< PreviousFebruary 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 30 www.aviationbusinessme.com DISTRIBUTION reference number and there will be a synchronisation problem, but this is the way the industry works. You have got two reference numbers in our in- dustry: booking and electronic ticket. A booking is six characters and is proof that a reservation has been made. The e-ticket is proof that you have paid for what you have reserved. And you have a fl ight reference, an electronic miscel- laneous document. You have got three documents! It is just not simple. If only there was just one reference. Why can’t we have one single reference on one document? This is not very diff erent to when you go to Amazon to buy some- thing, where you have one order that you can track, view, change, update. That is what all this is about. Why can’t we just have a single order, just like any other retailing business? In a nutshell, One Order is about one reference so the communication be- tween the airlines, travel agents and other suppliers is much slicker. Second, it means you are really moving into the world of digital. Finally, from a customer point of view, it also means our industry will be able to inter-operate with other businesses much easier. The [One Order] journey started a few years after NDC but it is going very well, we have got 20 certi- fi ed players. It is a very complementary journey to the NDC journey and for the customer it will make life much simpler. Yanik Hoyles. agility as they can do on their websites. This NDC standard is all about giving airlines the capability to better sell through travel agents. What you see is NDC starting to come to life. About two years ago, we looked at how we could start getting to some critical mass with NDC. So we said rather than work with 300 airlines at a time, which is very heavy to move, let us see if we can work with a small group who are really committed. This group made up about 30% of IATA passenger volume, which is quite representative. What these airlines have committed to, is that by the end of 2020, they will have at least 20% of their travel agent sales coming from an NDC. To get to 20%, they are working with a value chain. All the travel agents, they are all working hard around NDC. The whole value chain, including the corpo- rate buyers. All this value chain is work- ing together to crack these problems and get to 20%. The challenges to adoption are two-fold. One is commercial and the other is technical. It is a real win-win. Where we are on this journey, we are already exceeding our targets and we are getting good traction. A lot more work still needs to be done, particularly in the area of business travel. I am going to talk about One Order. When I check-in I always use the wrong WHAT IS THE NDC PROGRAMME? NDC (New Distribution Capability) is a travel industry-supported programme launched by IATA for the development and market adoption of a new, XML- based data transmission standard. The NDC Standard enhances the capability of communications between airlines and travel agents. The NDC Standard is open to any third party, intermediary, IT provider or non-IATA member, to implement and use. TripActions created the fi rst bundles for business aviation customers. Customers have to be able to buy on mobiles. Why can’t we have one single ref- erence on one docu- ment? This is not very diff erent to when you go to Amazon to buy something, where you have one order that you can track, view, change, update”31 February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com BUSINESS AVIATION BUSINESS TOOL BOX Business aviation in the Middle East is not the largest market, but with Expo 2020 fast approaching, there has never been a more important time for opera- tors to promote their offering. Now is the time for private aviation providers to show the world how their jets need to be considered as business solutions. out but certainly the industry and the community has understood the real worth of a private aircraft. “The airlines here are fantastic and the connections from places like Dubai are great. So can private aircraft compete directly against the airlines? The answer is no. It is defi nitely more expensive to operate a private aircraft. But if you needed to cover three countries in Africa and have a day-and-a-half to do it, there’s no other way than a private aircraft. Where time is money and security and safety are important, this is the only way to do it.” Corporations in the region are begin- ning to be much more receptive to the idea of using private jets as part of their business operations. And Dhamecha Since private aviation companies have existed they have of course been synonymous with glamour and wealth for those looking in from outside the industry. On the other side however, those operating in the private jet market have been fi ghting a battle to convince the outside world that such planes are a cost-eff ective business tool as much as they are a luxury. Consequently, business aviation companies plough substantial time and investment into communicating their message to would-be customers. For Paras Dhamecha, group manag- ing director, Empire Aviation, the fi ght to show other industries that business aviation is a tool has been a 15-year story. He says that ever since the company launched, as one of the very fi rst busi- ness aviation fi rms in the Middle East, it has been trying to send out a particular message. “There is a distinct diff erence between having a private jet as a tool and having it as a luxury,” Dhamecha says. “There is always going to be that segment of the market which uses an aircraft for luxury but other than that it’s a tool, especially in this world where three things are very important: time, safety and security. When we started we were the second pri- vate aircraft company in the region and now there are over 100 private aircraft in the Middle East. Obviously, we’re not the only ones trying to put the message Dassault’s jets are designed to be able to take off and land at challenging airports in mountainous areas.February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 32 www.aviationbusinessme.com BUSINESS AVIATION market. Dhamecha says the move has already generated lots of excitement in the locality. Aside from its direct expan- sion, Empire has also been adjusting to new trends in the industry and has truncated some of its services as a result. Dhamecha explains: “Traditionally, our management service was all-en- compassing only for owners that gave us their aircraft full management. But since then we’ve shifted a little bit to be able to off er a basket of services. For example, we’re off ering our CAMO (con- tinuing airworthiness management organisation) as a separate service. That’s had some very good uptake. We’ve got three aircraft just on independent CAMO contracts between here and India. We’ve also started doing charter management separately, so aircraft owners don’t nec- essarily have to put the aircraft on our certifi cate but we will do commercial management for them. We’re trying to adjust and off er diff erent complementary services.” believes there is still “huge” growth potential for business aviation in the Middle East. The market is still in its infancy in the region compared to other parts of the world, he thinks, and the Middle East is becoming more and more global in its business outlook. Therefore, there are plenty of businesses looking to get their employees out into the world on private aircraft. Equally, Dhamecha says, there are lots of companies look- ing to invest and come into the region and seeking to cover key locations in the Middle East in a short space of time. He comments: “Socio-economically, the area has been a bit unstable over the past couple of years but I don’t feel that has really aff ected business over- all. Maybe charter took a bit of a dip with [operators] having to fl y around Qatar, but [last year] charter picked up again. As far as we’re concerned, we’re seeing our aircraft owners starting to replace aircraft, getting into newer things. We’ve been very active in aircraft Technology employed by Dassault’s military arm have trickled into its private jet division. Paras Dhamecha, MD, Empire Aviation Group. sales and have seen a lot of transactions over the last year. We have started to expand in the region.” Empire made a splash at the Dubai Airshow in November unveiling its fi rst aircraft management services in Egypt and inaugurated a Bombardier Global 6000. Its debut in Cairo brings Empire a new edge and foothold in Africa, which is a largely untapped business aviation 33 February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com BUSINESS AVIATION tions and high-net-worth individuals wanting to acquire aeroplanes and requiring aircraft management ser- vices. He adds: “We’re excited about Expo 2020. I definitely think that for airports and for companies like our- selves, traffic is definitely going to more than double, easily. It’s good for absolutely everybody.” All eyes on Dubai It is not just local operators experienc- ing growth in the Middle East business aviation sector. Foreign manufacturers too are investing heavily in the region as a means to capitalise on the expansion that is expected to result from devel- oping economies and markets. French planemaker Dassault has a long pedigree in aerospace and is highly regarded in the private jet market. And with Expo 2020 on the horizon, Dhamecha predicts more good things to come for Empire. The company’s management is unsurprisingly excited by Expo for two main reasons. One is that the firm predicts to see a “huge upswing” in the charter segment with the increased number of people want- ing to travel into, inside, and out of the region on business trips. Dhamecha also sees greater investment in Dubai after Expo with large businesses, corpora- EXTREME WEATHER INCREASES DEMAND FOR PRIVATE JET CHARTERS We hear it in the news on a yearly basis. Bad weather is hitting harder and more regularly than ever on every corner of the globe. This shifting ecosystem is making humans create news ways to cope with nature due to recurrent fl oods, forest fi res, heavy snowfall, extreme low and high temperatures and hurricanes, just to name a few natural disasters. This new reality has contributed to an increase in the demand for private jet charters. It has been a trend during the hurricane season in the Southeast US, throughout the extensive period of forest fi res in Australia and the monsoon period in Southeast Asia. Private aviation allows for a swift and safe departure to any destination, at any time and day. This fl exibility is a safety blanket for those with the means to move away from uncertainty. Take Hurricane Irma in September 2017 as an example, a category fi ve event that struck The Bahamas, Puerto Rico and Florida causing widespread destruction. Miami International and Fort Lauderdale International airports were closed for days. More than 12,000 commercial fl ights were cancelled (more than 8,000 of them in Florida alone), with grounded fl ights due to the storm as far as London and Doha. The days prior to Irma, especially in South Florida and the Caribbean, private jet provider Monarch Air Group announced that it received more than 50% of its average weekly bookings, proving that this is a market that should be accounted by operators and brokers alike. Why? Planning beforehand even for uncertain events helps drop the prices. What has happened in the past is to witness private aviation providers increase the fees due to the operational challenge that comes with diverting a large amount of aircraft scattered around the country to the aff ected region, in order to deliver the needed availability. Private aviation also has a role to play after a natural disaster hits a certain region. Depending on the level of disaster, relief missions are necessary to help thousands of people aff ected by a hurricane, forest fi re or earthquake. With damaged runways and airports, private aircraft, especially turboprops with the capability to land in grass or gravel, are key to deliver water, food and medical supplies to mountain and coastal regions that have diffi cult accessibility. This was the exact case of the pass of Hurricane Irma in Puerto Rico, which left half of the residents without electricity and a severe medical crisis. Monarch Air Group provided the service of fi ve private charters for a humanitarian campaign raised by a local graduate student, transporting nearly 13 tonnes. in relief supplies in just one of the fl ights, as well as hundreds of Puerto Rican residents who received medical attention in south Florida. Many Puerto Ricans with the means escaped from the storm before it struck the island, but thankfully thousands of others could receive timely relief due to private aviation. What happened during Hurricane Irma proved the real value of private jet aviation; reliability when it most matters. This segment in aviation is prepared to continue serving those who can fl ee away beforehand, and also play an important role in helping the families aff ected by extreme weather after the storm passes. Empire Aviation recently branched out into Egypt with its aircraft management services.February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 34 www.aviationbusinessme.com BUSINESS AVIATION “Our aeroplanes are more fuel effi cient which was not such a concern in the past as typically there wasn’t as much focus on fuel effi ciency,” says Feldzer. “But now nobody can say it’s not one of their fi rst concerns. It’s not just the cost of fuel but the emissions and their impact on the environment. Effi ciency is one of the main attributes that makes us diff er- ent to the competition. Also, related to the fl ight controls and the agility of the aeroplane, all our aircraft are capable of steep approaches. London City Airport for example, has a very steep approach and the Falcons are ideal for this.” The ability to take on diffi cult ap- proaches is an advantage for operators in regions like Africa where infrastructure is not as well developed as other areas. But this is also important when fl ying to certain destinations in Europe where there are very small airports at high altitudes in places like Switzerland, a key hub for many Middle Eastern busi- nesses. Feldzer says that operators can “virtually land anywhere”. Feldzer notes that while the Middle East is relatively quiet for Dassault currently, he is confident and positive about the region’s long-term prospects: “There is a very mature market and the infrastructure is simply perfect. MRO companies in the area have some very skilled people, the infrastructure is simply some of the best in the world, so the future is positive. We are expecting a lot and that’s the reason why we are still heavily investing in the region. We already have a great footprint with service centres and offices in Dubai and more recently we acquired an MRO network with a very well-known MRO service in Asia, Middle East and Africa. It’s no secret, Dubai will become a big hub for Falcon maintenance.” The level of investment both over- seas and home companies are plac- ing in business aviation bodes well for the future of the industry. People unanimously agree that Expo 2020 will supercharge demand for business avia- tion companies and those who invest now will be well placed to make the most of the increased uptake. More than anything, with the world’s eyes on Dubai, Expo will provide a golden opportunity for firms to prove that private aviation can be an invaluable tool for businesses looking to expand at home and abroad. As part of its continuous research and development, Dassault is targeting the region with its newest and most cutting- edge private aircraft. Around 10% to 12% of Dassault’s worldwide deliveries are to the Middle East and the same fi gures roughly apply for its Falcon 8X, which was introduced onto the market three years ago. Before the 8X, Dassault’s 7X impressed customers with the fi rst digi- tal fl ight control system in any aircraft in business aviation. But it is the 6X that is particularly well suited to the Middle East and the tastes in the region. Featuring the largest cross section of any purpose built business jet, the 6X has the tallest and widest cabin on the market and was a key part of Dassault’s Dubai Airshow exhibition last year. For Vadim Feldzer, head of global com- municaitons, the fi ghter jet image many people have of Dassault, thanks to its military heritage, plays strongly into its hands in the Middle East. But far from simply boosting its profi le, Dassault’s military DNA has underlined innova- tions in its civilian arm, with the same engineers working on fi ghter aircraft and private jet designs. This is true where ef- fi ciency is concerned, says Feldzer, which is a key requirement for businesses look- ing for cost-eff ective solutions. In fact, the company claims operating costs on its 8X model are as much as 35% lower than those of the competition. Private jets in the Middle East are mainly used by VIPs, rather than businesses - for now. 34 www.aviationbusinessme.com We’re excited about Expo 2020. I defi nite- ly think that for airports and for compa- nies like ourselves, traffi c is defi nitely go- ing to more than double, easily” Interior of Dassault Falcon 6X.ONWARDS AND UPWARDS IATA boss Alexandre de Juniac sets out the group’s agenda for the decade ahead and outlines how the organisation is looking to take a collaborative approach to overcoming industry challenges. to people and to trade. Trade wars pro- duce no winners. And while respect- ing the right of countries to protect their borders, we believe that greater connectivity makes our world a better place. It is part of the DNA of an in- dustry with a mission to bring people closer as a global community. Last year, over four-and-a-half billion passengers and 61 mil- lion tonnes of freight travelled across a network of more than 22,000 unique city pairs connected by air. That’s more than double the num- ber of routes that were available in 1998. Flying is becoming more aff ord- able. The average return fare in 2019 before surcharges and tax is forecast to be 62% lower than in 1998, after ad- justing for infl ation. Simply put, fl ying is freedom. That freedom grows prosperity and chang- es people’s lives for the better—even if they don’t fl y. And access to that free- dom is greater than it has ever been. There are some forces in this world today that are working against that freedom. IATA has and will continue to take a strong stance that we are better off with borders that are open Alexandre de Juniac believes world aviation has signifi cant hurdles to overcome but the potential is massive. Let me be clear. Carbon is the enemy, not fl ying. Our goal is to keep the world fl ying sustainably and with pride” MARKET OUTLOOK 35 www.aviationbusinessme.com February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESSBut as with any human activ- ity there is an environmental im- pact. Aircraft burn fuel and that releases carbon. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, aviation is responsible for 2% of global manmade carbon emissions. As the world focuses on cutting carbon to avoid a climate calamity, all industries need to step up. Aviation made serious climate action commitments in 2008—long before the word ‘flyskam’ entered our vocabulary. We committed to im- prove fuel efficiency by an average of 1.5% annually between 2009 and 2020. We are achieving 2.3%. We committed to carbon-neutral growth from 2020. And the ICAO Assembly confi rmed its resolve to make a success of CORSIA—the Carbon Off setting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. It is the global measure that will enable us to cap net emissions and it will generate some $40 billion in climate funding over the lifetime of the scheme. And we committed to cut our emis- sions to half 2005 levels by 2050 which aligns aviation with the Paris agree- ment. Industry experts are collaborat- ing through the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) to map out how we will achieve this based on realistic technol- ogy and policy solutions. Moreover, at our strong instigation, governments, through ICAO, are now looking to set their own long-term goal for emis- sions reduction. We can and should be proud of this progress. But there is still more work to do. First, we need to make sure that CORSIA is successful and not com- promised by a patchwork of compet- ing taxes and charges. Second, we must get governments to focus on driving the technology and policy solutions that will make flying sus- tainable. In the immediate term, that means focusing on sustainable aviation fuels which have the poten- tial to cut our carbon footprint by up to 80%. Finally, we need to support these efforts with effective commu- nication, so that people and govern- ments are fully aware of what avia- tion is doing. People are adjusting their personal habits to manage their individual carbon footprints. That’s a good thing. It is our duty as an industry to ensure that they have the facts needed to make the right choices on air travel. And let me be clear. Carbon is the enemy, not fl ying. Our goal is to keep the world fl ying sustainably and with pride. Safety and Security As we focus on making aviation more sustainable, we are not los- ing sight of our other key priorities. When it comes to safety, the twin tragedies involving the 737 Max air- craft are top of mind. The industry is continuing to learn from the accident investigations, as well as from the multiple and meticulous examina- tions into the design and certifi cation of the aircraft. While we do not have full clarity on the timeline for the aircraft’s return to service, I believe that restoring public confidence in the industry’s aircraft certification and validation processes requires a harmonised approach among regu- lators – and I certainly hope we can get there. IATA’s NEXTT programme was showcased to journalists from around the world. Looking out over the broader safety landscape, we continue to make strong progress on reducing the accident rate. The implementa- tion of globally-accepted standards and best practices such as the IATA Operational Safety Audit (or IOSA), the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) and the IATA Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA), are all vital to this eff ort. Security goes hand-in-hand with safety. Security is the responsibility of states, but industry is a critical partner. Aviation is secure, but we always are looking at ways to make it even more so. Today, a lot of our focus is going into ar- eas involving risks from cyber-attacks. Of course, our passengers mostly associate security with what they experience at the airport checkpoint. Long lines and intrusive searches are frequently cited as one of the biggest headaches of air travel. We and our airport partners are always looking at ways to smooth out this part of the journey. Known traveller programs and the use of biometrics can be ef- fective tools in this eff ort. Our annual Global Passenger Survey continues to show that a majority of air travellers are willing to provide more informa- tion about themselves if it results in shorter wait times and less unpacking and disrobing. MARKET OUTLOOK 36 www.aviationbusinessme.com February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESSOne ID Moving on from the shopping expe- rience to the actual travel, we see a huge opportunity to make airport processes more seamless. Today, the journey through the airport is often frustrating. You need to go through repetitive steps, such as presenting your travel documents at numerous points to verify your identity. This is time-consuming, ineffi cient and not sustainable in the long-term as traffi c grows. IATA’s One ID initiative is help- ing transition us towards a time when passengers can enjoy a paperless air- port experience and move smoothly from curb to gate using a single bio- metric travel token such as a face, fi n- gerprint or iris scan. NEXTT While One ID presents a huge op- portunity to smooth out the passen- ger journey, more needs to be done to accommodate expected growth and evolving customer expecta- tions. To address the challenges of future airports, we have partnered with Airports Council International (ACI) to create the NEXTT or New Experience Travel Technologies ini- tiative. Together we are exploring important changes in technology and processes to improve the effi ciency of what our customers experience when travelling. This includes examining options for increased off -site processing, which could reduce or even elimi- nate queues. We are also looking at employing artifi cial intelligence and robotics to more effi ciently use space and resources. A further crucial element is improving data sharing among stakeholders. Accessibility The industry is also focused on mak- ing air travel more inclusive for all potential travellers including the one billion people who are in some way disabled. The number is set to increase signifi cantly as popula- tions age. At our 75th AGM, our IATA chiefs provide update on the state of the industry. Journalists grill bosses on industrial strategy. The Passenger Journey The security checkpoint, however, represents just one segment of the overall passenger journey. At IATA we are looking at how to transform the entire travel experience. This process begins when a prospective traveler starts shopping for a trip on their laptop or mobile device and ends when they arrive at their final destination. Airline Retailing We’ll look into a number of these areas today beginning with airline retailing. The NDC technical standard is making it possible for travellers to have access to all of an airline’s products and services, and to com- pare their off erings regardless of where they shop for air travel online. Travellers are now also able to receive personalised travel off ers, as they do from Amazon or Netfl ix. One Order, meanwhile, will com- plete the digital transformation that began with e-tickets. It will replace e-tickets, passenger name records, and electronic miscellaneous documents with a single retail, customer-focused order. And we’re not forgetting about payments either. Today, how a cus- tomer chooses to pay is a part of their overall shopping experience, whether via credit card, direct debit, or a PayPal or Alipay. It is encouraging to see that we can ex- pect 2020 to be a better year… [but] there are many airlines struggling to keep reve- nues ahead of costs. And that is why we are so adamant to pursue policies focused on effi ciency with governments” MARKET OUTLOOK 37 www.aviationbusinessme.com February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESSmembers unanimously approved a resolution aiming to improve the air travel experience for this seg- ment. We followed this up just a few weeks ago with the inaugural Global Accessibility Symposium, the fi rst event of its kind addressing improv- ing accessibility and inclusiveness in air travel. While the industry has had standards for persons travelling with disabilities for decades, we realise there are still gaps and we need to do more, particularly in the area of safely transporting mobility aids. 25 by 2025 Changing subjects from our custom- ers to the future workforce, we must remember that global air connectivity is delivered for people by people. We need a diverse workforce that has the training and skills for an increasingly digital and data-driven world. It is no secret that aviation’s gender balance at senior management and technical levels is not what it should be. We will not have the capacity needed for the future if we don’t fully engage the po- tential of women in the workforce. Last year, we announced our ‘25by2025’ campaign. Airlines pledging to 25by2025 undertake to increase female representation at senior and under-represented levels to a minimum of 25% or by 25% from current levels, by 2025. Response by our members has been enthusiastic and supportive, and momentum con- tinues to grow. Outlook Aviation is an amazing industry. We support $2.7 trillion of economic activity, equivalent to 3.6% of global GDP. Yet in spite of all the wealth we have created for the world, profi tabil- ity has always been a challenge. It is really only since the end of the Global Financial Crisis that the airline in- dustry has achieved a stable stream of profi ts. It is encouraging to see that we can expect 2020 to be a better year. But it is worth emphasising the point about the airlines that are driving industry profi tability. The contribution of the top 30 is absolutely disproportionate. There are many airlines struggling to keep revenues ahead of costs. And that is why we are so adamant to pursue policies focused on effi ciency with governments. A good example are the competitive- ness reports that we are progressively publishing on European economies. These help governments plan to max- imise aviation’s economic and social contributions by ranking important elements of competitiveness—cargo and passenger facilitation, infrastruc- ture management, supply chain man- agement and regulatory practice. Governments have huge agendas, but the goal that brings diverse in- terests together is promoting social and economic prosperity. Aviation can help. And we can do that with greatest effect when governments take the right policy decisions in key areas. Alexandre de Juniac Brian Pearce, IATA’s chief economist, details the fi nancial outlook for the aviation market. QUICK-FIRE DATA: MIDDLE EAST AIR FREIGHT SHOWS IMPROVEMENT Air freight demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), decreased by 1.1% in November 2019, compared to the same period in 2018, according to the latest industry fi gures. This marks the thirteenth consecutive month of year-on-year declines in freight volumes. Despite the decline in demand, November’s performance was the best in eight months, with the slowest year- on-year rate of contraction recorded since March 2019. While international e-commerce continues to grow, overall air cargo demand continues to face headwinds from the eff ects of the trade war between the US and China, the deterioration in world trade, and a broad-based slowing in global economic growth. Middle Eastern airlines’ freight volumes decreased 3.0% in November 2019 compared to the year-ago period – a signifi cant improvement over the 5.7% decrease in October. Capacity increased by 2.6%. Against a backdrop of operational and geopolitical challenges facing some of the region’s key airlines, seasonally-adjusted freight volumes in the region have continued a modest upwards trend, which is a positive development for the region’s carriers. MARKET OUTLOOK 38 www.aviationbusinessme.com February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS39 February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com RESEARCH PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS With the happiest airport passengers in the UAE spending up to $200 each, it makes complete sense for operators to invest heavily in the airport experience. Here, we look at some of the key data showing how Middle Eastern airports are ahead of the curve. infrastructure is only one piece of the much larger airport eco-system, it can be no coincidence that airport satisfac- tion levels are so high in the United Arab Emirates. If you invest in modern, state- of-the-art aviation infrastructure, this lays the foundation for superior retail and F&B outlets.” More than 41.27 million people trav- elled through Dubai International While it may not come as a surprise, happy travellers are more likely to spend their money at the airport. But new research from Collinson has shown the extent to which a great kerbside experience means larger revenues for airport operators. And that is good news for airports in the UAE, where 75% of 500 travellers surveyed for this year’s ‘Airport Journey’ report said they enjoy the airport experience. Collinson’s research reveals that air- port satisfaction really does matter. Nearly nine-in-10 travellers (88%) who routinely spend over US$200 at the air- port say the airport experience is an enjoyable part of the journey. On the other hand, the least satisfi ed travellers are also the ones who spend less than US$28, among whom only 40% say they enjoy the airport experience. Mignon Buckingham, corporate strategy of- fi cer at Collinson, says: “We’re passionate about understanding what makes travellers tick, so we can sup- port our partners in their eff orts to enhance and innovate the airport experience for every traveller around the globe. It may seem unsurprising that happy customers spend more, but the devil is in the detail. The airport experience is fragmented and relies on an ecosystem of players, including airlines, airport authorities, security and operational service providers, mer- chants, duty-free, retailers, bars and restaurants. Dissatisfaction at any point of the airport journey can trigger a loss in overall satisfaction and have a knock-on impact for all other players.” The UAE has three airlines with global reach – Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Air Arabia – and the country continues to spend heavily on the expansion and improvement of its airport infrastructure. Current invest- ments include US$8bn in develop- ing Al Maktoum International Airport, US$7.6bn in the phase four expansion of Dubai International Airport, US$6.8bn for the re-development of Abu Dhabi International Airport, and US$400m for the further expansion of Sharjah International Airport’s passenger op- erations. Sanjit Gill, general manager, Middle East, at Collinson, says: “Although its Passengers will spend more at airports when they are less stressed, research shows. Airports are seldom relaxing spaces. 75% OF UAE PASSENGERS ENJOY THEIR AIRPORT EXPERIENCENext >