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MANAGING AIRPORTS TODAY May 2015 airportbusiness 15 expanding their offerings to include food and beverage and retail as well as entertainment venues and amenities tailored to passenger profiles. For example, Nashville International Airport understands that its reputation as the Music City draws people to the area, so it brings in local talent to entertain passengers. "Gate lock is a strange phenomenon, and we have to entice passengers out of that gate," says Lobel. "That's why we look for really inno- vative amenities and interesting ways to pull people out." KNOW THY TRAVELER Do you know who is coming through your air- port? Is the mix primarily business travelers? Is it vacationers? Are there a lot of families? These things must be known in order to pro- vide the right mix of concessions/retail for the traveling public. One size does not fit all. Corgan has studied passenger profiles and how they spend their money and has learned a thing or two along the way, according to Lobel. For instance, a retired tourist is not a high spend passenger, but a tech-savvy traveler is. Those are the younger demographic with all the electronics, who seeks connectivity throughout their travel experience, and will purchase elec- tronics at the airport. Frequent business fliers are not big spenders, but they may expect a sit down restaurant or a bar to pass the time. Rossbach adds that international visitors often find products in the United States inex- pensive and thus purchase more. "Sometimes they find things they can't buy in their own country and they want to purchase it before they leave," he says. "It's important to consider your international travelers versus your domes- tic travelers when deciding what food and bev- erage and retail outlets to provide." Higher load factors, larger aircraft, greater flight frequen- cies, aging facilities. These are all things that contribute to a space crunch at today's airports. But there are things planners can do to alleviate the pressure. "We are unlikely to go back in the other direction," says Dubbe. "It's important that we amend these spaces and prepare them for the future. Airports need to figure out how to be more dependent on their own revenue generation and less on the airlines." To do so they need to create attractive, com- fortable places to pass the time. The first place to start is by removing congestion in the hold rooms and offering concessions/retail offerings that customers want. "If people are comfortable, they will spend more, they will dwell longer, they will actually do business there, and even conduct meetings at the airport," Dubbe says. "Taking stress out of the equation drives everything we do, and we need to use behavioral science to figure out how to design spaces that people find comfortable." meadhunt.com 888-364-7272 offces nationwide a full-service aviation frm Air Service. Mead & Hunt's record of success with new route development and ability to provide continuity and quality of service is unparalleled. We use our familiarity with airline planners, real-world analysis and proprietary tools to provide highly tailored solutions for airports and their communities. Visit us at booth #644 during the AAAE Annual Conference www.aviationpros.com/10132931