Feature: Airport Ancillaries
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The rail company scores well across the board in annual surveys, but particularly highly on the essential issues of punctuality, schedules/frequency and journey time. The one element where it scores noticeably below par, however, is value for money. But with business travellers accounting for
69 per cent of passengers – and therefore their bosses picking up the bill – plus freebies such as free wifi access sweetening the deal, it's a business model that clearly works. With alternatives for travelling between central London and the airport lining up in the form of a £70 taxi journey, a 50-minute schlep on the Piccadilly line, or the slower but cheaper Heathrow Connect train service (also to Paddington), it's not hard to see why the Heathrow Express fares so well, so to speak. Airports such as Manchester and Birmingham
have focussed on cleaning up their parking and valet services, and are partnering with meet- and-greet and chauffeur firms, which offer a range of services, from greeting business travellers at the gate upon arrival, to washing their car while they’re on the road. BCP, with parking facilities at 26 UK airports,
and Purple Parking are among the market leaders when it comes airport parking. In accordance with the general rule of thumb that booking online, in advance, leads to the lowest rates, BCP claims to offer savings of 60 per cent on 'pay on the gate' rates, the ultimate sin for those driving to the airport. Purple Parking, meanwhile, claims to serve
over one million customers a year, operates a members club and is popular with the corporate community: "Our name is synonymous with the notion of a quality service at competitive prices," says the operator, "and, as a result, many blue chip companies have been using our facilities for many years, as well as the close relationship that we enjoy with all the major travel management companies." Another trend popping up across
UK airports is concierge services that provide everything from theatre tickets to last minute travel visas. The ultimate airport concierge service, which launched at Sydney’s International Airport last year and is
starting to pop up on Britain’s shores, provides a central hub for arriving and departing passengers that is modelled around an open store concept, similar to the design of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 Duty Free space. The “Travel Concierge” features interactive
video wall displays with hotel and restaurant information and promotions, shuttle bus schedules, and other travel-related services. Some airports, such as Bristol, are taking interactive marketing to new heights by pairing mobile technology that is designed to keep travellers abreast of flight updates with e-marketing campaigns that offer travellers a series of promotions and discounts for various shops and services. With easyJetText, for example, passengers opt-in to receive SMS text messages on flight updates, reminders, and special offers on their day of departure. The text has a bar code that is scanned at the point of purchase, thereby allowing Bristol to track how many passengers are taking up the offer. On average, it found passengers who redeemed the easyJetText offer spent 50 per cent more than a typical tax and duty free customer. How many of these were business travellers is hard to say, but the results are certainly good news for both Bristol’s owners and its tenants. Perhaps the biggest success story in the world
“Another trend popping up across UK airports is concierge services that provide everything from theatre tickets to last minute travel visas”
of ancillary airport services comes from Priority Pass. The group now offers access to 600 airport lounges globally for a minimal monthly fee that is sometimes waived as part of a corporate card package. Once an under-used fringe benefit to corporate cardholders (most of whom were flying business class anyway and thus already had lounge access), the company’s proposition has expanded greatly in recent years and stayed in tune with their target audience’s ever evolving needs. Today, Priority Pass lounges are not just on a par with their major airline-run counterparts, but are sure rivals. If you want proof, just go to Gatwick’s South Terminal,
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