Airport Business

MAY 2015

The airport professional's source for airport industry news, articles, events, and careers.

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MANAGING AIRPORTS TODAY May 2015 airportbusiness 11 "When I started in this business, the load factor we used for the number of seats occupied in the aircraft was between 55 and 65 percent," says HNTB's Director of Aviation Architecture. "Today, the load factor averages 90 to 95 per- cent, and it presents a significant challenge, especially in older terminals that were never designed to handle that many people." Matters get further complicated when one considers aircraft are larger and gate turns are more frequent. According to Rossbach, 30 years ago a gate averaged four to five turns a day. Those same gates may handle 10 flights today. "All of these things pump more passengers into a terminal that was never designed to han- dle that many people," he says. "It's not just the departure hold rooms either. It's everything in the concourse, such as restrooms and even the width of the concourse was never designed for that many people." The impact of these changes can be best seen at LaGuardia International Airport, says Rossbach, who notes everything is under-sized at this 50+ year old facility. The hold rooms are too small, the concessions and retail offerings insufficient, the concourse too narrow, and the restroom facilities too few. "Even the HVAC sys- tem was never designed to handle that many people," he says. Unfortunately, LaGuardia isn't the only airport suffering from this affliction. Many airports with aging infrastructure also suffer the space crunch. And the result is often declining customer service for the passengers they serve. Rossbach explains, "There's not enough seats in the hold rooms; sometimes there isn't even enough places for people to stand. Queuing backs up and extends out of the hold room, which blocks people from going down the concourse. Matt Dubbe, market leader of Architecture at Mead & Hunt Inc., laments that "crowding is such an issue that fire marshals are start- ing to take issue with it." Passengers are too. Customer service levels also drop in severely crowded terminals. "We use what we call Level of Service standards, and strive to hit at least Level C, which is basic service—not the most ideal but still very good service," says Rossbach. "Many older terminals are operating at Level D or F, which is a real issue." It is in this environment that airports strive to maximize non-aeronautical revenues. But adding passenger amenities also contributes to overcrowding. As airport concessions and retail outlets move post-security (70 percent of all concessions and retail offerings are now post-security) and incorporate café seating or free iPad stations, these new additions push into already crowded spaces. "The challenge with these areas is that they too are becoming overcrowded," says Dubbe. "The unique retail concepts airports are adding actually push into the [hold room's] seats." When things get crowded, passengers become stressed. Overcrowding negatively affects traveler stress, at every step of the pro- cess from parking to check-in to security and boarding, states Mark Lobel, lead concessions designer for Corgan Associates. "With passen- gers spending more time in the terminal, it's great for concessions but very difficult for oper- ations," he says. Gate hugging—the phenomenon where passengers stay in their seats until their aircraft arrives—also rears its head when seating space is at a premium in the hold room, according to Dubbe. A passenger who is lucky enough to find a seat doesn't want to leave it, and when it's crowded, passengers are more likely to want to sit within eye-sight of their gate. "There is a stress curve, and that stress curve starts in the parking lot and ends in the hold lounge," Lobel says. "The more we can mitigate and offset that stress, the more likely passengers are to open their pocketbooks." LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION "If you have the land to build a new terminal that's not a bad way to go," says Rossbach when asked what airports can do about this space crunch. But while it would be the easiest way to address the issue, many airports are landlocked rendering such a possibility little more than a pipedream. In fact, the United States has only seen three airports built from the ground up in the last 35 years. But there are some solutions that can help alleviate overcrowding, while providing the ame- nities passengers want and allowing airports to maximize their non-aeronautical revenues. "First and foremost, you have to maintain airport operations," says Lobel. "You can't forget Passengers crave novelty retail stores like this candy store found at DFW.

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