Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2026

Left: Futurist Simon Anderson of Venture Foresight, LLC delivered the 2026 AXC Keynote address.

Third, create a counterpoint file, a running document of assumptions or practices that may have outlived their usefulness. Fourth, find a reverse mentor. A monthly coffee with someone from a different generation can surface perspectives that don’t come up in typical leadership conversations. Fifth, conduct a premortem. Imagine it’s three years from now and something in your business has failed. Work backward to identify what likely caused it, then ask what you can do today to prevent it. Anderson challenged every leader in the room to pick one action and commit to it. He asked: “What actions will you take to be Future Ready?” Building Through Uncertainty The next panel tackled the intricate issue of how to rethink design and construction amid tariffs, rising costs and economic volatility. Keeping airport concessions construction on track has never been harder. In this session, builders, designers and operators compared notes on how

challenge of the next decade. That was the central message from Simon Anderson, futurist and applied foresight expert, who delivered the keynote address at AXC 2026. Anderson’s framework for navigating uncertainty comes down to three words: attention, anticipation, action. It starts with attention. Anderson traced the arc of the cell phone from a $4,000 brick in 1983 to the device now used to write entire resumes, noting that most people weren’t paying attention. ChatGPT went from zero to 100 million users in two months. “The preview window is collapsing,” Anderson said. Generation Beta is here, and the shift from mobile-friendly to mobile-mandatory is already complete for the youngest travelers in the terminal. From attention comes anticipation and then action, which Anderson called the most critical piece. Ford and General Motors had a century of automotive dominance yet were outmaneuvered on electric vehicles by companies that skipped optimization entirely. “How we’ve always done things prevents us from finding new possibilities,” he said. AI is the next big disruptor, Anderson noted. Unlike the steam engine, which couldn’t build new steam engines, today’s AI agents can create other agents. Starbucks is scanning inventory eight times faster with a single tool. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has robotic concessions running around the clock. John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) has robots making pizza. “This is the worst this technology will ever be,” he told the room. He also raised questions the industry hasn’t fully confronted. What if Waymo enables 200 or 300-mile family road trips that replace short-haul flights? What if vertiports reshape regional travel?

Start building those relationships now, Anderson advised. “It’s a delicate balance,” he said. “Use enough automation to remain competitive but also have enough humans to have that personal touch.” To prepare, Anderson offered five concrete steps attendees could put to work immediately. The first is a weekly “Future 15,” just 15 minutes spent reading publications like MIT Technology Review to track emerging trends. Second, get comfortable with AI tools. Anderson pointed to POE.com as an accessible starting point, suggesting it may become one of the most valuable professional skills going forward.

Below: The Building Amidst Uncertainty panel at AXC featured (left to right): Christopher Asaro of Holt Construction, moderator Courtney Thornton of NextGate Consulting LLC, Michele Larimer of Silhouette Design Architecture, Rob Hale of Vantage Group and Roderick McOwan of WH Smith North America.

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2026