Airport World, Issue 5, 2013

OctoberNovember 2013
Volume 18 Issue 5
www.aci.aero
In the spotlight: Information Technology
Airports: Dubai, Las Vegas, Burgas & Varna
Interviewed: The FAAs Michael Huerta
Plus: Security, retail & airfield safety
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IT: The journey
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Take your piece of Viennas cake:
Millions of Hungarian, Czech,
Slovak and Austrian passengers.
Treat your airline with a luscious speciality, available only in
Vienna: Thanks to our location in the heart of Europe we are
the home airport for millions in 4 countries. For more details
scan the QR code or visit www.viennaairport.com/cake
VIE-AV-PA-195x276_Sachertorte.indd 1 22.08.13 17:37
3 AIRPORT WORLD/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013
AW
OPINION
H
ow did we get to October so quickly?
It seems like only yesterday I
was planning our rst issue of
the year and now, Im increasingly
being asked for my editorial plan
for 2014!
There will be plenty to look forward to in
2014, I can assure you, but were not there
quite yet as there are still three major ACI
events and inter airport Europe to go before
year-end and, of course, this Information
Technology (IT) themed October/November
issue to read at your leisure.
When it comes to IT, it is almost
impossible to overstate the impact that
advancements in technology have had on all
our lives over the past 30 years.
Who could have guessed in 1983, for
example, that three decades later 75% of
the worlds population would have [access
to] a mobile phone (according to The World
Bank), and little thing called the Internet
would transform the way we live and
do business.
Ever wondered why all those telephone
kiosks in airport terminals have vanished?
No, well thats exactly my point, as in this
era of the connected traveller, nobody uses
them anymore, as we all have our own
mobile phones and often several other
communication devices with us.
And as you can read in this issue, there
is so much more to come in terms of aviation
and the airport environment.
We discover more about the benets of
collaborative decision-making (CDM); mobile
advertising; near eld communication; and
how IT can be used to excite the customer
and boost retail revenues.
And to those airports out there that only
update their websites once or twice a year,
take a look at the feature on page 44 and see
what some of the experts think about that!
We also have some IT news of our own, as
we shall shortly launch a responsive website
for better viewing on smartphones and
tablets, and by year-end, well unveil the rst
ever Airport World app, which we hope will
make it easier and more convenient for you to
read your favourite aviation magazine
whether sitting in the garden at home having
a coffee, waiting for a ight at the airport,
or climbing Kilimanjaro!
So, if you are reading this online in
November/December and nding it quick and
easy to view the IT articles and other main
features in this issue, please let us know.
The issue also contains airport prole
features on Dubai World Central, Las
VegasMcCarran and Bulgarias Black Sea
gateways, while our regular Airport Exchange
column features Warsaw Chopin.
Finally, we learn more about Frankfurt
Airports customer service programme;
launching retail operations in emerging
countries; perimeter security; and health
and wellbeing.
It seems crazy now, but looking back to
my teenage years in the late 1970s/early
80s, I can clearly remember being almost
spellbound by the rst TV remote controls,
being dumbstruck by the invention of
the digital watch and laughing out loud
when someone suggested that wed all
have our own personal computers in the
new millennium.
Whats that expression again? Time ies
when youre having fun!
Editor, Joe Bates, contemplates
all things information technology,
including the launch of a new
responsive Airport World
website and app.
Airport World
Editor
Joe Bates +44 (0) 20 8831 7507
joe@airport-world.com
Deputy Editor
Caroline Cook +44 (0) 20 8831 7560
caroline@airport-world.com
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Andrew Montgomery +44 (0) 20 8831 7564
andy@airport-world.com
Mark Draper +44 (0) 20 8831 7504
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Erica Cooper
erica@aviationmedia.aero
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Jos Cuenca +44 (0) 20 8831 7517
jose@aviationmedia.aero
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Jonathan Lee +44 (0) 20 8831 7563
jonathan@airport-world.com
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kalpesh@airport-world.com
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andrewh@airport-world.com
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Airport World is published six times a year
for the members of ACI. The opinions and
views expressed in Airport World are those
of the authors and do not necessarily
reect an ACI policy or position.
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Digital
age
1he muguzne o the Arports Counc lnternutonu
3 Opinion
10 News
12 ACI News
15 View from the top
16 The Dubai phenomenon
Dubai Airports CEO, Paul Grifths, talks to Sarah McCay about his plans for
Dubai World CentralAl Maktoum International Airport ahead of the launch of
passenger ights this October.
20 Bigger and brighter
Caroline Cook nds out how Fraports Bulgarian venture is boosting the performance of its
Black Sea airports.
22 Headline act
What has new aviation director, Rosemary Vassiliadis, got in store for Las VegasMcCarran?
Alex Hannaford reports.
27 Future thinking
Assistant director for facilitation & IT, Arturo Garcia-Alonso, contemplates the importance of IT
and the launch of ACIs Airport IT Security Programme.
28 Enabling growth
Technology will be the key driver for the airports of the future, writes ARINC Asia-Pacics
senior director for aviation and ground, systems solutions, Jeff Amiri.
Issue 5
Volume 18
Volume18Issue5
www.aci.aero
Airports: Dubai, Las Vegas, Burgas &Varna
THE MAGAZINE OF THE AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT WORLD FEBRUARY-JANUARY 2011
AIRPORT WORLD OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013
IT: The journey
has just begun
THE MAGAZINE OF THE AIRPORTS COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL
In this issue
CONTENTS
5
AIRPORT WORLD/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013
Director General
Angela Gittens
Chair
Yiannis Paraschis (Athens, Greece)
Vice Chair
Fredrick J Piccolo (Sarasota, USA)
Immediate Past Chair
Max Moore-Wilton (Sydney, Australia)
Treasurer
Louis E Miller (Atlanta, USA)
ACI WORLD GOVERNING BOARD
DIRECTORS
Africa (3)
Dalil Guendouz (Casablanca, Morocco)
Pascal Komla (Lom, Togo)
Robinson Misitala (Livingstone, Zambia)
Asia-Pacic (8)
Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
VP Agrawal (Delhi, India)
Ghanem Al-Hajri (Sharjah, UAE)
Dennis Chant (Gold Coast, Australia)
Zhiyi Dong (Beijing, China)
Seow Hiang Lee (Singapore)
Kerrie Mather (Sydney, Australia)
Kosaburo Morinaka (Tokyo, Japan)
Europe (7)
Declan Collier (Dublin, Ireland)
Michael Kerkloh (Munich, Germany)
Yiannis Paraschis (Athens, Greece)
Tonci Peovic (Zagreb, Croatia)
Ad Rutten (Amsterdam, Holland)
Stefan Schulte (Frankfurt, Germany)
Jos-Manuel Vargas (Madrid, Spain)
Latin America & Caribbean (3)
Philippe Baril (Quito, Ecuador)
Fernando Bosque (Guadalajara, Mexico)
Hctor Navarrete Muoz (Merida, Mexico)
North America (7)
Thella Bowens (San Diego, USA)
David Edwards (Greenville, USA)
Frank Miller (San Antonio, USA)
Reg K Milley (Edmonton, Canada)
Fredrick J Piccolo (Sarasota, USA)
Mark Reis (Seattle, USA)
Maureen Riley (Salt Lake City, USA)
Regional Advisers to the
World Governing Board (7)
Larry Cox (Memphis, USA)
Stephen Gichuki (Nairobi, Kenya)
Seow Hiang Lee (Singapore)
Bongani Maseko (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Barry Rempel (Winnipeg, Canada)
Earl Richards (Jamaica)
Miguel Southwell (Atlanta, USA)
Observer
World Business Partner Board Chairperson
Randy Pope (Burns & McDonnell)
Correct as of Septemer 20, 2013
CONTENTS
7
30 Going mobile
Ever-inventive brands are using smartphones to connect with passengers at airports and on
almost every stage of their journey, writes Jeremy Coreld.
32 Power to the people
Alaistair Deacon discusses the importance of enhancing the passenger experience through
collaborative decision making.
36 Change for good
Eric Miart provides a progress report on Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) and
discusses the reasons for its comparatively slow uptake outside of Europe.
38 Bank on data
Better analysis of sales data can help airports boost retail revenues and customer
satisfaction levels, writes John de Giorgio.
42 Fast times
Does near eld communication (NFC) hold the key to faster passenger processing and
delivering the dream of seamless travel? Renaud Irminger shares his insights.
44 Web wonders
Barry Manseld reports on the latest in airport web design. How can sites be improved to
boost customer communication, the airport experience and operator revenues?
48 Thinking outside the box
Adopting a multi-channel approach to retailing will help concessionaires maximise sales
revenues in the years ahead, write Andy Morrey and Sophie Albizua.
50 Airport Marketing Exchange
In the rst of a regular series of exchanges, David McMullen catches up with Przemysaw
Przybylski of Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) to exchange ideas and explain why maximising the
social media potential of your airport begins with having a clear plan.
52 One vision
Airport World rounds-up the latest aireld safety news from across the globe.
RUNNING HEAD
8
Airport World on Twitter
Airport World is now tweeting.
You can follow us @airportworldmag for the
latest industry updates.
56 Dont worry, be happy!
Stuart Bowden discovers more about Frankfurt Airports innovative
Great to Have You Here customer service programme.
58 Lands of opportunity
Duty free expert Paul Topping provides some insight into the challenges
and opportunities of launching retail operations in emerging markets.
62 Rest assured
From enchanted gardens to yoga rooms and health stations, Sarah
McCay takes a look at the latest health and wellbeing initiatives being
introduced at airports around the world.
64 First line of defence
John Romanowich discusses best practices for airport perimeter security.
66 Relief effort
Dr Teo Babun and James Smith provide a special report on the success of
an initiative designed to make airports in the Latin America & Caribbean
region more resilient to extreme weather and natural disasters.
69 Project watch
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
71 ACIs World Business Partners
74 Environment news
76 The last word
FAA Administrator, Michael Huerta, talks to Joe Bates about leadership,
budgets, safety and the development of the US airport system.
78 ACI trafc trends

Airport World on Facebook
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airports, ACI World Business Partners and
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CONTENTS
8
Mayor scraps
Midway privatisation
For the second time in ve years the planned
privatisation of Chicago Midway has collapsed at the
eleventh hour this time due to one of the two
remaining bidders dropping out of the race for a 40-year
lease to operate the gateway.
Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, pulled the plug on
any potential deal on September 5 after the Industry
Funds Management/Manchester Airport Group
consortium dropped out of the bidding, citing valuation
issues for the decision.
Their decision left only the Macquarie Group/Ferrovial
consortium as the sole remaining bidder.
The mayor has decided not to move forward with the
Midway leasing agreement, said the mayors
spokeswoman, Sarah Hamilton.
We set a high bar that required a new level of
taxpayer protection. The companies did not meet that
bar and could not make an offer that would meet what
taxpayers deserve.
A previous attempt to lease it to privatise Midway
zzled out in 2009 after winning bidder MIDCo
comprising Citi Infrastructure Fund, Vancouver Airport
Services (YVRAS) and John Hancock Life Insurance
Company failed to secure the nancing for the
proposed $2.52 billion, 99-year deal.
10
NEWS
News in brief
Somaliland, a self-declared republic in east Africa,
has completed a renovation of the runway at Egal
International Airport, which serves its capital
Hargeisa. The gateway now boasts a revamped
2.4km runway and expanded terminals.
Cintas Corporation has named Tampa International
Airport as a nalist in its 12th annual Americas
Best Restroom contest. Its toilets were renovated
earlier this year as part of the airports $30 million
Main Terminal Modernization project. Designed
to provide a bright, clean atmosphere with a
fresh, Florida feel, each restroom has a wall-
sized image of owers, birds, sh and other native
Florida wildlife. The airport quips: Our facilities are
specially designed for folks who have to go when
they are on the go.
Warsaw Chopin Airports new airport hotel has
opened for business. Located 800 metres from the
gateway, the three-star Hampton by Hilton Warsaw
Airport Hotel boasts 116 rooms and onsite parking
for 100 vehicles.
Dufry has signed a master concessionaire agreement
to operate duty free shops at Sri Lankas newly
opened Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.
The gateway will be equipped to handle 5mppa
when its second phase expansion programme is
complete in 2016.
The rededication ribbon-cutting ceremony
for the historic airport terminal building at
the New Orleans Lakefront Airport took place
on September 28. Devastated by Hurricane
Katrina in August 2005, this original structure
of classic Art Deco design, completed in 1933,
was one of the rst of its kind to operate in the
United States.
Trillion-dollar industry
The Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) has released a report showing that
aviation supports 26.8 million jobs and $1.1 trillion in GDP across the
21 economies in the Asia Pacic Economic Cooperation (APEC) region.
According to its Aviation: Benets Beyond Borders APEC report, there are
857 commercial airports in the regions air transport system.
Paul Steele, ATAGs executive director, commented: The breadth and
importance of air transport to economies in APEC is impressive. The fact that,
ranked by GDP, the regions air transport industry would be the fth largest
APEC economy shows how large the industry is.
The report estimates that by 2030, air transport will support up to
45 million jobs and $3.2 trillion in GDP. However, it cautions that if growth
were just one per cent lower each year, up to eight million of those jobs
would remain uncreated.
Steele continued: Aviation is a great facilitator and catalyst for
economic growth, but it needs to be growth in a sustainable and systematic
way. We must ensure that the industry and governments work together to
build the needed infrastructure to facilitate this growth. But any new
infrastructure must t in to a broader strategic plan.
Out of this world
Houston Airport System (HAS) has unveiled its vision for the future for Ellington
Airport (EFD) by releasing conceptual renderings of a possible Spaceport.
The designs capture various elements of the project, including a terminal, an
aviation museum and the accompanying industries that are expected to arrive,
should Houston become the United States ninth licensed Spaceport.
Houston Mayor, Annise Parker, stated: We believe a licensed Spaceport in
Houston would not only serve as an economic generator for the city but would also
enhance Houstons well-deserved reputation as a leader and key player in the
aerospace industry.
If the licensing is secured, HAS would proceed in establishing the infrastructure
required to accommodate enterprises such as space vehicle assembly, launching of
micro-satellites, astronaut training, zero gravity experimentation and space tourism.
Aviation director, Mario Diaz, commented: This is not a conversation based
on science ction or futuristic projections. This is a conversation about how
Houston can access and enhance an industry that is already well-established and
growing exponentially.
NEWS
11
Malcolm Johns will replace Jim Boult as Christchurch
International Airports CEO at the beginning of
2014. Johns is an experienced businessman and
currently the chief executive of passenger transport
network, InterCity Group. He is also deputy chair of
Tourism New Zealand.
Manas Airport in Bishkek has opened an
immigration facility for economic migrants this
month as Kyrgyzstans airport operator chases
ambitious growth targets. Kyrgyzstan is aiming
to develop its air capacity under a National
Development Strategy for 2013-17.
Dublin Airport has passed a major milestone in
its online communications by topping 40,000
followers on Twitter. In a recent survey of 613
airports on Twitter, Dublin Airport was ranked
behind only Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester
Airport, Simon Bolivar Airport in Venezuela and
London City Airport.
Hamburg Airport now hosts Germanys only
Victorias Secret outlet. The store is focused
on skin and body care products and travel
accessories such as handbags, passport wallets,
scarves and sunglasses.
Kim Aguirre is the new director of aviation at Mineta
San Jos International Airport. Assistant director
of aviation since 2008 and the gateways CCO since
2011, she takes over from Bill Sherry who is retiring
after eight years.
Dr Stefan Schultes term as CEO of Fraport, due to
end in August next year, has been extended until
August 2019. Schulte, who has led the German
airport operator since September 2009, has been
given an early renewal on his contract to ensure
continuity, according to Karlheinz Weimar, chairman
of the supervisory board.
For daily news updates, visit www.airport-world.com
Surplus sale
Denver International Airport (DIA), Colorado, has raised $155,200 after
selling 17 pieces of airport maintenance and operations equipment.
Several Colorado public use airports purchased equipment
ranging from dump trucks to snow ploughs at reduced prices at the
sale this summer.
The DIA Surplus Equipment Program has helped more than 20
Colorado airports purchase over 80 pieces of airport-related heavy
equipment since 2005.
Michael Huemann, manager of Leadville-Lake County Airport which
bought a sweeper/scrubber, a generator and a 10ft dump truck with snow
plough commented: The equipment we have purchased has saved the
county thousands of dollars and has increased the amount of time our
runway is open during the snowy winter months.
Goodwill hunting
The Allegheny County Airport Authority has announced a pilot programme for
archery-only hunting in designated zones on Pittsburgh International property.
Roughly 2,362 acres of land, separated from the airport by a fence line
and interstate highway, will be made available for authorised hunters.
Hunters will be cited for trespass if they are found to be hunting outside
the designated zones on the airport property.
Limited to the autumn archery deer hunting season which also
overlaps with the turkey season the programme aims to benet the
community, manage wildlife near the airport and reduce motor vehicle
accidents on the interstate.
Pennsylvania state Rep, Mark Mustio, enthuses: This is a good example
of government at several levels listening to the concerns of the residents and
addressing those concerns.
Jewel in the crown
Changi Airport aims to woo tourists and transit
passengers with Project Jewel, a multi-purpose
building featuring a garden and giant waterfall.
Under plans from a group of designers, led by the
architect Moshe Safdie, known for Singapores Marina
Bay Sands resort, Project Jewel will occupy an area of
30,500sqm by Terminal 1.
The design includes check-in counters, a lush
garden and a waterfall descending from the glass and
steel structures roof.
Changi Airport Group (CAG) is working on the
concept with CapitaMalls Asia, one of Asias largest
listed shopping centre developers.
In combination with work on Terminal 4, due
to complete by 2017, it will raise Changis handling
capacity up to 85 million passengers a year,
claims CAG.
Lee Seow Hiang, CAGs CEO, enthuses: With
Project Jewel, we are pleased to be developing an
exciting product that will swing travellers to choose
Changi Airport, and Singapore.
Expected to be ready by 2018 and linked by
walkways to the terminals, Project Jewel will be built
on the site of a open air car park next to Terminal 1.
Making an impression
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) in Mauritius has inaugurated a
new $305 million terminal, raising its capacity to 4.5mppa.
The 56,900sqm terminal is the largest piece of infrastructure ever built in Mauritius,
according to Aroports de Paris Management (ADPM), the subsidiary of ADP, which oversaw
the project.
Constructed with 140,000 tonnes of steel, the terminal is intended to give an impression
of lightness through a roof modelled on the ravenala palm, a tree found across Mauritius.
ADPM CEO, Jacques Follain, says: The terminal doubles the airports capacity and will
play a crucial role in the economic development of Mauritius.
T
he Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety Programme was developed by ACI
in response to the aviation and stakeholder communities call-to-action
to improve aviation safety worldwide.
It helps airports identify and mitigate aviation safety vulnerabilities
through peer review missions, education, mentoring and best practice
guidance to enhance the safety of aviation operations at aerodromes.
APEX, by its very nature of collaborative interaction between airport peers,
promotes frank and open discussion on challenges faced by local operators,
and helps to identify relevant solutions implemented by Safety Partners
within their operations abroad.
The Programme complements the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan and
other industry initiatives to ensure a holistic and coordinated approach that
optimises outcomes for the benet of all.
Airport Safety Partners are at the very heart of ACIs APEX in
Safety Programme. They subscribe to the philosophy of no airport
left behind and are leaders in the promotion of safety across
geographical boundaries.
What are the benets for safety partners?
Staff development: Unique opportunities to recognise high
performing staff and provide them with a learning environment
that promotes knowledge transfer and knowledge acquisition.
Route partnership: Ensuring that best practices are integral to the
start and end of a journey.
Host Airport mentoring: Safety Partners often form bonds with
host airports that extend beyond the APEX review to include
reciprocal visits and partnerships.
If the programme is to continue growing and responding to
industry needs, APEX must increase the number of Safety Partners in
all world regions.
In fact, the last few months have proven to be very positive with
18 airport operators signing up, or formally committing, to the APEX
in Safety Programme.
Especially encouraging is the response from the ACI North America
(ACI-NA) region, which accounts for 50% of new growth. In addition to
this tremendous and positive response from ACI-NA, we will continue
reaching out to the global community of airports to enable this momentum
to continue in the coming months and years.
What do you have to do to become a Safety Partner?
Becoming a Safety Partner is easy and the commitment brings
many rewards. Safety Partners are simply requested to provide an
airport safety professional to take part in two APEX Safety Reviews
(each typically lasting one week), on mutually agreeable dates, in a
two-year period.
No costs are associated with serving as a Safety Partner, as the Host
Airport assumes both the travel and living expenses.
In return, Safety Partner professionals benet from unique
professional development and networking opportunities and the status
of the Safety Partner airport is further elevated by virtue of its leadership
in the area of safety best practices.
ACI WORLD NEWS
Become an APEX in Safety Partner today
Visit the website and sign up at www.aci.aero/apex
12
Christopher Miles, assistant director, APEX in Safety, provides an update on ACIs global
safety programme.
World in motion
ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, at the
launch of the APEX in Safety programme in Calgary.
ACI WORLD NEWS
13
ACI offices
ACI World
Angela Gittens,
Director General
PO Box 302
800 Rue du Square Victoria
Montral, Quebec H4Z 1G8
Canada
Tel : +1 514 373 1200
Fax : +1 514 373 1201
aci@aci.aero
www.aci.aero
ACI Fund for Developing
Nations Airports
Angela Gittens,
Managing Director
c/o Geneva,
Switzerland
Tel: + 1 514 373 1200
Fax: +1 514 373 1201
acifund@aci.aero
ACI Asia-Pacic
Patti Chau,
Regional Director
Hong Kong SAR, China
Tel: +852 2180 9449
Fax: +852 2180 9462
info@aci-asiapac.aero
www.aci-asiapac.aero
ACI Africa
Ali Tounsi,
Regional Secretary
Casablanca, Morocco
Tel: +212 619 775 101
atounsi@aci-africa.aero
www.aci-africa.aero
ACI Europe
Olivier Jankovec,
Director General
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (2) 552 0978
Fax: +32 (2) 502 5637
danielle.michel@aci-europe.org
www.aci-europe.org
ACI Latin America & Caribbean
Javier Martinez Botacio,
Director General
Quito, Ecuador
Tel: +593 2294 4900
Fax: +593 2294 4974
jmartinez@aci-lac.aero
www.aci-lac.aero
ACI North America
Deborah McElroy,
Interim President
Washington DC, USA
Tel: +1 202 293 8500
Fax: +1 202 331 1362
postmaster@aci-na.org
www.aci-na.org
ACI represents 573 members operating 1,751 airports in 174 countries and territories, which in 2012 handled 5.7 billion passengers, 92.5 million
tonnes of cargo and 79 million aircraft movements. ACI is the international association of the worlds airports. It is a non-prot organisation,
the prime purpose of which is to advance the interests of airports and promote professional excellence in airport management and operations.
March 12-14
ACI Airport Economics
& Finance Conference
& Exhibition
London, UK
2014 2014
May 26-28
ACI World Annual
General Assembly
ACI Asia-Pacic
Regional Conference
Seoul, South Korea
2013
November 2-5
ACI Latin America &
Caribbean Regional
Conference &
Exhibition
Montevideo, Uruguay
2014
April 29-30
ATAG Aviation &
Environment Summit
Geneva, Switzerland
2013
October 19-23

ACI Africa Regional
Conference &
Exhibition
Lom, Togo
ACI events
O
ver the last twenty years, we have witnessed the
transformation of the airport industry as structural and
ownership changes have brought new stakeholders and
business models into the industry.
Competition between airports has reached new heights
and the flying public is demanding a higher level and greater
variety of services.
Regulators, too, are paying closer attention to the quality of
service delivered at airports. Indeed, regulators worldwide are
increasingly requiring airports (either run by the public sector, under
concession contracts or fully privatised) to benchmark the quality of
the services provided against other international airports.
In light of the above, ACI developed and launched the
Airport Service Quality (ASQ) initiative in 2006 to help airports
improve the quality of their services to the travelling public. Since
then, the ASQ survey has become the airport industrys standard
for measuring customer satisfaction with 281 participating airports
from around the world, including more than 75% of the worlds
100 top airports.
The ASQ initiative comprises four core programmes that provide
key customer survey and management information: ASQ Survey,
ASQ Performance, ASQ Assured and ASQ Retail.
It shows airports how to get maximum return from their
investment in service delivery. It also allows airports to create
performance guidelines and set up incentive programmes, with the
goal of maximising passenger satisfaction and spend.
The ASQ Survey is the agship programme which consists of a
customer satisfaction survey measuring passenger perception of the
quality of services provided by an airport, and provides insight into
the average passengers on the day experience.
The programme allows participating airports to benchmark their
results with other airports in their selected panel, as well as with
airports in their size category, region and globally.
The ASQ Survey uses the same questionnaire, methodology and
sample plan principles at all participant airports, which ensures
comparable results.
While each participating airport receives the data from all
other participating airports (allowing it to identify best practice
and to measure its own performance precisely), all participants
are contractually bound to preserve the confidentiality of the
data and results.
The survey eldwork is administered by the participating airport
and the completed survey forms are centrally processed.
The ASQ survey is based on a self-completion standard
questionnaire, which is distributed to passengers in waiting areas
at departure gates of pre-selected ights, according to the sample
plan dened for each participant airport.
The questionnaire translated into 35 languages with additional
languages translated if needed is designed for airports of all sizes
through three different versions of the ASQ Survey, namely: ASQ
Main, ASQ Regional and ASQ Unique.
The Main programme runs for a full calendar year, with
surveys undertaken in each of the four quarters of the year.
The Regional programme is specically designed for airports
with fewer than two million passengers with two survey periods:
summer and winter. Lastly, the ASQ Unique Survey represents a
single study in a particular period of time, using the same ASQ
standard questionnaire.
This version is especially designed for airports that want to take
a snapshot of their performance possibly with a view to participating
in ASQ Main or ASQ Regional.
ASQ Survey covers 34 key service areas and includes eight major
categories such as access, check-in, security, airport facilities, food
and beverage providers, and more. All participating airports use the
same survey questions, which creates an industry standard set of
responses. All participating airports see the ASQ survey results for
all other participating airports.
Airports have found that high customer satisfaction is good
business. The information ASQ provides allows airports to optimise
investments and initiatives; monitor performance of suppliers; share
best practice with other airports; assess the performance of
management; and market their airport more successfully.
If you want to nd out more about ASQ, visit ACIs website at
www.aci.aero/Airport-Service-Quality or contact Rafael Echevarne,
director of economics and programme development, at
rechavarne@aci.aero
AW
15 15
15
Director general, Angela Gittens, reflects
on the success of ACIs Airport Service
Quality (ASQ) programme and why
increasing customer satisfaction at
your airport is good for business.
View from
the top
ACI VIEWPOINT
AIRPORT REPORT: DUBAI
16
Dubai Airports CEO, Paul Griffiths, talks to
Sarah McCay about his plans for Dubai World
CentralAl Maktoum International Airport ahead
of the launch of passenger flights this October.
The Dubai
phenomenon
I
f any place on earth has the X-factor, surely it is Dubai, which has
grown from a small trading post in the Gulf to one of the worlds most
successful aviation hubs in less than 30 years.
For years, Dubai has arguably led the way for aviation growth in
the Middle East, and with Dubai World CentralAl Maktoum
International Airport (DWC) set to open to passenger ights in October,
its phenomenal growth over the last decade shows no sign of
slowing down.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) has seen record growth in
passenger and cargo gures year-on-year.
Indeed, passenger trafc hit 32.6 million in the rst half of 2013,
making it the busiest six months in the airports history, and air cargo
volumes rose 10.2% to 1,196,894 tonnes during the same period.
As a result, plans are afoot to increase DXBs capacity to 90 million
passengers per annum by 2018.
For any other destination, this would seem like a phenomenal feat,
but not for Dubai. The city that has risen from the desert to become a
tourism and business metropolis in a matter of decades is about to
open a second international airport for passenger trafc.
An even bigger international airport, tipped to handle more than
160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo annually once
fully operational, Dubai World Central will commence passenger ights
in October, when it begins its quest to become the busiest airport
in the world.
A fresh approach
According to Paul Grifths, CEO of operator Dubai Airports, the plan is
to completely reinvent the airport experience at DWC.
We want to take a fresh view of the entire airport product, he
enthuses. Most airports today have built on the legacy processes of
the 1940/50s. Our aim is to have an airport like no other that will have
a product and customer experience like no other.
We want to make the passenger journey much shorter. We aim to
take the entire process and cut out as many steps as possible. There are
automated systems for all the legacy processes, such as check-in,
passport checks etc.
The passenger can check-in from their home or ofce, ensure their
baggage is tagged and ready, have their passport details and proles
checked so their security status is already predetermined, all before
leaving for the airport.
The aim is to converge a lot of the legacy processes and make the
whole airport process pretty invisible but no less thorough.
The majority of DWCs passenger movements will be transit
passengers, and again, the aim is to make transfer times shorter.
This makes the end to end journey more attractive, points out
Grifths, who uses Emirates Newcastle to Sydney service as a prime
example of how Dubai connects the world.
Before the direct Emirates ight you had to travel to Heathrow and
then via Bangkok or Singapore, so two intermediary airports. Now, one
airline ies direct, with a short transit in Dubai.
This is a huge time saving and we hope that will be the case for
many more destinations.
Faster turnarounds
Grifths is also looking at streamlining the airside experience.
At the moment, the way the airport turnaround is managed is a
bit fragmented, he remarks.
His aim is to have one vehicle to turn an aircraft around in a short
time. There will be a complete review of the logistics behind this, but
the economics are clear: the shorter time spent on the tarmac the
better, both for the airport and for the airline.
Air trafc control capacity is another area Grifths and his team are
looking at in great detail.
Its no good having slick operations on the ground if you dont have
it in the air, he muses. We are looking at technical enhancements to
give us greater reliability in the air trafc control process.
The United Arab Emirates newest gateway, which ofcially
opened to cargo ights in June 2010, boasts a 92 metre high air
trafc control tower.
Customer comfort
Grifths is condent that passengers will particularly like what they nd
post-security, where cinemas, gyms, swimming pools and health and
beauty services are all on offer.
There is an opportunity to take the service beyond duty free and
integrate retail, entertainment and food & beverage, he says.
You can take everyone as an individual who might want to use their
leisure time in a different way. You create more choices but make them
cost effective.
In F&B, we are now working to reect the international prole of
our customers with a load of international brands. When we opened
Concourse A [at DXB] in January, we were able to go out to the world
with a number of brand names. Our product service has to reect our
global market.
Target busting
Phase 1 of DWC includes a single A380 compatible runway and
64 remote aircraft stands. Once completed, DWC will have up to four
passenger terminals and ve parallel runways, each 4.5km long.
Initial passenger capacity at Dubai World Central is 5mppa, but with
an ambitious target of 160mppa by the mid 2020s.
Our aim is to build up capacity over time and we are just nding
out what the possibilities are to extend [beyond the target of
160mppa], reveals Grifths.
Passenger operations at DWC commence on October 27 with two
airlines: Saudi Arabias nasair and Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air.
Nasair plans to operate more than 50 ights a week between Dubai
and destinations in Saudi Arabia. The carrier already operates
950 weekly ights to 28 destinations with a eet of 21 aircraft
comprised of Airbus A320s and Embraer E190s.
Wizz Air will provide non-stop services linking DWC to Central and
Eastern Europe. It has a eet of 40 Airbus A320 aircraft operating over
1,500 weekly ights to 93 destinations.
Wizz Air will serve eastern parts of Europe giving access to the
winter sun market for a new category of visitors. It is a short ight down
to Dubai, and you are guaranteed excellent weather. There will be some
surprises from the network opportunities, Grifths promises.
Once the airport has the infrastructure and critical mass, Dubai-
based Emirates Airline is tipped to move its hub to DWC.
Emirates is such a size now that we have to get enough capacity to
operate a single hub as they are growing and we need a capacity of at
least 60-70mppa.
It takes a few years to make an airport of that sort of capacity,
Grifths points out.
17
While Emirates may move to DWC in the years to come, Grifths is
not working on creating a carbon copy of DXB, which is located in the
old town centre of Garhoud.
The good thing about DWC is that it is at the opposite end of Dubai
from DXB, so airlines can serve a completely new catchment area.
Regional carriers, especially low cost carriers, will see a lot of the
benets, with shorter transfer times to Downtown Dubai and the
marina area.

The airport forms the heart of a greater project also called Dubai
World Central, a $32 billion, 140sqkm multi-phase development of six
clustered zones that includes the Dubai Logistics City (DLC), Commercial
City, Residential City, Aviation City and Golf City.
The development is the regions rst integrated, multi-modal
transportation platform connecting air, sea and land.
Having an international airport on your doorstep is good for
business. Youll get logistics and manufacturing companies starting to
see the distribution links, notes Grifths. There are a huge amount of
business opportunities.
Cargo connectivity
Located in the vicinity of the Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone, with a bonded
road linking the airport with the seaport, DWC makes air-sea
connectivity achievable in four hours.
This makes the airport an important cargo hub, not just for the
region, but globally too, insists Grifths.
Phase one offers a cargo terminal building with a capacity of
250,000 tonnes a year. Once completed, the airport will have a capacity
for 12 million tonnes a year.
As previously mentioned, DWC opened to cargo operators in 2010,
and already, 34 cargo carriers are using the gateway, with cargo growing
by 144% in 2012 to 219,092 tonnes.
Emirates SkyCargo has conrmed that all dedicated freight ights
will be operated from its new cargo base at DWC from May 2014.
Two airports, one city
With DXB and DWC both falling under the Dubai Airports umbrella,
synergies are already forming between the two airports, but can
Dubai sustain both?
For Grifths, who was managing director of London Gatwick before
his 2007 move to Dubai, its a challenge hes happy to consider.
There are great economies of scale: a lot of our new staff will gain
experience at the established airport and we will also redeploy some of
our experienced staff to DWC, he says.
DWC will open with just a couple hundred staff. That gure will
denitely grow, but by how much is hard to gauge. Staff levels will
depend on the success of the automation reengineering, which will
cover labour intensive operations such as check-in.
So what will happen to DXB in the long-term, especially when and if
Emirates moves its hub to DWC?
We dont have to make a decision now, Grifths explains, adding
that the infrastructure at DXB is relatively young.
Complexity of airspace might be difcult to manage and that is
something we will look at, but obviously we can keep both operating for
quite some time.
If both airports do continue to operate, Dubai could be on its way
to serving more than 260mppa making it one of the worlds biggest
aviation hubs.
18
AW
Bigger and brighter
Caroline Cook finds out how Fraports Bulgarian venture is boosting the performance
of its Black Sea airports.
AIRPORT REPORT: BURGAS & VARNA
20
I
n less than a decade, Fraport Twin Star Airport Management (FTSAM)
has transformed two of Bulgarias busiest airports, with 2013
marking the operators biggest achievements in the country to date.
A joint venture between German airport operator Fraport and
40% partner Bulgarian Aviation Group Airport Services, FTSAM won the
35-year concession agreement for Burgas and Varna airports in 2006,
and soon developed the facilities master plans a feat anticipated for
several years.
Fraport started analysing Varna and Burgas ten years ago when the
Bulgarian government rst started going into concession agreements,
FTSAMs CEO, Aletta von Massenbach, told Airport World.
Educated as a lawyer with a postgraduate degree in project
management, von Massenbach a 17-year veteran of Fraport
joined FTSAM in October 2012 and is the only female CEO in
the Fraport portfolio.
She says: Bulgaria has huge potential and the Black Sea coast is
beautiful. The country has a good economic framework and we found
that the airports t our criteria. With a stable environment and good
partners, it made sense.
The company wasted no time moving forward with its plans and, in
addition to updating the existing infrastructure at both airports, began
construction on new passenger terminals at Varna and Burgas in
December 2011.
Taking up the challenge
Designed by Halcrow Group, Pascall+Watson and their Bulgarian
partners SavantElbul, the terminals are FTSAMs rst major steps in
turning the airports into world-class facilities.
Starting work in December 2011, a consortium formed between
TechnoimportExport and ItaHoldings built the infrastructure.
Varna Airports terminal opened its doors to the travelling
public on August 27. At 20,000sqm, its three times larger than its
predecessor and features upgraded technology to enhance the
passenger experience.
The processes are faster and there is a completely different
commercial offer, says von Massenbach. One of the best parts of our
new systems is that passengers dont notice them; they just enjoy the
good ow through the airport.
With 25 check-in desks; three boarding card checkpoints; eight
security lanes and seven gates, the terminal can cater for 2.3mppa.
The arrivals area split into Schengen and non-Schengen
has 12 passport control points, in addition to one 90m and two
60m baggage carousels.
The airports concessions offering has also increased dramatically;
passengers can now enjoy a 770sqm shopping area, run by Nuance BG
AD, and a 1,200sqm food and beverage space, including a 554sqm
external courtyard.
Able to handle 3.3mppa, Burgas Airports slightly larger facility,
due to open around the end of October, has an 800sqm shopping
area and 1,220sqm for F&B again, with a 554sqm courtyard.
It offers 31 check-in desks; three boarding card checkpoints;
nine security lanes, and eight gates.
The arrivals area also split into Schengen/non-Schengen
zones has 12 immigration points; one 90m and three
60m baggage carousels.
In addition to their much larger sizes, both terminals can be
easily expanded and offer exible use for seasonal trafc needs.
During the winter season, parts of both terminals can be
closed to save energy, states von Massenbach, adding that the
airports overall energy consumption levels have reduced as a
result of sustainable design.
In airport-wide efforts to optimise consumption, FTSAM has also
installed intelligent building management systems while various
ancillary facilities, such as the heat plants, have been renovated. The
company is part of Fraports wider environmental management system
and is certied by the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme.
While the opening of Burgas terminal depends on various
governmental and administrative procedures, von Massenbach told
Airport World that FTSAM was fully prepared for operations: Varna
acted as a benchmark for Burgas, so it has not been a new project for
us. Were hoping for a smooth process when it opens.
The two airports are around 120km apart, making the parallel
construction projects challenging.
Explaining why Burgas Airports terminal will become operational
months after its sister facility, von Massenbach notes: We couldnt
do both openings at the same time with the diligence we wanted. Our
aim was to nalise Varna rst and then move on to Burgas.
Despite original plans suggesting the terminals would open
concurrently, she insisted: We dont view October as a delay to
bring the project over the nish line.
We didnt want to inaugurate terminals at both of the twin
Black Sea airports during the middle of the high season.
Fraport is a cautious company and two terminals opening
at the same time was a challenging process.
Image courtesy of Fraport Twin
Star Airport Management.
Bigger and brighter
For example, during the runway reconstruction work last year at
VAR, the airport was closed with air trafc diverted to BOJ instead. We
can use the airports in tandem.
Next steps
The opening of the new terminals forms part of FTSAMs partnership
with the Bulgarian tourism board to boost visitor numbers to
the country.
In recent years, the airports have seen a rise in passengers from
Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, while trafc from the UK and Germany
has remained strong but stable.
We are seeing a tendency in travellers from Scandinavia as well,
adds von Massenbach. Now, its just a case of nding the right
marketing strategy to encourage this growth.
She continues: In terms of business, we are looking at how we can
optimise our commercial revenues and we expect a boost with these
inaugurations.
The company is concentrating on building its commercial revenues
for the time being but plans for the coming years are already in place.
Varna and Burgas master plans up to 2025 prioritise airside
development, explained von Massenbach. The landside is in shape
now at both airports. Weve already spent 165 million in seven years.
The runway at Varna was refurbished in 2012 and we now want to
work on the apron and taxiways at both airports, starting from 2016.
We also need to upgrade regular parts of the infrastructure on an
ongoing basis, such as the re rescue facilities, she says.
For Fraport as a whole, 2013 will also see the opening of St
Petersburgs new terminal. There is lots happening across the
company but we really are very excited about Bulgaria,
concludes von Massenbach.
AIRPORT REPORT: BURGAS & VARNA
21
AW
Nuance heads to Bulgaria
Varna Airport (VAR) will deliver 790sqm of shopping under a joint
venture between the retailer and Fraport Twin Star Airport Management.
The airports brand new terminal is offering extensive retail options
through an agreement between the operator and a Nuance offshoot.
Retail at the gateway includes a walk-through duty free store, an
arrival store, a gate shop, and speciality stores, says Nuance BG AD,
a joint venture between Nuance and Bulgarian Airways Group.
A Temptation store will offer fashion watches and jewellery, while
Atelier sells womens leather accessories, and Sun Catcher features
premium eyewear.
Varnas appeal as a tourist destination draws 1.2 million passengers
through the gateway each year.
Cengiz Iman, Nuance GM Turkey and Bulgaria, says travellers will
experience a truly modern environment with an exciting range of local
and international products and brands.
Across the space, passengers can browse across perfumes and
cosmetics, liquor, tobacco, confectionery, local food and drink, toys,
sunglasses, leather goods and bags, as well as watches and jewellery.
The concessions are expected to deliver 180 million in sales over
a ve-year term.
AW
I
t may have seemed like an easy step up the ladder from deputy
director of aviation to the hot seat, but when youre responsible
for one of the busiest airports in the US, your predecessor was
in the role for 16 years, and youre taking the helm at an airport
that has seen massive amounts of construction over the past
few years despite a gloomy economy, that step doesnt look so
small any more.
The good news is that having served as Randall Walkers deputy
at the Clark County Department of Aviation since 1997, nobody was
better qualified than Rosemary Vassiliadis to take over when he
retired in June.
Modest Vassiliadis states that she has very big shoes to fill
as Walker was a well-known and popular character in Las Vegas
who helped make McCarran a very successful airport.
Indeed, McCarran handled a healthy 41.7 million passengers
(+0.4%) last year its second successive annual increase, and the
highest annual total since 2008 when 44 million travellers used the
Nevada gateway.
Its all-time record was set in 2007 by the way when McCarran
operated above its then design capacity when 47.7 million
passengers squeezed through its facilities.
Vassiliadis admits that she finds her new role exciting,
challenging and daunting. However, one thing she doesnt have to
worry about for a while is new infrastructure, as McCarran is in good
shape after a decade of construction designed to address the
growing number of passengers.
Terminal 3
Key additions to McCarrans aviation facilities include: Terminal 3,
aireld enhancements, new roadways, a central utilities plant and
a 6,000-vehicle capacity parking garage, all added as part of a
$2.4 billion project completed in June 2012.
The actual Terminal 3 project took six years and McCarran
now has a beautiful facility to process passengers through,
enthuses Vassiliadis.
She is, however, quick to point out that the US economy
nosedived just as the project launched, meaning that it was a big
decision to continue with construction.
It was difficult. We were very cautious, but wed already broken
ground and we decided to go ahead, she tells Airport World. It
turned out to be the best decision we made. T3 opened last year
and now were cautiously optimistic about the future.
What has new aviation director, Rosemary Vassiliadis, got in store for Las VegasMcCarran?
Alex Hannaford reports.
22
Headline
act
AIRPORT REPORT: LAS VEGAS
Vassiliadis says that the latest IT systems were incorporated into
the planning and design of the 1.9 million-square foot terminal in a
bid to ensure high efficiency levels and reduced waiting times.
They include 100% common-use systems to enable airlines to
time-share facilities, and new self-boarding gates to speed up boarding.
Automated aircraft docking systems also allow pilots to align with
a passenger loading bridge, requiring minimal ramp staff support.
Signage is provided by more than 1,100 LCD and LED screens,
giving passenger information, airline branding and real-time updates.
The new $1.2 billion terminal effectively increases McCarrans
capacity to 53mppa.
Having focused on expansion for the past 16 years, Vassiliadis
reveals that the gateway will now concentrate its energies on
becoming even more operationally efficient.
Revenue generation
Before joining the Department of Aviation, Vassiliadis was director of
nance for Clark County, which encompasses the city of Las Vegas. She
wouldnt have known it at the time, but it provided her with valuable
experience for running McCarran.
Certain Clark County departments operated as enterprise funds,
Vassiliadis explains, and so were supported entirely from user fees,
not tax dollars. Likewise, McCarrans budget is comprised of rates
and airline charges.
Then we try to maximise revenues with food and beverages,
specialty shops, parking and rental car fees, she says.
In addition, Vassiliadis says McCarran is one of only two airports
in the US which has gaming in the building something that can
provide a sizeable additional source of revenue, particularly as
gaming is precisely the reason most people are heading to Las Vegas.
Today, Vassiliadis says, the airports revenue is an equal 50/50
split between aeronautical and non-aviation related revenues.
Customer service
Good customer service is imperative, notes Vassiliadis, who believes that
it is the job of her staff and everyone at McCarran to ensure that all
passengers enjoy a smooth and hassle free journey through the airport.
As part of this philosophy, she insists that McCarran always has
clean, working restrooms; that retail and F&B concessions are open
at the right times and are well stocked; and that merchandise and
souvenirs are available.
If they had a good time but didnt have time to go shopping in
Vegas, they can shop here and thats what we want, she smiles.
So we provide the latest products, displayed in an inviting way.
Thats customer service.
Similarly, if theres a torn piece of carpet, we replace it. We also
work hard with the airlines to ensure ticketing lanes and booths are
open with sufficient time for people to check in and get to their gate.
We are also aware that many of our visitors only fly once a year,
so maybe a little more anxious than frequent flyers. The nature of
these passengers is they want to get to the hold-room area as soon
as possible before they start to relax. Once they see it, theyre fine
and they go wandering.
Vassiliadis says her customer service commitment is partly
driven by the fact that McCarran is a major Origin and Destination
(O&D) airport. Its status, she believes, means that passengers use
every facet of McCarran, unlike at other bigger airports, where they
are often just passing through.
Atlanta, for example, is a much busier airport, but 65% of
people are connecting so they dont use ticketing, they dont use
the roadway system or parking, Vasiliadis explains. Here at
McCarran, 80% of our customers use everything.
Vassiliadis is a big fan of a sense of place offerings that make
individual airports stand out from the crowd and enhance the
passenger experience.
McCarran certainly feels like an extension of the Las Vegas
experience and she cites Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in
Texas as an example of another gateway that does this well in terms
of its locally flavoured live music and retail/F&B offering.
Vegas certainly has its share of entertainment and characters that
allow us to do things a little differently here, says Vassiliadis, who
notes that when TSA rst introduced tip screens explaining the new
security procedures to passengers, McCarran did it the Vegas way.
We didnt have a film of a TSA agent explaining the procedure.
We had Vegas celebrities and personalities. And well be updating
those to reflect whos currently playing on the strip.
Travelling can be a stressful experience and its touches like
these, she says, that help keep passenger anxiety levels down.
Customer service encompasses every part of our operation,
adds Vassiliadis. How do we do that? By getting my staff to take
ownership. Then the results are going to show.
23
RUNNING HEAD AIRPORT REPORT: LAS VEGAS
AIRPORT REPORT: LAS VEGAS
24
Route development
Thirty-one airlines currently use McCarran, the most popular being the
low-cost domestic carrier Southwest Airlines, followed by Delta, United
and then American.
Asked what her philosophy for keeping the airlines happy and
attracting more carriers, Vassiliadis believes that a sound nancial
base is key.
We dont want to have spikes in rates and charges from year to
year because its hard for airlines to adjust to that. So each year we
have a budget meeting and we present our airlines with a multi-year
plan, she says.
Domestically, the most popular routes at McCarran are to and
from Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Chicago. For
international travel the airport sees a lot of traffic between Las
Vegas and Canada particularly Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and
Vancouver; then, its Mexico City, and the United Kingdom from both
Heathrow and Gatwick.
Currently, Korean Airlines provides McCarrans only non-stop
service from Asia and so the current focus is on getting more routes
to the continent primarily Japan and China, as Asian O&D has
grown 32% in the past three years.
McCarran has seen a number of new airlines use the airport from
Europe and Latin America. With the onset of the recession, it
became more heavily involved in its partnership with the Las Vegas
Convention and Visitors Authority and put a greater focus on new
international service.
Today, there is much more competition with other airports for
new service, especially international routes, but McCarran has had
an incentive programme whereby landing fees are waived on all
operations in excess of what the airline provided in the same month
of the prior year.
Additionally, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has
a programme, which offers co-op marketing funds to support new
services, especially international.
In addition to passenger traffic, McCarran also handles around
200 million pounds of cargo a year, and while that may pale in
comparison with some other large airports, Vassiliadis says the
legacy carriers have found it to be profitable, and they see some
interesting consignments go through.
Because of the conventions we have, we see exotic animals, electronic
stuff for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), classic autos, fresh sh, and
owers that the hotels use, she says.
Appeal of Las Vegas
In addition to gambling, Las Vegas also has the largest single-level convention
centre on the planet with more than three million square feet of events
space, which is the site for this years World Route Development Forum.
In February, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved
the rst phase of a $2.5 billion overhaul of the centre, the rst major
expansion in more than a decade.
Vassiliadis believes that from a destination point of view, no other city
can offer the experiences than Vegas can. You can still get a very
reasonable room rate; you can still get value here, she says.
The appeal of Las Vegas as a destination is as strong as ever. There
are so many different types of shows, not just headliners any more. We
have smaller, more intimate venues too. As for shopping, we have
boutiques to malls. Plus, theres the dining , which has been its biggest hit
after gaming. All the top chefs come here.
People still come to Las Vegas with a vacation mentality. Theyre going
to splurge a little more, treat themselves to that fancy dinner.
Future expansion
McCarran is located near the famous Las Vegas Strip and therefore has
only limited space available for expansion. As such, in the early 2000s,
Clark County bought 6,500 acres of land about 30 miles southwest of the
current airport and embarked on ambitious plans to develop it as a relief
airport called Ivanpah Valley.
This was put on hold in 2010 in the economic downturn, but Vassiliadis
says the land is being retained and preserved for future commercialisation.
You never know, she says. With the exibility T3 gives us at McCarran
in terms of kerb space, parking, ticketing and baggage claim, were satised
for now, but if this town ever has huge growth again like it did in the 2000s,
the resorts will expand south.
Thats when they may need Ivanpah. Vassiliadis says its prudent to
look to the hotels and whether theyre expanding to determine what the
airport should do next in terms of expansion.
We want to be ready, she says. And it would be prudent of me to
keep that site. AW
Airport World 5 2013
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IT: The journey
has just begun
globally, with foreign exchange and banking services, vending
machines, property leasing, hotels and lounges topping these up.
Increased car parking revenues can usually be achieved by an
upturn in passengers and subsequently more visitors using the
airports facilities or by becoming more successful at getting
passengers to use its car parks.
Increasing passengers, however, can be costly. An increase
in conversion rates is often tied to special promotional fees
and increased interaction with passengers in advance of when
they are ying. In either case, capacity increases invariably
need to be supported by infrastructure investments and the
use of additional land on-site, both of which can come with a
high-price tag related to this form of revenue.
Increasing retail/F&B revenues can be achieved by any
combination of expanding the concession footprint in a
terminal and/or improving the performance of the airports
outlet-derived revenues.
Expanding the retail footprint is itself costly and capital intensive.
In addition, while newer airport terminals may have been designed
with retail and F&B in mind, some of the older terminals were just not
optimised for these activities and signicant changes may be required.
Another issue to consider is the fact that diseconomies of scale
operate in the retail and F&B sector. Doubling the supply of retail
square metres will not necessarily result in a doubling of sales, for
instance. After all, the passenger propensity for purchase is nite,
and there are well known guidelines established for square metres
of retail space per million passenger throughput.
The low-hanging fruit
So where is the low-hanging fruit in the airport industry? I believe
that the greatest bang for the buck can be obtained by focusing on
the opportunity to improve the performance of the existing retail
and F&B operators.
This can be done usually with modest investment and thus, each
percentage increase in performance goes almost entirely to the
bottom line protability of the airport terminal.
There are, of course, many opportunities for improvement,
including focusing on upselling greater sales per passenger;
optimising the product mix for the prole of passenger to maximise
revenue; and targeting both the higher spenders and non-spenders
by focusing on conversion.
Others include developing the route mix to generate more
revenues (non-EU ights generate higher margins on duty
free tobacco and liquor, for example), and monitoring and
maximising conversion rates of people who walk past a store
compared to those entering and then buying either by design
or on impulse.
Leveraging opportunities for more dynamic advertising (with
targeted promotions in specic parts of the terminal), and targeting
passengers on a specic ight, is another method used by airports to
boost retail/F&B revenues. The list goes on.
However, in all cases, to be successful they really require a deep
understanding of the retail sales patterns gained through
measurement. The old adage of not being able to manage what you
do not measure is plainly true in this case.
I
n the face of ever-increasing pressure from the airlines to keep
aviation costs down, a growing number of airports are turning to
- and relying upon - non-aeronautical revenue sources to sustain
their operations.
Indeed, ACIs 2012 Airport Economics Report shows that
the industry continues to derive an increasing proportion of
its revenue from the non-aviation sector, with an estimated
$46 billion annually, or 44% of all global airport revenues,
earned from these sources.
With some regional disparities and specic airports in each region
being more successful in this area, pole position from among the
different sources of non-aeronautical revenues tends to be either
retail and F&B or car parking.
Of course, like any other business, airports are striving to increase
revenue streams and subsequently their protability but some
increases have high associated acquisition costs.
This article highlights the low-hanging fruit of the airport industry, where
improvements to the bottomline are most tangible for the least effort.
Aviation sector revenues are, of course, principally based on
passenger fees and landing charges. In fact, we know that some
airports are almost totally dependent upon passenger fees, which
means that the only way they can realistically increase their revenues
is to increase the fee not a very sustainable strategy in the current
climate or handle more trafc.
However, accommodating more ights or passengers can be very
costly to an airport depending on its capacity. It may, for example,
mean that the airport has to increase the number of security lanes,
and invest in new ground handling equipment, check-in facilities or
aerobridges, and in extreme cases even terminals and runways.
Increasing passengers would also certainly result in a need to
increase staff.
All these factors ensure that accommodating more revenue-
enhancing passengers can be expensive, with only a relatively small
proportion of the increased revenue trickling down to the bottom line.
Turning to the non-aviation sources of revenue, retail/F&B, car
parking and sometimes car rentals are the primary revenue streams
Better analysis of sales data can help airports boost retail revenues and customer
satisfaction levels, writes John de Giorgio.
Bank on data
SPECIAL REPORT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
39 AIRPORT WORLD/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 38 AIRPORT WORLD/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 38
Image courtesy of Incheon International Airport.
F
ree airport Wi-Fi is widespread, inight connectivity is on the
increase, and airlines, airports and airport retailers communicate
with passengers via apps and mobile-optimised sites.
The mobile journey starts with researching travel, and increasingly,
it continues with booking via mobile. Travellers use mobiles before
their journey, at the airport, and at their destination.
There are numerous statistics showing airports providing
innovation in mobile connections, having huge numbers of Twitter
followers and receiving many thousands of Facebook and
Foursquare check-ins.
However, one area of the airport commercial space that is yet to see
widespread engagement with mobile phones is airport advertising.
Thats starting to change, with airport advertising businesses
improving their investment in mobile solutions, and brands and
agencies beginning to experiment more broadly.
As with any advertising, airport advertising must be relevant,
timely and accessible. In an airport setting, this means giving
passengers an engaging experience, and taking a mobile-centric
approach can really help to achieve that.
People have clear preferences for the technologies they use, and the
way they use them. The mobile experience is now very intuitive, and
thats because most people customise their mobile use and behaviours
to their own needs.
They choose the device, plan, apps and tools that work for them.
So advertisers and airports that recognise this and reect it in their
offer will be the most successful.
Interactive and mobile advertising can play a meaningful role in
improving the customer experience in an airport, by giving passengers a
fun, valuable, rewarding or memorable moment that boosts their
enjoyment of the travel experience.
Three recent airport campaigns encapsulate the value of brands,
agencies and airport advertising companies working together to deliver
interesting and engaging experiences for passengers.
Nice Cote dAzur Airport TOTAL
In the lead-up to the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year, TOTAL
delivered a fantastic experiential campaign at Nice Cote dAzur Airport.
As well as two simulators tted with the F1 computer game,
passengers could visit a green screen to have their photos taken
with Romain Grosjean.
They could collect a print, or upload the image to social media via
their own phones or using iPads placed around the stand, which also
featured other games and a competition. Additionally, hostesses were
on-hand to provide support and answer questions.
A key aspect of this campaign was the integration of the interactive
experience within a broader campaign that reached the passenger at
several points on their journey.
The campaign started at the station withoor media, adgates and
train cards, then built further through check-in, to departures, and on to
the gate. This was complemented with advertising on Nice Airports free
Wi-Fi pages, boarding passes and culminated in onboard media on
seatback tables and in inight magazines.
This is a great example of howthe full strengthof the airport environment
canbe leveraged; witha true understanding of the audience andhowthey
use the airport, a strong campaigncanachieve maximumimpact.
What can airports learn fromthis campaign? Delivering entertaining
and engaging experiential campaigns in an airport is a complex business.
A high-prole promotional space, qualied airside staff, data, power
and free Wi-Fi had to be available. It also required a robust media
inventory with the ability to trace the passenger journey, allowing the
advertiser to build awareness and excitement about the experiential
zone prior to passengers arriving.
Clearly there is direct commercial benet in terms of media income
froma campaign like this, but the broader airport benet is the
highlight they have helped create in the passenger journey and the
social and word-of-mouth chatter the campaign generated.
UK airports O2
Some of the UKs busiest airports were the perfect platformfor a
pan-regional, cross-media campaign by O2 promoting their European
data-roaming offer.
Timed to coincide with the peak summer holiday period, this
campaign was mobile-enabled, and at Manchester and Gatwick
airports, was totally integrated with the airports digital walls.
As well as being able to enter a competition, passengers could also
upload and edit photos for real-time viewing via InstagramandTwitter,
using #O2Travel. The O2 Travel campaign ran at major UK airports, the
Euro Star and Euro Tunnel.
Again, passengers were targeted at key touch-points in their entire
journey. This started with branded boarding passes along with oor
media at London rail stations feeding the major airport train express
services, vinyl-wrapped ticket gates and airport express train cards.
It continued through to every touch point at the airport fromdrop-off
and check-in to departure gate, using small format digital screens
alongside giant standout lightboxes. Media also included branding on
the airports free internet stations and on the Wi-Fi landing pages.
With some 15,000 interactions per week in Manchester and Gatwick
alone, its clear that this campaign resonated with the travelling public
by giving something back.
Passengers had a real-time opportunity to do something fun and
simple, and by making the campaign mobile-focused, O2 ensured that
the campaign reached people off-airport via social media as well as the
primary on-airport target audiences.
For this campaign to have real scale, and to justify the investment
in creative time and cost, a multi-airport buy was a must for the
advertiser. Having an agile and outcome-focused airport advertising
company, and a specialist airport planning agency were very important
factors in bringing the O2 client vision to life.
The campaign also required a consistent and exible approach
fromthe airports involved. Logistics needed to be manageable,
and that necessitated a broadly consistent offering fromairport
to airport.
Manchester and Gatwick, in particular, have taken a long-termview
in making valuable airside space available for large-scale interactive
touch walls.
Australian airports GOOGLE
A recent world-rst airport advertising programme by Google is a great
example of airports and their advertising partners acting as enablers for
truly interesting, engaging and relevant activity in the terminal.
The campaign for the Google PlayStore allowed passengers to use their
mobile phones as remote control devices, taking control of 39 digital
advertising panels at Brisbane, Melbourne andSydney airports.
As well as interacting with Google Play Store content, Android phone
users could also then download selected books, movies, music,
magazines and apps directly to their phone using free Wi-Fi.
This campaign is a fantastic example of how airport advertising with
a mobile focus can deliver genuine value and benet to passengers.
Several important building blocks were put in place to enable
delivery of this programme:
1. The airport advertising concessionaire invested heavily in
a substantial estate of digital displays across a number
of airports
2. Their airport partners encouraged this investment, and
provided access to high-impact advertising locations
throughout the terminal
3. The airport put free Wi-Fi in place. Its unlikely this campaign
would have been so effective if passengers had been asked
to pay for the Wi-Fi service
In each of these three case studies, there are clear themes.
Preparation and a strategic outlook fromthe airports was vital.
Airport advertising businesses with commitment and access to capital
were central.
The importance of good creative ideas (and the drive of agencies) is
clear to see, but without the inclusion of a mobile-centric, customer-
driven mindset, focused on delivering something valuable, entertaining
and memorable to the passenger, these campaigns would have been
less remarkable.
Thinking about, and focusing on, the connected traveller can help
airports deliver an enjoyable in-terminal experience, which passengers
will remember and want to tell their friends about.
Ever-inventive brands are using smartphones
to connect with passengers at airports and
on almost every stage of their journey, writes
Jeremy Corfield.
Going
mobile
About theauthor
Jeremy Coreld is director of Concession Planning International
Australia Pty Ltd.
He can be contacted at jeremycoreld@concession-planning.com
or www.concession-planning.com
AW
SPECIAL REPORT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
31 AIRPORT WORLD/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 30 AIRPORT WORLD/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013 30
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