FEBRUARY-JANUARY 2011 AIRPORT WORLD AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014
In the spotlight: Invest & Build Airports: Chicago’s airports, San Juan (Puerto Rico) Special report: Sound of music Plus: Environment, car parking & customer service
THE MAGAZINE OF THE AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL
Invest & Build: The challenge ahead August–September 2014 Volume 19 Issue 4 www.aci.aero
OPINION ;OL THNHaPUL VM [OL (PYWVY[Z *V\UJPS 0U[LYUH[PVUHS
Airport World Editor Joe Bates +44 (0) 20 8831 7507 joe@airport-world.com Reporter Justin Burns +44 (0) 20 8831 7508 justin@airport-world.com Design, Layout & Production Mark Draper +44 (0) 20 8831 7504 mark@airport-world.com Andrew Montgomery +44 (0) 20 8831 7564 andy@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 Andrew Hazell +44 (0) 20 8831 7518 andrewh@airport-world.com Subscriptions Charlotte McCormack +44 (0) 20 8831 7509 subscriptions@airport-world.com
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Invest and build
Airport World editor, Joe Bates, reflects on an eventful summer and looks forward to the upcoming ACI-NA Annual Conference in Atlanta and The Trinity Forum in Taiwan.
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n the newspaper industry we refer to the summer as the ‘silly season’ because, with so many people on holiday, good stories are often at a premium, and the scenario leads to the running of a number of funny or frivolous articles that wouldn’t normally see the light of day. This is the time for stories about aliens, the world’s biggest pizza, cute babies, cuddly dogs, the Loch Ness Monster and sightings of a ‘mystery beast’ in a farmer’s field that turns out to be an overweight ginger tom! Well, it is all very different in the aviation industry, where it seems that the business never sleeps and summer always proves to be one of the hottest months of the year for deals, new appointments and the unveiling of big new infrastructure projects. We cover news and features about all three in this ‘Invest & Build’ themed edition of Airport World, which has a heavy US focus to reflect the industry’s next big event, ACI-North America’s Annual Conference & Exhibition in Atlanta in early September. In terms of ‘Invest & Build’ in the US, this issue highlights some of the biggest infrastructure development projects in the country; turns the spotlight on Chicago’s airport system; provides a progress report on the privatisation of San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport; reviews Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta’s aerotropolis
plans; and finds out more about the retail revolution taking place at departure gates up and down the country. The importance of sustainable development on a global scale completes our look at the world of planning, funding, building and enhancing airports to ensure that they are equipped to meet the capacity needs and environmental and social demands of the future. But it’s not all about investment in infrastructure and assets as we have a fun feature on airports and music; learn more about Aéroports de Montréal’s route development and customer service strategies; get 10 top tips for your next car parking RFP; and round up the highlights of the recent ACI World Assembly/ACI Asia-Pacific Conference & Exhibition in Seoul. Next up for ACI World in terms of events is the long-awaited The Trinity Forum, which is being held at the Grand Hyatt Taipei in Taiwan on September 17-19. Hosted by Taoyuan International Airport, this year’s global airport commercial revenues conference once again promises to be great value, with sessions on topics such as ‘Raising retail ambitions to a complete new level’; ‘ASQ findings on the role and performance of retail’; ‘Where next for social and digital media?’; and ‘Improving the tender process for the sake of all parties’. Who says nothing ever happens in AW the summer… or early autumn?
AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014
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CONTENTS
AIRPORT WORLD JUNE-JULY FEBRUARY-JANUARY 2014 2011
In the spotlight: Invest & Build Airports: Chicago’s airports, San Juan (Puerto Rico) Special report: Sound of music Plus: Environment, car parking & customer service
THE MAGAZINE OF THE AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL
Invest & Build: The challenge ahead August–September 2014 Volume 19 Issue 4 www.aci.aero
Issue 4 Volume 19
In this issue 3 Opinion Airport World editor, Joe Bates, reflects on an eventful summer and looks forward to the upcoming ACI-NA Annual Conference in Atlanta and The Trinity Forum in Taiwan.
9 News 10 Show time Joe Bates picks out some of the highlights of May’s Asia-Pacific/World Annual General Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in Seoul.
12 ACI news A successful APEX in Safety review at Quito bodes well for the region at large, writes Danny Boutin.
15 View from the top ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, explains the importance of training current and future generations of airport professionals.
16 Chicago hope Commissioner, Rosemarie Andolino, talks to Joe Bates about an eventful five years in the hot seat at the Chicago Department of Aviation.
20 Invest USA How are US airports dealing with the need to upgrade their infrastructure in the face of ongoing funding restraints? Benet Wilson investigates.
24 Looking good! Nicole Nelson discovers that its new privatised business model has breathed new life into San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.
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CONTENTS
Director General Angela Gittens Chair Fredrick J Piccolo (Sarasota, USA) Vice Chair Declan Collier (London, UK) Immediate Past Chair Yiannis Paraschis (Athens, Greece)
27 Georgia on my mind Nicole Nelson finds out more about the Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance’s plans to transform the area around Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport into an economic powerhouse.
30 Size of the matter Can airports really justify building huge terminals in an age when the industry needs to promote sustainable growth? Mott MacDonald’s aviation practice leader, Chris Chalk, gives his views.
33 Daring to be different ICRAVE’s managing director, Leah Blackman, reports on the growing trend of transforming US departures gates with innovative new concession programmes.
36 Sound of music Airports are increasingly turning to ‘live music’ to create a unique atmosphere and make themselves stand out from the crowd, writes Justin Burns.
41 People matters Dr Richard Plenty and Terri Morrissey provide their thoughts on: Investing in your organisation.
43 Busy times A growing route network, enhanced facilities and a host of customer service and environmental innovations ensure that these are exciting times for Montréal-Trudeau, writes Stephanie Lepage.
45 Be in the driving seat DAA USA’s parking expert, Jenna Buckner, provides ten top tips on how to improve your parking RFP.
49 Environment news 53 ACI’s World Business Partners 54 The last word Airport World gets up close and personal with Roddy Boggus, senior vice president/ aviation director at Parsons Brinckerhoff and chairman of ACI’s World Business Partners Advisory Board.
Treasurer Stefan Schulte (Frankfurt, Germany) ACI WORLD GOVERNING BOARD DIRECTORS Africa (3) Pascal Komla (Lomé, Togo) Bongani Maseko (Johannesburg, South Africa) Robinson Misitala (Livingstone, Zambia) Asia-Pacific (8) Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) Dennis Chant (Gold Coast, Australia) Rodolfo Echeverria (Amman, Jordan) Kenichi Fukaya (Tokyo, Japan) Saud AR Hashem (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) Seow Hiang Lee (Singapore) Kerrie Mather (Sydney, Australia) 1 vacancy Europe (7) Declan Collier (London, UK) Arnaud Feist (Brussels, Belgium) Michael Kerkloh (Munich, Germany) Tonci Peovic (Zagreb, Croatia) Stefan Schulte (Frankfurt, Germany) Sani Sener (Istanbul, Turkey) 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) James Cherry (Montréal, Canada) Frank Miller (San Antonio, USA) Fredrick J Piccolo (Sarasota, USA) Mark Reis (Seattle, USA) Maureen Riley (Salt Lake City, USA) Tom Ruth (Edmonton, Canada) Regional Advisers to the World Governing Board (7) Aaron Adderley (Hamilton, Bermuda) Rosemarie Andolino (Chicago, USA) Haluk Bilgi (Tunis, Tunisia) Ángel Córdova Carrera (Guayaquil, Ecuador) Howard Eng (Toronto, Canada) Zouhair Mohamed El Oufir (Rabat, Morocco) 1 vacancy (Europe) Observer World Business Partner Board Chairperson Roddy Boggus (Parsons Brinckerhoff ) Correct as of August 15, 2014
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NEWS
UK airport sale UK airport operator Heathrow Airport Holdings (HAH) – formerly known as BAA – is set to sell Southampton, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports by the end of the year. If it goes ahead, the sale would leave the once seven-strong airport group with just Heathrow in its portfolio. The potential sales would reportedly help HAH fund further development projects at the world’s third-busiest airport. “Over recent months Heathrow Airport Holdings group shareholders and management have been considering their strategic position in relation to our three airports, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton,” reads an HAH statement. “As a result, the group is now formally entering a sale process. While there is currently no certainty that a sale will be concluded, the group intends to work towards completing a transaction by the end of the year.” Newspaper reports in the UK claim a buyer has been in discussions with HAH officials, and that it could be Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial, which is rumoured to have tabled an €1 billion million bid, reportedly beating out a rival bid backed by North East Scotland Pension Fund and Zurich Airport. Ferrovial is HAH’s biggest shareholder, with a 25% stake in the airport operator, which is owned by a consortium including Britannia Airport Partners and Singapore’s GIC, Qatar Holding and Alinda Capital Partners.
Fraport to acquire stake in Ljubljana Airport?
Fraport has begun talks to acquire a major stake in Slovenia’s Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, according to the Slovenian investment firm that is charged with selling state assets. A statement issued by SDH says: “Slovenian Sovereign Holding has adopted a decision on the start of exclusive negotiations with the highest bidder Fraport AG, Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, on the content of the share and purchase agreement in the process of the sale of Aerodrom Ljubljana, for a limited period of time.” If the talks are successful, Fraport, which appears to have fended off interest from French airport operator Vinci and other bidders, could gain a controlling interest in the Slovenian gateway by the end of the year. The Slovenian government has previously announced that it expected binding bids for a 75.5% controlling stake in its largest airport, and is selling off state-owned companies to raise funds and stabilise its finances. The winning bidder will be expected to construct a new 32,000sqm terminal building at the gateway, which handled 1.32 million passengers (+10.2%) last year.
Retail/F&B news ATU Duty Free has won the tender to operate the duty free stores at Salalah Airport in Oman. The firm, a joint venture between TAV Airports and Unifree Duty Free/Gebr Heinemann, has agreed a 10-year contract and is expected to start trading in January 2015. Fraport has expanded its international portfolio in the global airport market by acquiring 100% of US-based AMU Holdings Inc, which owns concessions developer Airmall. It currently operates 270 retail and F&B outlets across 34,000sqm of space in Airmalls at four US airports – Baltimore/Washington, Boston Logan, Cleveland Hopkins and Pittsburgh – which between them handle 70mppa.
Bids invited for Osaka airports
The Japanese government is expected to formally invite bids for the operating rights for Kansai International Airport in October. According to Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, the potential privatisation deal is expected to be among the biggest in Japan’s drive to inject private funds into public infrastructure. Up for grabs is a 45-year concession to operate both Kansai International Airport and the smaller nearby Osaka-Itami Airport, which primarily handles domestic flights. Sales figures of up to $20 billion are being mentioned for the airports, $12 billion of which would be used to pay off the debt to the state run up during the construction of Kansai.
Making scents
Phnom Penh International Airport has introduced a new technology that diffuses relaxing aromas at its check-in counters, arrival hall and business lounges in a bid to enhance the passenger experience. The implementation of the ‘scent identity’ was carried out by Signature Asia, which provides the patented technology and opened a branch in Cambodia in 2013. Airport general manager, Chloé Lapeyre, says: “The initiative further deepens our engagement with our customers by offering them a comfortable environment when they embark on their journey and arrive in the kingdom.” And she says that it is environmentally friendly, as the scent – diffused via the air conditioning system – is free of any solvent, gas propellant or other degenerating volatile organic compound, and has been customised to fit with the airport’s overall atmosphere by harmonising three different fragrances crafted by a renowned perfumer based in Grasse. Maxime Roussillon, CEO of Signature Asia, adds: “Scenting is an important part of the branding strategy for many businesses. Mainly used in hotel facilities, the power of smell is so strong that many other sectors are nowadays interested in developing their own scent identity.”
For daily news updates, visit www.airport-world.com Denver International Airport has selected Paradies – Taste 5280 as the retail/F&B concessionaire for the 3,600 sqm extension to Concourse C. The gateway says the firm has been charged with creating a “unique, architectural, cultural and enhanced customer experience”. DIA began construction in September 2013 on five new gates that will be utilised by Southwest Airlines, and the expansion project is expected to be completed in November 2014. The Avia Solutions Group has launched Globus Distribution, a new global duty free operator. The Lithuanian-based firm
says it will operate duty-free retail shops across Europe and Asia. The company plans to be engaged in the promotion and sales of worldwide perfumery, beverage, cosmetics and other branded goods. Lotte Duty Free has unveiled its ‘transformed’ retail offering at Guam International Airport. The South Korean retail giant has invested $20 million on revamping the airport’s retail facilities. Its CEO, Hong-Kyun Lee, enthused: “It’s a fantastic last impression of Guam, generating significantly increased revenues for the airport, and creating opportunities for the people and businesses of Guam.”
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EVENT NEWS: WAGA
Show time
Joe Bates picks out some of the highlights of May’s Asia-Pacific/World Annual General Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in Seoul.
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ith over 1,000 delegates and 62 exhibitors – a record for an ACI World event held outside of North America – May’s joint Asia-Pacific/World Annual General Assembly, Conference & Exhibition in Seoul was a success before it even started. As well as the usual two-day conference and spectacular Gala Dinner at the Lotte World Ice Rink – which included the 2013 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) and the Director General’s Roll of Excellence awards ceremonies – this year’s gathering featured a pre-event World Human Resources Forum and a Safety Symposium. Arguably, the highlight of the day for many at the World Human Resources Forum was a highly entertaining and informative CEO/ Leadership session in which Egyptian Airports Company’s Adel Ali El joined three of the world’s best-known airport bosses – Aéroports de Montréal’s James Cherry; Sydney’s Kerrie Mather; and Munich’s Michael Kerkloh – to discuss issues such as the difficulty recruiting young people, the changing role of airport HR teams, and leadership succession. All agreed that staff are an airport’s greatest asset and that having fully engaged, motivated and capable staff on board and in tune with their respective company strategies was vital to their success. Mastering the art of leadership; achieving customer service excellence; reaching a sustainable balance between economic regulation and airport investment; learning best practices and emerging trends in ensuring the continuity of service; and finding strategies to facilitate growth and maximise revenues from air cargo were among the topics debated during the main conference. The keynote address on day one was given by Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, president of the ICAO Council, who commented on the progress made on the various projects that ICAO and ACI collaborated on.
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He concluded: “From ICAO’s perspective, ACI has been an excellent representative of your agreed positions and views and I am very confident of our shared success if we continue to work towards our goals.”
Global influence During ACI World’s Annual General Assembly, director general, Angela Gittens, noted that to achieve aviation’s collective goals, collaboration among all key industry stakeholders was vital. She said: “Collaboration extends our reach and makes more progress possible. We are stronger together, but we would not be seen as valuable allies if we were not seen as capable of providing solutions, if we were not seen as having high standards and were not committed to achieving them. “This is where the community of airports – the promotion of excellence – comes to the fore. A big advantage that we have as airport operators is the willingness to help each other, even in this era of more competition. We know that weakness anywhere hurts our system and ultimately hurts each of us.”
Traffic Talking about aviation growth, Gittens revealed that in spite of worldwide economic uncertainty and political instability in many countries in 2013, airports accommodated over six billion passengers, with both passenger and cargo traffic growing at faster rates than the previous year, indicating signs of a subdued recovery. She pointed out that passenger traffic grew at 4.8% versus 4.4% in 2012, and cargo, although still sluggish, nearly hit the 1% growth mark, at 0.9% versus 0.5% in 2012. Movements, on the other hand, grew at practically the same rate as the previous year at 0.7%.
EVENT NEWS: WAGA
“The Middle East and Asia took the lead in both passenger and cargo growth,” Gittens explained. “Although Asia-Pacific only grew 2.1% in cargo, it managed to pull the rest of the world into positive territory due to the fact that it handles 38% of the world’s total cargo throughput.”
Economic outlook ACI economic figures showed that the industry as a whole was profitable in 2013, although Gittens repeated the concern that industry profitability is primarily generated from the 20% of airports that carry the bulk of passenger traffic. In fact, 67% of airports globally operate at a net loss and 80% of airports with fewer than a million passengers posted an average net loss of 6%. Furthermore, airports with fewer than one million passengers had a return on invested capital of -1.1%.
Annual achievements Outlining ACI World’s achievements over the past year, Gittens stated that its relationship with ICAO was stronger than ever before, something that was epitomised at the ICAO Triennial Assembly when: “ACI members and staff from all regions contributed their time and expertise on the working groups, panels and conferences that constitute the ICAO policy-development process”. “Other industry players increasingly see airports and ACI as valued collaborators,” she added. “This philosophy culminated in our first-ever Memorandum of Understanding with IATA last October. “The MoU is followed by annexes in which ACI and IATA have agreed to work on specific activities, including co-operation on ground handling best practices; automated border control; improvement of existing passenger security processes; and the joint Smart Security initiative.” She noted that the growing popularity of ACI-led initiatives such as the Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety, Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) and Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programmes demonstrated the
industry’s commitment to raising the bar on safety, environmental management and customer service. While ACI’s training programmes, according to Gittens, continue to go “from strength to strength”, she enthused: “We now have 14 training centres and last year we delivered 124 classroom courses with over 2,000 students and nearly 12,000 hours of online coursework. “Eight new courses were launched to meet a range of training needs for airports large and small, and we have increased our language capabilities.” The board acknowledged that 23 new members had joined ACI since the 2013 General Assembly. They included Akwa Ibom International Airport (Nigeria); Manas International Airport (Kyrgyz Republic); King David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport (Georgia); Vladivostok International Airport (Russia); Bogotá’s Aeropuertos de Oriente (Colombia); and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (USA). It also approved the decision to make Ad Rutten – Amsterdam Schiphol’s retiring executive vice president and COO – an Honorary Member of ACI. Six new resolutions in total were passed at the World Assembly, including ones calling for continued co-operation with industry stakeholders; affirming the commitment to safety as airports’ top priority; and recognising the importance of promoting diversity to meet the demand for the next generation of airport professionals. Anyone who attended the AMPAP graduation ceremony that followed the World Assembly could see the diverse range of backgrounds represented by this year’s successful candidates, so later I asked ACI about the reasons behind the move. “It is a message to the industry and outside the industry that we are open to all when it comes to broadening the talent pool and attracting new people,” explained Gittens. “Airports in general have always had a policy of diversity, particularly when it comes to attracting women to a traditionally male-dominated field. The resolution merely affirms the commitment to diversity.” AW
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ACI WORLD NEWS
Members of ACI World’s APEX in Safety team and Quito International Airport staff during the recent APEX in Safety review with Allan Padilla (centre), the airport’s director of operations.
World in motion
A successful APEX in Safety review at Quito bodes well for the region at large, writes Danny Boutin.
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llan Padilla, director of operations at Quito International Airport, is a proponent of the APEX in Safety programme and believes that developing a safety culture in airports across the Latin America-Caribbean region should be a top priority. When an airport volunteers to host a safety review of its aerodrome’s physical characteristics, Safety Management Systems, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting and operational procedures, you can only applaud their openness to change and willingness to nurture a culture of safety. ACI World’s APEX in Safety programme, created to assist airports in developing countries enhance their safety levels and ultimately reach national CAA certification, is increasingly being requested by airports large and small around the world. It is designed to help airports worldwide identify and address safety vulnerabilities. The programme is built on the ICAO principles of information transparency, and reviews take place in a non-punitive ‘just culture’ environment where sharing data and best practices leads to excellence. In February 2012, Allan Padilla, then director of operations for SAP Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport (San Pedro Sula, Honduras), requested an APEX in Safety review to be held in order to enhance safety and give his staff the opportunity to grow, learn and exchange with peers from various airports and develop a keen interest in making their airport safer. Now the director of operations at Quito International Airport (UIO) in Ecuador, Padilla was determined once again to host a peer review at his new airport even though it was still in its first year of operations. Indeed, the fact that Quito’s new gateway has a good safety record made it the ideal time to ask peer experts for recommendations in order to ensure that they were consistently exploring all opportunities to further enhance their safety performance.
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The review, held at the airport from July 7-11, provided its operating management company, Airports Worldwide (formerly ADC & HAS Airports Worldwide), with a broader network of industry contacts from around the Americas. Safety experts from San Antonio, Aruba and Sarasota Manatee International airports joined with the director general of ACI Latin AmericaCaribbean, Javier Martinez, and ACI World team leaders, Juan Manual Manriquez and me, to perform the review. “ICAO has called on the industry to embrace safety as its number one priority. APEX is the correct, comprehensive and voluntary initiative for airports to effectively assess and improve their safety standards,” said Martinez upon Quito’s successful completion of the APEX in Safety review. “I applaud Quito International Airport for its commitment to achieving excellence in safety, supported by the expertise of the ACI APEX in Safety team.” Given his commitment to the APEX in Safety programme, Allan Padilla can certainly be seen as a leader in promoting a safety culture within in his own organisation, as well as the Latin America-Caribbean region at large. “It has been a tremendous experience participating once again in the APEX programme,” he said. “Quito International Airport will benefit from this safety review, performed by worldwide airport professionals. “Additionally, it is a pleasure to see how the APEX in Safety programme has matured and improved since our first review in Honduras a couple of years ago. I would like to take this opportunity to invite other airports in the region, and indeed around the world, to take advantage of this great programme, which will without a doubt enhance your airport’s safety and that of your region at large.”
About the author Danny Boutin is ACI World’s senior safety assessor, APEX in Safety.
ACI WORLD NEWS
ACI events
2014
2014
2014
2014
2015
September 7-10
November 8-11
October 12-14
September 17-19
February 25-27
ACI North America Annual Conference & Exhibition Atlanta, USA
ACI Latin America & Caribbean Annual Conference & Exhibition Cancún, Mexico
ACI Africa Assembly, Conference & Exhibition Durban, South Africa
The Trinity Forum Taipei, Taiwan
ACI Airport Economics & Finance Conference & Exhibition London, United Kingdom
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 Tel: + 1 514 373 1200 Fax: +1 514 373 1201 acifund@aci.aero
ACI Africa Ali Tounsi Secretary General Casablanca, Morocco Tel: +212 660 156 916 atounsi@aci-africa.aero www.aci-africa.aero
ACI Latin America & Caribbean Javier Martinez Botacio Director General Panama City, Panama Tel: +507 238 2691 jmartinez@aci-lac.aero www.aci-lac.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 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 North America Kevin Burke President & CEO Washington DC, USA Tel: +1 202 293 8500 Fax: +1 202 331 1362 postmaster@aci-na.org www.aci-na.org
ACI represents 591 members operating 1,861 airports in 177 countries and territories, which in 2013 handled 5.95 billion passengers, 93.6 million tonnes of cargo and 79.6 million aircraft movements. ACI is the international association of the world’s airports. It is a non-profit organisation, the prime purpose of which is to advance the interests of airports and promote professional excellence in airport management and operations.
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ACI VIEWPOINT
View from the top ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, explains the importance of training current and future generations of airport professionals.
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orldwide, over 470,000 professionals are employed in airport management and operations. They utilise a wide range of skills and strategies to ensure that their airports run safely and securely, practising sound environmental stewardship, assuring a smooth journey for the passengers, maintaining healthy finances and upholding the airport’s role as an economic generator for the community. For this reason, the principal goal of ACI’s Global Training function is to help students develop a relevant body of knowledge and skills for their current role in the organisation and to prepare them for their next role. Under the guidance of its Training Steering Group, World Committees and Regional Human Resources Committees, ACI continues to innovate and design flexible classroom and online education programmes to maximise benefits at all levels at the airport, from top executives to frontline staff. Since its launch 11 years ago, ACI Global Training has grown to offer an unrivalled suite of courses to meet a range of training needs for airports large and small. In fact, eight new courses have been launched and we have increased our language capabilities so that we can deliver more French and Spanish language classes. We have also delivered our first course in Arabic and another simultaneously translated into Mandarin. As well, in keeping with our pledge to leave no airport behind, ACI’s Developing Nation Airport (DNA) Assistance programme has delivered nine courses in English and French in the last year, welcoming 302 participants from 60 different countries.
One of our newer programmes is the very popular Airport Operations Diploma Programme (AODP), which is fully online with all three modules – Airside, Landside and Terminal, and Business Operations. The Airside module has already been translated into Spanish, with the other two modules to follow shortly. Of course, our pride and joy is our first collaboration with ICAO, the Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme (AMPAP). Through the end of 2013, the AMPAP programme has seen 700 International Airport Professional Diploma graduates and 72 Associate Diploma graduates, with some 607 students now enrolled. The highlight of my year is the graduation ceremony that we hold directly after the World Annual General Assembly, where the CEOs can witness the achievement of their high-potential managers. But ACI’s training programme isn’t just about educating the current generation of airport professionals; as aviation grows, airports need to effectively compete with other industries in attracting new skilled candidates. Our courses are a great way of ensuring that new or prospective hires understand that working at an airport offers a satisfying career path with plenty of opportunities for professional and personal development. In the end, we are an industry of people serving people, and across every initiative that ACI undertakes this fact remains top of mind. It is no exaggeration to say that without skilled employees to keep our customers safe and secure, aviation wouldn’t be the force that it is today for connecting people, places and businesses around the world. We are here to help develop those skills. AW
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CHICAGO’S AIRPORTS
Chicago hope Commissioner, Rosemarie Andolino, talks to Joe Bates about an eventful five years in the hot seat at the Chicago Department of Aviation.
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hen commissioner, Rosemarie Andolino, walks out of the Chicago Department of Aviation’s office for the last time this autumn, there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that O’Hare and Midway international airports will be losing one their biggest supporters. A local girl – she grew up in Elk Grove Village just west of O’Hare – Andolino admits that she has always been a fan of the Windy City’s airports, so the chance to help develop them, first as executive director of the O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP) and then as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), was an opportunity she says she simply couldn’t turn down. And she certainly couldn’t be accused of sitting back and taking it easy as under her leadership the city’s gateways have undergone somewhat of a transformation in terms of new infrastructure, route development, profitability and pioneering environmental initiatives. So what has it felt like to be the boss of one of the world’s biggest airport systems for the past five years? “It’s been exciting, a learning experience and an amazing ride,” enthuses Andolino, who is stepping aside in October to pursue a new challenge in the private sector after 24 years in local government and 11 years in aviation. “My focus was to take two great airports and make them better, and I genuinely believe we have over the past five years.”
Rise to the top Andolino worked in various positions for the City of Chicago from 1990 onwards and served as first deputy commissioner in the City’s Department
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of Planning and Development (DPD) before then Chicago mayor, Richard Daley, appointed her executive director of the OMP in 2003. The role put her well and truly in the spotlight, with some questioning her suitability to oversee the $8 billion OMP, despite the fact that as first deputy commissioner with the DPD she managed a $35 million budget, oversaw $100 million of land acquisition and capital investments in the Neighborhoods Alive Program, and helped secure state and federal funding for numerous city projects. She proved her critics wrong by successfully working with federal, state and local officials to secure OMP funding. Indeed, in November 2005 the then US Department of Transportation Secretary, Norman Mineta, travelled to Chicago to approve the city’s request for more than $300 million in federal funding. And since then the OMP has raised more than $5 billion through the sale of bonds and received approval for four Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) applications by the FAA to fund design, construction and land acquisition projects. Under Andolino’s leadership, the OMP also created the Sustainable Design Manual (SDM), a nationally recognised document that has allowed O’Hare to become the benchmark for environmental stewardship in design and construction for a civil project. The successes led to her being appointed commissioner of the CDA in February 2009 and, arguably, she has acted as the catalyst for one of the most successful periods in the history of O’Hare and Midway. “If you think of the runways we’ve built on time, ahead of schedule and under budget; the complete transformation of Terminal 5 at O’Hare; traffic growth; record revenues; the installation of the first
CHICAGO’S AIRPORTS Being able to handle more than 200 aircraft movements per hour should also ensure that delays at O’Hare no longer have such a negative impact on the entire US airport system, or as someone once said, “when O’Hare sneezes, everyone catches a cold”. What’s left with the OMP? “One more runway, one more extension and a possible 60-gate western terminal complex,” says Andolino, suggesting that the new passenger complex is more of a long-term and demand-driven project. “Until then, enhancements of the existing terminals to maximise their operational capacity and efficiency are likely to take priority,” she says.
Environment
Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosks in the United States; and the fact that times have never been so robust in terms of new air services, I think my record holds up pretty well,” she says. Andolino could also have mentioned the significant strides Chicago’s airports have taken to embrace environmental best practice and to improve their customer service levels, or the image-enhancing upgrades to the domestic terminals that have included, and continue to incorporate, the introduction of a number of new concession concepts. She quips: “I may not have grown up in the aviation business, but I’ve grown up in the business of getting things done.”
O’Hare Modernization Plan (OMP) Phase 1 of the $8 billion programme incorporated two new runways, a runway extension and a new ATC tower. Phase 2A, to be completed in October 2015, will add a new runway and another ATC tower on the south of the airfield. The new control towers mean that by the end of next year O’Hare will be equipped with three ATC towers, two of which will be LEED certified – Silver and Gold respectively – and will feature green roofs. One of the towers will use geothermal technology and other sustainable initiatives that will make it unique in the US. The airfield reconfiguration programme will equip O’Hare with eight runways – three east-west parallel runways and cross-field runways each to the north and south of central terminal core. “There are not too many airports in the world that can claim to have built three and a half new runways and two air traffic control towers in such a short space of time,” enthuses Andolino. “It is definitely one of the highlights of my time in office as some people can go a whole career without getting permission for a single new runway. The new airfield is the safest and most efficient way to operate O’Hare.”
Initiatives such as establishing 75 beehives on remote locations across the airport site; hiring a shepherd and grazing herds of goats and llamas to manage hard-to-reach vegetated areas at O’Hare; or opening an aeroponic garden in T3 – where vegetables, peppers and herbs are grown for airport restaurants – have grabbed the headlines and firmly established Chicago’s airports as environmental pioneers. However, Andolino believes it is the CDA’s long-standing commitment to sustainable development that helps set it apart from the rest, makes it a good neighbour to local residents and has reduced its costs. She points out that the CDA was talking about LEED-certified buildings back in 2003 when it produced its first Sustainable Design Manual (SDM) – since evolved into the Sustainable Airport Manual (SAM) – which effectively outlines what is expected from all O’Hare and Midway stakeholders. All concessionaires, for example, are now required to use biodegradable wrappers and packaging, and Andolino states it has proved so popular that some have since adopted similar policies elsewhere.
Customer service Andolino states that the drive to deliver top-quality customer service is a priority of the CDA as it wants to showcase the very best of Chicago to visitors and reflect the city’s famous Midwest hospitality. She firmly believes that collaboration with other airport stakeholders is the key to good customer service and argues that all sides need to work on making improvements at their specific touchpoints. “The customer has many touchpoints at an airport, many of which are not under our control, so therefore everyone has to do their part to ensure that our passengers enjoy a good experience. “For us it might be something as simple as ensuring that the bathrooms are clean or making it easier to get assistance and information. All frontline staff at O’Hare and Midway are effectively ambassadors for our airports and therefore need to be passionate about their jobs and the city of Chicago.” Andolino also enthusiastically talks about the CDA’s new, improved partnership with TSA and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff at the airport, which she believes has helped create a more customer-friendly environment. “We managed to change the conversation with them by opting to work together to solve problems instead of playing the blame game and pointing fingers at each other.”
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CHICAGO’S AIRPORTS
A new route could add up to $200 million of
investment per annum into your city She also feels that opening airport versions of a number of popular Chicago F&B and retail outlets – most noticeably in O’Hare’s newly revamped T5 – has helped enhance a sense of place, create a better customer experience and ultimately boost higher retail revenues.
Airport roles Between them Chicago’s airports handled a total of 87.3 million passengers in 2013 and the upturn has continued into 2014, with volumes up by nearly 4% at O’Hare and 2% at Midway in the first five months of the year. O’Hare, the city’s main international gateway, accounted for 66.9 million (+0.4%) and Midway – which essentially handles domestic services and international flights to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean – accommodated 20.4 million (+5%). The difference in traffic is down to the fact that Midway is built on a site of just one square mile and the 6,500ft (1,980m) length of its longest runway is not enough to accommodate non-stop flights to long-haul destinations. It does, however, handle regional traffic, with airlines such as Volaris and Porter serving Mexico and Canada respectively, and Southwest serving Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. As a result, APC kiosks were installed at Midway earlier this year to make it easier for US citizens on international services to pass through its facilities.
Route development When you talk to Rosemarie Andolino about the highlights of her five years in charge of Chicago’s airport system, the subject of route development is right up there.
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Indeed, she mentions attending World Routes in Vancouver in 2010 as a turning point for the CDA as it proved to her that Chicago had to do much more than just show “pretty postcards of Chicago” to airlines to get them to launch services to O’Hare or Midway. And she has certainly taken the lessons she learnt in Vancouver to heart, as the development of a new route development strategy since then has led to the most productive period in Chicago’s history in terms of the launch of new routes and frequency increases. Andolino actually cites the launch of Etihad services (Abu Dhabi) in 2009 – a year earlier than World Routes in Vancouver 2010 – as the start of the current “golden years” of international route development for O’Hare. She notes that Qatar (Doha) followed in 2013, and the addition of Emirates (Dubai) later this year will give O’Hare the full set of big Middle Eastern carriers. Other additions under Andolino’s leadership include Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong), Copa (Panama), Air India (Delhi), WestJet (Calgary and Vancouver), airberlin (Berlin), Austrian Airlines (Vienna), Hainan Airlines (Beijing) and Volaris (Guadalajara, Zacatecas, Morelia and Leon), while Spirit has trebled its operations into Chicago. “When we talk about airports as economic engines, depending on the size of the aircraft and the destination, a new route could add anything from $20 million to $200 million of investment per annum into your city,” she enthuses. “In total, we have added over $3 billion worth of new services per annum to Chicago in the past five years and this is an achievement of AW which I am particularly proud.”
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DFW’s $2.3 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program (TRIP) will help reinvent the Texas gateway.
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The new front door for the Jeppesen Terminal at Denver International Airport. Image courtesy of Gensler.
How are US airports dealing with the need to upgrade their infrastructure in the face of ongoing funding restraints? Benet Wilson investigates.
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n its 2013 Capital Needs Survey, ACI-NA found that US airports need to complete $71.3 billion worth of essential infrastructure projects between now and 2017 in order to keep pace with demand. The figure amounts to $14.3 billion a year, with 54% of the total allocated for projects to accommodate traffic growth and an increase in the use of larger aircraft, and the remainder on the rehabilitation, maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure. It revealed that large hubs will account for $37 billion or 52% of the total; medium hubs for $9.3 billion (13%); small hubs for $5.8 billion (8%); non-hubs for $5.1 billion (7.2%) and other commercial airports for $700 million (1%). The survey of 3,400 aviation facilities also found that the top three states by airport capital needs are Texas ($8.3 billion), Florida ($7 billion) and California ($6.6 billion). The big spend in the three states is certainly borne out by a new survey of the top airport construction projects nationwide, which reveals that Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Tampa (TPA), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Diego (SAN) alone are responsible for projects totalling nearly $10 billion. Carried out earlier this year by Reed Construction Data’s chief economist, Bernie Markstein, the survey discovered that the biggest airport project underway in the US is the $5.6 billion extension of the Washington DC Metrorail system (see next issue of Airport World) to Dulles International Airport. It is followed by the $4 billion second phase of a terminal expansion programme at LAX; the ongoing $3 billion upgrade of Denver (DEN), where work includes the creation of a new hotel and transit centre; DFW’s $2.3 billion TRIP programme; and a $1.8 billion airport reconstruction project at Salt Lake City (SLC). Looking at ACI-NA’s survey, he says there is a crying need for improvement to the US airport system and has no hesitation in stating that the government isn’t doing enough in terms of funding.
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“We haven’t seen support at the federal level to fill airports’ needs,” warns Markstein. “There’s been a lot of politics over spending money. It’s about the view that spending any government money is bad. But this ignores the difference between infrastructure investment versus spending for consumption.” It’s the difference between spending money on a new roof for the house or taking a trip to Disney World, quips Markstein. “Taking the trip is enlightening and fun, but once it’s consumed, it’s gone,” he notes. “But the new roof shows benefits long after it’s done.” Infrastructure projects underlie the ability for the economy to grow, adds Markstein. “Until 2012, airports were hurt by a series of continuing resolutions until Congress passed a transportation bill,” he says. “Under continuing resolutions, airports couldn’t make plans because they were not sure of funding. Ironically, one of the reasons airports aren’t getting money is because Congress wants to save money on government spending, but by not having long-term funding, you actually drive up costs.”
Source of funding Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) revenue, Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants and bonds are, of course, the three main ways US airports fund development projects today. And the pot appears to be getting smaller because the AIP budget – which is funded by passengers – has been cut twice in the past two years, first in the FY2012 appropriations process from $3.5 billion to $3.35 billion and most recently by an additional $253 million in FY2013. The latest cut brought an end to FAA furloughs, despite that fact that airports must fund more than $70 billion in safety, security, noise, capacity and passenger service projects during 2013 to 2017. While Congress has so far refused to bow to industry demands to raise the cap on PFC revenue from $4.50 per boarded passenger to provide airports with a much-needed cash injection to fund new facilities.
SPECIAL REPORT: INVEST & BUILD San Diego’s $1 billion Green Build project has transformed the airport.
Indeed, ACI-NA has gone on record in registering its disapproval at the government’s reluctance to increase the PFC. “The average annual of $14.3 billion in needs is still significantly higher than the funding available through annual AIP grants and new PFC revenue,” states the 2013 Capital Needs Survey. “It is clear that the existing federally mandated funding system simply fails to meet US airport capital needs for modernising and expanding airport capacity, which is critical for a safe, efficient and globally competitive aviation system.” And perhaps more directly, in a policy document it says: “In order to help make airports whole, Congress should increase the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) to $8.50 to restore its purchasing power. This would allow airports to have the ability to raise money locally to fund critical infrastructure needs.” Annie Russo, senior director of government affairs for ACI-NA, adds: “We have been advocating for an increase in the PFC for a long time, and will continue to do so going forward. “We’d also like more money for AIP, but we understand the realities of the federal budget.” Without doubt it is a tough operating environment, but as Markstein’s survey shows, the ongoing restraints in federal funding have failed to stop many of the US’s biggest airports investing billions of dollars in upgrading their facilities. Below we highlight a handful of infrastructure development projects that gained funding and are making headline news in the US.
Texas TRIP Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is in the middle of its seven-year, $2.3 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program (TRIP). “Honestly no one needed a lot of convincing to do this project,” says David Magana, senior manager of public affairs for the airport. “After opening Terminal D in 2005, it clearly showed that the original terminals needed a refresh because the oldest one is 40 years old. “We needed things like self-check kiosks and new concessions. The airport board and the airlines were ready to do it.” In getting funding in place for TRIP, DFW faced the same challenges that other airports face: having to take on debt, said Magana.
“PFCs don’t keep pace with airport infrastructure needs. But we felt strongly that the scope of TRIP had to fit within our financial realities,” he tells Airport World. “It became a matter of aligning our goals with the airlines’ goals. TRIP started at $1.9 billion, but we added things like new parking garages and more energy-efficient infrastructure, so the project is now at $2.3 billion. “These are not cost overruns, but an expansion of our scope. We’re still staying within our costs.”
Tampa time To the south-east of Texas, Florida’s Tampa International Airport is in the design phase of a $2.5 billion, 20-year airport master plan to upgrade a facility that first opened in 1971. CEO, Joe Lopano, has set his goals for the airport – adding new flights, growing passenger revenues and completing the master plan. On convincing stakeholders that the programme was needed, Lopano started by conducting a two-year study on the airport’s needs. “We wanted to make sure we understood all the issues and opportunities,” he explains. “Once we did that, we began outreach efforts to as many people as we could to show our solutions. If a plan is well articulated and explained often enough, it’s an easy sell.” Lopano says his job was to convince stakeholders, including federal, state and local legislators, chambers of commerce, local businesses and anyone who makes money with the airport. “The airport is an economic driver in the region,” he notes. “It opened in 1971, and now is the time to invest in its growth. I emphasised that our plan was affordable and would create 9,000 construction jobs and give us what we need to grow for the next 20 years.” The first phase of construction will include: decongesting roadways and passenger drop-off and pick-up kerbsides; building a consolidated rental car facility; providing connections to regional transportation systems; adding spaces to the long-term parking garage; increasing opportunities for commercial development on the south part of the airport campus to diversify the airport’s revenue stream; and creating new concession opportunities. The airport lined up various forms of financing for the project, says Lopano. “We actually refinanced existing debt using direct bank loans. Banks weren’t interested in that before the economic meltdown but they are now, and we got some great rates.
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SPECIAL REPORT: INVEST & BUILD “Our credit ratings is A+, and in order to let the bond community know what we needed, we met with the three rating agencies and the bond buying community in New York City, told them what they would be buying and they were happy. We made an articulate and compelling case on why we’re doing what we’re doing.” Tampa International’s 20-year plan is broken down into three phases, according to Lopano. “We didn’t need to do it all at once and won’t do phase two or three unless they’re necessary,” he admits. “That will be driven by if we get more international growth. We can stay in our current international facility for another 10 years.”
San Diego’s Green Build Going west, San Diego International Airport completed its $1 billion Green Build construction project in August 2013. And president and CEO of San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, Thella Bowens, admits that getting local residents onside was crucial to the success of the project. “One of the most important things we did in garnering support for the project was an effort to help the community understand the value of the airport to the region’s economy,” she says. “In our case, this translates into an annual economic impact of $10 billion, and this certainly helped everyone see it from a different perspective.” Highlights from the Green Build included: 10 new gates to reduce terminal congestion; enhanced kerbside check-in, allowing passengers to print their own boarding passes, check baggage and view gate information at an easy-to-use kerbside kiosk; more security lanes to improve flow of passengers through the terminal; and expanded concessions. The Green Build started construction during the global recession, but the airport had been planning it for 10 years, so although the timing wasn’t perfect, it was necessary, concedes Bowens. “As we began to conceptualise our design, we had stakeholder groups at the table to get their input,” she says. “Our airlines had a
seat at the table from the very beginning, which was one of things that made it possible to move ahead with the project even after the recession had set in.” The airport authority thought that funding the project might be a problem, but the airport had a strong history of prudent finances, which did not go unnoticed by the three rating agencies, reveals Bowens. “We had an A+ and A rating and those spoke volumes on the management of our finances. You don’t garner those kinds of ratings based on one point in time,” she enthuses. “We were fortunate to have good ratings from all three agencies. And because the construction business was in real trouble, we were able to take advantage of lower costs to build the project.”
What next for US airports? As for future funding prospects for US airports, ACI-NA’s Russo notes that the current FAA Reauthorization Bill expires in September 2015. She says: “There was a hearing [recently] before the US House of Representatives Transportation Committee on airport financing, the first one that’s been held. There was also one on airports in small communities. That shows that Congress is beginning to think about FAA reauthorisation.” Russo insists that ACI-NA will focus on total airport financing during the next FAA reauthorisation process. “We’ll show members of Congress how airports are financed and the options available for their capital needs,” claims Russo. “We’ll also make sure AIP remains a strong programme, especially for smaller airports that need it as a lifeline.” Airports can certainly be assured that both ACI-NA and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) are working to make sure that their voices are heard on Capitol Hill, according to Russo. “We’re working to make sure airports are represented in the conversation and that Congress understands the capital needs of airports and the importance of air service to communities across the country,” she says. AW
Construction at Denver. Image courtesy of Ryan Gobuty.
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Looking good! Nicole Nelson discovers that its new privatised business model has breathed new life into San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.
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hen investors claim that a project is “firing on all cylinders”, the cynic inside you could be forgiven for thinking, what else would you expect them to say? However, in the case of San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, it is hard to argue against them. For 18 months on from becoming only the second major US gateway to be privatised – Puerto Rico is classified as an unincorporated US territory – traffic is up, new airlines are on board and phase one of its $250 million capacity enhancement plan is close to completion. Indeed, the airport recently announced that it expects to re-open two terminals by early next year as part of a promised infrastructure upgrade by Aerostar Airport Holdings, which in return for an initial down payment of $615 million and a pledge to invest $1.4 billion in upgrading the gateway received a 40-year operating concession from the Puerto Rican government. According to Aerostar – a joint venture between Highstar Capital and Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR), which also operates Cancún Airport and eight other gateways in south-eastern Mexico – the first phase of the revamp has already generated nearly 3,000 jobs. As a result, the key stakeholders supporting the efforts to expand, rebuild and remodel Luis Muñoz Marín told Airport World that they are “more than pleased with their initial return on investment”. “We are firing on all cylinders,” enthuses Emmett McCann, a partner at New York-based infrastructure investment firm Highstar
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Capital, who sits on the Aerostar Airport Holdings board of directors, which operates and manages the San Juan facility on behalf of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority. “We are exceeding our original plan and feel that the pace of our passenger growth, while we get up and running, is over and above our expectations.” McCann was instrumental in structuring the $2.6 billion transaction to lease the facility that was “in pretty ill repair” prior to the win by Highstar. As the transition between Phase I and Phase II of the airport’s development programme is anticipated to take place in November, McCann says work has commenced on 31 capital projects mandated by the lease agreements, 65% of which are basically completed. In addition, another $60 million in voluntary capital projects have been initiated and completed separate from the cash enhancement plan, which calls for the massive overhaul of the terminal and the rightsizing of the terminal over the course of the concession. Agustin Arellano, CEO of Aerostar Airport Holdings, says the upgrade encompasses everything from creating new check-in halls and security checkpoints to opening additional retail and F&B outlets. He says: “We are bringing down whole terminals – one by one – and rebuilding and remodelling them to make a complete project that will allow us to re-standardise the concept, the philosophy, and the new image that we would like for Puerto Rico’s number one airport.” Arellano claims that “sustainable public-private partnership projects” like the one in place at Luis Muñoz Marín can provide
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the solution for airports lacking the necessary funds to develop their facilities. And he believes that they can be particularly effective during times of economic downturn.
Importance of aviation “This airport gives service to the vast majority of the people of Puerto Rico,” Arellano says, noting that nearly 80% of San Juan’s passengers are O&D Puerto Ricans, with visitors and tourists only constituting 20% of the equation. “Long-term, we believe that Puerto Rico has the potential to become a prime destination in the Caribbean.” In addition to the island’s rich history and its bounty of sun, sand and beaches, investors believe Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport’s proximity to Puerto Rico’s higher education facilities, medical services, cultural events and overall business economy give it an advantage over neighbouring islands in the Caribbean. Arellano reveals that Aerostar is working jointly with the government and tourism industry to develop and launch new routes to Puerto Rico. Indeed, under the terms of an Airport Use Agreement, Aerostar has established the Puerto Rico Air Travel Promotion and Support Fund to aid route development. The escrow account has $6 million to reward signatory airlines that increase service within the first three years of the agreement.
Thus far, the co-operative effort has proved to be successful for Luis Muñoz Marín where, despite Puerto Rico’s broader macroeconomic issues, travel has done well, with passenger volumes up 5% overall over Aerostar’s forecast for the year. In the past 12 months, JetBlue has introduced a number of new markets, most prominent of which was Chicago O’Hare. Southwest picked up some Chicago Midway routes, and internationally Avianca has introduced a number of flights to Bogota, Columbia. The airport’s latest coup was the May 25 inauguration of a twice-weekly Madrid-San Juan service by Air Europa Airbus 330s. “I think we have made good headway,” enthuses Highstar’s McCann, noting that the airport exceeded Aerostar’s projections when around 8.5 million passengers passed through its facilities last year. And he is confident that there is more to come in the years ahead as the creation of a virtually brand-new airport would only increase Luis Muñoz Marín’s appeal to the airlines. Beyond the initial $15 million in capital projects mandated by Schedule Change 13 of the lease agreement – including the required fixes of damaged roadways, curbs and walkways; jet bridge repairs and refurbishment; exterior landscaping improvements; installation of Wi-Fi; upgrades to electrical utilities; and replacement of deteriorating flooring throughout the entire facility – there was also a series of projects that revolved around moving USDA baggage inspection facilities, the repair of parking garage stairs, and improvements to terminal and roadway signage. “There were a whole bunch of things that we needed to do right out of the gate because the airport was in pretty ill repair,” admits McCann. “Part of our plan was to completely shut down and renovate Terminals B and C, and create new facilities with better checkpoints, better ticketing, a better passenger experience, and a better airline experience.” In November 2013, Terminals B and C were shuttered, with all tenant airlines moved to Terminals A and D. Aerostar is on track to re-open those terminals at the end of this year or early next. “The airlines are going to basically get a brand-new facility that is all set up for them. Getting this done as soon as possible has been a key focus of our team in San Juan,” says McCann. For his part, Arellano says he looks forward to making good on the promise to deliver a modern airport with first-class facilities to San Juan passengers. He says: “We want San Juan back as the premier spot in the Caribbean, providing direct competitiveness with all the airports in the region.” Both McCann and Arellano certainly believe that Aerostar’s vision is on plan and even ahead of schedule. “Unforeseen things always happen when you take over an airport in a public-private partnership or otherwise, but we have been very happy with our partnership with the government, airlines and passengers,” says McCann. “There is still a long way to go, of course. With a 40-year concession we have to take long-term view; after all, it is a marathon and not a sprint. However, at present we are hitting all of our metrics out of the gate and that has made everybody feel good about where we are and where we are going.” AW
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Georgia on my mind
Nicole Nelson finds out more about the Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance’s plans to transform the area around Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport into an economic powerhouse.
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catchphrase commonly associated with Porsche’s sleek line of sports vehicles is ‘High performance meets outstanding everyday practicality’. Striving for the ideal of ‘intelligent performance’, the same expression justly applies to Porsche Cars North America’s recent decision to relocate from the manicured suburban streets of Atlanta’s Sandy Springs enclave to what was once a depressed 28-acre plot of land adjacent to the north-east corner of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Expected to be complete by the end of the calendar year, the $100 million complex – with modern office facilities, a Technical Service and Training Center, and a leading-edge Customer Experience Center – is intended to deliver the Porsche brand and product experience to employees, dealers and customers alike, all within a stone’s throw of the world’s busiest airport. “Porsche selected the Atlanta Aerotropolis for our new North American headquarters, and for the first Porsche Experience Center in America, because it offers a combination of attributes that just don’t exist anywhere else,” explains Joseph Folz, general counsel and secretary of Porsche Cars North America. He also notes that the airport area has reasonably priced land ready for redevelopment and is in close proximity to one of the US’s great cities. “Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta is not only the world’s busiest airport, but it is also one of the very best – and the same is true of Delta Air Lines.
“Together, they allow us easy access to everywhere else in the country and the world. That is critically important to a truly international company that wants to remain close to its dealers, its customers and its stakeholders.” Folz says the ease with which people can get to Atlanta – 80% of the US population are less than a two-hour flight away – gave Porsche a strong business case for its new test track. However, he admits that the area around Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was seen as an unconventional choice for a company with a banner name like Porsche. “Some people didn’t think it was ‘prestigious’ enough and tried talking us out of it,” Folz tells Airport World. “They didn’t realise that Porsche has always been about function over form.” Doug Hooker, executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, reveals that prior to Porsche’s commitment to the Aerotropolis airport region, the area was thought of as a “secondary market”. “While we had other recent good developments that showed this was not true, Porsche was the watershed moment for the area. “We have had a lot of distribution centres and warehouses come to the airport area, which is great – this area has one of the highest concentrations in transportation and warehousing-related jobs in the region – but we thought, maybe there is something else we can do,” Hooker says. “Maybe there is another niche market we can go after that doesn’t fit in other parts of the region.”
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Talking business (Left to right): Pedro Cherry (Georgia Power), Joseph Folz (Porsche Cars North America) and Doug Hooker (Atlanta Regional Commission).
This premise led to the launch of the Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance, a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt non-profit organisation that serves the area much like a business league. With three chambers already in existence within the airport area in addition to the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Hooker insists that the Alliance is not intending to duplicate the ongoing efforts of others. “What it’s meant to do is find linkages between all of these public and private organisations and get everybody around the same table and move forward,” Hooker explains, noting that the membership is derived of delegates from cities and counties around the airport as well as private organisations, with initial staff support supplied by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). He adds that the ARC has made a commitment of two years to provide the Alliance with on-call needs ranging from communications personnel to planners and economic development types, and has had a positive response since the first official meeting in March. “We received a lot of good local and national press and made a pretty big splash in the news,” Hooker comments on the Alliance’s first attempts to amplify and leverage the economic potential created by ATL. In addition to being chaired by Porsche’s own Folz, the Alliance carries the weight of other big companies and visionary public officials who sit around the same table including the likes of executives from Georgia Power, Delta Air Lines and, naturally, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta’s general manager, Miguel Southwell, applauded Porsche’s leap into Atlanta’s Aerotropolis realm. “Development needn’t be just the logistics facilities, warehouses or two and three-star hotels that we know occur around airports in the United States,” says Southwell. “In Latin America, the Caribbean and even Africa, the land around the airport is some of the most premium land in those regions for
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corporate offices or even residences. But here in the US, for some reason, there has been an absence of Class A office development or even significant residential development.” Southwell, who cites Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt as examples of gateways to successfully embrace the airport city concept, continues: “The whole notion of an airport city is really bringing the concept that already exists in European nations and developing nations, and Porsche really has been the incubator of that,” noting that the airport intends to participate in the Alliance process with forward-thinking initiatives of its own. “Hopefully, by the end of the year, we will have a clear direction in terms of where we are going, but the idea would be to create not only a high-end hotel presence attached to the airport, but that high-end facility would also anchor additional Class A office facilities, including a service plaza where both employees as well as patrons that are returning rental cars could gas up their vehicles, a convenience store, a dry cleaner, and even a pet hotel that, again, would be helpful for the 58,000 employees at the airport.” Whether development comes in the form of a minimart or a global headquarters, the leadership at the Alliance believes that any company can benefit from being near the best transportation asset in America. Folz says that while Porsche was not at all scared at being the first marquee name to choose the largely industrial airport area in some time, the luxury car company certainly doesn’t want to be alone. “We want our landmark development to be a catalyst for great things in the airport area, a magnet for other development – hotels, restaurants, retail, housing, other corporate headquarters – and we are committed to doing our bit to be a great corporate citizen,” enthuses Folz. “We want to do whatever we can to make the airport area a magnet for development in the coming decades.” AW
SPECIAL REPORT: INVEST & BUILD
Size of
the matter Can airports really justify building huge terminals in an age when the industry needs to promote sustainable growth? Mott MacDonald’s aviation practice leader, Chris Chalk, gives his views.
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rguably the world’s first mega terminal providing an at-the-time unheralded 550,000sqm of space under a single roof opened at Hong Kong International Airport in 1998. How times have changed, as since then terminals of this size have become commonplace at major hub airports. And recent years have also seen a trend towards the consolidation of multiple terminals into fewer, larger terminals. Airports need to be forward-thinking in the facilities that they develop, providing capacity in line with projected growth. Effective demand forecasting is essential to the business plans of airports, as annual passenger numbers drive revenues that in turn fund facilities. However, the size of facilities is often driven by airline schedules and the demand profiles they generate. While airports usually take a long-term approach to investment, some airlines often focus on the short-term year ahead. Finding a solution that is acceptable for all parties is anchored in stakeholder management. With the cost driven by airline schedules, the ability to consolidate activities leads to inherent efficiencies. Airports with multiple terminals need more facilities as the flexibility to share peak activities is not possible. Consolidation of two terminals into one can save between 15-25% on facilities. Airports with fixed airline assignments, such as those found in the US, are even less efficient, exposing the airport to uncertainties of airline growth, wasted infrastructure and unnecessary operational costs. Large terminals have inherent flexibility in the assignment of gates, providing a higher level of pier service, which is a key airline and passenger service quality requirement. The use of multiple centreline stands is becoming widespread best practice, further enhancing flexibility at little additional cost. Operational costs, in particular staffing, can be significantly reduced in consolidated terminals. Services such as security, immigration, customs, baggage handling, cleaning and maintenance and airline support will require fewer staff to handle the same number of passengers. This saves money for airlines, the airport and government services. The consolidation of terminals at Heathrow is a good example of this, with the potential of five terminals being merged into three, allowing additional traffic to be handled more efficiently.
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Consolidated terminals also produce greater commercial benefits. Retail yields are a central part of funding new airport infrastructure – 10% of the terminal space can pay for the majority of the terminal. Around 15-20 million passengers per annum are needed to provide optimum performance in product offering, sales and yields. Bigger terminals offer better retail yields and subsequently lower user charges. Terminals with smaller throughputs offer smaller sales but with higher overheads. Retail is also an integral part of the passenger experience. Supported by larger food courts, commercial zones have the potential to create a critical mass of space with a ‘wow factor’, making it more preferable to passengers than other airports. Another benefit of consolidated terminals is that they provide one entrance for passengers whether they are arriving, departing or transferring. This leads to simpler wayfinding and reduced connection times, although very large terminals need to make sure that internal walking distances are minimised through the use of travellators and people-mover systems. But for many airports it is not always possible to build a new large terminal due to spatial constraints and the write-down costs of existing assets. Larger terminals will usually cost more to build per million passengers handled than smaller terminals due to increased mechanisation of passenger and baggage facilities. However, they crucially cover significantly less land, allowing for maximisation of airport capacity. This is one of numerous factors potentially mitigating against the trend to go big. Larger terminals can also create other challenges, including low-level wind turbulence.
SPECIAL REPORT: INVEST & BUILD
The impressive central concourse in Hong Kong’s Terminal 1.
Analysis undertaken by the Flight Safety Foundation shows that 85% of crosswind incidents occur at landing and that the design of large buildings can materially influence airport safety. ICAO’s Aerodrome Meteorological Observing Systems Study Group continues to actively research this topic, as objects such as hangars and terminals not only influence the anemometers but also have an impact on the representativeness of the reported wind. Another challenge of developing large terminals is providing the intimate space that smaller buildings offer, which passengers enjoy, such as the terminals at Singapore Changi and Amsterdam Schiphol. However, attention to detail and careful spatial planning have developed some of the larger terminals, such as Heathrow T5, into places where passengers want to be. Large terminals provide the opportunity through scale and the use of emerging technologies to improve operational performance. End-toend tracking of bags using radio-frequency identification, either directly applied or through individual carrier baggage systems, provide greater traceability and fewer delayed bags for departures, transfer and arrivals. Meanwhile, fully integrated control and surveillance systems offer less invasive management of passengers, for example through use of smart wayfinding and tracking. Smart controls can also help optimise the energy demands of the buildings by cooling or heating where people are gathered and applying less stringent heat, light and ventilation criteria in non-active areas. Sustainability targets are essential to identify opportunities for incorporating elements in a terminal’s design that can enhance environmental efficiency and minimise the project’s impact on the environment over its whole lifecycle.
Airports such as Hong Kong run green performance indicators across their projects measuring overall reduction in energy consumption and carbon emissions. Efficiency in design and operation is being driven by increasing energy costs and the realisation that major efficiencies are achievable. Leading developer and operator TAV carries out detailed thermo-imaging of its existing terminals to identify thermal bridges that pipe heat into the buildings, in particular through shading devices on hot facades and fixed-link bridges. Many fixes such as the introduction of thermal breaks, insulation of cooling towers, high-speed roller doors and ultraviolet reflective materials have been found to give payback within one year. In many countries tri-generation plants supplying electricity, cooling and heating to large terminals contribute significant gains in operational efficiency. With scale come opportunities for economies of scale. A new means of driving efficiency in infrastructure development is measuring the embodied carbon associated with construction, maintenance, refurbishment, cleaning and utilities supply. Quantifying the carbon and cost associated with materials, transport and site activities, identifying carbon hot spots and comparing options will systematically drive efficiency in time, cost and environment impact. It’s clear that operational and cost efficiencies, as well as improved commercial income, will continue to lead the development of large terminals. What the aviation sector must remember is the potential for magnifying those efficiencies through intelligent space planning, technology and carbon-saving solutions. AW
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SPECIAL REPORT: INVEST & BUILD
Daring to be different ICRAVE’s managing director, Leah Blackman, reports on the growing trend of transforming US departures gates with innovative new concession programmes.
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n recent years we’ve seen a paradigm shift in concession programming at US airports, with the focus now firmly fixed on the needs of the passenger and the departure gate. As a result, passengers who were once regarded as a captive audience, have had their status elevated to that of a guest, and the new philosophy is very much about what can be done to make them happy. The conversations we are privileged to take part in with concessionaires and airports continue to raise questions about how to enhance the passenger experience. Over the last seven years, we have challenged ourselves as designers to ask the same question. How can we re-imagine a better offering? Airport executives certainly understand today’s emphasis on enhancing the passenger experience amongst a growing population of discerning, well-connected travellers. Indeed, in an age when consumer expectations are rising and early airport arrival is a requirement, they have challenged themselves to position terminals as true gateways into and out of the city in which they reside. As a result, local chefs are increasingly being called upon to spearhead innovative dining programmes and new technologies are being applied across each passenger touchpoint. And studies of traveller anxiety have discovered that stress levels can be reduced through innovative concessions directly at the gate. Knowing this and doing something about it are, of course, not so easy as airport executives have all sorts of hurdles they have to overcome before new gate-based concession concepts can become reality.
Budgetary constraints, balancing the needs of airlines with those of the airport, capacity issues and considering the impact the new shops and F&B outlets will have on the bottom line are just a few of the challenges. Also, will they significantly raise non-aeronautical streams? What will the net effect be on the number of enplanements and the quality of service?
Hospitality ICRAVE has redesigned passenger terminals in six airports across North America, examining the impact of these very questions. From our pioneering work at JetBlue’s Terminal 5 in John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to our most recent renovation of Terminal 1 at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), we’ve analysed the reconfiguration of gate hold areas while maintaining seat counts. We’ve looked at underutilised spaces in terminals and redistributed them in a way that simultaneously makes them more engaging and raises non-aeronautical revenue streams. Our background in the hospitality industry has given us the opportunity to apply a hospitality approach to our airport designs, which enact real change in the passenger experience. We are not interested in superficial design; we consistently look to solve operational problems from a creative, solution-oriented standpoint. And I believe this viewpoint has given us keen insight into the challenges that need to be addressed when redesigning passenger terminals. The planning process, after all, gives rise to many operational questions.
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SPECIAL REPORT: INVEST & BUILD Passenger pathways Inspired by modern marketplaces, ICRAVE is designing retail experiences that break away from the traditional mall layout. Concessions are brought into the terminal walkway where passengers can actively engage in revenue-driving activity without straying from their path to the gate. Every terminal we have designed has either maintained or increased the number of seats in the gate hold areas. Our office has spent countless nights brainstorming seat configurations that increase capacity, fit within the existing footprint, and have the ability to withstand constant wear. In each design, we’ve balanced hospitality aesthetics with the operational requirements of airports. From café and bar-style to workplace configurations, we’ve maximised the variety of seating options while tailoring to assorted passenger needs. Concession revenues continue to grow as airports find new and innovative ways to engage passengers with authentic offerings that enhance the overall experience. For those that consistently challenge and experiment with the status quo, the airport becomes a breeding ground for new and innovative ideas. So what could be next?
Being different Terminal layout In my opinion there are several options when it comes to activating the terminal with concession programmes. First, you must examine its configuration. Terminals range anywhere from satellite and pier layouts to semicircles. Each terminal will require its own unique design solution. We recently completed the concept design for the upcoming F&B venues and gate hold areas to be operated by OTG in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s Terminal A on behalf of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). Scheduled to open in the spring of 2015, the changes are the culmination of a full upgrade to the gateway, which will include full-service dining, iPads and charging stations, and a wider variety of F&B and retail options. Local chefs and dynamic talents such as Carla Hall from Top Chef and ABC’s The Chew will also be involved with the project. Terminal A is designed as a long pedestrian walkway that leads to a circular hub of nine gates at the walkway’s end. With a previously open, underutilised central core, we designed an oasis to activate the gate hold area with smart concessions programming. From a capacity standpoint, this allows the oasis to service all nine gates from a single location. Simultaneously, passengers maintain a direct sightline to their departure gate. The main restaurant will provide seating for more than 100 guests, an increase over the current 22-seat restaurant. Take, however, a pier configuration like YYZ’s Terminal 1. In this case, concession concepts are integrated directly into the terminal streetscape. Located between gates 177 and 178 at the hub of Terminal 1 is Marathi, an Indian-themed restaurant operated by OTG with a street- food-inspired menu by local Toronto chef Hemant Bhagwani. A striking arched lattice wooden trellis curves above the entire space. The place-making structure allows passengers to feel as though they have stepped into a full-service restaurant at their gate, while maintaining an openness for anxious travellers to watch over their departure gates.
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Sadly, it is all too common for passengers to find the same concession offerings in different airports. Like cities, airports need to be proactive in building vibrant programming and curating an eclectic blend of retail, special events and F&B choices unique to their location. By surprising travellers with established boutiques next to pop-up stores or food fairs and homemade one-of-a-kind crafts, they can find reasons to look around, engage and connect those unique moments to a positive experience that can only be had at this particular airport.
Concierge services If you truly examine programming from the passenger perspective, you discover new ways to enhance the experience and offering. We see, for example, real opportunity in full-service solutions that allow us to take care of personal and professional needs while on the move. Why can’t I host a business meeting right at the airport (either virtual or physical)? Post a package from the airport? Print a document? Drop my dog off for boarding? Send my dry cleaning home? Airport retail and concession spaces can learn a great deal from the hospitality industry.
New technologies With the expansion of the digital domain, there is huge potential to go outside traditional lease lines and store hours. What if I could have my favourite magazine and a fresh lunch waiting for me at my gate when I board? We have seen virtual grocery stores popping up worldwide and there is a wealth of offerings that don’t take up any real estate, yet continue to expand the retail programme beyond its traditional limits. By thinking creatively we can also capture the arriving passenger market and extend service through the entire travel experience. Wouldn’t it be great to know you had a pint of milk and a hot dinner waiting for you when you arrive home from a week-long AW business trip?
ENTERTAINMENT
Sound of
music Airports are increasingly turning to ‘live music’ to create a unique atmosphere and make themselves stand out from the crowd, writes Justin Burns.
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hat do a rock band strumming live on stage and a nightclub have in common? The answer is that both can now be found at an airport as gateways across the globe look to enhance the traveller experience, boost non-aviation revenues and raise their profiles. Whether it be pop, rock, jazz or country and western, the sound of music now literally fills the air at many gateways.
Sense of place One of the leaders in this new musical trend is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), which has launched a three-year music programme called Experience the City of Music to showcase the city’s musical heritage. Indeed, the Port of Seattle has rubber-stamped the permanent staging of live music performances after a pilot in 2013 earned rave reviews from passengers. Artists now put on two live music shows a day (Monday to Friday) at the airport, with each performing three 40-minute sessions during peak passenger traffic times in genres including blues, folk, rap, rock and pop. And Port of Seattle commissioner and programme creator, John Creighton, believes that it is already a big success, having “captured the public’s imagination”. “It has been really well received and this is great, as part of our goal is to get away from the generic airport experience,” says Creighton. “We want to create a sense of place here. We want people to know that they are in the Pacific Northwest and we want it to feel like Seattle.” He continues: “We are acutely aware that the travelling experience has become more and more of a hassle over the years, so are constantly looking at ways in which we can make the airport experience more enjoyable for visitors, and music definitely helps. “In addition to hopefully reducing stress for passengers and improving the mood, we also want to promote the region’s diverse music scene as we have such a rich musical heritage.” Music is a strong part of the identity of Seattle, and the likes of Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana all hail from the city.
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Revenue rocker Creighton freely admits that the airport’s concessionaires have played an integral role in getting the music programme made permanent at Sea-Tac, and its F&B and retail operators have agreed to match the $125,000 per annum the Port of Seattle is investing in the programme – largely due to the hugely positive impact last year’s live performances had on sales. Indeed, the dwell time in the outlets nearest to where the performances are staged increases dramatically during shows. Musicians also do public announcements on the tannoy at Seattle-Tacoma, and among those doing them have been the legendary music producer and instrumentalist, Quincy Jones. Creighton told Airport World that Sea-Tac has plans to grow the programme, by introducing 30 to 60 second music videos in security areas and baggage claim zones to help relax passengers. It has also developed an app where passengers or visitors can listen to music performed by bands and artists who have performed. In fact, such has been the success of the programme that the airport hopes to build permanent stages to accommodate its guest bands. “We plan to build some permanent stages and are going to have one in the North Satellite Terminal, so watch this space,” he says.
ENTERTAINMENT
“We have had 90% positive feedback since we introduced it and it has really enhanced the experience and ambience and helped boost revenues.” His dream is to one day see big names performing gigs, such as Foo Fighters frontman, Dave Grohl, who has told him how he enjoys the musical vibe at Sea-Tac.
Flight Night Another US gateway that has benefitted from live music is Tampa International Airport, which admits that its monthly Friday Flight Nights have gained nothing but positive feedback. So much so in fact that they are drawing in crowds of non-flying locals who fancy chilling out to some live music as well as ticketed passengers. Launched more than two years ago, bands and solo artists showcase their diverse talents on a stage located landside between A and C gates inside the main terminal building. The original concept and goal was to entertain travellers and show what music the area has to offer, but it has been extended due to it success. Enthused music programme leader, Emily Nipps, explains: “Part of the reason is to create something fun for passengers, and it is a good way to relax people and add to their experience. “People are quite surprised we hold events, while it has also been a great way to attract people to the airport who are not flying.
Setting the tone Travellers at Tulsa International Airport can now even set the airport’s musical tone by taking control of music played inside the terminal building. The gateway has launched a partnership with music platform TouchTunes Music Corporation, and becomes the first gateway in the world to give control of the music experience to passengers. The new service gives guests the opportunity to select music and determine the order of songs played based on credits they purchase at a jukebox inside the terminal or via the TouchTunes app on their smartphones. Airport managers are still able to control what genre is played, so they can block songs with explicit lyrics. The service is seen as a complement to the overall effort to improve the travel experience for passengers, explains airport director, Jeff Mulder. He says: “We often receive feedback from passengers regarding the background music that is playing in the terminal. “Now, if they want to hear a specific song or genre of music, they have the ability to change what’s being played.” The gateway forecasts that the service will generate at least enough revenue to cover the cost of running it.
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ENTERTAINMENT
“You do not think about going to an airport to hang out, but we want people to, as it is very easy to get here, being close to downtown and beaches, and people from outside the airport, if it is a popular band, there is always a small crowd of them. “It is live music performed in a unique background, within the hustle and bustle of the airport and aircraft taking off nearby.” Each Flight Night has a different theme, and past events have included a German night, St Patrick’s Day Irish music, a Bollywood theme and a reggae session. And as in Seattle, its music programme has attracted positive exposure for Tampa International Airport at the same time as helping boost concession revenues. “The exposure we get is great as people post pictures on social media of the events, while there are always freebies given out by concessions,” notes Nipps. She adds that live music is also used in other ways to enhance the passenger experience, with live saxophone players performing airside to add a bit of ambience and lighten the mood.
From east to west Austin-Bergstrom International Airport remains one of the leading lights in music programmes in the US. Indeed, live music is a key part of the airport’s customer service strategy, its importance being noted in its slogan, which reads: ‘We are the Live Music Capital of the World and there’s Music in the Air the minute travellers step into the terminal’. Passengers can catch local musicians strumming away at one of several venues from Monday to Friday. Other US airports filling the air with genres include Nashville International Airport, which claims to have hosted some of the best local talent the ‘Music City’ has to offer as far back as 1988. It welcomes about 80-100 bands and solo artists yearly with music from all genres played across four separate stages in the terminal. Over in Asia, at Singapore Changi and Seoul Incheon, the piano has become a firm fixture to sooth the minds of travellers in the main terminals. Meanwhile, China’s Shenzhen International Airport recently started hosting the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra every Thursday, which welcomes passengers after their long journeys and performs pieces by Johann Strauss and Bach.
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The idea came from Shenzhen Concert Hall to try to make travel less stressful for passengers while also promoting the venue and classical music to the general public. Live performances were introduced in April, only a few weeks after angry travellers wreaked havoc at the Chinese gateway after delays and cancellations caused tensions to boil over.
All that jazz In Switzerland, the Montreux Jazz Café concession club concept, brought by F&B firm SSP, has proved a winner at Geneva and Zurich airports. The cafés aim to recreate the glamour of the famous Montreux Jazz Festival and stage live jazz music concerts, while travellers can enjoy a meal and drinks, establishing their reputations as must-visit venues for music fans keen to discover new jazz musicians. Celebrities have even got in on the act, and rap mogul Jay-Z, has had a version of his New York City 40/40 Club opened at the world’s busiest hub Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Airport concessionaire, Delaware North Companies, has opened a 40/40 Club under a licensing agreement, and the venue is situated in the Concourse D concessions area. The club is for ticketed passengers, and is a swanky one-level sports bar, and lounge, that houses sports memorabilia. Victoria Hong, director, adds: “There are plans for a 40/40 Club VIP Lounge which are part of an on-going discussion. The targeted space is on the second level of Concourse D and would include a smoking lounge with a club-like atmosphere.” Over on the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, at Ibiza Airport a nightclub lets holidaymakers party right up until they board their flights. DJ David Guetta and wife Cathy run the ‘F*** Me I’m Famous’ lounge club in the gateway’s airside area, which opens 24 hours a day playing different genres of dance music. The sound of music in gateways across the globe seems to be growing all the time, whether it is to relax stressed-out passengers or to add a bit of variety and imagination to the experience. Who knows, maybe in the future a familiar sight will be terminals staging concerts by some of the world’s most revered AW bands and artists. Let the music play.
HUMAN RESOURCES
PEOPLE
matters Dr Richard Plenty and Terri Morrissey provide their thoughts on: Investing in your organisation.
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nvestment in infrastructure is vitally important in enabling airports to accommodate passenger growth and improve the quality of their passengers’ experience. Brand-new facilities can make an enormous difference to the aesthetics and ‘look and feel’ of an airport, the efficiency of transit, and the costeffectiveness of the operation. But a modern airport operated by an outdated, old fashioned workforce is liable to disappoint. Simply constructing and building new facilities, important though this is, won’t in itself create a high-performing, efficient, customerfocused organisation. To do that requires a parallel investment – not in ‘things’ but in organisation, leadership and human capital. New facilities can provide the opportunity to review and streamline work processes and organisational structure, to identify and progress the careers of talented individuals and to ensure that people are trained from the outset to work effectively. Most importantly it provides the opportunity to transform organisation culture and promulgate a customer focus and ‘delivery’ mindset driven by engaged and motivated staff. Where are the principal areas for human capital investment? We see three priorities: • Review organisation structure and processes. Use the trigger of new investment to ensure that organisational processes are ‘lean’ and fit for purpose, that organisation hierarchy is minimised, staff are given autonomy, responsibility and meaningful roles, and that costs are
kept to a minimum. Team working is important: restrictive practices and strict demarcation hamper customer focus and delivery mindset. • Take a close look at your talent. Make sure that you attract and recruit people not just with the right technical skills but with positive attitudes, the ability to work well with others and the intelligence to understand the ‘big picture’. Then provide them with training and development to enhance their leadership, business and interpersonal skills and ensure they understand the organisation as a whole. • Revamp the performance management system. Take the opportunity to review your vision, values and strategic objectives. Ensure these are properly communicated and that there is a clear line of sight between the overall strategy and both individual and team objectives. Recognise those who perform well and manage those that don’t.
Conclusion To do all this properly requires investment in project teams, structured staff involvement, industrial and employee relations skills, training, and external expertise and facilitation. But, if you are spending many millions on investment in new facilities, ‘hundreds of thousands’ on human capital is money well spent. Transforming an airport means transforming the organisation and its leadership as well as its infrastructure. It’s two journeys, not one.
It was a summer of change for many airports, with a number of key appointments across the globe. They included Fred Lam being named as the new CEO of the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK); Datuk Badlisham replacing the long-serving Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid as the managing director of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB); and John Holland-Kaye replacing Colin Matthews in the hot seat at Heathrow. Hong Kong’s Lam, who succeeds the retiring Stanley Hui, leaves his role as executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and will take up the position for a three-year term on October 1, 2014. Talking about Lam’s appointment, Vincent Lo Hong-sui, chairman of the AAHK, says: “This is an important moment in HKIA’s development, and Lam is the right leader to champion our plans and initiatives that will keep the airport competitive well into the future.” MAHB has gone on record as expressing its ‘heartfelt gratitude’ to Badlisham’s predecessor Tan Sri Bashir, claiming that the company achieved ‘stellar performances’ under his stewardship. Badlisham was formerly CEO of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). Elsewhere, Copenhagen Airports has announced that Peter Krogsgaard will leave his position as managing director of Fujitsu Denmark and Norway to become its new chief commercial officer on September 1.
About the authors Dr Richard Plenty and Terri Morrissey are directors of This Is... and are co-organisers of ACI Europe’s Airport Leadership and Change Management Summit in Munich, Germany, this December 1-3. For more information visit www.airport-leadership.com
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CUSTOMER SERVICES
Busy times A growing route network, enhanced facilities and a host of customer service and environmental innovations ensure that these are exciting times for Montréal-Trudeau, writes Stephanie Lepage.
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his summer, Montréal-Trudeau offered direct flights to no fewer than 28 European cities, among them Prague for the first time in several years. Montréal-Paris remained the best-served international route outbound from Canada, with up to seven daily flights to Paris. Overall, carriers flying to Europe offered 13% more seats than in 2013. “Montréal-Trudeau ranks fourth among all North American airports for the number of European destinations served by direct flights, ahead of major hubs like Chicago and Atlanta,” says James Cherry, president and CEO of Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), the not-for-profit authority responsible for Montréal-Trudeau and Montréal-Mirabel airports. “We’re proud that Montréal-Trudeau has become a dynamic hub linking North America and Europe, with connecting traffic showing constant growth.”
Centralised security checkpoint ADM is forecasting solid growth in total passenger traffic at Montréal-Trudeau this year after a 2.1% increase in 2013 to a record $14.1 million. To accommodate this growth and enhance passenger convenience, Montréal-Trudeau has established a centralised security checkpoint for domestic and international flights, increasing capacity by 40% and making it the largest security station of its kind at any Canadian airport. It is also planning a major extension of Montréal-Trudeau’s international jetty. Scheduled to open in September 2016, it will feature six new boarding gates to handle more A380 and B787 Dreamliner aircraft, a large commercial area and a VIP lounge. Moreover, last spring Montréal-Trudeau officially opened 1,850sqm of new commercial zones in its public and international areas. The zones add about 10 new restaurants and boutiques to the airport’s already impressive line of retail offerings, encompassing gourmet restaurants and popular fast-food outlets, well-known local and international brands, and a wide range of renowned franchises selling cosmetics, clothing, books and music.
“We want our customers’ experience to be as pleasant and memorable as possible and this has been the driving force behind our development strategy,” explains Cherry. “Boutiques and restaurants have become an integral part of the airport experience and the pleasure of travel, and airports are now striving to set themselves apart by offering distinctive local brands.”
Championing sustainable development Adhering to the ‘4R’ principle (reduce, reuse, recycle and recover), glycol from Montréal-Trudeau’s de-icing area will be recycled and recertified starting in winter 2014-15 thanks to the recent installation of a new transformation system. ADM has also deployed multi-material recycling bins throughout the airport, with a goal of recovering 50% of its waste by 2017, and restaurants in the commercial zones have been equipped with facilities they need to recover their organic waste. “ADM is committed to protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development,” notes Cherry, adding that ADM is one of the few airport administrations in North America with an ISO 14001-certified environment management system. ADM instituted a tree policy five years ago to protect areas of high ecological value on airport lands and mitigate the environmental impacts of projects. More than 10,000 trees have since been planted along access roads to Montréal-Trudeau to reduce heat islands and improve air quality. And in partnership with CO2 Environnement, ADM has planted another 96,000 trees at Montréal-Mirabel – the first reforestation project on airport land in North America for the purpose of carbon offsetting. The planting efforts will eventually result in 16,500 tonnes of CO2 offsets. In 2010, ADM became the first airport in North America to begin selling carbon credits, and last year it put up for sale 19,800 carbon credits on the voluntary market, representing the equivalent in tons of CO2 savings from 2010 to 2012. AW
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CAR PARKING
Be in the driving seat DAA USA’s parking expert, Jenna Buckner, provides 10 top tips on how to improve your parking RFP.
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n today’s budgetry-constrained operating environment, income from car parking – the leading source of non-aeronautical revenue for many US airports – is argubaly more important to the bottom line than ever before. Airports simply have to get things right when it comes to car parking or risk losing vital revenues to off-site parking operators that continue to aggressively take market share from them while giving little in return. Below are our 10 tips on how to improve your airport parking RFP tender documents by supplementing the standard functional, technical and compliance requirements with commercial considerations that can drive parking revenues.
Embrace technology With the ever-increasing use of smartphones and the ubiquitous availability of Wi-Fi, it’s no secret that self-service in travel booking continues to accelerate. More and more consumers choose to research and book their flights, hotels and, increasingly, parking online or through mobile apps. With electronic payments projected at almost 35 billion transactions in 2014 and mobile payments not far behind (Cap Gemini World Payments Report 2013), the implications for airports and airport parking are clear: our technology must embrace and harness the power of these channels. And why not? Online and mobile channels provide airports with a wonderful opportunity to directly connect with passengers to offer services and upsells such as pre-booked and prepaid airport parking, fast-track security, VIP lounges, F&B and retail offers and other airport products. Even better, these channels provide the ability to build databases of contact details and behavioural data that enable us to serve the customer better with targeted offers and communications.
Off-airport parking providers have been online for years. It is time that airports began to use these tools to compete effectively, and that starts with updated PARCS equipment that is equipped to interface with an online pre-booking service. There is no need for lengthy software development. There are a number of off-the-shelf pre-booking services that have already developed interfaces to major PARCS providers. These vendors will provide airports with an integrated airport parking site, the opportunity to create and pre-sell airport parking products and secure payment processing. Tip 1: Include in the parking RFP a requirement for an online pre-booking and prepayment service fully integrated with the airport PARCS, the airport website and all airport mobile apps, and readily available for in-path integration with the airport’s leading carriers’ websites. Tip 2: Include a requirement to provide one or more highly reliable customer vehicle identification systems at entries and exits – credit/debit card in and out, license plate recognition (LPR), toll tag or RFID reading – all to be fully integrated with the airport PARCS. Tip 3: Include a parking bay guidance/counting system in the RFP, particularly in the busier garages where people can have difficulty finding vacant spaces. This may include bay sensors or LPR at internal intersections to provide a ‘find my car’ feature, which can be integrated with airport information touch screens in the terminals, parking lots or even on shuttle buses.
Try new management techniques Many parking management contracts at US airports are for the supply of staffing and supervisory services only. With few exceptions, they do not include any opportunity or incentive for the parking contractor to add value to
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CAR PARKING Tip 6: Require proposals to reduce or redeploy parking operations head count, including cashiers, to lower costs and improve traffic flows at exits – payroll costs can be reduced by as much as 50%. This reorganisation requires intercoms at all entries and exits, and ideally CCTV, to enable centralisation of all control/management of the PARCS in an airport control centre to increase service levels and improve response times.
Match and exceed your competition
the service. This limits the benefit of the contractor’s vast experience in operating commercial parking in city centres, for example, and may leave millions in revenue opportunities untapped. Why have we seen some airports earning less than $2,000 per parking space when others are generating more than $8,000 per space per year? Tip 4: Include in the RFP incentives for incremental revenue generation for parking management contractors – including a meaningful revenue share above agreed benchmarks to increase total parking revenues. Where the airport already has good parking management, it should seek proposals (from the operator or outside providers) for expert commercial management expertise, including revenue and yield management capabilities, with the specific goal of increasing total airport parking revenues. Tip 5: Where airport management has limited capital available for investment in on-airport parking, it should consider a concession or public-private partnership (3P) for the development and operation of all of the airport parking. Concessions are already in place in a number of airports and these agreements can provide a true incentive for increased revenue if drafted properly.
Shake up your organisation The trend towards self-service we’ve mentioned above extends to more than travel booking; it also helps save time with airline check-in kiosks and bag tagging, so why not parking? The traditional cashier and supervisor-based organisation at airport parking lots is no longer the most appealing to time-poor customers who may face long queues at the parking garage exit. It is also increasingly expensive to operate for airports. To speed throughput, most airports should now offer automated entries, pay stations in the terminals and a combination of cashiers and credit card only exit lanes. In fact, in Europe cashiers at exits have virtually disappeared, with all transactions handled at pay stations or exit terminals and any manual intervention being provided 100% remotely by a small team in a central control room who address issues immediately as they occur through intercoms and CCTV. Reducing staff is not about reducing service, the objective is to take advantage of technology in such a way that customers benefit through payment choices, faster transactions and throughput, and immediate responses to entry and exit issues.
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Compared to the off-airport parking operators, airports do not prioritise the marketing and promotion of their prime landside assets – their airport parking. As a result, passengers can be ill-informed about the quality and value of the parking services available on-airport. Parking offers for walk-to-airport products are highly valued, and some airport remote parking is even cheaper than off-airport lots. However, without like-for-like comparisons with competing parking offers, airport parking products are neither top of mind nor favourably compared with the off-airport operators’ price claims, which may be misleading – for example, quoting prices excluding taxes, fees and fuel surcharges. Tip 7: Include in the RFP a specific requirement for a defined marketing and promotional plan and agreed budget, including generic advertising of the airport’s website as the route to best-value parking and product/price promotions targeting agreed customer segments. Tip 8: Require RFP respondents to set out specific programmes and investments in airport parking loyalty perks and programmes to reward regular customers. The really successful off-airport operators have this down to a fine art, with free water, newspapers, coffee, extra days, bonus points and other benefits. However, the airport is in a unique position to cross-sell and promote a broad range of airport-only services and products to passengers. Airports should benchmark against their best off-airport competitors, not only in marketing but in the products and services offered. Tip 9: Require the successful contractor to include flexible rostering of parking shuttle-bus services to meet the requirements of the airport as these change over time. Flexibility in bus size should also be required. The branding and advertising on parking shuttle buses is valuable and should always be specified and controlled by the airport rather than left to the contractor/shuttle-bus operator.
Be prepared to innovate Airports tend to operate within a very traditional business and technical model, in part because of the regulated nature of airside operations. This should not preclude the adoption of novel and innovative landside solutions and strategies that add value and enhance the customer experience at the airport. Tip 10: Invite and be open to novel solutions that enhance the parking product and service for customers. Be prepared to share incremental revenues where real value is added and customer experience is enhanced.
Conclusion Many of the value-added features included in our 10 tips have been gradually built into the successful parking operations at Dublin Airport, in Europe, and at other airports globally. When you are ready to upgrade your parking system, be sure you are maximising your investment by using the most up-to-date, nimble and successful practices worldwide. AW
About the author Jenna Buckner is vice president of business development at Dublin Airport’s US entity, DAA USA Inc. She can be contacted at jenna.buckner@daa.ie
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
Going green Guest writer, Marius Nicolescu, discusses an ambitious community-driven project to create decarbonised airport regions in Europe.
E
urope’s decarbonised airport regions (dAIR) project was born out of the desire of a small group of regions and airports to significantly reduce CO2 emissions around the continent’s gateways. Formed three years ago and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (through Interreg IVC), it has led to a new period of co-operation on the environment between its 14 members, which include Eindhoven and Stockholm Arlanda airports, the cities of Leipzig and Vienna, and the Province of Bologna. ‘Surface Access’ – something that the Airport Regions Conference, the European organisation representing regions with airports, estimates accounts for up to 40% of the carbon footprint of an airport – and ‘Airport Operations’ are the two main issues tackled by the dAIR project. Another 10% of fossil fuel emissions is produced by the airport’s own operations, such as ground handling, lighting or heating, with the rest coming from the aircraft. “We focused on the two major aspects that we, as airport owners or organisations responsible for surface access, can really influence – CO2-neutrality of airport operations and sustainable surface access,” says dAIR project manager, Ron Nohlmans. According to Nohlmans, visiting each other’s airports and regions to learn from them quickly became a norm for the project. “The visits helped the different partners understand what other regions were doing with regards to CO2 emissions and identify good ideas and best practices that they could potentially take back and implement themselves,” enthuses Nohlmans. “For example, the city and airport of El Prat, near Barcelona, got the idea for an on-demand bus system for airport staff working outside the operating hours of the public transport system after hearing about an existing scheme at Paris CDG. “It is, of course, good for the environment as it removes CO2 from the atmosphere that would have been created by the employees driving their own cars to the airport.” Other dAIR project success stories based on the exchange of knowledge and experiences of members include: • Eindhoven Airport looking at achieving carbon neutrality • Bologna Airport’s decision to offset some of its carbon by constructing a green belt to the north of the gateway • The city of Leipzig implementing an e-car sharing system and offering airport employees free public transport to the airport Indeed, beyond driving the understanding of the need to reduce carbon on the ground at airports, dAIR has helped reunite airports with some transportation and operational stakeholders. “Through dAIR and frequent stakeholder forums, discussions arise and new ideas come forward, and involvement is not limited to
stakeholders in direct contact with the airport or directly related to carbon reduction,” adds Nohlmans. The project will end in 2014 with a final event and exhibition held in Brussels on October 13 before the issue of a report with policy recommendations based on the findings of the exchange of information over the last three years. However, the real value of the project is not a report, but actions that will be taken as a result of it, connections made and, of course, the reduction in CO2 on the ground in the areas targeted by it. Nohlmans concludes: “Airports are an important factor in the economic development of our regions, and to stay important economically, in many cases, it is necessary for them to grow. We want them to, of course, as they are of great added value to our regions, but their growth, or even stability, has to be sustainable and achieved by lowering their ecological footprint.” The project partner regions of the dAIR project are the City of Eindhoven; Eindhoven Airport; Airport Regions Conference; Communauté d’agglomération Terres de France; Stockholm Public Transport Authority; Stockholm-Arlanda Airport/Swedavia; City of Leipzig; Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding; City of Vienna; Province of Bologna; City of El Prat de Llobregat; Transport AW Malta; Mazovia Voivodship; and Prague Airport Region.
About the author Marius Nicolescu is dAIR’s project communications manager and junior communications officer with Airport Regions Conference (www.airportregions.org)
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ENVIRONMENT NEWS
Global round-up Airport World takes a closer look at some of the latest environmental initiatives in North America.
Zero hero
Nantucket Memorial Airport is set to become the US’s first carbon neutral airport following the launch of Phase 2 of its programme designed to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The airport believes that the introduction of 25 new ‘energy conservation measures’ ranging from the installation of new solar panels, LED lighting and infrared garage heating to the retrofitting of existing mechanical systems will reduce the reliance on external energy sources and eliminate nearly 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year. The Carbon Neutral project includes $805,000 in MassDOT Aeronautics funding along with other expected local and federal funding sources. The airport worked with Honeywell Building Solutions on a comprehensive energy audit in Phase 1 of the project, which identified a number of ways it could save energy. Massachusetts governor, Deval Patrick, enthuses: “This airport project is not only a win for the island of Nantucket, but for the commonwealth as a whole as we continue the progress we’ve made to protect our environment and leave it better for the next generation.”
A load of hot air
New pre-conditioned air (PCA) systems that allow aircraft to shut off their auxiliary power units while parked at the gate will prevent the emission of more than 92 tonnes of carbon monoxide and 134 tonnes of other pollutants over the next 13 years, according to Denver International Airport (DIA). Funded by a $442,500 grant from the FAA’s Voluntary Airport Low Emission (VALE) programme, the new equipment will effectively provide a ‘cleaner’ central heating and cooling system for aircraft at the same time as reducing fuel burn. DIA already uses PCA technology, and will use the grant funds to add PCA equipment to the five new gates currently under construction at the west end of Concourse C. Southwest Airlines plans to relocate its existing gates on Concourse A to Concourse C where the majority of its flights are currently located. Construction of the new gate area is expected to be completed in November. The emissions savings are expected to be made over the 13-year lifespan of the equipment. Airport CEO, Kim Day, comments: “DIA continues to be a leader in environmental sustainability, and this grant will help acquire equipment that will reduce power consumption, save our airline partners fuel and money, and help to reduce the airport’s carbon footprint.”
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Photo courtesy of Rod Hatfield.
Busy bees
Seattle-Tacoma’s love affair with honeybees now extends to 24 hives across the airport site and a new a bee exhibition by its B gates exit. For the second year in a row, the Port of Seattle is collaborating with local non-profit agency, The Common Acre, to host 1.5 million honeybees in two dozen hives on unused vacant land near the runways. The new bee art and education exhibit, also opened in collaboration with The Common Acre, is designed to “educate and inspire travellers about the importance of pollinators at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport”. “The parallels between bees and planes really resonate,” says Bob Redmond, director of The Common Acre and lead beekeeper at Sea-Tac. “Like aircraft, bees have complex communication and navigation systems. The waggle dance, like the control tower talking to pilots, communicates to fellow workers at the hive where the best sources of nectar and pollen can be found.”
Community engagement
Calling airports across the globe – ACI needs your case studies on community engagement! ACI is working with ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) on a work item studying how airports and other aviation stakeholders are engaging with their communities. ACI’s environment manager, Xavier Oh, says: “It’s not just about environmental issues; it may be about flight tracks, operations, wildlife, corporate social responsibility, airport open days, websites, sponsoring local sports teams – anything! We want to know.” Airports are invited to visit www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1618400/CommunityEngagement-Survey and complete an online survey or download a word document version of the questionnaire and submit it by email to env@icao.int by October 17.
WBP NEWS
The latest news from ACI’s World Business Partners
Showpiece terminal
JCDecaux Airport claims to have unveiled a “spectacular range of airport advertising opportunities” in Heathrow’s newly opened Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal. With iconic poster sites, experiential zones and over 100 digital screens, it insists that Terminal 2 delivers an array of “flexible, creative and immersive opportunities for brands to engage with the terminal’s affluent passenger audience”. High-profile opportunities include: the Couture Portals, Couture Towers, Baggage Hall Domination and T2 Motion. Brands advertising across the Terminal 2 portfolio at the launch included: Estée Lauder, Burberry, Samsung and Vodafone. Nick Webb, head of category at Heathrow, enthuses: “Heathrow has long been a sought after site for advertisers and the opening of Terminal 2 is no exception. With 16 million passengers passing through the terminal each year from 26 airlines, brands have a unique opportunity to communicate with customers from over 50 destinations.” Terminal 2 is the home of Star Alliance and has a prestigious retail offering including world-leading names such as the first-ever John Lewis in an airport and the Perfectionists’ Café by Heston Blumenthal.
From Russia with love
Moscow Sheremetyevo has selected AECOM to implement a new 15mppa capacity Terminal B and Inter-Terminal Communication development projects as it expands before the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The airport says AECOM will provide a scope of construction project management services: co-ordination and control over design works, control over survey execution, and arrangement and co-ordination of technical supervision. Previously Sheremetyevo International Airport and AECOM successfully co-operated on two key projects – construction of Sheremetyevo Terminal E and the new terminal at Vladivostok International Airport. Airport officials say construction of the new terminal in the northern area of Sheremetyevo will ensure increase in passenger traffic to 53mppa by 2023 while maintaining a high level of service.
Food glorious food
Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) has upgraded its retail and F&B offering in response to rising demand fuelled by the gateway’s expanding route network. New openings in Terminal A include Access Point – a brand-new concept created for SJC by HMSHost – and a Sunset News store, which has been re-opened by World Duty Free Group North America. The airport claims that both new facilities have been warmly welcomed by Delta, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue passengers flying out of gates 1 to 8. Access Point is a tech-themed lounge serving light bites, premium spirits, wine, tap and bottled beers to thirsty passengers who have extra time prior to boarding. “The spring and summer seasons have brought more destinations and added frequencies to the places Silicon Valley travellers want to go, creating more demand for concessions in our terminals,” admits SJC’s director of aviation, Kim Becker Aguirre. Other new outlets planned for Terminal A this summer/autumn include Einstein Bros Bagels, Red Mango Yogurt & Smoothies and Sip Savvy (a wine bar), operated by Pacific Gateway Concessions. The Californian gateway offers 46 concessions in Terminals A and B, both pre and post-security.
Bosch Security Systems Contact: Ines Kljucar Address: Attn: Marketing Strategic (ST/MKS), Postfach 11 11, 85626 Grasbrunn, Germany Tel: +49 89 6290 1071 Email: Ines.kljucar@de.bosch.com Website: www.boschsecurity.com Bosch Security Systems is a leading global supplier of security, safety and communications products, solutions and services. Roughly 12,000 associates generated sales of €1.5 billion in fiscal year 2013. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Automotive Technology, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 360 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 50 countries. ICRAVE Contact: Sarah Nelkin, development director Address: 1140 Broadway, New York, NY 10001, USA Tel: +1 646 812-7084 Email: sarah@icrave.com Website: www.icrave.com ICRAVE is a New York-based experiential design and branding studio that re-imagines built and digital environments. At the forefront of redefining the modern airport and travel experience, the firm has been activating terminal gates with design concepts for F&B or concession spaces in airports across North America since 2007. RDG Concessions Contact: Ralph Glenn, president Address: 2104 Adams Ave, San Leandro, CA 94577, USA Tel: +1 510 569-7969 x1011 Email: ralph@rdgconcessions.com Website: www.RDGTravel.com RDG Concessions utilises over 30 years of domestic and international retail travel experience to design quality travel merchandise and accessories that are tailored to the specific needs of the traveller, all at a price that both the cost-conscious and value-added traveller appreciates and enjoys.
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The last word Airport World gets up close and personal with Roddy Boggus, senior vice president/aviation director at Parsons Brinckerhoff and chairman of ACI’s World Business Partners Advisory Board.
Factfile
Is being ‘environmentally friendly’ a major issue for architects when designing an airport terminal?
Name: Roddy Boggus Age: 52
I think it is, and it is only becoming more so. We’ve watched all but two of the ACI regions adopt Airport Carbon Accreditation and the feeling is the last two regions, including North America, will adopt this programme in 2014 or no later than 2015. Being sustainable and working for carbon neutrality is becoming a very big issue for many airports around the world.
Nationality: American
Job title: Senior vice president/ aviation director at Parsons Brinckerhoff
Time in aviation industry: 26 years Best known for: Involvement in
industry and Boggus Talk Articles Little known fact: Grew up in the
gospel and country music industry and was a gospel, top-40 and club
What are the trends driving terminal design today? The prime trends I’m experiencing today are, not necessarily in this order: (i) Non-aeronautical revenue generation (concessions): airports are needing to rely more and more on revenue that does not come directly from the air carriers to make ends meet and to maintain their facilities. (ii) Customer service: Sometimes it’s a battle of how you handle low-cost carriers and legacy carriers in the same facility, but customer service varies greatly from airport to airport. At the end of the day how a passenger feels about an airport does have influence on which carrier they fly and where they fly from when they have options. (iii) Security: Still a big space requirement that can vary greatly as newer technology becomes available. Unlike many electronic systems, security technology for airports does not always get smaller as it improves. (iv) Baggage systems: Not only do they require a lot of space but how they work many times defines how passengers are allowed to check-in and where they can check-in. (v) Technology and the bandwidth to support it: Everything requires
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DJ in the 70s and 80s
bandwidth. The customer, back-of-house, security firms, airlines, and now even aircraft. (vi) Airlines: Many airports, due to airline agreements, need airline approval for capital improvements. This is allowing airlines to have a significant say in what the terminal design is and more importantly how much it costs.
do you go into a fantastically volumetric new terminal building with expertly designed architectural and theatrical lighting only to find a few years later that many of those lights are no longer working because it is too difficult or too costly to replace lighting that is not easily reachable without construction scaffolding?
Does bigger necessarily mean better?
Do you think airport terminals will look very different to today in 20 years time?
I don’t believe it does. In fact, except for areas allocated to security and baggage, some parts of airport terminals should be shrinking, specifically the ticketing and check-in wing. Technology has almost eliminated the need for a dedicated ticketing and check-in facility. Certainly the larger volume of space, the more energy it takes to run it. That’s without the cost of cleaning and maintaining the facility. Some terminals have become so large and so volumetric that the inside air quality starts to resemble the outside air quality. How many times
Perhaps. New terminals are not built every day and when they are they typically have a 40 to 60 year lifespan before demolition or major remodelling. While the interior use of space may be modified several times during this period, I don’t believe we will see anything really new. Part of this is because the airport is still primarily designed around the number of aircraft you have to have contact with during the projected peak hour. That defines your concourse and that traffic, in turn, helps define your ‘head house’ or
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landside terminal building. Now if we see the combination of traditional aircraft with low orbital aircraft, like we are seeing at spaceports, then we may see something new, but as long as aircraft have a long cylindrical fuselage with two wings and a tail, I expect no exceptional changes.
What would you say to companies considering becoming WBPs? Like many things you reap what you sow. I tell people that if you sit around and wait for things to happen to you, they will, but if you get out and lead you can define what happens to you. Being involved in the WBP programme is a way to collaborate with key industry leaders on the airline side as well as the airport side. It is a way to speak directly to your current and future clients. It is a way to be seen as an expert, to make presentations to your peers and industry, to write technical papers on events challenging our industry today and a way to network that is not available anywhere else. AW