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AIRPORT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM ACRP REPORT 54
Airports are vital national resources. They serve a key role in trans- Project 01-11
portation of people and goods and in regional, national, and inter- ISSN 1935-9802
national commerce. They are where the nation’s aviation system ISBN 978-0-309-21353-0
connects with other modes of transportation and where federal respon- Library of Congress Control Number 2011937761
sibility for managing and regulating air traffic operations intersects
© 2011 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
with the role of state and local governments that own and operate most
airports. Research is necessary to solve common operating problems,
to adapt appropriate new technologies from other industries, and to
introduce innovations into the airport industry. The Airport Coopera- COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
tive Research Program (ACRP) serves as one of the principal means by
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining
which the airport industry can develop innovative near-term solutions
written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously
to meet demands placed on it. published or copyrighted material used herein.
The need for ACRP was identified in TRB Special Report 272: Airport
Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this
Research Needs: Cooperative Solutions in 2003, based on a study spon-
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out applied research on problems that are shared by airport operating of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the
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The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR ACRP REPORT 54
Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Michael R. Salamone, ACRP Manager
Theresia H. Schatz, Senior Program Officer
Joseph J. Brown-Snell, Program Associate
Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications
Ellen M. Chafee, Editor
ACRP PROJECT 01-11 PANEL
Field of Administration
Carl E. Remus, Tulsa Airport Authority, Tulsa, OK (Chair)
John A. Buckner, Jr., Salt Lake City Department of Airports, Salt Lake City, UT
Zenola Worrill Campbell, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, DFW Airport, TX
Alan M. Gluck, Broward County (FL) Aviation Department, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Raymond Moore, Delta Airlines, Inc., Atlanta, GA
Michael R. Mullaney, The Hudson Group, East Rutherford, NJ
M. Ashraf Jan, FAA Liaison
Danielle J. Rinsler, AICP, FAA Liaison
Liying Gu, Airports Council International–North America Liaison
Christine Gerencher, TRB Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under ACRP Project 01-11, “Understanding Airport In-
Terminal Concession Programs.” LeighFisher (formerly Jacobs Consultancy) was the contractor for this
study, with Exstare Federal Services Group, LLC, as a subcontractor.
Bruce J. Boudreau, Director of LeighFisher, was the Project Director and Principal Investigator. Gary J.
Davies, Associate Director of LeighFisher, and Gordon Hamilton, Director of LeighFisher, served as
Deputy Principal Investigators. Other authors of this report are Francois Martel, Director of LeighFisher;
David J. Biggs, Director of LeighFisher; Nancy K. West, Principal, Exstare Federal Services Group, LLC;
and Linda Moore, Principal, Animer Consulting, LLC.
The Research Team would like to express its gratitude to the members of the project panel for their sup-
port and insightful comments throughout this research project. The Research Team would also like to
thank the many airport staff, concessionaire representatives, consultants, and overseas airport commer-
cial managers who took the time to share their insights, experience, and opinions with the Research Team
and to respond to follow-up queries.
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FOREWORD
By Theresia H. Schatz
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
ACRP Report 54: Resource Manual for Airport In-Terminal Concessions provides guidance
on the development and implementation of airport concession programs. The report pro-
vides information on the airport concession process; concession goals; potential customers;
developing a concession space plan and concession mix; the Airport Concessions Disadvan-
taged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) program; and concession procurement, contracting,
and management practices. Case studies are provided to illustrate key areas. This report will
help airport managers understand market potential and implementation requirements for
an effective in-terminal concession program while recognizing evolving challenges. This
report will serve as a valuable tool for use by airport staff involved in and responsible for the
business decisions affecting the development of concession programs and plans. It also
serves as an informational tool for other stakeholders, including but not limited to, airport
board members, airlines involved in creating concession programs, and concessionaires.
In-terminal concessions are defined as food and beverage, retail, amenities, and services
(e.g., vending, banking, luggage carts, postal services, telephones and wireless communica-
tions, advertising, and personal services).
Airport in-terminal concessions provide an important and necessary passenger service
amenity and have been shown to be a key contributor to overall passenger satisfaction. A
well-implemented concession program can also provide measurable financial benefits to the
airport’s operating budget. Requirements for design and delivery of these services have
changed dramatically over the past 10 years as services have moved inside the secure envi-
ronment. In addition, as passengers continue to spend more time inside the secure termi-
nal area, meeting changing needs has become even more important. As a result, many air-
ports have transformed their retail and service offerings from generic non-branded food
and news and a predictable set of services into an integrated set of offerings featuring
national and regional food concepts, a wide variety of specialty retail brands, and services
tailored to both meet and stimulate passenger needs. With these changes, there is a greater
need to understand the market potential and challenges as well as a variety of viewpoints
(e.g., domestic and international airports, other retail, transportation centers, and other
commercial venues).
A report documenting the research method used to develop the resource manual has
been posted on the ACRP Project 01-11 web page at http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNet
ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2571. This research effort was conducted by LeighFisher as
the prime contractor with Bruce Boudreau serving as the Principal Investigator in associa-
tion with Exstare Federal Services Group, LLC.
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CONTENTS
1 Chapter 1 Introduction to Airport In-Terminal Concessions
1 1.1 Changes in Airport In-Terminal Concession Programs
2 1.2 Purpose of the Resource Manual
2 1.3 Methodology and Data Collection
4 1.4 Potential Benefits of the Resource Manual
5 1.5 Navigating the Resource Manual
6 Chapter 2 Overview of Airport Concession Programs
6 2.1 Revenues from In-Terminal Concessions
10 2.2 Types of In-Terminal Concessions
16 2.3 Attributes of Successful Concession Programs
18 2.4 Recent Trends in Concessions
22 Chapter 3 Establishing Goals for the Concession Program
22 3.1 Competing Stakeholder Demands
24 3.2 Concession Program Planning Process
25 3.3 Assessment of Customer Satisfaction
27 3.4 Establishment of Realistic Expectations
28 3.5 Differences between Domestic and International Passengers and Terminals
34 3.6 Optimization of Sales and Revenues
34 3.7 Preparation of a SWOT Analysis
35 3.8 Common Concession Program Goals
40 Chapter 4 The Passenger and Customer Profile
40 4.1 The Airport and Its Customers
41 4.2 Passenger Segments
42 4.3 Other Customer Segments
46 4.4 Demographics and Market Segmentation
47 4.5 Identifying Gaps—Why Certain Market Segments Do Not
Patronize Concessions
47 4.6 Customer Surveys and Focus Groups
52 Chapter 5 Developing the Concession Space Plan
52 5.1 Space Planning
65 5.2 Supportable Concession Units Based on Traffic Levels
66 5.3 Sizing of Concession Units
66 5.4 Location Criteria
71 5.5 Adjacencies
72 5.6 International Terminals
73 5.7 Wayfinding and Concession Signage
73 5.8 Return on Airport Investments in Concession Space
79 Chapter 6 The Concession Mix
79 6.1 Achieving the Right Overall Balance
81 6.2 Program Differentiation and Creating a Sense of Place
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82 6.3 Concession Theming
83 6.4 Branded Concessions
85 6.5 Food and Beverage Concession Category
87 6.6 Convenience Retail
88 6.7 Specialty Retail
88 6.8 Duty Free
90 6.9 Services
92 6.10 Advertising
104 Chapter 7 The ACDBE Program
104 7.1 Federal Requirements
107 7.2 Determining Concessionaire Market Area(s)
107 7.3 Determining Availability of Ready, Willing, and Able Participants
108 7.4 Establishing Race-Neutral and Race-Conscious Participation Goals
109 7.5 Outreach Activities
111 7.6 Methods for Achieving ACDBE Participation through Contractual
Arrangements
113 7.7 Evaluating Joint Venture and Subtenant Agreements
114 7.8 Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement
114 7.9 Attributes of Successful ACDBE Programs
115 7.10 Measuring Performance
116 7.11 Reporting Achievements
116 7.12 Barriers to ACDBE Participation
119 7.13 Program Audits
119 7.14 Mentoring
121 Chapter 8 Concession Contracting Approaches
121 8.1 Description of Concession Management Approaches
128 8.2 Financial Performance by Management Approach
137 Chapter 9 Business Terms and Concession Agreements
137 9.1 Term
139 9.2 Privileges
140 9.3 Concession Fees
145 9.4 Obligations
148 9.5 Performance Standards
149 9.6 Pricing
151 9.7 Capital Improvements
152 9.8 Midterm Investment Requirements
152 9.9 Other Concession Agreement Provisions
153 9.10 Business Practices in Need of Review
153 9.11 Additional Concession Agreement Resources
155 Chapter 10 Procurement
155 10.1 Concession Procurement Approaches
158 10.2 Requests for Proposals—the Standard Practice
160 10.3 Minimum Qualifications
160 10.4 Typical Elements Required in Proposals
162 10.5 Evaluation Criteria
163 10.6 Financial Evaluation
165 10.7 Advertising the RFP
165 10.8 Issuing the RFP
166 10.9 The Preproposal Conference
167 10.10 The Evaluation Process
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167 10.11 Converting the Proposal to a Concession Agreement
168 10.12 Streamlining the RFP
169 10.13 Concession Workforce Issues
170 10.14 Strategies for Increasing Local Participation
171 10.15 Using Technology to Streamline the Solicitation Process
172 10.16 International Concession Contracting Practices
173 Chapter 11 Services, Storage, and Logistics
173 11.1 Loading Docks
175 11.2 Security Screening of Goods
176 11.3 Concession Storage Facilities
177 11.4 Servicing Routes and Devices
178 11.5 Use of Centralized Third-Party Logistics Providers
180 11.6 Waste Collection, Recycling, and Removal
185 11.7 Sustainability
187 11.8 Food Preparation
188 Chapter 12 Capital Investment
188 12.1 Cost of Building on the Airport
188 12.2 Investment Relative to Sales
191 12.3 Midterm Investment
191 12.4 Design Guidelines and Standards
199 12.5 Permitting and Monitoring Buildout
200 Chapter 13 Managing the Concession Program
200 13.1 Staffing Requirements and Qualifications
201 13.2 Lease Management Systems
201 13.3 Understanding the Concession Agreement
202 13.4 Importance of Comprehensive Concession Agreement Files
203 13.5 Interaction with Concessionaires
204 13.6 Marketing the Concession Program
206 13.7 Organizing the Concession Staff
207 13.8 Performance Monitoring
213 13.9 Reconcepting Existing Units
213 13.10 Transition Planning
214 13.11 Airports with Well-Managed Concession Programs
216 Chapter 14 Case Studies
216 14.1 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
222 14.2 San Francisco International Airport
227 14.3 Tulsa International Airport
232 14.4 Portland International Airport
236 14.5 Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport
240 14.6 Seoul Incheon International Airport
244 14.7 Copenhagen International Airport
248 Glossary
252 References
253 Bibliography
Note: Many of the photographs, figures, and tables in this report have been converted from color to grayscale
for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the Web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions.
