Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AIRPORT CAPACITY
Youre invited!
From childrens parties to weddings how airports are opening their doors to host a range of special events
SEATING
The winning entries from the 2012 Design Challenge
CHINA
Xian Xianyang Internationals sophisticated approach to retail
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In this issue
COVER STORY
18 Tour de force Airports are arranging tours, conferences, childrens parties and even weddings in a bid to improve their public image
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We want to share the excitement of an airport and increase the communitys interest in the world of aviation
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Features
UPDATE
4 Natural dcor Edmonton International installs one of the largest living walls in Canada Golden opportunity Virgin Australia opens luxury lounge at Gold Coast Airport Mobility test Worlds rst near-eld communication trial is taking place at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport
CASE STUDIES
12
Talking shop Xian Xianyangs new Terminal 3 offers one of the best commercial environments in China West side story How LAXs US$4.11 billion Capital Improvement Program will bring the facility into the 21st century Room for improvement What options are available to increase capacity in Southeast UK? Design Challenge 2012 PTW announces the winner of this years seating competition
SITE VISIT
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AIRPORT CAPACITY
30
COMPETITION
38
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SEATING
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Trendsetters A look at the latest inuences affecting the airport seating industry Mixed bag How is the issue of mishandled baggage being tackled? Passenger Terminal Expo 2012 Key exhibitors from this years show talk about their latest products and solutions
BAGGAGE HANDLING
53
EXPO INTERVIEWS
58
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In this issue
66 67 68 Now arriving New technologies, systems and projects Back chat Your views on holographic virtual assistants Baggage storage Vanderlande Industries Mobile obile printing solutions Vidtronix Billing software Damarel el Systems International Measuring capacity Aviation Research Corporation Automatic baggage drop-o Alstef Airport management systems Siemens
REGULARS
64
on the web
PTW discovers Incheon Airports secret to success after it was named the Worlds Best Airport at the 2012 Skytrax World Airport Awards
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Editorial
Editor: Helen Norman (helen.norman@ukipme.com) Assistant editor: Hazel Swain Chief sub editor: Alex Bradley Deputy chief sub editor: Nick Shepherd Proofreaders: Aubrey Jacobs-Tyson, Frank Millard Art director: Craig Marshall Assistant art editor: Nicola Turner Design team: Louise Adams, Andy Bass, Anna Davie, Andrew Locke, James Sutcliffe, Julie Welby, Ben White
Editors comment
London Gatwick Airport has impressed me greatly over the past few months. I have used the facility a number of times and I really dont have a bad word to say about it. I may be a little biased it is my local airport, after all but its transformation since its ownership passed from BAA to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in 2009 has been phenomenal. In October 2011, as part of a 1.2 billion investment programme, a 73 million extension was opened at Gatwicks North Terminal in a bid to improve the passenger experience; while the South Terminals security area underwent a 45 million revamp, with the promise to process every passenger in under ve minutes. The main aim of the investment programme is to make the airport experience an easier, speedier and less stressful experience for our passengers, according to chief executive Stewart Wingate. And from my experience, this is already being achieved. A couple of weeks ago, I landed at London Gatwicks South Terminal on a ight from Turkey. The ight arrived at about 10:00pm and within half an hour I was in my car travelling home. I sailed straight through border control, collected my luggage (which had already been lifted off the carousel), and caught a waiting bus to the long-stay car park, which was only a ve-minute journey away. While on the bus I overheard a passenger say that Gatwick was an absolute dream to y from. The airport has also paid particular attention to detail. For example, the seating offered within the South Terminal caters for many different needs. In particular, the colourful cocoon seating offers a place to escape from the busy terminal and adds colour and life to the space. Such seating is one of the major trends identied in our seating feature on page 46, as travellers continue to demand more private spaces in which to relax before a ight. With so many ways to connect, more than ever we also need a way to escape, especially in stressful public environments like airports, says Design Museum artist-in-residence Freyja Sewell on page 47. Meanwhile, this years Design Challenge unearthed some more exciting ideas yet to be implemented by the seating industry. See page 38 for the top six entries. Despite all of Gatwicks improvements, I still wouldnt describe it as my dream wedding venue, but as our feature on page 18 highlights, more and more airports are seeing strong public interest in everything from tours to childrens parties and even couples looking to tie the knot before jetting off on their honeymoon. Who ever said the romance of ying was dead?! Helen Norman
Passenger Terminal World | JUNE 2012
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inFINITE possibilities
04 EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL
The living wall was installed by Vancouver-based Green over Grey and features 8,000 plants
Edmonton International Airport is keeping things fresh with the worlds rst airport living wall
natural
Passenger Terminal World | JUNE 2012
dcor
Canadas Edmonton International Airport (EIA) has become the rst airport in the world to install a living wall featuring more than 8,000 individual plants. The 1,420ft2 wall in the facilitys LEED-certied passenger terminal was installed by design rm Green over Grey, based in Vancouver, Canada, and is one of the largest living walls in Canada. It features 32 species of plant that will add tonnes of oxygen to the terminal each year, as well as absorb toxic indoor air pollutants, providing passengers with fresh air while travelling through the airport. Construction of the wall took place in two stages the framing and infrastructure installation took one week and the actual planting three weeks with eight members of staff involved in the process.
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EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL 05
The living wall is not only a stunning visual feature, but is an eloquent demonstration of EIAs commitment to sustainability
The living wall was inspired by cloud formations and famous Canadian artists Emily Carr and Donald Flather
According to Green over Grey design consultant/principal Patrick Poiraud, The average price for a fully designed and installed living wall ranges from C$150-250 (93-155) per ft2 depending on the overall size, access and complexity of the project, although he would not conrm the exact cost of the wall installed at EIA. Inspiration for the central 1,120ft2 wall came from the complex cloud formations often seen in the skies over Canada, and the company used a variety of small to medium-sized plants with four large specimen species to create the design: Octopus Tree from Papua New Guinea; Lacy Tree Philodendron from Brazil; Swiss Cheese Plant from Central America; and a Staghorn Fern from Indonesia. The left and right upper walls, measuring 160ft2 and 140ft2 respectively, reect the work of famous Canadian artists Emily Carr and Donald Flather from the Group of Seven, who were well known for their paintings of Canadian landscapes, and feature small and medium-sized plants. Made from 100% recycled materials, the living wall will be watered via an automatic drip irrigation system for a few minutes each day, mimicking the natural environment and therefore increasing the lifespan of the wall. The materials in the living wall will not deteriorate and therefore the system can live indenitely as long as it is maintained much the same as any traditional garden, conrmed Poiraud. The living wall was integrated into the terminals design to provide a dramatic visual element for both arriving and departing passengers, said Stanis Smith, senior vice president for buildings at Stantec, which designed the terminal at EIA. Stantec is proud to have incorporated a living wall into this project. The living wall is not only a stunning visual feature, but is an eloquent demonstration of EIAs commitment to sustainability. It is the rst living wall ever inside an airport terminal, and is an integral part of the airport authoritys strategy to be one of the rst airports in the world to achieve LEED certication, Smith added. n
Merle Prosofsky
06
AIRPORT LOUNGE
golden opportunity
Virgin Australias new luxury lounge is enhancing the passenger experience at Gold Coast Airport
Virgin Australia has opened its rst passenger lounge at Gold Coast Airport, providing leisure and corporate guests with a luxury facility in which to wait before departure. Designed by renowned architect Tom Greer, the lounge is situated in the southern end of the airports domestic terminal, adjacent to gates 1 and 2, and features an entry-level reception area and mezzanine level with views of the tarmac and the surrounding Gold Coast landscape. Our in-house product team worked closely with architect Tim Greer from Tonkin Zulaikha Greer to design the two-storey, 680m2 space, which seats around 140 guests, said Christine OToole, Virgin Australias corporate communications advisor. Inspired by our agship Queensland lounge in Brisbane, it features organic wood elements in the reception area and has an open-plan format to create a deliberate ow from space to space, enhanced by the leaf theme in the ceiling pattern. The lounge has been designed to meet the needs of both business and leisure guests, offering a range of facilities including: desktop workstations with printing facilities; a dedicated meetingroom; all-day barista service and Luke Mangan designed buffet, which includes options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a range of all-day snacks; and entertainment options including free-to-air FOXTEL programming and a range of premium magazine and newspaper titles. Virgin Australia general manager of product, Alison Chalmer, said the Gold Coast is a renowned leisure destination and an increasingly important market for corporate travellers, and the lounge has been designed to appeal to both needs. We are delighted to open our rst-ever lounge at Gold Coast Airport, which will enable us to provide a rst-rate airport experience for business and leisure guests, Chalmer said. Virgin Australia has been operating ights to the region for more than 10 years, and is the only airline to offer business class to the Gold Coast, with more than 150 domestic and international return ights each week. The new lounge will be a welcome addition and enhancement to the travel experience for our frequent yer and business guests, she added. The lounge is available to: guests travelling with Virgin Australia (and codeshare partners) who are lounge members; lifetime lounge members; Silver Velocity members with entry passes on their membership; Gold and Platinum Velocity Members; and business-class fare holders. It is open seven days a week from 45 minutes prior to the rst Virgin Australia departure, until the last Virgin Australia ight is called for boarding. n
The open and easy to navigate lounge offers zones for working, socialising and relaxing
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08
AIRPORT TECHNOLOGY
mobility test
ABOVE: The near-eld communication trial began on 20 June at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport
The worlds rst near-eld communication trial is taking place at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport
no specic application to be loaded onto the phone and is not affected by scratched or dirty screens. With NFC technology, the mobile phone simplies a passengers journey through the airport, said JeanMichel Vernhes, CEO of Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. It now becomes a personalised tool displaying the right information at the right time. It also enables passengers to better manage their journeys, so they can choose how they spend their time at the airport. For Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, the approach is to give yers access to leading-edge technologies that enhance and facilitate their experience at the airport in providing new premium services. The use of NFC will also help the airport to reduce spending on passenger processing, Quentin Browell, SITAs director PR and Corporate Communications explained. NFC is a lower cost technology than 2D barcode technology for two key reasons. The capital cost of NFC readers is lower than optical barcode readers and NFC helps in the deployment of selfservice technologies, which reduces the overall cost of passenger processing, he said. Following the trial, the airport plans to implement functionalities that will be displayed in the smartphone application, which is planned for 2013-2014. n
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport has become the rst airport in the world to trial a near-eld communication (NFC) system that will enable passengers to pass through the airport using only their mobile phones. The airport has teamed up with Research In Motion, Orange and SITA to test the SIM card-based protocol over a six-month trial period, and has recruited 50 randomly chosen frequent yers to test the system on BlackBerry NFC smartphones. From 20 June, the volunteers can use their mobile devices to validate a ight ticket, pay for goods, or receive information about departure gates, ight changes and other relevant information. Upon arrival at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, the passengers smartphone will act as a security pass for a dedicated priority path through the airport. Passengers will be able to access the P1 car park using their smartphones, which will hold details of the car park in the memory. They will then be granted access to Departures via the Premium Access Zone, all the while receiving real-time information. According to the airport, NFC technology is extremely secure and even works when the mobile phone is switched off. The technology also requires
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talking
shop
Xian Xianyang International Airports new Terminal 3 is setting standards in China as one of the rst airports in the country to embrace its commercial content into its overall design
PROJECT: Xian Xianyang International Airport, Terminal 3 LOCATION: Xian, Shaanxi Province, China COMPLETION DATE: April 2012 COST: US$1 billion
When one thinks of a new terminal, it is usually as an addition to the existing offering an extra 20, 30 or maybe even 50%. But Xian Xianyang International Airport in the northwest of China has grown so rapidly that its new Terminal 3 dwarfs Terminal 2 and makes the original Terminal 1 appear entirely insignicant. This is a feature of the airport market in general in China, with rapid growth in passenger numbers, and Xian being one of the fastest growing, at around 17% a year. Last year, Terminal 2, initially designed to handle around eight million passengers a year, had to deal with 22 million (Terminal 1 had a capacity of just one million). So the new 230,000m2 terminal, which has a capacity of 22 million and plans for future expansion, was sorely needed. It is set at a right angle to the existing terminals, and only Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 now have a landside presence, although Terminal 1 will still be used airside. Standing out from the crowd As well as the spectacular increase in scale, there are two features that mark out the new terminal. One is the beginning of the development of a strategy for international trafc and, in particular, for dealing with transfers. The other is a sophisticated approach to retail that has not traditionally existed in Chinese airports, and which was not assigned sufcient space in the original design for the terminal. It will serve not just Chinese but also international passengers despite the fact that few international ights land at Xian Xianyang, international passengers are numerous, arriving on domestic ights to make connections. These are both business travellers and tourists going to see the world-famous terracotta warriors.
MAIN IMAGE: The retail area within Xian Xianyang boasts specially designed chandeliers that are lit with colourchanging LEDs
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Terminal envelope
The most dramatic element of the new terminal design is the check-in hall, which measures 324 x 108m. There are just 16 columns in the centre of the hall of steel encased in concrete to comply with earthquake codes from which steel trees rise up to the roof. The enclosure is largely glass, and the check-in desks have been designed to be as visually permeable as possible. Often in Chinese airports they look like fortresses, with a lot of utilities on top, says Weil. We convinced our designers to provide a different experience. There are currently six check-in islands, with plans for a further four. The intention with this check-in hall, as with most well-designed contemporary ones, is to allow passengers to orientate themselves as easily as possible. All colours are neutral, with the aim of the only colour in the terminal coming from retail and advertisements although Weil admitted that this is something we have to work on as a little extraneous colour sneaked in on the check-in desks and x-ray machines.
In Europe, explains Wolfgang Weil, chief operating ofcer of Xian Xianyang, when you plan an airport, you normally plan for transfer to happen airport-wide. It is not so easy in China yet. He cites the example of Beijing where, he says, transfer between terminals typically takes two hours and longer if it is an international transfer. At Shanghai Pudong it is, he says, a little less. So, he says, although at present we dont have very much transfer, it will come. And an airport layout that can accommodate transfer is an advantage. Our original masterplan would have had limitations for transfer, but now we have to take it into account. Now, the masterplan, which extends to ve terminals over 20 years, is being adapted to allow, in particular, better landside connections and to facilitate transfer. Changing tack That is for the future. What the airport has now is a new terminal with a sweeping roof, enough space for todays passengers, and an attractive retail offering in a space that encourages passengers to linger, and that has some local character. It was not an easy process, though, as the original design did none of these things. The concept design was by Atkins, and was then taken over by the local design institute of the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority, a process that is common in China. They are very good engineers, says Weil, but their experience of the needs of modern airports was limited. They are responsible for all the terminals in the northwest of China, he explains. But that meant that the largest terminal they had built was Xian Xianyangs Terminal 2, 10 years ago. There is a huge difference of scale there. Weil was appointed to his role as part of Fraport, which has taken a 24.5% stake in the Xian Xianyang facility. He rapidly became aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the local team. The terminal was nished in three years, he says. They were very fast, but what was missing was an understanding of processes. Concrete, steel and glass are of a
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very high standard, but the integration of different functions to allow growth in the future is just not done. In particular, he says, There was no airport in China that had its commercial content fully planned into the overall design it was always done as an afterthought. We wanted to break from the mentality of do it now and change it later. The aspiration for Xian Xianyang was that it should have a full commercial offering, at a similar level to Hong Kong International. Only Weil wanted something better than that. There, the building looks very beautiful, he says, but the retail is not at the right location in the main passenger ow. In order to achieve attractive, commercially effective retail, it was essential that sufcient space was allocated and that it was in the right place. We had said that what the designers had offered was not acceptable, says Weil. We needed a joint understanding, a clear logic to the design of the commercial space, of where it went, and how it split into the different categories. To arrive at a clear and indisputable understanding, Weil appointed Londonbased retail analytical company Pragma to carry out an analysis. The consultants not only questioned existing passengers about what they bought at the airport and what they would be able to buy, but also came up with gures for how far a typical passenger was likely to detour to reach a particular type of outlet. Through this work, says Weil, Our Chinese colleagues understood just how much space was needed. The next step was to appoint another London-based consultancy, The Design Solution, to carry out the retail design.
LEFT & BELOW: Terminal 3 offers 11,000m2 of retail and food & beverage space
We needed a joint understanding, a clear logic to the design of the commercial space
ABOVE & LEFT: Xian Xianyang Internationals Terminal 3 offers one of the best commercial environments in China
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Retail therapy We saw the limitations of the design, says Weil. There was not enough space airside. Part of the solution was not to approach the design in purely engineering terms. For example, technical support services were placed in the middle of what could have been prime retail space because doing this saved money by making the cabling that was needed shorter. Its not about saving on the cost of cables, says Weil. Commercial areas will pay back the additional expense in a year or so. Working with the airport design team and with The Design Solution, says Weil, We came up with 22 alternatives that did not work. Then we came up with a 23rd solution. Even this Another unusual aspect of this airport for China is the creation of a ground transport centre only the second to be built at a Chinese was a compromise. Just over half of the desired retail allocation airport, according to Weil. Designed as a late addition to the airport, has gone into the existing building, with an extension due for but already operational, this is a dedicated area that brings together completion within two years to accommodate the rest. With pick-up and put-down for all transport methods private cars, taxis all the services already in place, this will not, says Weil, be and buses along with access to underground car parks. In the complicated: You just have to take off a wall, and extend a bay same way that the design of the terminal interior should enhance to the south. waynding and provide a more pleasant and less stressful passenger experience, so the transport centre should do the same for Part of the thinking behind the design was to change the passengers arriving at or leaving the terminal. approach that, according to Robbie Gill, founder of The Design Solution, is common in developing economies, where passengers go straight to the pier. We wanted to encourage organic form, and with a large ring, them to stay in the retail area, he explains. around 3.5m across, encircling This means that while there are plentiful retail them at their central widest point frontages, there are also varied spaces for sitting, almost like an idealised gure with a with WiFi and chargers for laptops and phones. hula hoop. These are lit with colourIt is treated like an airport lounge, comments changing LEDs. Gill. This is also the area where a number of The chandeliers are just one of elements have been introduced to give a sense the elements that were designed of place, a specic identity relating to China in by the lighting consultant, Lighting general, and to Xian in particular. In addition to Design House. Gill believes that getting the lighting more conventional seating, there are outwardABOVE: External right is essential. There are long dark winters, and facing U-shaped banquettes with an elevated view of Terminal 3 the shops open early and close late, he comments. four-sided vitrine at their centres. These vitrines, BELOW: The We want to give the same level of love to the framed in wood, contain Chinese artefacts, which spacious new airport interior as a hotel designer would give to are visible from two sides, with the other sides facility is capable of the reception area. The idea is to have a number of containing embedded LCD screens. There are also handling 22 million lighting effects and a series of moods, rather than just rows of large, specially designed chandeliers in passengers a year at, uniform lighting. the form of a coarse mesh enclosing a symmetrical Gill believes that although it is important to create atmosphere and give an identity to a retail space, this should not be at the expense of the individual identities of the retailers. While some architects are notorious for wanting to impose a degree of uniformity in design, which sties the identity of the individual retailer, Gill takes a more pragmatic and commercial approach. If you have a great brand, it should stand out and be recognised, he says. The shop fronts therefore offer plenty of space for large signs and branding, but each is enclosed in a frame of Chinese red with some gold ornamentation. This has been done to tie the space together and stamp it with the character of the airport. At present, the airport at Xian Xianyang stands out within China for the sophistication of its retail offering. But others will catch up in the next couple of years, and when they do, that individual identity will be even more important than it is now. n
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CUSS standard for self bag drop Integration into existing infrastructure Home printed bag tags RFID bag tags Passenger groups Excess baggage handling Payment solutions for excess baggage
18 AIRPORT EVENTS
JOE BATES n
RIGHT: Hamburg Airports childrens parties include apron tours and an airport model exhibition show
tour de force
Are we experiencing a return to the golden era of ying? Thats what some airports in Europe are promoting by holding tours and events, including weddings, that promise to uncover the exciting world of aviation
A busy international airport is the last place many business travellers want to spend their free time, yet many less frequent yers still nd the world of aviation fascinating and even glamorous. In what is so far a uniquely European phenomenon, an increasing number of the continents airports are opening up their doors to thousands of plane spotters, students, school children, OAPs and social clubs. Airports are arranging tours, conferences, childrens parties and, in some cases, even hosting weddings. At rst glance this might seem a counterintuitive step, in light of the high level of security in place at airports in the post-9/11 era. Why overcome the logistical and security challenges of staging these events safely and efciently, given the considerable amounts of time, resources and money needed to do the job properly? The airports PTW spoke to claimed their event programmes were above all an excellent PR and marketing tool, as well as a way to put something back into the local community. None claimed their event programme was there to make money; indeed, many airports stressed that they kept ticket prices as low as possible. We break even. Its not about the revenue, says Jasmin Bodmer, senior media spokesperson at Zrich Airport, which throws about 155 parties for around 1,550 children each year in its newly opened Observation Deck B. Its all about the fascination of ying. We want to share the excitement of an airport and increase the communitys interest in the world of aviation and the magic of ying. We rst tried offering our tours for free, says Jan Van der Cruysse, media relations manager at Brussels Airport, whose regular tours pull in around 30,000 people annually. However, some people didnt turn up, so we started to charge, but we only aim to break even. We dont make a cent out of doing them, I can guarantee that. The visitors service is the rst place for visitors and our neighbours to get information about the airport and all its activities, says Katrin Geier, head of visitors service at Hamburg International Airport, which has been running apron tours since the late 1950s, and which is set to attract 45,000 visitors this year, nearly a 10%
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AIRPORT EVENTS 19
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20 AIRPORT EVENTS
LEFT: Miniature model of Hamburg Airport RIGHT: Visitors enjoying the apron tour in Hamburg
BELOW: Childrens parties at Zurich Airport have nearly sold out for the whole of 2012
increase on 2011. It is an important part in image building, and also for customer care and loyalty. Its necessary to cover the costs, but not to yield a big prot, she adds. The programme should be affordable for everyone. The visitors of today become the customers of tomorrow if we give a convincing performance in every respect. Rising demand Rocketing demand for tours at Hamburg International has led the airport to improve a popular element of its traditional package a faithfully recreated miniature model of the airport, in place since 1959. We will have a new highlight this summer, says Geier. In order to make the presentation more realistic and to raise the sense of adventure, we have put interactive elements into the animated part of the show. Weve put bass pumps on all the seats to let the audience feel the vibration of starting or landing an aircraft on our model airport. They can also hear radio messages between the captain and the aircraft. Larger airports tend to arrange and run their tour and event programmes in-house, but the small, regional Liverpool John Lennon Airport in the UK has chosen a more cost-effective option. It relies on the support of its 400-member Friends of Liverpool Airport (FoLA) fan club to take 2,000 people on tours of the airport each year. The organisation, which is made up of airport enthusiasts and general supporters of the facility, provides a fully trained, eight-strong team of volunteers, who give up their time to do four or ve two-hour tours of the airport each month. The tour is divided into two parts, explains Wynn Lloyd, vice chair of FoLA. We spend the rst hour in the cabin suite, talking about the past, present and future of the airport. Then we split into groups and go for a wander around different parts of the airport. We adapt the content depending on whom we are talking to. For instance, we get a lot of primary schools and they want to know about how the airport operates; we also get a lot of travel and tourism students from the local colleges and they tend to ask questions about customer service. Closer to the action The logistical and bureaucratic issues surrounding taking groups of up to 30 people airside through
Passenger Terminal World | JUNE 2012 passengerterminaltoday.com
AIRPORT EVENTS 21
Its something that requires careful planning if it is not to prove disruptive to the airports principal activity
security screening is too much of a challenge for Liverpool John Lennon, which keeps its tours to landside areas. However, larger airports, in an effort to get tarmac tourists closer to the action, routinely take their tours airside. Its something that requires careful planning if it is not to prove disruptive to the airports principal activity. There are logistical and security challenges involved, agrees a spokesperson for Dsseldorf International Airport, which runs around 1,500 tours of its premises each year, including excursions to the apron and airport re brigade. Firstly, tour guides have to be well educated. Furthermore, a good structured back-ofce coordinating all requests, and handling the administrative tasks, is as necessary as modern buses and technical support. We also have to full regulations given by our local security authority, and all our guests have to pass a security check before entering the security area. Zrich Airport provides a separate security screening area for those visitors attending parties and events in its new observation deck, as well as separate lockers for guests personal belongings. Everyone be they visitors, kids, passengers on a layover or employees who want to get to the observation deck has to pass a security check point, explains Bodmer. Their reactions
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Manchester Airports Runway Visitor Park offers visitors the chance to board the Concorde supersonic passenger airliner
Manchester Airport is unique among the UKs larger airports in its efforts to actively target tourists and visitors, and dedicated viewing facilities have been in place for plane spotters since the 1970s. Since 1997, the airports Runway Visitor Park, which is located a few minutes drive from the main terminal buildings, has been drawing in ever-larger crowds of aviation enthusiasts. Around 300,000 visited in 2011, making it an ofcial tourist attraction in the eyes of tourist board, VisitEngland. The Runway Visitor Park is popular not only with aviation enthusiasts, but also with families and local schools, according to the parks head Natalie Kelly. She says tours of a now grounded Concorde, which start from 13.50 (US$21.30) per person, are the parks biggest money-spinner, but the conference centre, which can cater for corporate functions, gala dinners and meetings for up to 750 people, is also a popular feature. Kelly says it is hard to break out exactly how much revenue the Runway Visitor Park brings the airport, as the facility doesnt classify it as a standalone business unit. Nonetheless, she says it is valuable enough to have warranted investment in recent years, including the introduction of an RAF Nimrod to the parks aircraft collection in 2010, and the more recent development of a childrens play area. The parks Concorde hangar is also licensed for civil weddings and civil partnerships, hosting around 20 ceremonies in 2011. So far the majority are pilots, cabin crew, or aviation enthusiasts, says Kelly. But as more and more people seem to be seeking a unique wedding venue, were starting to see a much greater mix of people getting married on Concorde.
22 AIRPORT EVENTS
Dsseldorf Airport offers a two-hour tour of the apron with the latest information on events at the airport
are mostly positive, as people do understand the necessity for a security check. After all, they are getting very close to the aircraft. Self-su cient Interestingly, several of the airports PTW interviewed said they made little effort to actively market their tours. The tours almost market themselves, says Robin Tudor, head of PR at Liverpool John Lennon. A lot of it is word of mouth. You are on the circuit for many retired groups and rotary clubs. They all chat among themselves and compare notes about which trips theyve been on. Besides, if we got much busier, it would start presenting a challenge, given that our tours are run by volunteers. However, Hamburg Airport takes a more proactive approach to marketing its tour and activity programmes. We try to use different channels of communications: advertisement, direct marketing, incentives and events, cooperation and cross marketing, says Geier. We researched which clients we have, which target groups we want to win, and which part [of the tour] was expandable. After that, we have done accurately targeted marketing. We are a typical day-trip destination. There are visitors from three up to 99 years old [drawn] from school classes, kindergartens, company outings, senior groups, bus tour operators, registered societies and clubs. Wedding venues Several airports in Europe, such as Hamburg, have been laying on tours for tarmac tourists for decades, but marketing an airport as a possible wedding venue is something relatively new. Stockholm Arlanda Airport is a pioneer in this area, seeing as many as 450 couples tie the knot in a single year. Airport authority Swedavia offers religious and secular services; more recently couples have even been able to get married on the balcony of the airports control tower a top-of-the-range SEK9,900 (US$1,386) package, which includes Bollinger Champagne, VIP transport and petit fours. The only proviso for lovebirds is that they hold a valid ticket to travel. People from all walks of life are attracted by the marriage service, according to Stockholm Arlanda public relations ofcer Klas Nilsson: This is something we want to offer couples at the airport, he says. Of course, it doesnt bring in much revenue, but it brings happy travellers. In conclusion, every airport PTW contacted for this article thought tours and other on-airport events were worth the bother if done properly. Id recommend any airport to do tours, says Liverpool airports Tudor. They are incredibly valuable, but dont underestimate the level of planning that needs to be done to do them properly, especially if you are charging people. n
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Several airports in Europe, such as Hamburg, have been laying on tours for tarmac tourists for decades
LEFT: Dsseldorf Airport tours include free entrance to the spectator terraces
SOME THINK AIRPORT EFFICIENCY HAS REACHED ITS LIMITS. WE THINK DIFFERENT.
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west side
story
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MAIN IMAGE: The Bradley West terminal will open in 2013 and will double the size of the existing Tom Bradley International Terminal
Reinforcing Los Angeles International Airports role as the gateway to the Paci c Rim, the new Bradley West project, which has been designed to help meet increasing demand for international ights, is just a small part of a huge Capital Improvement Program set to transform LAX
Los Angeles International Airport has been one of the top seven busiest airports in the world for more than 10 years. In 2011 it was sixth with nearly 62 million passengers, up from 59 million in 2010 and 56.5 million in 2009. One factor spurring this growth is demand for international ights, which is continuing to grow. The increase in passenger numbers has highlighted the fact that overcrowding and ageing terminals at LAX present major problems for airport operator Los Angeles World Airports. However, these problems will soon be a thing of the past as a result of the airports US$4.11 billion Capital Improvement Program, which represents the rst major developments at the airport in 20 years. As part of this programme, the new Bradley West world-class terminal will open by the end of 2013 and double the size of the existing Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Michael Doucette, chief airport planner at LAX Development Program, says, We are undertaking a number of improvements on airside, landside and within the terminals. Bradley West is the largest of those, and is a US$1.7 billion programme.
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Tom Bradley International Terminal expansion TBIT was built between 1981 and 1984, and was developed leading up to the 1984 Olympic Games. During this time we also built the upper level roadway and Terminal 1, Doucette continues. This was probably the last signicant programme that was undertaken here. The Capital Improvement Program began in 2006, and in 2010, as part of the project, LAWA completed the US$737 million renovation of the existing TBIT that upgraded the facility with a new baggage screening system and interior improvements to enhance service and convenience to passengers and tenants who use the international terminal. Probably the most signicant component of this project was the US$170 million in-line baggage screening facility, says Doucette. In May 2012, another US$23 million was invested into this baggage system as it was processing only half of the luggage it was designed to handle (Baggage System Redesign, p28). As the renovation project was nearing completion, LAWA began work on the expansion of TBIT, now commonly known as Bradley West. Once completed in 2013, this much-needed expansion will help deal with the increasing number of international passengers and ights travelling to the airport. In order for this project to go ahead, we had to work closely with the local community and come to an agreement that meant we could meet the needs of our long-term expansion programme without detrimentally affecting the surrounding community. Approximately 121,000m2 will be added to the existing building, doubling the size of the
We wanted the terminal to portray culture and personality two things that are closely associated with Los Angeles
facility from its current size of 93,000m2. The new facility will be able to accommodate 4,000 passengers per hour, up 1,200 from the current 2,800. It will feature 18 new and larger boarding gates, nine of which will be able to accommodate new-generation aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787. In addition, the gates will feature dual passenger loading bridges to aid speedier boarding. We are also adding two new concourses off the TBIT building and once those have been completed we are going to be demolishing the existing concourses. Those were designed back in the 1980s and were developed to meet the needs of a very early generation of aircraft. Bradley West will also feature a Great Hall, which will have 13,000m2 of space for premier dining, shopping, amenities and club lounges. Designed to put the LA back into LAX, the food, beverage and retail concessions in the Great Hall will reect the best of Los Angeles diverse cuisine, culture and lifestyle. There will also be upgraded customs and immigration areas for more efcient passenger processing. The rst phase of Bradley West will open in Spring 2013 when both the Great Hall and the
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new west side boarding gates will open. By the end of 2013, phase two, the East Gates, will be completed. Doucette says, By doing these improvements we are upgrading TBIT to make sure it meets the needs of our passengers in terms of amenities, concessions and premium lounges. In addition, for inbound passengers we have improved customs and border protection processes by doubling the amount of space for immigration counters, queuing and baggage claim devices to help us accommodate the A380 aircraft. All of these facilities were severely undersized in the existing building pretty much from the day it was built. Contextual architecture The design of Bradley West was developed by Fentress Architects. They undertook an extensive design process and looked closely at what we were trying to establish with the new building, says Doucette. We wanted it to portray culture and personality two things that are closely associated with Los Angeles. It was decided to use what Curt Fentress [principal in charge of design at Fentress] refers to as contextual architecture, which ensures the building is representative of the city it is in. One of the main themes the architects focused on was the environment in which the airport is located. The airport is situated near to the Pacic Ocean, therefore the roof of the terminal was designed to reect the waves of the sea. The terminal also benets from a MAIN IMAGE: considerable amount of natural The new facility will light due to the extensive use of include 18 new and glazing. In the existing building, larger boarding gates when passengers disembarked from an aircraft they went down an escalator and walked through a very dark basement corridor to reach the arrivals area. Now, arriving international passengers travel through a glass elevated walkway, which gives views of the surrounding LA area. This provides a much more enjoyable arrival experience. LAWA has also made sure that Bradley West incorporates a number of environmental initiatives. The terminal is being designed to meet a minimum certication of LEED Silver. In order to achieve this, a number of solutions have been implemented. There is a signicant amount of highperformance glass used in the building to reduce heat gain, says Doucette. We have used LED lighting within the facility to try to reduce our energy load, and we have facilities for reclaimed water use for some of the restrooms and the urinals. And we have an extensive recycling programme. There are several other major aireld and facility projects under way that are part of the Capital Improvement Program (What else is new?, left). These include a new Central Utility Plant, new taxiways and taxi lanes, and renovations to other
JUNE 2012 | Passenger Terminal World
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terminals, including Terminal 6, which Alaska Airlines is currently renovating at a cost of nearly US$300 million. Future shopping experience LAWA is also undertaking a major overhaul of its retail and concessions in all nine of its passenger terminals. The main aims of the overhaul are to improve passenger experience, provide more food offerings and draw more local brands to the airport. The rst terminals to have a makeover are 4, 5, 7 and 8. Around 60 new dining and shopping locations throughout these terminals will open in 2012 as part of the Capital Improvement Program. This marks the rst phase of a three-year concession revitalisation plan. Due to space constraints in these terminals, the physical locations of the outlets will remain the same, says David Arredondo, senior project ABOVE: The revamped terminals will feature manager, AECOM Airports Development Group. outlets reecting the The outlets have just been gutted and replaced diversity of Los Angeles with the new offerings. Phase 2 of the programme will be overseen by Westeld Concession Management LLC, which won a 17-year Terminal Commercial Manager Concessions Agreement to develop, lease and manage food and beverage, retail, speciality retail and certain other passenger services at LAX in January 2012. Westeld and its concessionaires (which have not yet been announced) will be required to invest US$81.9 million in initial improvements and US$16.4 million in mid-term refurbishments to four facilities: the existing Tom Bradley International Terminal, Bradley West, Terminal 2 (LAXs second busiest international terminal), and the airports iconic Theme Building, which houses a destination restaurant and a cafeteria. These new concepts will open between spring 2013 and 2014. A second terminal concession manager is also being sought to develop and operate food and beverage and retail concessions in Terminals 1, 3 and 6. These concessions also are expected to open within the next two years. Before the airport decided on what type of offerings would feature in each terminal, it carried out a number of customer
surveys to see what passengers wanted. Everybody wants more food offerings, says Arredondo. They want more choice, and one of the goals of the board in terms of improving the passenger experience was not only nding high-quality vendors but also trying to bring more local brands to the airport. We wanted up-and-coming restaurateurs from LA, for example, so there was a big push for things like that. All about passenger experience LAX hasnt ranked highly in terms of passenger experience over the past few years. This is mainly due to its outdated facilities, restricted space and poor retail and concessions offering. This has led to poor passenger spending within the facility. The average spend per passenger is below average compared with other airports of similar size, says Arredondo. In terms of our forecasted performance for the south side [phase one], I think once the entire programme is complete it will be at or just above our peer group in terms of spend per passenger. For Bradley West, based on the number of square footage that is available and the volume of international passengers, we expect that we will see a 20-30% increase in what we currently get. In the north terminals [phase two], depending on the proposals that come in, I suspect we will see upwards of a 30% increase in spend per passenger. The US$4.11 billion Capital Improvement Program is transforming LAX into a modern and passenger-friendly airport. Despite the airports current size, LAWA still believes there is room to grow further. Our masterplan outlines what we call the Mideld Satellite programme, which would see the relocation of a large hangar and the development of a large satellite terminal, which would feed back into the central terminal area, says Doucette No plans have been put in place for this at the moment, but it is likely that this will happen when we need the capacity. Doucette concludes, One of the main things that has been very positive about the Capital Improvement Program is that the airlines have seen that the people of LA have a great interest in improving LAX. The Bradley West programme has inspired a creative momentum the carriers can see that we are investing in this airport and they are willing to invest in it as well. Strategically some of the carriers are looking at LAX as being a springboard to the growing Asian markets. n
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www.t-systems.com/cloud
Jumping ship
A recent study from the Board of Airline Representatives in the UK has revealed that capacity constraints at Heathrow Airport are causing as many as 53% of scheduled airlines to base ights in other countries than the UK. The study also found that 86% of airlines said they would put on more ights to the UK if additional take-off and landing slots were available at the airport. The results of the study were released in April 2012 by Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA, owner of Heathrow. Matthews believes that the study highlights the fact that if capacity constraints arent dealt with, then the UK will essentially be handing economic growth to our competitors by turning away airlines who want to bring jobs, growth and trade to the UK. Matthews also points out that it is a mistake to believe that ights displaced from Heathrow will automatically y to Stansted, Gatwick or Birmingham instead. The UK government is currently exploring all of the options for increasing capacity in the Southeast, with the exception of a third runway at Heathrow, as it recognises the importance of the long-term transport needs of the region. The results of this will be revealed this summer.
ABOVE: A survey has revealed that world airlines are turning their backs on Heathrow Airport due to capacity constraints
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Annual growth rates None of this makes for comforting reading. But are the problems real or imagined? Government gures revealed in the Department for Transports UK Aviation Forecasts report, published in August 2011, predict an annual growth rate of 2.2% per annum for the Southeasts core ve airports for the next decade, then 1.5% per annum the following decade if no new runways are built. This means London Heathrow Airport, which handled 65 million passengers in 2010, will process 80 million in 2020 and 85 million by 2030, while Gatwick Airport, handling 30 million in 2010, will have 35 million by 2020 and 40 million in 2030. Stansted Airport, with 20 million passengers in 2010, will rise to 25 million in 2020 and 35 million in 2030, and London Luton will rise from nine million two years ago, to 12 million then 15 million over the same period. London City Airport is expected to rise from three million in 2010, before plateauing at seven million in both 2020 and 2030. However, these gures lose their shine when compared with the governments National Infrastructure Plan 2011, published in November 2011. While current forecasts show 180 million passengers using the ve core airports in 2030, the plan states 205 million passengers would use them if growth was unconstrained by the regions capacity issues. The National Infrastructure Plan adds, Without new runways, the three largest London airports will be at capacity in 2030, and that in the longer term there will be an airport capacity challenge in the Southeast of England. Instead, the government admits any further growth in the UKs air passenger numbers will be driven by airports outside of the Southeast from 2030 onwards. However, British Air Transport Association chief executive Simon Buck believes capacity issues in the
RIGHT: Mark Souter, head of airline relations, Stansted Airport
Without new runways, the three largest London airports will be at capacity in 2030
Southeast will be a problem long before 2030. We do not believe Southeast airports as they currently stand have the capacity to withstand this growth, he says. Theres not the capacity to accommodate the predicted growth the government is forecasting within the next 15 to 20 years. His comments are backed by PricewaterhouseCoopers head of airports Colin Smith, who argues that capacity constraints are already impacting the industry. He adds, There are signicant capacity constraints on Heathrow, Gatwick and London City, and thats reected in the price of ight slots when they come up on the market. Future plans Meanwhile, a Heathrow spokesman said although the airport is currently operating at 99.2% of its current ight-cap capacity of 480,000 ights per year, passenger growth is expected through the increase in the size of aircraft. The airport is capable of handling the predicted increase in passenger numbers by 2020, particularly when Terminal 2 opens during 2014. Similarly, Gatwick has no current plans to build a second runway before 2019, nor are there any plans to build additional infrastructure at the airport. Instead, a Gatwick spokeswoman said the airport could handle as many as 40 million passengers per annum through its North and South terminals.
ABOVE: Colin Smith, head of airports, PricewaterhouseCoopers LEFT: North Terminal, Gatwick Airport
Birmingham Airport can immediately alleviate the capacity issues aficting the Southeast, its head of government and industry affairs has claimed. John Morris says the airport has all the existing infrastructure and terminals required to double the nine million passengers it receives each year today. Further growth to 36 million passengers-a-year will be possible following the extension of the airports runway in 2014. He adds that the airport benets from good road connections, while the completion of the high-speed rail link (HS2) from London to Birmingham in 2026 will also help as it will cut journey times to London to under an hour. Morris says, Birmingham Airport can provide an immediate and cost-effective solution to the current aviation gap in the UK, as well as taking the strain away from overburdened airports in the Southeast. However, British Air Transport Association chief executive Simon Buck said the HS2 rail link is just as likely to encourage travellers from the West Midlands to use airports in the Southeast, while more use of Birmingham would not solve ight interchange issues. He adds, Birmingham serves a vital role in the West Midlands region, but I dont see it as a proper substitute. PricewaterhouseCoopers head of airports Colin Smith says it is unlikely that business travellers would travel from London to Birmingham to catch a ight.
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Stansted Airport offers some of the biggest opportunities for growth, potentially doubling current annual passenger numbers from 18 million to 35 million. The airports head of airline relations Mark Souter says growth can be achieved through attracting additional ights in quieter non-peak periods, making it attractive to long-haul ights. Although a planning application TRA for a second runway has been shelved following the coalition governments election victory in 2010, Souter said the growth can be mostly handled by existing facilities. ON Stansteds single runway and taxiways are big EC O enough to take the largest commercial aircraft, including the A380. The airports infrastructure, consisting of one terminal and three support satellites, can currently handle up to 27 million passengers. After that, Souter says a fourth satellite, for which planning permission has already been obtained, could be built with little fuss. A lot of the foundations, the walkways, the tunnels and the tram train are already there we just need to stick the fourth satellite on the existing infrastructure. We dont have to make a huge amount of capital expenditure to deliver what we need. However, Smith remains concerned about Stansteds location east of London and said its lack of an express train connection to the capital will hamper growth. Souter denied this, arguing that the governments 100 million (US$158 million) investment in new rolling stock last summer is improving the service. The airport is also working with local MPs to cut the train transit time to London from 45 minutes to 30 minutes.
A bold approach
Following his re-election in May, Mayor of London, Boris Johnson continues to back plans to build a new hub airport on a man-made island in the Thames Estuary. However, airport experts believe that while the plan has merits, it may create more problems than it solves. PricewaterhouseCoopers head of airports Colin Smith said the plan was worth considering and shows the government is beginning to take capacity constraints seriously. The Airport Operators Associations Darren Caplan adds: If you do have another Thames Estuary airport, then what does that mean for the other airports? However, British Airport Transport Association chief executive Simon Buck said the estuary airport could take up to 25 years to plan and build, at a cost of about 60 billion (US$95 billion). He says, We need a much quicker solution within the next 10 years if we are to make up and see a recovery in air trafc. There are some concerns that it could be too expensive and that airlines wont want to y there as landing charges would be so high. You can only really justify having one hub and you would have to close Heathrow Airport, with the loss of thousands of jobs in the region.
Alternative options Increased use of smaller airports, such as Southend and Manston, is not the solution, Buck says, because they lack the transport infrastructure and are poorly placed to serve major conurbations. Smith agrees, adding that linking up the smaller airports with additional transport links would not meet the aviation industrys needs, which are ideally served by large modern hub airports, although he admits small regional airports could serve larger ones. Buck adds, Given the length of both the planning process and construction, decisions need to be made now to reverse a trend that has seen Heathrows number of available routes drop from 220 in 1980 to around 180 now. He adds that European airports such as Frankfurt and Schiphol are already beneting from the UKs inertia by picking up additional routes: That means lost business opportunities for the UK. It is generally recognised in the
RIGHT: Darren Caplan, chief executive, Airport Operators Association
It is generally recognised in the industry that you are nine times more likely to do trade with a country with direct air links
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industry that you are nine times more likely to do trade with a country with direct air links. The threat of rival airports isnt limited to Europe, Smith adds, with airports in Dubai and Qatar providing the infrastructure that tempts airlines to relocate their hub operations. Consultation time In the meantime, the government is working on two documents to be issued in the summer addressing the problem. During the budget, Chancellor George Osborne paid lip service to the negative impact on the economy caused by the lack of the capacity in the Southeast. His comments will be followed by the release of the coalition governments draft aviation policy for consultation this summer. The policy release has been delayed since March 2012 so it can accompany a call for evidence by the government on how best the UK can most effectively maintain hub airport connectivity. The results of both consultations will then be added to the nal strategy, which is expected to be in place by spring 2013. Darren Caplan, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, has urged the government to ensure that the nal strategy offers both decisions and solutions. He says, This debate has been going on since the 1940s. A decision hasnt been made for the past 65 years, and unless they give us a timescale and a deadline, therell be no decision for the next 65 years. Credit should go to George Osborne after aviation was made part of the national infrastructure plan, and the next part of the progression is for the Prime Minister to get involved in the debate, with a decision made by March 2013. If he doesnt put a deadline on it, its all pie in the sky. Buck agrees, We need the government to commit itself to take action; it might not be possible with the coalition, but Id like to see some sort of deal putting aside party politics and local problems. It is such an important thing for both trade and jobs. The prospect out there at the moment is yet another consultation. We have suffered death by consultation for the past 20 to 30 years. n
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Redefining how we sit: Modular loungescapes for airport use. How do we sit down while were travelling? Do we wait or do we work? Do we meet other people and communicate? Do we take a time-out and relax? How private do we want to be in public spaces? plot from Berlin-based designer duo osko+deichmann provides a contemporary response to these questions. Building on a square base module with variable seatingsurfaces at three levels, plot fully reinterprets the roles of arm-rests and back-rests.
plot inspires. Every person uses furniture in their own unique way. While sitting down, people change their posture and furniture serves a different purpose for each of us for some it offers a spot to rest or communicate while for others it provides a temporary office space or an oasis of tranquillity. plot allows different seating positions and encourages informal communication. plot, the modular loungescape invites people to return and interpret seating in a new way. For more information come visit our website: www.brunner-group.com
P.O. Box 11 51 D-77863 Rheinau-Freistett T +49 (0) 78 44. 4 02-613 M +49 (0) 173. 93 63 197 airport@brunner-group.com www. brunner-group.com
forward thinking
The 2012 Passenger Terminal World Design Challenge provided the perfect opportunity for tomorrows global design talent to present their visions for the future of airport seating to todays leaders in this eld helping to unlock innovation and highlight key trends
Up-and-coming furniture designers from around the globe entered this years Passenger Terminal World Design Challenge, which sought to nd the most innovative and exciting airport seating concepts set to change the way the industry views airport seating in the future. Entrants were asked to design seating solutions that captured the spirit of the modern airport as well as to consider factors such as aesthetics, comfort, cost, durability and the use of environmentally friendly materials. We had an overwhelming response from students, architects and furniture designers, who came up with some truly inspiring designs that impressed our panel of judges (right) from some of the worlds leading seating design companies. After a thorough and challenging examination of all the entries, the following six (overleaf) were declared the best of a very good bunch. n
Judging panel
Pascal Berberat, head of Airport Division, Vitra
Berberat assumes overall responsibility for Vitras worldwide airport activities. Based in Switzerland he has been with the company for 20 years and is responsible for building and advancing the Airport Divisions overall strategy. He has a proven track record of success in serving the needs of large airport customers worldwide. His knowledge and experience allowed him to establish clear product value propositions, focusing on customer needs and translating them to product solutions and services.
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DESIGNER: Vincent Edwards, Herron School of Art and Design COUNTRY: USA DESIGN NAME: Bench The concept behind this entry was to create a exible modular seating system in which the nal design still has the continuity and ow of a single custom installation. The bench is built from modular components so it can be arranged in myriad combinations to meet building specications. It is portable and can be moved by two people in sections, no matter the size of the unit, and then constructed on site, keeping costs low and enabling large public installations. The seat can also be made simply and efciently as the jigs and techniques used to build the rst model can be reused again and again. Bench was designed to provide comfort and functionality as well as being a sculptural art piece in its own right. The role of the bench in a public space is to provide a tangible way for travellers to connect with art and design in an inviting and intimate manner, and the piece is warm and personal to provide a calm and comfortable place Judges comments: for passengers to sit in the stressful and At rst sight the entry seems to be an homage to a Frank O. Gehry draft. hurried environment of the airport. n The product convinces from an ecological point of view. Its high visual
identity and organic shape combined with the warmth of the wood is a welcome counterbalance to airport interiors inuenced by technology and efciency. This entry is a perfect supplement to deliberately soften linear seating layouts that secure seat capacity and space efciency. The suggested overall well-being factor compensates for potentially higher cleaning and maintenance efforts. Good job! Pascal Berberat This is the best conceptual idea. It is different to most current airport seating systems. It might be difcult to clean and I wonder about ammability, but the designer is welcome and invited to contact Kusch+Co. Ingmar Krupp passengerterminaltoday.com
ABOVE: Bench is a functional seat and sculptural art piece BELOW: The seat can be congured to meet building specications
BELOW: Alexios Charitakis used birds to inspire his Ikaros airport seating range BOTTOM: The seat is made from recylced aluminium
Creative
DESIGNER: Alexios Charitakis, architect COUNTRY: Jordan DES DESIGN NAME: Ikaros Ikaros is inspired by the architecture of the bird. LE The chair is designed to draw peoples attention N GE and welcome them into the fascinating world of ying, providing childhood memories for older passengers while provoking the imagination of younger travellers. DES The seat is made mainly from aluminium, with single die-cast RU NN of aluminium legs that have a hollow body to enable secret xing E the spine and the concealed channelling of the power cables forR-UP accessory sockets. The spine of the chair is anodized or painted L extruded aluminium that can be cut to size for the requiredE length N GE for any seating arrangement, and the armrests or tail are die-cast aluminium that can support a side table. The seat and backrest have been designed to ex and offer good upper and lower back support, helping the user to relax but without encouraging undesirable lazy postures. Polyurethane integral foam, veneered formed plywood, leather or any other material can be used for these parts. All the primary components are made of recycled aluminium and can be recycled at the end of the seats service. n
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This seat has a modern concept, attractive appearance and futuristic design. The material choices are appropriate and it is functionally sophisticated. Overall it is a convincing concept and perfectly suitable for production. Dr Marc Brunner
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AIRLINE
Designed by Norman Foster London Heathrow T5
AIRPORT SEATING REFERENCES Abu Dhabi | Bangalore | Berlin-Tegel | Delhi | Dubai | Dsseldorf | Frankfurt | Geneva | Gothenburg | Hyderabad| Jeddah | Kuwait Wataniya Airways | Leipzig | London Heathrow T5 | Luxembourg | Malabo | Malm | Oran | Singapore Changi | Swiss International Air Lines, Business & First Class Lounges | Toulouse | Troms | and many more. For more information about our product range please contact our airport division, phone +41 61 377 1577, Mr Michael Hochreutener, michael.hochreutener@vitra.com
DESIGNER: Hakan Grsu PhD for Designnobis COUNTRY: Turkey DESIGN NAME: Comport Comport is a cutting-edge seating unit for contemporary environments with an elegant look. The construction frame is made of aluminium material and the seating parts are produced from MDF-based extruded composite deck material. Comport is easily disassembled and tted in a atpack. The highly durable and lightweight seating unit is hygienic and comfortable with its non-slippery and dirt-repellent surface. Manufactured from 100% recyclable material, Comport also offers different length and colour options. n
Judges comments:
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This is a clear, clean design with strong engineering features. Additional functions such as armrests and electrical sockets could be added to enhance it. The material use is strong and suitable for an airport environment. Guran Gokyay The product is technically very well resolved and the designer has a clear understanding of how the product would be constructed and manufactured. The idea of using an extruded MDF seat and back is very good, but I would be concerned about the long-term durability of the seating surface. The legs and arms have a very engineered visual identity that would benet from further aesthetic development. This product is a nice interpretation of what currently exists in the market but makes no consideration for what the future may hold. Paul Williams
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DESIGNER: Craig Shrewsbury, furniture designer COUNTRY: UK DESIGN NAME: T2 The T2 reception seat is constructed from softwood from sustainable forests. Its laminated oversized construction enables the seat to be manufactured in sheet form. A layer of coloured rubber is sandwiched between the wood, giving a comfortable seating area and allowing the design to be shaped, routed and folded into shape. The seat can be customised in order to create an array of angular planes. n
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ABOVE: T2 uses sustainably-sourced softwood LEFT: A layer of coloured rubber provides a comforable seating area
Judges comments:
This has a very strong aesthetic and visual impact, although it would probably be more suitable for smaller airports. Massimo Grassi
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This seating concept enables multiple ways of sitting comfortably in a public environment; the idea came from the observation of peoples behaviour while waiting in airports. The chair enables users travelling alone to use the outer chairs to turn away from the person next to them if they do not to wish to interact, or to use the centre table/chair as a barrier providing them with their own personal space. For those travelling in a group, the seat allows passengers to connect, using the middle seat as a table to share lunch or an activity to kill the waiting time. The frame is manufactured from tubular steel and powder coated to nish; this way we can use as little material as possible and reduce manufacturing costs. The seats are made from polypropylene and are outer coated in silicon for improved comfort and hygiene. n
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Judges comments:
The concept is based on observations and traveller behaviours, which clearly sets it apart from the other contestants. Rotating seat units and the possibility to transform the middle seat into a small table are clever features. The fresh colours and moving parts will attract children and inevitably cause some jammed ngers. The use of proven materials is a plus, but not very innovative. The cost-conscious and therefore limited use of materials is wise, but might put the overall stability at risk. All in all an interesting approach that needs some netuning in order to be used in public spaces. Pascal Berberat
ABOVE: The centre chair can be adjusted to form a sharing table LEFT: [Anti] Social is coated in silicon for improved hygiene
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DESIGNER: Hakan Grsu PhD for Designnobis COUNTRY: Turkey DESIGN NAME: Rest Point
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This design is a personal seating unit for DES and public spaces. Inspired by airports UN for privacy in waiting areas, Rest the R need NE Point provides passengers with a private area RU to relax andPcarry out activities such as L E online getting a personal digital device or N G E via reading. Placed in a shifted order, passengers are not disturbed by the person behind or interrupted by person next to them, as the seating units are separate. The comfortable seating unit also provides a luggage area that keeps baggage safe. A collapsible armlet space also offers an advertisement area. n
This is my favourite entry; it has a good concept for maximising privacy. The seat design could be improved by making it at to reduce debris collection but I like the table concept as it could be modied for a power solution. I also like the space for advertising/sponsorship revenue. The whole concept addresses many of the trends were seeing right now: privacy, advertising, place for power, etc. Lynn Gordon This design is good. It is practical and clean and would suit an airport very well. I like it. Frank Garavelli
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ABOVE: Rest Point provides a private area for passengers to relax RIGHT: A collapsible armlet space offers an advertising area
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46 AIRPORT SEATING
HAZEL SWAIN n
trendsetters
PTW spoke to the Design Challenge 2012 judging panel to nd out what latest trends are affecting the airport seating industry. Heres the top six
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Passenger Terminal World | JUNE 2012
Multifunctional design
ABOVE: Brunners Plot is easily recongured LEFT: Kusch+Cos seating at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport BELOW: Nurus Caira seating range
A key trend identied by our panel of seating design experts is the desire for multifunctional, modular seating options that can be adapted to meet an airports changing needs. With passenger gures rising, airports need to be able to expand terminals e ciently to meet this demand and having seating that can be easily extended and moved is a great advantage. Paul Williams, CEO of Zoeftig, explains, The modern airport environment is no longer static and often subject to change due to both physical and commercial factors. The large open space of a modern terminal building is divided up using temporary structures that can easily be moved or replaced. For example, a terminal has many retail concessions that are constantly changing, so the layout of the seating must always change to accommodate this. Manufacturers such as Zoeftig, Brunner and Nurus are creating designs that can be repositioned and adapted to t around the airports needs. Zoeftigs multifunctional seating range inFINITE (see Innite possibilities on page 50) is beamless and can therefore be recongured over its 15-year lifetime to respond to changes within the airport terminal. Similarly, Brunners Plot seating range o ers multilevel seating that can be rearranged to accommodate di erent seating positions and terminal areas. Plot is suitable for both communal areas where the modules can be positioned to face one another and encourage informal communication, and in retail areas where they can be arranged sparsely to allow passengers to easily roam between concessions. Nurus Caira seating range is a traditional-looking bench unit that has an innovative construction enabling it to be easily and quickly mounted and removed, therefore satisfying the airports need to expand and adapt to passenger needs. n
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AIRPORT SEATING 47
LEFT: The HUSH cocoon seat RIGHT: Vitras Alcove Highback Work is great for business passengers
Cocoon seating
As part of their overall airport experience, passengers are now expecting terminal operators to provide comfortable, private seating areas where they can relax before departure, and not just in the exclusive airline passenger lounges. Seating designers are creating curved and clustered seating areas throughout the terminal that cocoon users and provide peace and quiet away from the crowds. Airports are now creating recomposure zones, says Arconas vice president of airport solutions, Lynn Gordon, which are lounge-like areas that allow passengers to spread out and relax. Incorporating clusters or soft-seating in these areas also
gives terminal operators a great opportunity to experiment with colour and enables them to create exciting aesthetics within the often sterile terminal environment, she adds. The newest cocoon seat on the market is HUSH, created by Design Museum artist-inresidence Freyja Sewell. Manufactured using 100% wool felt with cushion stuffed with recycled wool bres, HUSH was recently selected for Grand Designs Live as one of Kevin McClouds Green Heroes. Users can pull up the sides of the seat to create an enclosed space that can be completely closed to provide total privacy. While the seat is yet to be installed in an airport, HUSH would provide
02
travellers with the ultimate place to relax and rest and is representative of the future of airport seating. With so many ways to connect more than ever we also need a way to escape, especially in stressful public environments like airports, Sewell explains. Business travellers are also demanding more secluded spots where they can work undisturbed and in private. Companies such as Vitra have created alcove seating that provides customers with walled seating areas where they can relax or work. The companys Alcove Highback Work uses three high walls to create a room within a room and offers acoustic properties that block out the noise of the airport. n
Providing passengers with a sense of the countrys social and cultural history and identity is important when designing an airport terminal, and seating plays an integral part in this process. The airport is a countrys business card, explains Vitras head of Airport Division, Pascal Berberat. It gives travellers their rst impression of the country upon arrival and their last impression on departure. In this world of globalisation and uniformity we sense that airports have a strong desire and wish for a unique identity. The seating chosen for an airport can contribute in achieving the desired identity. Nurus has also embraced the need to represent a countrys heritage through its airport seating, explaining that while other areas of the airport such as retail and food and beverage outlets often reect the culture of the country, airport seating can be forgotten. We think that, in every place in the world, the airports should not only be international spaces but they should also reect the culture of the country and should meet the needs and habits of the people using them, adds Guran Gokyay, managing partner at Nurus. Many seating designers incorporate colours and materials that are specic to a countrys heritage, and others take inspiration from the surrounding landscape to design innovate seating areas that double up as artwork. One such example is a recent installation at Edmonton International Airport in Canada. Kopperscape by Karim Rashid is constructed from breglass and LuminOre copper, and represents the Canadian copper penny. It also plays tribute to the Canadian landscape of tall mountains, snowy peaks and rivers. n
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03
Cultural identity
JUNE 2012 | Passenger Terminal World
04
Working with designers and architects from outside of the seating industry is proving to be a popular choice for seating companies, with many deciding to team up with big names from around the globe. By collaborating with outside designers, seating companies can gain a fresh perspective on all aspects of design, which ultimately helps the brand to stay competitive in a highly saturated market. The experience of working with the old masters and some of todays best designers is giving us the basis to design products that have the potential to become tomorrows classics, comments Pascal Berberat, head of Airport Division at Vitra. The company has worked with Italian designer Alberto Meda to create its new sleek and elegant Meda Gate range. Another successful partnership is Kusch+Co and the Porsche Design Studio, which created the companys
AIRPORT SEATING 49
Technology
ABOVE & BELOW: inPower Bar is a plug & play seating solution from Arconas
Technology is also key to keeping customers satised, with an increasing amount of airport seating designs incorporating electrical charging outlets and inbuilt ight information display screens. According to Ingmar Krupp, head of Airport Seating Division at Kusch+Co Germany, airports are no longer thinking of seating as separate ttings but rather as an integrated xture of the buildings architecture and so including an electricity supply into seating is becoming common practice. It is possible to incorporate a wide assortment of technical installations into the construction, such as fresh air ducts, electrical wiring, or even ight information systems, Krupp says. The integration of advertisements is also an interesting train of thought. Kusch+Cos 7500 range was designed for such installations, and features air outlet ports for air conditioning, power cables and sockets for laptops, cables to connect loudspeakers, and monitors for acoustic and visual announcements. Seating design company Arconas has also embraced the new technology possibilities for seating in airports with the introduction if its inPower Bar design that features a plug & play system so that terminal operators do not have to hardwire the seats and they can be easily moved, while passengers have the power outlets they desire. A major trend is the addition of recharging outlets for passengers in a more civilised fashion for example within the seating or in convenient counter spaces and generally more of it. Passengers are travelling with more gadgets than ever before so power is in high demand, comments Lynn Gordon, vice president, Airport Solutions, Arconas. n
8000 seating range. The cooperation has been of great avail to all parties involved, says Ingmar Krupp, head of Airport Seating Division at Kusch+Co Germany. On the one hand, apart from the exceptionally creative input by the creative heads of Porsche Design Studio and their automotive engineering know-how, we benet from the internationally high-level name recognition of the Porsche brand. On the other hand, the design team had the opportunity to gain new experiences and knowledge in the eld of contract seating. But in the end, what it comes down to is that our customers can enjoy the functionalities of an innovative, jointly designed product. Italian rm Matteograssi has also embraced the collaboration trend, employing architect Rodolfo Dordoni to help create the Flyer range of seats. The two rms worked together to offer comfort, exibility, durability and prestigious materials to let the passengers feel important, Massimo Grassi, president of Group Matterograssi, explains. n
FAR LEFT: The 8000 range from Kusch+Co LEFT: Vitras Meda Gate range
Collaboration
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JUNE 2012 | Passenger Terminal World
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50 AIRPORT SEATING
Sustainability
Increasingly airports and architects are focusing on creating environmentally friendly buildings that produce fewer emissions and installing seating that has been manufactured in a sustainable way is important when achieving these goals. Sustainability and the use of environmentally friendly materials in seating is more important than ever, explains Lynn Gordon, vice president, Airport Solutions, Arconas. As architects and operators strive to achieve their environmental goals for new or existing facilities, whether it be the goal of LEED certication or just being a good environmental steward, the sustainable properties of all materials used within terminals, including seating, is increasingly relevant. Along with a number of prominent seating designers, Arconas uses environmentallyfriendly materials and production processes in its ranges. The company uses CFC-free and low-VOC foam and upholstery, FSC certied sustainable wood products, recycled content in aluminum and steel, recyclable parts, environmentally friendly upholsteries, and creates seating that can be assembled on site to reduce shipping costs and labour. n
Cost
Cost is an important factor to both manufacturers and airport operators, especially during austere times. Remaining innovative as well as competitive is a challenge facing all seating designers as costs of raw materials rise and the global nature of the industry increases competition, but this can be a positive thing says Dr Marc Brunner, managing director of Brunner. Increasing prices of raw materials, increasing labour cost, higher safety requirements and the international certication of the products will require higher efciencies in production, but also creates a tough but hopefully healthy competition, especially with the high end projects, he says. Zoeftigs Paul Williams agrees, adding that rising fuel and labour costs not only affect design companies but may also inuence terminal operators spending decisions. As budgets continue to get tighter there is a growing trend for airports to purchase cheaper products as a short term cost saving solution, which arent developed and tested to the same rigorous standards. This often results in product failure often within two years. Materials are also an important factor to consider when designing furniture for airport seats as they are used by millions of passengers each year and must be durable but cost effective. Massimo Grassi, president of Group Matteograssi, comments that the future of airport seating will be based on comfortable, exible, durable and prestigious materials that make the passenger feel important while retaining longevity. The main challenge is to offer competitive prices without reducing the quality of materials, he adds.
Innite possibilities
PTW speaks to Paul Williams, Zoeftigs managing director, about the companys inFINITE seating range
What was the inspiration behind the inFINITE range? inFINITE reects and responds directly to the needs of the modern airport environment. The key insight that presented a real opportunity to innovate was that the modern airport environment is no longer static and often subject to change due to both physical and commercial factors. We designed out the traditional beam and developed a system of recongurable, totally modular elements that offer product exibility and customer choice. The identication of an injection moulded advanced engineering metal replacement composite presented a solution that we believed met current market requirements and delivered a product that facilitates the true modularity we sought, was more cost-effective and faster to produce. Injection moulded parts also require no nishing, reducing a products harm to the environment and making it easier to recycle. What properties does it o er airport operators and users? Customers no longer face ever increasing compromises in layout and planning throughout the lifetime of the product. inFINITE facilitates continuous rows of an unlimited number, which is both lower cost and more visually harmonious because all legs and arms are evenly spaced. The visual purity of continuous rows and eradication of the low mounted beam is also key in facilitating airport authorities growing desire for a visually transparent terminal. Under seat clearance makes inFINITE easy to see under and around, allowing security staff to spot suspicious or unattended baggage. The Zoeftig team designed every last shape, surface and component junction to avoid dirt traps and speed up cleaning. The small footprint and raised chassis means that it is easier to clean under and around. Where has the seat been installed and what future installation plans do you have? inFINITE is now winning some of the worlds largest airport seating contracts; just three months after the ofcial inFINITE production launch, Zoeftig secured its largest single order with a 17,000 seat installation in Asia. We now have installations in Europe, North America and Asia, and orders that we are presently fullling for Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany and the UK.
ABOVE: Zoeftigs CEO Paul Williams BELOW: Zoeftigs inFINITE range has been installed at Kunming Airport in China
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AEREA
Recomposure zones
Lounge Areas
The latest collection of modular airport seating from Arconas. The design combines the elegance and comfort normally reserved for VIP lounges with the durability and exibility required for high-trafc waiting areas. Customize Aerea in a way that suits your space best. Congure 22" & 30" wide seats, with arms or without, with free-standing or attached tables. Aerea the perfect blend of comfort, exibility, and durability.
+1-905-272-0727 +1-800-387-9496
airport@arconas.com arconas.com
qualitative member of
BAGGAGE HANDLING 53
HELEN NORMAN n
mixed bag
Although the amount of mishandled baggage has reduced greatly over the past ve years, it is still a multi-billion-dollar problem. So how can airports and airlines ensure passenger con dence in receiving their bags on time and in the right location?
Mishandled baggage cost the aviation industry US$2.58 billion (1.65 billion) in 2011, according to the SITA Baggage Report 2012. Approximately 25.8 million bags were either lost or mishandled. Although this gure is high, it still represents a signicant improvement on 2010 numbers. There was a 20.3% decrease in mishandled bags in 2011 compared with 2010 (32.3 million mishandled bags in 2010), and a saving of US$650 million (415 million) over the previous year. This is very encouraging considering the number of enplaned passengers increased from 2.68 billion in 2010 to 2.87 billion in 2011. And since 2007 the total number of mishandled bags has decreased by 45.1%. According to Francesco Violante, CEO of SITA, The eighth annual Baggage Report shows the air transport industry recording its best ever year for baggage handling since our report rst started. More than 99% of checked baggage was delivered on time to passengers in 2011. However, the cost of mishandled baggage still represents 33% of the US$7.9 billion (5 billion) prot achieved in the industry in 2011, and according to Ian Kennedy, managing director of British Consulting, This is a huge amount and represents one of the major challenges in the industry at the moment. Working together According to Violante, one of the major problems lies in transfer bags, which represent the largest contributor to mishandling, accounting for 53% of all delayed luggage. In order to overcome this, Violante believes that, We need to come together as an industry to make
ABOVE: Ian Kennedy, managing director of British Consulting RIGHT: Vanderlandes high capacity Traxorter, which offers controlled baggage orientation
More than 99% of checked baggage was delivered on time to passengers in 2011
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www.alstef.com
Visit us! Messe Berlin 18. - 21.09.2012 Halle 2.1 Stand 231
PUBLIC DISPLAYS
Indoor / Outdoor
CONRAC GmbH Lindenstrasse 8 D-97990 Weikersheim Tel.: +49 7934-101 201 info@conrac.de www.conrac.de DATA MODUL GROUP
FIDS
I N N OVAT I O N . E X P E R I E N C E . F L E X I B I L I T Y. Q U A L I T Y.
BAGGAGE HANDLING 55
Madrid Airport has an almost uniform RFID implementation and an exceedingly e cient baggage operation
Worlds largest
additional breakthroughs. He also highlights the need to adopt a culture of openness and to bring about more proactive data sharing between all industry stakeholders: Only then can we gain clear visibility of the bags journey, combining our insights to nd new ways to prevent mishandling. The IATA Baggage Improvement Program (BIP) is one such initiative that is helping the industry work together to improve efciency. BIP aims to reduce the rate of mishandled baggage by improving handling processes to ensure passengers and their baggage are reunited at their nal destination. It is achieving this by carrying out 80 diagnosis visits to 120 airports and offering them tools to improve baggage ow. As of June 2012, 71 diagnosis visits had been carried out. Once complete by the end of 2012, IATA claims that the BIP will help save up to US$1.9 billion (1.2 billion) a year. Kennedy adds, BIP has had signicant success within the aviation sector by reviewing operations with small independent teams and providing a list of areas where productivity can be improved and error rates reduced. Cumulative effects of many such solutions can lead to signicant efciency savings overall. This is one example of how the industry is embracing a collaborative approach by looking at technologies, business processes and people, and how they can be developed to improve baggage efciency. After all, as Kennedy points out, The overall result is only as good as the weakest link in this chain. He also highlights that the industry must be careful not to consider technology on its own as a magic bullet to improving efciency. Is RFID the future? However, having the right technology in place is essential in order to develop processes and implement employee training around it. Suppliers to the industry are continually working hard to develop new systems that improve efciency, reduce emissions and offer exibility. One technology that is set to have a major impact is radio frequency identication (RFID). The general consensus among suppliers, consultants and airports within the industry is
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Passenger numbers at New Doha International Airport, which is expected to open in December 2012, are predicted to reach 24 million per year, with an estimated 19,500 items of luggage passing through the baggage handling system each hour. In order to cope with this large number of bags, the airport has invested in one of the worlds largest state-of-the-art hybridtechnology RFID tunnels. The RFID tunnel was the rst system to combine RFID and barcode technologies into a single unit. As a major breakthrough in scanner technology, the arrangement achieves nearperfect read and assignment rates of around 99.5%. A total of 12 hybrid RFID tunnels will be installed on the transfer lines at New Doha International, with a further 12 RFID units integrated into the early-storage baggage system. All the units feature dual controllers with full redundancy to ensure maximum availability. The hybrid scanners will help to increase security, while providing faster transfer times and minimising the number of lost or misrouted items. Kim Nyborg Carlsen, airport director at Crisplant, the main contractor for the baggage handling system at Doha, believes that this installation will make the airport one of the most modern and advanced as well as one of the biggest airports in the world.
that RFID wont have a major impact on the baggage-handling sector for another ve to 10 years. Vanderlandes manager of systems, Vincent Kwaks, says, We expect that over the next ve years the penetration of RFID technology in the industry will be at such a level that it will be accepted by the industry as an alternative to the barcode. RFID is considered the best solution to greatly improve operations and reduce costs for all operators involved in baggage handling. The main obstacle preventing the wide-scale use of the technology at the moment is industry uptake. Jan Zacho, manager of IT infrastructure, Copenhagen Airports, says that the facility hasnt ventured into the use of RFID for baggage tracking yet: If we have RFID for baggage in Copenhagen, and they dont have it in the destination airport, then it doesnt make much sense to invest in it. It would need the whole industry to invest for it to work. However, an increasing number of airports are starting to embrace the technology. Madrid Airport has an almost uniform RFID implementation and an exceedingly efcient baggage operation, says Kennedy. Christoph Oftring, international sales manager at Crisplant, adds, The technology is in place and works perfectly, but the processes and strategies of airlines must also change to make it a success. It is not enough for one airport to invest in RFID; the airports linked to the origin airport must also have RFID in order to reap the benets. Helsinki Airport provides a great example of a facility embracing RFID. The airports baggage handling system has a combined barcode and RFID scanner on one of its four baggage screening lines. This line is used for inbound baggage on ights from Hong Kong and Schiphol, which are already using RFID tags as part of their baggage handling procedures. Tests have shown that the
RIGHT: Vanderlandes Traxorter has a capacity of up to 6,000 trays per hour
56 BAGGAGE HANDLING
Self-service bag-drop solution, BAG Xpress by Alstef
Self-service
combination of the barcode and RFID technologies provides a 100% read rate, compared with a read rate of around 98% when either barcode or RFID technology is used in isolation. Furthermore, when open, New Doha International Airport will own the worlds largest installation of hybrid RFID/ barcode scanners, which will secure the airport a position at the forefront of state-of-the-art baggage handling. The industry then needs more airports to follow suit, Oftring adds. Space and exibility Aside from technological challenges, one of the main issues currently faced by suppliers is space constraints. Oftring says, We see a need for higher baggage throughput in airports dened space and using the existing infrastructure. Vanderlandes Kwaks agrees: The industry needs to increase the effectiveness of baggage check-in and bag drop processes to be able to achieve more within the constrained terminal space. Passenger volumes are continuing to grow, but the terminal space does not. Crisplant has developed the LS-4000econ baggage sorter to address this problem. The system combines an ultra-small footprint with an energy-efcient drive system. This allows the high-speed baggage handling system to be integrated into airports, which have the smallest available space, while cutting energy consumption by 75% compared with sorters driven by conventional motors. Kennedy also highlights how developing compressed build times, where bags are stored in central bag stores for the majority of the time that check-in is open and then sent down to the ight in a short burst of around an hour, can lead to increased efciency and a reduced space requirement in the baggage hall. Although this will require a change to system design, this has the opportunity to save costs overall, as a smaller building is needed to house the operation.
RIGHT: Crisplants CrisBag tote-based baggage handling system was launched at this years Passenger Terminal Expo
The increased use of self-tagging and self-service bag-drop solutions is helping to improve how efciently passengers can travel through airport terminals, and airports around the world are embracing this trend. In March 2012, the Transportation Security Administration approved self-tagging in the USA, and in Europe, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has been using the self-service systems since it pioneered them in 2008. The SITA Baggage Report 2012 also highlighted a system introduced at Terminal Ouest at Paris-Orly Airport by Aroports de Paris in November 2011. The system called BAG Xpress and designed by Alstef enables passengers to check in their baggage in just 15-30 seconds, and can process up to 180 passengers per hour. The machine can scan a boarding pass printed either at home or at a kiosk. It veries the name of the passenger, weighs their bag when entered into the machine, then transmits the information to the airline and automatically delivers a baggage receipt to the passenger. Read more on page 67.
Flexibility is also a key aspect here. Airports are looking to achieve greater exibility in their existing environment, which calls for a modular design, and there is also a need to look at different technologies and systems for the storage of bags, says Oftring. Currently, many airports are discussing new storage scenarios, especially due to higher transfer rates faced by many airports. Future trends Based on the results of the SITA Baggage Report over the past ve years, it looks promising that the industry will continue to work towards reducing mishandled baggage. RFID looks set to have a major impact, and this, along with other systems and processes in the industry, need to be developed collaboratively in order for the whole sector to benet. Oftring says, Best practice sharing is becoming increasingly popular among airports. Although they are competitors, airports still understand how to help each other for the good of the airport business. In addition, Kennedy outlines how more customer-friendly, end-to-end offerings will help improve service levels. Offerings where bags are picked up from your car (at the airport car park) and delivered back to you as close to your onward journey point as possible will help improve customer service. Kennedys British Consulting is also in the process of looking further into the future. We have a concept under development that we call Magic Baggage. In this concept, bags have builtin processing and communication abilities, and can interrogate airport IT systems to work out where they need to be. They can then instruct airportpowered trolleys to take them there, i.e. through airport security screening and airside to the plane. Although this may sound fanciful, the reality is that the technology is available now and we believe that it would be economically feasible. n
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s s e n i s u b r o f open
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Vienna Airport isst the bigge in employer c e the provin of lower d Austria an Burgenland
t n e m e g a n a m w e n r e d n u
JUNE 2012 | Passenger Terminal World
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de Helmut an s A N R E T A les M Augustin, sa PTW talks to rd a h in e R O, and siness unit Meulen, CE ation in bu rt o sp n a tr f s new dir ector o e company th t u o b a s, ation re of the communic nd the futu a m e st sy p self-bag-dro stry airport indu
ATERNA? verview of M o an s u tablished in ve TERNA was es Can you gi A M s ): M (H n Meule e company ha Helmut an de d, Germany. Th un r tm ou or d D an in ation are based ns and Inform 1980 and we Communicatio e s th it of un rt ss pa ne PS) are two busi in Europe and ger Services (I s en ie ss tr Pa un co ed at 25 gustin Integr erate in Reinhard Au ns unit. We op ard [Augustin] io Meulen and nh at ei ic de R un an t. m ut as m E lm Co iddle L-R: He with the siness in the M siness in 1984 we also do bu d as bu ke e or th w of ailable for as A rt N R pa rline at should be av when MATE th s em r st em started the ai fo st sy sy es TE A operat e will be 24 of the rst CU in this project. 00, MATERN facilities. Ther development e to participate ens. Since 20 th t em h an it Si w w r as fo ng r ti es to star many airlin a subcontrac own account, the IPS dustry on its s extended to ay ad ? w no the aviation in s s, on d solution y customers X experience of CUSS soluti was your PT ith high-qualit fer fully-edge w of w o d e t H w an development st S, d IP r de offer d we had a lo ry crow As part of ou t, and we also at counts an : We had a ve th en M H ty in ym ti product suite. e e pa an th at f d ip of qu ic ee an rt stem d to pa ity not th sis for a on the check-in sy ve been invite its the qual on a license ba ers include stems. We ha rvices, such as sy se om r and there are e st , ou ar cu nd w in la or ft st aj so Po of intere managed , rland and nsa. Our m gs ze ha in it ft W Lu Sw r an up. We also in fo m s er er em syst le of tend mirates, G we will chase E up at a, co th a ns X self-bag-drop ha PT ft d Lu om llinn an rt Systems at leads fr as Air Berlin, ing Vienna, Ta ith Ultra Airpo any promising ud w m t cl e airlines such in en th ts d em or re an rp ag le 0 peop d MATERNA nership es, and ai signed a part more than 1,30 at the Ultra an Austrian Airlin s th oy d pl un fo em . A ve n) N e ha ATER 2 millio the show, as w her very well. Nuremberg. M 2 million (12 ement each ot 2011 was 15 pl r m fo co e s nu lio ve fo re port total Expo (PTX)? industry? ger Terminal en em ss st Pa sy in airports. f the airport at op o dr ch re gn tu u ba la fu lfu e se r th drop systems gou is d ba at se e h us ca W What did yo ow on m e sh the home re will be com ustin (RA): W It is based on rriers in their HM: The futu Reinhard Aug y e premium ca for Lufthansa. ad m d re so h, or te al ic ve en ve un ha em ha M s t pl im kfurt and the airpor You will alway that we have plication, hansa in Fran who come to d terminals, ft ap rs te Lu ile ge ca e di ob en lik m de ss a t n pa ce, using ve their ow environmen of ha concept that e ng ni th ill ai w in agent e, ho co gg m w ubai er at ho ems and ba arding pass Emirates in D checked in eith e is conveyor syst have their bo y od in airport, rc ad e ts re ba th en e al m by th st ey , e so th ents mad these inve e bag drop m as th st t t ve A bu in se in e. or at a kiosk, klly od ec ca rc s are typi d as common-u engers ch ion in a 2D ba e implemente ndling system trieve the pass ar ha re ey their informat to at th r, th at e t ge in th ge en y airl and to ill insist fy the pass available to an pass is valid, the airports w read to identi ked in any can be made the boarding ec ey at ch th th y at fy ad th ri re ve al so s systems records, to ssenger ha will be nveyor them. whether the pa ed approach r bag on the co ei th wants to use es information on to ac in pl at an integrat d th en fe cation to y th is lo r sa n e ge io so on en at al to ss rm ld pa d the info able to go RA: I wou an be , e luggage. The ld ed is th ou gh at ei sh w th rs d ssenge age, an that to verify the bag is off their bagg important pa ere are checks e system, where op d Th W dr an . t. d ce em ke an st an ar g w sy m ta l contro rs in the weight allo r baggage he d ei ot an th t om ze fr ge si e e the departure em at th ri for tiates our syst hin the approp e it convenient what differen luggage is wit ocess, to mak d of their pr d. ri e te t th in ge te pr to ra is t le g ta ort and wan want to acce rp ai then the bag e ng to th to ha e ho com oid them vi next? passengers w his should av em T . st d then le sy an d ib is g, ss an th t ta po g ur u take quickly as get the ba both Frankf as to at gs st s ba r em at Where will yo st s th sy s e system rate location installed thre for additional n go to two sepa RA: We have rt we are ived an order ce po ir re A r labelled bag. ve o ion. ov ha th e ed get rid of ei w Domod more informat to co r Munich and w os fo g M in m t A nd co . s. te ar ex -ip ye na en is er be th at s ed .m ha oy w Visit ww will be depl nderlande, who -off our partner Va of self-bag-drop n io is ov working with pr e ea including th the check-in ar
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ems? Security Syst verview of 3M logies o no an ch s te u s ve ty System ri Can you gi cu Se 3M : liver ge (PS) Peter Smallrid e world and de ies around th es and tr ss un ne co si 0 bu 12 solutions to are used in ty ri cu ence and se ve pe novati ledge, ex ri ow kn r ou end-to-end, in ng si ray of worldwide. U tions to an ar governments e provide solu w t e, uc is od rt pr pe , ex on l protecti technologica ssport cluding brand pa in d , an es ng ID le re al eck-in, secu security ch ch r ge en em ss st are sy ient pa are and softw security, efc ce, and hardw an su is t en m docu ement. border manag solutions for experience? rminal Expo Te r ge r Terminal en ss r Pa d at Passenge te bi hi ex How was you ve an ds (RE): We ha nna busier th Roger Edwar and found Vie 00 e cutting back 20 ar e lly nc si ra tors gene bi Expo (PTX) hi ex g on at th allridge t I suspec d concentratin s and Peter Sm Copenhagen. al can afford, an ob Roger Edward ey gl a th s s ha ow d sh d an r of on the numbe well-establishe e . PTX is both to meet airlin es od on y go plans? ke as w w fe It . rs the to bi at n of Cogent panys future hi th m ex ed r co fo nt e t oi th us pp e m the acquisitio sa ar a di ed at is e h et it er pl W w so m e co ll, w t pu e, bu t this in law ber 2010, 3M outside Europ r specialising es were presen PS: In Decem visitors from etrics supplie uropean airlin to E om s bring bi ea om g to id fr in t s an ad ea ve pl le ti ta to have gr lutions. We Systems, a ue so in t nt to en s fewer represen co m et rn es dg ve in d go strial scale in at IT bu uropean airl enforcement an en on an indu ope dictates th ov the ur pr E to year. While E en in on be ti is is ve bu cr ri nancial rics that ha , 3Ms cont et w om no bi . il ls nt ia U a nt s. innovate, the esse cially in ine processe d to the bare reading, espe everyday airl are constraine nd document ou er ar th en ge be to s g ? can brin industry ha ent. Now we CR/ nched at PTX of the O u nm la st on ro ti e te vi la ca er en ti w e s s en ic ct self-serv launch of 3M and the auth n What produ d on ea le rs op orts become pe ab ur e sp en E th s as e saw th nology ha cation of er when eP ti ch th en te ge id to ew e N . m PS: PTX 2012 co 0M for e two will ader, the CR10 cument reader document. Th e passenger. MSR swipe re standalone do ss is le th to s of required by th n rd ze ke ca si r e to ye th ly - on ce nt e du th ue re us to s and freq ort industry? Thompson from passport ds in the airp its Rochford of en data capture e tr t m lu en this industry. vo rr e cu e ter of th nd that drives re at What are th eg of m e than one quar th remains usive avour SR TE6700). : Self-service see a less obtr grated OCR/M PS te to t in g or in to rp predecessor (R e t go ai iv e or at ar rp up joins cs we on at ai is an altern the same time Using biometri andard soluti st at a The CR100M , at e st as th Th co re ed r. is tu us ge t fu rs the . Fi passen have been self-service in es are two-fold visible to the rs keyboards that ciple advantag ay that is less By having in w . % of passenge a pr ry s 60 in st It s d du s. se un in sk es ro on A oc ti . pr ia re av he . We e le ar check-in de th ro ye n in critical rline ca 10% per s a key driver assport has a e airport or ai set to rise by eP th is , two is ne lo ly Th which is alway . da on ) ts e an or th TS to be ePassp helf (CO reader as a st globally hold ssengers face lable off-the-s pa ai e on av th the document ti ly d na al an bi ci t m er or sp this co ture. lar comm expect an ePas hase costs of gers in the fu a now use a regu d the costs airline passen e that the purc an r at fo money we see rd m s ti oa of ve es yb ck e ha ke la tW a . us ed m to at e gr du te d in keyboard . om an fr ss an that 5% le d away ss than that of ance, are 30-4 RE: Apart from lf products an ed are 25-40% le yer uding mainten ds off-the-she nt cl ar ue in w , eq as the integrat to od Fr d ch ri . en su pe ce tr s ar general e IT device g ed performan in in ov rl over a ve-ye ar pr ai u sh e im e os yo is th if rp t d d tipu bene ols an esses an specialist mul es and protoc RE: The second fferent thickn but cy technologi pages are ga pages have di rt on that trend, Le rt e . po po rd ss ak ss oa br pa pa a yb at d t ke th pu is ve lt they ha cards an su r re ts ve e wn th at airpor ts where k for both, the which slows do COTS produc of IT systems s, ng ad si he oo design one trac ad ch d re e an ar ines errors the magnetic innovative airl creating read .n squeezed past rt, potentially acks, giving er their own IT po tr ov ss o l pa tw ro e nt th ith co w of ve ed ha gn si de movement is 0M ce. on. The CR10 cing maintenan causing abrasi ates and redu -r ad re e im -t st remarkable r
We plan to bring at s th biometric e have b en proven on ial an industr scale intoay d the every airline processes
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smart storage
Choosing a short-term baggage storing system that suits the individual needs of an airport can greatly improve the overall baggage handling process
It is widely accepted that some form of short-term storage or buffering of baggage makes an essential contribution to an efcient baggage handling process, but theres no universal, one-size-ts-all solution. Many factors need to be taken into account, including the available space, the size of peak loads during the working day, the numbers of transfer passengers and their connection times, and the availability and cost of labour. Airports can choose from a wide range of solutions meeting different capacity requirements. These range from fully automated systems offering fast, random access to stored bags, right through to costeffective solutions in which bags are grouped by ight departure times or destinations for semiautomated retrieval when needed. At major international hubs theres usually going to be a need for some kind of automated storage system to efciently handle the high baggage volumes and deal with peak capacity demands, says Gijs Bartelet, senior systems engineer for baggage handling at Vanderlande Industries. Thats where systems like our Bagstore prove their value. The system offers a high storage density with fast, individual access whenever required. So even if bags are checked in over a wide time period, possibly many hours before departure or even the day before, they can all be called forward together when needed for ight make-up, which can then take place efciently within a relatively short time window. That enables optimum use of the available resources operators are not standing by idly waiting for bags to arrive, and theres no need for ad hoc solutions such as space-consuming buffering of bags in laterals or chutes for several hours.
A bag storage system also increases passenger convenience by enabling them to check in early, and boosts airport retail revenues as passengers can spend more time shopping. Batch loading Vanderlande has recently completed a Bagstore implementation at a major international hub, where it is used in combination with labour-saving robot loading. The system was awarded the interTERMINAL Award 2011 for innovation at last years inter airport Europe exhibition in Munich, Germany. Here, bag storage is an essential part of the concept. Bags are pulled out of storage in batches exactly when they are needed in
the right sequence for loading into containers and carts. In fact this is the only way to provide the robots with the required constant, rapid ow of bags that they are capable of handling. Equally important is the systems compact footprint. The multilevel store with fast bag access by cranes travelling across the racks achieves a high storage density with the most efcient use of space. In many cases, this is an essential requirement for installation in existing terminal buildings. Most of the bags can be stored by the cranes at lower rack heights, which adds to storage efciency as not all levels in the bag storage need to be dimensioned for the maximum bag height. The storage of bags in racks is also a very energy-efcient solution, as
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LEFT: Multilevel storage of baggage is an efcient use of space BELOW: Vanderlandes Bagstore can be used in combination with robot loading
bags are not moved within the store until their nal release moment. These fully automated systems are the ideal choice for larger airports, but our simpler systems also do the job effectively where lower baggage volumes have to be handled, Bartelet explains. In many cases, these semi-automated or even manual systems are an excellent choice for smaller and mid-size airports. And of course they represent a much lower investment level. Decoupling These systems can, for example, include the use of dedicated conveyor lanes in which bags for individual ights or groups of ights with the same departure time are buffered together. With careful
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design and layout, solutions like these can be effective ways to maximise the efciency of manual ight make-up processes. Like all buffering systems, they also allow peak-shaving, so operators are not faced with impossible workloads at the busiest times of the day. Instead, bags are released from the store at a steady rate, thereby effectively decoupling the ight make-up process from the rate at which bags are checked in. That means operators can work efciently at a steady rate, instead of having to deal with constantly varying bag ows. This cuts the number of operators required, and can reduce labour costs by as much as 30%. The baggage buffer also enables ight make-up positions to be opened later than
the check-in opening times. This signicantly increases productivity per square metre, as the same make-up positions can be used for larger numbers of ights. The important thing is that every situation is different, so its essential to work closely with the airport and to understand exactly what the challenges and limitations are in each case. That makes it important for system suppliers to have access to the full range of technologies and system solutions, so they are not limited to a single concept, but instead can come up with the optimum answer in each case from a simple lane buffer right up to a smart random access bag storage. And of course experience with solutions of this kind is essential, Bartelet concludes. Systems, and where applicable the supporting IT, must be proved in practice, so a good reference list covering the full range of capacities from small regional airports to international hubs is an important asset.
VANDERLANDE INDUSTRIES
Tel: +31 413 49 49 49 Web: www.vanderlande.com Email: info@vanderlande.com
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keyboards, gate readers, monitors, FIDS, baggage scale systems and paper stock. Biometric security is one of the most secure forms of authentication, but too often it slows down any process that it is trying to replace. VidTroniX and its partners have developed a process to authenticate and check a passenger in with just a simple glance at the kiosk using the latest iris scan technology. In addition, VidTroniX and its partners offer a system that is able to detect and scan a persons iris from 3m away while in motion. This allows for secure, effortless, non-contact authentication on the move. The system delivers the security of iris recognition in a convenient, high-throughput system for access control. This portal conguration has a processing speed of 30 people per minute with subjects simply walking through at a comfortable pace making it ideal for hightrafc locations such as airports, mass transit, security checkpoints and other applications that require positive identity verication for large numbers of registered people.
VIDTRONIX
Tel: +1 913 441 9777 Web: www.vidtronix.com Email: r.mang@vidtronix.com
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The time taken to deliver invoices is signicantly reduced by incorporating advanced electronic billing interfaces for the major industry systems, including IATA InvoiceWorks and OB10. By supplying invoices electronically, the handler has the advantages of guaranteed delivery as well as reduced stationery and mailing costs benetting the environment together with the invoice cycle. Revenue forecasting has similarly benetted from a brand new release of the FiNDnet Billing and Revenues modules from Damarel, which deliver enhanced contract and engagement standards management, while adding a sophisticated revenue forecasting module. As it is based on a copy of the ight schedule, revenue
forecasting can use the recorded contract and rates to predict future revenues accurately thus giving ground handlers real insight into the nancial position of an operation. More than that, FiNDnet Revenues supports cutting-edge ight schedule and contract/ charge modelling, allowing multiple what-if scenarios to be run to determine the impact of any changes. Unlike traditional revenue and budget forecasting, which usually takes place every quarter due to the manually intensive nature of the exercise, FiNDnet Revenues can be run as often as required, giving improved accuracy and up-to-date projections whenever they are needed. Historical data can also be used to model more accurately the all too frequent deviation from published schedules and contracted services a fact of life for busy stations. Bruton is very enthusiastic about the potential competitive edge this new feature gives handlers.
With FiNDnet Revenues, as well as seeing how they are performing nancially against targets, clients can also model the nancial impact of any threats or opportunities to ensure they are best positioned to take advantage, he says. Coupled with our Business Intelligence dashboards, these modules give nance directors and CFOs complete visibility into the nancial performance of operations at a department, station, or group level. Finally, there is an ever-growing awareness of the enormously positive impact of automation within the industry. Ground handlers are becoming more and more proactive in driving system development to increase the type of electronic information to be exchanged. A classic example is the feed of fuelling information from rigs directly into the billing system, removing the need for any manual intervention in the process. This trend towards automation is denitely set to continue.
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DAMAREL SYSTEMS
Tel: +44 1252 783 787 Web: www.damarel.com Email: info@damarel.com
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passenger experience
Can understanding how to calculate airport capacity effectively enhance the passenger experience?
Measurement of capacity or the provision of infrastructure that provides a targeted capacity are the buzz words of the airport industry when passenger, baggage, cargo and ight volumes are increasing or are forecast to increase. But is the concept of capacity really understood and is it really useful as a metric of airport performance? Consider the example of a simple 80 x 100m terminal with the usual processes and one oor for all departure and arrival processes, except for an arrival corridor where passengers go up one oor and come down into immigration, as illustrated in the diagram (right). From observations, suppose we know the maximum achieved throughput 95% of the time at each major process. Example throughputs are noted on the diagram in numbers/hour. We could now ask, what is the capacity of this terminal? One answer could be derived as follows: we have 8,000m2 of space. We want to give everyone 4m2, which is our desired spatial level of service, so we can accommodate approximately 2,000 passengers. That is the static capacity of the terminal and it is the number that is used to dene the capacity of facilities such as sports arenas, department stores and other places frequented by the masses. If we lower our targeted level of service, we can claim to have a terminal with a higher capacity. Another answer, which is clear from the diagram, is 300/ hour departing and 500/hour arriving, dened by the lowest throughput/hour process. Now, we could annualise this number by assuming we operate this terminal 18 hours per day for 365 days per year, giving us 1,971,000/year
Passenger Terminal World | JUNE 2012
ABOVE: The diagram gives a basic idea of passenger capacity in an 80 x 100m terminal
departing. So, now we can claim to have a two million passengers per annum terminal capacity. Are these answers correct and are they useful? The rst answer, static capacity, is clearly subjective, but is easy to calculate and provides a sense of size and one aspect of the passenger experience, for example personal space. The second answer, the throughput capacity, is objective, but it says nothing about the passenger experience. We could have 1,000 or 300 passengers trying to depart in one hour, but the throughput would still be around 300/hr. However, the temporal level of service (waiting time in queues) would be lower, with a demand of 1,000/ hr and the space required for
queuing would be larger, possibly exceeding the space allocated to some processes. Furthermore, if the 300 passengers were for four Canadair Regional Jets, with 75 passengers each departing 15 minutes apart, versus for a single A340 in one hour, the passenger experience in terms of queue lengths and waiting times would be quite different. Therefore a more meaningful question than that of capacity is, what level of service can we offer to satisfy a given demand?, described by a specic ight schedule rather than millions of passengers per year or peak hour ow. This is the scientic basis for development of facilities and operations to provide a targeted passenger experience.
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drop and go
Automatic baggage drop-off machines speed up the check-in process and improve the passengers journey through the airport
As part of the evolution of airport check-in systems towards more uidity and speed, Alstef has introduced BAG Xpress, an automatic baggage drop-off machine. The design is based on a patented, innovative concept dened by Aroports de Paris (ADP) with the intention of offering better service to passengers. Alstef manufactured and installed the rst BAG Xpress in Terminal Ouest at Paris-Orly Airport in November 2011. The company was again selected by ADP to manufacture and commission additional automatic baggage drop-off machines for Paris-Orly and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle. BAG Xpress is able to process a high number of passengers per hour, requiring only a short time to process each bag. The machine can process up to 180 passengers per hour, with an average of 15 seconds per bag checked in, and a delay of only ve seconds between two bags. Two-step process BAG Xpresss basic principle makes it possible to decrease the check-in time for each passenger. This is done in two steps. Step one passengers print their boarding pass at the self-service check-in station using the reservation information, if not already completed via the internet. The number of bags to check in is declared and the correct number of bag tags issued for attachment to the baggage. Step two passengers go to the automatic baggage drop-off machine, scan their boarding pass to identify themselves, and place their baggage inside. The door closes automatically and the machine weighs the bag and reads its size. The bag is then automatically inserted into the traditional circuit
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ABOVE: BAG Xpress can process 180 passengers an hour RIGHT: The rst bag-drop system was installed at Paris-Orly Airport
and a baggage receipt is delivered. Passengers can normally register baggage within 30 seconds even less for frequent yers. BAG Xpress was designed to process the maximum number of passengers possible, thanks to a number of special features. It has numerous barcode readers scanning 360 so that a bag tag can be scanned no matter what its position. The machine also has a specially designed interior, making sure that practically all types of bags can be put in any position. Bags are laid down during the automatic process to ensure that they are handled without problem. The machine door closes automatically and cannot be opened by any passenger. A passenger who might be tempted to retrieve his bag during the cycle cannot interrupt the process. BAG Xpress can process a bag in almost every position possible thanks to its control devices. The
processing time is decreased because there is less chance that a bag tag is incorrectly scanned or a bag gets trapped, or that the process is involuntarily interrupted. Surveys show that passengers are very satised with BAG Xpress.
They appreciate this simple-to-use machine thanks to its ergonomic and modern design, and most of all they like the fact that it is very fast. Alstef is looking forward to installing BAG Xpress in airports throughout the world.
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ALSTEF
Tel: +33 238 78 42 00 Web: www.alstef.com Email: info.alstef@alstef.com
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efficiency drive
A comprehensive IT solution that integrates electronic information ensures sustainable and efficient processes in terminals and helps airports to avoid costly delays
The only thing constant in life is change, said 17th century French noble and writer Franois de la Rochefoucauld. The same can be said for airports, where operations are complex due to the large number of processes, constraints and dependencies, as well as stakeholder interests and responsibilities. Ever-changing variables such as weather add to the complications. Each airport and even each ight has to be seen in the context of a worldwide system, says Christoph Meier, head of Siemens Aviation IT. Taking into account all these factors, it should come as no surprise that on any given day, events often take a much different direction to what was originally planned. Delays are usually the result. In fact, in Europe alone, delays cost some 1.5 billion (1.2 billion) each year, according to the Performance Review report from Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
LEFT: Total Airport Management System (TAMS) integrates electronic information within an airport
While the rst impulse might be to try to gain more leeway through expansion, adding a new runway is usually prohibitively expensive and extending night-time ight schedules is never popular with people living near an airport. So, operators need to make efcient use of existing resources. One useful holistic solution is the Total Airport Management System
(TAMS). The TAMS acts as an interface that integrates electronic information within an airport. And the more information operators have, the better their decisions, says Meier. A true integrator With TAMS, both land and airside operations can be coordinated, which in turn increases efciency and sustainability. TAMS is a valuable tool for helping operators to maintain situational awareness, proactively anticipate the impact of constraints in due time, and collaboratively nd joint solution strategies on the y. Different visualisation technologies from smartphones and desktop monitors, to large display walls are supported to deliver relevant information to the parties involved. Furthermore, TAMS covers what-if scenarios throughout all phases of ight handling and
airport operations. The system also aids seasonal ight planning as well as daily ight-plan deployment and execution during the day of operations. Post-operation statistical analysis helps operators to rene their reactions for the future. The decision support offered by TAMS has great potential to provide signicant reductions in delays, fuel consumption and the resulting emissions. For example, with the help of this system, operators can keep planes at their gates with landside energy supply until it is time for take-off. Thus, engines are not left running idly, so costly kerosene is not wasted and less CO2 is emitted. Siemens, together with its partners, can demonstrate how all these different TAMS subsystems can be integrated into an airport control centre to benet the smooth and efcient running of day-to-day airport operations.
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SIEMENS
ABOVE: Siamos offers a process integration platform
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F REE TO
AT TEND
TECHNOLOGY W O R L D E X P O 2 0 12
www.MeteorologicalTechnologyWorldExpo.com
70 NOW ARRIVING
CRISPLANT
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Energy ef ciency
According to recent research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the USA, the benets of white cool roof coatings, especially in warmer regions of the world, can potentially cancel the heating effect of as many as two years of worldwide CO2 emissions. Berkleys ndings, coupled with the fact that energy costs are rising, provide considerable impetus for airport management to search out signicant cost savings, which also contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions. A major component of a terminals energy demand is air conditioning, which is vital for maintaining passenger and staff comfort. In times of clear weather, resulting in high solar loads, power generators and the delivery networks may be stretched to capacity, and many air conditioning plants simply fail to cope with the heat. With some 40-60% of a warm region airport terminals electrical energy expended on maintaining a cool, safe interior, the rising cost of power is becoming a critical budget element. In conjunction with this need is the move to greener cities. In this demanding environment SkyCool claims to offer possibly the worlds only patented thermal roof coating. Extensive multiyear trials have been conducted by Australias largest property owners using SkyCool, including Melbourne Airport and numerous other commercial and government operators of air conditioned properties, which have audited energy savings of between 30% and 50%. The ability of SkyCool to bring down internal temperatures to below that of the surrounding air and greatly reduce the energy demands of air conditioning plants is described in the recent authoritative publication, Green Nanotechnology by Smith & Granqvist (CRC Press). The publication claims: The practical energy savings of a coating with high solar reectance and thermal emittance can be very large. [SkyCool] demonstrates that the power for air conditioning can be decreased to a fraction of what it demanded with standard roong, and that the average roof temperature can be decreased by 15C to 20C or more. Smith & Graqvist continue, When the standard nish was used, the power reached 40-45MW hours per month during several months. A cool paint [identied as SkyCool] has a dramatic effect and limited the power to between 15-22MW hours per month.
Further research by Smith and a leading engineering rm has concluded that when a buildings roof is protected by a SkyCool coating, a cool microclimate is created, which envelops the entire building. Thus, they found that large SkyCool-coated roofs create a cool oasis in the urban heat islands. Central to this benet is the fact that although SkyCool will reect away about 90% of solar thermal energy, it also pumps internal heat out of the building into space, often rendering the building cooler than external shade temperatures. SkyCool can be applied at any time without disrupting the normal function of the terminal building. It was thoroughly tested at Melbourne Airport to ensure that aircraft, ground transport and all normal operations remained completely safe during application.
Tel: +612 9477 4095 Email: info@skycool.com.au Web: www.skycool.com.au
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SKYCOOL
108
ADVERTISERS INDEX
3M Security Systems ............Inside Front Cover Airport Seating Alliance.................................... 41 ALSTEF Automation SA ..................................... 54 Arconas ............................................................... 51 Aviation Research Corporation.........................Inside Back Cover Aviavox ............................................................... 52 AVSEC World 2012 ..............................................71 BEUMER Group GmbH & Co KG .................... 23 Passenger Terminal World | JUNE 2012 Brunner GmbH ................................................. 36 Conrac GmbH .................................................. 54 Fraport AG .......................... Outside Back Cover Kusch & Co GmbH & Co KG ........................... 45 Materna Gmbh ...................................................17 Matteograssi SpA .............................................. 48 Meteorological Technology World Expo 2012 ............................................ 69 Nurus .................................................................. 48 Passenger Terminal Expo 2013 ................ 7, 9, 10 Passenger Terminal World Online Reader Enquiry Service..................... 8 Siemens AG....................................................... 35 SkyCool Pty Ltd ................................................. 32 T-Systems International GmbH ...................... 29 Vanderlande Industries BV ..............................57 Vitra AG.............................................................. 42 Zoeftig & Co .........................................................3 passengerterminaltoday.com
AVSEC World 2012 Risk & Regulation Striking the Right Balance 30 October - 1 November New York, USA
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72
BACKCHAT
virtual reality?
This is the rst in our new regular slot that looks at a popular discussion posted on the Passenger Terminal World LinkedIn page. This issue: holographic virtual assistants
Helen Law, from queue management solutions company Tensator, posted a story about the introduction of the USAs rst airport virtual assistant, which was installed at Washington Dulles International Airport at the end of May. Speaking to PTW later, Law says, Located in many airports around the world, the Tensator Virtual Assistant has received a high level of press coverage recently and we at Tensator were interested to see how many members of the Passenger Terminal World LinkedIn group had also seen a virtual assistant on their travels. The virtual assistant at Dulles Airport, who has been named Paige, will be on trial for three months and if successful more holograms will be installed throughout the airport. She has already proved useful to passengers at the airport, according to Dennis Hazell, executive staff at Dulles: Paige provides our international arriving customers with a warm welcome message, essential customs and border protection information, additional waynding guidance, and historical information about Dulles. She delivers her message consistently, ensuring customers have all the information they need to improve their airport experience. As this issue went to press, the Tensator Virtual Assistant was due to be unveiled at Boston Logan International Airport by the end of June, and, Law says, the companys rst interactive virtual assistant will be on trial at Dubai International Airport this summer. Other virtual assistants have been in place at London Luton, Birmingham International, Edinburgh and East Midlands airports in the UK since 2011. n
your feedback
Lars Thgersen, founder, CPH Design Holding and design consultant, commented on Helen Laws LinkedIn post, I saw the same concept in Istanbul about six months ago. I nd it wrong to call it a hologram. Its just a person like cut out backlit screen. It still makes the service stationary, as there is no two-way communication and she will often be standing some place where Im not meaning I have to search for answers to my questions the old fashion way or by my smartphone. interaction, it is an absolute step forward in enhancing and differentiating the customer service experience at airports, as it will interactively address the needs of future travellers. to save cost, one of the things that is rst to go is customer service. At rst blush it seems that Paige the holographic helper may provide just that, a pleasant airport ambassador providing information to passengers. Upgrades to provide multiple languages and the ability to answer basic questions can only make this technology better.
Tony Wijntuin, managing director of WYNE Strategy & Innovation, thinks virtual assistants can enhance the passenger experience, Even though the deployment of holographic virtual assistants will not match real-life human
Steve Wolff, security technology consultant, commented on the LinkedIn post, I dont see how this would work for non-native language speakers at an airport unless its somehow tied into a passport reader. Given that theyre likely to be the most confused, slow and challenging passengers, it would seem to be a fundamental challenge to widespread use.
Roddy Boggus, senior vice president/national aviation director, Parsons Brinckerhoff, said, As airports and airlines continue to reduce staff in order
Brian Engle, station manager at Southwest Airlines, wrote on LinkedIn, One of the companies that sells these virtual assistants was at Passenger Terminal Expo 2012. The virtual assistant speaking with us was located in Brussels. I had a conversation with this assistant just as if she was sitting in front of me. It was kind of eerie quite honestly. The image of her was very life like and three-dimentional. I can see these assistants coming to more airports soon.
your comments
What do you think? Are virtual assistants the new way forward in passenger communication? Or is face-to-face contact with a real human being the best way to help people travelling through the terminal? Wed love to hear your thoughts on this or any other topic affecting the airport industry, so visit www.linkedin.com and search for Passenger Terminal World to join in with the debate.
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