Manchester Airport’s Plans For Passenger Focussed Development
Manchester airport has long been known for its belief in innovative schemes and planning. For instance, recently an iris scanning security system was put in place across the site so the thousands of workers for shops, restaurants and car hire firms only have access to specific regions of the site and not the most sensitive areas. However, recently Manchester Airport has announced that they are planning a revamp of Terminal 1, this revamp is set to cost around thirty five million pounds and subsequently will be a major investment. The reason this investment is particularly special is due to the fact that instead of simply listening to an architect, the Manchester Airport team are heeding the advice of expert psychologists.
Fundamentally the biggest change will be an enlargement of shopping areas and retail space, although the room for services such as car hire is also likely to be increased. The plans however have been made after the release of an expansive study into passenger behaviour. The study took place in Manchester airport and picked up on mental activities and body language to gain an idea of the emotional state and mindset of passengers. The study also included information on the effects of sleeping on planes and even in the terminal. With these results it is hoped that a more passenger friendly terminal will be a possibility.
What not be news to regular travellers is that those arriving at the site were in the mindset that they wanted to get the security and passport checking over and done with as soon as possible. The result has been that the landside space, the part of the airport prior to security control is being reduced in favour of a better security service, cuing system and airside shops and restaurants. The focus upon retail space however is twofold; while the airport chiefs may wish to improve the passenger experience, the fact that shops, restaurants and car hire services have to pay higher rents to be located in the airside part of the airport is probably also a strong incentive to change the layout of the terminal.
The design of this retail space, whatever the objectives has been careful designed to match the needs of passengers. For instance, the space has been split into four areas; the first area has been designed to cater for travellers immediate needs and subsequently contains items such as drinks, newspapers and toiletries. After this zone is the largest airside retail space in the UK, selling duty free cigarettes, alcohol and cosmetics, to match the needs of passengers. The third sector contains many shops owned by large high street brands that will give passengers the chance to grab electrical and clothing items and finally, the passenger will reach the fourth sector, an area dedicated to relaxation filled with restaurants and bars.
As Manchester Airport makes so much added revenue from retail spaces and car hire services it is unsurprising that they are increasing the percentage of terminal floor space dedicated to these activities. While these plans may cost thirty five million pounds what is doubtless is that the MAG (Manchester Airport Group) will recoup this expenditure in time through shop rent. While executives may be quick to spout that the plans are solely focussed towards the needs of passengers, they have also been cleverly designed to extract the greatest revenue from travellers.
Air Travel expert Thomas Pretty studies how car hire Manchester Airport services and retail space are likely to be important in the site’s future development.
The Expansion Plans Of Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh airport clearly plays a key role in the prosperity and growth of Edinburgh as a city and Scotland as a country. A recent study has found that the site employs more than seven thousand people in vital airport roles, retail spaces and car hire provisions. By 2013, the executives believe that this number will increase by at least another two thousand people. With such a direct input into the Scottish economy it is certain that the site has much to consider when looking at development plans. In terms of a financial figure for the level of investment of Edinburgh airport into the economy it is around three hundred million pounds a year.
Edinburgh Airport however plays a more important role than the employment provided by the car hire services, shops and restaurants contained in the terminal. As the major link to Scotland for tourists and business operatives it acts as a gateway to Edinburgh and Glasgow. As such, the site is hoping to increase the numbers of international flights operating from the airport. It is widely accepted that the key to Scotland’s prosperity is its two major cities in terms of tourism and business and having a major air transportation link is a means of improving this prosperity, not only for the city, but for the country and more widely the global economy.
BAA, the owners of Edinburgh Airport are heavily committed to expanding the services provided by the airport as a way to put in place long term economic plans; part of this is to increase the number of accessible destinations but equally important is to increase the revenue generated by car hire desks, restaurants and shops in the airport itself. BAA is acutely aware that the improvement of airports throughout the country is an important part of increasing the nation’s financial position and economic growth. BAA has a clear objective for Edinburgh, to make it one of the major airports in Europe with the facilities to cope with large passenger numbers promoting the sustainable growth of the Scottish economy.
As a result of the governments white paper of air travel in the UK all airports have had to release a master plan for the growth and expansion of the airport up until the year 2030. Fundamentally this development has been split into two distinct time frames; short terms goals up until 2013 and long term objectives up until 2030. This master plan sets out specific developments that will take place over the next twenty five years.
These development goals include an expansion of the terminal and the facilities contained within it such as retail space and car hire provisions. The terminal must expand if the objective to increase passenger numbers from eight to thirteen million annually will be possible whilst additionally, the runway and apron space will also have to be enlarged and improved to cope with the increased number of flights. It is not purely the airport site however that will need to be improved; the master plan sets out the importance of improving the transport infrastructure to and from the airport in terms of rail and road links. All of this development however has to be carried out sympathetically; major concerns include the quality of life of local residents and the impact upon the environment of increased air traffic.
Hopefully this article has highlighted the importance of Edinburgh airport to the prosperity of the city and Scotland, but also the United Kingdom. Growth and expansion are essential elements in this should the site continue to be an important part of Scotland’s economic plans and development.
Air Travel expert Thomas Pretty looks at how car hire Edinburgh Airport services and retail space expansion are likely to be important to the development objectives of the site.
How Did The Aviation Industry Begin?
Aviation is a big contributor to our modern day development; it has introduced things such as airmail. By the 1920’s governments around the world began to form their own national airlines through combining the numerous private lines they already had operating in their respective nations. One such example is the British government which created the British Airways.
With the surplus of planes left after World War I, thousands of armed services planes were converted to civilian use. In 1919, bombers were being converted in EU to form over twenty small new airlines. The first habitue international airline service created by aviation sources started by one of those, the company setup by Henry and Maurice Farman exploited old Farman bombers through aviation development to make every week flights from Paris and Brussels.
Aviation simply entails activities that refer to flying devices commonly referred to as aircrafts. Aviation also embodies the regulating and organisations as well as the people who are directly involved in the operation of aircrafts and all the industries that are involved in development, plane manufacturing and planning.
By 1917, there were seventeen consistent operating airlines because of air travel development; the aviation could be seen in these countries, in Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America. Some airlines from that geological era that are still operating from this air travel development are: Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), SABENA World Airlines, Lufthansa, and Qantas. In the ’20s American aviation was quite a slow.
There were several smaller airlines that were formed as a result of air travel development, but many of these lines failed after only a short period of actual service. Many American citizens viewed air travel as a dangerous sport (because of the many incidents reported during flights), they were considered not a safe way to travel.
With the large surplus of aircrafts that were left after the war, the Post Office was able to sets its sight on a more challenging future goal which was transcontinental air service. The first segment was commissioned between Cleveland and Chicago on the 15th of May 1919 and went into full service on the 8th of September 1920 the most of difficult part of the route the fierce mountains was spanned.
Airplanes were still unable to be flown at night when the services first began, so mail was given to the trains at the end of each day. However, by the utilisation of airplanes the Post Office was able to cut of a considerable amount of time off coast to coast mail deliveries.
By 1917, the United States of America regime thought it had seen enough progress in the development of planes to guarantee something completely new, air mail. That year, Congress appropriated $100,000 for an experimental airmail service that was to be conducted collectively by the Ground forces and the Post Office between Washington and New York, with an intermediate stop in Philadelphia.
The first air flight left the Belmont Park, Long Island for Philadelphia on the 14th of May 1918, and the following day it moved on to Washington where it was received by the President at that time Woodrow Wilson.
Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor and co founder of Free Affiliate Programs
For more information and resource links on aviation visit: Aviation History Timeline
Stansted Airport; The USAAF, POWs And Car Hire Services
Stansted Airport is assured a place as the UK’s fourth major airport although if current expansion plans are completed this position could increase substantially. Even before expansion is completed however, Stansted is a modern airport complete with its own rail link, motorway access, car hire services and retail areas. Predominantly it is the low cost budget airlines that use the Stansted Airport site to fly to destinations all over Europe. These destinations are numerous, at the last count it was over one hundred and seventy. The result of flying to so many different destinations is that over twenty million people use Stansted Airport annually; naturally auxiliary services such as shops restaurants and car hire desks are all prevalent in the terminal due to the large profits that can be made from passengers.
The history of Stansted Airport, like so many airports in the UK is heavily entwined with the military. Unlike many sites in the UK it was not the Royal Air Force that were instrumental in Stansted’s early development but instead the United States Air Force. At its inception the site took the name of a nearby town, Stansted Mountfitchet, deciding to drop the affix. Operational sorties were first flown in 1942 after the American engineers had constructed hangars and other buildings; some of which are still visible today. However, the modern terminal does little to commemorate these early uses, being constructed from glass and steel; the work of famed architect, Sir Norman Foster.
It was the American 344th Bombardment Group that used the Stansted site throughout the war. The aeroplanes that flew in and out were B-26 Bombers, showing that even from these early times Stansted was used to having large planes on the site. Operations from Stansted Airport were numerous to sites all over continental Europe but specifically in countries such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Of particular importance was the role played by the 344th during the Normandy Landings. Not only did B-26 crews hamper the operational activities of the Axis forces but once the Allies landed were instrumental in reducing the chance for withdrawal of German forces through the Falaise Gap. This task was performed by bombing bridges and fuel depots that limited the range of Axis tank crews and mobile forces.
After the war finished Stansted played an important role as a Prisoner of War camp. This major function of the airport is a little known fact not realised by the millions of passengers using the shops, restaurants and car hire desks today. This usage ceased however shortly after the end of the war when the site was used to train pilots of both air forces. In 1966 civilian activities were commenced, the site was passed over for development by the government when they decided Gatwick would be a better prospect for development but Stansted soon bounced back. With the growth in budget air travel and the package holiday Stansted became the airport of choice for many airlines, this was because being a smaller airport the executives were able to charge airlines less than both Gatwick and Heathrow, subsequently the site built up a strong affiliation with budget air travel that continues to this day.
The revamping of the site was decided upon in the eighties and by the early nineties Norman Foster’s work was completed. This modern and revolutionary design was filled with car hire desks and retail spaces in order for airport executives to extract larger profits and as such remained an important element of Stansted’s financial planning. From a small military airport nestled in the heart of rural Essex, Stansted has become one of the major links in the air transportation network of the UK.
Air travel expert Thomas Pretty looks at how car hire Stansted airport services have been instrumental in the site’s development.
