< PreviousFebruary 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 40 www.aviationbusinessme.com RESEARCH However, there is a signifi cant gulf between traveller satisfaction in Asia and the Middle East, compared to the US and Europe. On average, three in four travellers (74%) across markets like India, China and the UAE enjoy the airport experience, compared to less than half (48%) across markets like the US, the UK and Germany. Buckingham says: “The staggering diff erences in satisfaction rates in Asia and the Middle East compared to Europe and the US point to a variety of conclusions. Asia and the Middle East are lead- ing international tourism growth, with arrival num- bers growing by 6% and 8% from January to June 2019, respec- tively. This boom in tourism arrivals and the regions’ growing middle class are major motivations for the development of new airports and the evolution of ex- isting ones. Without the long-standing legacy infrastructure that other regions must contend with, airports in Asia and the Middle East can build ultra-modern facilities, cherry-pick best-of-breed fea- tures, and keep the customer experience absolutely central to it all. These are no doubt contributing factors to travellers’ strong enjoyment of the airport experi- ence in these regions.” Asia Pacifi c has been called the busiest area on Earth for airport development, accounting for 48.5% of global spend on airport upgrades and 57% of investment in new airports. Starting from scratch in very recent years means airports in Asia and the Middle East can leverage innovative design and off er seamless technology and services to passengers, as seen in some of the world’s top air- ports like Singapore Changi, Incheon International and Dubai International. On the other hand, airports in the US and Europe must contend with how to update long-standing facilities to accom- modate booming passenger numbers. Europe and the US are home to the world’s 10 oldest airports while the average US airport is over 40-years-old. Mignon concludes: “But in- frastructure alone does not deliver traveller satisfaction. With so many innovative travel experience solutions now coming to market, this is an exciting time for air- ports in every region to consider new ways to boost traveller satisfaction and spend. Airports in Asia and the Middle East can integrate trailblazing products and services into their off ering, to ensure travellers’ on-the-ground experience matches the airports’ modern physical infrastructure. A brand-new terminal may look impressive to a traveller, but unless the services off ered are equally cutting-edge, customers won’t be satis- fi ed. Airports in the US and Europe have a diff erent challenge and must seek out solutions that enable a seamless jour- ney and off er unexpected moments of delight, so that no matter the age of the infrastructure, travellers enjoy a world- class airport experience.” Airport in the fi rst-half of 2019 and more than 12 million used Sharjah International Airport during calendar year 2018. This year, the hosting of Expo 2020 in Dubai is expected to boost al- ready high UAE passenger numbers by a further 25 million. UAE General Civil Aviation Authority expects capacity of 118 million passengers annually by 2023 at Dubai International Airport, and an- nual capacity of 120 million passengers at Dubai World Central on completion of development phase two. For its 2019 report, Collinson sur- veyed 6,667 people across 11 countries in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC to track evolving traveller preferences and behaviours, and learn more about travellers’ satisfaction with the airport experience. Collinson’s research found that overall, traveller satisfaction with the airport experience is on the rise. In 2019, 63% of global travellers said they enjoy the airport experience, a jump of 13 percentage points from 2018 when only 50% of travellers said the same. European and US airports tend to be ‘less happy’ places, according to data. Airports must make intelligent investments. Dxb Intl enjoys sizeable passenger spends. $200 SPENT ON AVERAGE BY HAPPIEST PASSENGERS41 February 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com UKRAINIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES IN FOCUS: IRAN TRAGEDY Headlines were dominated last month by the downing of a Ukrainian International Airlines passenger jet and speculation around the cause. Here is our breakdown of the events immediately following the crash. Confusion and contradiction Confusion and contradictory state- ments over the cause of the accident surrounded the plane crash in the initial aftermath. Various theories were put forward by analysts and commentators from inside and outside of the aviation industry. A series of contradictory state- ments and theories confused matters in what was an already complex situation, given the heightened tensions between Iran and the US, where the plane was manufactured. Iran initially refused to hand over black box flight recorders to Boeing or US investigators but said it would work alongside Ukraine on the investiga- tion. Ukrainian International Airlines promised a full investigation involv- When a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed near Tehran amid high tensions between Iran and the US, speculation was rife with many commentators doubting initial claims that engine failure caused the incident, where 176 people were killed. As more evidence emerged in the ensuing days and international pressure mounted on Iran, the truth eventually came to light and the country’s military admitted to ‘unintentionally’ fi ring missiles at fl ight PS752. Initial crash A Boeing 737-800 NG carrying 176 peo- ple on board crashed in Iran shortly after take-off, killing all on-board. The victims included nine crew members from Ukrainian International Airlines, which operated the plane. The jet took off from Imam Khomeini international airport in Tehran at 6.12am bound for Kiev in Ukraine. Most passengers were scheduled to travel onwards to Canada. The plane came down around eight minutes after taking off. Ukraine’s foreign ministry website put out an early statement saying initially: “According to preliminary information, the plane crashed as a result of an engine failure for techni- cal reasons. Currently, the version of a terrorist attack is ruled out.” Images of the crash-site show mangled wreckage of fl ight PS752. FARS News Agency, Hossein Mersadi FARS News Agency, Hossein Mersadi FARS News Agency, Hossein MersadiFebruary 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 42 www.aviationbusinessme.com UKRAINIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES ror’ ‘after the Boeing 737 flew close to a military site’. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif partly blamed “US adven- turism” for the disaster. He tweeted: “A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster. Our profound regrets, apolo- gies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims and to other affected nations.” Airline bosses blast Terhan Officials from Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) said Tehran airport should have been closed at the time that Iran shot down the plane. A state- ment from Iran’s military claimed that the flight veered off its normal course, flying close to a sensitive military site, but airline officials ruled out crew error and released infographics of the plane’s course. UIA’s vice president, Ihor Sosnovsky, told reporters that flight PS752 had flown in accordance with instructions from the airport dispatcher, turning 15 degrees after reaching 6,000 feet. He added that Iranian authorities were “obliged” to close Tehran airport. “If you play at war, you play as much as you want, but there are normal peo- ple around who you had to protect,” he said. “If they are shooting from somewhere to somewhere, they were obliged to close the airport. Obliged. And then shoot as much as you want.” All images courtesy of FARS News Agency, Hossein Mersadi ing Ukraine, Iran and Boeing. But the Aviation Safety Network (ASN) said that black boxes are never ‘handed over’ to a manufacturer. It added: “Per international (ICAO) agreements Iran is responsible for the investigation since the accident happened in that country and therefore for the process to decode and analyse the voice and data recorder information.” Rising suspicions Western leaders soon suggested that the plane crashed as a result of being struck by missiles. The crash came just hours after Iran launched ballistic missiles at US forces in Iraq in retaliation to a drone strike on a top Iranian general, authorised by President Donald Trump. Senior US officials and the Pentagon were quoted by media outlets saying they have intelligence sources provid- ing evidence of a missile strike. They claimed that satellites detected two missile launches and were able to iden- tify the projectiles as Russian-made Tor surface-to-air missiles. Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation (CAOI) chief Ali Abedzadeh said: “The plane, which was initially headed west to leave the airport zone, turned right following a problem and was headed back to the airport at the moment of the crash. Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumours are illogical.” Iran admits shooting down plane Three days after the crash, Iran said it ‘unintentionally’ shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet in ‘human er- FARS News Agency, Hossein Mersadi INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES DIVERT AROUND IRANIAN AIRSPACE Airlines began routing around Iranian airspace last month and US regulators placed a ban on US carriers from operating in airspace over Iraq, Iran, the Gulf of Oman and the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran fi red ballistic missiles at military bases housing US military personnel in Iraq in an escalation of tensions following a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it issued the airspace ban “due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East, which present an inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations”. While the ban applied to US airlines, many foreign operators take advice from the FAA very seriously and opted to avoid certain airspace over the Arabian Peninsula. Among the major airlines diverting their regular fl ight paths were Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, Korean Air Lines and all US carriers. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released a statement reminding countries and their regulators of their obligation to communicate potential risks to civil aviation. IATA also activated a team to support “eff ective coordination and communication” between airlines and countries amid the rising tensions. Made up of airlines, regulators and air navigation services, the team aimed to share potential risks quickly. Meanwhile, business aviation companies were advised to fi nd alternative routes around fl ight paths they were concerned about as they awaited instruction from regulators. That was according to IBAC and MEEBA chief Ali Alnaqbi, who said that business aviation operators had to wait to assess the situation. Mr Alnaqbi said initially that it was “too early” to judge on the impact of the current situation in Iran on business aviation operators. He said: “We will have to watch and wait to assess the situation and of course follow the instructions of general civil aviation authorities in each country. We have to wait for instructions from the civil aviation authorities. Operations are currently normal and so far, no instruction from our local general civil aviation authorities has been received. I would advise business aviation operators to fi nd alternative routes.”Feb 24, 2020: Summit Conrad Dubai Feb 25-26, 2020: Exhibition Dubai World Trade Center (Za’abeel Halls 2&3) Co-located with Register at mromiddleeast.aviationweek.com DESTINATION DUBAI Attend the region’s leading conference and exhibition for commercial aviation maintenance. • 5,000+ attendees from airlines, manufacturers and the supply chain • 3 days of networking and learning with a 1 day summit and 2 day exhibition • 330+ exhibitors showcasing the latest technologyI am project manager, and with the team we do our utmost to understand your needs and translate them into cabin design projects, which we follow through to completion. Alexandre AFI KLM E&M is a Design Approved Organisation (DOA) with four decades’ experience in cabin development and retrofit for world class operators and lessors. Based onyour project and requirements, we will work alongside you from day one to provide the adapted solutions that are the Best4You. 100% Innovation 100% Global network 100% Airline MRO 100% Adaptiveness BEST 4YOU @afiklmem BEST 4YOU @afiklmem BEST 4YOU @afiklmem Download the SnapPress App for free. “Snap” this page. Explore the page’s exclusive hidden content. 1 2 3 Augmented Reality AFI_ alexandre_205x275.indd 114/10/2019 09:54Next >