Скачать с ютуб Routes Europe Uncovered: How airports attract airlines - Interviews part 1 в хорошем качестве

Routes Europe Uncovered: How airports attract airlines - Interviews part 1

What is Routes? Not many non-aviation people know about the existence of Routes, a global network of events during which airport representatives meet airlines to try to establish new air connections from their airport. What does an airport need to do to attract an airline? We attended Routes Europe 2018 in Bilbao, to find out first-hand exactly how much effort do airports need to put into this process. What did we learn? Convincing an airline to establish a new air service to/from your airport can be a demanding and lengthy process, involving sustained collaboration with a wide range of external partners – such as tourism authorities, foreign direct investment agencies, the local business community and regional or national governments. Europe’s airports have developed extensive airline marketing & route development departments specifically for this task and the objectives they set are part of the overall business strategy of each airport (for example, ‘gain a new route to Asia and 2 new routes to Africa by year X’). These objectives are linked to the airport masterplan and investment in improving and expanding the facilities, so that the airport is able to provide the capacity and quality of service required by various airline business models. In order to market itself to airlines effectively, an airport needs to regularly assess and research the features & benefits of its catchment area. Key information of interest to airlines includes: the population living within 1 hour and within 2 hours of the airport; how they get to the airport; the demographics & economic positioning of that population; significant employers in the region and the kind of international connectivity they require; tourism and other special attractions such as seasonal festivals. Airports also need to financially entice airlines to develop at their location. This almost always involves systems of rebates and incentives on airport charges (the fees paid for the use of the infrastructure) as well as other forms of indirect support – such as financing airlines’ marketing and communication plans relating to the routes they operate at the airport. Moreover, airports also need to ensure their operational processes & infrastructure are efficient – and can be tailored to the requirements of specific airlines. They need to make sure there is enough capacity to accommodate future growth. In this regard, airport charges are just one side of the economic equation of operating at an airport for airlines – although they are never keen to admit it. In all these aspects, airports are business-to-business suppliers, and like all suppliers, big customers can squeeze them for more, while smaller customers can bring the extra volume that can end up making the difference between a profit or loss at the end of the year. All these network development & marketing strategies are now a must for airports across Europe. They are per se symptomatic of airport competition - as is the fact that European airports end up spending a lot of money to attend and exhibit at the ROUTES Conferences, which are events dedicated to air route development where they are literally courting airlines (who attend for free).