Airport World, Issue 1, 2013

AIRPORT WORLD FEBRUARY–MARCH FEBRUARY-JANUARY FEBRUARY – MARCH2013 2011 2013

In the spotlight: Cargo Airports: Singapore Changi, DFW & Amman Special report: Accommodating the A380 Plus: Leadership, retail & avian radar

Cargo: Time for growth THE MAGAZINE OF THE AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL

February – March 2013 Volume 18 Issue 1 www.aci.aero

OPINION Airport World

Editor Joe Bates +44 (0) 20 8831 7507 joe@airport-world.com Deputy Editor Oliver Clark +44 (0) 20 8831 7514 oliver@airport-world.com Online News Reporter Steven Thompson +44 (0) 20 8831 7560 steven@airport-world.com Design, Layout & Production Andrew Montgomery +44 (0) 20 8831 7564 andy@airport-world.com Mark Draper +44 (0) 20 8831 7504 mark@airport-world.com Erica Cooper erica@aviationmedia.aero Website Design & Production José Cuenca +44 (0) 20 8831 7517 jose@aviationmedia.aero Sales Director Jonathan Lee +44 (0) 20 8831 7563 jonathan@airport-world.com Advertising Manager Kalpesh Vadher +44 (0) 20 8831 7510 kalpesh@airport-world.com Subscriptions Lauren Murtagh +44 (0) 20 8831 7512 subscriptions@airport-world.com

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Loads better Airport World editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the importance of cargo to the world’s gateways.

A

s many of you already know, the last few years have been particularly tough for cargo, with many of the world’s biggest operators – airports, airlines and freight forwarders – feeling the pinch in terms of a dip in traffic.

The downturn in fortunes began with the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, which led to a two-year slump in traffic before a mini-recovery in 2010. Since then, cargo volumes have remained more or less static.

ACI’s preliminary figures for 2012 show that while the world’s top airfreight hubs, Hong Kong (HKG) and Memphis (MEM), achieved growth of 2.2% and 2.5% respectively, more than half of the world’s 30 busiest cargo gateways (57%) reported a decline in tonnage – including six of the top 10.

It was a very different picture in 2007, the last really strong year for freight, when only six of the top 30 biggest cargo performers and just one of the top 10 cargo airports posted negative results.

There were also huge regional differences in performance in 2012, with both Africa (+2.1%) and the Middle East (+4.2%) enjoying healthy upturns in volume, while Europe (-3%) reported a decline and tonnage in Asia-Pacific (+0.5%), Latin America/Caribbean (-0.2%) and North America (+0.2%) remained about the same.

Explaining the 2012 results, ACI’s economics director, Rafael Echevarne, commented: “Amid the significant downside risks in the Euro area and the fiscal deadlock in the United States throughout the year, growth in airfreight came to an overall halt in 2012. However, as the global economy and international trade picks up steam, we are

optimistic that we will see higher growth rates for freight traffic in 2013.”

Indeed, the latest ACI/DKMA forecast produced for Airport World (see page 37) predicts that global tonnage will enjoy ‘modest growth’ of around 3.6% per annum over the next five years, including an upturn of around 2.9% this year.

In the light of this new found optimism for airfreight, we thought it only right that we should turn the spotlight on cargo in our first issue of 2013, and contemplate what possibly lies ahead for this important, yet often overlooked side of the business.

As a result, in this issue we discover how the world’s busiest cargo gateways are faring; consider the importance of supply chains; review the success of all-cargo gateways; and round-up some of the latest cargo news from across the globe.

In addition, we hear how TIACA secretary general, Daniel Fernandez, believes that the worst of cargo downturn could be over for the international cargo industry and hopes for a more positive year ahead.

But it’s not all about cargo, as this issue also has features on airport gardens, intermodalism, avian radar, leadership, the A380, airfield safety, retail, infrastructure development and a comprehensive round-up of The Trinity Forum 2013 in Abu Dhabi.

I hope you enjoy this action packed edition, and look forward to seeing you at the Economics AW and Finance Conference in SIngapore.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

3

CONTENTS

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On the cover tbc

Issue 1 Volume 18

3 Opinion 10 News 12 ACI news 15 View from the top ACI director general, Angela Gittens, reflects on restrictive economic regulation and looks forward to ACI’s Economics & Finance Conference in Singapore.

16 The real deal The conference season started early this year with The Trinity Forum held in Abu Dhabi at the end of January. Joe Bates reviews some of the highlights.

20 Tall story DFW CEO, Jeff Fegan, talks to Benet Wilson about the airport’s $2.3 billion capital improvement programme, retirement and his legacy after nearly 20 years in the hot seat.

24 Asian pioneer Changi Airport Group’s CEO, Lee Seow Hiang, discusses infrastructure development, customer service and the importance of being environmentally friendly with Joe Bates.

28 Big year for Amman Joe Bates finds out more about the new terminal that promises to create a dynamic new image for Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport.

30 Six of the best Steven Thompson reviews the 2012 performance of the world’s busiest cargo gateways and discovers that it has been a difficult 12 months for airfreight.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

5

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 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) HH Prince Turki Faisal Al Saud (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) Dennis Chant (Gold Coast, Australia) Zhiyi Dong (Beijing, China) CW Lee (Incheon, South Korea) 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) Correct as of February 20, 2013

34 Turning the corner Daniel Fernandez, secretary general of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), reflects on a challenging operating environment for the industry and the prospect of a more positive year ahead.

37 ACI cargo trends ACI projects global air cargo traffic to grow by a modest 3.6% per annum until 2017.

38 Tough times Martin Roebuck takes a closer look at the challenges and opportunities facing a handful of cargo focused airports in Europe and North America.

42 Easy flow Are airports doing enough to develop multi-modal supply chains for cargo?

Ian Putzger investigates.

45 Cargo news A round-up of the latest news from across the globe.

47 Traffic trends: 2012 cargo statistics ACI’s preliminary data for 2012 reveals a contrasting year for airports.

48 Upwards trend An increasing number of airports are investing in vertical gardens and living walls to create a unique setting, make themselves more environmentally friendly and, even grow their own food, writes Robin Stone.

50 Access all areas Foster + Partners CEO, Mouzhan Majidi, talks about the importance of planning airports with user-friendly, integrated transport links and the potential benefits of the proposed Thames Estuary Airport in the UK.

54 Time for a re-think?

Exambela Consulting’s David Feldman argues that airport leaders may need to adapt business strategies to concentrate more on the mid-term for their gateways to thrive in an age of uncertainty.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

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CONTENTS

58 Land of the giants Chris Kjelgaard discovers that airports continue to upgrade their facilities to handle the A380, six years after the super-jumbo entered service.

62 Clear and present danger Blair Watson provides an update on the development, capabilities and deployment of avian radar at airports in the battle to avoid bird strikes.

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.

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67 Always watching Foreign Object Debris (FOD) detection solutions can help prevent bird strikes at airports, writes Alon Nitzan.

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

71 Project watch Israel is to build a new gateway to cope with tourism demand to Eilat.

Airport World on Facebook Airport World is now on Facebook.

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

72 ACI’s World Business Partners 75 Environment news 76 The last word Airport World catches up with Hertz’s Michel Taride, whose executive vice president and president role ensures he has responsibility for over 130 countries.

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/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

78 ACI traffic trends

NEWS

All change in Beijing and Istanbul?

Major new airports in Turkey and China are a step closer to becoming a reality following the launch of the tender to build a new $9 billion gateway in Istanbul and the greenlight for a new $11.2 billion airport in Beijing.

TAV, which operates Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, and Fraport have expressed an interest in building and operating Istanbul’s new airport, which is expected to open in 2017 and have an initial capacity of 90mppa, rising to 150mppa with future expansion.

Turkey’s Transport Minister, Binali Yildirim, said: “At full capacity the new Istanbul airport will be the largest in the world in terms of passengers.

We calculate the whole project will cost more than €7 billion excluding financing costs.”

Meanwhile in China, it is being reported that “green energy” and “functionality” will be prioritised in the design of Beijing’s new airport, which will be located in the city’s southern Daxing district, open in 2018 and be capable of handling 70mppa by 2025.

Beijing Capital International Airport handled 81.8 million passengers last year to cement its status as the second busiest airport in the world after Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, which welcomed 95.4 million.

Midway lease considered

The FAA has formally accepted the City of Chicago’s preliminary application to privatise Midway International Airport.

The decision means that the city is free to pursue the option of allowing private investors to sign a lease to operate the gateway for close to 40 years.

A statement issued by the the FAA said: “The FAA has completed its review of the city of Chicago’s revised preliminary application to privatise Midway International Airport. The FAA has accepted the revised Preliminary Application, and the City can take the next steps to select a private airport operator.”

Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, claims that the step of delivering a Preliminary Application, timetable and draft Request for Qualification (RFQ) to the FAA will allow City officials to gain a better understanding of market conditions and revenue generation possibilities for the potential lease of Midway Airport. A previous 2009 attempt to privatise Midway failed at the last minute when the winning bidder, the Midway Investment and Development Corporation (MIDco), failed to secure the financial backing to push through a $2.5 billion deal.

Living legend

Toronto Pearson’s former CEO, Lou Turpen, has been inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation.

The Living Legends of Aviation are defined as aviation entrepreneurs, innovators, record breakers, industry leaders, astronauts, pilots who have become celebrities, and celebrities, such as John Travolta, who have become pilots. They meet annually to recognise and honour individuals that have made significant contributions to aviation, and now count former San Francisco Interntional Airport and Toronto Pearson boss, Turpen, among their number.

Turpen said: “I’m honoured and humbled to be in such a group of legendary aviators. I’m particularly interested in helping record aviation’s important history through the Living Library that the Legends are building.”

Among his achievements, Turpen is credited with developing the first Airport Counter Terrorism Plan used as a model by the US government.

Former ACI World board member, Turpen is currently president of the San Francisco Aeronautical Society, which dedicates time to preserving the history of commercial aviation in the Pacific.

News in brief Visiting Gibraltar Airport will never quite be the same again following the opening of the airport’s swanky new terminal. Designed by 3DReid and bblur architecture, the new 1mppa capacity terminal has three gates and five aircraft stands and offers visitors impressive views over the airfield towards the rock.

Halifax Stanfield International Airport claims that its new extended runway heralds the dawn of a new era in air service for Atlantic Canada.

The 1,700 feet extension is a potential game

10

changer for Halifax as it will allow the gateway to handle larger widebodied and heavy aircraft year-round, a development that could significantly enhance its position as a key international air cargo and passenger hub.

A new $46 million airport will be built in Laos, in an attempt to attract tourists and investors. The new gateway will be based in Attapeu, the southernmost province of the country, according to media reports.

Phetmixay Khampakdy, director of Attapeu’s

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

Public Works and Transport Department, said the airport would be operational by 2014.

San Francisco International Airport’s new $100 million, 220ft tall Landmark Control Tower will take shape over the next 18 months. Hensel Phelps Construction Co and Fentress Architects will serve as the designbuild team for the iconic tower. It will replace the current air traffic control tower, which no longer meets seismic standards.

NEWS

Doha’s date with destiny

Dubai opens new A380 concourse

Dubai International Airport (DXB) has successfully completed the opening of Concourse A, the world’s first purpose-built facility for the A380. “Concourse A is a vital element of our $7.8 billion investment in the continued expansion of DXB which will see it become the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic by the end of 2015,” enthuses Dubai Airports CEO, Paul Griffiths.

Ambitious Vinci eyes more assets

Vinci is reportedly looking for more airport concessions after beating off rival bids from Latin American, German and Swiss-led groups to win the tender for Portuguese airport operator, ANA. Vinci Airports, which operates Cambodia’s three international gateways and 10 regional airports in France, successfully bid €3 billion for a 95% stake in ANA late last year.

In return for its outlay – ANA employees hold a 5% shareholding – Vinci has been awarded a 50-year concession to run Portugal’s airports, which include Lisbon, Porto and Faro as well as gateways in the Azores and Madeira.

And it appears as if the French-based group is eager for more. Vinci’s chairman and CEO, Xavier Huillard, recently admitted that it would consider bidding for more airport concessions with an investment partner.

“We will continue to look at other platforms, but not alone because we need to pay attention to our debt level,” Xavier Huillard told reporters.

With the acquisition of ANA, Vinci expects that the airport business will boost its annual revenue to €600 million with operating profits of around €270 million.

The first phase of Qatar’s new $15.5 billion Hamad International Airport is set to open on April 1.

Qatar Airways will operate the gateway, which will initially serve 12 legacy and low-cost carriers, before Qatar’s national flag carrier moves its entire operation to the gateway in the second half of the year.

As a result, Doha will have a dual airport operation until full operations begin at Hamad International in the second half of 2013.

Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) chairman, Abdul Aziz Al Noaimi, said: “Hamad International Airport will truly be a global showpiece that the State of Qatar will justifiably be proud of.”

The HOK designed 600,000sqm, three-level passenger terminal, will initially be equipped to handle up to 28mppa.

Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, said: “This is an historic year for the State of Qatar, Qatar Airways and the country’s young aviation industry.”

London Stansted sale confirmed

Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited has agreed to sell its 100% interest in Stansted Airport to Manchester Airports Group for €1.8 billion.

Colin Matthews, chief executive of Heathrow, said: “We wish the new owners every success and are confident the airport will flourish. We will continue to focus on improving Heathrow, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports.”

The deal effectively completes the break-up of BAA, which was ordered to sell Stansted, Gatwick and a Scottish gateway (Edinburgh) by the UK’s Competition Commission to end its perceived airport monopoly in the UK. Its remaining airports now operate under individual brands.

For daily news updates, visit www.airport-world.com A new economic impact study conducted by the Arizona State University WP Carey School of Business found that the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport system had a $28.7 billion impact on the Phoenix area economy in 2011. It states that air travel and tourism supports nearly 250,000 jobs locally with a payroll of $10 billion.

Copenhagen Airport’s loyalty programme has reached a quarter of a million members in just over a year. CPH Advantage now has 250,000 members after 13 months. The programme offers free Wi-Fi, bonus points and special

parking offers. Carsten Nørland, VP, sales and marketing for Copenhagen Airport, said: “The programme has given us an opportunity to get to know our passengers even better and thereby give our core customers products and services tailored to their needs.”

A consortium comprising TAV Airports and Aéroports de Paris (ADP) has declared an interest in running New York LaGuardia’s (LGA) planned new $3.6 billion Central Terminal Building (CTB). The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) issued a Request

for Qualifications (RFQ) in October last year for construction and operation of the planned new terminal.

The TSA has revealed that more than 1,500 firearms were discovered by screeners at security points at US airports last year. The figure is up on its 2011 total, when 1,320 firearms were found. Many of the weapons were loaded, and some even had rounds in the chamber, the TSA said. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport found the most, with 80 guns being found in the first 11 months of the year.

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ACI WORLD NEWS

World in motion

James Roach provides a round-up of the latest ACI news from across the globe.

ACI welcomes new noise standard A new standard that will require improved noise performance from newly certified aircraft types was agreed at the Ninth Meeting of ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) on February 7.

The agreement will mean that from 2017, new large civil aircraft types will need to be at least 7 EPNdB (Effective Perceived Noise in Decibels) quieter than the current Chapter 4 standard.

This is only the fourth new noise standard in the history of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

All civil aeroplanes and helicopters built today are required to meet noise certification standards set out in Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention and adopted by the Council of ICAO.

Angela Gittens, ACI’s director general, said: “ACI welcomes this important step forward by ICAO in agreeing to a new aircraft noise certification standard.

Noise standards are vital to airport and aviation industry efforts to operate and grow responsibly and sustainably.

“Airports need to work constructively with the communities around them and noise standards must respond to the voices of those communities in order that airports obtain their permission to operate and grow.

“ACI looks forward to future ICAO standards being introduced more frequently, which could also provide an incentive for research and development into aircraft noise reduction technology.”

Young Aviation Professionals Programme ACI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ICAO and IATA establishing the global Young Aviation Professionals Programme.

The programme is designed to attract well-qualified young aviation professionals who have an interest in international civil aviation policy development, and bring them to Montréal to work with the three organisations.

“ACI is proud to work alongside ICAO and IATA as we continue to develop professionalism in the industry,” said ACI World’s director general, Angela Gittens.

“The global aviation business is becoming more complex, and for the first time this will give the best and the brightest an opportunity to participate in its future development from three perspectives.”

Applications for the Young Professionals Programme will be accepted beginning early in 2013 and the selected candidates will work for four months each at ACI, IATA and ICAO. They will contribute to work programmes relating to aviation safety, security and environment focusing on the inter-relationships between regulatory activities and the airport and airline industries.

The programme pairs well with the successful Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme (AMPAP), which is a strategic initiative of ICAO and ACI launched in 2007.

AMPAP is available to airport executives around the globe and graduates earn the prestigious designation of International Airport Professional (IAP).

Mixed 2012 traffic fortunes for ACI regions Global passenger traffic increased by 3.9% in 2012, according to ACI’s preliminary traffic figures for the year. It was once again a year of regional contrasts, with many emerging market airports posting healthy upturns in passenger traffic while the world’s top international airports in North America and Europe recorded more modest gains.

Double-digit growth rates in passenger traffic were observed in Istanbul (IST; 20.2%), Jakarta (CGK; 14.4%), Dubai (DXB; 13.2%) and Bangkok (BKK; 10.6%) in 2012.

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Moderate growth of 2.5% was observed in December of 2012 as domestic passenger markets recoiled in Europe, Latin America, Africa and North America. Conversely, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific persistently post strong gains in international passenger traffic with growth of 12.3% and 9.0% respectively for the month of December.

“As the global economy and international trade picks up steam we are optimistic to see higher growth rates for both passenger and freight traffic in 2013,” says ACI’s economics director, Rafael Echevarne.

ACI WORLD NEWS

ACI events

2013

2013

2013

2013

2013

2013 April 22-25

September 22-25

May 13

June 10-12

April 24-26

March 6-8

ACI North America Annual Conference & Exhibition San Jose, USA

Aviation & Environment Workshop Montréal, Canada

ACI World Annual General Assembly

Airport Cities World Conference & Exhibition Ekurhuleni, South Africa

Economics & ACI Asia-Pacific Finance Conference Regional Assembly, Singapore Conference & Exhibition Phuket, Thailand

ACI Europe Congress & Exhibition Istanbul, Turkey

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 Greg Principato, President Washington DC, USA Tel: +1 202 293 8500 Fax: +1 202 331 1362 postmaster@aci-na.org www.aci-na.org

ACI represents 580 members operating 1,650 airports in 179 countries and territories, which handle more than 4.65 billion passengers, 82.8 million tonnes of cargo and 64.4 million aircraft movements yearly. 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 director general, Angela Gittens, reflects on restrictive economic regulation and looks forward to ACI’s Economics & Finance Conference in Singapore.

I

n my presentation for The Aviation Industry Leadership Forum at CANSO’s World Air Traffic Management Congress in Madrid in February, I underlined the rapid changes made or encountered by other industries such as banking, personal computing, communications and manufacturing.

The continued health and success of the survivors in these industries have squarely rested on their timely responses to disruptive technology and market forces. As Charles Darwin noted in the 19th century, physical survival of a species depends most on the organism’s agility in adapting to changes in the external environment.

We have seen that the airport industry is not immune to the basic laws of evolution, yet many airports are hobbled by the kind of economic regulation more suited to utility with a captive audience than an air service competitor in a global marketplace.

On the theme ‘The Keys to Financial Success for Airport Operators in a Changing Environment’, ACI’s 5th annual Economics and Finance Conference is rooted in charting the way forward for airports to evolve and financially thrive in their partnerships with governments, regulators and investors.

The reality that underlines the conference is the need to develop and finance the expansion of airport infrastructure in light of forecasts that passenger traffic will double by 2030. This requires co-operation and a reform of government regulations on airport financing, the adoption of modern commercial business practices and successful strategies for airports to attract and retain the interest of the investment community.

Solid economics and financials are essential to run successful enterprises. Beyond the role of airports as international gateways for tourism and trade, airports must safeguard their role in their communities as leading employers, engines of socio-economic vitality and drivers of community development.

The topics and speakers at the Economics and Finance Conference have been carefully selected to provide the tools necessary to help airports thrive. It takes place in Singapore this year to reflect the growing significance of the Asian aviation and financial markets, as the region takes its rightful place in the world’s economic domain.

While planning the Economics and Finance Conference, we also look forward to seeing many of you in Istanbul on June 10-12 for the ACI Europe/World Annual General Assembly, Congress and Exhibition.

AW

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EVENT NEWS: THE TRINITY FORUM

The real

deal

The conference season started early this year with The Trinity Forum held in Abu Dhabi at the end of January. Joe Bates reviews some of the highlights.

T

he Trinity Forum – where airports, retailers and brands get together to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the industry – rarely disappoints, and this year’s event in Abu Dhabi was no exception.

Indeed, with a host of top drawer speakers, announcements, call for a new retail education programme and frustrations from some retailers that concession contracts are still too heavily weighted in favour of airport operators, it was almost compulsive viewing for the 300 delegates in attendance.

Hosted by Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) at the Yas Viceroy Hotel and International Media Centre next to the Yas Marina Circuit, the theme for this year’s event was ‘Thought Leadership in Travel Retail’.

In his opening address, ADAC’s chief commercial officer, Mohammed Al Bulooki, talked about the phenomenal growth of Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), which has experienced a 64% rise in passengers and a 90% rise in turnover since 2009 as it has grown from a gateway handling 9.7 million passengers annually to a mid-size hub accommodating 24mppa.

He also outlined his company’s development plans for the new 50 metre high Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) and reflected on the continued growth of the travel retail industry, predicting that ADAC’s concessions income will almost double to over $400 million by 2017 when the new terminal opens.

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AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

Al Bulooki enthused: “The Midfield Terminal project is one of the largest aviation infrastructure projects in the world and will facilitate the growth of the capital of the UAE and its national carrier, Etihad Airways.

“This industry has proven long ago to be a strong growing business.

In 2011, the worldwide duty free business reached $46 billion in revenue, and the anticipated growth rate for 2012 was 5% to 10%.

With ADAC plans for the MTB being realised, hosting this Forum is a key step towards the delivery of a state of the art 700,000sqm terminal that will host the world’s best retail offer in 2017.”

Abu Dhabi Duty Free retail accounted for a record $220 million (+24%) of the industry’s global sales in 2012, its performance being boosted by AUH’s near 20% rise in passenger numbers.

Al Bulooki, who revealed that concession tenders for the new terminal are expected to be issued in Q1 2014, said Abu Dhabi’s strong performance was the result of an increase in both the passenger spend and average transaction value during 2012.

ACI director general, Angela Gittens, reflected on the importance of non-aeronautical revenues to airports, revealing that they were now “a vital component in the economics of airports”.

“Development of commercial revenues has been highly dependent on two key factors,” said Gittens. “First, the evolution of the airport sector from a public utility to a commercialised, and in some cases privatised industry, has given airports greater freedom, expertise and motivation to exploit the commercial opportunities.

EVENT NEWS: THE TRINITY FORUM

“Secondly, is the pressure from the airline industry and growing government economic regulation for airports to contain prices for aeronautical services. The money to operate, maintain and develop the airport has to come from somewhere.”

She noted that non-aeronautical activity – largely driven by retail – now accounts for 43% or $46 billion of global airport revenues per annum, with African, Asia-Pacific and European airports earning around 40% of their non-aviation related income from shops and F&B outlets.

And, she made it clear that ACI opposes any regulation that stifles the flexibilty of airports to be commercially minded and responsive to their customers, arguing that this would, in turn, damage regional and even national economies.

“The diversification of revenues improves resiliency and financial viability of airports. This is why ACI is actively working to send the right message to ICAO and national regulators that regulation of nonaeronautical revenues goes against the best interests of the air transport industry,” stated Gittens.

Making his maiden industry speech at the conference, DFS Group’s chairman and CEO, Philippe Schaus, urged brand owners, retailers and airports to “aim higher than the High Street and the malls” in the quality of execution and service, noting the “commoditisation” of shop designs and customers.

“Even we, as retailers, are becoming commoditised as we climb over one another to sell ourselves as the best operation while often under-serving the customer, when in fact there is no great differentiation between operators,” warned Schaus.

He added: “The industry needs leadership, refinement, multisensory experiences, creativity and more audacity. Let’s be obsessed by being different.”

An example of the ‘Trinity’ at work was provided by Heathrow Airport, which in collaboration with retailer World Duty Free Group and three brand providers – Nestlè International Travel Retail, Diageo and P&G Prestige – planned, designed, built and opened a temporary Valentine’s Day store at the UK gateway.

Their collaboration – which resulted in the creation of the ‘Make it Special on Us’ store in Heathrow’s Terminal 5 – was the direct result of a challenge issued at last year’s Trinity Forum to see if it was possible for an airport, retailer and multi-brands to work together in such a way.

Roland Stieger (commercial director, Nestlè International Travel Retail); Peter Jacobson (commercial director global travel and Middle East, Diageo); Murat Akyildiz (director global distributor and travel retail, P&G Prestige); Muriel Zingraff-Shariff (retail concessions director, Heathrow Airport Limited); and Eugenio Andrades (chief commercial officer, World Duty Free Group) all admitted that working together on a project for the first time that gave joint exposure to each brand was not an easy task.

It involved over 200 emails and 40 hours of meetings and calls between the different stakeholders, 80 man-hours of training and 10 different briefs for creative output just to make it happen.

And the project came at quite a price for the participants – around €290,000, Heathrow stumping up €145,000 and the others around €40,000 each.

So what did they learn from the project they nicknamed ‘Trinity Plus’ and, would they do it again? Zingraff-Shariff said: “I think it is an experiment we could look to repeat if the circumstances were right.

“This double Trinity event has proven to be the catalyst to transforming Heathrow from being a host for retail activity to a initiator of commercial opportunities in our own right.

“Through this initiative, we were able to use our physical terminal space, our in-house promotional teams and marketing resources as the platform for the creation of a brand new passenger experience.”

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EVENT NEWS: THE TRINITY FORUM

Diageo’s Jacobson added: “We are proud to have participated in and contributed to this first multifaceted Trinity project. We have certainly learned some key lessons.

“First, such an undertaking requires strong leadership with clear decision making authority. Secondly, it calls for a specific and measurable outcome grounded in a proposition that resonates for the traveller – and, which each of the partners can buy into from the start.

“And finally, staying resolute to the possibility requires a commitment to the vision, patience, and strong relationships.

Other topics on the table during the two-day event included whether airports and their partners were doing enough to deliver a ‘sense of place’, and the importance of benchmarking airport commercial revenues and service quality.

ACI’s director of economics and programme development, Rafael Echevarne, told delegates that ACI’s annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey shows that airports can boost retail/F&B revenues by getting the simple things right such as the cleanliness of toilets and ambience of terminal buildings.

He also revealed: “Most passengers have no intention of buying anything at an airport, but they don’t make a purchase because they cannot find what they want.

“They are actually happier with the service they get in shops than the products in them. This is something that airports need to think about.”

He closed by reminding retailers and F&B providers not to forget the potential of small airports.

Other contributions included a rallying cry from OTG Management’s CEO, Rick Blatstein, for the industry to be “spectacular” and use interactive technology to innovate, while a lively and highly entertaining presentation from SimpliFlying’s CEO, Shashank Nigam, left airports in no doubt that they would miss out on revenue and passengers if they failed to embrace social media.

Also making a plea was Dag Rasmussen, president and CEO of Lagardère Services, who called for the establishment of a new educational platform where airports, retailers and suppliers could

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be trained about how to operate in an industry where close co-operation and understanding between all three stakeholders is a necessity.

In line with this, he told delegates that they had to keep the Trinity ideals top of mind and work with each other throughout the year and not just at the annual conference. He labelled the new mentality needed as ‘Trinity 365’.

Arguably aviation’s most prestigious global travel retail conference, the event is jointly organised by The Moodie Report and ACI World.

Reflecting on the tenth Trinity Forum, host and founder, Martin Moodie, admitted: “We have come an incredibly long way on this journey, but there is clearly a lot more to be done.”

In other news from the Trinity Forum, ADAC announced that it had signed a five-year contract with Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) to manage and operate Abu Dhabi Duty Free, until the end of 2017.

And, although not retail related, ACI announced that ADAC had become the latest airport to join its Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety programme.

At a press conference held at The Trinity Forum, ACI director general, Angela Gittens, said: “We are delighted to have ADAC on board. The ultimate goal of the programme is to improve safety. This is done by collaborating with other industry partners in a peer review process to identify and resolve any vulnerabilities and sharing data and best practices.”

Earlier, Gittens had presented Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Assured awards to ADAC and Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport.

It certainly was an action packed Trinity Forum, and next year’s event promises to be even more exciting with the event hosting ACI’s ASQ Awards for the first time.

AW Where do we sign up?

AIRPORT REPORT: DALLAS/FORT WORTH

Tall story DFW CEO, Jeff Fegan, talks to Benet Wilson about the airport’s $2.3 billion capital improvement programme, retirement and his legacy after nearly 20 years in the hot seat.

A

viation will literally lose one its biggest personalities on September 1 when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s CEO, Jeff Fegan – who stands an imposing 6ft 3” tall – retires after clocking up close to 30 years at the Texas gateway.

He joined DFW as chief planner in December 1984 and was promoted to assistant director before taking up the role of CEO in February 1994, so Fegan has effectively been the face of the airport and its driving force for a generation.

His successor will undoubtedly have big shoes to fill (size 12s, actually), although Fegan modestly plays down his achievements, pointing out that there is still much to be done at DFW. It is hard to argue with that, as DFW is currently in the second year of its seven-year, $2.3 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program (TRIP) and has big ambitions for the future.

Indeed, such is the ambition of the airport, that it decided to start the project when the US economy was still in recession, making it harder to fund.

The airport also happened to be in negotiations for a new use agreement with its airlines, so Fegan reveals that the airport tied the project and the agreement together and made a case to renovate buildings that were almost 40 years old.

“We told them we were operating 40-year-old buildings with 40-year-old technology, maintenance, energy efficiency, baggage systems, parking structures and security checkpoints,” he admits.

Also, the old parking structures relied heavily on stairs, he adds, making it difficult for passengers carrying a lot of luggage.

“Our board of directors decided that there was no point in waiting, as from their and the public’s perspective, everyone was so impressed with the work done on Terminal D, that they felt we should do the other terminals to the same quality,” says Fegan.

“Our biggest challenge was to work with our tenant airlines to work through the renovation agreement.”

Fegan reveals that almost 70% of the TRIP budget is being spent on behind the scenes infrastructure such as cooling and heating systems, IT, electrical systems and plumbing.

He is also quick to point out that the airlines 100% support TRIP, noting that a “strong partnership” is important, as DFW and its airline customers are “in this together”.

“They recognised the need for improvements,” remarks Fegan.

“As we negotiated, we laid out a 10-year financial plan under the use agreement. They saw where the costs and revenue would be and they believed it was a good investment.”

And, he is confident that the design of the airport and its terminals will ensure the minimum of disruption to airlines and, perhaps more importantly from an image point of view, the travelling public.

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AIRPORT REPORT: DALLAS/FORT WORTH

“Our terminals are in a semi-circular shape, divided into three sections, each with their own with security, parking and ticketing counters,” explains Fegan.

“We’re taking one section at a time. We put up walls and passengers don’t even know construction is taking place.”

Fegan continues: “It’ll take about a year to tear down each section and rebuild it again. That means Terminal A will be fully completed in 2015 [the first section of Terminal A opened on February 26 this year], Terminal B in 2016, Terminal C in 2017 and Terminal E in 2016.

“We’ve also re-opened the old nine-gate Delta Air Lines satellite building and we’re moving airlines there while we redo gates. Terminal B is for American Eagle, where we’re building a nine-gate stinger to add more capacity as we take sections down for reconstruction.”

These moves are a real orchestration, says Fegan. “We have four contractors working on our terminals. It’s been a dance, but it’s working.

Travellers will love the new facilities.”

Concessions upgrade Another major part of TRIP is a major overhaul of DFW’s concessions programme, which is focused on bringing in new local, regional and national F&B and retail stores.

“We strive for a balance. We’re very interested in Texas brands like the Twisted Root Burger Co, Salt Lick BBQ and Ruta Maya Coffee,” enthuses Fegan.

“We also have concepts like Texas-based Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen and Pappacito’s Cantina which are popular, but are also trying to expand beyond Texas.”

According to Fegan, DFW’s concessions programme has significantly evolved over the last 20 years.

“Anytime we have an opportunity, we try and elevate the programme.

Even Terminal D is undergoing changes,” he explains. “Passengers’ desires change over time. Some of these brands become more relevant and some become less.

“We constantly carry out customer surveys to see what passengers want and provide the products and services to meet those needs.”

The importance for having a a good retail/F&B mix certainly hasn’t escaped Fegan’s attention, who states that he is pleased with DFW’s concessions offering that includes a variety of high-quality store and restaurant franchises.

“As part of our capital improvements, we expect the new concessions to bring in more revenue. Right now, Terminal D averages $12 spend per passenger, while Terminal A is $7. We expect that to rise when construction is completed.”

Achieving airline balance DFW is the hub airport and headquarters for American Airlines, but Fegan and his team have worked hard to bring in other carriers, including British Airways, Emirates, KLM, Qantas and Virgin America.

As a result, he is confident that the airport has successfully maintained the balance of meeting the needs of its home-town carrier while giving travellers in the region more airline options.

“If you look at our mission statement and strategic plan, it’s all about connecting the world, and it doesn’t define that by any particular airline,” muses Fegan.

“American Airlines is our tenant and we work with them to make sure they have the capacity they need to grow. But at the same time, we are open to working with any airline that wants to be here.

We market the world.”

There is certainly no disputing that under Fegan’s leadership the airport has introduced an aggressive incentives programme for any airline launching new routes to DFW. “We now have low-cost carriers Spirit Airlines and Virgin America, which are both part of our business plan to connect to the world,” he notes.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

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DFW’s $2.3 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program (TRIP) demonstrates the gateway’s ambitions for the future.

Fegan’s legacy Since becoming one of the world’s youngest airport CEOs when taking up the hot seat at DFW at the tender age of 39, Fegan has overseen the growth and development of the 18,000-acre gateway from a $217 million per year enterprise to one with more than $650 million a year in revenues.

Fegan is credited with being instrumental in supporting American Airlines’ growth and development at the hub, making it not only the carrier’s biggest, but also the largest hub for the 12 airlines in the oneworld alliance.

During his tenure, he brought in service from carriers including Qantas, Emirates, AeroMexico, Cayman Airways, Virgin America, Spirit Airlines and JetBlue.

Fegan led the development and implementation of DFW’s first strategic plan, in 2007, and the airport’s first master plan in 1997.

He also successfully led the airport through multiple economic downturns, waves of airline industry restructuring and consolidation and the challenges after 9/11.

During Fegan’s 29 years, DFW also expanded its airfield capacity by adding a seventh runway and extending the four primary north-south runways by 2,000 feet each.

In addition, he oversaw construction of the southeast perimeter taxiway, which allows aircraft to land and proceed directly to their gates without having to cross an active runway.

The likeable Fegan also oversaw the completion of a $2.8 billion capital development plan in 2005, which included construction of international Terminal D, Skylink people mover system, Grand Hyatt DFW hotel and a host of other key facilities.

They included the consolidated rental car centre, the international commerce park, the International Air Cargo Center, DFW’s Corporate Aviation, the Founders’ Plaza observation center, Fire Training Research Center and the DFW Airport Wellness Center.

So what does Fegan consider to have been the greatest success of his near 20-year tenure? “I think my biggest legacy is that we developed an airport organisation that is high performing and entrepreneurial,” he says.

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“I’m proud to have worked with a strong group of professionals who have given us the capacity and capability to do things I couldn’t have imagined 20 years ago. We’ve created a fantastic airport as a result.”

Fegan’s piece of advice to his successor is to make sure that they consider, listen to and take care of all DFW’s stakeholders.

“There are so many, that you have to be concerned with accommodating them,” suggests Fegan. “DFW is a complicated enterprise, so you have to recognise the interests of all stakeholders.

“You have to be patient and accommodate as many of those agendas as possible. If you get locked in one direction, you will fail.”

Everyone plays a role in the success of the airport, so consider that when making decisions, says Fegan. “And never forget the employees. They are such a powerful force. They make it happen every day. They make it successful.”

Fegan’s enthusiasm and love for the job he has held for so long is evident every time he speaks about DFW, so why has he decided to retire now when he clearly could have continued for years to come?

“People have asked me why I’m leaving right now, especially since there will be a lot of changes taking place in the next five years, but it just feels right,” replies Fegan.

“It is an exciting time and DFW is posting rapid growth. It’s not only in our terminal renewal, but building a station for the Dallas light rail, and a similar project is coming from Fort Worth. We’re also doing massive road construction that will bring new transit and highway access.”

He also believes that in five years from now, DFW will be in an even better position to achieve its mission of connecting the world.

“The airport is the engine of growth for North Texas. We are a catalyst for economic development, trade and tourism. We are responsible for never being an obstacle of growth for the region.

“We will make sure we continue to play that role. By the end of the TRIP programme in 2018, passengers will be very pleased with our new facilities, along with the chance to fly anywhere in the world.”

I’ve got a feeling Fegan is going to miss DFW, and without a doubt, the airport he has served so well for so long will miss him, too!

AW

AIRPORT REPORT: SINGAPORE CHANGI

Asian pioneer Changi Airport Group’s CEO, Lee Seow Hiang, discusses infrastructure development, customer service and the importance of being environmentally friendly with Joe Bates.

F

ebruary’s announcement that work will shortly begin on its new $1 billion Terminal 4 project perhaps best sums up Singapore Changi’s determination to innovate and always strive to do better.

True, the terminal will raise Changi’s passenger handling capacity by around 24% to an impressive 82 million passengers per annum when it opens in 2017.

And the complex, which will be built on the site of Changi’s old Budget Terminal, promises to be one of the most modern and environmentally friendly facilities in Asia-Pacific region.

However, expanding Changi’s capacity is not the sole driving force behind the project for operator Changi Airport Group (CAG), as despite handling a record-breaking 51.2 million passengers (+10%) in 2012, Singapore’s aviation gateway to the world currently has capacity to spare.

And, it certainly doesn’t need to improve its reputation, as with over 420 awards to its name in its 32 year history, pioneering customer service initiatives and good reputation of national carrier Singapore Airlines, Changi has long been a firm favourite of transit passengers.

While its successful business model – Changi is among the top four airports in the world in terms of retail and F&B sales – which includes global investment arm, Changi Airports International (CAI), make it the envy of many airport operators worldwide.

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So why is T4, which will serve both legacy and low-cost carriers, being built? CAG’s CEO, Lee Seow Hiang, says that it is all about better serving Changi’s customers – both passengers and the airlines.

He says: “It is a misconception to think of Terminal 4 as a replacement for the Budget Terminal. It is being built to offer a better passenger experience and will have a look, feel and ambiance similar to T1 and T2. The wide choice of retail and F&B offerings and passenger amenities, for example, will better serve the needs of travellers.

“The new terminal is also needed to accommodate airline growth at Changi. It will have an annual capacity of 16 million passengers – more than double the capacity of the Budget Terminal – and, together with other infrastructure investments over the next four to five years, lay the groundwork for us to continue delivering a great ‘Changi Experience’.

“Throughout its history, Changi has always stayed ahead of its capacity needs. This approach has underpinned Changi’s success as an airport that passengers love and airlines appreciate.”

Lee believes that the move to handle both legacy carriers and LCCs will ‘future proof’ the facility by ensuring that it is equipped to cater to changing airline business models.

The new two-storey complex will cover a total floor area of 160,000sqm and is being designed to guarantee the quick turnaround times of narrowbody aircraft.

AIRPORT REPORT: SINGAPORE CHANGI “Whether it is in infrastructure, people, technology or the community, ‘investing for growth’ encapsulates the enterprising spirit of CAG and its determination to overcome the challenges it faces – from coping with capacity demands, managing passengers’ growing expectations to ensuring the highest standards of safety and security.”

Corporatisation

CAG estimates the cost of Terminal 4 to be $485 million (S$600 million), although the price-tag rises to around $1 billion if the construction of additional parking stands, ancillary buildings and support infrastructure are taken into account.

To enhance passenger convenience, accessibility and experience, especially in adverse weather conditions, aerobridges will be available at T4’s boarding gates.

Road improvements will be made to ensure smooth traffic flow to and from the terminal. These will include a new road to funnel outgoing traffic directly from T4 onto the East Coast Parkway.

A multi-storey car park with spaces for 1,200 vehicles will be built next to the terminal, construction of which – along with T4 – is scheduled to begin later this year.

Investment strategy The new terminal is certainly in line with CAG’s mantra of “investing for growth”, although Lee is quick to point out that the business strategy doesn’t only apply to bricks and mortar.

“We are committed to building on Changi Airport’s reputation and track record, while seeking strategic opportunities to expand into international markets,” he says.

“Consistent with our focus to grow the company, we are investing in all aspects of the business so as to forge ahead in an evolving and challenging aviation industry.

Lee is also in no doubt that the corporatisation of the airport operator in 2009 – effectively transforming it into a dynamic, commerical organisation free from government control – has paved the way for the success it enjoys today.

Indeed, he believes that the establishment of CAG is one of the most significant events to happen in Singapore’s aviation history, as it created an organisation with the flexibility to respond and innovate in a rapidly changing aviation environment.

He also states that CAG has exercised this flexibility in three key ways over the last three years.

“First, we fostered closer relations with our customers and airline partners. We did this by launching a series of customer-centric initiatives aimed at creating a stress-free experience in a relaxing, but efficient, environment for all passengers and visitors,” reveals Lee. “One of the initiatives is SWIFT, which stands for Service Workforce Instant Feedback Transformation. A major component of this is the Instant Feedback System, which seeks feedback from our customers via touch screens located at the check-in counters, washrooms and other key areas across the airport.

“The real-time feedback empowers Changi’s airport partners to respond instantaneously to the needs of customers, and more importantly, provides CAG with a comprehensive picture of performance levels across all the touch points surveyed.

“For the airlines, we launched the Changi Airport Growth Initiative (CAGi), an incentive package aimed at helping airline partners grow, in turn driving the growth of Changi’s connectivity and traffic.

“Through CAGi, airlines are encouraged to start new routes or increase flight frequency to existing destinations, thereby further strengthening Changi Airport as an air hub.”

“Second, we have deepened our organisational capabilities, reflecting our desire to build a world-class airport company that will not only succeed in the short-term but in the long run as well. We have adopted best private sector practices to retain our strong pool of experienced and dedicated personnel while continuing to attract high valued talents.

“And lastly, post-corporatisation, we have continued to develop our international presence through CAI, our subsidiary for overseas ventures. CAI has invested in and provided consultancy and management services to overseas airports in markets that spread across China, India, the Middle East and Europe.”

He cites the Saudi Arabian Civil Aviation Authority’s November 2008 decision to appoint CAI as its consultant to help manage and develop Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport as an example of its global activities.

Traffic The record 51.2 million passengers and 324,700 (+7.6%) aircraft movements handled at Changi in 2012 ensures that it was a

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

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AIRPORT REPORT: SINGAPORE CHANGI

Soaking up the sun at Changi’s open air swimming pool.

“great year” for the airport, says Lee, especially as it passed the 50mppa mark for the first time just two years after reaching the 40mppa milestone.

He does, however, acknowledge that things weren’t so great for cargo, which declined by 3.2% to 1.8 million tonnes. CAG has responded to the decline by cutting its landing fees for freighters by 50% for the first six months of 2013 in a bid to boost cargo volumes.

Not surprisingly, Singapore Airlines is the dominant player among Changi’s 109 airlines, the home-based carrier accounting for the bulk of the gateway’s traffic.

Indonesia remains the top country market served from Changi, more than 1,000 weekly flights operated by 16 airlines to 16 Indonesian cities ensuring that it was responsible for around 13% of all passengers in 2012.

Singapore–Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok routes are among the world’s top five busiest international services based on seat capacity.

world-class airport facilities, efficient operations and excellent customer service, with an eye on innovative solutions topped with a touch of warm Asian hospitality.”

He admits that keeping the Changi Experience “fresh and exciting” is an ongoing challenge, but is confident that CAG’s determination to innovate and “unstinting focus on quality and engagement” will ensure that visiting his airport never becomes boring.

The introduction of 90 Changi Experience agents into the terminals – each equipped with an iPad and tasked with roles ranging from assisting passengers with special requirements to help locating missing luggage – is an example of Changi’s ongoing commitment to raising the bar on customer service levels, says Lee. On top of this, Lee notes that all 28,000 staff at Changi undergo extensive service quality training before they are deployed on the ground to “ensure that the Changi Experience is consistent throughout each touch point”.

The Changi Experience As any passenger to have transited though Changi can testify, CAG takes customer service very seriously, and is particularly innovative in terms of its leisure facilities and ‘entertainment’ for passengers.

It has its own rooftop swimming pool, gymnasium, cinema and gardens (see page 48), for example, while ‘live’ daily entertainment for passengers includes a pianist playing a grand piano in the T1 departure lounge.

Lee notes: “We believe that the perfect airport experience is not just about providing state-of-the art facilities and efficient operations, but also about delivering an enjoyable travel experience for all passengers.

At CAG, our customer service philosophy is encapsulated in what we call the Changi Experience.

“The Changi Experience is about putting passengers and customers first, and at the heart of, everything we do. It’s an experience that is underpinned by a firm rooting to Changi’s core principles – providing

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Retail Changi boasts over 330 shops and 120 F&B outlets which, in addition to playing an integral part of the airport experience for passengers, helps provide the revenue that keeps the gateway’s aeronautical fees competitive, says Lee. In fact, such is the importance of concession revenues to the airport that Lee believes that CAG has a duty as a responsible landlord to actively work with Changi’s retailers and F&B providers to maximise their sales potential.

“We effectively manage one of Singapore’s largest shopping malls, so it is in our best interests to be proactive and help our tenants be successful,” enthuses Lee. “In addition to creating a conducive retail environment in which they can thrive and grow, one of the ways we help them is through

AIRPORT REPORT: SINGAPORE CHANGI

Another winner: The airport’s popular ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ promotion has boosted retail sales.

innovative and effective promotional campaigns where we provide marketing support.

“When we launched the ‘Be a Changi Millionaire’ shopping promotion last year, for example, we activated the campaign with a 3D art installation of ‘The Millionaire Life’ at Terminal 3, specially created for Changi by world renowned pavement artist, Kurt Wenner.

“This campaign created much excitement and buzz among our shoppers and provided strong support to the concessionaires at Changi.

These innovative retail concepts and initiatives put Changi on the world map as one of the most exciting airports to shop at.”

Social media CAG started its social media engagement shortly after corporatisation in 2009, viewing it as another way of fulfilling the promise of getting closer to its customers.

It is now active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which Lee believes have provided the platforms for CAG to interact with all its stakeholders, adding a human touch to the Changi brand.

And, he says that airports should not underestimate the global marketing and potential revenue earning benefits of social media.

“Many of our passengers and customers now contact us directly via social media with their feedback and suggestions,” says Lee. “Our social media activities are not just focused on raising awareness of the airport, they are also about driving conversations on travel, shopping and dining.

“We also work closely with our airline partners. For example, we collaborated with Lufthansa to run a Changi Airport-Lufthansa A380 competition on Facebook to welcome the airline’s inaugural A380 service between Singapore and Frankfurt.

Such activities and engagement have seen a steady increase in our fan base.”

Indeed, CAG’s Fans of Changi Facebook page now has more than 120,000 fans, and Lee pledges that there is much more to come from CAG in terms of its social media activity and the introduction of new and exciting online content.

Environment Aviation leaders have gone on record as stating that sustainable development is the industry’s ‘licence to grow’, a philosophy Lee wholeheartedly agrees with.

As a result, CAG is committed to the sustainable growth of Singapore’s aviation sector and addressing its impact on the environment. According to Lee, for Changi, this means striving to develop its infrastructure and facilities in an environmentally conscious manner, and implementing cost-effective and balanced environmental measures.

Examples of this philosophy in action include its ‘Changi Goes Green’ programme where CAG engages with the airport community and collaborates with partners to build awareness and seek improvement in areas such as energy efficiency, waste management and noise management.

And CAG’s efforts to incorporate best practices in environmental design and construction, has led to Changi’s nature-themed Terminal 3 attaining the Singapore Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Gold Award.

The terminal will also shortly gain the photovoltaic (PV) system that used to sit atop of the old Budget Terminal, generating about 950kWh of energy daily that resulted in energy savings of about S$60,000 ($50,000) per year.

An airport that is environmentally-friendly, makes money and is widely considered to be among the best in the world by passengers, AW whatever next!

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

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AIRPORT REPORT: QUEEN ALIA

Big year

for Amman Joe Bates finds out more about the new terminal that promises to create a dynamic new image for Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport.

T

he eagerly awaited opening of Queen Alia International Airport’s new terminal is now just months away, with the $750 million showpiece facility scheduled to open in the first half of 2013.

His Majesty King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein is personally said to have selected Sir Norman Foster’s “iconic design” for the new 103,000sqm terminal, which when fully built out, will effectively equip the gateway to handle 12 million passengers per annum.

It is certainly needed, as a dramatic 60% increase in passengers between 2007 and 2012 means that Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) is close to handling twice its design capacity of 3.5mppa.

Operator, Airport International Group (AIG), is in little doubt that the capacity enhancing new terminal is vital to ensure the long-term future of the airport.

“Queen Alia International Airport is the primary gateway to Jordan, serving as the first and last impression for all visitors to the Kingdom. With Jordan aiming to attract growth in crucial sectors like tourism and foreign direct investments – as well as sectors like the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry – upgrading key infrastructure like QAIA is a pivotal step to economic development,” enthuses AIG’s chief financial officer, Rodolfo Echeverria.

“We are working relentlessly to provide a strong, positive contribution to the Kingdom’s development plans. Since the project began, growth at the airport has risen dramatically on all fronts. The number of passengers jumped from 3.9 million in 2007 to 6.2 million in 2012, a 60% increase that has stretched QAIA to nearly twice its design capacity.

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“AIG has also worked to expand the portfolio of airlines, routes and services operating out of Amman; the number of airlines using Queen Alia has risen from 28 in 2007 to 44 today. This remarkable growth makes the development of the new terminal absolutely essential to the futures of both the airport and Jordan.”

According to AIG, the most eye-catching feature of the new terminal is its Bedouin tent inspired roof design, which boasts 127 concrete domes, each weighing up to 600 tonnes.

The concrete used for the roof domes weighs over 55,000 tonnes – about the same size as a small oil tanker – or, put in another way, 15,000 fully grown elephants.

Upon completion, of the first phase, the new terminal at QAIA will be equipped with 14 contact stands and state-of-the-art baggage handling (Pteris Global) and IT systems (SITA), including 64 check-in desks, designed to ensure that it is capable of accommodating at least 7mppa.

It will have around 40 shops and F&B outlets spread across more than 6,000sqm – 25% more than the existing terminal – and a host of other new facilities, which AIG is confident will signficantly “improve the passenger experience and help QAIA develop as a transit hub”.

Upon completion the terminal will also have its own hotel and AIG promises that other features such as short walking distances, easy access to boarding lounges and shopping areas, ‘comfortable’ seating, clear signage and high levels of customer service will make it one of the region’s most passenger friendly facilities.

Echeverria says: “Extensive considerations and effort went into the design and implementation of the new terminal building in order to ensure both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

AIRPORT REPORT: QUEEN ALIA

The new terminal will feature a wider range of products and services, including vastly improved food and beverage services and a significantly expanded duty-free area “Operationally, the new, improved infrastructure – better traffic flow, more spacious check-in areas, clear signage and sufficient flight information screens – will immediately catapult the airport’s capacity to seven million annual passengers in the first year, eventually increasing to nine million with further expansion and, if necessary, up to 12 million annual passengers.

“The infrastructure driving this capacity increase will also greatly improve the traveller experience at QAIA. The new building is designed and laid out to improve passenger flow, allowing easy access to the transit lounge and shopping areas directly from the security checkpoint.

“Because space, variety and quality were so pivotal in the design and planning, the new terminal will feature a wider range of products and services, including vastly improved food and beverage services, a significantly expanded duty-free area, larger business and VIP lounges and bigger office and storage spaces.

“Ample seating in waiting areas, as well as a centralised and efficient customer service assistance counter, further improves the passenger experience. The terminal will transform passenger travel to Amman.”

In addition to building the new terminal, AIG – a consortium made up of Jordanian and international companies – has spent $100 million on upgrading the existing facilities at QAIA in the first seven years if its 25-year Public Private Partnership (PPP) concession.

Its investment to date and plans for future expansion – the old terminal is to be demolished to pave the way for additional facilities – certainly appear to support its claim to be a long-term investor in QAIA. Indeed, AIG CEO, Kjeld Binger, recently reiterated the consortium’s commitment to QAIA in response to media speculation suggesting that it was looking to sell up following the opening of the new terminal.

He told Airport World: “I wish to stress that the allegations are unfounded, and emphasise that AIG has no plans of disposing of any part of its investment in QAIA, which is considered the most important PPP in the history of Jordan.”

Under the terms of the concession, the Jordanian government retains ownership of the airport, and received about 54.47% of AIG’s gross revenues for the first six years of the contract before reverting to a 54.64% share for the remainder of the agreement.

AIG’s shareholders include Abu Dhabi government owned, Invest AD (38%); Kuwaiti investment company, Noor Financial Investments Co (24%); the Edgo Group (9.5%); J&P (Overseas) Ltd – the holding company of privately owned Cypriot construction and investment group, Joannou & Paraskevaides – (9.5%); Greece construction company J&P-Avax SA (9.5%); and Aéroports de Paris subsidiary, ADPM (9.5%).

The QAIA project is a key part of the Jordanian government’s efforts to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country to improve and upgrade its key infrastructure in a bid to boost tourism.

Tourism currently accounts for 10% of the country’s GDP, and the government’s ambitious target is to double tourism revenue to $6 billion per annum by 2015.

In line with this policy, in addition to upgrading Queen Alia’s infrastructure, AIG says that it continues to work closely with the government to market the airport and the country’s tourism industry to airlines, add further Open Skies agreements and introduce incentives to stimulate new routes.

And, it is quick to point out that it has enjoyed a number of route development successes in recent years that have led to the number of flights at QAIA increasing by more than a third to over 1,220 per week.

Jordan currently enjoys Open Skies agreements with 30 individual countries and territories ranging from Algeria to Thailand, the US and Yemen, as well as the European Union.

Last year was certainly a good one for QAIA, with passenger numbers breaking the 6mppa barrier for the first time.

Highlights included a record breaking July and handling over 1.3 million passengers in the first quarter of a year for the first time in QAIA’s 30-year history.

The 2012 total of 6.2 million passengers (+14.3%) was complemented by a 5.9% increase in aircraft movements to 67,190 as home-carrier, Royal Jordanian Airlines, and others such as Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Middle East Airlines and Turkish Airlines cemented their presence in Amman.

Binger says: “Reaching these new milestones for traffic at Queen Alia International Airport is a great achievement in itself, made even more noteworthy by the fact that they have been reached just ahead of the biggest and most important milestone in the development of QAIA; the upcoming launch of the new terminal.

“This new national landmark represents the realisation of His Majesty’s vision for the airport, and the promising figures recorded in 2012 provide further optimism in the future of QAIA, as well as that of the entire Kingdom.”

AIG has gone on record as saying that QAIA’s role is not to compete with the global ambitions of rivals Dubai, Istanbul, Doha and Abu Dhabi, but, rather, provide feed [traffic] for the ‘big birds’ and serve as the hub of choice in the Levant region.

The region covers most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and parts of Turkey and north-western Iraq, so the goal is somewhat ambitious.

However, with ever-increasing passenger demand, a committed, long-term investor at the helm and a modern new terminal about to open, the future certainly appears bright for Queen Alia International Airport.

AW

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

29

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

Six of the best

Steven Thompson reviews the 2012 performance of the world’s busiest cargo gateways and discovers that it has been a difficult 12 months for airfreight.

O

n the face of it, the latest cargo figures do not make for pleasant reading. It was a rollercoaster year to say the least – there were highs and lows, but ultimately, global airfreight finished exactly where it started – with zero growth.

There were regional differences in cargo performance, with Middle Eastern and African gateways generally faring better than those in Asia-Pacific and the more mature markets of Europe and the US. Of the world’s top six gateways, Dubai, Memphis and Hong Kong all reported increases in throughput while Shanghai Pudong, Incheon and Anchorage experienced declines.

“There were mixed results throughout 2012, with some months posting modest gains while other months posted declines,” says ACI World’s economics director, Rafael Echevarne.

“Amid the significant downside risks in the Euro area and the fiscal deadlock in the United States throughout the year, growth in air freight came to an overall halt in 2012. However, as the global economy and international trade picks up steam, we are optimistic to see higher growth rates for both passenger and freight traffic in 2013.”

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong remained the world’s busiest gateway airport in 2012, regional economic growth proving the catalyst for a 2.2% rise in cargo volumes and its continued stay at the top of the pile despite what the airport called “a challenging global economic environment”.

It actually handled over four million tonnes of cargo for the first time last year, achieving a significant milestone at a time when so many of its fiercest rivals saw a cargo decrease.

Although financial woes in Europe and the US show few signs of improvement, GDP growth forecasts for the Chinese Mainland and South East Asia are 8.1% and 5.2%, respectively, and for this reason, the airport

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says it is “cautiously optimistic” about registering another increase in cargo this year.

Europe, North America and South East Asia are HKIA’s three biggest cargo markets, accounting for more than 50% of its annual cargo volumes.

The gateway’s cargo facilities will be further boosted this year by the opening of Cathay Pacific new cargo terminal. Due to open in late February, the $761 million (HK$5.9 billion) facility will have an annual cargo handling capacity of 2.6 million tonnes, increasing the total cargo handling capacity of HKIA by 50% to 7.4 million tonnes a year.

Operator, Airport Authority Hong Kong, claims that HKIA’s greatest asset is that it is the “preferred gateway to the Chinese Mainland” for international shippers.

“Over the years, many cargo operators have been attracted to HKIA. Examples are DHL’s Central Asia Hub – which is the first large-scale automated express hub in Asia-Pacific – and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals’ SuperTerminal 1, which is equipped with state-of-the-art automated cargo handling system and other special cargo facilities,” says a spokesman.

“We are less than five flying hours from half of the world’s population and HKIA is now connected to about 170 destinations, including about 50 mainland cities through about 1,000 flights daily served by over 100 operating airlines.”

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) – the major air cargo handler at HKIA – reported the second best year in the company’s history in 2012 when 2.7 million tonnes of freight passed through its facilities.

The fourth quarter in 2012 saw total traffic up 6.2% on 2011, at 754,226 tonnes, the best total tonnage and best annual growth in any quarter since the first quarter of 2011.

The fourth quarter was also the best for exports in 2012 – November’s figure of 142,632 tonnes made it the most outstanding month of the year, while December’s was the third best.

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

December’s imports figure of 61,659 tonnes meanwhile, made it 2012’s top month for inbound shipments.

Five new customers (Air Astana, Globus Airlines, SF Airlines, Uni-top Airlines and Vladivostok Air) in the later part of 2012 certainly helped play a part in Hactl’s upturn in fortunes and ensure that Hong Kong International Airport remained the world’s biggest cargo gateway by handling just 8,000 tonnes more than Memphis International Airport.

Memphis International Airport FedEx hub, Memphis, was the top performing cargo airport for many years, until finally being overtaken by Hong Kong in 2010.

It came back strongly in 2012, however, regaining its number one position six months into the new year, and only narrowly missed out on top spot at the year’s end despite annual growth of 2.5%.

While cargo has dipped internationally from a global perspective, Memphis bucked the trend, primarily due to FedEx, which continues to lead the way at the Tennessee gateway, handling in excess of 1.5 million packages daily.

“As the economy has shrunk here, especially in terms of traffic, it has made it more economic for FedEx to put more aircraft into Memphis, and over the year, that’s what they have done,” explains John Greaud, vice president of operations, at Memphis International Airport.

“They have not seen growth – in fact, it’s been fairly flat – so they are trying to come up with ways to become more efficient. And it is more efficient for them to operate from here with larger aircraft.

“For example, they may have a B727 that came here and a B727 that goes elsewhere. But it is better for them to use a B757 that just comes here – a larger aircraft, carrying more freight to a single location.”

Electronic items, such as the latest tablet or smartphone, are now replacing paper as one of the main products going through Memphis, reveals Greaud.

“High value small packages are the biggest thing,” adds Greaud. “We’re in the electronic age. People are a little less anxious to get paper documents

as they were 10 or 20 years ago. PDFs, scans and email have become acceptable official documents.

“The overnight paper industry has lessened, but people now have to have that new iPhone or iPad or another new gadget.”

UPS also have a facility at the airport capable of simultaneously accommodating up to four aircraft, and Memphis operator, Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority, has its own air cargo building and the ramp capacity to handle 12 B747s at the same time.

In comparison to the two, FedEx’s ramp is a massive 2.2 miles and takes up “a huge portion of the airfield”, notes Greaud, who also observed that it handled 135 aircraft in one night during the recent Christmas peak.

Greaud lists Hong Kong as the airport’s main cargo rival. “They finally toppled us here two years ago as the number one airport for cargo,” he notes. “Now we’re coming back at them, although that’s solely as a result of FedEx. “Because of our size, and FedEx, we can’t do anything more to attract others, other than keep our rates in line.

“International is where the growth is long term. With FedEx’s B777 switch, they can now make that journey in one hop, and because it’s more fuel-efficient and faster, they can operate them direct to international markets. That’s where FedEx sees its growth.”

Shanghai Pudong International Airport Shanghai Pudong’s volume fell slightly to 2.9 million tonnes, showing that even the top performing cargo airports are not immune to the global economic slowdown.

The gateway, one of the most successful in China in recent years, boasts indepdendent cargo terminals operated by PACTL (Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal Co Ltd) and Shanghai Eastern Logistics, while UPS and China Cargo Airlines use their own dedicated cargo facilities.

Without doubt, capacity at the combination of facilities makes Shanghai Pudong one of the ‘big beasts’ of the cargo world.

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SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

On the move: Freight being loaded on to an Emirates SkyCargo flight at Dubai International Airport.

PACTL – a joint venture between Shanghai Airport Group, Lufthansa Cargo, and JHJ Logistics Management – started operations in 1999 with four customers, handling 2,000 tonnes a month.

Fourteen years later it has around 50 customers, some 2,200 employees and handles in excess of 110,000 tonnes of cargo a month.

The 365,100sqm PACTL West facility opened in December 2008 with a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes a year.

“We aim to give our customer the competitive advantage and our ambition is to be known as one of the best cargo terminals in the world,” the company explains in its promotional material.

“Understanding and knowing the special requirements of handling different cargo [shipments] will guarantee a vital partnership with all customers and secure the future of the cargo terminal.”

Keeping customers happy is clearly key, as are PACTL’s partnerships with operators such as Pudong Trucking and HERMES, which use their sizeable trucking networks and fleets to transport consignments between the airport and a host of Chinese cities.

“It is our aim to establish and safeguard long-term customer relationships, with determination to serve customer needs,” states PACTL. “Our customer relationship management stresses constant communication, permanent information services, as well as regular customer feedback.”

Incheon International Airport South Korea’s Incheon International Airport is quite simply a cargo giant, handling around 2.45 million tonnes of freight per annum.

Although cargo volumes at the airport have dipped a little since its 2010 high of 2.68 million tonnes, it is so confident of future growth that a new cargo and logistics facility is planned as part of its master plan.

It has also signed an MoU with STATS ChipPAC Korea to build an integrated facility for manufacturing and research facilities on a 95,000sqm site in the airport’s Free Trade Zone. Construction will begin during the second half of 2013 in readiness for a 2015 opening.

The new additions will raise the airport’s cargo capacity from 4.5 millon tonnes to 5.8 million by 2017. In the long term, Incheon says that, by 2020, it will have a seven million tonnes per annum capacity and eventually up to 10 million tonnes.

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The airport currently has three runways, 36 cargo-only aprons and six cargo terminals, and electronics takes up a large part of its business.

Korea’s export strength is in semi-conductors, mobile phones and vehicles, with South Korea enjoying has about a 55% share of the world semi-conductor market, says Minyang Kang, from Incheon’s cargo marketing department.

Semi-conductors account for 41% of “export value” from Incheon; after this, comes wireless communication, such as smartphones.

A large proportion of imports are also associated with semi-conductors.

“Our strategic geographical location as a bridge connecting the big economic areas of China and Japan to the Americas and Europe is our key asset,” says Kang.

“We have a good cargo mix, but the market is changing and we are determined to move with the times by developing new strategies to appeal to new sectors and stimulate growth. We believe that there is great future potential at Incheon for handlng goods such as perishables, pharmaceuticals garments and clothing.”

Incheon counts airports on the Chinese mainland as its main competitors, and uses airports such as Taiwan Taoyuan, Singapore Changi, Shanghai Pudong and Tokyo Narita, as “benchmarking targets”.

“Incheon experienced some tough times in this global economical slump,” Kang adds. “The economic crisis is affecting the European region and may cause a shrinkage in the Chinese industry.

“However, we think there could also be positive signs in Korea.

Automotive parts, mobile phones, and flat panel displays are expected to become the driving forces again in the air cargo market. The expectation of slow economic recovery in 2013 is encouraging, too.”

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport North America’s second biggest cargo gateway, Alaska’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), suffered a near 7% drop in volumes last year.

The 2012 decline in traffic saw the gateway handle 2.44 million tonnes of cargo – a 6.6% decrease on the 2.6 million tonnes accomodated in the previous year.

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

Busy times at Incheon International Airport.

The airport traditionally handles around 2.5 million tonnes of cargo per annum, although it is worth noting that ANC’s data includes transit freight.

Airport manager, John Parrott, told KTUU-TV in November 2012 that the downturn was “significant”, but claimed that he was not particularly troubled by it as the majority of cargo planes stop in Anchorage to refuel and aren’t unloading freight.

And, he noted that he didn’t think that cargo carriers would stop coming to ANC to refuel, as they had recently paid to expand the gateway’s fuel system.

Anchorage’s location certanly makes it a natural stop-off point for cargo heading from the Far East to the western half of the United States. FedEx Express and UPS both operate major hubs there.

Indeed, according to a recent economic impact study, 71% of all Asia bound cargo from the US, and 82% of all US bound cargo from Asia transits through the airport.

The study, carried out by the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) in conjunction with McDowell Group on behalf of the airport, also reveals that cargo flights make 86,000 landings at ANC each year.

“Overall, there are no surprises in this report, but now we have up-to-date data on the current impact that ANC has on our local economy. As an international airport heavily weighted in cargo activity, ANC is a barometer of the national and global economy,” stated airport manager, John Parrott.

In the airport’s Airtimes newsletter, Parrot, notes: “We do face challenges in the coming year. The global economy, which impacts our cargo carriers strongly, has not yet recovered.

“Traffic is markedly down from our peak. Consumers are purchasing less and manufacturers are looking for less expensive methods to get their goods to market. The airport also strives to improve our efficiency and be a high-value airport for our carriers, passengers, and businesses.”

Dubai International Airport Dubai cemented its top six cargo airport status by handling 2.27 million tonnes of freight in 2012 – a rise of 3.9% on the previous year.

Operator, Dubai Airports, attributes the increase to a strong rebound in cargo volumes towards the end of the year, the year ending on a high with tonnage figures in December 2012 climbing by 6.5% to over 200,000 tonnes for the month.

The rebound points to another potentially good year ahead for the gateway, although Dubai Airports’ vice president of cargo, Ali Angizeh, is refusing to make any predictions.

“Cargo volumes at Dubai International have rebounded in recent months, but it is too early to say to what extent this will be sustained in the short term, given the fact that economic growth around the world remains patchy and uneven,” says Angizeh.

“That said, in the longer-term, the fundamentals are in place to ensure strong growth at both Dubai Airports’ airports. Freight volumes at Dubai International will continue to benefit from the growth of Emirates airline’s global network. This includes additional bellyhold cargo from passenger flights as well as new dedicated freight services.”

Emirates and Emirates Skycargo is by far the largest operator at Dubai International Airport (DXB), while other key clients include Eithad, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Egypt Air. DXB has more than 140 airlines serving 263 destinations, of which 28 are dedicated freight services. Dubai World Central has also seen a dramatic rise in the number of airlines operating from the airport, with 37 freight airlines represented at the airport.

Dubai Airports’ two gateways handle a wide range of commodities, some destined for Dubai while others are shipped through Dubai to destinations further afield.

“The primary products shipped to Europe from the Middle East are garments and perishables,” explains Angizeh. “While leading commodities shipped from Europe include telecommunication equipment, machinery and finished goods.”

Dubai World Central, which opened in 2010, will “continue to grow strongly”, Angizeh says, as freight airlines take advantage of the airport’s “greater operational flexibility” due to the greater availability of arrival and departure slots.

And by 2015, combined cargo at the two Dubai airports is projected to top three million. Reasons, then, to be positive.

This news, combined with the cautious optimism of IATA and ACI – both of which predict modest rises in global cargo this year – ensure that 2013 looks like being a better one for the world’s airports, with hopefuly AW more ups than downs on the cargo rollercoaster.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

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SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

Turning the corner Daniel Fernandez, secretary general of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), reflects on a challenging operating environment for the industry and the prospect of a more positive year ahead.

T

he global air cargo industry is one of the clearest indicators of the world economy as it so quickly reflects changes and trends in manufacturing, export and import orders and consumer spending.

Global air cargo traffic in 2012 decreased 1.5% compared to 2011 in terms of freight tonne kilometres (FTKs), the second consecutive year of cargo traffic decline, and the fourth time in five years, that air cargo traffic has decreased on an annual basis.

The outlook for 2013 indicates a small, but at least positive and welcome growth, with a 1.4% rise in FTKs, and ACI is prediciting a near 3% rise in cargo volumes.

Nations and international businesses need the air cargo industry to prosper because it plays such a vital role in world trade.

In value terms, 35% of world trade worth over $5 trillion a year moves by air cargo, so whether you are a Fortune 100 company or a farmer growing fresh berries in Africa for the European consumer market, air cargo will play an important part in your prosperity somewhere down the line.

Speaking at TIACA’s Air Cargo Forum & Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, last October, Ray LaHood, US Secretary of Transportation, acknowledged the importance of our industry in his keynote address.

He told the air cargo leaders present: “We are committed to your industry – because what’s good for air cargo is good for the US economy. A strong air cargo industry expands international trade and contributes to job creation and prosperity at home.”

A healthy air cargo industry, he added, is essential in helping the US government achieve its goal of doubling the nation’s exports by 2015. Air cargo now accounts for 31% of the total value of US exports.

It is very difficult in these unprecedented economic times to look beyond the impact of what’s happening in the financial markets and how this is affecting businesses and consumers, but we have to do so because this is not the only challenge we face.

Aviation and air cargo security is a daily focus right across our industry. We also face potentially costly and significant changes as a result of carbon emissions ‘taxes’, and we also have some ‘housekeeping’ of our own in terms of the full adoption of e-cargo processes.

We probably have the biggest ‘to do’ list our industry has even seen – but something very positive has come out of it. For many years, there has been a big ‘them and us’ void between the industry and the bodies that regulate it.

When changes are mandatory, we are naturally obliged to adopt them, but we have continually pushed for a proper level of engagement with the regulators

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to find the most viable ways of achieving their goals without impairing the speed of air cargo, its prime competitive advantage.

Today, we have finally reached a point where all major parties recognise the advantages of collaboration and TIACA, which has taken a leading role in bringing this about, is extremely positive about what this can achieve.

In 2010, TIACA joined forces with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) to form the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG) – an industry advisory group that ensures the air cargo industry has a strong, unified voice in its dealings with worldwide regulatory authorities and other bodies whose decisions directly impact on air cargo.

It is already clear that the people in power, whose decisions shape the way we do business, are listening and increasingly demonstrating a commitment to work with us.

We have been working proactively to achieve this, building closer ties with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), as well as key bodies such as the World Customs Organization (WCO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the European Commission.

We are particularly pleased to be building closer ties with ICAO because it is going to play such a key role in major areas I mentioned earlier, such as security and global emissions.

TIACA and ICAO have committed to enhanced co-operation in the field of air cargo transportation. This covers the areas of air cargo and mail security and facilitation; environmental practices; market access; capacity building; and air cargo safety.

We also hope to gain further benefit and opportunities for co-operation from ICAO’s institutional relationships with the United Nations and its specialised agencies, regional civil aviation bodies and regional civil aviation and economic integration organizations, as well as industry stakeholders.

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

Having campaigned strongly against the EU’s inclusion of aviation in its Emissions Trading Scheme – which has since been suspended – we support ICAO’s commitment to press ahead with creating a global solution for managing aviation’s carbon emissions.

The Kyoto Protocol designated ICAO as the body with authority to set international aviation’s greenhouse gas policy and it is now working towards delivering this.

These are issues that we can influence but not directly control. E-cargo, however, is well within our own capability – and its adoption is long overdue.

At the end of 2012, GACAG produced a ‘roadmap for paperless air cargo’ to accelerate the industry’s adoption of e-Cargo in 2013.

For the first time, the roadmap outlines a shared end-to-end industry approach, with clear leadership roles centred around three core components, or Pillars: • Pillar I: Engaging regulators and governments worldwide to create an ‘e-freight route network’ with fully electronic customs procedures and where regulations support paperless shipments • Pillar II: Working collaboratively within the cargo supply chain to digitise the core industry transport documents, starting with the air waybill • Pillar III: Developing a plan to digitise the commercial and special cargo documents typically accompanying airfreight today, in or outside of the ‘Cargo pouch’ Using the roadmap, we aim to create an environment, by the end of 2015, where the core transportation documents are paperless on at least 80% of the world’s trade lanes, and where the traditional cargo pouch accompanying the shipments would be removed for a large set of shipments. As part of this, a key goal will be to achieve 100% e-AWB by the same timeframe.

There are clear signs of the value of e-freight. Amsterdam Schiphol, for example, says e-freight shipments have jumped from only 1,665 to 21,176 in two years following the launch of a state-backed drive to encourage paperless transactions.

Pilot projects between shippers and forwarders as a part of this initiative have resulted in substantial time savings, the airport has reported.

Amsterdam Schiphol’s cargo development director, Saskia van Pelt, a founder member of e-Freight@NL, is reported as saying: “We will continue to drive the use of e-freight at Schiphol because it reduces costs, improves efficiency and speed, is environmentally-friendly and will help to differentiate air cargo from other transport modes. We consider paperless transport as one of the top priorities to improve efficiency in the supply chain.”

To support such initiatives globally, we have called on Members of the World Customs Organization (WCO) to embrace and implement the principles of the Revised Kyoto Convention and shift from a dependency on paper documents to a full e-Customs environment.

We believe harmonisation of global customs procedures will play a pivotal role in establishing e-Customs platforms and have pledged the support of the entire air cargo industry in this effort.

At a minimum, we have highlighted processes that should be accomplished through electronic means: export and import goods declarations to Customs provided by exporters, importers and/or their forwarders or customs brokers; export, import and transit cargo declarations sent to Customs by airlines; release of shipments into free circulation following completion of Customs formalities; and recordkeeping and archiving for all participating parties.

All of these changes promise benefits and growth opportunities for airports around the world, including those across the globe that are members of TIACA. There is no question that fast and secure freight movements through airports will lead to enhanced optimisation of their air cargo infrastructure AW and new potential to grow alongside their customers.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

35

CARGO TRAFFIC

ACI cargo trends ACI projects global air cargo traffic to grow by a modest 3.6% per annum until 2017.

After the slight contraction experienced in 2012, the cargo market will pick up again this year due to expansion in emerging economies, which have a growing appetite for the fast and efficient movements of goods. Global growth will be constrained by the negative effects of fiscal austerity, high unemployment and restrained consumer demand which continue to hamper the large European and North American markets. Cargo services between these regions and emerging economies will be dampened.

&DUJR WR SLFN XS LQ DQG H[SHULHQFH PRGHVW JURZWK RYHU WKH QH[W \HDUV 4.5% 4.0% 3.5%

3.7%

3.8%

4.0%

3.8%

2014

2015

2016

2017

*URZWK UDWH

3.0% 2.9%

2.5% 2.0% 1.5% 1.0% 0.5% 0% -0.5%

-0.2% 2012

2013

Medium-term cargo forecast by region Estimates 2012 Africa 1,832.6 Asia/Pacific 34,130.0 Europe 17,599.1 Latin America/Caribbean 5,014.4 Middle East 6,162.7 North America 28,301.6 World 93,040.3

YOY 2012 2013 2.1% 2.4% 0.4% 4.8% -3.1% 0.7% -0.2% 3.4% 3.8% 4.3% 0.2% 1.6% -0.2% 3.7%

2014 3.5% 5.3% 2.5% 3.9% 5.9% 2.1% 3.7%

2015 3.7% 5.2% 3.0% 3.6% 6.3% 2.2% 3.8%

Forecasts 2016 2017 2012-2017 4.0% 4.3% 3.6% 5.3% 5.0% 5.1% 3.1% 2.7% 2.7% 3.9% 3.8% 3.7% 6.6% 6.5% 5.9% 2.2% 2.3% 2.0% 4.0% 3.8% 3.6%

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 studies in the Canadian and French markets.

For more information: Telephone: +41 22 354 07 54, Email: info@dkma.com, Website: www.aci-forecast.aero

For 2012, preliminary cargo figures are sourced from ACI and, for the remainder of the forecast period, regressions based on the most recent forecasts of economic growth were developed. If and when necessary, adjustments to the regression-driven results were made.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

AW

37

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

Tough times

Martin Roebuck takes a closer look at the challenges and opportunities facing a handful of cargo focused airports in Europe and North America.

I

t has been a tough few years for the airfreight industry and, as a result, many cargo-focused gateways in Europe and North America have reported a decline in volumes or little or no growth.

Indeed, the downturn has been such that some traditional all-cargo gateways, such as Paris Vatry, have now started handling passenger services to boost revenues.

Many all-cargo or heavily cargo-focused airports were born in the days when it made sense to move cargo operations out of the congested major hubs into specialist facilities, which could guarantee fast and efficient services.

However, with the continued economic downturn now meaning that many leading, better-connected airports having cargo capacity to spare, what is their USP now?

US based consultant, Michael Webber, certainly believes that it is hard to justify an all-cargo business model at a secondary airport in today’s market.

“I’m not sure if there was ever a compelling market requirement for cargo-focused, secondary airports that had no widebodied passenger aircraft calling but were capable of handling freighters,” claims Webber.

“It was commercially feasible at one time, but that’s not to say they were meeting a specific need.”

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Webber excludes the integrators, who didn’t look to leverage established passenger networks in the way that conventional cargo carriers often benefit from.

“Integrators brought their own connectivity – trucks, ground handling, de-icing, everything. They didn’t need to co-exist with anyone, and could simply build their own hubs,” Webber says.

Yet even airports with an integrator as an anchor tenant are struggling to grow their cargo volumes and have been forced to diversify.

Despite handling over 4.2 million passengers per annum, East Midlands Airport claims to be the UK’s busiest “pure cargo airport”, due to the fact that it is a hub for DHL and UPS and supports operations for TNT and the Royal Mail.

Its status ensured that it handled around 300,000 tonnes of freight and mail in 2012, the same as the previous year, but John Froggatt, cargo and commercial bid director for owner, Manchester Airports Group, believes that the performance was satisfactory considering the difficult operating climate.

“Against the background of a difficult year for the airfreight industry, East Midland’s flat overall performance says a lot for the resilience of DHL, UPS and TNT,” says Froggatt.

An Ethiopian Airlines B777 freighter at Liège Airport.

Ad hoc cargo charters, a relatively small part of EMA’s business, grew by over 30% last year, and the airport is looking to develop this further in the year ahead by targeting outsized-loads.

Elsewhere, in Belgium, TNT’s European air hub, Liège, saw a 14.5% slump in traffic last year because of reduced activity by Southern Air and other charter operators.

Ethiopian Airlines’ upgrade to B777 freighters on its daily operation, and new freighter services from Turkish carrier, My Cargo, to Istanbul, Niger Air Cargo to Niamey and Avient to Yerevan, were all huge positives, but could not fully compensate.

Martin Fraissignes, director of strategy and development at Châteauroux Airport, two hours south of Paris, recently addressed a conference in Beijing on what it means to be a cargo-friendly airport.

“Chinese airport executives were interested to learn from our model and how they could duplicate it,” he says.

Châteauroux promotes itself on the basis of charges that Fraissignes claims are 50% lower than the main Paris airports, shorter flying time from the south, unrestricted 24-hour operations and good intermodal connections.

Yet, last year saw no growth, although one positive was Egyptair’s October decision to launch a weekly A300-600 freighter from Cairo.

Inbound flights primarily bring strawberries and other perishables

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO destined for Europe’s markets while southbound loads include day-old chicks, electronic goods and aviation parts.

According to Fraissignes, the night flight ban at Frankfurt has generated interest from prospective customers in the Far East and Middle East, but significantly, pilot training and aircraft maintenance now each generate as much income as cargo.

And Châteauroux has built a paint hangar that can accommodate B747s and is also planning to add a 10,000sqm MRO facility.

Not far away from Châteauroux, Paris Vatry Airport, a former military facility 150km east of Paris, recorded a 6% increase in cargo throughput last year – but still shifts less than 200 tonnes a week.

Yangtze River Express began operating three freighters a week last April, but the experiment lasted only until July, says Youri Busaan, general manager of airport operator SEVE. Busaan, who claims that Vatry is the thinking customer’s alternative to CDG, believes that it has the potential to handle more niche charter flights.

“We run the handling company, security, the full package. People want someone to handle the whole operation instead of negotiating with different service providers,” he says.

When Madonna completed her European concert tour last year in Nice, the charter operator chose Vatry ahead of several other airports for freighting four B747s worth of equipment back to the US, despite the fact that it was a 10 hour truck journey from the south of France.

“There’s less taxiing here. In four or five minutes, you can be unloading, compared with 15, 20, maybe 25 minutes at CDG,” Busaan says. “And, we’re a full 24-hour operation. They have only grandfather rights, so night operations are restricted to existing operators and slots.”

Vatry has added passenger services in the last three years, but cargo still accounts for 50% of revenue. “It’s still the business I want to pursue,” admits Busaan. “But we’ve set a prudent budget for 2013. Many customers are still having a bad time.”

In the US, forwarders such as Emery and BAX Global traditionally operated their own heavy freight air networks from their respective hubs such as at Dayton and Toledo in the manufacturing heartland of Ohio.

Other operators such as Airborne Express, based at the former military airport of Wilmington, Ohio, and Kitty Hawk Aircargo, at Fort Wayne, Indiana, also ran scheduled overnight freight services.

However, all disappeared in rapid succession in the early 2000s as demand fell away and truckers built more efficient nationwide networks, leaving largely untenanted airports casting around for replacement business.

“For every argument you throw out there for using an alternative airport – lower charges, lack of congestion etc – the bigger guys have an answer,” says Michael Webber.

“You may argue it’s good that your customers don’t have to compete against passengers, for example, but it’s contraflow anyway, as you do most of it at night. And freight forwarders enjoy the idea of passenger services to all those destinations. The ‘no congestion’ argument kind of suggests no one wants to come out there.”

Wilmington became a parcel hub following DHL’s purchase of Airborne, but lost out in 2009 when DHL withdrew from the US domestic market after failing to take market share from FedEx and UPS. FedEx moved in at Fort Wayne after Kitty Hawk went bust in 2008, but even the integrators are seeing muted growth in domestic air volumes.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

39

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

Webber notes that FedEx bought three of America’s top 20 trucking firms as it built its overland network. Most FedEx and UPS customers now choose deferred road delivery rather than pay for overnight air service.

The BAX sorting facility at Toledo – mothballed after DB Schenker, bought the company in 2005 and closed the overnight transport operation two years ago – is getting a new lease of life under the name BX Solutions.

Former senior management of BAX Global are launching an express road delivery service across the eastern and central US, and hope to take it national by May. BX is working with the airport to establish international air connections to feed its overland network, but there are no plans to resurrect domestic freighters.

The US faces fewer night restrictions than Europe and there is no great pressure on runway capacity, Webber says. “We’re talking about a market in which the top 100 US airports lost 30% of their tonnage between 2000 and 2010, so there’s been no real constraint here for 10 or 12 years.”

This underlines the challenge facing airports such as Chicago Rockford International Airport, which boasts UPS’s largest regional parcel sorting facility and is home to 30 industrial tenants, but has so far failed to attract scheduled traffic away from Chicago’s main O’Hare International Airport.

Ken Ryan, cargo and business development director at RFD, says a nearby Chrysler plant generates occasional charters. There is also an aerospace cluster in the area, and parts for Boeing’s 747-8 are produced locally.

“Atlas use us when they can, Volga-Dnepr make charter calls, and Cargolux and Southern Air call here,” says Ryan.

O’Hare has a huge catchment area stretching from Kansas City to Toronto, served nightly by an army of trucks, but suffers from congestion, Ryan points out.

He says: “With the modernisation programme going on, delays should be reduced. But they’re so busy that when you start getting back-ups, there are major consequences.”

A freighter from Asia, changing crew and refuelling in Anchorage and then flying on to Rockford, saves 35 to 40 minutes on combined flying and taxiing time compared with O’Hare, according to Ryan.

But the total saving is much greater, Ryan claims, because offloading at RFD can start in minutes.

“Nippon Cargo Airlines ran 13 test flights out of Tokyo Narita in December 2011 and wanted to see how trucking was in winter. We proved

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AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

we could deliver faster to customers. It’s two and a half to three hours faster than flying into O’Hare direct,” Ryan says.

“Our landing fees are one-third of theirs and our parking fees are zero, compared with $1,000 for the first four hours for a B747-400 at O’Hare, but I guess their volume discounts are attractive.

“NCA promised they would come in after doing the tests, but they take a view that it doesn’t warrant the risk, even though we have shown it works. We’ve had a whole series of airlines saying, ‘If you get the first guys in, we’ll come too’.

“UPS doesn’t count for them – they want to see conventional cargo.

I think the biggest issue is fear of change, fear of what the customer may think.”

Dave Lancaster, director of cargo development at Lambert-St Louis International Airport, faces the same inertia.

“The majority of cargo is sucked into Chicago, five or six hours away by truck, and some goes to Dallas. We don’t have 200 or 300 freight forwarders and brokers here as Chicago does, and the industry is settled in its methodology,” he accepts.

Lambert was an important cargo hub for many years, before TWA’s acquisition by American Airlines, mainly thanks to its central location.

“We’re on the edge of the ‘rust belt’ and not as impacted as Michigan.

We’re on a Boeing defence and aerospace production site and new industries such as bio-sciences have sprung up,” Lancaster says.

“We have a perfect road structure, with east-west and north-south interstate highways intersecting near here. We consider Chicago to be ‘up north’ compared with St Louis, and certainly our weather is better.”

China Cargo Airlines began weekly freighter flights from Shanghai in autumn 2011 under a two-year agreement with Lambert, but pulled out by mid-2012 as the Chinese economy slowed, and put all its focus on Chicago.

The airport is making a fresh effort to attract international cargo traffic via the Missouri Export Incentive Act – a scaled-down version of the so-called ‘Aerotropolis’ scheme of 2011 – which involved $300 million in tax credits for real estate development but was rejected by the state’s Senate.

On the table now is an eight-year, $60 million support programme that will see air cargo export shipments directly subsidised at 40 cents per kilo.

“It’s a very simple, forwarder-focused programme – seed money that will give carriers confidence that they will get support for years to come.

We will also waive their first 18 months of landing fees,” says Lancaster.

There’s no denying it’s a tough market out there, but airports continue AW to innovate and adapt in a bid to maximise their cargo potential.

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

Easy flow C

Are airports doing enough to develop multi-modal supply chains for cargo? Ian Putzger investigates. athay Pacific’s new HK$5.9 billion ($760.7 million) cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport, which opened in February, boasts an impressive array of cutting edge features aimed at meeting aggressive performance targets.

The airline intends to use the facility to reduce average connection times from today’s eight hours to five and, eventually, three hours. It also aims to halve cut-off time for exports from currently four to two hours, says Algernon Yau, CEO of Cathay Pacific Services, a subsidiary of the airline that has been in charge of the design, construction and management of the terminal.

One key aspect in this equation is the smooth flow of trucks in and out of the facility. A truck control system has been developed to avoid congestion in the truck parking areas and kerb dwell time at the loading docks.

Even without such performance targets, airports and cargo facility operators are increasingly looking to the landside of their patch.

Trucking has always been part of the air cargo supply chain, but now there is a growing interest in solutions that combine different modes of transportation.

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“Multi-modal solutions in general have become more popular in recent times as companies look to reduce logistics costs and improve their carbon footprints,” reports Nicklas Schlingensiepen, head of airfreight operations and compliance for the Asia-Pacific area at logistics provider, DHL Global Forwarding.

Ray Brimble, CEO of air cargo facility developer Lynxs, confirms that multi-modal concepts are on the rise, but warns that most airports in North America have a long way to go to position themselves adequately.

“I think many airports have still not digested the utilisation of truck traffic,” he says. For one thing, most costing mechanisms that are in place today rely on aviation activity, he points out.

The challenge goes way beyond altering the charges levied.

Truck access management has to be improved, if not developed altogether, and the velocity of cargo traffic flows needs to be taken into consideration, adds Brimble.

“The velocity is much higher now, particularly for special services designed for high-yield traffic like pharmaceuticals, and truck flow patterns need to be re-thought.

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO “This may mean a different configuration of the cargo building and the parking lot. And you don’t want to mix your cargo with passenger flows. Maybe it is better to knock down a building and re-build.”

Mike Webber, a former airport cargo executive turned industry consultant, also sees a need for far-reaching overhauls of cargo facilities at many US airports that would take multi-modal logistics concepts into account.

The realisation of this need has gradually spread among airport authorities, but few have taken steps to address the issue, he finds.

“Intelligence-led management of trucks at airports to reduce congestion and improve flows is an acknowledged idea, but the decline in cargo that we have seen in the downturn, has diminished the perception of the need for such steps, which is regrettable. Now would be the ideal time for some long-term improvement, both in bricks and mortar and in IT,” he comments.

Webber points to Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (Hactl), which handle the lion’s share of Hong Kong’s airfreight throughput, as one of the pioneers in this arena.

Truck access to its facility is controlled by a vehicle information system. Hactl has a traffic control office that monitors dwell times and allocates parking slots to trucks.

Several measures have been taken to reduce truck dwell time at the Hactl terminal. About 80 – mostly larger – freight forwarders are currently using the handler’s scheduled collection service for imports, under which they pre-book collection at a scheduled time and the handling company prepares their freight for pick-up.

Smaller forwarders can pre-declare their pick-up schedule over its website, which can be performed using mobile devices to allow drivers to book their collection while on the move. Hactl can also conduct customs clearance on behalf of forwarders if the requisite documentation is submitted in advance.

It offers its clients faster access to major points in the Pearl River Delta through its trucking subsidiary Hong Kong Air Cargo Industry Services (HACIS).

The outfit tracks all shipments though an interactive online cargo management system that provides full visibility of cargo records and inventory. It is linked to Hactl’s operating system that was upgraded in 2011, and information is fed electronically to airlines.

Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport, is about to get a better handle on trucks rolling to its cargo buildings. Last year it trialled a community system that aims to speed up information flows between the various links in the supply chain and thereby reduce cargo processing times.

A key element of the initiative is to draw in operators that are not core to the airfreight segment, such as truck operators.

Information about a truck and its load is submitted electronically in advance to the system operator. Combined with features like licence plate recognition, this brings about a significant reduction of time spent on checking incoming trucks for compliance with security regulations, says Bernhard Lessmann, Fraport’s senior manager of cargo city development.

“The time between the handover of the documentation and the actual offloading of the cargo is the critical part – everywhere, not only in Frankfurt,” he adds.

According to Lessmann, truck dwell time at an airport can be further reduced through status updates on truck docks to ensure that vehicles are directed to open positions or to parking areas if none are available. “We want to keep our roads clear of parked trucks,” he remarks.

Several freight forwarders are currently engaged in pilot projects with the system. “The platform is functional. Data can be exchanged via a web application. Now, the next step is to work out how the faster data flow can accelerate processes,” explains Lessmann.

Amsterdam Schiphol has tackled the question of truck access to the cargo facilities on the airport and security requirements through a smart ID card that truck drivers can obtain from Air Cargo Netherlands after a background check.

Now it is looking to load information about the cargo on the truck onto the ID card, so a vehicle arriving at a cargo facility can be directed straight away to a designated dock for unloading, without having to check the load first, says Enno Osinga, Schiphol’s senior vice president for cargo.

In a second initiative aiming to speed up the customs clearance process for EU exports, Schiphol has teamed up with Dutch Customs and Air Cargo Netherlands. Under this scheme, manifest information is fed electronically to Customs, who then decide whether an inspection is necessary.

Originally, the participants were thinking of a central control facility, which would have taken up a large amount of space on the airport, but then the realisation set in that this could be better managed through a combination of a smaller central building, mobile units and facilities on forwarders’ premises, reveals Osinga.

At this point the control centre is up and functional and the central scanning facility is currently in the final design phase.

Much of the strategy talk at Schiphol goes beyond the airport’s perimeter. “We hardly talk about the airport. We talk about the logistics chain – what do shippers need, what do forwarders need?” says Osinga, adding that the division between ocean and air cargo has become increasingly blurred.

Under the Amsterdam Connecting Trade moniker, the airport has joined hands with the port of Amsterdam to develop a logistics corridor which links the two with a trade zone that houses logistics and related services.

And one of the objectives of this initiative is to connect the IT systems of port and airport. Down the road, Osinga has his sights on another mode of transport.

“We look to build a cargo station that connects us to the high-speed rail link between Amsterdam and Paris,” he says, adding that this should ultimately feed into a pan-European high-speed rail network. This could eliminate the need for some night flights, he reckons.

In Hong Kong, Hactl is looking at a link to the city’s port. “Such intermodal traffic does exist, but the interface is currently generally handled by the freight agent, mostly without HACIS involvement (unless we are asked to provide clearance and port transfer),” notes CEO, Mark Whitehead.

“This is because of the different shipping terms, procedures, insurance arrangements, packing etc required in switching modes. But we do regard this as a potential market, and will be conducting our own studies this year to quantify the demand and opportunities.”

AW

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43

Cargo News

Paper cuts

A €1.2 million scheme to encourage paperless air cargo at Amsterdam Schiphol has been hailed a success after the number of paperless shipments soared over the last two years.

The Dutch government-funded project also helped establish a help desk and the e-Freight@NL Online Academy, to give advice and provide online training to the industry and potential users.

In 2010, only 1,665 shipments were sent as paperless e-freight; by December 2012, the annual total had risen to 21,176.

Schiphol’s top 10 e-Freight routes are now Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo (Narita), Vancouver, London Heathrow, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Cargo development director, Saskia van Pelt, said: “The e-Freight@NL project may be completed, but e-Freight will not stand still now, and the process of digitising supply chains will certainly carry on at Schiphol.

Big growth at DWC

“Amsterdam Airport Schiphol considers paperless transport as one of the top priorities to improve efficiency in the supply chain.

“IATA’s target for this year is to start two pilot programmes in the BRIC countries, to increase global coverage from 33% to 45%, and to achieve 20% e-AWB use across the industry.

“By the end of 2015, it is hoped that e-Freight will be live in 80% of all world trade lanes, that the industry will achieve 100% paperless substitution of the three core transport documents, and that the document pouch will be eliminated for most general cargo shipments.”

Van Pelt concludes: “We will continue to drive the use of e-Freight at Schiphol. It reduces costs, improves efficiency and speed, is environmentally responsible and will help to differentiate air cargo from other transport modes.”

Dubai World Central handled 219,092 tonnes of airfreight during its second full calendar year of operations, an increase of 144% over 2011. Average monthly air cargo volumes totalled 18,258 tonnes compared to the 7,477 tonnes recorded during the airport’s first full year of operations. Cargo transit traffic comprised 44,052 tonnes or 20% of volumes.

During 2012, more than 30 airlines operated into Dubai World Central, predominantly as cargo charter operations. Of these, 15 were scheduled services.

“Less than three years after its opening, Dubai World Central is fast emerging as a significant cargo airport in the region,” enthuses Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports.

“That emergence is set to continue as airlines take advantage of the airport’s facilities, road feeder service to Dubai International and bonded link to the Jebel Ali port.”

Among the eight new airlines launching services during 2012, were Abakan Aiva, Iran Aseman, Vision Air and Saudi Arabian.

News in brief Singapore Changi has slashed its landing fees for freighters by 50% in an attempt to boost cargo traffic. Changi Airport Group (CAG) said it had introduced rebates of 50% for the first six months of 2013 “in the face of continuing headwinds for the airfreight business”. The latest initiative amounts to €2.8 million in rebates and brings CAG’s total support for the air cargo sector close to €12.5 million since the start of the last financial year.

Liège Airport has blamed poor global economic growth and the Euro crisis for a 14.5% fall in cargo tonnage handled at the gateway in

Strong year-end for Hactl Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl), operator of the world’s biggest cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport, handled 2.7 billion tonnes of freight (+2.1%) last year.

The throughput made it the second best year on record for the company. Hactl’s executive director, Lilian Chan, admitted: “Last year ended stronger than we expected. Despite the continuing uncertainty in Europe and the US, our figures have maintained a modest and steady recovery that hopefully will become a sustainable trend. Nevertheless, 2013 will be challenging for us, as Cathay Pacific Airways migrates to selfhandling and we relinquish their business in phases throughout the year.”

For daily news updates, visit www.airport-world.com 2012. The Belgian gateway handled 576,664 tonnes in 2012 as opposed to 674,469 tonnes in 2011.

Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport claims to have experienced “solid freight growth” during 2012, the 30,000 tonnes of cargo handled at the gateway representing an upturn of 1.4% on the previous year.

Express freight made up the bulk of the shipments.

Qatar Airways has revealed it has sold its 35% stake in Cargolux to the Luxembourg

government, just over a year after buying the shares from a unit of defunct Swissair. Qatar, which announced its intention to sell the stake in November 2012, is understood to have received $117.5 million from the Luxembourg government, the same price it paid for the shares in 2011. The Luxembourg government has pledged to find a new buyer for the stake.

Moscow Domodedovo International Airport handled close to 200,000 tonnes of cargo in 2012. The total of 196,984 tonnes represented an increase of 4.3% on the previous year.

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

45

Year review

SPECIAL REPORT: CARGO

ACI’s preliminary data for 2012 reveals a contrasting year for airports.

Top 10 cargo airports Airport

IATA code

Total cargo 2012

Hong Kong International Airport

HKG

4,066,579

Total cargo 2011 3,976,768

Cargo% 2.26

Memphis International Airport

MEM

4,015,997

3,916,410

2.54

Shanghai Pudong International Airport

PVG

2,941,954

3,103,030

-5.19

Incheon International Airport

ICN

2,456,724

2,539,221

-3.25

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

ANC*

2,449,551

2,625,215

-6.69

Dubai International Airport

DXB

2,279,624

2,269,768

0.43

Louisville International Airport

SDF

2,168,365

2,188,329

-0.91

Paris-Charles de Gaulle

CDG

2,150,950

2,300,063

-6.48

Flughafen Frankfurt/Main

FRA

2,066,300

2,214,939

-6.71

Tokyo Narita International Airport

NRT

2,006,173

1,945,110

3.14

Total freight by region % YOY

5% 4% 3%

2%

1% 0%

-1%

-2% -3%

-4%

Africa

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America

Total freight by region YTD dec 2012

Middle East

North America

Europe 14,881.1

Asia-Pacific 24,487

North America 19,991 Africa 641.7 Latin America 2,898.6

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

47

AIRPORT GARDENS

Airport oasis: Singapore Changi’s Butterfly Garden.

Upwards trend

An increasing number of airports are investing in vertical gardens and living walls to create a unique setting, make themselves more environmentally friendly and, even grow their own food, writes Robin Stone.

I

t could be a scene from The Lost World. Octopus trees from Papau New Guinea compete for light and space with staghorn ferns from Indonesia, while lacy-tree philodendrons from Brazil spread out their branches to form an exotic jungle canopy overhead.

But these extraordinary species are no figment of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fevered imagination. In fact, they’re very much alive and well at...

Edmonton International Airport.

The Canadian gateway says that its ‘living wall’ gives passengers a breath of fresh air as they move around the terminal, because the vegetation is responsible for substantially improving air quality.

The design of the wall at Edmonton International (EIA) lets its shape evolve more three-dimensionally, with the larger species being allowed to grow up to 10 feet out of the wall.

As aviation worldwide continues to face pressure from the environmental lobby, EIA is just one of a number of green-fingered airports fighting back by doing a bit of gardening in the terminals.

Portland International Airport’s vertical garden has added a welcome splash of colour to the exterior of a drab grey multi-storey car park. The garden is just one of a number of green initiatives at Portland; a solar panel-clad glass canopy producing 12,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year covers the approach road.

Vertical gardens, sometimes known as ‘living walls’, are sprouting up all over the world – and proving a big hit with passengers passing through the terminals.

Latest to jump on the horticultural bandwagon is Paris CDG, where an extraordinary wall garden – looking more like a vast painting at first glance – has been created in the newly-opened international concourse. Standing 10ft high and stretching out 30ft, the garden contains a wide variety of living plants.

Vertical gardens are the brainchild of French botanist Patrick Blanc, who quite literally turned horticulture on its head with his environmental vision.

Traditional gardens, he argued, consume acreage – so when valuable space is limited, why not reach for the sky instead?

The evolving science of hydroponics, and in particular hydroculture – the growing of plants on artificial surfaces or in fertile liquids – has spurred the development of rooftop gardens, rooftop agriculture and, most recently, ‘wall gardening’.

Three vertical garden systems dominate the market. The oldest and most famous is Blanc’s mur végétal (vegetation wall). Since then, competitors have arrived in the shape of the Dutch WonderWall and the Parabienta Green Wall, developed jointly in Japan and Singapore.

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AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

Blanc’s system consists of a steel frame screwed into the wall on which are mounted layers of PVC and non-corrosive, absorbent felt. Blanc’s plants are placed in snug pockets cut out into the felt tapestry and aesthetically arranged. Irrigation is fully automated.

Singapore’s Changi has chosen the Parabienta Green Wall system, a mosaic of square modules anchored to the wall. Each square consists of a spongy irrigating tissue, which keeps the plants watered around the clock.

It’s a far cry from Changi’s early efforts at landscaping back in the 1980s, which started by scattering potted plants throughout the terminals for decoration. Orchid and cactus gardens were introduced later, followed by themed gardens with seasonal displays to celebrate major festivals.

AIRPORT GARDENS

“In constructing T3, our newest terminal, landscaping was no longer an afterthought, but an integral part of the design to define the unique architecture of the building,” says Khaja Nazimuddeen, senior manager, airport opperations, Changi Airport Group.

Changi’s Green Wall is made up of 20 different species of 25,000 climbing plants and four cascading waterfalls. The ‘vertical landscape’ design, which hangs above the baggage reclaim areas to maximise planting space, covers almost 4,500 square metres, making it one of the largest indoor vertical gardens in Singapore.

Although vertical gardens may be pleasing on the eye, they offer a host of other benefits. Chicago O’Hare, which opened the first in-airport vertical garden in 2011, grows a range of vegetables and herbs which are harvested and sold in the airport’s restaurants – offering passengers the freshest of fresh food.

O’Hare’s ‘urban garden’ is sited on Concourse G in Terminal 3. The harvest includes chard, basil, dill, parsley, chives, lettuce, peppers, thyme, oregano and green beans. They are cultivated using aeroponics, a method of growing plants without soil by using a water and mineral nutrient solution.

Seedlings are started in small cubes made from natural volcanic ash.

When the plants mature, they are transplanted to tall, circular towers and irrigated using constantly recycled water.

“The water has nutrients in it that feed the vegetables, which – because they are growing vertically instead of horizontally – uses less land,” says Chicago Department of Aviation commissioner, Rosemarie Andolino.

“Well-known Chicago restaurants inside the terminal use fresh, locally grown produce every day in meals prepared for passengers,” enthuses Andolino.

“Producing locally grown foods supports our commitment to sustainability by strengthening the local economy, while reducing urban sprawl, traffic congestion, habitat loss and pollution from transportation of produce.”

Reduced heat loss and improved air quality are just two of the benefits of a low-maintenance ‘living wall’ according to Vancouver International Airport.

Research by Cambridge University found that living walls and green roofs cut the wind chill factor by 75% and heating demand by 25%. The plants can save thousands of dollars by reducing heating and cooling costs, as well as reducing carbon dioxide.

Vancouver’s green wall stands 17 metres high and is home to over 27,000 individual plants selected for their long-term performance.

On the downside, ‘biowalls’ can only be grown in a commercial building once a structural engineer is happy that the wall can withstand the weight of the plants, support structure and irrigation system.

There is also the question of maintenance – plants can easily grow out of control or die if left untreated.

With public perception in mind, biowalls have to look attractive all the time. Sydney Airport is particularly proud of its 98ft vertical garden, a stunning feature of the Qantas First Class lounge. But all 8,500 plants need to be pruned and maintained so they don’t get out of control and turn into an airport forest.

Sydney’s green wall was another creation of Patrick Blanc, who worked with a company called Greenwall to integrate the wall into the rest of the lounge.

“The garden is very efficient and helps lower energy consumption, both in winter by protecting the building from the cold and in summer by providing a natural cooling system,” explains Blanc.

The lounge itself was designed by Greenwall founder, Mark Paul. By using plants that can grow in soilless terrain – such as orchids – walls can be created to thrive in their own micro-climate. “It creates a resilient root system,” says Paul.

“Plants need light, water and food. Give them those three things, and they will grow anywhere.”

The gardens can be irrigated with a trickle system which allows the water that falls to the bottom to be pumped back to the top for recycling.

And while a vertical garden can be a maintenance headache – with water pumps and light levels requiring constant monitoring – a welldesigned ‘wall garden’ will last for 10 years.

And they’re not restricted to airports. A shopping centre near Milan recently opened the biggest vertical garden in the world covering 1,263 square metres and containing a staggering 44,000 plants.

With vertical gardens quite literally growing in popularity, who’s to say that Milan’s record-breaking marvel won’t one day be surpassed by an air terminal? Onwards and upwards, for vertical gardens, the sky’s the limit. AW

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

49 49

INTERMODALISM

Access all areas

Foster + Partners CEO, Mouzhan Majidi, talks about the importance of planning airports with user-friendly, integrated transport links and the potential benefits of the proposed Thames Estuary Airport in the UK.

L

ondon Stansted, completed in 1991, pioneered a model that has since been adopted by airport planners around the world.

Its design achieved an unprecedented degree of clarity by moving the service installations usually concentrated at roof level to an undercroft beneath the concourse floor, freeing the roof to admit daylight.

As well as containing baggage handling, this level was also able to accommodate a mainline railway station.

The original brief was for a spur off the line from nearby Bishop’s Stortford to terminate at a new British Rail station, set away from the BAA-commissioned airport. The station was brought into the terminal at a late stage in the design process, but the building’s inherent flexibility made the integration of the rail platforms straightforward.

The complexity lay in combining the wayfinding, security and passenger systems of the two organisations. Even the operation of the luggage trolleys demanded special consideration, with airport trolleys braking on release of the handle and conventional railway trolleys working in reverse.

The impact of the decision taken twenty years ago to integrate the airport with regular rail connections can still be seen today: almost half of all people travelling to and from Stansted use public transport, the highest proportion of any of the UK’s major airports.

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Foster + Partners subsequent airport projects in Asia can be seen as an evolution of Stansted’s diagram, but at an unprecedented scale.

When the Hong Kong government took the bold step of relocating the airport from Kai Tak on Kowloon, where space was tight and expansion severely restricted, to the island of Chek Lap Kok, they planned for all the infrastructure projects that would be needed to make this enterprise work.

In addition to new road and rail bridge connections, new highways, new cross-harbour tunnels, a SkyPier provides ferry transfer to eight ports in the Pearl River Delta, opening up China’s most important trade route to around 170 destinations worldwide via the airport.

Construction began in 1995 and the first flights touched down in 1998, the year after the handover to China. Today, HKIA is consistently voted by passengers as one of the world’s best airports.

By building high-speed, efficient connections, cities can reap the social and environmental benefits of locating major airports away from densely populated urban areas, while retaining the economic advantages of having an international hub.

Physically, Hong Kong’s airport is almost 40 kilometres from downtown, but the seamless integration of surface transport has effectively moved the airport’s boundary. The 130mph Airport

INTERMODALISM

Express Line train carries up to 20,000 passengers per hour to the heart of Central, in a journey that takes just 23 minutes.

A passenger can now check-in luggage at the rail station, go for a meal and take their seat in the cabin just an hour after paying their bill. In Beijing, the development of Terminal 3 was accompanied by a new ground transportation centre, with a dedicated high speed train from Dongzhimen station, making airport and city just 12 minutes apart.

The boom in aviation has made the sector highly competitive, particularly in cities with more than one airport. When passenger choice drives new development, convenience and ease of use are imperative.

In airport design terms, the simplicity of Hong Kong and Beijing airports belies their scale and complexity; through the use of natural light, few level changes, direct visual connections between terminal and airfield, wayfinding is clear and intuitive.

However, there is an antitype to these successful multi-modal aviation hubs. Some European airports, such as Heathrow, have expanded piecemeal without sufficient space and transport connections to meet rising capacity.

And the failure of Montréal Mirabel as a passenger terminal, built as the main eastern gateway to Canada, can be attributed to its lack of surface access.

Consumer technology is having a significant impact on both the movement and expectations of passengers, as smartphones give direct access to real time travel information – and to the immediate, public forum of social media if things go wrong.

As we develop the next generation of multi-modal hubs, their planning must be flexible to anticipate changing technology and patterns of use.

The widespread adoption of contactless ticketing systems, such as London’s Oyster card, echoes that of online check-in for flights – they have speeded up the processing of passengers by enabling zoned, multi-modal tickets to be pre-purchased or airline seats to be allocated online.

Today’s consumer is also faced with more transport options on arrival in a city, as new modes of transport, such as the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme in London grow in popularity.

The move towards greater integration has also led to the carrier taking on a more prominent role in shaping the whole experience. Foster + Partners worked with Cathay Pacific to create a unique sequence of lounges and spaces that can set them apart in a competitive luxury market.

Similarly at Heathrow, the practice designed Virgin’s ‘Upper Class’ check-in facilities, maintain continuity in the experience of the brand from limousine drop-off to final destination.

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The case for the Thames Hub To secure sustainable economic growth and jobs, Britain desperately needs more hub airport capacity to connect and trade with the world’s growing economies.

The UK’s only hub airport, Heathrow, is full and expanding European and Middle Eastern hubs are seriously eroding its competitive position.

Heathrow cannot expand because of noise.

A quarter of the people within Europe who suffer from aircraft noise live around Heathrow and the proposed third runway will only make matters worse. Any aviation solution will take seven years to achieve planning consent before construction can begin.

A third runway would be full within a decade of opening and therefore can’t deliver the long-term level of hub capacity needed. Its construction requires reconfiguration of an airport already struggling to maintain a good service for passengers.

A split hub, with a rail link between Heathrow and Gatwick, would not provide any additional hub capacity and would result in unacceptable transfer times for passengers, further eroding the UK’s hub airport status.

There is spare capacity at other airports such as Birmingham, Luton and Stansted, which could be better used, but this will not deliver the hub capacity that Britain requires.

The UK can only sustain one hub airport and Heathrow’s inability to expand means that a replacement hub is required. This has to be sited close to its largest market, London, but the crowded South East severely restricts potential locations.

A four-runway, 150mppa capacity hub airport in the Thames Estuary offers an opportunity to address the issues of noise and delays that plague Heathrow, and to deliver the long-term hub capacity Britain needs.

Located on the sparsely populated Isle of Grain in Kent, and connected to London via a spur onto HS1 and an extension of Crossrail, the airport could operate 24 hours a day with aircraft predominantly approaching over water.

It could be constructed in seven years following planning consent and its €23 billion cost funded by a mix of landing charges, property taxes and receipts from the redevelopment of Heathrow, with compensation provided to Heathrow’s shareholders.

It could be developed with a new Thames crossing and flood barrier providing major regeneration for the Thames Gateway.

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Alongside passenger developments, there are also opportunities to open up new logistics channels. The opening of Hong Kong airport was closely followed by the HACTL SuperTerminal 1, which can process 2.5 million tonnes of cargo a year and has the largest fully automated, combined racking system ever built.

The second largest facility at the time was Heathrow and HACTL offered more than double the capacity, reasserting Hong Kong as a leading centre for international commerce in South East Asia. Today, it is the busiest freight airport in the world (see page 30).

In a globalised world, this connectivity is the lifeblood of an economy. Working with a team of technical advisors that included Halcrow, Foster + Partners developed the Thames Hub vision to ensure that Britain can retain the competitive advantage of having an aviation hub, while transforming both freight and passenger connections across the country.

A proposed new four-runway hub airport on the Isle of Grain in the Thames Estuary would be able to operate 24 hours a day. The solution offers the benefits of locating an airport away from the densely populated city centre, removing the air and noise pollution that blights the lives of millions of Londoners, and its greater distance is countered by greater connectivity.

The approach to surface transport is comprehensive and holistic – the proposal goes beyond local connections to offer an integrated vision for Britain. A new orbital rail tracing the route of the M25 connects HS1 to HS2, avoiding London and providing a fast connection from the cities of the north, as well as opening up a route between Europe and the airport.

The journey from St Pancras Station to the hub by high-speed train via a spur from Ebbsfleet would take just 20 minutes. Crossrail would also extend eastwards from London to the airport to serve suburban passengers.

The orbital rail would serve passengers and freight, releasing the pressure of freight on London’s rail network, freeing capacity to improve commuter services and easing traffic congestion by taking more trucks off the roads.

To maximise the benefits of the project, the principles of integration are taken further to embrace new energy, environmental and development opportunities.

The hub includes a new Thames Barrier at the Isle of Grain, which would incorporate power generation as well as tunnels for road and rail. The barrier would provide flood protection for a vast area of East London – and new land for much-needed residential development.

Predicting future aviation capacity is never an exact science, but the failures of Mirabel and the successes of Hong Kong demonstrate the importance of planning airports with user-friendly, integrated transport links.

Britain can lead the way with the Thames Hub. Like Stansted, it offers the potential to reinvent the way the next generation of airports are designed. And for the first time, the UK could position itself as a true hub for connecting global trade and welcoming international visitors.

In an expanding world economy, Britain would leapfrog the competition – and we already have the skills to make it a reality.

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LEADERSHIP

Time for a re-think?

Exambela Consulting’s David Feldman argues that airport leaders may need to adapt business strategies to concentrate more on the mid-term for their gateways to thrive in an age of uncertainty.

W

e are entering a new airport age. The rapid evolution of a competitive market is changing the required skill-sets of airport CEOs, especially those managing mid-sized airports of between 5-15 million passengers a year.

There will be winners and losers. In Europe, for example, unsuccessful airports are going out of business – most recently Coventry and Bristol Filton in the UK, Cuidad Real in Spain, Forli in Italy – and, with ACI Europe figures showing that nearly half of the continent’s airports are losing money, the number of ‘at risk’ airports is growing.

For the first time in its aviation history, Europe has to contend with the prospect of a prolonged period of zero or declining growth.

Competitive forces drive the market In this environment, airport CEOs are finding themselves at the mercy of competitive forces over which they have little control. When macro-economic winds are blowing unfavourably, the room for manoeuvre is slight.

Assets are fixed and costs can only be cut so far. Airlines can be footloose and fickle when deciding their route network, and every year they want to maximise their investment return.

ACI Europe data reveals that in 2011 approximately 2,500 new airline routes were opened in Europe and 2,000 were closed. In

addition, while airport ‘brands’ have become the buzzword of the day, strong brands are built on experiences.

Customer service often depends on partner organisations – groundhandlers, airline operations, security, Customs – over whom the airport management has relatively little control.

Airport competition has become a reality. As illustrated on the graph below, nearly two-thirds of European citizens live within a two hours’ drive of two airports and nearly a quarter live within two hours’ drive of four airports.

For many CEOs of medium-sized airports in Europe, it’s a tough, tough market and, apart from applying lean and efficient management processes, there’s not much they can do but batten down the hatches and ride out the storm.

That is why most airport CEOs spend their time spinning plates – managing fickle airlines, misinformed politicians, angry neighbours and a worried workforce. Understandable, of course, but that leaves little time for innovative strategic thinking.

At least, that’s the traditional view. But, as some airports are discovering, in this new market environment, there are opportunities for business development if CEOs can define a vision and business model for their airport and then recognise the potential opportunities available.

Number of airports with a radius of two hours’ drive

Source: ACI Europe, Copenhagen Economics, SEO analysis.

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LEADERSHIP

Defining a robust mid-term strategy If airports are going to succeed they will have to re-examine their business model and strategy.

Most airports have become reasonably good at managing the short term (next year’s traffic forecast and operating budget) and the very long-term (too often a ‘pie in the sky’ vision statement oozing optimism along with a 2050 master plan). But planning a growth strategy for the next three to five years – while the air transport market is stagnant – is far more complex, especially in an environment of rising costs and static, or very modest, traffic growth.

A successful mid-term strategy with a clearly defined road map for implementation will enable some airports to thrive while others stagnate or perish.

There’s no single magic solution to developing such a plan, of course, but there is a process. The airport CEO needs to have a clear picture of where he or she wants to take his/her organisation, be able to communicate the vision and bring his/her senior leadership team onboard.

The next step is the hard part: it involves communicating this vision and translating it into clear, measurable objectives.

Working together and filtering down through the organisation department-by-department, year-by-year objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs), which need to be developed and tracked constantly. But here’s the problem: it’s too easy to get lost and slip back into the day-to-day, managing the crisis of the moment and spinning the plates.

Making matters more complicated, while a financial controller may be good at developing next year’s budget, and a marketing and communications manager may be good a creating a catchy vision statement and a glossy brochure, successfully developing a mid-term strategic plan requires the concerted effort of the entire management team.

Developing a mid-term strategic plan requires serious original thinking and typically involves blood, tears, toil and sweat. In other words, it requires leadership.

But a clear, workable five-year strategy – which incorporates new revenue streams and a re-appraisal of the talents and assets within the organisation – is now becoming a key differentiator among competing airports.

And in this volatile environment, de-risking the business by developing marketing tools and strategies, which can quickly adapt to changing circumstances is a skill many airport CEOs will have to rapidly acquire.

If the airport is to thrive in this new environment, CEOs need answers to a few deceptively simple questions: • Is there a clear long-term vision for the airport? Is it based on robust market analysis or wishful thinking?

• How well does the airport senior management team understand this vision? Do they support it?

• Is the airport’s business model clearly defined and is there a year-by-year road map with KPIs to achieve this vision?

• How can this vision be best communicated – not only to airport management but also all employee levels and related stakeholders (civil aviation authorities, airlines, ground handlers, concessionaires, for example)?

• Do the airport’s senior managers interact with the other key stakeholders in a way that supports the airport’s vision?

• How can the management team capitalise on the airport’s unique position, relative to other competing airports and be more responsive, proactive and focused on customer needs and innovation?

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LEADERSHIP

Creating airport memories Examples of airports going out of their way to do something different for passengers include Paris CDG, which holds its own salsa and hip hop classes in departure lounges.

Others with unique passengerfriendly offerings or facilities include Zurich (chocolate tastings); Munich (beach volleyball matches); Amsterdam Schiphol (Rijksmuseum); Singapore Changi (butterfly garden and passenger slide); and Incheon (traditional Korean cultural procession in terminal), pictured right.

Innovate or perish A key element for the future of successful mid-size airport business development is the need for airport CEOs to be much more proactive.

Instead of waiting for others to decide their fate, they will have to go out and seize the initiative themselves. There are emerging opportunities for new revenue streams: • Exploiting new information technology opportunities – like sponsored airport apps, web advertising, smartphones for automated check-in – to increase income or cut costs • Launching innovative, customised products and services focused on specific market segments • Developing new income from commercialising in-house developed areas of specialisation and expertise • Building new commercial relationships with external partners to extend the value perimeter of the airport • ‘Brand’ building experiences that create enduring emotional links to customers Most airport CEOs will be aware of the potential revenue opportunities available in ‘smart airport operations’ via new technologies – but they will probably need help to clearly understand the cost-benefit analysis of some of the more radical, emerging technologies.

Now, more than ever, it is critical that the management team clearly understand the opportunities and threats posed by new electronic communications. The value and limitations of social media, the app world and the emergence of virtual global communities, for example.

Airport managers need to reach across the generation gap and access this developing resource in a systematic, understandable and profitable way.

At the same time, any demographic analysis of a post-industrial society will point to a growth in affluence of more senior citizens, with entirely different travel needs.

With the United Nations predicting that nearly a third of Europeans are expected to be over the age of 60 by 2050, providing passengerfriendly facilities to this increasingly important class of travellers makes plain business sense, especially if it re-affirms links with the community within the critical catchment area.

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And, the more richly diverse the local community, the more opportunities there are to market the airport to specific customer segments.

Indeed, airport catchment areas often contain large clusters of families who have recently emigrated from other countries and who retain strong links with their ‘home’ communities. So, if airports can work with the airlines to keep in touch with these communities, an increase in passenger numbers is a distinct possibility.

Reaching out to specific market segments (based on the unique demographic, ethnic, lifestyle variations within the local population) helps build the bridges to local communities and businesses.

However, unlike airlines, most airports still remain strangely cautious about developing targeted new revenue opportunities for passengers. For while airlines have long embraced paid for ‘a la carte’ service options such as booking seating in advance – and some carriers today charge fees for ‘extras’ like exit row seating, premium meals and home-delivery of baggage – airports have been slow to follow suit.

But airports are well positioned to offer similar revenue-generating services and products, in partnership with airlines or alone, such as: • Branded pre-booked taxis • Value-added partnerships with offsite parking • Pre-shopping and home delivery • Fast track • Lounge access • Meet and assist • Language assistance • Honeymoon send-offs Although every airport is unique, it has within it a complex web of untapped potential revenue streams, and many can be found not in the terminal, but out on the ramp.

Airports have very different levels of performance when it comes to providing essential services such as border security, winter operations, turnaround times and maximising business aviation revenues, but only a few have capitalised on the investment they have made in developing excellent processes by exporting these to the global airport marketplace.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership business strategies -

•

Often reflects the dream of the leadership team

•

One or more plans that are used to make the vision a reality

•

Typically developed top-down

•

•

Must be sufficiently clear and concise that everyone understands it and can buy into it with passion

Typically developed by each department in support of the vision, but with very specific year-by-year KPIs based on international benchamarks

Tendency to do it once and then forgot about it

•

Creates a common understanding with ‘buy-in’

•

Identifies next steps, required involvement and conditions for success

The really hard part, but where few airports devote sufficient resources

If one airport, for example, has developed a unique procedure for minimising the amount of harmful chemicals it uses in de-icing procedures, then other airports would benefit greatly from its wider use and be willing to pay for this expertise.

In the area of building new commercial relationships with external partners, this involves thinking holistically about the airport’s role in the broader community – redefining the economic footprint of the airport.

Airports have traditionally sought to attract new aviation-related businesses such as airfreight, flying schools and aircraft overhaul operations, but they also have a pivotal role to play in attracting business partnerships from other growth areas in the global economy.

These could include just-in-time production techniques – which require increasingly seamless intermodal transport operations – as well as financial services, recycling technologies, sports and tourism. Here airports can take the lead in providing niche services to local industries.

Finally, an airport is more than just a transport node; it is often the region’s most significant and powerful global ambassador. This makes it a fertile environment for growing emotional ties to local communities and visitors alike.

And, while an airport’s so called ‘brand’ is created by customer experiences, and airports admittedly have little direct contact with passengers using their facilities, they can create distinctive, positive experiences or memorable moments that reflect local culture, in its widest sense.

For example, a commercial link between the airport and the local football club, which may have a regional or global supporter base, can produce new revenue streams for both organisations, especially during time of international competition.

•

Forecasts, budgets, etc

•

Quantifies the specific actions and results

•

Scenario plans to model and analyse the risks

Most airports typically get caught up in the near-term, managing the crisis of the moment

Some of Europe’s larger airports have certainly embraced these opportunities, but many regional airports have been too cautious.

Innovative customer experiences may not necessarily produce quantifiable revenue in the short-term, but it does produce an emotional response – and emotions, usually, produce action.

At the very least, they help distinguish the airport from its competitors and create an enduring, emotional link with end-user customers.

More than just surviving Competition, uncertainty and, to a certain degree, stagnation, have become the norm. To survive, and potentially thrive in this new environment, airport CEOs must make sure that, internally, their own mid-term strategic priorities are properly in place and that management is given clear objectives, resources and rewards.

The plan should also reflect the external dimension by innovatively reconnecting to local businesses and communities, so their value to the cities and regions they serve is properly reflected.

For many European airports the next few years will be the most critical in their history. An innovative five-year plan, which re-engages customers, local communities and staff in the future success of their airport, will be the key determinant to a profitable business in the years ahead.

It will be a clear sign that airport CEOs with real leadership qualities can determine the future of their airports no matter what prevailing economic winds might be blowing, that they are in the driving seat and are masters of events rather than interested bystanders.

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SPOTLIGHT ON THE A380

Land of the giants Chris Kjelgaard discovers that airports continue to upgrade their facilities to handle the A380, six years after the super-jumbo entered service.

P

opular with passengers, the huge A380 continues to be a catalyst for change at the world’s major airports.

The A380 and other ICAO Code F aircraft – effectively the B747-8 Intercontinental and B747-8 freighter – have longer wingspans, higher maximum take-off weights and greater passenger and cargo capacities than any predecessors (except for the sole, enormous Antonov 225), meaning that almost all the airports currently handling the behemoth have had to invest in new facilities or upgrade their existing ones to accommodate it.

And with 168 A380s set to be delivered to the world’s airlines in the future, increasing the number of super-jumbos in service from 98 today to over 260, an ever-expanding number of airports will have to the prepare for the new aircraft in the years ahead.

So how has the A380 impacted on airports to date and what can we expect in the future in terms of new facilities? This article highlights the efforts of four airports – Dubai, Singapore Changi, Los Angeles and London Heathrow.

Dubai’s big plans With Emirates expecting to operate a fleet of 90 A380s by 2017, it should come as no surprise at all to learn that Dubai International Airport (DXB) is currently the world’s biggest A380 hub.

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According to Jeff Gould, Dubai Airports’ vice president for development, the airport took its first steps toward becoming A380 friendly when it modified Terminal 1’s Concourse C to accommodate the A380 in 2007-2008 and opened Concourse B in Terminal 3 in October 2008.

“The flawless opening of the Emirates’ dedicated Terminal 3 and Concourse B in October 2008 was an important development for the airport vis-à-vis A380 operations,” says Gould.

Five of 32 contact gates in the concourse are designed for Code E and F aircraft, and Gould says every aspect of Terminal 3 is designed to accommodate very large passenger flows from a large fleet of double-decker aircraft.

And, Gould believes that DXB has “taken things to a whole new level” with the recent opening of T3’s new A380 dedicated Concourse A. At 528,000 square metres, it is be the world’s first A380-dedicated facility, and will eventually add 20 more contact gates and 13 remote stands designed for twin-deck A380 boarding and disembarkation, to increase to 27 DXB’s total of A380 contact gates.

Dubai Airports CEO, Paul Griffiths, claims that Concourse A is a “huge achievement” for the UAE gateway, and one of the highlights of Dubai’s ongoing ambition to become the world’s leading aviation hub.

He insists that opening the complex in phases – Concourse A currently boasts 20 A380 gates – will ensure “a gradual transition that

SPOTLIGHT ON THE A380

will enable us and all our partners to ensure smooth operations and help deliver on our customer service commitment”.

It will boast entire floors for business class and first class passengers, who can board via aircraft passenger boarding bridges (APBBs) directly from premium-class lounges, and effectively raise DXB’s capacity from 60mppa to 75mppa.

With Qantas and a host of other A380 operators serving DXB, the airport could easily be handling over 100 daily A380 turnarounds by 2020.

Trendsetting Changi Singapore Changi had the honour of hosting the A380’s first commercial flight courtesy of a service to Sydney operated by launch customer, Singapore Airlines, on October 25, 2007.

According to a Changi Airport Group (CAG) spokesman, the gateway began planning for A380-handling modifications in the late 1990s and completed them in 2005 at a cost of more than S$60 million ($49 million).

Modification included widening runways, taxiways and aprons to accommodate the A380’s wingspan. Changi also expanded selected gatehold rooms by 30% so they could hold greater numbers of passengers comfortably.

Today, Changi’s three terminals have a total of 19 A380-capable gates and Changi boasts that it was the world’s first airport to use a

third aircraft passenger boarding bridge (APBB) at each gate to facilitate A380 upper-deck boarding.

Since fully loaded A380s can carry more than 500 passengers, Changi also lengthened its baggage-claim belts to increase their frontage. In addition, the airport upgraded its fire-fighting and rescue equipment, buying air stairs for evacuating passengers from A380 upper decks and training staff for A380-specific rescue operations.

Changi has now handled more than 20,000 A380 flights and enjoys a weekly schedule of nearly 250 services – 35 a day – operated by six airlines to 12 cities worldwide. The newest additions being Thai Airways International (Bangkok) and Emirates (Dubai).

Periodic consultations with its airline tenants has led CAG to believe that its existing infrastructure is capable of accommodating the expected future demand of the world’s A380 operators.

LAX’s upgrade Los Angeles International Airport operator, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), claims to have invested “massively” for the A380 and B747-8.

Much of the work is tied to the construction of the $2 billion westerly extension to the existing Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), but much was done before this construction began.

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SPOTLIGHT ON THE A380

DXB opened its new A380 concourse earlier this year.

LAWA deputy executive directors, Roger Johnson and Jacqueline Yaft, claim that the airport operator began investing in upgrading Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for A380 operations back in 2005 and 2006.

They say LAWA first refurbished several remote parking pads on the western side of LAX to allow A380 parking and offloading, and by 2008 had built one new A380 gate on the north side of the existing TBIT and retrofitted one on TBIT’s south side to A380 standard.

The gateway now has three A380 contact gates (all in TBIT), and two remote gates served by buses. All LAX A380 contact gates have a third APBB to board upper-deck passengers.

Much of LAWA’s recent $2 billion investment at LAX has been in constructing two new, A380 and B747-8 capable taxiways running north-south across the airport to link the parallel east-west taxiway pairs which run alongside each pair of parallel runways.

The new taxiways, R and S, replace the former taxiways Q and S, which Johnson says were demolished to make way for the new one million square-foot Tom Bradley International Terminal. When finished at a cost of another $2 billion, the new facility will provide 18 new gates, nine of which will be A380-capable.

Additionally, LAWA is bidding out a third new north-south taxiway, which will link east-west taxiways Bravo and Charlie on the south side of the airport with Delta and Echo on the north.

Eventually, however, LAWA’s plans for LAX call for taxiways S and T to be downgraded to taxi lanes. Taxiway S will be downgraded when the new TBIT is completed, while T would be downgraded when the airport builds a new, $2 billion midfield concourse between taxiways T and R, where the American Airlines and Qantas maintenance hangars now stand. This new midfield concourse would offer another nine A380-capable gates.

In building the midfield concourse, LAWA would construct another new A380-capable north-south taxiway (probably designated Q) west of the concourse and west of taxiway R to help replace taxiways S and T. Qantas, which now flies two A380s daily to LAX, wants to build an A380-sized maintenance hangar to replace its existing hangar.

“It will need to be a significantly bigger hangar to get the nose and tail in,” says Johnson, programme director for LAWA’s Airports Development Group, adding that it would be located west of taxiway AA, the airport’s western most – and not Code 6 (A380) capable – north-south taxiway.

Code 6 operations at LAX continue to grow. “We have five to six flights on average a day,” says Johnson. “There are times now when we have two on the ground at the same time doing a full turn and a total of four, with

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two on extended stay. In late November 2012, we got Lufthansa with the B747-8 Intercontinental.”

Heathrow’s evolution London Heathrow (LHR) also carried out upgrades before it received its first A380 flight in 2006 (prior to the type entering commercial service) and A380 infrastructure work continues, according to a Heathrow spokesperson.

It now handles nine A380 flights a day but expects to handle more than 30 daily by 2020. Before then, core tenant, British Airways, is due to receive all 12 A380s it has on order, the first coming later this year.

Heathrow’s A380 infrastructure work first involved moving parallel taxiways farther apart to take into account the aircraft’s 80-metre wingspan, a significant 15.6m more than that of a B747-400. In refurbishing its runways between 2001 and 2003, Heathrow also widened each from 45 to 50 metres.

Next, part of Terminal 3 was demolished to make way for a new Pier 6, with four A380-capable stands. This building has larger gatehold rooms and – in accordance with Heathrow’s policy of providing three APBBs on each pier-served A380 stand – a third, upper-deck APBB for each gate.

In Terminal 4, three B747-size stands have been converted into two A380 stands, while Satellites B and C for Terminal 5 were built specifically to accommodate the A380.

The airport plans to add more A380 stands at terminals 3 and 4 and upgrade T4’s taxiway system.

In terms of the big picture, Heathrow worked with the UK National Air Traffic Service to revise aircraft movement procedures to provide enough wake-vortex separation time between A380s and following aircraft.

This included work to understand how these changes would affect Heathrow’s Instrument Landing Systems and LHR also devised new procedures for moving A380s on the ground, especially in low-visibility weather. As a result, airlines and ground handling companies invested in new, larger vehicles and equipment to handle the A380’s size and passenger and baggage loads.

By 2014, Heathrow will have at least 30 A380-compatible stands.

It is also developing the new, €3.1 billion Terminal 2, which will have A380-suitable stands and taxiways.

From an operational and image perspective, analysis conducted by the airport and the UK CAA seems to show that the A380 has benefited Heathrow by highlighting that the aircraft are 5-7dbA quieter than B747-400s on departure and 2-5dbA quieter on arrival, creating a 40% smaller noise footprint overall.

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AVIAN RADAR

Image courtesy of Paul Jongeneelen.

Clear and present danger

Blair Watson provides an update on the development, capabilities and deployment of avian radar at airports in the battle to avoid bird strikes.

O

n September 28, 2012, Sita Air Flight 601 became the latest suspected victim of a bird strike when it crashed shortly after take-off from the Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) in Kathmandu, Nepal.

According to news reports, the pilot informed air traffic control (ATC) that an eagle had hit one of the Dornier 228’s two engines and the aircraft was returning to KTM for an emergency landing.

The turboprop never reached the airfield, crashing instead into the bank of the Manohara River about one kilometre east of the gateway.

Witnesses later told authorities that one of the Do228’s engines was ablaze as the airplane descended. All three crew members and 16 passengers died in the incident.

There are thousands of collisions between birds and aircraft each year. Indeed, a Birdstrike Committee USA webpage claims that bird and other wildlife strikes annually cause well over $600 million in damage to US civil and military aviation.

It goes on: “Furthermore, these strikes put the lives of aircraft crew members and their passengers at risk: over 219 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes since 1988.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) states on its website that impacts involving wildlife and aircraft cost civil aviation in excess of $1 billion annually and that “the proper management of birds on and around airports can do much to reduce the risk of bird strikes.”

What has become clear in recent years is the vast majority of bird-aircraft collisions happen in the vicinity of airports, with nine out of ten in the US occuring within 500 feet (152 metres) of the ground, and 40% taking place while aircraft are taking off or landing.

In the US, about 100 bird strikes per annum occur at altitudes of up to 5,000 feet (1,520m), and the impact on the aircraft can be significant as the energy of bird strikes can be enormous.

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An aircraft flying at 250 knots (463 km/h) that collides with a 10-pound (4.5 kg) goose, for example, is struck with seventeen times the force of a nail being propelled by a pneumatic gun into a piece of wood.

Threat situations There are three categories of bird threat situations – Migration events (seasonal, for instance); Regular recurring events (daily commutes between roosts used at night and daytime foraging and loafing sites, for example); and Irregular, unanticipated events such as starlings invading an airfield to feed on grasshoppers.

One possible solution to help mitigate against the risk of bird strikes, avian radar, is a relatively new development and the technology has been significantly designed and enhanced over the past 12 years.

Its evolution has been monitored by the FAA, which in Advisory Circular (150/5220-25) explains that “specific radar-based detection systems have been developed to support two critical efforts: the monitoring of bird movements in support of an airport’s WHMP [Wildlife Hazard Management Plan] and the surveillance of airspace to identify potential threats to the safe operation of aircraft.”

CEAT involvement Dr Edwin Herricks, environmental biology professor at the University of Illinois and co-ordinator at the institution’s Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT), told Airport World that it has tested various avian radar systems during the past six years.

Testing sites have been at the Whidbey Island Naval Air station in Oak Harbor, Washington, as well as at four large US civil airports: Seattle Tacoma, Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW).

AVIAN RADAR

Bird watch: Image courtesy of Accipiter Radar Technologies.

0700-0800 hrs birds departing

1100-1200 hrs birds congregating to eat

“The overall programme recognised the need for performance assessments and differences in environmental conditions and bird species/behavior at different airports,” reveals Herricks.

“In general, deployments were planned for a minimum of two years. We are shifting the emphasis at the airports where radars are still deployed to more operational issues and have recently seen a threat warning capability developed at Seattle. We also maintain a test site on Whidbey Island that supports sensor testing and other research activities.”

Lisa Mondello, director of corporate communications for SRC, Inc, told Airport World that the company’s BSTAR system was deployed to “the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island as a participant in an FAA Stage 2 avian radar assessment”.

She also said that the plan is to eventually have two BSTAR radars at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

“One was installed in October 2011 for the purposes of a two-year FAA Stage 3 Operational Evaluation conducted by CEAT. The other, purchased by the FAA, will be installed in the first quarter of 2013 on the opposite side of the DFW airport,” says Mondello.

Elsewhere, US based DeTect, Inc has installed more than 100 MERLIN detect and deter bird radars at sites across North America, Asia and Europe for customers ranging from Louisville (USA), Durban–King Shaka (South Africa), Riga (Latvia) and Warsaw– Modlin Mazovia (Poland) airports to the US Air Force and NASA. According to DeTect, Modlin Mazovia became the first European airport to permanently install bird radar technology for real-time aircraft birdstrike prevention when it installed its MERLIN system last summer, while King Shaka is said to be the first airport in the world to use bird radar for tower operations.

“We have over 20 bird radar systems operating in aviation safety that includes permanent, operational installations at commercial airports in Africa and Europe,” general manager and CEO, Gary Andrews, told Airport World.

“Our systems have a documented record of reducing bird-aircraft strikes while increasing airspace utilisation.”

In 2012, it was endorsed by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), which presented DeTect with a Responsible Canadian Energy Award based on MERLIN’s proven record of successfully protecting birds at Oil Sands facilities in northern Alberta.

1800-1900 hrs birds returning

A ‘critical need’ for bird information In February 2009, less than a month after US Airways Flight 1549 ingested geese in both engines and was flown, glider-like, down to the Hudson River in New York City for an emergency landing, Herricks spoke with CNN about avian radar.

“There is a critical need to have the data moved into the decision-making process of controllers and pilots,” he said, adding, “You want to be absolutely sure when you say something is there that something is there.”

A key concern of the FAA, which sponsors the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology, has been that controllers and pilots could become distracted from their principal tasks by bird radar alerts.

CEAT staff have been helping the federal agency determine exactly what information should be made available to the two groups of aviation professionals.

Detecting birds in 3D Dr Tim Nohara, president and CEO of Accipiter Radar Technologies, is among a team of scientists and engineers from the US government, industry and academia to evaluate and validate the ability of digital radar systems to identify and track biological targets.

Their work forms part of the US’s Integration and Validation of Avian Radars (IVAR) project funded by the Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program.

Nohara told Airport World: “We (Accipiter) have developed the technology to localise bird activity in 3D and can integrate off-airport coverage. During the trials at Sea-Tac, JFK and Chicago O’Hare, the FAA and airport authorities wanted to see on and off-site data, which our radar system provided in abundance.

“At O’Hare, our equipment revealed that birds habitually migrated south during a one-hour period each day for three weeks, resulting in a severe threat to aircraft that had not been previously detected.”

System features Depending on the manufacturer, an avian radar system: • Displays on a computer monitor or networked monitors colourcoded bird information, relative to the airport • Sends threat alerts to users (wildlife control officers, air traffic controllers and airline operations staff, for example) via cellphones or smartphones

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AVIAN RADAR DeTect’s anti-birdstrike system, MERLIN, in action.

•

Plays back recorded bird movements at a variable accelerated rate for ease of viewing and for a selected time interval • Shows an average daily bird track count over a period of time (monthly, for instance) • Provides software filters so that only birds up to a certain size, speed, and altitude are displayed • Automatically generates one-hour avian traffic patterns and publishes them to a restricted-access Intranet site and/or a public website • Generates abundance graphs (bird counts) for a selected time interval • Creates reports (weekly bird threat advisories by day/time and zone, for instance) In the past few years, multi-beam avian radar systems have been developed that provide 360 degrees of scanning by employing a dual-axis dish that rotates horizontally and adjusts vertically under software control.

The associated computer not only records the latitude, longitude, and altitude of birds and corresponding detection time, it establishes the threat level (low, moderate, or severe) posed by bird activity and issues alerts.

The recorded flight patterns can be easily reviewed and the data provides tactical and strategic information to airport wildlife control personnel. The information also enhances the situational understanding of controllers in terms of birds relative to aircraft, and allows air traffic service staff to issue precise ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) recordings and NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) about avian activity on and near the airport.

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Such information is useful to pilots, who can delay starting their engines, taxiing or take-off and/or change their departure or approach path (with permission from ATC) to avoid birds.

Avian radar benefits At the Bird Strike Association of Canada’s 2012 conference, Accipiter’s Nohara explained that the risk of impacts is the product of the threat posed by birds over a period of time and the probability they will hit aircraft, both of which are mathematically determined based on algorithms.

Smaller birds foraging in grass many hundreds of metres from a runway’s midpoint, for example, are less of a threat than an airborne flock of larger birds transiting the same runway’s departure or approach path.

A threat alert is generated by the avian radar system when the threat prediction indicator – a measure of the probability of a strike based on biomass, flock size, and bird speed and direction – exceeds a user-defined threshold. Threat levels are low, moderate (displayed in yellow) and severe (shown in red).

“We have pushed avian radar development over the past ten years, and associated information networks have matured greatly to meet airports’ requirements,” says Nohara.

“The information provided by an avian radar system can be seamlessly integrated into the airport enterprise and supports greater safety through threat awareness.

“The airport enjoys a great return on its investment through more efficient use of wildlife control resources, marketing and public relations benefits, support for safety management systems, monitoring of night-time avian activity, and, fewer bird strikes.”

AW

AIRFIELD SAFETY

Always watching Foreign Object Debris (FOD) detection solutions can help prevent bird strikes at airports, writes Alon Nitzan.

T

he direct cost of damage caused to aircraft by bird strikes and Foreign Objects Debris (FOD) on airfields is estimated to be around $1.2 billion per annum.

The figure is not insignificant, and it rises to an incredible $12 billion if indirect costs such as flight delays, aircraft downtime and increased insurance premiums are taken into account.

A 2011 FAA report on wildlife strikes between 1990 and 2009 reveals that 41% of bird strike incidents involving commercial aircrafts occur at ground level.

In fact, ground level bird strikes are considered the most common and dangerous types of strike. An academic report published by Iain McCreary and Insight SRI in 2010 pointed out that 44% of aircraft destroyed by bird strikes were caused by on-runway strikes.

As recently as this January, a DFW-bound American Airlines flight had to execute an emergency landing after striking birds during take-off at California’s Santa Ana International Airport, while in the UK, an easyJet flight was forced to turn back to the Isle of Man’s Ronaldsway Airport after a bird strike shortly after take-off.

Fortunately, a combination of new technology and effective bird and wildlife deterrence measures ensures that most ground level incidents can be avoided.

Anti-bird strike technology When it comes to technology, an increasing number of airports are looking at automated FOD detection systems as a way of improving airfield safety and reducing the risk of bird strikes.

The advantage they offer over other solutions is that they are designed to automatically and continously scan the runway for foreign objects, birds or other wildlife, raise the alarm if they find anything, and then locate them with pinpoint accuracy.

One such system, Xsight Systems’ FODetect, utilises Surface Detection Unit (SDU) sensors located across the airport’s surface for high resolution and swift detection.

Each SDU combines a millimetre-wave radar sensor and an optic sensor with Near Infra-Red (NIR) illumination for improved night performance, and when integrated with an airport’s elevated runway or taxiway edge lighting

infrastructure, converts them into smart edge lights which can be used to detect hazardous objects, birds and other wildlife.

The technology allows an entire runway to be scanned between each ground movement and – if required – live video, GPS co-ordinates and a laser pointer can assist airport staff in identifying the location of any FOD or wildlife, allowing for their swift and efficient removal.

All detection data and images and video recordings are archived and tagged, allowing for a comprehensive statistics reporting system, which documents all events.

Analysing such data can, of course, be used to investigate birds’ behaviour patterns and conduct wildlife hazard assessment (required by regulation) through the identification of different species of birds, their numbers, locations, local movements and daily and seasonal occurrences.

The challenges ahead Other bird strike prevention solutions include avian radar (see page 62), bird patrols, audio and visual deterrents, environmental modification and population management.

Technologies used to scare birds away from the airfield include everything from broadcasting bird distress calls to the use of lasers, lights, mirrors and reflectors.

Environmental modification methods essentially revolve around the elimination or reduction of food, water or shelter attractive to wildlife, either at or near the gateway.

All provide an effective deterrent to bird strikes, but as recent events in the US and the UK have shown, the threat of bird strikes remains a very real hazard to aircraft, putting human lives and expensive equipment at risk.

With many incidents occurring at ground level, maybe it is time for airports, airlines and regulators to take a look at automated FOD detection technology as an advanced way to reduce the risk of bird strike, improve AW airline and passenger safety, and increase runway capacity.

About the author Alon Nitzan is president & CEO of Xsight Systems. www.xsightsys.com

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CONCESSIONS NEWS

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

Brisbane transformation

Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) is currently reviewing the bids it received in its recent call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for a potential seven-year duty free contract at the International Terminal.

The Australian gateway wants to “set a new global standard” by transforming the retail offering in the terminal so that it is more vibrant,

On-the-go food

Food trucks – which have become commonplace in US towns and cities – have started to pop up at the airport, according to reports.

Several airports in America have brought the mobile catering units to their parking lots, according to ABC News.

Orlando International Airport has six food trucks, while LAX has plans to build a structure that looks like a food truck in Terminal 4, and will serve food from the city’s most popular food trucks.

Tampa International launched a food truck trial last year to serve people waiting to pick up loved ones in the cell phone parking lots. The airport now brings in a different food truck every day.

Christine Osborn, communications manager for Tampa International Airport, told ABC News: “It’s not a money-making initiative for us. But it’s really caught on, and customers love it.”

Debby McElroy, executive vice president at ACI North America, said the trend came from a desire to make the cell phone waiting lots – special areas where drivers can park and wait for arriving passengers – better.

“A number of airports are expanding their services by extending Wi-Fi coverage and adding flight display information, so the person waiting can see if their loved one is delayed,” she told the news broadcaster.

“Food trucks are a great answer for people waiting for an extended period for their loved ones to arrive.”

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interactive and engaging while establishing a unique sense of place for Brisbane and Queensland. BAC’s general manager for terminal retail and commercial, Andrew Brodie, says: “It has been over 15 years since Brisbane Airport last offered the duty free concession to the market, so this really is a unique long-term offer for the successful retailer.”

Global expansion boosts sales

LS travel retail has reported sales of €2.5 billion in 2012, up by 12.4% on 2011.

During the year it launched new operations in Malaysia and won tenders in France, Bulgaria, China, Singapore and the US. It was also a year of “strong, rapid expansion” and acquisitions such as ADR Roma, Airport Fashion SA, Coffee Fellows shops, and Duty Free Store Wellington Limited.

LS travel retail, a division of Lagardère Services, operates in more than 25 countries throughout Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. It runs 2,700 stores across the world, with a presence at over 130 airports.

Catering to kids

WHSmith has opened its first Zoodle stores – bookshops dedicated to youngsters – at Manchester Airport in the UK. The new stores, located in T1 and T2, have been created with the young traveller in mind, with a bright store environment, making it fun and inviting for all children, and the perfect one-stop-shop for parents searching for a great gift for their youngster.

WHSmith Travel COO, Simon Smith, says: “We are delighted to have opened our first Zoodle

by WHSmith stores in the UK at Manchester Airport, well ahead of the summer peak.

“We are very much looking forward to providing children and their families with everything they need before they fly.”

Manchester Airport Group’s retail director, Beth Brewster, enthuses: “This is the type of innovative approach we take to retail at our airports and when WHSmith suggested launching this brand in our airports, we were naturally keen to pursue it further.

“I know our younger customers are going to really enjoy it, and from the feedback we’ve received we know that passengers want to have more child-friendly products while they’re waiting for their flights, so Zoodle certainly fits into that category.”

AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013

CONCESSIONS NEWS

Duty free sales boom

Between them, Incheon and Dubai airports clocked up close to $3.5 billion in retail and duty free sales in 2012.

South Korea’s retail phenomenon registered a record $1.73 billion in sales – more than $100 million of which was made in its Louis Vuitton store – while Dubai Duty Free (DDF) announced record year-end sales figures of $1.6 billion, 10% up on 2011.

Incheon’s Louis Vuitton store, located at the airside ‘crossroads’ of the main terminal building, within the Shilla Duty Free zone, is so popular with passengers that some big-spending Chinese and Japanese customers fly to the airport just to visit it.

Eat, drink and make money

A record total of passengers spent a record amount of money eating and shopping last year at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

More than 33.2 million passengers passed through Sea-Tac in 2012, the second straight year the airport surpassed its all-time record.

Airport concessions business benefited with a record $180 million in sales, including a record $14 million in duty-free sales.

Sales per boarded passenger rose to $10.91, a 6% increase from 2011.

The Port of Seattle collected $25 million in revenues, which go directly back to airport improvements. “Sea-Tac continues to advance as a leading tourism and business gateway for our entire region,” says Port of Seattle commissioner, John Creighton.

“These numbers point out the tremendous value of the airport as an economic engine to bring jobs and continued growth in business and tourism.”

Notable product sales totals included: • 1.7 million bottles of water • 230,000 bags of M&Ms • 90,000 neck pillows • 20,000 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey – the biggest selling book • 10,000 ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ nightshirt/PJs

Winning ways

It has been a busy start to 2013 for The Nuance Group, which has won new concessions or renewed deals in Bulgaria, India and Russia and unveiled a new corporate identity.

The latest deal saw Nuance India awarded a five-year contract to operate the duty free concession at Bengaluru International Airport in partnership with Shoppers Stop Limited.

The new contract will run from May 2013 to May 2018 and includes liquor, tobacco, confectionery, perfumes & cosmetics, fashion and electronics categories.

Roberto Graziani, CEO, Nuance, says: “The integration of our global store concept into a very strong country culture and architecture will create excitement for both local and international travellers.”

Elsewhere, Nuance has been awarded a fashion, luxury and lifestyle concession at Mumbai–Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, and from June 1, subsidiary Nuance BG will operate the duty free and duty paid retail shops at the new passenger terminals at Bulgaria’s Black Sea gateways of Burgas and Varna.

Moose on the loose

Stockholm Arlanda has a new star attraction in the duty free area in Terminal 5 – a large moose! The king of the forest welcomes visitors to a newly created exhibition which features the ‘taste and products’ of Sweden’s Jämtland Härjedalen region.

The temporary ‘Discover Jämtland Härjedalen’ promotion features seven local artisans, a well-known Swedish designer brand (AnnaViktoria) and representatives of the local tourism industry as well as information about Sami culture.

“Sweden has defined a long-term strategy to present itself to the world, with a focus on food, design, music and culture,” says Arlanda Schiphol Development Company’s managing director, Roel Huinink.

“We have the ambition to create aspirational gateways to Sweden, where Stockholm Arlanda as the gateway to Sweden for many foreign visitors serves as the first and last encounter they have with this identity.

“This event is an excellent example to show our customers what Sweden has to offer.”

The airport’s partners in the project included The Nuance Group and the designer Viktoria Månström of AnnaViktoria.

Nuance has also has announced that it will enter the Russian market in 2014 after winning the duty free concession for the new terminal at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport.

The seven-year deal is estimated to be worth over €800 million in turnover to Nuance, which will allocate nearly 2,000sqm of retail space to walk-through duty free stores for perfume & cosmetics, liquor, tobacco and confectionery.

Nuance claims that its new retail concept is tailored to be unique to Pulkovo Airport with a strong tie to the cultural, historic and architectural heritage of St Petersburg, delivering an “extraordinary sense of place”.

Talking about Nuance’s new ribbon-shaped logo, Graziani comments: “Our new corporate identity captures the very essence of what we are, what we stand for and how we want to be seen. To be a truly global brand, we need one voice, one look and a consistent way of doing things with, clearly, the necessary local adaptation. We want to be a global brand with a local touch.

And, we want to be at the heart of every journey creating excitement for our customers and long-lasting partnerships with our stakeholders.”

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PROJECT WATCH

Ramon International Airport Israel is to build a new gateway to cope with tourism demand to Eilat.

project details Location: Eilat, Israel

Important developments: New airport

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estled on the banks of the Red Sea, Eilat is one of Israel’s best-known tourist resorts, but it has a problem.

The current airport is in a constrained city location and has no room for expansion, and the city itself is also in need of more land onto which to develop.

And with 8,000 new hotel rooms planned in the next eight years – nearly doubling the number to 20,000 – the city on the Red Sea is desperately in need of better connectivity to boost tourism numbers.

So, it is of great relief to the tourism industy that the Israeli government has announced that today’s Eilat Airport is to be replaced by a gateway in Timna, 18 kilometres north of Eilat, within the next five years.

The project was finally given the go-ahead by the Israeli government in 2011, having been put on hold for several years, and tenders for construction of the $450 million aiport were issued last year.

Construction is expected to take place in three stages and will take between three and four years, with work potentially starting later this year in readiness for a 2017 opening.

The airport will be named after Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut killed in the Columbia space shuttle crash in 2003, and his son, Asaf, who was killed in an Israel Air Force training accident in 2009.

The first tender, a $40 million contract, includes the construction of earthworks and infrastructure, the relocation of existing infrastructure, such as water and electric lines, drilling and other preparatory activities.

Ramon International Airport will be capable of handling around two million passengers annually and will boast a 3.5km long runway, state-of-theart control tower and a spacious terminal designed to accommodate mid-size and widebody aircraft.

In readiness for the airport’s opening, the highway between Eilat and Timna will be widened to four

lanes, two in each direction, to allow for increased traffic, and a high speed rail link will also be built.

Eilat’s deputy mayor, Eli Lankri, told Airport World: “From our point of view, this airport is very important for the city. Currently, the nearest major airport is Ovda, 65km away, and of course, this is not convenient. We need an airport close to the city.

“The small airport in Eilat is inside the city, and the city cannot develop because of the airport, and the airport cannot expand either. This is a big problem that the new airport will solve. The main work to construct the airport will begin in the second half of 2013 and they will complete the airport by the end of 2016.”

He continues: “For Eilat, tourism is the only industry. We don’t have any other industry. We are a small city with only 62,000 residents, but every year, we have three million people coming to Eilat – 80% internal and 20% from Europe.

“There are 22 flights direct to Ovda, and we hope that this year, this will increase, and that there will be at least two more flights.

“The new airport will allow for an increase in the number of direct flights to Eilat from Europe, which currently go to Ovda. We believe 100% that this is the reason we need this airport urgently.”

Eilat is located on the Red Sea and has 12,000 hotel rooms and will add another 1,000 rooms every year until 2020.

The Ramon International Airport is expected to spark a 300% increase in tourism to southern Israel with an anticipated 1.5 million travellers arriving on both international and domestic flights each year.

A host of other facilities will be built alongside the airport, including a logistics centre, park-and-ride and a bus station to replace the present central bus station in Eilat.

These facilities are estimated to cost another AW $100 million.

Scheduled completion: 2017

Principal companies involved: Groisman Engineering; Mann Shinar Architects and Planner; Amir Mann-Ami Shinar Architects & Planners; Moshe Tzur Architects & Town Planners Ltd

Total investment: $450 million

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WBP NEWS

The latest news from ACI’s World Business Partners New outlets to open at Boston Logan

Celebrity chef restaurants for Toronto Pearson Celebrity chef Massimo Capra has joined forces with SSP Canada to open two new airport restaurants at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

According to SSP, Italian restaurant Boccone Trattoria Veloce and its fast-food alternative, Boccone Pronto, offer “classic Italian dishes” and put “new twists on the country’s culinary staples”.

Pamela Griffith-Jones, vice president of guest and terminal services for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, enthuses: “We are so excited to have chef Massimo bring his expertise and love of food to Toronto Pearson.

“We are committed to significantly raising the bar in terms of the dining options at Toronto Pearson and in ensuring we are showcasing the best that Toronto and the region have to offer.

Chef Massimo’s two restaurants are proof positive of that commitment.”

Capra notes: “We have created a restaurant that will serve the same food, prepared to the same high standards as we do in town, and I’m very proud of this achievement.”

Massimo Capra was born in Italy, and moved to Canada in 1982. He is the co-owner of Toronto’s famous Mistura Restaurant and the highly regarded Sopra Upper Lounge.

King of the hill

The $7 billion expansion of Muscat International Airport appears back on track after Oman awarded US firm Hill International a two-year contract worth $108.5 million, to supervise the huge project.

Hill has replaced Danish consulting group COWI on the project which hinges on the opening of a new $1.8 billion showpiece terminal being designed and built by a Bechtel led consortium.

The new 28-gate terminal, which will have an initial capacity of 12mppa, is now expected to open in late 2014.

Oman is also extending Salalah Airport in the south and building new airports in Sohar, Ras Al Hadd and Duqm.

“Expansion of Oman’s two largest airports is important for the Sultanate’s growth as a commercial and tourism destination in the Middle East,” says Mohammed Al Rais, senior vice president and managing director (Middle East) for Hill’s Project Management Group. “We are honoured to have been selected to manage such important aviation projects.”

Bechtel’s partners in the consortium are Enka and the Bahwan Engineering Company of Oman.

A record 7.54 million passengers passed through Muscat International Airport last year – a rise of 16% on the 6.4 million to use the gateway in 2011.

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Boston Logan International Airport and AIRMALL USA are set to open a range of new retail and F&B outlets in 2013.

The Travel + Leisure store is a one-stop travel shop which will offer a wide array of products aimed at enhancing the travel experience, such as luggage and travel accessories.

Alex and Ani is an eco-friendly store which will provide accessories which “emit a positive energy”, such as bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings.

Meanwhile, F&B outlet Così will offer travellers in the Southwest Airlines holdroom a place to eat and drink before their flight.

“The addition of these new units is part of our overall commitment to constantly enhance the traveller experience,” says Michael Caro, vice president of AIRMALL Boston.

“Whether it’s finding a one-of-kind accessory at Alex and Ani, picking up a travel guide at Travel + Leisure or enjoying a great meal at Così before a flight, we’re confident that travellers will be pleased with these new offerings to the concessions programme.”

AIRMALL Boston manages and develops the retail concessions programme in terminals B and E.

All change at the top

ACI World is delighted to announce that Randy Pope, associate vice president of aviation and facilities at Burns & McDonnell, is the new chair of the ACI World Business Partners Advisory Board (WBPAB).

Pope was unanimously elected to the position on January 17 and replaces Jo Lary, who will represent the WBPAB as past chair.

He will be supported by Greg Fordham, managing director of Airbiz, who was also unanimously elected as vice chair.

ACI World’s director general, Angela Gittens, said: “ACI would like to thank Jo Lary who has distinguished herself in representing the WBPAB with true professionalism.

“A number of great achievements were met in 2012, which could not have been done without her hard work and dedicated leadership.”

WBP NEWS

Three is the magic number

South Korea’s Gimpo, Gimhae and Jeju airports have each taken delivery of a new generation Oshkosh Striker aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) vehicle.

They join two Striker 3000 vehicles that were placed into service by the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) in mid-2011.

“These purchases are a testament to the new generation Striker vehicle’s capabilities, and we are honoured to have the Striker on duty at Gimpo, Gimhae and Jeju airports,” said Jeff Resch, Oshkosh Airport Products Group’s vice president and general manager.

According to Oshkosh, the new generation Striker – capable of speeds in excess of 113km/h – features advanced safety systems and delivers innovative fire suppression technology and “unsurpassed reliability and durability”.

The vehicles boast a 6x6 axle configuration with Oshkosh TAK-4 all wheel independent suspension and an Oshkosh rear steering system and a 700 HP, Tier 4i/Euro 5 emissions compliant turbocharged engine mated to a seven-speed electronic automatic transmission.

Engine power pack components are also readily accessed through walk-in doors on either side of the engine compartment for easier servicing.

Helping Hong Kong

Cavotec has won three contracts for the installation of aircraft fuelling and electrical supply equipment at Hong Kong International Airport.

Two of the three orders are for Hong Kong Airport’s Western Apron, where Cavotec will manufacture, install and commission a number of fuelling vault access covers and fuelling and sampling pit systems.

It will also supply electrical power supply units that will include hatch pit units, and a large number of electrical converters and sockets on the Western Apron.

In the third of the three projects, Cavotec is to supply fuelling pit systems and vault access covers for the gateway’s Midfield Development project, which aims to deliver a new midfield concourse with 20 aircraft stands by 2015.

John Rostagno, managing director of Cavotec Hong Kong, said: “We are working closely with the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) on these projects, and the orders confirm Hong Kong as one of our most important airport customers in Asia.”

New WBP website

The new-look WBP website – www.wbp.aero – was launched at the ACI World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Calgary last year.

In addition to further information about the WBP programme and a World Business Partner Directory, it provides visitors with more details about the WBPAB as well as the latest news from ACI, details about up-coming ACI events and all you need to know about the organisation’s publications and training initiatives.

TCR Contact: Mercedes Dieguez, marketing and communication manager Address: Haachtsesteenweg 201, B-1820 Steenokkerzeel, Brussels Airport, Belgium Tel: +32 2 752 86 20 Email: mercedes.dieguez@tcr-group.com, info@tcr-group.com Website: www.tcr-group.com Headquartered at Brussels Airport, Zaventem, since 1996, TCR is a one-stop shop for Ground Support Equipment (GSE) offering leasing solutions and the supply of ground support equipment. Affiliates are based in the UK, France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Norway and the USA ensuring that it is active at 55 airports and globally employs over 450 people. Its customers include legacy airlines, handling companies, integrators and cargo handlers.

JTI Trading SA Contact: Antonio Vencesla, corporate affairs & communications manager Address: 1 Rue de la Gabelle, Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 703 0777 Email: antonio.vencesla@jti.com Website: www.jti.com We bring together decades of experience in tobacco and a commitment to quality that prioritises consumer satisfaction, employee safety and environmental responsibility. Our products – which include cigarettes and cigars as well as hand-rolling and pipe tobaccos, and Swedish snus – are distributed in more than 120 countries, and are known the world over. By recognising that our trade customers can be the best ambassadors for our iconic brands, we build long-term relationships based on integrity and mutual success to develop their business.

Shairco Interior Projects Contact: Peter Langeveld, director International Sales & Marketing (Based in the International Sales Office in Holland) Address: Arafat Street, Al Hamraa District, Shairco Building, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 21413 Tel: +966 2 663 7666 (Saudi Arabia) +31 6 518 13712 (Holland) Email: peter@shairco.com, info@shairco.com Website: www.shairco.com Shairco Interior Projects is a division of the ISO 9001 certified Shairco Group, which has more than three decades of experience in designing, engineering, project management, multi-disciplinary manufacturing, supply chain management and field operations. Shairco Interior Projects’ scope of work includes all types of counters and desks, check-in island canopies, railings, partitions, wall cladding, seating, loose furniture, raised floors and fitting out and finishing of retail areas and airline lounges.

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ENVIRONMENT NEWS

Going green

Senior manager for environmental protection, Xavier Oh, discuses the merits of ACERT, ACI’s new do-it-yourself greenhouse gas inventory tool for airports.

I

n order to manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, an operator needs to understand the sources, quantities and ownership of all airport emissions, and an inventory can help it to set goals and target mitigation efforts.

ACI now provides and supports the Airport Carbon and Emissions Reporting Tool (ACERT), a self-contained Excel spreadsheet that enables an airport operator to calculate its own GHG emissions inventory.

The tool is available at no cost to airports and can be used without emissions or environmental expertise by inputting readily available operational data.

The software will be particularly useful for small and mediumsized airports, those which have no dedicated environmental staff or budget for consulting fees, and airports developing GHG management on a voluntary (non-regulated) basis.

Methodologies are consistent with the ACI Guidance Manual on Airport Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management (2009).

Emissions are divided according to ownership and control of the source: • Scope 1 – emissions owned and controlled by the airport operator, such as electricity generation and airport vehicles • Scope 2 – emissions from the off-site generation of electricity purchased by the airport operator • Scope 3 – emissions owned and controlled by airport tenants and other stakeholders such as aircraft activity in airport area; airline and other tenant vehicles, ground service equipment (GSE) and electricity usage; and ground access vehicles (GAV) for staff and passengers including buses and trains Data is entered into a self-explanatory Excel spreadsheet.

For the calendar year of the inventory, the following information is needed: • Total aircraft, passenger and cargo movements • Fuel use by airport and tenant vehicles, buildings, emergency generators and fire training • Electricity (and heat) purchased by the airport operator and tenants • Aircraft movements categorised either by specific aircraft type or by generic aircraft type • Aircraft taxi and APU usage times and engine run-ups • Glycol de-icer use • Either a detailed landside traffic study or estimates of passenger and staff ground access such as use of public transport, and car, taxi, bus and train activity ACERT automatically generates an inventory report that includes a summary table of GHG emissions, and pie charts. This stand-alone report also contains detailed notes on the assumptions and caveats and a check list to aid review.

The tool has been tested at several major airports including Zurich, Toronto Pearson and Sea-Tac and results indicate that ACERT Scope 1 and 2 emissions were within 5-10% of those from the detailed inventory.

Sea-Tac’s senior environmental programme manager, Russ Simonson, said: “ACERT is both comprehensive and cost effective, and an excellent tool for understanding an airport’s GHG emission sources, regardless of the size and staffing at the airport. It gives airport operators the information they need to begin managing GHG emission reduction programmes.”

ACI aims to use ACERT data to compile regional and global aggregate emissions, enhancing understanding of airport contribution to total aviation industry emissions. And, plans are under way to have ACERT accepted as an inventory methodology that an airport could use to qualify for Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 1 Mapping and Level 2 Reduction.

An input feature is also being developed that will allow the input of the total fuel dispensed to aircraft.

ACERT calculations are of sufficient quality to help set up an airport GHG reduction programme, but at this stage should not be used to replace any model required by local regulation.

Initially developed by Transport Canada and its consultant EBA with the Canadian Airports Council, a global version of ACERT was developed with the further assistance of Zurich and Toronto Pearson airports. AW

Want to know more?

Further information on ACERT is available at www.aci.aero and the software can be obtained by emailing acert@aci.aero

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The last word Airport World catches up with Hertz’s Michel Taride, whose executive vice president and president role ensures he has responsibility for over 130 countries.

When and where did Hertz open its first airport office?

Hertz started out as a Chicagobased car rental company with a dozen Model T Fords. We opened our first airport location at Chicago’s Midway Airport in 1932, 14 years after the company was founded. I started my career at Cannes–Mandelieu Airport just under 50 years later.

How many airports is Hertz present at around the world?

With Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty combined we have more than 10,200 locations, over 3,000 of which are at airports. Hertz is the number one airport car rental brand in the US and at 111 major airports in Europe.

What percentage/share of your global business do airports actually account for?

Around half of our worldwide rent-a-car revenues, including Dollar Thrifty, currently come from our airport locations.

How seriously does Hertz take customer service?

The customer is at the heart of everything we do, with service measured daily, by our Net Promoter Score programme. The scores impact management compensation, and our staff know that I will even respond to customer queries myself.

Hertz wins more ‘best of’ car rental awards than any of our competitors (over 30 in 2012) and we continue to innovate and reach

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A two-way relationship is vital to ensure that the differing needs of the airport operator, its customers and the car rental companies can be constantly reviewed and improved even higher standards. Since 2010, we’ve invested more than $300 million to improve customer service worldwide by upgrading our facilities and infrastructure.

This year alone we are investing over $20 million in our Customer Relationship Management system, to provide each renter a fully customised experience based on previous rentals and preferences.

dedicated reservation and service agents. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members benefit from faster reservations and rentals, allowing customers to bypass queues at counters at more than 60 of the world’s busiest airports. For customers travelling with children or busy business travellers hurrying to get to a meeting, this speed and ease is key.

What are your key customer service initiatives for both staff and customers?

How do you deal with complaints?

Customer satisfaction is our absolute priority so we run a global training and development scheme with our staff, called SMILES, to ensure that we continue to deliver the best experience possible. We deliver great choice and value through a range of mobility options at our airports, from Nissan Leafs through to Aston Martins, ensuring all customer needs are covered. We also offer the only global loyalty scheme with

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We take customer feedback very seriously and continuously listen to and learn from our customers.

Through our Net Promoter Score programme, over 30,000 customers a month tell us about their recent rental experience.

Based on this, we implement improvements on a location-bylocation basis. We have trained Customer Care staff in the US, Europe and Australia, and if a complaint is made we do everything in our power to resolve the issue to the customer’s satisfaction within 10 days.

How do you ensure that you hold on to good staff and possibly encourage “under achieving” personnel to move on?

I can speak about this from both a personal and professional perspective. Personally, I have spent over 30 years at Hertz and have experienced working in a number of different roles and locations – from manager of Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, when I started out as a young man, to later being general manager of our operation in Italy, then of France. It’s important to be able to do different jobs within the same company. Professionally, Hertz rewards staff with outstanding career development, personal growth, and leadership opportunities. We have a sense of family at Hertz and people who join are encouraged to develop themselves.

When I interview people, I look for those who have done a variety of jobs in one company and not just those who have moved companies every two years. Of course, all our staff are trained and expected to meet the high service standards that we, and our customers, rightly expect.

Like any large organisation, we have procedures in place to ensure this happens.

How closely do you work in co-operation with airports at your airport venues?

We work closely with all airport authorities wherever we operate because it is in the best interests of all parties. Airports bring

Factfile Name: Michel Taride

THE LAST WORD

Age: 56 Job title: Executive vice president, Hertz Corporation and president, Hertz International Nationality: French Time in aviation industry: 33 years Best known for: Passion for people coupled with a passion to win Little known fact: I always wanted to be a professional musician and was in a band before joining Hertz people into a location and car rental is a major part of the transport solution that then allows the passengers to disperse from the airport to their destinations as quickly as possible. Those passengers expect car rental to be present at the airport and the efficiency and effectiveness of our operation has a direct impact on a passenger’s perception of that airport.

A two-way relationship is vital to ensure that the differing needs of the airport operator, its customers and the car rental companies can be constantly reviewed and improved. As a result, if we receive valuable feedback from passengers we pass it on.

Car rental is a major contributor to the income of the airport and we pay substantial concession fees and rents for the facilities on airport. The

importance of the relationship means that we must work closely to ensure that the customer obtains an excellent service whilst delivering a cost effective solution for all. And, the more successful we are, the more income the airport receives. Automatic cost increases imposed by airports do not fit with the very competitive environment car rental is in at the moment.

Recently, we have seen a shift to move car rental away from the terminals, even though this is not what customers want as they do not like having to catch buses to remote locations, so we challenge when necessary.

Can you help airports in other ways?

Because of our global position, we are experts in our business and we have been able to introduce airports such as

Heathrow to other airports that may be interested in their pod transfer system, and we have knowledge of consolidated facilities that an airport’s own consultants often don’t, so we are a valuable partner.

Is Hertz doing its bit for the environment?

Hertz takes its role as a steward of the environment very seriously, which drives our Hertz Living Journey sustainability platform (www.hertzlivingjourney.com).

Sustainable design and low-impact materials are incorporated into all of our construction projects and every effort is taken to enhance energy efficiency (including usage of solar panels), recycling and waste reduction. Our Smart Mobility initiatives, with a growing fleet of electric and low emissions vehicles, provide

rental choices that have a role to play in achieving the goal of sustainable transport.

We are partnering with city authorities and electric infrastructure providers worldwide to make electric vehicles in cities a viable option.

We, and our partners, are already making this a reality in London, Paris, Rome and Milan. Hiring alternative fuel cars without having to worry about infrastructure is a great way of making people more comfortable with the technology and tackling worries such as range anxiety.

What is your favourite airport and why?

Without a doubt it is Singapore Changi Airport. It’s beautiful, with excellent organisation, offers a very smooth experience, no queuing and great shopping. AW

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TRAFFIC STATS

ACI traffic trends ACI projects a 4.6% increase in global passenger traffic for the medium-term period covering 2013 to 2017.

Asia-Pacific will remain the principal driving force behind global traffic growth as its markets continue to expand at a strong pace. The region will be the largest contributor to growth in global passenger traffic.

The Middle East as well as the emerging markets in Latin America and Africa will also experience strong traffic expansion, rooted in economic development, but will remain relatively small and will have little impact on medium-term growth.

The outlook is less positive for North America and Europe on the other hand, as both regions continue to constrain global traffic growth, due to fiscal tightening, high unemployment and slow growth in income.

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4.3%

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4.7%

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2015

2016

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2012

2013

2017

Medium-term passenger forecast by region Estimates 2012 Africa 162.9 Asia/Pacific 1,663.5 Europe 1,599.7 Latin America/Caribbean 435.7 Middle East 244.1 North America 1,554.4 World 5,659.3

YOY 2012 2013 6.5% 5.6% 6.8% 7.6% 1.8% 2.3% 6.4% 6.6% 10.0% 7.4% 1.6% 1.7% 3.9% 4.3%

2014 5.9% 7.7% 2.6% 6.5% 6.1% 2.2% 4.6%

2015 6.1% 7.4% 3.1% 6.3% 6.4% 2.2% 4.7%

Forecasts 2016 2017 2012-2017 6.6% 6.8% 6.2% 7.3% 6.8% 7.4% 3.3% 2.9% 2.8% 6.2% 6.1% 6.4% 6.7% 6.7% 6.7% 2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 4.8% 4.5% 4.6%

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 European airports, including Athens and Düsseldorf.

For more information: Telephone: +41 22 354 07 54, Email: info@dkma.com, Website: www.aci-forecast.aero

For 2012, 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, adjustments were made to the regression-driven results.

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