AGS Airports Interview
AGS partners Newmark to transform airside retail and F&B offer at Aberdeen International Airport
AGS Airports has appointed the London-based travel retail consulting division of Newmark Group to advise on a project which will see the airside retail and food & beverage offer transformed at Aberdeen International Airport. Mark Lane reports.
Change is once again on the agenda at Aberdeen International Airport just five years after the completion of a £20 million (US$25.94 million), four-year terminal transformation project which increased space by +50%.
That project delivered new retail and business lounges and other passenger facilities, including enhanced and expanded security, baggage reclaim and immigration areas.
Now, operator AGS Airports is planning a major upgrade in the airport’s airside retail and food & beverage offer following the appointment of travel retail consultancy Newmark as advisor to the project.
Newmark brings a high level of expertise gained from experience of commercial optimisation and concession planning projects at more than 30 European international airports, plus others in the USA and as far afield as Australia.
The travel retail consultancy’s advising brief encompasses the entirety of the airside retail and F&B environment. That includes a focus on identifying what the optimum layout should be, the retail/F&B space required by category and recommending the type of brands the airports should partner with to deliver an enhanced passenger experience.
Aberdeen International Airport completed an impressive terminal makeover project in 2019, but more change is afoot {All images courtesy of AGS Airports}
Hack reveals there is 2,300sq m of airside retail and F&B space under review with Newmark. “Some of it will remain unchanged, some will see refurbishment and some will see more major changes,” he says. “We will be working closely with our existing partners as well as new operators to ensure we get the positioning right.”
Discussing the attractiveness of this demographic and the location of the airport, Hack points to a loyal passenger base working in the oil and gas industry and, increasingly, the offshore clean energy markets. He further notes that Aberdeen, as a result, has a high proportion of passengers with the levels of income to spend significant amounts in the airport’s commercial areas.
“Aberdeen International Airport is very well positioned to deliver profitable returns for our commercial partners,” Hack notes. “We have a broad mix of airlines including British Airways, easyjet, Aer Lingus, KLM, TUI and Wizz serving a wide range of destinations. Our research shows that customers using Aberdeen for business travel fly an average of nine times a year through the airport.
“It’s important we deliver a smooth, friendly and efficient customer experience and ensure our retail proposition matches the high standards we and our customers expect.”
The airside Aberdeen International Airport retail mix could be set for significant changes after Newmark makes its final recommendations
Asked what Newmark will be delivering for Aberdeen Airport, Newmark Director Sharon Daley replies: “Newmark is a fresh pair of eyes for the airport. While the main objective of the project was to support the AGS team with connections to potential new brand partners, we always start with understanding as much about an airport’s customer and commercial performance as we’re able.
“We think it’s important to help airports cast an eye to the wider trends influencing consumers, and the products, brands and concepts that are likely to be relevant to their audience. We have evaluated the existing layout, configuration and allocation of space, and importantly, how passengers interact with the commercial area.”
Daley notes that Newmark has taken both a visual and data-driven approach to highlight potential levers for improving spend drivers like dwell, experience and customer satisfaction.
She adds: “For Aberdeen we will provide our view of categories with potential for growth, options for a new commercial space mix and layout along with ideas of brands and retailers who can bring the opportunity – and the airport’s ambitions – to life.
“We are in the final stages of the project and supporting the team with the evaluating market options.”
One of the landside food & beverage options at Aberdeen International Airport
Aberdeen International Airport served 2.3 million passengers in 2023 and is still building back towards its pre-COVID level, with 2.9 million passengers served in 2019. A look at the airport’s traffic history shows passenger numbers peaked back in 2014 at 3.7 million, which underlines the potential for more critical mass in traveller spending in the airside concessions.
Hack confirms that significant passenger growth is expected, though he notes that levels of acceleration in traffic will be slower and steadier than other airports under the AGS wing.
“We won’t see as much growth in percentage terms in comparison to our other airports [which include Glasgow and Southampton -Ed], where holiday traffic will be driving the passenger increases,” he says. “Aberdeen is a broader pax base, with a different overall demographic.”
Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for new airside concessions are set to be launched in Q2 2025. The reconfiguration is planned to be completed by the end of 2025.
*An extended version of this article will appear on The Moodie Davitt Report website.
Partner’s message
The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 340 | 4 November 2024
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (MA Travel Retail). © 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