Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2023

L ATES T BUZ Z

“We appreciate Alliiance’s approach to airports our size,” says Krauter. “They really understand the markets and priorities, and their team has been a great partner to the construction management team [Spokane based Garco ] as well.” Ben Johnson, senior associate, airport terminal designer at Alliiance, adds that “small to medium hub airports are a sweet spot” for their team and that the “interior materials and finishes draw reference from the region’s iconic and transformative landscape,” including glacial lakes, basalt cliffs, Cascade Mountains, and the Inland Northwest’s rivers. In addition to expanding gate, loading, and ticketing areas, the Spokane team focused TREX efforts on three primary buckets of improvement: sustainability, accessibility upgrades to existing facilities and reworked customer amenities. In upgrading the heating and cooling systems, “we are implementing electric glass, which will help retain heat needed for the winter as well as reduce the need for air conditioning,” says Lisa Corcoran, director of planning and development for GEG. The airport has also installed hydraulic piping that transfers heat from the basement level of the facility to minimize emissions. Restrooms have been updated with additional accessibility features and the airport’s entryway curbs have been lowered as a means of easing travel, says Krauter. “Making an easier curb part of

the travel experience will give you a sense of how carefully we’re thinking through the journey of elderly people or visually impaired people or people with other types of challenges,” he adds. Corcoran says GEG has seen a recent increase in older travelers, necessitating the need for expanded accessibility functions. “We’ve seen a higher portion of older travelers, and it continues to grow,” she says. “We’ve incorporated technology that will help equip passengers to hear any information on the ticketing side as well as in the boarding area.” GEG has also maintained an ongoing partnership with Aira , a visual interpreting service that uses smartphone camera technology and trained agents to help visually impaired travelers interpret surroundings and navigate signage. “It also encourages the use of concessions,” says Todd Woodward, director, marketing and public affairs at GEG, noting that for visually impaired passengers experiencing delays, the service can greatly expand the quality of the airport experience. The Concessions Plan The GEG team hopes that an expanded and centralized concessions program will be a key improvement to the Spokane passenger experience. In addition to aggregating concessions to areas on the

Above: The $150 million addition to the GEG’s C Concourse includes new gates, loading bridges, ticket counter positions, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure renovations, as well as upgrades and replacements to restrooms, lighting, escalators, elevators, and concession areas.

second floor, GEG hopes to partner with local bars and restaurants to bring the city’s rich culinary scene inside airport facilities. “We’re putting out a request for proposals for concession operators,” says Krauter, noting that the planning team has “spent a considerable amount of time engaging with the food and beverage community.” “We have a number of James Beard-level chefs that are in Spokane, and Spokane has become quite a food scene,” adds Krauter. “We’ve been engaging with that community to develop interest and explain how you work at the airport, because it’s quite hard to bring small businesses into an airport environment.” Though the hurdle of getting external operators unfamiliar with TSA procedures can be a challenge, Krauter is hopeful for a future in which GEG is home to a new landscape of local culinary options.

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