industry stake holders and a lot of valuable input has been received. The format and structure of the Council are being adapted to reflect the input and the Council should hopefully be ready for launch at the upcoming annual TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in October in Cannes.

The objective of the Council is, among others, for it to represent, protect and help build the global duty free and travel retail industry by providing appropriate support to all regional industry associations, and where required, be responsible for development and coordination of industry policies on specific issues so that the industry speaks with one voice. We would also hope that such a body could help enhance awareness, image and importance of the global industry.

What can we expect from the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes this October?

The 29th TFWA World Exhibition and Conference will provide an excellent forum for discussion, negotiation, product review and education among the many stakeholders in the global duty free and travel retail community.

We expect, as always, a full house on the exhibition floor with around 10% of exhibitors being new to the trade show or returning after an absence. This element of novelty is very important as the brands exhibiting in Cannes reflect the

Factfile

THE LAST WORD

Name: Erik Juul-Mortensen Job title: President, Tax Free World Association (TFWA) Nationality: Danish Time in aviation industry: Over 30 years Best known for: Founding member of TFWA Little known fact: I’m Norwegian, but was actually born in Sweden and educated in France.

dynamic nature of the business as a whole. Duty free and travel retail stores must not only keep up with contemporary trends but, indeed, anticipate them.

Many of our exhibitors use this forum to launch new products and travel retail exclusives which keep the offer fresh and exciting for the traveller.

Keynote speakers will include Lord Sebastian Coe; IAG CEO, Willie Walsh; and John Gerzema – a consultant, author and regular contributor to TED Events, a programme of conferences for thought-leaders under the slogan ‘ideas worth spreading’.

How important do you think an airport’s retail/F&B offering is to its passenger satisfaction levels?

On arrival at an airport most people are tense about flight times, security and so on, and it is not until they get through the formalities and have a moment to relax airside that they can start to enjoy their trip. A good cup of coffee and a tasty

sandwich or a meal will set them up for the rest of the day and help them to enjoy the whole experience. Air travel is exciting; it should be enjoyable too!

It is crucially important, therefore, that the F&B offer is of high quality and varied to suit the many customers who travel through our airports. My impression is that much of the food on offer in European and American airports is west-centric and does not cater to ethnic diversity so there is perhaps room for improvement there.

With regards to retail, besides making an enormous contribution to the coffers of the airport, it also makes a significant impact on the quality of the passenger’s experience. People love to browse in shops; they also love to purchase, but only when the product offer and the price are right. Given the mismatch between passenger footfall and purchasing trends in most airports, we clearly have work to do on converting more passengers into customers.

We cannot trot out the same selection that they find on their local high street.

Some brands are highly skilled at matching product lines to customers with special promotions, exclusives and products with a sense of place. Some retailers stage fabulous displays, are open to exciting promotions and work closely with brands to maximise retail potential.

But overall, there is still much work to be done.

What does a retailer want from a good airport?

Retailers want landlords to provide high quality retail facilities with excellent location, layout, signage, lighting, climatic control and atmosphere at reasonable rents and of realistic contract contents and duration.

In general, do you think airports do retail well?

Some airports do a fabulous job – and there are very many examples I could mention looking

across the globe. We all have our favourites and I am sure you know them as well. Some have been showing a phenomenal development and others are developing more slowly.

How has the ‘one bag rule’ affected travel retail?

No matter how attractive the products on offer or how reasonable the prices, if the passenger will be, or believes he may be, charged for carrying his airport shopping onto the aircraft because it does not fit into his single piece of hand baggage, then he simply will not shop!

Some airlines have instituted this one-bag rule already so the passenger is confused – will he or will he not be charged, will the purchase be confiscated or not, can he shop or not.

It is this confusion as well as the actual hand baggage limit that is so damaging to the duty free and travel retail business.

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TRAFFIC DATA

ACI traffic trends The latest ACI traffic figures project a 2.1% increase in North American passenger traffic for the medium-term period covering 2013 to 2017, with Canada continuing to outpace the USA. A rebounding US economy, coupled with carriers adding some capacity after years of restraint, will fuel growth in passenger demand, albeit quite modestly. By contrast, carrier competition and Canada’s more commodity oriented economy helped drive stronger passenger demand in recent years.

However, indications for 2013 suggest that carriers are making adjustments and that moving forward, capacity will be more in line with Canada’s level of economic activity.

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Medium term forecast North America: 2013 - 2017 North America Canada USA

Estimates Pax 2012 (mil) YOY% 2013 2014 1,566.5 1.7% 1.5% 2.4% 115.3 4.4% 1.8% 3.3% 1,451.3 1.5% 1.4% 2.2%

Forecasts 2015 2016 2017 2012-2017 2.2% 2.2% 2.3% 2.1% 3.6% 3.6% 3.3% 3.1% 2.1% 2.1% 2.2% 2.0%

A forecast prepared by TFAS (Traffic Forecast Advisory Services) A partnership between ACI and DKMA, TFAS offers world-class traffic forecasting services. We provide airport specific traffic forecasts for the purpose of infrastructure development, investments and business planning. Recent projects include traffic forecasts for several airports, including Dawson City and Sault Ste-Marie in Canada.

For more information: Telephone: +41 22 354 07 54, Email: info@dkma.com, Website: www.aci-forecast.aero

For 2013, preliminary passenger figures are sourced from ACI and, for the remainder of the forecast period, data is projected using regressions based on the most recent forecasts of economic growth. If and when necessary, the team made adjustments to the regression-driven results.

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