One of the key issues in the development of airports today is the constant improvement of the passenger experience and, to this end, it is essential to anticipate their times and actions correctly.
When we think about designing the airports of the future, we are challenged to make them easier, faster, safer, friendlier and greener.
Today, the concept of passenger experience is, from the point of view of both space allocation and processes, a key point in airport design to make terminal buildings more user-friendly.
In this context, commercial areas have not only become a strategic business unitBy catering to the specific needs of passengers and creating recreational spaces with unique experiences, they are opening up vast possibilities for enhancing the passenger experience.
In order to define a robust shopping area programme within the terminal, designers need to know our airport and its operation, and therefore know our passengers.
The passenger typology The design of the commercial areas at the airport is conditioned by the following conditions:
- The percentage of international passengers versus domestic passengers. International passengers tend to take longer trips, generally have favourable incomes and have a higher propensity to spend. An international passenger connecting to a domestic flight also tends to spend more when using a domestic terminal compared to a passenger making a purely domestic connection. Airports with significant international connecting traffic, such as Istanbul or Doha airports, have higher passenger spending rates due to their number of international connecting passengers. Therefore, the needs for shopping areas are higher at international airports than at domestic airports.
- The number of accompanying persons who come to the airport to see passengers off or to pick them up, and the time spent at the airport is also important. Longer dwell times in the terminal correlate with higher sales. In the case of these potential customers, in the food and beverage and casual dining concepts. Airports where the number of accompanying persons is higher have to include more of these concessions on the landside of the terminal (before security screening).
- It is also important to analyse the average journey time. Short-haul passengers tend to arrive later and spend less time in the terminal. On average, short-haul passengers spend less money than long-haul passengers, who are more likely to shop in airport shops and purchase food and beverages for use or consumption during the journey.
- The distribution of shopping areas is always much higher after security checks than before them. The balance between the two locations depends on the number of connecting passengers the terminal has. The higher the percentage of connecting passengers, the higher the percentage of airside commercial zones.
- The passenger dwell time is related to the amount of sales at concessions. To a limit, the more time passengers spend in the terminal, the more revenue, especially in food and beverage concepts, such as casual dining restaurants, and in speciality retail outlets.
However, it is necessary to analyse how the passenger's time at the airport is divided between the time spent at the airport and the time spent at the airport. level of stress caused by the different processes, The stress of the passenger at the airport peaks at security control, followed by passport control and check-in. Passenger stress at the airport peaks at security control, followed by passport and check-in. Time should be used after these processes are completed to locate activities that enhance the passenger experience.
- The terminal geometry and passenger flow distribution affect the ability to create concessions seen by a larger number of passengers. Older terminals are generally not optimised for concessions. Similarly, the distances to be travelled by the passenger, the times required to reach the gates and the gate information times need to be analysed, balancing the needs of the airport (increased passenger time in commercial areas) with those of the passenger (having peace of mind during the process by guaranteeing the necessary information at the right time).
Once the specific characteristics of the terminal are known, the commercial areas will be designed to improve the passenger experience, always pursuing the same objectives:
- Include an appropriate commercial offer at every step of the passenger's journey at the airport, from check-in to the boarding gate.
- Ensure that supply is localised in the passenger flow.
- Mix Food & Beverage offerings with shops and Duty free, and not in separate areas, to strengthen synergies between the different models.
- The design of these areas with an "open plan" concept, without walls.
- Do not forget the arrivals area, including mainly Duty Free areas.
- Design areas for accompanying persons at departures and arrivals.
The commercial areas of an airport comply, as do the rest of the facilities, a specific role in the airport environmentThey are also conditioned by the specificities of their environment. Their design must therefore be adapted to each specific case.
