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Route development


Other activities that route development managers find themselves getting involved in include terminal design, external relations and even debt collection. Given the diversity of the task in hand, good airport/tourism authority CEOs will need to develop the right structure for a route development team.


Team structure


ASM has worked with a number of airports and tourism authorities, advising them on the optimal structure for their route development teams. For a mid-sized, 5-30 million passenger airport, the typical size of the airport route development team is 10-15 employees. This team is usually divided into three key areas: research, sales and account management, and marketing. All areas report into a head of route development who in turn typically reports to a CCO.


This structure encourages the development of centres of excellence within the team. The market research team can develop business cases through expertise in data, analytics and traffic forecasting. The sales and account management team will become experts in negotiation and relationship


The route development cycle Airline


discussions, feedback and key arguments


Lawyer


Contract & legal


compatability


Analyst & researcher


Training at ASM


At ASM, we have developed a suite of training products to help the personal development of the teams. The courses run every month in different regions across the globe and cover a number of subjects including: • The fundamentals of route development


• Route traffic forecasting, data tools and techniques


• Negotiating incentives with airlines and the legal guidelines


• The fundamentals of air cargo route development


• Route development for destinations and tourism


• Understanding the airline/airport business


• World Routes preparation boot camps


The course programme has recently doubled in size but continues to be led by active practitioners. The programmes include guest speakers from airlines and the industry in general. It focuses on the reality of route development as well as the theory.


management, responsible for bringing in new airlines, while the marketing team will focus on B2C and B2B techniques to build awareness and passenger numbers. An alternative structure for the route development team is by geography, which is adopted by many of the larger airports/destinations. This enables an individual to understand their market in more depth.


It is important too to provide a dedicated resource if there is a function that needs attention. Little attention will be paid to cargo unless a cargo manager is appointed, for instance. Or it may be that the relationship with the hub carrier is crucial, so a dedicated account manager for that airline will provide focus and clarity.


Airline


discussions, feedback and key arguments


Sales person & marketer


Learning and development Understanding the complexities and having the right structure is still not enough to ensure route development opportunities are maximised. Airports and tourism authorities should audit their route development activities, capturing customer insight as well as providing a learning and development programme for its team. Auditing and benchmarking practices against competitors can be undertaken internally or externally and should cover all aspects of route development. Airline customers, both existing and potential, should be asked for their views. This process should be formalised and reported and can be conducted using both qualitative and quantitative survey techniques.


Negotiator Negotiation


Stakeholder support


Lobbyist politician & fundraiser


Internal business base


Accountant


Finally, any route development team can continue to develop its knowledge and skills through investing in a learning and development programme. The skills required are varied and it is important that the team has the same approach and philosophy.


The task of route development may require superhuman abilities but with the right structure and the right development programme, route development managers may well become superheroes.


22 Routes News 1, 2016 routesonline.com


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