Planning of Concessions in Airport Terminals

Abstract

Concessions generate a fair amount of revenue and are an important key to the financial operation of today's large airports. Location and size are the most important factors that affect concession revenues. To check the validity of a location, the accessibility and visibility of concessions are measured by subjective rating and visibility indices, respectively. Good location along major traffic patterns aids the flow and improves the efficiency of the terminal, whereas a poor location can disrupt the smooth flow inside the terminal. Models used for prediction of revenues from concessions are good as far as a particular airport is concerned. The utilization of the market by concessions can be measured in terms of percentage of idle time that people spend in concessions. The Canadian airport survey shows that only 25% of this idle time is spent in concessions, and the rest is spent waiting. Good planning of concessions requires that planning and design be integrated into the overall planning process of the airport terminal. As such, two planning frameworks have been developed, one for new terminals and the other for existing terminals.