Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2024

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Providing the region with over 57,000 jobs and $38 billion in economic impact, PHX is the 12th busiest airport in the U.S .— “and we only have three runways!” said Michael Hughes, deputy aviation director of the contracts and services division. With a 9% passenger increase from 2022-2023 and an expectation that enplanements will continue to grow, Hughes said the team is looking for retail concessions in Terminal 4 pre-security, as well as one pre-security concessions kiosk with a micro restaurant and two post-security concessions, as well as retail concepts in Terminal 3 available between 2024 and 2027. San Francisco International Airport San (SFO) Currently in the beginning phase of its Terminal 3 Modernization project, SFO is looking for new purchasing experiences for its passengers, said property development lead Tomasi Toki. Having added more gates and holding rooms as well as updating “a part of the terminal that was built in the late 1970s and 1980s into a more modern and more customer-focused experience,” the airport plans to transform some of its legacy F&B program into a “food court-ish” area with QSR coffee shops, a bookstore, and a performance space. RFPs for retail, food, and beverage operators will be issued in January 2025 with proposals due in July 2025 and awards finalized by that November. San José Mineta International Airport (SJC) SJC is known as “the heart of Silicon Valley,” said principal property manager Rebekah Bray of the busy facility. The airport boasts adjacency to many of the world’s largest tech companies including Google, Apple, Samsung and Nvidia. SJC is also close to Napa Valley wine country destinations as well as professional sports venues where the San José Sharks, Earthquakes, and San Francisco 49ers play, making it a highly profitable venue, said Bray, noting SJC’s $61 million in concessions last year. In reevaluating concessions spaces, SJC plans to “reduce

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Last year was a record-breaking year for both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Dulles International Airport (IAD), which collectively served more than 50 million passengers and garnered more than $300 million in combined sales. In looking for new concepts, “we want local, we want healthy, we want desired brands,” said concessions finance and administration manager Peggy Garcia as she referenced some of the airports’ most popular new additions, such as Cava, Timber Pizza, Rusty Taco and a partnership with local brand Mahogany Books. With a new Tier 2 East Terminal opening up at IAD by 2026, there’s a “fantastic opportunity” for new concepts, said Garcia. She said interested parties can reach out to concessions development partner Fraport USA . Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) The travel population originating at MSP is “large, educated, and affluent,” said Isabella Rhawie, director of concessions and business development. With a median household income of more than $84,000, MSP passengers “love to travel and spend money in airports,” she added. Terminal 2, which is “busting at the seams,” will be getting five new gates by 2025, with opportunities for eight new units including one restaurant, one bar, one news and convenience store, two QSR restaurants and three coffee shops.

Above: Isabella Rhawie, director of concessions and business development at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, shared opportunities for eight new units.

“There’s a huge ramp up between four and six a.m. - breakfast is huge here,” added Rhawie. With a combined total of $20 million in opportunity, the airport isn’t just looking for bagels either, she said. Bars are expected to do very well, because as Rhawie puts it, “these people are ready to party, and waste no time [before] going to the bar.” Orlando International Airport (MCO) The majority of MCO’s concessions contracts will be up between 2024 and 2027, said vice president of concessions Tracy Conner Harris. “Rather than replacing like for like, we took a holistic look at spaces to determine ways in which we can monetize and maximize our real estate without having to demolish or reconstruct spaces,” she added. There will be “a magnitude” of retail opportunities available ranging from QSRs to sit-down restaurants to brew pubs and specialty retail gift shops. There’s also a plum pre-security space available, added Harris, which boasts both hotel access and significant dwell time. Interested parties should look out for MCO’s upcoming forums and register with their OpenGov platform.

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2024