EN- Industry Focuses

The pursuit of happiness

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How are passengers moving around your airport? A full understanding only comes from analyzing every aspect of the passenger journey – from parking to duty-free. It's widely accepted that a happy passenger will spend more money in an airport. And the more relaxed a passenger is, the happier they are, which puts the top three passenger concerns into context: standing in line at check-in, queuing at security, and waiting to board. It's this anxiety about catching the flight that stops passengers from relaxing and enjoying the retail experience provided by airports. Zürich Airport, named in the world's top ten airport shopping experiences by Skytrax, operates one of the biggest retail platforms in Switzerland. Serving a record 26.28 million passengers in 2015, it continues to show a steady increase in retail revenue, which accounted for just under 40% of all airport revenue in that year. at percentage is indicative of global airport non-aeronautical revenues, which reached US$58bn in 2016. Zürich 's landside retail space is even tempting enough to entice non-passenger shoppers into the airport, but one of the big challenges it faces, like many other airports, is the prevalence of queues during peak time. Soening the impact of disruption Passengers are craving retail experiences, but if a passenger is stuck in line or stressed about time, they aren't shopping or eating. Investing in passenger f low improvements that remove obstacles makes commercial sense. Disruption can't be avoided altogether, but taking measures such as redirecting people and targeting problematic areas with extra staff can moderate its impact. Airports are recognizing this opportunity; 59% say that making passengers happy is their most important driver for investment. "At every airport in North America, the passenger experience is in the top five strategic initiatives," says Faith Varwig from airport planning firm Faith Group. e Holy Grail is the end-to-end passenger experience that starts at the time a passenger leaves their home and "At every airport in North America, the passenger experience is in the top five strategic initiatives." Case study The pursuit of happiness From Cape Town to Buenos Aires, airports are increasingly looking to non-aeronautical revenue streams for income. e move away from a reliance on traditional airline fees means placing greater emphasis on retail. But are airports doing enough to make sure passengers are in the right mood to shop? 1 Airports 2 Retail therapy

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