Airport Magazine April May 2008 by mike.candela

Volume 20/ Number 2 | April/May 2008

EDITORIAL BOARD AIRPORT MEMBERS WILLIAM BARKHAUER, Morristown, New Jersey TIM CAMPBELL, Baltimore, Maryland CHARLES ISDELL, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania JIM JOHNSON, Odessa, Florida JIM MORASCH, Pasco, Washington ROBERT OLISLAGERS, Englewood, Colorado LISA PYLES, Addison, Texas TORRANCE RICHARDSON., Fort Wayne, Indiana ELAINE ROBERTS, Columbus, Ohio

CORPORATE MEMBERS BILL HOGAN, Reynolds, Smith & Hills BRIAN LACEY, Delaware North Companies STEVE PELHAM, Reveal Imaging Technologies RANDY POPE, Burns & McDonnell LAURA SAMUELS, Hudson Group AAAE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR KRYS T. BART, Reno, Nevada FIRST VICE CHAIR JAMES P. ELWOOD, Aspen, Colorado

22 22

SECOND VICE CHAIR JOHN K. DUVAL, Beverly, Massachusetts SECRETARY/TREASURER JAMES E. BENNETT, Washington, D.C.

features

departments

COVER: GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Editor’s Corner

Can GIS Save the World | 20 Use of this system is easing the workload at airports.

GENERAL AVIATION

Up Front

FIRST PAST CHAIR ELAINE ROBERTS, Columbus, Ohio

6 8

Market Scan

Security Checkpoint

Airport Spotlight

Corporate Outlook

AirporTech

Billboard

GA Issues Roundtable | 26 A preview of what’s ahead in 2008

CONCESSIONS

COMING IN THE JUNE/JULY

Concession Trends | 32 Are airports the next upscale retail venue?

Concessions Survey | 39

Airside Development Trends Roundtable

The inside story on what’s new in airport concessions.

Baggage and Passenger Screening Update

Growing Sales | 43

Cover Design: Joacir Soto

10 steps to increasing retail sales at airports.

RUNWAY SAFETY The Runway Safety Challenge | 47 Airports respond to the latest safety push.

SECOND PAST CHAIR R. LOWELL PRATTE, Louisville, Kentucky

BOARD OF DIRECTORS STEPHEN J. ADAMS, JR., Manchester, New Hampshire JEFF L. BILYEU, Angleton, Texas GARY A. CYR, Springfield, Missouri BENJAMIN R. DECOSTA, Atlanta, Georgia KEVIN A. DILLON, Orlando, Florida ROD A. DINGER, Redding, California LINDA G. FRANKL, Columbus, Ohio MICHAEL J. HANEY, Moline, Illinois GARY L. JOHNSON, Stillwater, Oklahoma ALEX M. KASHANI, Washington, D.C. SCOTT C. MALTA, Atwater, California JEFFREY A. MULDER, Tulsa, Oklahoma ROBERT P. OLISLAGERS, Englewood, Colorado LISA A. PYLES, Addison, Texas WAYNE E. SHANK, Norfolk, Virginia SUSAN M. STEVENS, Charleston, South Carolina DAVID R. ULANE, Aspen, Colorado

CHAPTER PRESIDENTS LEW S. BLEIWEIS, Louisville, Kentucky KIM W. HOPPER, Portsmouth, New Hampshire JEFFREY KELLY, Houston, Texas LYNN F. KUSY, Mesa, Arizona TORRANCE A. RICHARDSON, Fort Wayne, Indiana ROGER SELLICK, Kelowna, Canada POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE BONNIE ALLIN, Tucson, Arizona WILLIAM G. BARKHAUER, Morristown, New Jersey THELLA F. BOWENS, San Diego, California MARK P. BREWER, Warwick, Rhode Island TIMOTHY L. CAMPBELL, Baltimore, Maryland CHERYL D. COHEN-VADER, Denver, Colorado LARRY D. COX, Memphis, Tennessee ALFONSO DENSON, Birmingham, Alabama MICHAEL A. GOBB, Lexington, Kentucky THOMAS GREER, Monterey, California SEAN C. HUNTER, New Orleans, Louisiana CHARLES J. ISDELL, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania JIM KOSLOSKY, Grand Rapids, Michigan MARK D. KRANENBURG, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma JAMES MORASCH, Pasco, Washington ERIN M. O’DONNELL, Chicago, Illinois BRADLEY D. PENROD, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania MORTON V. PLUMB, Anchorage, Alaska MARK M. REIS, Seattle, Washington MAUREEN S. RILEY, Salt Lake City, Utah LESTER W. ROBINSON, Detroit, Michigan JAMES R. SMITH, Newport News, Virginia RICKY D. SMITH, Cleveland, Ohio MARK H. WEBB, San Antonio, Texas PRESIDENT CHARLES M. BARCLAY, Alexandria, Virginia

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

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EDITOR’SCORNER

AIRPORT MAGAZINE STAFF (FRONT ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT): BARBARA COOK, EDITOR; SUSAN LAUSCH, STAFF VICE PRESIDENT-SALES AND MARKETING; JOACIR SOTO, GRAPHIC DESIGNER; JOAN LOWDEN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT-COMMUNICATIONS. BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: MELISSA BABULA, ASSISTANT EDITOR-COMMUNICATIONS; SEAN BRODERICK, STAFF VICE PRESIDENT-EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS; ELLEN HORTON, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER-SPECIAL PROJECTS, IET; MIKE CANDELA, DIRECTOR-MARKETING AND SALES; HOLLY ACKERMAN, DIRECTOR-ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS; DARYL HUMPHREY, ART DIRECTOR.

ffective with this issue, I am taking over the direction of Airport Magazine as the fourth editor in the publication’s 20-year history. Former Editor Sean Broderick is assuming the new position of staff vice president-external communications for AAAE and will continue his responsibilities as the association’s ANTN Digicast product manager. He will serve as editor at-large for Airport Magazine. The bigger news behind this announcement is that the steady expansion of AAAE’s products and services allows many of us to assume new responsibilities. Equally important, however, is the news that our magazine editorial team has not diminished over the publication’s 20-year history. We’re all still here. Joan Lowden, the magazine’s publisher and its first editor, is AAAE’s senior vice presidentcommunications. Ellen Horton, editor number two, now is executive producer-special projects for AAAE’s Interactive Employee Training (IET) product. IET is a valuable part of the association’s array of convenient training solutions for airports. Ellen does double duty as the magazine’s executive editor. The combined experience of the four of us in the aviation business totals more than 100

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

years…and, no, that’s not a typo. Joan, Ellen and I covered the Civil Aeronautics Board for other news publications in the exciting years that led up to airline deregulation, among other assignments. Sean has covered the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, as well as other agencies and events that have worked to shape the airport industry. Our uninterrupted involvement in aviation journalism that predates the creation of Airport Magazine means that we are able to offer our readers the most informed and informative publication in the airport industry. We are supported by a AAAE editorial team that includes Holly Ackerman, directorelectronic publications and a 19-year veteran of the association, who contributes her writing and editing skills. Add to that list Susan Lausch, staff vice president-sales and marketing; our design team of Daryl Humphrey, art director, and Joacir Soto, graphic designer; Mike Candela, directormarketing and sales; and Melissa Babula, assistant editor-communications. We assembled for our first group photo (see above) recently, just to show you, our readers, who we are. Thanks to ANTN Chief Photographer Bill Krumpelman for taking the photo and for putting

EDITOR

BARBARA COOK BARBARA.COOK@AAAE.ORG PUBLISHER

JOAN LOWDEN EXECUTIVE EDITOR

ELLEN P. HORTON EDITOR-AT-LARGE

SEAN BRODERICK NEWS EDITOR

HOLLY ACKERMAN ASSISTANT EDITOR

MELISSA BABULA ART DIRECTOR

DARYL HUMPHREY GRAPHIC DESIGNER

JOACIR SOTO

CONTRIBUTORS

BRODERICK GRADY JEFF PRICE STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

BILL KRUMPELMAN JAMES MARTIN STAFF VICE PRESIDENT SALES AND MARKETING

SUSAN LAUSCH susan.lausch@aaae.org DIRECTOR SALES AND MARKETING

MIKE CANDELA mike.candela@aaae.org EDITORIAL OFFICE

601 Madison Street, Suite 400 Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 824-0500, Ext. 133 Fax: (703) 820-1395 Internet Address: www.airportmagazine.net Send editorial materials/press releases to: magazine@aaae.org REPRINT INFORMATION

THE REPRINT DEPARTMENT (717) 481-8500 Airport Magazine is published bimonthly by the AAAE Service Corporation Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Association of Airport Executives, and the Airport Research and Development Foundation. Subscription price for AAAE members is included in the annual dues. U.S. subscription rate to non-members is $45 for one year. International rate for non-members is $75. Single copy price is $10. Copyright 2008 by AAAE. All rights reserved. Statements of fact and opinion are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of AAAE or any of its members or officers.

up with our bad jokes during the photo session. In the coming issues of Airport Magazine, you’ll be going behind the scenes to see how the magazine is produced, as well as to learn the inside workings of the many departments at AAAE that bring you the tools and products that assist you in running your airport. So, stay with us. And let us know what’s happening at your airport. We especially want to receive suggestions for Airport Spotlight, the department in each issue that features an airport with a new story to tell. A brief editorial look ahead: our next issue will be published in connection with AAAE’s 80th Annual Conference and Exposition, June 8-11 in New Orleans. Check that edition for articles on the restoration of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport following Hurricane Katrina and on airports “going green.” In the June/July issue, we will feature airside development trends; in August/September, we will highlight winter operations; in October/November we will focus on airports and NextGen technology. Our last issue of the year (December/January) straddles 2008 and 2009 and will examine landside development trends. As always, Airport Magazine appreciates the support of our advertisers. Without these loyal companies, our magazine could not offer the breadth of industry coverage that it does. Advertisers in this issue are: ADVERTISER

PAGE

Burns & McDonnell

Cover 2

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Delta Airport Consultants

www.deltaairport.com

ESRI

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FLIR Systems

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Grenzebach

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HDSRetail

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HMSHOST

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Hudson Group

Cover 3

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Off the Wall

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OshKosh

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Ricondo & Associates, Inc.

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RS&H

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Siemens

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SSP America

Back Cover

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Waler P. Moore

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WINGS FCU

www.wingsfinancial.com

Barbara Cook Editor barbara.cook@aaae.org

POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Airport Magazine 601 Madison Street, Suite 400 Alexandria, VA 22314

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

UPFRONT

FAA: U.S. Aviation Growth On Track Despite challenges that include high fuel prices and concerns about the economy, U.S. commercial aviation is on track to carry 1 billion passengers by 2016 and will demonstrate “significant continued growth over time,” FAA predicted in its forecast for the period 2008-2025. Previous forecasts suggested that the 1 billion number would be reached by 2015. U.S. airline system capacity in 2008 is expected to increase 2.7 percent, following last year’s gain of 2.6 percent, FAA said, with domestic capacity rising only 0.6 percent and mainline carrier capacity up just 0.3 percent. Regional carrier capacity will rise 2.5 percent this year. Largely due to the impact of capacity realignment, passenger trip length in domestic markets in 2008 will decrease by 3.2 miles, FAA said. Further, while the demand for 70-90 seat aircraft continues to grow, FAA said it expects the number of 50-seat regional jets in service will fall. Healthy growth will continue on international routes, FAA said, especially across the Atlantic due to the new U.S.-European open skies agreement. Fuel prices will dampen the near-term prospects for the general aviation industry, but the long-term GA outlook remains favorable. “We see a strong growth in business aviation demand continuing, driven by a growing U.S. and world economy, as well as a growing fleet of very light jets (VLJs),” FAA said. In 2009, 400 VLJs will join the nationwide fleet, with that figure growing to 450-500 a year through 2025. Partly because of the influx of new VLJs, the number of GA hours flown is projected to increase 8

an average of 3 percent annually through 2025, the agency predicted. Overall during the forecast period, FAA said it expects U.S. aviation will be a “healthy, competitive and profitable industry buoyed by increasing demand for air travel coupled with inexpensive tickets.”

Netjets Plans $200 Million Investment in Columbus NetJets announced a $200 million investment to help initiate an aeronautical cluster adjacent to Port Columbus International Airport. In a media briefing, the company said that FlightSafety International, a sister company of NetJets through Berkshire Hathaway, will be part of the expansion, growing from a campus of approximately 19 acres “to potentially more than 120 acres, investing over $200 million, while retaining 2,022 positions in central Ohio and adding at least 810 high-wage jobs.” FlightSafety will more than double the number of its existing simulators, creating its largest concentration of simulators in the country, NetJets said. The Columbus Regional Airport Authority, state of Ohio, city of Columbus and Franklin County offered a combined financial package that includes workforce development, job credits, tax abatements and other direct

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

assistance valued at $67.6 million, including $37.4 million from the state, $22 million from the city and county and $8.2 million from the airport, according to the announcement. These figures do not include approximately $30 million in incentives related to area site improvements, loans and marketing. Columbus Regional Airport Authority President and CEO Elaine Roberts, A.A.E., told Airport Magazine that the airport currently leases 19 acres to NetJets and the company will lease an additional 39 acres for the proposed expansion. Additionally, NetJets will have an option on approximately 66 acres, she said. The very preliminary cost estimates for the airport’s site improvement responsibilities are in the $12 million-$14 million range. Site improvements planned by the airport are: relocation of the ASR-9 radar; expansion of NetJets’ aircraft apron (approximately 2.77 acres); addition of a taxilane connector between the expanded NetJets apron and Nationwide facility to the west; wetland delineation and wetland/stream relocation; property acquisition of approximately three acres, including business relocation; on-airport roadway work, including modifications to Bridgeway Avenue and Hubler Road; participation in an area-wide traffic study resulting in off-airport roadway improvements, primarily along Johnstown Road; stormwater detention and utility relocations; and relocation of two existing cell phone towers. NetJets also pledged to embark on a partnership with Ohio State University to attract college graduates, “to solve real world business problems and develop existing talent in Ohio.” Further, the company said it will take a leadership role in Ohio, including providing support for community and environmental initiatives.

FAA Announces Flight Cap DOT, EU To Research For Newark Liberty Impact Of Open Skies DOT and the European Commission (EC) announced that they have launched a new joint research project aimed at investigating how alliances have affected competition in transatlantic markets and the potential impact of the new U.S.European Union (EU) Air Transport Open Skies Agreement that took effect March 30, 2008. The U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement, which will for the first time allow EU and U.S. airlines to serve any route between Europe and the U.S., calls for developing a common understanding of trends in the airline industry in order to promote compatible approaches on competition issues. The EC and DOT will interview airlines, travel agents, industry analysts and consumer groups, as well as perform quantitative analysis on air traffic data. The research project ultimately will enable the EC and DOT to develop a common understanding of competition in transatlantic markets and to encourage public discussions of the future of air transportation, according to the announcement. A final report summarizing the main findings of the research will be published in mid-2009. For further information from the

Detroit Receives Hydrogen-Fueled Buses Ford Motor Co. and the Wayne County Airport Authority announced the delivery of two hydrogen-fueled Ford E-450 shuttle buses to be used for transporting airline passengers between terminals at Detroit Metro. The delivery is the result of a partnership involving Ford, the Wayne County Airport Authority and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. The project is funded with a U.S. Department of Energy grant. Wayne County Airport Authority CEO Lester Robinson noted, “This cooperative partnership will provide the airport authority with new technology to support our ongoing commitment to reducing airport emissions and to transport customers in a more sustainable manner.” Ford said it is the first automaker to deliver hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles for real-world use in several cities. Ford also has delivered buses to the Greater Orlando Airport Authority. To date, 23 of the 30 buses built have been delivered to customers for commercial use. Power PHOTO COURTESY OF FORD MOTOR CO.

Airlines serving Newark Liberty have agreed to cap temporarily and spread out flights for two years to allow 30 more flights per day than last summer, DOT announced. The cap, which will apply to both domestic and international flights, will allow an average of 83 flights per hour during peak periods and will go into effect in early May. “We have an obligation to travelers to do everything in our power to prevent a repeat of the horrors they experienced last summer,” DOT Secretary Mary Peters said. “Delays in New York are a regional problem, not just a single-airport problem.” Peters said DOT also would introduce market-based mechanisms at Newark to allow the airport to accommodate growth, while helping to reduce congestion and delays. As capacity at Newark grows, DOT will auction slots at the airport, an approach that encourages competition, allows new entrants and responds to customer demand, she said. Peters also announced that the department would move key elements of NextGen — the new satellite-based aviation system designed to enhance efficiency and minimize delays across the nation — from design to delivery this year. She said Florida will begin serving as the test bed for the new system this summer, with the introduction of NextGen at Daytona Beach International and the use of a new descent technique in Miami that saves fuel and reduces noise and emissions. In addition, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) will help to increase the capacity of airspace along Florida’s Gulf Coast by allowing planes to fly more closely together without compromising safety, Peters said.

European Commission on the new project, vist http://ec.europa.eu/comm/ competition/index_en.html. The U.S. and EU signed the open skies accord April 30, 2007, following several years of negotiations.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

NEWS BRIEFS

for the Ford E-450 shuttle buses is provided by a 6.8-liter V-10 internal combustion engine that has been supercharged and modified to run exclusively on hydrogen fuel. Detroit Metro’s new buses will be fueled by a hydrogen pumping station located in Taylor, Mich., just east of the airport.

Among the required security enhancements, DHS said it will establish an electronic system of travel authorization for air passengers. The VWP has been authorized by the U.S. for more than 20 years, with 27 current members from Asia and Europe.

More Nations To Join Visa Waiver

Akron-Canton Unveils Major Projects

DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff has signed a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Memoranda of Understanding with Slovak Minister of the Interior Robert Kalinák, Hungarian Ambassador Ferenc Somogyi, Lithuanian Ambassador Audrius Bruzga, Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs Juri Pihl, and Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maris Riekstins. The security enhancements outlined in the agreements put all five countries on track for visa-free travel to the U.S. and potential designation as VWP members later this year. Congress last year authorized DHS to reform the VWP and strengthen the security arrangements required of existing participant countries, as well as to expand the conditions for countries to join the program.

Akron-Canton (Ohio) Airport has unveiled a 10-year, $110 million capital improvement plan that calls for several major projects, including a runway extension and construction of a new customs and border patrol facility to accommodate international flights. The first improvement project is the runway extension, which is underway and scheduled for completion by late 2010. Other near-term projects include the site analysis for the new aircraft rescue and firefighting facility. Most airfield projects will be funded by AIP grants and PFCs, the airport said. Akron-Canton doubled its passenger traffic during the period 2000 to 2006, largely because of new flights added by low-fare carriers AirTran and Frontier.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

$110 MILLION IMPROVEMENTS $60M ■ Completion of the northeast/ southwest runway extension enabling longer flights

Expanding the aircraft parking and general aviation area

$5M

Replacing the aircraft rescue and firefighting/maintenance facility

$5M $3.65M

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AKRON-CANTON AIRPORT

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A customs and border patrol facility will open the airport to international flights

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Expanding parking by 50 percent to add 1,000 spots

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Widening the entrance road will add a lane along the front of the terminal

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Expanding the ticket wing with one new counter and three ticket positions

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I-77

Lauby Road

Expanding the Transportation Security Administration screening area

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Expanding the newest, upper level concourse by 300 feet

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213-acre Port Green Industrial Park, creating up to 1,000 high-paying jobs

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Mount Pleasant

$2.5M $5M $2.5M $3M $18M $6M

PHOTO COURTESY OF AKRON-CANTON AIRPORT

Douglas Hofsass has been named TSA’s new general manager for commercial airports, transportation sector network management. He replaces Charlotte Bryan, who retired from federal service. Most recently, Hofsass served as the federal security director at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Prior to this assignment, Hofsass worked at TSA headquarters as a senior advisor in the office of security operations. Prior to joining TSA, Hofsass worked for United Airlines where he specialized in airport operations and aviation security…. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport has named Cornell Mays to the newly created position of deputy director of planning/ development. Mays is responsible for three departments: planning and engineering, planning development and environmental/safety. He will be in charge of all planning, contracting and execution of construction projects at Lambert. Mays has extensive experience in large-scale project design and management in the aviation industry. He has relocated from Detroit, where he was an executive with architecture, engineering and planning firm SDG Design Inc. Before that, Mays was deputy director at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, where he coordinated a $2 billion capital improvement plan to expand the airfield and build a new terminal complex. He spent 14 years at Detroit Metro as an airport architect, planner and deputy director. Separately, Lambert-St. Louis International has named Susan Kopinski to the new post of deputy director of finance/administration. Kopinski now manages all finance, accounting and revenue-producing operations at Lambert. Previously, Kopinski served as CFO for the Cleveland Airport System and as the director of airport finance for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport…. TSA has named Daniel Liddell as the federal security director (FSD) for Syracuse (N.Y.) Hancock International. As the FSD, he will oversee all TSA operations at Syracuse Hancock and spoke operations at Binghamton, Ithaca, Watertown, Ogdensburg, Massena and Rome airports, all in New York. Liddell has been the acting FSD at Syracuse Hancock since November 2007. He has been with TSA for five years. A

UPFRONT

AIRPORT TERMINAL DESIGNS AS ART. BY CHARLES COHAN, COURTESY OF CURATOR’S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D.C.

SW Florida Approves Commercial Development The Lee County (Fla.) Port Authority has approved the first commercial development of non-aviation property at the Skyplex Commercial Center at Southwest Florida International. The agreement with Gulf Coast Technology Center provides for development of Phase 1 of the Madden Research Loop, the first of several properties to be developed in public/private partnership on a 750-acre site on the north side of airport property. The developer is a subsidiary of the John Madden Co. The Madden Research Loop is being developed as a bioscience and technology research complex. Groundbreaking for the first building tentatively is scheduled for the third quarter of this year. All of the office space within Phase 1 will be designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. “The development of the Skyplex Commercial Center will add

considerable economic benefits to Southwest Florida,” stated Robert Ball, A.A.E., executive director of the port authority. “The convenient road access between the development site and the airport, our Foreign Trade Zone designation, and the overall appeal of living in southwest Florida make this a very attractive location for businesses planning to expand or relocate.”

Boston Logan Institutes Air Service Incentives The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) has unveiled a financial incentive program to attract more international airline service to Boston Logan International. The program, which applies to new, nonstop international service to destinations in Asia — including China and India — Central America, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Mexico City, involves landing fee credits and joint advertising opportunities. The program takes effect July 1,

2008, runs through June 30, 2011, and is offered to all scheduled passenger air carriers. To participate in the program, carriers must agree to provide a minimum of one year of continuous service with at least three weekly nonstop flights. The program provides a landing fee credit of 75 percent for the first year and 25 percent in year two. Massport CEO and Executive Director Thomas Kinton Jr. noted that nonstop flights to Asia frequently are cited as the premier service target among the Boston area’s business, academic and tourism communities. He underscored that the new incentive program isn’t intended to subsidize a service that likely won’t be self-sufficient, but is aimed at improving utilization of Boston Logan’s international Terminal E, since flights linked to Asia, Latin America and the Middle East would operate during off-peak hours. Kinton told Airport Magazine that he expects the program will cost Massport up to $2 million in the first year, based on one to three carriers participating. The program

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UPFRONT

could cost Massport an additional $1 million to $1.5 million in the second year, assuming two more carriers participate. Cooperative advertising could run as much as $400,000. The program applies to both U.S. and foreign carriers, Kinton explained, adding “any carrier that specifically begins service to those markets.” He said that while Boston Logan couldn’t support large plane service into thinner Asian markets, the airport can accommodate 230-seat aircraft. “We are looking at the emerging technology of the new aircraft that will put markets like Boston into play,” he said. Noting that congestion is a problem at many other airports, he added, “As airlines can’t get into some of these markets, we want to be ready.” Kinton pointed out several advantages that Boston Logan can offer new airlines, including a new terminal, limited wait time for security and international passenger clearance procedures and substantial connecting point-to-point service, much of which is connected to carrier alliances and codeshare operations.

IT Security Threats Pressure Carriers An increased number of the world’s airlines report feeling increased pressure to respond to IT security threats, according to the results of the recently released SITA Global Airline IT Security Survey, which includes results from 152 airlines. Airlines said they are creating dedicated security management teams to meet the challenge, as well as outsourcing to specialist services. The survey found that the reasons for increased concern about IT security include the overall growth in passenger numbers, the migration to IP-enabled networks and the expanded use of open systems to facilitate self-service. 12

Massport, Delta Win 2008 Speas Award

Fort Wayne Develops New Airport Branding

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) and Delta are this year’s recipients of the Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award presented by AAAE, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Airport Consultants Council (ACC). The award recognizes the environmental benefits achieved by Terminal A at Boston Logan International. Terminal A was the first airport terminal in the world to receive Leadership in Environmental Engineering and Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Massport and Delta required the building, which opened in March 2005, to incorporate green building practices. Terminal A received its LEED certification in 2006, one year after opening. It was constructed with sustainable materials such as precast concrete, panels of wood from renewable forests and recycled products. The terminal uses 50 percent less water for irrigation and 30 percent less in bathrooms, and it has special storm water filtration devices. It also has efficient windows that reduce heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. Lights automatically dim in daylight, so natural light can be used to reduce energy usage. The Speas airport award is presented annually and is given to those whose contributions have done the most to promote a positive and balanced relationship between airports and the surrounding environments. The award was presented at the AAAE/ ACC 2008 Airport Planning, Design and Construction symposium held in Denver.

Fort Wayne-Allen County (Ind.) Airport Authority, operator of Fort Wayne International and Smith Field airports, last summer set out to develop a new brand that clearly identifies its unique strengths and effectively communicates its role in the community and region. For help with the process, the authority turned to Catalyst Marketing & Design of Fort Wayne, one of just a few firms in the nation certified as brand development specialists. According to Kristina Holmes, community and government affairs manager for the airport authority, Catalyst began the process by bringing in managers from every area of airport operations and administration to learn not only what they do, but also what they represent. “We found that there were common threads that ran throughout our organization — commitment to things such as innovation, value, education, economic development, personal attention and a welcoming spirit. These ideals became the pillars upon which we built our new brand,” Holmes explained, noting that Catalyst used these ideals to create a brand franchise statement for Fort Wayne International and Smith Field. Tory Richardson, A.A.E., executive director of the airport authority, commented, “Since we approached the brand development process as a corporate initiative instead of a marketing initiative, the new brand has multiple strategic applications. Not only is it a communication tool that sets a level of expectation for our customers, it is a device against which we can measure future undertakings. Anything we do should meet our brand promises of innovation,

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

UPFRONT

AN ARTIST’S RENDERING OF FORT WAYNE INTERNATIONAL’S PLANNED WELCOME CENTER, WHICH WILL INCLUDE AN INFORMATION DESK, LOUNGE SEATING AND ELECTRONIC CHARGING STATIONS.

customer focus and value.” The launch of the new brand received a great deal of media coverage locally, helping to expand recognition of the new logo and corporate focus, Holmes said. At Airport Magazine presstime, the airport had planned to place a variety of print, broadcast and outdoor ads to familiarize the community with the new brand and position the airports as community assets. As part of the rebranding process, the airport authority announced that it will construct a new welcome center in the terminal near the security checkpoint. Airport hospitality hosts will operate an information desk in the center and provide Fort Wayne visitors with information about the surrounding areas. The center also will include lounge seating and electronics charging stations.

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UPFRONT

The design of the welcome center will use the same color scheme as the new logo and will incorporate the brand promises of innovation, personal attention and a welcoming spirit. The center will open in late summer 2008.

Sea-Tac Issues Emissions Inventory Port of Seattle Commissioners in March adopted a motion that supports federal efforts to reduce aircraft emissions and directs staff to establish targets for emission reduction at Seattle-Tacoma International. The move followed a briefing on a comprehensive benchmark study designed to lead to goal-setting environmental strategies. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory identifies air emission sources

associated with the airport. The comprehensive inventory identifies airport air emissions from the broadest impact worldwide to the very specific air emissions in the region and within the airport footprint. This method of tracking all emissions associated with the airport is the first broad-based study of its kind in the industry, Sea-

Tac officials said, adding that they hope this will become the standard measurement tool. “Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is one

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UPFRONT

of the first airports in the country to conduct a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory — but it is only the first step in a robust effort to reduce the environmental impact of the facility,” said Commission President John Creighton, who sponsored the motion. “We know that aircraft emissions are a significant source of greenhouse gases, and any credible greenhouse gas reduction strategy must address those emissions. We expect continued growth in the number of travelers using Sea-Tac, and as more people fly more often, we must work quickly to implement effective ways of protecting our region’s air quality while supporting the region’s demand for efficient air travel.” The commission’s plan calls for increased federal action in the areas of airspace protocols that help reduce fuel consumption and increased funding for research into aircraft propulsion. In addition, the motion supports California’s call for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop global warming regulations for aircraft. Several initiatives are directed specifically toward reducing local airport-related emissions. In addition to the emission reduction plan, port staff members are directed to work in collaboration with aviation partners to set measurable targets for emission reductions by the end of 2008; if no targets are developed, the commission may consider carbon offsets or fees. Finally, staff will conduct greenhouse gas inventories at Sea-Tac every five years to measure the effectiveness of emissions-reduction efforts. Among the local initiatives aimed at reducing emissions, the airport has a number of programs either planned or in place, including a proposal to build a pre-conditioned air system for the entire airport to cover all gates, an underground fuel hydrant system, the airport’s ramp tower and electic pushback tractors that move aircraft

away from the gates. These initiatives translate into a significant reduction in emissions at the airport. The proposed preconditioned air system, a portable version of which is currently in use by Southwest, would reduce gas emissions by nearly 40,000 tons of CO2 annually. The fuel hydrant system

saves the need for diesel-powered trucks to deliver fuel to aircraft; the ramp tower is saving up to 5 percent of fuel in taxiing, while tractors save about 150 pounds of CO2 per day versus traditional diesel tractors. A For more information on the study, visit the airport’s Web site at http://www. portseattle.org/news/.

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AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

MARKETSCAN Aviation Solutions

Open Skies Changes Affecting London Heathrow (LHR) and London Gatwick (LGW) from the U.S.: Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ahead? Total Scheduled Flights - February 2008 through July 2008 AIRPORT

CARRIER NAME

Feb 2008

Mar 2008

Apr 2008

May 2008

Jun 2008

Jul 2008

LGW

American Airlines

-100%

LHR

American Airlines

391

440

513

554

536

553

41%

LHR

Air France

n/a

LHR

Air India

LGW

British Airways

162

165

-40%

LHR

British Airways

946

993

1101

1139

1105

1143

21%

LGW

Continental Airlines

121

125

122

120

124

LHR

Continental Airlines

120

124

120

124

n/a

LGW

Delta Air Lines

111

123

120

124

120

123

11%

LHR

Delta Air Lines

n/a

LGW

First Choice Airways

25%

LHR

Kuwait Airways

17%

LGW

Northwest Airlines

-47%

LHR

Northwest Airlines

n/a

LHR

Air New Zealand

LGW

Thomas Cook Airlines

n/a

LHR

United Airlines

261

283

330

341

330

341

31%

LGW

US Airways

LHR

US Airways

n/a

LGW

Virgin Atlantic Airways

LHR

Virgin Atlantic Airways

372

402

401

434

420

434

17%

LGW

Zoom Airlines (U.K.)

n/a

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

Jul08 vs Feb08

SECURITYCHECKPOINT

AAAE’s TSP Staff Advocates For Airports AAE’s Transportation Security Policy (TSP) Office, which advocates for airports on matters of federal security regulation and operations, also serves as a liaison with TSA and other DHS agencies when the nation’s airports encounter security issues in their day-to-day operations. The dynamic nature of security threats requires the security policy staff to work closely with DHS, AAAE’s Airport Legislative Alliance, congressional staff members, security company vendors, major industry associations, AAAE’s Transportation Security Clearinghouse (TSC) and other organizations to ensure that government regulations achieve their goal of enhanced security without negatively impacting airport operations. While there is no typical day in AAAE’s TSP office, on a recent Wednesday the staff mobilized for an important monthly conference call with TSA officials and the aviation community that involved frank discussions on the state of airport security. TSA conducts a similar conference call at least once a month with AAAE and other members of the airport community. Well before the start time of the call, the association’s security policy staff communicated with TSA’s Commercial Airports Policy staff in the Office of Transportation Sector Network Management about the conference call agenda. One AAAE TSP staff member always is present at TSA’s Arlington, Va., office during these calls, while the other staff members participate from AAAE’s office in nearby Alexandria, Va. Being present at TSA’s office allows the TSP staff member to have informal discussions with federal officials before and after the call. During this time, TSA officials often seek input from the AAAE staff member on pending initiatives or will have in-depth conversations that delve into details not shared on the conference call. Shortly after TSA’s one-hour conference call concluded, the association’s TSP staff hosted a follow-up, airports-only call from AAAE’s office that lasted one hour and served as an open format for airports to react to TSA announcements and to provide additional information about their needs. The TSP staff by the end of the day had sent an e-mail alert to airports, summarizing the content of the TSA call and any additional information that was generated during followup conversations with TSA during the day. In addition, throughout the month TSP staff members maintain an active follow-up dialogue with the agency to resolve any issues or concerns raised by topics discussed on the TSA monthly conference calls and AAAE’s airports-only follow-up call. Any effort to describe a typical day in AAAE’s TSP Office is further complicated by the evolving nature of federal security initiatives. For example, when TSA in 2007 finalized an updated Security Directive requiring additional Security Threat Assessment background checks for more than 800,000 aviation workers nationally, AAAE’s TSP and TSC offices began an intense effort that still continues to reconcile the mandated requirements with real-world airport

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

PHOTO BY BILL KRUMPELMAN

PICTURED ARE (LEFT TO RIGHT) COLLEEN CHAMBERLAIN, STAFF VICE PRESIDENT, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY POLICY; CARTER MORRIS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY POLICY; REBECCA MORRISON, STAFF VICE PRESIDENT, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY POLICY; AND STEVEN MANDURANO, DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY POLICY.

SECURITYCHECKPOINT

PHOTO COURTESY OF DARYL HUMPHREY

would be able to infuse its successful experience into the process of setting biometric business standards for access control at airports. The breadth of responsibility of AAAE’s TSP office also involves educational opportunities for the airport community. Annually, the staff sponsors an aviation security summit and an international securityrelated meeting. In 2008, there also will be a general aviation airport security conference and a new meeting dealing with credentialing and access control.

CARTER MORRIS, AAAE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY POLICY.

operations. The regulation required the completion of Security Threat Assessments for workers before airports could issue ID media. While TSC focused on making the operational process as smooth as possible for airports, the TSP staff worked with TSA on policy issues related to the new procedures. These efforts included an aggressive call for relief on the implementation timeframe, as well as transferability of Security Threat Assessments between airports and formal redress procedures for individuals denied ID media. TSP staff members and TSC continue to recommend both policy and operating changes in the process to TSA, particularly with regard to the length and lack of visibility into the Security Threat Assessment adjudication process. Presently, TSA is working on yet another version of the Security Directive, and AAAE’s TSP Office has petitioned to work with the agency in reviewing the new version of the regulation and providing input 18

from an operational and airport point of view before any new requirements or burdensome changes are imposed on the industry. In line with that pro-active effort, the TSP Office also is working with TSA on several initiatives related to airport badging, including biometricbased credentials and access control systems. In an effort to forestall an inevitable top-down, one-size-fitsall regulation mandating biometrics in the airport environment, the TSP staff is beginning to form a consortium of airports and interested organizations to develop an airportdriven solution that meets airports’ needs and resources, as well as TSA’s security objectives. The guiding principles of the group include maintaining local control, protecting current investment, using existing resources and phasing in implementation directives over a reasonable period of time. By participating actively with TSA in the formation of biometric standards and business processes, AAAE

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

“We may not have typical days at the office, but we have the satisfaction of knowing that what we do has a significant impact on aviation security.” AAAE’s TSP staff cooperates with numerous aviation organizations, such as the Aviation Security Coordinating Council, to advance airport interests; conducts research with AAAE airport members on security issues; accommodates individual airport requests for assistance; and works to educate vendors about security products that airports want and need. “We may not have typical days at the office,” commented Carter Morris, AAAE senior vice president for security policy, “but we have the satisfaction of knowing that what we do has a significant impact on aviation security and is responsive to our members’ constantly evolving needs for a leading advocate in Washington.” A

On the Ground or in the Air: GIS for Aviation

PLTS ™ for ArcGIS —Aeronautical Solution: A Database Driven Solution Used to Manage Aeronautical Data and Publish Charts

Map Data Courtesy of Clark County, Nevada, Department of Aviation, and Satellite Imagery Courtesy of DigitalGlobe

Airport operators today face unprecedented challenges to provide greater safety and security for their passengers while still efficiently managing their facilities. Modern airports are finding an integrated geographic information system (GIS) can help them to better manage both air- and ground-side operations. With applications as diverse as airspace planning and routing, integrated flight monitoring, real-time flight tracking, environmental planning, and facilities maintenance, GIS is being used successfully across all segments of the aviation industry.

GIS in Aviation Is Used For Airspace Management Airfield Monitoring Flight Tracking Aeronautical Information Management Facilities and Lease Management Airport Layout Planning Pavement and Asset Management Parking and Sign Management Utility and Facility Maintenance Noise Monitoring and Modeling Environmental Assessment

Discover how GIS software can play a pivotal role in your aviation information management strategy. Discover ESRI® ArcGIS®.

ESRI—The GIS Company™ For a list of international distributors, visit www.esri.com/international.

1-888-603-3218 info@esri.com www.esri.com/transportation

Copyright © 2008 ESRI. ESRI, the ESRI globe logo, ArcGIS, PLTS, ESRI—The GIS Company, ArcMap, ArcInfo, ArcSDE, www.esri.com, and@esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

by Jeff Price

atellite imagery on the Internet allowed us to find which of our neighbors have pools in their backyards. But what else can all those geosynchronous orbiting multi-million dollar gadgets do for us, especially when it comes to managing an airport? Turns out, quite a bit. Satellites allowed the creation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and their uses can be seen everywhere — from vehicle navigation devices to locators in our personal digital assistants (PDAs). GIS first started making its mark on the airport management scene a little more than a decade ago, and its uses have been expanding rapidly ever since. But what does GIS really mean, and exactly what can it do for you?

Display Data “A GIS system is largely thought of as just mapping software, but it is much more than that,” explained Bill Poole, manager of planning for J3 Aviation Consultants in Denver. “While maps and graphical representations of data are the most visible product, the database qualities and ability to store and retrieve endless amounts of data are where GIS systems excel over standard maps and mapping applications such as CAD (ComputerAided Design).” GIS systems allow users to query and display data in symbols, such as using a color-coded map to display a city’s zoning structure, 20

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

or to generate the same information in text form. GIS systems can be used to map, track and query just about all aspects of an airport. Imagine showing a potential homebuyer graphically where his/her house is located in relation to the approach path of your main runway. Or, what if your operations personnel could log pavement work orders in the field and have the system automatically generate a work order for maintenance and a pavement history for the

engineering department? “Airport operations staff could enter findings on a runway inspection, such as a damaged light fixture, and input their findings so that it is logged, and maintenance staff can pull up a status map at the beginning of their shift and find all of the repair items with the specific location shown on a map,” said Poole. Jennifer Eckman, A.A.E., manager of Jamestown (N.D.)

Regional Airport, is just beginning to see the full potential of the airport’s GIS system with regard to airfield maintenance and operations. The airport has mapped out its utility and stormwater information. “We haven’t even really used it to its fullest capability yet,” said Eckman. “We know the exact location of every wire, and we anticipate using it if there were ever an airplane crash and we’d need to cut off the stormwater. “The GIS system tells me exactly where the outlets are for stormwater and the location of the collection sites,” explained Eckman. If an aircraft crashes or experiences a fuel spill, airport crews will know where to watch for signs of stormwater contamination and take preventive measures. “The airport’s stormwater system empties into the James River, a primary river, so having the GIS system makes it a lot easier to pinpoint where those (access points) are,” she said.

Tracking and Security Airfield maintenance and operations personnel also can use GIS to track and keep data on airfield equipment such as signs and lights. “Unlike a printed schematic, with (GIS) in computer format, you can change the data,” said Eckman. “If a light is out, I can look it up, see the manufacturer and even download attachments related to the fixture on a laptop right there in the field.” GIS also can be used AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

GIS

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF ESRI

Unlike a printed schematic, with (GIS) in computer format, you can change the data.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

in vehicle tracking and security. Airports can track the location of security incidents, such as parking lot crime, or certain facilities that are more prone to security breaches. Linking incident log information to a geographic image helps the security manager plan for improvements in procedures, tactics and equipment. In a recent AAAE Airport Report Express survey, airports reported using GIS for virtually everything, including property management, pavement condition management, facility and building management, construction drawing, map generation, airspace analysis, environmental tracking, parking lot surveys, wildlife incident tracking, lightning strike tracking, vehicle tracking, planning and design of airport projects and lease management, development around airports, determination of possessory interest taxes, assessing stormwater management pass-through fees, airfield

GIS

operations inspections, noise abatement and engineering applications. Mapping is one of the uses naturally suited to GIS systems. Prior to GIS, the creation of maps by airport management personnel was a difficult and sometimes costly process. “If an airport manager is meeting with a proposed developer, a [GIS] map could be generated to show the available areas for development, airport property boundaries, terrain, utilities, fencing and other relevant data,” said Poole.

Facility Management The engineering document retrieval system at BWI allows the airport staff to obtain numerous documents from the GIS interface.

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF ESRI

GIS also is useful in property management by providing the airport operator the ability to sit down at a computer, pull up an aerial image of the airport, click on any building and instantly have a property description, the dimensions of the facility, its designated use and hyperlinks to Portable Document Format (PDF) copies of the lease and any other paperwork associated with that facility. Additionally, GIS can keep track of facility management functions such as when the HVAC filters need replacing, or when the facility is scheduled for repainting. GIS allows maps of the areas around an airport to be generated to display zoning information, the Part 77 imaginary surfaces and the Terminal Instrument Procedures (TERPS), which are critical to take to community planning meetings. “This allows the local planning department personnel to be able to query a location and determine the allowable height of a structure without penetrating one of these surfaces,” said Poole. This replaces a AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

GIS

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF ESRI

cumbersome manual task, which is often performed by people who are not familiar with the airport and have to find a location on a map and then try to understand a complicated Part 77 drawing. Further, GIS can be used to assist a community in enforcing the provisions of a height-zoning ordinance.

Noise Reduction

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

Phoenix Sky Harbor International uses GIS for land acquisition and noise mitigation management.

ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF ESRI

GIS also can help with community relations and noise abatement. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International, a GIS system is used in conjunction with the airport’s community noise reduction program. Sky Harbor takes advantage of the mobile functionality of GIS by using PDAs when airport personnel go out to investigate noise issues in the community. Flight tracks and noise model contours utilize GIS at several airports through software systems such as the Airport Noise and Operating Monitoring System, a product of Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. The RealContours version of the company’s software takes the actual flight tracks and can generate an FAA-integrated noise model contour in about 30 minutes. The Fort Wayne-Allen County (Ind.) Airport Authority is putting GIS to extensive use for property management, operations and engineering applications. The airport uses the ArcGIS enterprise GIS application from ESRI and is in the process of updating its database and management systems. So far the airport is pleased with the results. “We have made significant advances in the areas of property management, including leases, easements, facilities, acquisitions and property status,” said Kristina Holmes, the airport’s manager of community and

government affairs. “We have an airspace determination module that has seen very limited usage to date, but we are optimistic that this module will become more useful as time moves forward and other local GIS entities such as the city and county become aware of the information.” Pavement management is another area where the value of GIS is being realized. “GIS will allow an airport to map the paved areas and enter Pavement Condition Index (PCI) information, the history of pavement section and routine and

St. John’s County (Fla.) Airport Authority takes GIS onto the airfield for the daily inspection. Illustration courtesy of ESRI.

unscheduled maintenance,” said Poole. This allows the airport to see both the current status and the history of the airfield’s pavement to ensure that it is being maintained in a proper and timely manner. This allows airport finance personnel to estimate pavement maintenance costs with more accuracy and may postpone costly rehabilitation efforts.

Acquiring GIS The only challenge to airports in implementing GIS these days is that it isn’t available at an office supply store, ready-made for the airport environment. Poole explained that airports may obtain GIS in a variety of ways. “Depending on the GIS desires of the airport, some airports may choose to piggyback on an existing city

or county GIS system, or the airport also may require a system of their own,” said Poole. Large airports may have personnel on staff who are able to set up a GIS system, depending on their experience and workload. In many cases, consultants are used to create the systems, particularly if they are customized. Some systems are very simple to manage and update, while more complex systems may require specialized personnel with an expertise in GIS to manage the stored data. With all the uses of GIS, it seems that there isn’t a department in the airport that would not benefit from such systems. Who would have thought that, after counting the number of pools in our neighborhood, GIS could do all these other amazing things? A Jeff Price is a professor at the Metropolitan State College of Denver and the owner of Leading Edge Strategies, an aviation training and consulting firm in Colorado.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

A Preview Of Things To Come

LISA PYLES, A.A.E. director

ROBERT OLISLAGERS, A.A.E. executive director

BILL BARKHAUER, A.A.E. executive director

Addison Airport, Texas

Centennial Airport, Colorado

Morristown Municipal Airport, New Jersey

Pyles, Olislagers and Barkhauer are members of the Airport Magazine Editorial Advisory Board

: Given the troubled state of the U.S. economy, how do each of you see your airport doing this year?

Barkhauer: We are expecting to have a pretty decent year. We continue to see a slow but steady decline in the lower end of the business, the single-engine, privately owned aircraft and that sort of thing. But our corporate activity continues to be quite strong, and we see some of our users updating their fleets and buying newer airplanes, usually that both have longer range and are more fuel efficient. We did see a bit of a decline in fuel sales last year over the year before. I think we’d attribute that probably to some resistance to the higher prices that are out there now and also 26

perhaps to more efficient airplanes that particularly the high-end corporate operators are flying now.

Pyles: I think I’d say the same thing on the Addison Airport side of it. We also have seen a decrease in fuel flowage fees. We don’t track the actual sale itself here. We only track what the FBOs have to send us for the fuel flowage part of it, but that was down significantly in January over what we had budgeted, about $12,000 worth. But interestingly enough, operations were not down, and I think what that is attributed to is some of the high fuel prices on this airport compared to other airports. Some of the other GA airports in the area are not really our competition. Our competition is Love Field. So our FBOs price their fuel against

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

Love Field’s, and so some people are making the decision, “Hey, I can get cheaper gas someplace else,” and so they will do it someplace else if they have that option. As far as the planes that are coming in, we still have an incredibly high amount of IFR traffic and one of the highest levels of itinerant traffic in the state. So those things have not changed. We do see that more and more people who are using smaller planes are making decisions to go to other airports, which in our case is really not a bad thing for us.

Olislagers: Well, Centennial Airport is probably somewhat of a similar story. We do track a number of different indicators, including corporate aircraft, meals catered, the amount of fuel sold, itinerant traffic

versus local, corporate versus the piston guys. Statewide, we were down about 26 percent in AvGas sales last year, which was a repeat of ’06 as well. We attribute the high cost of fuel and the relative delta on price elasticity that hurts the piston drivers more so than the jet drivers. We did have our first increase in seven years in which our operational numbers were up, from 320,000 operations to 335,000 operations in ’07. That was the first jump up after seven years of decline since 1999. However, our fuel sales were only up a single percentage point, in spite of a 14 percent drop on the AvGas side. So we continue to be driven by the jet market as our mix changes quite considerably from fewer piston hours flown and less AvGas being purchased, to seeing more itinerant jet traffic coming in. I think there is some price elasticity effect, in fact, with the jet drivers, even though our operational numbers are up much higher than the sales would indicate. My suspicion is that the jet drivers are becoming more sensitive to contract fueling and so on. They are clearly trying to bulk wherever they can get the best price, and then they just do a courtesy buy on the ramp after they have stayed overnight, or stayed for the day. The first month of the year looked very strong. We were up about 13 percent over last year, although January last year due to weather was very weak, so that was not an overall indicator. From our perspective, I think we are doing well. I might add that the two VLJ manufacturers that we had in December of last year, both of them have now shuttered their doors. We have lost 800 jobs on the airport just in the last two months, and it was just heartbreaking.

: What does this tell you about the VLJ market? Olislagers: It doesn’t tell me much about the VLJ market other than it is maturing. I think those folks

that were undercapitalized and were really new to the certification process had a distinct disadvantage against an operator like Cessna who’s gone through the certification process a thousand times and also had lots of capital to throw at a project like this. That is why you see the Mustang flying, being produced and distributed, and I think that is why Adam Aircraft has had difficulties. Regarding ATG, we kind of anticipated that. Their business model was somewhat shaky, but even Eclipse is having its problems. You know, they had anticipated having delivered some 500 aircraft by now, and I think they have delivered maybe a hundred and have had to go to what I would call “secondary markets” to get capital. So we are starting to see a little bit of a shakeout, a little bit of a maturing process. I always thought that the real advantage of the whole VLJ market was not so much the VLJs themselves as it was the manufacturing process, lowering the cost, the barrier to entry into the jet market. This is also what the fractional market did to bringing new entrants in. On the whole, I think that market for us is continuing to be very, very strong.

Barkhauer: One thing that will always kind of differentiate our type of airport that the three of us come from, which is the large GA reliever airport whose main forte is corporate aviation, is that most of our tenants are what academics at least would call “cost-center tenants” as opposed to “profit-center tenants.” You know, corporate flight departments, generally speaking, are a not-for-profit part of their corporation. They are there to provide a service to the executives and the company and so forth, though they are not insensitive to price. Generally, they do have a fixed budget, being in a corporate structure, for what it is going to cost the flight department for a given year. But, if the cost of fuel goes up or the cost of paying the pilots goes up

or whatever, they can usually adapt to that in their budget the following year. When the corporations have made the kind of investments they have in fleet and physical plant and hangars and maintenance facilities and other things to take care of their fleet, up to a certain point changes in the cost of operating, especially fuel, probably don’t make a huge difference to them. Now, at our kind of airport, our version of profit-center tenants are FBOs. They, of course, are in business to make money and satisfy their investors and so forth. So they are a little more sensitive to the ups and downs that can occur in the market. We did see some decrease in our fuel sales toward the end of last year. I think that is because the fuel prices went up. A lot of flight departments were probably coming up against the end of their budget authority or whatever for the year. Some of them probably cut their flying down a bit. I suspect most of them have probably adapted and built that into their budgets for this year, and unless the price of fuel goes up a whole lot more this year, I don’t expect that to continue to be a limiting factor.

Olislagers: You know, from our end, we always talk about fuel being a commodity and everybody knows what the price is and what the markup is, and so it is always too high from a cost point of view. But it becomes a much more discretionary piece for those who are flying recreationally, like the piston drivers, and the decision to fly or not to fly, I think, is proportionally a little different for them when it starts to reach into their pocketbook too deeply. So, since the driver is not that the airplane is used for business, but strictly to go from A to B for that $200 hamburger, I think it is a lot easier to make that decision not to fly. We see the same thing at the corporate side that Bill pointed out. You know, they just have to make the adjustment and continue to fly, and that is what we are seeing.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

GA ROUNDTABLE

Pyles: We have seen the same thing. At the end of the year, there was a pretty significant drop, particularly in the jet sales, not so much in the AvGas, but that has been down for a few months. I wouldn’t anticipate that that would continue because, although fuel prices are high, we seem to be past that volatility, anyway, at least for the short term. It may happen again, but at least for the short term, it seemed to have steadied somewhat, anyway.

: What do you hear from your FBOs? Are any of them expressing any of the nervousness that we hear on the national scene about the economy? Olislagers: We have not here at Centennial Airport. I have talked to all four FBOs. We have one specialty FBO that focuses on nothing but very high customer service. They actually have a waiting list. Their growth is strong. The other three FBOs out here are fairly optimistic as well. So, no, we really haven’t seen a deep concern about the economy, although it does seem to have affected certain sectors. The Denver area has a very high number of financial service companies, and I knew something was up when Countrywide Home Loans stopped flying their Global Expresses into Centennial Airport. We have a number of financial service companies that I think are suffering a little bit from the sub-prime mortgage debacle and the housing slump. That is contrasted by all of the oil and gold exploration companies we have 28

here at the airport and who are all doing exceptionally well.

Pyles: Well, the interesting thing here at Addison is that we have three FBOs — Millionaire, Landmark and Atlantic — and all three of them are in expansion mode, not so much in building new facilities, but in improving and upgrading the facilities that they have. Every one of them is in a growth mode as far as that is concerned. I think that while they see that there have been some negative things in the economy that are happening, they don’t see it yet from their perspective as meaning that they need to be pulling back and contracting business. This may just be because here in the north Texas area, it is such a diversified economy that we are not dependent on one sector. Whereas, we used to be so heavy into oil and gas, now there is so much diversification that a downturn in the economy takes a while longer to hit north Texas. : What do you hear from your colleagues in the GA industry and what do you expect on a national scale for the GA community this year? Barkhauer: I don’t really see huge ominous things out there on the horizon, from the reliever airport perspective, anyhow. I think always in the back of all of our minds is sort of the vague fear that if there is ever a terrorist or serious security incident that involves our segment of the industry — and thus far, we’ve been fortunate that hasn’t happened — we are always afraid the government could step in with all the forethought and enlightenment they showed when they stepped in on the air carrier side. We could suddenly find ourselves with a heavy regulatory burden and lots of unfunded mandates and so forth.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

I always worry about federal funding continuing at a reasonable level because our type of airport, even if it is very large and busy, is never going to have all of the revenue sources, the restaurants, the hotels, the parking, the rental cars, and all those things that allow a lot of money to be raised. So we are always going to be probably a little disproportionately dependent on the FAA and the AIP program for our capital needs, and whenever there is talk about cutting the program back or tinkering with it, I lose a little sleep over that. But due to AAAE’s good efforts and Congress continuing to recognize that situation, so far things are pretty good in that arena.

Olislagers: Actually, from our trending, my expectation is that we will see a small, slight increase in business, not the uptick that we had been seeing, maybe at worst a flat year for the GA industry as a whole. There are some long-term trends that I certainly don’t like. You look at pilot starts. They are down. They have been down for quite some time. You look at the average age of pilots. It’s going up. We are looking at the cost of aircraft increasingly going up. The age of the existing fleet is increasing significantly as a percent of the total. Then there are newer aircraft that are coming in, and frankly, the single-engine piston deliveries have been very robust. If you look at it over the course of the last 10 years, it is up about 14 percent. So it is actually looking pretty decent, but we are seeing some clouds on the horizon. In the long run, we will probably see fewer and fewer entries, and as a constituency on the GA side, 10 years from now, that is where I start to really get worried about how we can maintain our current posture. But that is really a long-term trend rather than a short-term trend. I do see some other issues, more regulatory that can seriously affect us, besides the high cost of fuel at this point, depending on what happens

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADDISON AIRPORT PHOTO COURTESY OF CENTENNIAL AIRPORT

in Congress here in the next couple of years, including environmental regulation. Certainly the user fee continues to be an issue that I think could have a very deleterious effect on our industry almost akin to what was happening in the industry prior to tort reform and the GA Revitalization Act.

Pyles: There’s the other shoe that may drop about security and how is that going to affect us. Every once in a while something happens, and some Congressperson decides that they will make a name for himself or herself and demand that GA do this, that, or whatever, and that is always scary because those things are usually not based on any kind of rational thought. So that is always an issue. There was a lot of concern and probably still is a lot of concern, rightfully so, about the user fee issue and what that’s going to do. Even if it has been beaten down this go-around, and we don’t know whether or not it really has been, but a significant number of Congresspeople are saying no, that it’s not going to happen, they won’t support it. On the other hand, some things never die in Washington, so is it going to come up some other time and under another

administration, and will it just come around again, and at some point, there won’t be the energy to fight it back down? That’s a concern. The other thing that I hear from some of the higher-end GA relievers is about the problems with being a block grant state. We have to go through TexDOT for our money, and there is never enough, and they tend to spread the money over all 300-400 or so qualifying airports in the state of Texas, without any regard to the level of traffic or the level of operations or value of aircraft or anything like that. So particularly on this airfield and a lot of others, you have got crumbling infrastructure that really needs to be updated. We have huge needs, but we’re eking out maybe a million, a million and a half each year from grant funding, and it just doesn’t go very far.

Barkhauer: I have to second that from our experience. New Jersey was a block grant state for about seven years or so earlier in this decade and the late ’90s, and Morristown fared abominably under that program. The state seemed to have the mentality that the money should be used mainly to keep small airports with single-engine airplanes and 3,000-foot runways open and from

going under and to spread the money around to everybody. There was little, if any, recognition of the critical role that our type of airport played in the state system at large or the metropolitan system at large, let alone the national system, and we got very little money from that program. We got zeroed out a number of years, and I am still dealing with the consequences of that, with a huge backlog of capital projects. While we finally got back under the FAA and they are doing the best they can to help us out with it, it will probably be another 10 years before we fully recover from the impact of that. I don’t think from listening to Lisa’s story and our own experience and some other people I have talked to that the block grant approach has been very kind to large GA reliever airports. They seem to be kind of the forgotten part of that puzzle. The air carrier airports can fend for themselves and charge PFCs and so forth, and the block grant money often gets used to help the little guys out, and where are we?

Pyles: Our problem here in Texas has been that every one of the state’s Congressmen has an airport in their area, and so from TexDOT’s staff perspective, well, the way that we allocate these funds is that we spread

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

GA ROUNDTABLE

it out equally among everybody. Then all of the politicians are happy because nobody gets left out of that, and it makes their life easier. It makes staff’s life easier, and I certainly understand that, but there doesn’t seem to be any recognition that $1 million doesn’t go very far on an airport like Addison when you’ve got to do $5 million, $6 million, $7 million projects-plus, in order to just catch up with everything.

: Do you have any new technology for your airports that you are introducing this year or new operating procedures? Barkhauer: We have

PHOTO COURTESY OF MORRISTOWN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT

brought a new security

system online. We started in early ’06 and mostly wrapped up the installation of things at the end of ’07. It is not something that would impress our colleagues at big air carrier airports with the degree of security that they have to maintain, but for us, we installed several dozen remotely operated security cameras around the airport. We significantly upgraded our gates and fencing and now can operate our gates remotely and so forth. We also went to an airport-wide badging program. We don’t have a terminal building where we have to worry about people getting onto the AOA from there, but as a tool for controlling access to gates or tenant facilities through the AOA, we found that very helpful. So that is mainly what we have been doing on the technology front. It’s mainly been spent in the security area, and of course there’s not really eligibility under AIP or other grant programs. So whatever we do at our type of airport — and since 9/11, clearly, we’ve had to do a lot of things — we have to come up with

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that money on our own, and you have to do it, but it’s not easy.

Olislagers: No. It’s certainly not easy. The state of Colorado has a very robust program. Obviously, airports in the state rely on AIP, and most of that funding actually goes to some of the larger airports, in particular those that are able to accept some of these very large grants as well. All of the state excise tax dollars charged on jet fuel and AvGas go right back into the state program. Of course, there is also the state apportionment program, and most of those funds, in fact, go to the smaller airports. So there is a great equitable distribution system, and I can honestly say that although I would always like and can use more money, I find that we see a robust airport system. We are even having the state experiment with paying for multi-lateration — ADS-B — surveillance up in the mountains. So we’re doing some pretty innovative things in that regard. At the airport last year, we started to experiment with both hard-wired as well as solar-operated density altitude display signage. The airport here is at 5,385 feet, so density altitude in the summertime is a major, major issue. We are always warning on the ATIS about it, but at the end of the runway we now have large LED displays that update every 30 seconds what the temperature and density altitude equation is. So a pilot who might have misplaced a number or didn’t bother doing a little check to see if he’s over-gross or not can now check this out. Every year, we experience a few density altitude accidents with aircraft trying to take off. You know, they roll out; they get a little ground effect. Then they’re 15, 20 feet above ground, and they realize they’re not getting any higher, and usually end up mushing out, either on the golf course or on the highway, a little farther out sometimes with not-so-happy consequences. So that new signage has really worked for us. We acquired it last year and are

continuing to expand that program. Another thing on the security side that is coming up is increased surveillance. For example, during the World Series, we had a VIPR (Visual Intermodal Protection and Response) team out here. We expect to have those VIPR teams again during the Democratic National Convention. We may actually do screening here and have metal detectors and possibly baggage explosives detection screening systems. That at a pure GA airport is a little unusual, but that’s some of the security direction that we may be going through this year simply to work through the Democratic National Convention. By all accounts, we’re expecting as many as a quarter of a million people coming through the gates here, not necessarily at Centennial Airport, but coming through the Denver area, including protestors, 30,000 reporters, delegates, you name it. So we are keenly aware that we’re one of these portals, and we will do whatever we need to do to not have any problems here.

Barkhauer: Referring back to the economic outlook, we are a one-FBO airport, although in most cases, an airport of our size, complexity, level and mix of operations would probably have more. We have Signature as our sole FBO, obviously not because we set out to do that, but because of some mergers and acquisitions and kind of the course of business over time, Signature ended up being the sole player. That’s probably been good for us, though, because, of course, Signature is a large chain. They are, in fact, owned by a British company, BBA, who has been very willing to invest in Signature as a chain, and they are willing to invest in their facilities here in Morristown. They have two large facilities in two different places on the airport. One of them is about an $18 million GA terminal that they just opened up about four years ago. Signature seems to display a kind of bullish attitude about things here.

The only concern or complaint that I sometimes hear is that Signature by its nature tends to cater to the high end of the high end, if you will, the top echelon of business aviation. They do an extraordinarily good job of meeting the needs of that segment, but they are, for that reason, expensive, and sometimes the charter operator who has the one Lear jet or the one small Falcon or something, who doesn’t necessarily patronize Signature on a fleetwide basis a lot, will come in here. Signature is really the only choice in town, and if you get their services a la carte and aren’t a frequent customer of the chain, of course, the prices could be fairly high. But that being said, as a chain, Signature seems to do very well catering to the part of the market that they do, and the type of service they provide fits well with the type of airport that we want to be here. Sometimes I wish that there were a few more options available for the users that aren’t quite as high end, but who we would still consider an important part of our fleet mix. But I get the impression that Signature is pretty bullish, and we don’t get a lot of sense that they have a lot of difficulty. In talking to colleagues around the country, one thing I do hear or do get the impression of is that the chain FBOs, the ones that have a larger corporate parent and are part of a larger group, I think for the most part these days, they’re doing pretty well. I do hear, however, that the locally owned FBOs that do a good job and are fairly sophisticated don’t have the access to capital and access to all the resources of a chain. I hear that those folks are struggling more and have more difficulties. I think the long-term trend in the FBO business is probably going to be toward more consolidation, and I think it is going to become harder for the locally owned or smaller operations to survive.

Olislagers: I would agree with that, Bill. I do see consolidation, and I do see consolidation for a different reason. With

the demise of our VLJs, I think there is going to be a little adjustment to that irrational exuberance over VLJs. FBOs used to sell at maybe three, four times market cap, and these days, they’re selling as high as eight to 10 times market cap, which is really unusual. I think that was driven by this expectation of VLJ growth, as well as the delivery numbers that we are seeing on the turbojets in particular. But the FBOs on the whole are doing very well. Interestingly enough, Signature, which is one of the four here at Centennial Airport, has never managed to get more than 13 percent market share on the airfield. That’s mostly because they are very focused on their contract customers, like NetJets and Flight Options, and less so on the individual client. We see the same thing that Bill just described, like that poor lone jet driver who doesn’t have a previous relationship or a high-volume relationship with Signature. They do kind of take it on the chin. Fortunately, at our place, we have a lot of options, and so they can go elsewhere, which in large part is the reason why a lot of our users here prefer some of the other FBOs over Signature. But Signature certainly is not hurting, because it does have a fairly robust contract customer relationship. For the most part, they are all up. We were seeing the typical investment that FBOs make at Centennial Airport over the years trend at between $5 million and $7 million just on an entry, just to come in. The last few years we have seen investment well north of $10 million to $15 million, and the last one is probably going to be spending about $23 million before they are said and done. I do know that one of the international chains is focused more now on their international expansion, given the current market climate in the United States. So they have actually scaled back a little bit domestically, and they are very much looking at the international market, in particular, China, Middle East, those markets. A

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CONCESSIONS

Shopping Malls, Lifestyle Centers…Airports?

Are Airports the Next

Upscale Retail

Venue? by Ann Ferraguto

et’s face it. The retail and restaurant businesses are not for the weak at heart and neither is the airport business. So why are major retailers, restaurateurs and celebrity chefs bringing their concepts and ideas to airports? Has it been worthwhile? In order to explore further the entrance of increasingly higher-end retailers and restaurateurs into the airport retail industry, I spoke with airport concession managers, retailers and restaurateurs to learn more about why these concepts and brands entered airports, how they are performing, and how certain airports purposefully developed their programs to make them attractive to these concepts. Popular Restaurants and Celebrity Chefs Wolfgang Puck was one of the leaders in this segment of the airport concession industry. In developing his Wolfgang Puck brand, he recognized the benefit of the exposure to the airport market, as well as the potential revenue stream. Wolfgang Puck Express restaurants now are located in 24 airports in the U.S. As other celebrity chefs are building their brands through product lines and television, airports are one of the venues being considered. Widely acclaimed celebrity chef Todd English, best known for his Olives restaurant, has licensed his Bonfire concept to HMSHost. There are currently two locations, one in Terminal 2 at New York’s Kennedy International and the other at Boston Logan International’s Terminal B. The 3,500-square-foot Bonfire restaurant in Boston Logan just was recognized by Travel & Leisure Magazine as its favorite airport restaurant in the country. This recognition is a result not just of the concept, but also of the careful execution of the concept by HMSHost. For this unit, HMSHost has a team of employees who are dedicated and specifically trained to work only in this restaurant.

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Creative Host Serv ices Now SSP America

English’s first ve venture enture in ai airport dining was with his Figs LaGu concept at New Y York’s LaGuardia Airport. When the conce concession mana management team at Boston Logan Ami International, led by Sal Amico, manager of airport concessions, set out to develop the conces concessions in Terminals A and B with a blend of national brands and local flavor, they were determined. They sent out 1,000 invitations to a networking session to local and national operators, inviting them to come and find out about the concession opportunities. As a result of this effort and others, the outcome is a carefully blended mix, including local concepts and national concepts that are locally based, such as Au Bon Pain and Dunkin’ Donuts. Roger Berkowitz, the owner and operator of Legal Sea Foods, which has been a tremendous success in both Boston and Washington, D.C., airports, developed two new concepts for the Boston terminals. The result has been a success. PHOTO COURTESY OF HMSHOST

long with a name change from Creative Host Services to SSP America, the newly rebranded food and beverage (f&b) operator has undertaken a $4 million research project to identify and respond to the changing demands of travelers. Parent company SSP operates in airports and rail stations in 28 countries, while its SSP America division operates in more than 42 airports in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. Les Cappetta, formerly HMSHost’s executive vice president business development, design and construction, joined SSP America in 2007 as the company’s CEO and president. Cappetta pointed to SSP America’s consumer research project as an important step in the company’s plan to identify “gaps” in current airport f&b offerings and to develop products that respond to these needs. Among the findings so far, the research indicated that consumers are demanding a higher quality experience but are willing to pay more for it. This relates to design and space, as well as the food concept, the company said. Acting on this conclusion, SSP America has determined that its portfolio will include premium luxury brands, healthy options and quality, freshly prepared “grab and go” alternatives. The company in February announced an exclusive deal with a leading American steakhouse, the Palm Restaurant, to add this option at airports. Similarly, the company will offer airports other premium brands such as The Caviar House and Prunier Seafood Bar. In addition, the company will address the healthy/organic niche through Camden Food Co. and European bakery brands such as Panopolis and Upper Crust. Cappetta said the addition of these brands will “directly address the identified need for luxury and sanctuary and a general requirement to create an environment for passengers and not just a simple refueling opportunity.” A

As celebrity chefs are building their brands through product lines and television, airports are one of the venues being considered.

One of the features of Boston’s international Terminal E concession program is Dine Boston Bar and Grill. This innovative concept was developed by D-Lew Enterprises and features a Boston-centric menu coupled with a Visiting Chef program, a rotation of popular local chefs. Chefs such as Stephen Brown from Davio’s and Kevin Crawley from Coriander Bistro have developed “tasting menus” that are offered in addition to the regular menu. The restaurant kitchen staff is trained to prepare the tasting menu items, and the visiting chef comes to the airport for a meet and greet session and a kick-off lunch with VIPs and the press. Seattle-based celebrity chef Kathy Casey joined forces with Seattle Restaurant Associates to bring Dish D’Lish to SeattleTacoma International. Located in the Central Terminal, the restaurant has a fast-casual menu featuring a variety of fresh, quality sandwiches and salads — Casey’s “Food T’ Go Go.” When Joe Anderson, manager of concessions and business development at MinneapolisSt. Paul International, and his concession team began planning the 37,000-square-foot expansion of the concession program in the Northstar AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARADIES

CONCESSIONS

Crossing area, including about 20,000 square feet of food service, they set out to have “good, better, best” styles of dining available to their customers. To round out the existing mix of restaurants, they added Axel’s Bonfire and a 5,000-square-foot Ike’s Food and Cocktails. The average check now being realized at Minneapolis-St. Paul supports their goal of good, better, best. The average check at Chili’s Too is in the high teens, Axel’s Bonfire’s is in the mid-$20s, and Ike’s is in the low $30s. Healthy and Organic Food Healthy and organic food concepts also increasingly are making their way into airports. One of the new concepts recently introduced is the UFood Grill, a restaurant developed by George Naddaff, the founder of the Boston Market chain. Located in the food court in Terminal B at Boston Logan, the UFood Grill offers a healthy menu of items that includes all-natural, free-range bison burgers. The French Meadow Bakery has been operating as a certified organic 34

bakery since 1985. Now the freshbaked breads, sandwiches and other foods are available at French Meadow Bakery and Café at Minneapolis-St. Paul International. The first unit located on Concourse F was only 1,100 square feet but generated close to $2 million in 2007. As a result of its success and popularity among airport customers, a second French Meadow Bakery was developed. This location is more than 4,300 square feet and generated roughly $4.5 million in sales last year. Branded Retailers, Designers The higher-end, luxury product trend also is becoming more apparent in airport retail. Designer brands and well-known luxury goods concepts are appearing more often outside of duty-free stores. Despite the fact that Hugo Boss closed its store in the Mall of America in Minneapolis, there is now a Hugo Boss store at Minneapolis-St. Paul International that is generating about $1,000 per square foot in sales. Tumi has licensed its brand to operators in

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Minneapolis-St. Paul International, Kennedy International and San Francisco International airports. The trendy and popular Lilly Pulitzer brand is opening its first airport store in Palm Beach International through a license agreement with The Paradies Shops. The Paradies Shops also has completed a deal with Vera Bradley. The first airport Vera Bradley store will open in Atlanta Hartsfield International. According to industry retailers, popular brands and designers are interested in airports not just for the sales, but also because the locations increase the brand’s exposure and help them build their business and awareness with other retailers. Many of these brands have few stores of their own, primarily being sold through boutiques or “store-withina-store” areas in large department or specialty stores. Brighton, another brand that typically is sold in this way, has ventured into airports through a license agreement with The Paradies Shops. Popular international brands also are excited about airports. Muji, a very popular Japanese brand built on simplicity, is considering its first airport store, which would be only its third store in the United States. Lacoste stores, offering their signature crocodile logo apparel and accessories, now are located at Kennedy and Newark Liberty international airports. Not all retailers, however, are sold on the opportunities offered at airports. The Lands End store that operated at Minneapolis-St. Paul International for several years recently closed its doors due to Lands End’s relationship with Sears. Although

CONCESSIONS

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

PHOTO COURTESY OF TWO PODNERS-TPS, LLC

Lands End was generating more than $2 million annually in only 1,100 square feet at the airport, Sears was concerned that it would lose customers in its Sears stores if Lands End merchandise were available at the airport. Most retailers disagree, believing that the airport opportunities enhance their exposure, only adding to their downtown, shopping mall and online sales. Marketing and Planning Including major brands and popular chefs in an airport concession program does not just happen — it takes a lot of effort, typically early on in the concession-planning process. When popular brands or celebrity chefs enter an airport, they ask the same questions that they ask when considering a shopping mall location: ”Where is the space located?”; “What’s adjacent to it?”; and “What amount and type of traffic passes by it?” When the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) took over Terminal B at Boston Logan in 2001, officials realized that the passenger flows heading for Pier A needed to be re-oriented in order to maximize concession sales. The airport relocated the security checkpoint so that the majority of the concessions in Terminal B, Pier A now have 100 percent exposure to the passengers. As a result of the new concepts and passenger flows, Massport has seen at least a 33 percent increase in concession sales in Pier A in Terminal B this year over last year, with sales per enplaned passenger in recent months nearing or exceeding $10. Through a joint effort with its new tenants at Minneapolis-St. Paul International, the Metropolitan Airports Commission developed 13, 60-second “infomercials” on the newly developed concepts that have been shown on its CNN channel throughout the airport for two to three minutes every hour. Will the Momentum Continue? The airport retail industry certainly has come a long way in terms of being recognized by major brands and chefs. Judy Tuttle, vice president-airport leasing of Westfield Concession Management, said that when she tried to make appointments at the International Council of Shopping Centers Conference 12 years ago to discuss lease opportunities at airports, people would not even return her calls. Now, the likes of Michael Sternberg, the Washington, D.C., restaurateur who started Harry’s Tap Room, are not only doing business with airports and airport industry operators, but they are looking for additional opportunities. Many, like Sternberg, believe that the exposure at airports is valuable in itself and the “positives outweigh the negatives.” However, airports are not necessarily right for every brand, and certain brands are not right for every airport. Both airports and brands need to be selective to ensure that the potential location and market at a particular airport is the right fit for the concept and brand to be successful. A Ann Ferraguto is the principal with AirProjects, Inc., an Alexandria, Va.-based retail and food service consulting firm with a specialty practice in airports. www.airprojects.net

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

“Thank you for many things: Wonderful food, attention to me as a person, a place to de-compress, kindness, a non-airport feeling.” Barry Austin Goodfield, Ph.D., Traveler Glendale, AZ

Offering a lively blend of foods with signature flavors, HMSHost brings more to the table.

HASMORESIZZLE Making the Traveler’s Day Better™

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AIRPORT CONCESSIONS

SURVEY

AN AIRPORT MAGAZINE SURVEY

irport officials who are assessing the strength of concessions in their terminals and the impact of post-2001 security on buying trends have shared with Airport Magazine their plans for change. Many mentioned â&#x20AC;&#x153;re-conceptingâ&#x20AC;? the concessions they offer. Simply put, this means re-branding the original concept for the retail store or food and beverage outlet with a new identity to meet current passenger demand. Airports were asked to list the concession concepts that they will introduce in 2008-2009 and the concepts that are in greatest demand. In addition, they described the impact of TSA security requirements on concession sales. Similarly, representatives of concessions companies listed for Airport Magazine the demand for food/beverage

and retail outlets in airports today and the outlook for the near future. The following comments are a sampling of the responses that airports and concessions companies submitted in response to our survey request. To view the full responses, go to the Airport Magazine Web site at www.airportmagazine.net.

AIRPORTS Reno-Tahoe International: The airport will introduce a business center, massage chairs, specialty confection, sponsored free Wi-Fi and free local telephone service in 2008-2009. Among the retail store concepts now offered, Brighton Collectibles is in great demand, reflecting the increased number of women travelers. Overall, presecurity food and beverage (f&b) sales continue to be

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

CONCESSIONS SURVEY affected by security restrictions, while the pre-security news/gifts/ sundries sales continue to grow. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International: F&b tenants currently are undergoing a major refurbishment, with all establishments required to upgrade by a minimum of $100 per square foot in all public areas. Retail is now in an RFP process to bring on new offerings airport-wide for a total of 72 new locations this year. Personal services are in great demand, and concessions such as hair/nail salons and spas will be introduced in all terminals. New York LaGuardia, Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International: Kennedy International terminals this year will introduce a number of f&b and retail concepts, including Balducci’s, Todd English Bonfire Steak Restaurant, an apothecary and a spa. Nail and spa services are in the greatest demand at the three airports. Pre-security concessions at the airports continue to do well. San Francisco International: The airport will introduce a pharmacy/ health and beauty store and a Mediterranean deli this year. Presecurity f&b locations still are performing marginally, while postsecurity locations do well. Minneapolis/St. Paul International: Among the many concepts that the airport will add this year and next are a medical clinic/pharmacy, salon/ spa, sit-down restaurant and a bar/ restaurant or cyber café. Among the retail stores that currently are doing well are DVD rentals and Harley Davidson. Boston Logan International: Massport and BAA Boston are in the midst of an expansion and redevelopment project at Terminal B. Costing $25 million, the project 40

includes renovations to nearly 1,000 square feet of terminal space and 30,000 square feet of concession space. As part of the Terminal C f&b redevelopment project this year, concessionaire Westfield will open a new food court. New retail concepts in Terminal E include Euro Bar, XpresSpa and Brookstone. Terminals B, C and E have a solid mix of landside and airside concessions. At the new Terminal A, the concessions program is almost entirely airside. Port Columbus International: In 2007, five of the airport’s existing food/ beverage locations were re-concepted and four new concepts were added. Later this year, an existing news and gift shop will be updated and renovated in Concourse C. One service the airport plans to add in 2008 is for the “business homeless” passenger. This will provide locations for travelers to hook up their laptops, talk on the phone or complete paperwork. The list of planned improvements for this concept includes additional electrical outlets, countertops with outlets and seating, and areas throughout the terminal that have tables/chairs. Miami International: The airport’s new South Terminal, which opened in August 2007, currently is being built-out with concessions. The terminal has a 50,000-squarefoot concession hall featuring an 8,900-square-foot food court in the center. Retail concepts in the South Terminal will include Airport MD, a clinic; 10-minute Manicure; and Tech Showcase, which will demonstrate new products. New concessions concepts are planned throughout the North Terminal as well. The airport is emphasizing local businesses throughout as part of its slogan, “100 Percent Pure Miami Shopping.” Fort Lauderdale International: Construction was expected to be completed by March 1 on 13 new concession locations spread among

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

all four terminals. The airport’s food/ beverage operator, CA-One Allen Food Services, is offering a new program on a trial basis to passengers in Terminal 1, Concourse B, called “In Seat Service.” The passenger never needs to leave the hold room to buy something to eat. Food servers take orders from passengers in the hold room and deliver the food to the seated passenger.

In addition, the concessionaire has added “Hydro 2 Go” stations, which are moveable water stations that expand the availability of water throughout the airport. Palm Beach (Fla.) International: The airport recently awarded a new contract to The Paradies Shops to add seven retail locations, including five specialty retail sites. In addition, several existing retail locations will be revamped and re-branded. Host International will build a new sit-down restaurant adjacent to the newly expanded Concourse C area. In addition, several existing food and beverage locations will be re-branded and expanded.

Louisville International: Retail concepts most in demand are specialty stores such as Brighton’s, and locally themed food service. Presecurity concessions continue to do well, despite the desire of travelers to clear security as soon as possible.

its product in both the restaurant and the gift shop on the concourse. This is a direct response to the TSA restriction on liquids being taken through security checkpoints. Austin-Bergstrom (Texas) International: Wine tastings will be introduced at stores; restaurants and stores are being remodeled/ renovated. Pre-security concessions are posting satisfactory sales but are not in as high demand as the postscreening stores. Phoenix Sky Harbor International: The airport currently is in the master planning process and new concession concepts are undetermined at this time.

McGhee Tyson (Tenn.) Airport: The airport this year plans to introduce three or four food court/specialty retail shops beyond security: specialty coffee, one or two fast food concepts and possibly one new specialty retail concept. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International: The airport recently opened a Bruegger’s Bakery in Terminal 2, which is the only new concept planned for 2008-2009. Retail store concepts in the greatest demand at the airport are high-end sunglasses and high-end footwear. Pre-security concession sales are trending downward. Des Moines International: Summerset, a local winery, will introduce

Tampa International: The airport is undergoing construction on many of its retail and f&b facilities. Some existing facilities will be re-concepted and new stores will be added, such as InMotion (a Wi-Fi product shop) and Harley Davidson.

concessions offering personal services, such as massage and manicure. Gourmet chocolate and wine stores also pose possibilities. Fairbanks International: The airport has a newly constructed terminal, and a new food/beverage contract takes effect in May that will introduce the “Jazzman’s” food service concept with a pre-screening coffee cart and post-screening full-service kiosk and adjoining bar/lounge. The airport’s single post-screening retail concession also will begin a new contract in May in a new and expanded location. Redmond (Ore.) Municipal Airport: The airport is in the middle of a significant terminal expansion and will add a concession location postsecurity to meet passenger requests. The airport also will add a book store/gift shop in pre-security where current concessions continue to do well.

Wilmington (N.C.) International: This year the airport renovated the postColorado Springs Airport: The security area to expand the restaurant airport’s two Paradies stores are doing and gift location. This expanded area well. The biggest difference in prenow offers a full-service grill, bar and security and post-security f&b sales is gift area. the boom in coffee sales at the postsecurity location, especially at the 6 Quad City (Ill.) International: The a.m. push. The store opened a cashairport uses AirHost and Paradies; only lane to deal with the congestion. both are doing well. Both have implemented post-checkpoint Southwest Florida International: The enhancements over the past two airport is opening a Great American years: AirHost has a deli, bar and Bagel store for additional food service coffee bar, and Paradies has a post-security. A news/sundry and CNBC store. Dunkin’ Donuts location are in the early construction phase, with a At Colorado Springs projected opening in May, as well as a manicure shop. These are preAirport, Paradies security.

opened a cash-only

Albany (N.Y.) International: The airport will update its program this year and is looking for unique f&b combinations, a sports bar and a tech store with related accessories. Further, the airport will consider

lane post-security to deal with congestion at the 6 a.m. push.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

CONCESSIONS SURVEY

Denver International: The airport will open retail concepts this year that include Brookstone and the Denver Chop House. A new, small development in the terminal called the Marketplace is targeted toward meeters and greeters. For 2008-2009, the airport will be issuing RFPs for other retail and f&b concepts.

CONCESSIONS COMPANIES HMSHost: Travelers want more food choices, both sit-down and grab-and-go; brands that reflect the locale; national brands that provide recognition and a sense of comfort; authentic international flavors; and healthy menu items. On the retail side, demand for upscale, one-stop shopping is increasing. The Paradies Shops: Women travelers expect quality ladies brands. In addition to other brands, Paradies will offer Vera Bradley at select airports and in Palm Beach will open a Lilly Pulitzer store. Paradies opened a pre-security drugstore at Phoenix Sky Harbor a couple of years ago, which is popular with airline crews and airport employees, especially. Hudson Group: News/gift is the most important component in an airport concessions program, and bookstores always are in demand. Medium to larger airports are looking for specialty retail stores offering brands such as Godiva, Crabtree & Evelyn and Sunglass Hut. High-quality toy stores that offer recognizable name brand merchandise are popular. PHOTOS COURTESY OF HUDSON GROUP

HDS Retail North America: Convenience and personal indulgence will be the buzz words. Travelers are looking for more options in personal services and accessories (both personal and electronic), reflecting their need to pamper themselves. Westfield: Airports are looking for f&b tenants that offer sushi, fresh/healthy foods. On the retail side, they are requesting services such as a pharmacy or a spa. Brand names are in demand for retail. Butter LONDON: To fill the increasing amount of down time between flights, more passengers are looking for grooming services, from manicures to foot massages. XpresSpa: Travelers are opting for full-service spas, which both reduce travel tension and fill the two-four hours that passengers are in the airport before flights. BAA USA: The company in February was chosen to become the master developer of retail and f&b concessions at Cleveland Hopkins International under a 10-year contract. BAA USA said it will establish an AIRMALL with stores that range from local and regional to international brands. Further, the company said it will generate numerous opportunities for local restaurants and retail establishments to be represented at the airport. A 42

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

RETAIL

10 STEPS TO MAXIMIZING REVENUE

FROM YOUR RETAIL

CONCESSIONS By Laura Samuels

PROGRAM I

n all airports, regardless of size, the key to increasing revenue per enplaned passenger is simply to follow the customer: provide him or her with variety, i d t d i core convenience products, dynamic specialty retail, local and regional flavor, and great food and beverages. Hudson Group has found that, by paying careful attention to store design, organization and display, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible to raise the financial performance of airport retail space without increasing the square footage. For example, Hudson raised the sales level by 82 percent at Los Angeles International in the same store footprint that the company took over from the previous operator. At Las Vegas McCarran International, by re-tooling existing square footage, the company achieved a 63 percent gain in sales, and at New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kennedy International, the result was a 53 percent boost in sales. And the company is on track to do the same in a more recent example, Nashville International Airport.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HUDSON GROUP

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

RETAIL

Some elements that all great airport retail concessions programs have in common are: start with core convenience.

Great airport concessions programs are anchored by attractive newsstands, stocked with all manner of travelers’ convenience products. Start with a comprehensive selection of newspapers, books and magazine titles, grouped in easy-to-find categories, in English and any other language that would serve passengers on international flights. Add sufficient quantities of their favorite candies, mints and snacks, and ensure that they are always fresh. Stock brand-name film, batteries, health and beauty aids they may have forgotten to pack. Add attractive local mementos for impulse purchasing.

brew great coffee. Studies show that, after

reading materials, the second most important traveler’s need is a great cup of coffee. That definition has in recent years expanded the traditional café concept to feature gourmet teas, cappuccinos, lattes, frappes, espressos and seasonal specialty drinks. Pair a great coffee brand with a popular local bakery for instant brand recognition.

books, books, books.

Airport bookselling reflects customers’ need for something great to read on a long flight. Bestsellers and business books are a must in airports, but don’t forget that books make great souvenirs. It is important to stock the right blend of local authors and books about the region.

design it right. Bright lighting

and wide open storefronts make it easy for potential customers to see at a glance what is available within. Plasma screens showing everchanging views of magazine covers available in the store attract passersby. Wide aisles accommodate wheelchairs, baby strollers and rolling luggage. Well-stocked counters, gondolas, fixtures and display tables make it easy for travelers in a hurry to find what they are looking for quickly, and a sufficient number of checkout points, staffed by knowledgeable associates, speed customers on their way.

bring in recognizable national brands. With wait

times at many terminals increasing, travelers with some time to kill want to shop in stores with familiar names, where they are assured of the quality of their purchases. Everything from designer apparel and accessories to branded electronics to the finest bath and body products can be found along today’s modern airport concourse.

insist on regional concepts with local flair. From the name of the concept to the

design of the store to the merchandise sold within, airports want their property to look like their hometown and not “Anywhere USA.” 44

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

add a little luxury. Travelers are looking for little (and

7 8

big) luxuries of every kind.

don’t forget the kiddies. Children’s products

of every type are great sellers in airports. Apparel and accessories, and especially the very latest books, toys, games, art and science kits, are designed to keep the youngest travelers well occupied during long wait and flight times. Adults traveling alone need to buy gifts for children back home. And because youngsters have become savvy consumers, all of these items need to be recognizable brand names that children want.

cool, clear water. With the recent

changes in travel restrictions, travelers are prevented from bringing water through security checkpoints. In addition, an increasing number of health-conscious travelers understand the need for regular hydration throughout the day.

it starts (and ends) with the customer. You can’t serve

the customer if the stores aren’t open. So to maximize revenues, it is vital to ensure that airport stores, particularly core convenience stores like newsstands, bookstores and cafes, are open. That means they faithfully open for business an hour before the first plane takes off every morning, and they don’t close until the last plane has left for the night. Even if it means waiting out weather and other delays, the stores must be open and ready to serve stranded travelers. A Laura Samuels is director of corporate communications for Hudson Group, which operates concessions programs in 60 airports and nine transportation terminals across North America.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

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AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

RUNWAY

AIRPORTS INCREASE

SAFETY EFFORTS

by Sean Broderick

irports are answering the call to re-double their runway safety improvement efforts, even as the industry struggles to tackle long-standing challenges that range from improving training to securing adequate funding for major projects. Like most aviation safety initiatives, the effort to improve runway safety can be traced to a seminal event: the March 27, 1977, collision of a KLM 747 and a Pan Am 747 at Tenerife, Canary Islands, that left 583 dead. It remains the most deadly single aviation accident in history. Work to improve runway safety has been steady since then, with several periods of added focus. The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) first Most Wanted list, published in 1990, included lessening the risk of runway incursions. Last year, the board modified its runway safety initiative, renaming it “improve runway safety” and underscoring the need to develop a direct cockpit warning system to warn pilots of potential collisions with other aircraft.

No Magic Bullet FAA’s runway safety programs, particularly in the last few years, have yielded some positive results. Since the agency issued its first Runway Safety Blueprint in 2000, serious (Category A and B) runway incursion rates have dropped 55 percent, from 0.81 incursions per million operations in fiscal year 2001 to 0.39 incursions per million operations in fiscal year 2007. However, last year’s reduction came after two consecutive years of increased rates. Looking at the bigger picture, the incursion numbers are less positive. Both the total number of incursions and the incursion rate have risen steadily since 2002 (see accompanying chart). While the

cutting of the so-called serious incursions is a positive development, the climb in overall incursions combined with FAA’s forecasted rise in operations during the next 20 years — forecasts have operations increasing by 2.5-3.0 percent per year, on average — means that getting a handle on the overall issue is a must. The industry knows this – and it also knows that solving the problem will require combining multiple efforts. “There is no easy fix and no magic bullet to improving runway safety and reducing runway incursions,” said John Duval, A.A.E., airport safety and security coordinator at Beverly (Mass.) Municipal Airport and AAAE second vice chair. In written testimony for a runway safety hearing before the House aviation subcommittee in February 2008, Duval noted, “As in security, runway safety must be a multi-layered approach with numerous checks and balances.” In August 2007, in the wake of the rising incursion numbers, thenFAA Administrator Marion Blakey

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

RUNWAY SAFETY

INCURSIONS

WILL RISE

issued a runway safety “Call to Action.” The industry responded with several initiatives, including visits by an FAA Runway Safety Action Team to 20 airports with specific runway safety challenges. Findings from these visits turned up a list of short-term improvements, such as enhanced surface markings and additional movement area driver training. The success at the first set of airports led FAA to expand the program to 22 additional airports.

– This Year, At Least

Fiscal Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Number of Incursions 339 323 326 327 330 370

unway incursions are guaranteed to increase in fiscal year 2008 but that doesn’t mean airfields are getting more dangerous. A notable year-over-year jump in the total incursion figures will take place because FAA changed its definition of “runway incursion,” effective Oct. 1, 2007. The agency now uses the International Civil Aviation Organization definition, which states, “A runway incursion is any unauthorized intrusion onto a runway, regardless of whether or not an aircraft presents a potential conflict.” Previously, FAA’s incursion definition covered only incidents that involved aircraft “in potential conflict” with another aircraft, vehicle or pedestrian. Situations involving only vehicles or pedestrians were classified as “surface incidents,” and were tracked separately. Starting this fiscal year, they are Category C or D incursions. The figures through the fiscal year’s first quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2007): 230 total incursions, compared with 90 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2007. A

As part of FAA’s call to action, the top 75 airports were told to adopt enhanced markings — centerlines and hold bars — by June 30, 2008, and were asked to expand recurrent driver training requirements established in the revised Part 139. The regulation requires initial and recurrent driver training for all airport employees, but only initial training for tenants, contractors and others with access to the movement area. An update to Advisory Circular 150-5210-20, “Ground Vehicle Operations On Airports,” urges airports to go further. “Initial and recurrent training in procedures for access to the movement area is required for airport employees under §139.303(c),” FAA noted in the new AC, released March 31. “Only initial training is required for tenant and contractor employees, under §139.329(e). However, regular recurrent training is strongly recommended for all persons with access to the movement area.” Airports have responded enthusiastically, FAA reports: the 75 top airports will have the enhanced markings ahead of schedule, while half of the remaining Part 139 airports have volunteered to upgrade their markings as well. In addition, 85 percent of the Part 139 airports

Rate Per 1 Million Ops 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.4 6.1

FAA via the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Airports Enthusiastic

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

either already require yearly driver training for everyone permitted to drive in the movement area, or have plans to do so. “This proves that a ‘common sense’ approach to curbing runway incursions exists,” FAA Air Traffic Organization COO Hank Krakowski noted in written testimony to the House aviation subcommittee in February. “Not all measures to improve runway safety will involve fielding expensive equipment and new systems.” Deploying new systems is part of the equation, however. FAA has spent some $400 million to date to buy and distribute Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X (ASDE-X) at 11 airports. The remaining 24 installations are slated to be completed by September 2010, FAA said. ASDE-X uses various data sources, including aircraft transponders, surface radar and even Automatic Dependent SurveillanceBroadcast (ADS-B), to produce a continuously updated map of the airport movement area that air traffic controllers can use to spot potential collisions. FAA touts the system’s value in bad weather when visibility is poor — conditions that hampered the previous generation of surface detection equipment, the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS). FAA also is moving forward with another promising airport-specific technology — runway status lights. The agency announced that Los Angeles International and Boston Logan International would receive the system, which has shown potential in tests at Dallas/Fort Worth International and San Diego International (see related story, page 54). Despite the promising

tests, however, FAA officials are quick to point out that Los Angeles’ runway incursion problem would be helped most by re-configuring the north end of its airfield and increasing the spacing between two parallel runways, just as the airport has done on the south end. “Until a more comprehensive solution comes along, the FAA and [Los Angeles International] are continuing to look at stop-gap measures such as runway status lights to improve safety,” said FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell in February. FAA so far is passing up a chance at a more comprehensive solution as part of the agency’s National Airspace System (NAS) modernization. The agency’s ADS-B mandate, outlined in a November 2007 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), requires only ADS-B “Out,” which provides basic aircraft information such as location and altitude. Adding ADS-B “In” to the mandate would mean significantly higher costs for aircraft operators, but also would make additional services possible, including a built-in way to transmit surface conflict warnings directly to pilots. Creating such a system is, in NTSB’s view, the most significant thing FAA could do to improve runway safety.

likelihood of both airborne and surface conflicts. “The safety board supports the use of ADS-B and believes that ADS-B Out will provide a safety benefit in the NAS in areas without sufficient radar coverage,” Sumwalt added. “However, the adoption of ADS-B In, direct delivery of warnings to aircraft pilots via datalink, as well as recommended procedural changes, will increase the level of safety during ground operations and should be expeditiously incorporated in FAA’s ongoing regulatory process.”

With an endless pool of funds, such a move would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, FAA’s budget is hardly unlimited; airports need only to look at the administration’s proposed drastic cut in fiscal year 2009 AIP funding for evidence. “FAA needs to raise the importance of runway safety and they need to financially support this issue with a strong AIP program,” said Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.). “If we are serious about improving runway safety, we have to provide the funding support needed to implement the projects that will improve the system.” A

Budget Limits “The safety board is concerned that this NPRM does not require ADS-B In,” NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt noted in testimony submitted for the House runway safety hearing in February. “The ability of ADS-B In to support data-sharing between aircraft and controllers would be a major contributor to improved situational awareness and would reduce the AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

San Luis Obispo M

County Regional Airport

idway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, a little airport on California’s Central Coast is making some big changes. San Luis Obispo Regional Airport began its transformation in 2006 with an 800-foot runway extension. Previously, the primary runway measured 5,300 feet, limiting air service and capacity. According to airport Manager Klaasje Nairne, C.M., “Prior to the extension, regional jets and, even at times, turboprops, suffered weight restrictive takeoffs due to runway length. These were particularly frequent on warm weather days.” When the airlines began replacing turboprops with regional jets, it became clear that, without an extended runway, air service to the county would be at risk. In May 2006, construction began on the runway extension and was completed in December 2007. Now the 6,100-foot runway can accommodate all regional jets and more passengers. San Luis Obispo also saw the completion of 65 T-hangars in 2007, with financing provided through a California Department of Transportation Aeronautics loan. This was the first hangar project built, owned and leased by the airport, and only a few hangars remain

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

vacant at this time. In addition, a new $3.5 million ARFF station was built in partnership with CalFire (previously known as the California Department of Forestry), with a combination of CalFire, FAA grant and PFC funds. The next stage of San Luis Obispo’s renewal will begin in the summer of 2008 with the initial phase of infrastructure that will lead to a June 2009 groundbreaking for a 50,000-square-foot terminal. The project also will include new ramps and a new parking garage. The new terminal will feature seven airline gates, a 4,000-square-foot lobby, additional ticket counters and a much larger passenger holding area that will include food, coffee and other retail opportunities. The terminal’s pre-security amenities will include a “grab and go” style snack bar, along with a few other retail concessions. Current plans for post-security service enhancements call for a gift shop and a wine bar and bistro. Airport operations are expected to improve overall as a result of the new building’s larger baggage claim and processing areas and updated screening technology, which includes both an inline explosives detection system for checked baggage and upgraded equipment at the security checkpoint. The cost for the entire terminal project is estimated to top $60 million and is expected to take 18 months to complete. Once operations have shifted completely to the new terminal, the existing building will be leased out to tenants that primarily offer aviation support services. Airport officials also hope that the new terminal will create

The ARFF station’s total project cost was $3.5 million.

AIR POR T NTY REG ION AL S OBI SPO COU SY OF SAN LUI PHO TOS COU RTE

AIRPORTSPOTLIGHT

A completed runway extension is taking San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport to new heights.

opportunities for additional air service, which is already on the rise. Just last year, commercial air passenger traffic grew by 3.7 percent over the year before, and flights were added to Salt Lake City. Master plan forecasts and analyses by air service consultants have revealed the community would embrace service to additional destinations and to hubs other than Los Angeles and San Francisco. That’s good news for the airport and local businesses. “Future air service targets are Denver, Seattle and San Diego and for the most often requested service to Sacramento, the state’s capital,” says Nairne. “Sacramento service has eluded the region for a number of years, but with the recent advent of Sacramento service in Santa Barbara, the airport is hopeful it can attract its own route as well. The region is heavily dependent on interface with state government, particularly with its highly renowned college, Cal Poly State University.” Nearby, 70 acres have been set aside for commercial space. A new privately operated 134-room hotel and car dealership also are slated for construction, both of which will create jobs and help local companies stay competitive. Overall, San Luis Obispo Regional Airport contributes more than $180 million annually to the county economy. By 2011, San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport will complete more than $102 million in improvements that will strengthen the local economy, provide a first-rate terminal for passengers and make visiting the California’s Central Coast easier than ever. A

Quick Facts: • Enplanements for 2007 — 187,120 • Current terminal — 8,000 square feet • Primary runway length — 6,100 feet • A second crosswind, unlighted and non-precision runway of 2,500 feet serves small aircraft. • The airport has approximately 327 based general aviation aircraft, and the number continues to grow. • San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport has served the area since 1939, with passenger service beginning in 1946 with Southwest Airways. • Airlines currently link the airport to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Air carriers include Delta, United, American Eagle and US Airways.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

CORPORATEOUTLOOK

ASR Solution Needed Industry-Wide ith the hot debate of FAA reauthorization and NextGen dominating the headlines, other challenges facing our industry are flying beneath the radar. While we debate the mechanics of financing airport systems and safely and efficiently routing air traffic, let’s not lose focus on another key operations component: infrastructure. A significant infrastructure problem facing our national airport system is alkali silica reactivity, or ASR. ASR currently is causing premature pavement deterioration at a multitude of airports across the country. With cases reported in 37 of the 50 states, many of you may be impacted by ASR and its related problems. What is ASR? In its simplest terms, ASR is an expansive reaction between constituents found within cement and certain aggregate materials. For ASR to occur in pavement, three ingredients must be present: a sufficient source of alkali, which is found in cement or may be present from an external source; a reactive aggregate; and water. The deterioration caused by this expansive reaction is evident by a characteristic map cracking pattern and aggregate pop-outs, sometimes accompanied by a grayish-white gel exuding from the cracks. ASR has been a known problem for more than 60 years and, until recently, has been dealt with effectively; however, in the last 10 years, field observations have indicated an increase in the incidence and severity of ASR activity. This increased activity has been linked to the use of alkali-acetate-based pavement deicing chemicals such as potassium acetate. If your locally available materials are susceptible to ASR, you will need to determine the best mitigation alternative for your airport. The preferred solution would be to find materials that are not susceptible, but in many cases such an aggregate is not available or is cost-prohibitive. In this case, the reaction must be mitigated instead. Research is ongoing to explore further mitigation techniques, but several methods have proven effective. These include the use of supplementary

by Allen Taylor, P.E.(top) and J.J. Morton, P.E.

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

cementitious materials, such as low lime fly ash (i.e., CaO content less than 15 percent) and slag cement, the use of lithium-based admixtures, or a combination of the two. The use of low-alkali cement aids in mitigation but it is typically not sufficient to prevent a damaging reaction. Regardless of the method chosen, care must be taken to ensure the mitigation does not adversely affect the strength and workability of the concrete. Premature pavement deterioration poses a substantial threat to the operational capacity and financial resources of airports. How can you combat this growing problem? Let us suggest several ideas. First, keep an eye out for signs of ASR at your airport. FAA has published a handbook for identifying ASR (AC 150/5380-8), which will help you determine if the distresses that you are seeing are potentially ASR-related. Second, know your materials. The aggregates and cements composing your concrete pavement may be more or less susceptible to ASR than the next guy’s. FAA has published Engineering Brief No. 70, which provides interim guidance for screening and mitigation of ASR in the presence of pavement deicing chemicals. Only allow the use of material combinations that can be shown to mitigate ASR. Finally, support additional funding for research organizations such as the Innovative Pavement Research Foundation, which is conducting research to develop accurate and timely testing procedures for identifying susceptibility of materials to ASR, as well as investigating various means of mitigation. This research is invaluable and helps provide for more durable, maintenancefriendly pavements. ASR is an industry-wide problem. It will require the teamwork of airport owners, FAA, consultants, researchers, suppliers and contractors to develop successful solutions to curb the devastation to our airport infrastructure. A Morton and Taylor are aviation engineers in Kimley-Horn’s Memphis, Tenn., office.

WA LT E R P MOO R E E N G I N E E R I N G PO S S I B I L I T I E S

8 0 0 . 3 6 4 .7 3 0 0 W W W . W A LT E R P M O O R E . C O M

E N G I N E E R I N G F O R A I R P O R T S , C O M M E R C I A L B U I L D I N G S , E D U C AT I O N , E N T E R TA I N M E N T, E X I S T I N G S T R U C T U R E S , G O V E R N M E N T B U I L D I N G S , H E A LT H C A R E , H O S P I TA L I T Y, M I X E D - U S E A N D R E TA I L , M O V E A B L E S T R U C T U R E S , P A R K I N G S T R U C T U R E S , P U B L I C A S S E M B LY, P U B L I C W O R K S , R O A D W AY S , S C I E N C E A N D T E C H N O L O G Y, S P O R T S , TA L L B U I L D I N G S A N D T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

by Broderick Grady

AIRPORTECH

Los Angeles, Boston Set For Runway Status Lights FAA announced that Boston Logan International will be the first airport in the country to test runway status lights for intersecting runways. The technology, designed to warn pilots about potential runway safety hazards, will be installed at Logan in November 2009, and testing will begin the following month. FAA said that it will share the cost of the $5 million system with the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan. Separately, FAA announced a partnership with the city of Los Angeles to install runway status lights at Los Angeles International. FAA’s agreement with Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) provides that testing of the system will begin early in 2009. LAWA will fund the system, which is estimated to cost $6 million. The system operates by illuminating red lights if radar shows traffic on or nearing the runway. The lighting system also will blink on to warn pilots landing or taking off if another aircraft is approaching the runway. Dallas/Fort Worth International

and San Diego International airports already have installed the system, which is designed to augment existing safety protocols at highvolume airports. Pilots and vehicle operators at airports with runway status lights must continue to receive clearance from air traffic control before crossing or entering a runway, even when the lights are no longer illuminated. Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell described the system as “another layer of safety against potential runway accidents.”

Boston Logan To Install Wind Turbines The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) will install 20 buildingintegrated wind turbines at Boston Logan International. Massport has partnered with AeroVironment of Monrovia, Calif., and Groom Energy Solutions of Salem, Mass., to install the wind turbines on the roof of the Logan Office Center. The demonstration project is expected to provide electrical output of approximately 100,000 kwh annually, or about 2 percent of the

building’s monthly energy use. Massport said it expects the wind turbines to be functioning and generating renewable energy this spring. If the demonstration project meets its goal of reducing building energy, Massport will consider expanding the turbine installations to other facilities. The 1,000-watt wind turbine system provides clean, reliable, non-polluting electric power. Each module fastens to the parapet of a building, weighs approximately 90 pounds and measures approximately 6 feet in height and 8 feet in width. This urban turbine is designed to continue to produce electricity under turbulent wind conditions and in both low- and high-wind speed environments. Along with wind turbines, Massport is evaluating other proven renewable energy technologies at its facilities, including solar power, geothermal technology and fuel cell applications.

Advanced Checkpoint Solution Planned Cernium Corp., a provider of realtime video analytics solutions, has signed a licensing agreement with L-3 Communications Security and 54

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

Detection Systems, a supplier of security screening products. Under the agreement, L-3 will integrate Cerniumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ExitSentry passenger flow monitoring system into its family of airport checkpoint solutions. L-3 checkpoint security systems include X-ray inspection systems, metal detectors and active millimeter wave screening. The company also produces baggage and cargo screening systems. Currently, L-3 has more than 18,000 security screening systems installed in airports and other facilities around the world.

System Screens Oversized Bags

Cerniumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ExitSentry product uses video analytics to monitor people and object flow to identify and alert security personnel to persons moving improperly from public to secure areas. The system provides greater security at security checkpoints while reducing incidences of human error.

PHOTO COURTESY OF REVEAL

Reveal Imaging Technologies has completed a TSA-sponsored pilot program for its CT 80XL automated explosives detection system (EDS) at Jacksonville International and Denver International airports. The Reveal CT 80XL is based on the existing CT-80 design but features a larger capacity, which allows for automated EDS screening of oversized items such as golf bags, skis, snowboards and military packs. Currently, these items must be examined by hand, which is a labor intensive and costly process, especially during peak sporting seasons or special events. The CT 80XL system uses computed tomography to detect explosives material and provides detailed imaging to alert screeners to possible threats. Its extended tunnel provides TSA-certified EDS detection for bags more than 8 feet in length. The CT 80XL can be used as a standalone device or as part of an existing baggage handling system. A

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

AIRPORTBILLBOARD

B assengers by airport TRAFFIC FOR JANUARY 2008

AIRPORT

Bradley International Chicago Midway International

2008

2007

458,241

497,763

CHANGE

-7.94

1,249,006

1,278,851

-2.34

Chicago Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hare International

5,186,409

5,780,093

-10.39

Denver International

3,760,828

3,701,297

+1.6

Detroit Metro

+0.76

2,659,531

2,639,231

Kansas City International

808,325

767,784

+4.62

Manchester-Boston Regional

274,700

260,068

+5.6

New Orleans International

671,703

574,222

+17.0

3,581,521

3,488,926

New York Kennedy International

+2.7

New York LaGuardia International

1,718,539

1,823,072

-5.7

Newark Liberty International

2,720,531

2,624,507

+3.3

Philadelphia International

+1.1

2,317,662

2,293,579

Port Columbus International

588,525

532,161

+10.6

Quad City International (Ill.)

71,915

70,357

+2.0

386,068

395,878

-2.48

44,910

43,576

+3.06

Reno-Tahoe International Rogue Valley-Medford (Ore.) San Antonio International

603,323

584,405

+3.24

San Luis Obispo (Calif.)

26,424

25,443

+3.9

South Bend Regional (Ind.)

55,756

57,627

-3.25

Southwest Florida International

762,316

783,207

-2.7

T.F. Green (Rhode Island)

345,465

352,764

-2.07

DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL FARES AIRLINES REPORTING CORPORATION

07 DOMESTIC FARES 07 INTERNATIONAL FARES 08 DOMESTIC FARES 08 INTERNATIONAL FARES

40 35 DOLLARS IN BILLIONS

Michael Baker Jr. Inc., an engineering unit of Michael Baker Corp., was awarded a $1 million general engineering and design services contract for work to be performed at Cleveland Hopkins International and Burke Lakefront airports. The twoyear contract begins immediately and provides for two, one-year options. Baker will provide professional services to the Department of Port Control staff, including on-call engineering and architectural services for various projects at the two airports. The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners awarded a $25 million contract to DMJM Aviation for program management services to support the Los Angeles International development program. The program includes the midfield satellite concourse, Tom Bradley International Terminal expansion and numerous related projects. The Tucson Airport Authority Board has awarded a $1.5 million contract to Millennium 3 Technologies to upgrade the existing parking and revenue control system for the lots at Tucson International. The project will include pay-on-foot machines located in front of the terminal and in the public parking garage, and automated exit lanes in the main lot in front of the terminal and in the newly opened public parking garage east of the terminal. The upgrade is slated to be finished by October. Emcor Group announced that its subsidiary S.A. Comunale Co. Inc. was awarded a contract for the fire protection systems for planned expansions at Detroit Metro.

25 20 15 10 5 0 Jan.

uildout

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June July

AIRPORTMAGAZINE.NET | APRIL/MAY 2008

Aug

Sept

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

The Port of Seattle Commission announced that it has lifted the moratorium on new project approval that was instituted in mid-January 2008. As a result, the commission in the coming weeks will consider a number of projects, most notably construction of a new rental car facility at Seattle-Tacoma International. A

PLANESIGHT

PHOTO BY DONN R. NOTTAGE

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: PLANE SIGHT PHOTO CONTEST The staff of Airport Magazine invites you to submit entries in our Plane Sight photography contest. As our readers know, Plane Sight appears regularly on our back page and consists of an aviation-related full-page photo. In order to be considered for the contest, entrants must own the copyright of the image they submit. Images should be submitted to airport. magazine@gmail.com as a JPEG. Images should be 8.5” x 11,” as well as 300 dpi or greater. Images not meeting these requirements may be disqualified. Multiple entries are permitted. For more information, e-mail Daryl Humprey at daryl.humphrey@aaae.org. The Airport Magazine Editorial Advisory Board will judge the entries, and the winner and runners-up will be announced in a late-2008 issue of Airport Magazine.

W H AT A

night!

Hudson Group’s management team is generally recognized as the most professional in the travel retail industry. Each year, the company takes time out to celebrate the achievements of the best of the best – the top General Managers in airports and transportation terminals across the continent. These individuals distinguish themselves daily with truly impressive performance in a wide range of disciplines. So here, direct from the exciting GM Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, are Hudson’s Top GMs for 2007: h E xe cu ti ve r de lig ht w it an Q ui nn he es ar sh s he B ri or dy ce an d ’s D ia ne H ug B ir m in gh am s, O pe ra ti on s Rog er F nt de Vic e P re si

2 0 07

G M AWA R D S G e n e r a l M a n a g e r (s) o f t h e Ye a r ( Ti e) – S m a l l e r Pr o g r a m s Diane Hughes, Birmingham Reg. Airport John Zuppe, Pittsburgh Int’l Airport

G e n e r a l M a n a g e r o f t h e Ye a r – L a r g e r Pr o g r a m s Evan Schut, Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport

B u s i n e s s D e v e l o p m e n t Aw a r d Dexter Kimbrough, Chicago O’Hare Int’l Airport

B o o k s t o r e M a n a g e m e n t Aw a r d Julie Artis, Hudson Booksellers, Newark Liberty Int’l Airport

C u s t o m e r S e r v i c e Aw a r d Maya Willis, Denver Int’l Airport

Fo o d & B e v e r a g e Aw a r d Frank Musciano, Philadelphia Int’l Airport

M a r k e t i n g & Pr o m o t i o n s Aw a r d James Butt, Grand Central Station, New York City

M e r c h a n d i s i n g & Vi s u a l Pr e s e n t a t i o n Aw a r d Evan Schut, Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport

M o s t Im p r o v e d O p e r a t i o n Aw a r d Stephen Kim, Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l Airport

O f f i c e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Aw a r d Kim Simon, Halifax Int’l Airport

S p e c i a l t y Re t a i l Aw a r d Exe c u Jo e D iD o m iz io (s ti v e Vic e Pr e s id e n t a n Jo h n Z u e c o n d fr o m d CO O r ig p p e , D ia n e H u g h h t) c o n g ra tu la te es and E s van Shu t

Evan Schut, Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport

In f o r m a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y Aw a r d Chris Matterson, Newark Liberty Int’l Airport

The right brands The right experience

The right insights

The right attitude

The right location

Getting it right starts with insights Over the last six months SSP has completed the ﬁrst signiﬁcant phase of a $4 million global research program into travelers’ needs, wants and behaviors. Drawing on these insights we have developed powerful management tools that ensure our clients get our unparalleled brand portfolio customized to their location. This is just one of the many innovations and areas of expertise currently being enhanced by SSP America, and you can expect many more over the coming months.

To ﬁnd out what we can do for you contact Les Cappetta at SSP America on (703) 723 1209 or email les.cappetta@foodtravelexperts.com