SubscribeIn Great Britain and the rest of Europe small provincial airports are starting to take on a greater importance than they once did.
The need for a ‘local’ starting point is increasingly popular amongst passengers. They may themselves have very limited destination availability but what they are increasingly doing is acting as a feeder element to the countries main airports. In short they have gone from being airfields for the local aeroplane enthusiast to airports with a significant role to play in global aviation.
Passengers are fast becoming more adventurous and willing to travel across many continents in order to find the ultimate leisure or cultural thrill. The business passenger to a certain extent pioneered this type of travel, not out of a desire to see new places but the necessity of global trade.
This type of air travel, aided by an increasingly competitive air travel market, needs to be serviced and catered for when passengers break their air travel due to being in an airport for several hours before flying on to their ultimate destination. This growing global phenomenon requires architects and developers to build airports that are sufficiently large enough to act as a holding bay for passengers in transit as well as the airport operators themselves providing a multitude of facilities to cater for such people.
These Hub airports as they are called, have either come about by their strategic location or by the sheer dominance of a major carrier, which in turn relies on a high proportion of air traffic being transfer passengers. The Hub airport is nothing new but because of the growing trend, not to mention passengers, this type of airport is being developed more. There is a very logical element to Hubs in that they are on continents or at the centre of regions. London’s Heathrow has for decades now relied on UK regional flights coming into Heathrow for the passengers then to embark on long-haul flights. Heathrow is now both an international and regional Hub airport.
Heathrow, despite its age is an excellent example of what a growing Hub airport can be as there are basically three different types of Hub airports. Firstly, there is Domestic to Domestic, particularly prevalent in America, Domestic to International and finally International to International. Their ultimate definition is that these airports are not just Point to Point travel, but have a very high percentage of transfer passengers.
Chicago O’Hare
The United States of America has a very high volume of air traffic flying throughout the country. It’s rather like getting on a bus! As with all countries or regions there has to be some Key Hub airports, for the Domestic to Domestic marketplace which is essentially what the US is, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas Fort Worth, and Atlanta are the Hubs of America. There are however other US airports that because of new developments and additional terminals are turning themselves into Hubs but of a slightly different kind, that of being carrier based. Baltimore for example is one such location with its new A&B Terminals, which is dedicated to South West Airlines operating domestically.
The Domestic to International Hub airport is by its own definition a single country operation. Regional flights arrive at the Hub in order for passengers to then fly to other countries or continents and vice versa. This variation has evolved when an airport has grown to dominate the international marketplace. Once again Heathrow is a typical example but even here the growth of regional airports within the UK has actually assisted in its growth of international traffic. Manchester, a city in the North of England, has seen the number of flights to and from Heathrow be dramatically increased as its own airport development has grown. The availability of routes to foreign countries is a major issue as Manchester Airport is an international airport but without the vast collection of destinations that Heathrow has to offer.
International to International as a flight operation, has to have its main point being strategically located from a global rather than local position. It is quite possible that the immediate geographical surroundings and demographics have little or no effect on the airport at all. Dubai is a very good example, as it handles 17.5 million passengers per annum but only has 1 million local residents. Another is Singapore carrying 25 million passengers but with only 4.8 million inhabitants. These two airports are very good examples of how location and physical size matter.
Dubai Airport
Europe as a provider of Hub airport facilities and routes is a highly competitive marketplace. The main four protagonists are Schipol in Holland, Heathrow in England, Frankfurt in Germany and Charles de Gaulle in France. They are all vying to maximise their own Hub potential. There are also other elements that can aid the principle of the international Hub operation. One of these is the Shengen Agreement, which is a group of countries where the passengers do not need a passport or visual identification to travel. For this to be of any benefit, the Hub airport is reliant on large country masses passing through it.
This all might seem the ideal way for international and domestic flights but the most important factor as far as the passenger is concerned is “connectivity” – the ease of transfer between flights using either a different or same carrier. Passengers want seamless travel. Singapore has grown up with very efficient connectivity, as it was always a Hub type operation, compare this to Heathrow and the position is totally different. Heathrow has developed over many years and has British Airways as its dominant carrier.
The location of terminals 1, 2 & 3 being midfield and Terminal 4 being south of the southern runway as well as the sheer size of the airport has meant that connectivity has been less than brilliant. The realisation of Terminal 5, which will become British Airway’s own base will dramatically change this position. The key to this success is not so much the movement of passengers although it has helped, but more important the factor of baggage handling.
Schipol, Amsterdam
While airport architects struggle with the building of such airports, it is the retail master planners that hold the key to providing the services that Hub passengers need in their larger than normal terminal dwell times. This captive audience can be exploited more readily if both the passenger and baggage travel times within the airport are minimised, resulting in the concentration of passengers to be much higher. Once this is achieved the scope for both retail and food and beverage can be broadened. The very nature of a Hub airport means that passenger contact within a specific country is only the airport. Here the opportunities are for speciality retailing and food and beverage, which are specific and reminiscent of that country.
This broad diversity is very important in providing services for passengers especially the high spending international ones. It can be very hard to master plan and effect. Terminal 2 in France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport is actually six smaller terminals clustered together which end up duplicating the retail offer at each separate terminal without the potential to have a broad and interesting offer. Hub airports offer some of the finest opportunities for retail, food and beverage. As mentioned the dwell times are longer and in general terms the passenger traffic is spread more evenly across both day and night. A complete 24 hour offer!
Charles De Gaulle
Shanghai Airport has some of the finest passenger services in the world. Their offer ranges from live game shows, music, an outdoor roof-top swimming pool and a myriad of dedicated seating areas to watch sport or entertain young children. There is also a restful garden to calm even the most nervous of passengers! Planning is the key to success in creating large zones of clustered retailing that passengers pass through or at least are visible from the circulation routes.
High passenger numbers and the time to browse create opportunities for niche retailing beyond the core product retailers. The potential is therefore unlimited, rooms by the hour, gyms and leisure lounges are all extra elements that could easily be planned into the service areas and sold to premium passengers. The mix of the retail is critical, a balance between local, national and international that stimulate passengers between flights.
More purpose built Hubs will be built. China has vast potential and it is already being realised. Major hub terminals are currently under construction at the three major gateways, Guangzhou in China, Terminal 2 in Shanghai Pudong and Terminal 3 at Beijing. Hubs are key to both passengers and carriers alike and as a consequence are one of the major areas of growth in the international airport building market.
Their full potential will however, never be realised unless the retail content is carefully considered. Passengers have power, they can elect where they hub through and the best commercial offers will help them to chose which of the competition they will travel through. After all, with hours to kill, you may as well have fun.
Changi, Singapore
