Airports are benefitting from the sustainable growth in the aerospace industry. They are increasingly developing into retail centers and will become even more closely integrated into urban areas in the future. At the same time, capacity limits, airline price wars, rapid technological changes and ambitious noise and environmental targets demand creative and flexible airport management.
These are the main conclusions of the first Aviation Convention 2013, held in Cologne. The event, jointly hosted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, DLR and RWTH Aachen University, provided high-caliber speakers and managers of the aerospace industry with an international platform for sharing thoughts and ideas about the direction the industry will take in the future.
"All of the technological and economic changes taking place in aerospace will ultimately affect airports," explains Martin Streichfuss, Partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "Airlines and airports are both parts of a system and should work more closely together in the future to position themselves better in international competition."
Airports of the future – The new trends
Over the next few years, various factors will have a strong effect on the development of international airports: "Stricter environmental rules, from emissions-based landing fees and noise protection to night flying restrictions in some European countries, pose a major challenge to both airlines and airports," says Rolf Henke, DLR Executive Board Member for aviation research. "In the spirit of Flightpath 2050, the European aviation vision, airports, airlines, research centers and the authorities involved should work together more closely to improve operational flexibility and secure global competitiveness for the players involved."
The European aerospace industry agrees that in the near future, most intra-Europe traffic will be handled by low-cost airlines that offer better service. To compensate for the resulting loss in earnings, airlines are launching new products designed to meet different passenger spending habits and tap new sources of income. In international traffic, competition between European airports and hubs in the Middle East will get even tougher.
This means that consolidation of the airline market will continue. "These new realities present the airports of the future with new tasks and challenges," explains Roland Berger Partner Björn Maul. "To master the transformation successfully, airports have to provide new growth opportunities for airlines and make their service and price concepts more attractive and more flexible. They should also develop new products and services, either independently or together with airlines." To improve competitiveness and drive growth, hubs must better utilize their infrastructure and improve passenger handling, he added.
Airports will continue to establish themselves as key retail centers. Roland Berger experts see enormous business potential here, especially in increasing the online share of an airport's retail business. This could be done with bricks-and-mortar and digital touch points that are intelligently connected to each other and offer the customer additional services. For example, passengers could order items online and pick them up from the airport shop or even have them delivered to their homes.
