Latin America – Lima Airport
Lima Airport prepares to create ‘a new reference point’ in Latin America
(Continued)
Highlighting the importance of sense of place, Onkelbach says: “Lima Airport is the main gateway and a first entry point for visitors to Peru. The airport is the perfect platform to position the Peruvian gastronomy as well the vast number of products that Peru has to offer.
“In the new marketplaces our visitors will be surrounded in a unique environment through a curated mix of international and local brands. With a share of 55% domestic traffic and 45% international traffic we designed two different marketplaces for the Peruvian and international clientele: the Peruvian marketplace gives a strong local mix with international QSR brands while the international marketplace represents Peruvian casual dining and a food hall. Starbucks, as a recognised global brand, appears in all terminal areas.”
Sense of place is just not about food or retail. To establish a point of difference for Lima Airport, and to create “emblematic and Instagrammable moments” LAP has integrated artistic elements in the marketplaces to celebrate Peruvian culture.
The Club by Collinson Group division Airport Dimensions in International Departures; lead image above: Rumbo Perú by Morpho Travel Retail will create a fresh face for destination retailing (Artist impressions courtesy of LAP)
Through a partnership with Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), one of the leading museum houses in the country, a curated offer from multiple artists will showcase the local essence and create both physical and social connections with Peru, notably through a series of sculptures. More will be revealed soon but Onkelbach says that LAP is very proud of this collaboration.
Through its profit-sharing model for duty free, Lima Airport has already established itself as a pioneer for progressive commercial management in Latin America.
What other lessons might the industry take from the planning for the new terminal, we ask?
Onkelbach says: “One key lesson is the early engagement in the design of the terminal. Very early on we contracted SmartDesign to assist us in designing the marketplaces. Overall, the design of the terminal is an interactive process involving diverse departments.
Luxury adapted to the location includes a H Stern jewellery boutique in International Departures
“What helped us in the planning process was a back-to-back process with the terminal designers and retail designer since 2018. The experience shows that there are iterations to the plan and the retail strategy served as a guiding document which includes continuous learnings and market representation.
“Under that approach, we engaged very early on with potential bidders in the sounding process to formulate the market-based retail strategy. I can only recommend [others] to start early with the formulation of the technical employer requirements for the retail master plan. Do not be afraid of the learning curve, it is a rewarding experience which grows the confidence of our operators and ourselves as airport managers.”
Expanding Lima’s reach
With its big terminal opening hoving into view, Lima Airport Partners (LAP) says that its vision is for Jorge Chávez International Airport to become a firmly established connection point between North and South America, and to connect many more secondary regional cities as it expands.
A glance at its key airline partners offers an insight into its current connectivity: LATAM accounts for around 55% of passenger traffic, followed by Chile-based Sky Airlines and JetSmart, each at over 10%.
Passenger traffic, which was 23.5 million before COVID, should reach 23.9 million or even 24 million this year, although the recovery picture is more nuanced.
In Q1, traffic recovery reached +4% above 2019 with retain income at 92% of comparable levels. In the international segment, traffic hit 97% of pre-COVID volumes with retail at 93%. In domestic, traffic growth of +13% was outstripped by +20% retail growth.
The slower recovery in retail among international travellers is partially attributed to the sluggish performance of key markets Brazil, Chile and Argentina, though recovery is evident.
Finally, LAP has lofty ambitions to drive not only sales but also spends once the new terminal opens.
“We are short on space currently so expect a big uplift in 27,000sq m compared to 11,500sq m today,” says LAP Chief Commercial Officer Norbert Onkelbach. “We know space is not the only driver but we believe we can lift penetration in the various sub-categories, and of course we would like to see Brazilians in particular return at scale among the passenger profiles that spend well. Overall, we hope to deliver +10% higher spend per head once we are fully open by late 2025.”
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 335 | 18 June 2024
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com