Attracting and Retaining Airport and Airline Customers Through Stakeholder Collaboration
As travelers enjoy more choices than ever in the airlines they fly and airports they use, both airports and airlines are under greater pressure than ever to win and retain customers. Airports are distinguishing themselves in an historically competitive marketplace by providing services and facilities that enhance their customers’ experience and strategically meet their evolving needs.
Today, airports realize that creating a positive experience for the customer can generate both revenue and return visits. However, the experience must span the entire journey, from driving to the airport and parking, through ticketing and security, to concessions, and to waiting and boarding. At every touchpoint, airports can — and should — have an opportunity to create a great impression.
Airports can simultaneously meet customers’ needs and plan for future growth through a holistic, well-organized approach founded on thorough pre-planning, collaboration, flexibility and communication. The most successful airports have incorporated the following principles into their approaches to capital improvements:
Identify and involve all stakeholders
Pre-planning is essential. The first step in any capital project is to identify all landside and airside decision-making stakeholders, including representatives from the airport, state and local governments, airlines, concessions, advertising and public relations agencies, and the community.
Schedule an ongoing series of planning workshops to identify needs and keep all stakeholders engaged in the process. These workshops should continue through the project’s life cycle, to refine the master plan, meet evolving needs and resolve emerging challenges and disputes.
Prioritize stakeholders’ needs according to impact
The goal of any terminal enhancement program is to proactively offset passenger stress and improve the overall travel experience.
Three key elements contribute to the passenger experience: concessions, amenities and interior design. During stakeholder workshops, develop a comprehensive inventory and direction for each of these elements. Moving forward, the process then becomes an issue of continual refinement and consensus-building, rather than ongoing discovery and plan revisions.
Determining which components generate revenue and which do not is critical to establishing priorities. When assessing what needs to be improved, airports should examine the productivity of their concession programs, as well as the revenues they receive from passenger amenities. Often, concessions and amenities that are not generating revenue can be refined or reworked to optimize their performance and revenue-generating capabilities.
Airlines have the opportunity for making the landside and airside experience easier for the passenger, and at a minimum, should provide knowledgeable and helpful staff, and satisfactory hold lounge accommodations for a pleasant journey.
Distribute costs among stakeholders
Generally, the cost of upgrades related to the passenger experience are not borne solely by the airports and are often shared with other stakeholders. Since airports view enhancements as revenue generators, costs are passed on to the concessionaires, advertisers and providers of some amenities, such as recharge stations and Smart Carts. It’s also useful to consider sponsors for many amenities that normally would be funded by the airport, including comfort zones and service animal relief areas.
Terminal improvements, however, are handled differently. If the enhancement requires power or data, infrastructure costs need to be considered. Airports also shoulder the cost of any special mounting or support structures needed.
Improvements should be strategic
Efficiently moving passengers through a terminal is of primary importance, yet it remains a persistent and thorny challenge. As we all know, waiting is a stressful experience for passengers. To minimize stress, today’s airports are strategically incorporating amenities throughout the airport that minimize or mitigate wait times and improve passengers’ overall experience.
Self-service technology has improved exponentially over the past several years and is being installed in airports throughout the world to reduce wait times and improve passenger flow. Simultaneously, ticket counters are getting smaller, as more passengers use self-service ticketing kiosks, tagging devices and bag checks. While ticket counters will not disappear altogether, their reduction in number and size will help encourage passengers to check themselves in and be on their way faster and more efficiently in the future.
Security is another area that produces both wait times and stress. To manage this, airports are installing branded security checkpoints that incorporate comfortable, attractive lounge seating and upscale furnishings for passengers to re-vest after screening is completed. In addition, advances in screening technology will allow future passengers to flow through checkpoints more seamlessly.
Incorporate thoughtful, on-trend amenities and concessions
Passengers should have an enjoyable experience once they pass through security. Airports now capitalize on post-security dwell time by creating more enticing and enjoyable shopping environments, along with better food and beverage offerings. Chef-inspired and farm-to-table sit-down restaurants are now taking the place of fast food. Entertainment venues, with live music and upscale bars, also are becoming very popular.
Take advantage of smart technology
‘Smart’ airports, which work in tandem with passengers’ smart phones, are becoming more prevalent. Airport applications can turn handheld devices into surprisingly effective tools for maneuvering through the travel experience, offering services such as terminal wayfinding, notifications regarding flight status, and the delivery of retail and food and beverage directly to passengers’ hold lounges.
At some airports, passengers can use smart technology from the moment they enter the airport property. For example, passengers driving to the airport can be directed to open parking spaces and receive notifications about wait times at check-in and security. Once they pass through security, passengers can get notifications from the retailers and restaurants at the airport, helping them decide how to spend their dwell time. As passengers near the gates, they can get timely information from the airlines on arrival, departure and wait times.
Airports also are incorporating facial recognition at their ticketing counters and baggage systems, to keep passenger traffic flowing and help eliminate lines and delays pre- and post-flight.
Solicit passenger input to continually improve
Surveys are a great tool for determining what the customer wants or doesn’t want, what causes stress and what gets their attention, and are vital to enhancement planning. Surveys are typically performed in partnership with an independent consultant who is experienced in serving the aviation industry. Surveys should also be performed and scrutinized throughout construction and at regular intervals, to assess needs and priorities as they evolve.
Much has changed in the aviation industry over the past two decades and the industry is poised for even more change over the coming 20 years and beyond. Airports now recognize that to stay competitive, enhancements to improve the passenger experience can no longer be afterthoughts but must be incorporated into the earliest stages of planning.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Enrique F. Mendez, AIA, NCARB is AVP aviation project director-architecture at HNTB, where he serves as the firm’s American Airlines and Southwest Airlines client service leader for airline capital project assignments. Mendez has 42 years of experience in professional design, construction, capital improvement and capital program management. Most recently, with Southwest Airlines’ corporate facilities, he managed project funding, design, construction and closeout-commissioning of large, multimillion and multibillion-dollar airport facilities throughout the U.S. Contact him at [email protected].
Mark Lobel, IIDA, is a passenger experience expert and senior project manager for aviation architecture at HNTB. Based in Dallas, Lobel works with clients nationwide. Over the last decade, he has worked on high-profile projects at large airports, both in the United States and internationally, to help improve the travel experience for passengers through enhanced shopping, dining and entertainment options while seeking creative ways for airports to generate additional non-aviation revenues. Contact him at [email protected].
