Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2026

restaurant you’re building. Some of the airports are aging and the structure cannot sustain the newly built restaurant, so you’re tearing everything down to the start and building everything up again, which makes the cost of capital much, much higher. The pressure is such that we are also being selective in our bids. WARD: Adding to the challenges are the tariffs and generally higher prices… MBOYA: In my opinion, the tariffs pale in comparison to labor. Where it becomes a problem is if it has sociopolitical implications that impact significant amounts of travel, because these countries then have a negative opinion of coming to the U.S. For example, look at the transborder travel from Canada to the U.S. Those restaurants on the transborder side are secluded, and many Canadians are not traveling to the U.S., and that means those restaurants are empty. JOHNSON: For F&B I think you’re right. For retail, we’re seeing a bigger hit from tariffs, in certain categories and in duty free. A lot of our goods come from China, and China has one of the highest tariffs, so it hurts. CRWYS-WILLIAMS: On the retail side it is painful, but those costs are ultimately passed on to customers – it’s going to force pricing up. The key for me is just around the uncertainty. MONTES: The airport hospitality industry has long relied on the anchor categories, such as bars, sit-down dining, QSRs. As the demographics of passengers are shifting, are you seeing meaningful changes in where they’re spending, and how is that influencing the concepts and future building that you’re prioritizing? JOHNSON: I think categories are changing. I recently read an interesting stat: in 2024, 6% of the population was on GLP1 (weight loss medication). Today it’s around 13%, and up to 18% of the population in the U.S. has tried it. We have to start recognizing that people are eating differently. [They’re demanding] higher levels of protein, and that’s true whether it be in convenience retail or in F&B. Alcoholic beverage consumption is at its lowest it’s ever been. Traditionally, a lot of our profit margin comes through alcohol, so what are we doing to fulfill that category? It’s not necessarily concept driven. It’s categories within the concepts themselves. We’re all investing in tech as part of the experience for the customer. The new consumer wants

it, they’re asking for it, even though the older consumer hates it. MBOYA: The Gen Z population is moving from cocktails to mocktails – it’s a significant shift. They’re also moving from value to experience. They may go to a lounge just for the experience and bypass the restaurant. JOHNSON: Economists keep talking about this K shaped recovery, and the airlines talk about high profits, which are coming from their business travelers. But there is a still a significant portion in the United States and in the world who comes through our airports who are not experiencing that. I think that we need to remember that consumer as they come through. What are we doing for the consumer who doesn’t have that same economic viability [to purchase high-end food and beverage offerings]? We have to solve that riddle, because it’s coming at us. KING: I agree. I think it’s really bifurcated. The folks that are making a lot of money and spending a lot of money, they don’t care [about pricing], right? But there aren’t nearly as many of them as are the folks that are on the bottom of that K (shaped recovery), so we need to figure out how to serve them while battling high labor costs and [other challenges]. PARADIES: The low-cost customers (flying on LCC airlines) are an important part of our

business, and the LCC business model is at risk now. They’re being squeezed out. We’re concerned, in certain markets, because the LCCs have really driven the traffic in some airports and have created demand. The question is, what will it look like next year, or five years from now? MONTES: The lounges, which attract more affluent travelers, are also upending demand… JOHNSON: We’re seeing a major shift in the business. The number I’ve heard is they do almost $500 million in sales, and that that would put them as number five or six in our industry, as a competitor, but they’re not considered a competitor. The example I always use is, we all bid on these projects or these contracts and we all pay for waterfront property. After the fact the lounges are added. At the end of the day, we’re paying a premium to have incredible real estate and then somebody builds a condo building that blocks the view. They’ve just degraded the value of our real estate by 20%. What is the answer to that? I’m not sure that we’ve figured that out yet.

Below: Carlos Bernal Areas USA makes a point about labor costs being unsustainable, while Steve Johnson of Avolta (l) and Huw Crwys-Williams of WHSmith North America (r) look on.

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2026