Another way to ask this question would be "How do I become an Airport Planner?".
Based on my experience, Airport Planners broadly come from 3 kinds of academic/professional backgrounds:
1. Engineering and Construction - Civil Engineering, Construction etc.
2. Urban Planning - Geography
3. Aviation/Operations - people who aspired to become pilots or were previously from Airport operations
Saturday, February 27, 2010
What is the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey?
How do you know that an airport operator is doing a good job in terms of customer satisfaction? How does your airport compare with another airport? Has your airport improved from last year? These are just some of the questions that airport managers ask. Performance benchmarking is helpful to answer these questions. In my view, the ASQ Survey program is currently the best program available to airport managers.
5 facts about the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey
1. The ASQ Survey Program is an intiative of the Airport Councils International (ACI)to help airports deliver better customer service. There are over 130 airports around the world that are participating in this program. A precursor to this was the AETRA survey. In my view, this is the most comprehensive and extensively used survey in the airport industry currently. The ASQ Survey is the four core programs of the ASQ Initiative which also includes ASQ Performance, ASQ Assured and ASQ Management.
2. At each participating airport, a statistically significant number of passengers are surveyed each quarter. The survey method is by questionnaire where departing passengers in the gate areas are asked to fill in the survey. The surveys are administered quarterly by an independent external party not connected to the airport.
3. The survey consists of about 30 questions which are the same world wide. The survey is grouped into categories and the questions are on a 5 point scale with 5 being the best. Examples of the questions include ambience of the airport, friendliness of airport staff, cleanliness of restrooms.
4. The results are complied and issued quarterly to all the airports on the program. These results provide year on year comparisons and also compares each airport with the other airports in the program. The reports identifies areas that each airport is strong and weak in compared to the average score. This allows each airport to make operational and capital decisions in order to drive service quality improvement at the airport.
5. Top 5 airports in the world in 2009 - Seoul Incheon International Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, and Hyderabad Rajiv Ghandi International Airport
Top Airport (By region)
George, South Africa (Africa); Seoul Incheon, South Korea (Asia-Pacific); Keflavik, Iceland (Europe); Cancun, Mexico (Latin America-Caribbean); Tel Aviv, Israel (Middle East) and Austin, USA (North America).
Top Airport (By traffic size categories)
Halifax, Canada (under 5 million), Hyderabad, India (5-15 million), Baltimore/Washington, USA (15-25 million), Seoul Incheon, South Korea (25-40 million) and Hong Kong, China (over 40 million).
If you would like to read more about ASQ, please explore these links.
- Airport Service Quality website (click here)
- ASQ results news release for best airports in 2009 (click here)
5 facts about the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey
1. The ASQ Survey Program is an intiative of the Airport Councils International (ACI)to help airports deliver better customer service. There are over 130 airports around the world that are participating in this program. A precursor to this was the AETRA survey. In my view, this is the most comprehensive and extensively used survey in the airport industry currently. The ASQ Survey is the four core programs of the ASQ Initiative which also includes ASQ Performance, ASQ Assured and ASQ Management.
2. At each participating airport, a statistically significant number of passengers are surveyed each quarter. The survey method is by questionnaire where departing passengers in the gate areas are asked to fill in the survey. The surveys are administered quarterly by an independent external party not connected to the airport.
3. The survey consists of about 30 questions which are the same world wide. The survey is grouped into categories and the questions are on a 5 point scale with 5 being the best. Examples of the questions include ambience of the airport, friendliness of airport staff, cleanliness of restrooms.
4. The results are complied and issued quarterly to all the airports on the program. These results provide year on year comparisons and also compares each airport with the other airports in the program. The reports identifies areas that each airport is strong and weak in compared to the average score. This allows each airport to make operational and capital decisions in order to drive service quality improvement at the airport.
5. Top 5 airports in the world in 2009 - Seoul Incheon International Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, and Hyderabad Rajiv Ghandi International Airport
Top Airport (By region)
George, South Africa (Africa); Seoul Incheon, South Korea (Asia-Pacific); Keflavik, Iceland (Europe); Cancun, Mexico (Latin America-Caribbean); Tel Aviv, Israel (Middle East) and Austin, USA (North America).
Top Airport (By traffic size categories)
Halifax, Canada (under 5 million), Hyderabad, India (5-15 million), Baltimore/Washington, USA (15-25 million), Seoul Incheon, South Korea (25-40 million) and Hong Kong, China (over 40 million).
If you would like to read more about ASQ, please explore these links.
- Airport Service Quality website (click here)
- ASQ results news release for best airports in 2009 (click here)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Useful Airport Consultants Council publications
What is the Airport Consultants Council (ACC)?
"The Airport Consultants Council (ACC) is the international trade association that represents the unique interests of consultant firms and related businesses that provide airport development and operations expertise. Constant development and complex challenges have become the norms in aviation today. Airport facilities, technology, markets, planning, design, security, regulations and economics are in a state of unprecedented change. ACC helps its members stay ahead in this dynamic industry by bringing the experts together." ACC website
In short, it represents the consultants involved in airport development. This is an American organization so their focus is primarily is the United States. I mention them because of the resources they have produced which I find useful.
My personal favorites are:
1. Quick Reference for Airports - contains airport maps, aircraft details, select faa advisory circulars excerpts all in one book (click here, the link on their library appears to be broken)
2. Airport Owner's Guide to Project Delivery Methods - useful if you are an airport owner trying to understand design-build, construction manager at risk etc. (click here)
There are also a number of other resources in the ACC library which might be interest to airport planners. Click here to go to the ACC Library.
You can also check out the conferences and events that they organize. Annually, they organize together with other airport-related organizations:
1. Planning, Design Construction Symposium
2. Airport Project Delivery Summit
Click here for the ACC homepage
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
What is a Cell Phone Lot / Cell Phone Waiting Area?
Cell phone what? Cell phone Lot or Cell Phone Waiting Area. More and more US airports are implementing these. Just google "Cell phone lot" and you can see a number of airports describing their lots on their websites.
Given the dominance of cars in the US, there is a substantial number of passengers that are picked up family or friends. These drivers typically would exhibit one of these behaviors:
1. Circle constantly
2. Park on the arrival curbside till the police/security tell them to move on.
3. Park illegally on the side of the road
4. Drive slowly.
In order to deal with this problem, airports have created cell phone lots. These are parking lots with between 50 to 100 spaces for drivers to park their cars there while waiting for their passenger to arrive. When passengers arrive, they call their drivers' cell phone to ask them to drive to the arrival curb to pick them up.... hence the name "cell phone lot".
Typical characteristics of cell phone lots:
1. near the terminal buildings, preferably within visual range of the terminal.
2. just off the main terminal roadway system
3. 50-200 spaces
4. well lit at night and safe
5. Flight Information Display System
6. Rule that driver must be in or at their cars
You might also want to read USA Today's article about cell phone lots. (click here)
Monday, February 1, 2010
What is a Conrac?
If you are not an American Airport Planner, chances are you are not familiar with this term. A CONRAC facility is a Consolidated Rental Car Facility. CON=Consolidated, RAC=Rent A Car. To understand why a Conrac is needed, there needs to be an understanding of the American way of life.
The automobile or car is the central to the American lifestyle. Outside of the big cities like New York and Chicago and the eastern seaboard, the auto reigns supreme. There are drive thrus for everything, not just fast food restaurants but also banks.
Because cars are such a dominant feature, the rental car industry in the US is very large. Passengers either have their own cars parked at the airport, get someone to pick them up, rent a car. Generally, a smaller proportion use cabs or bus or trains to get to and from the airport.
So how do passengers get to the rental car lot to pick up their rental cars? They would wait on the curb for the rental car company bus to pick them up. Once at the lot, they would enter the customer service building and do the necessary paperwork to rent the car. Then they will pick up their car. The variation to this would be to do the paperwork at a counter in the passenger terminal before proceeding to take the bus from the curb to the rental car lot.
For the larger airports, this presented a significant problem as the number of buses circling the terminal buildings would be quite large. (given that they were at least 6 to 9 rental car companies typically competing in a particular airport.
This evolved into the birth of the Consolidated Rental Car Facility. All the rental car counters would be housed in a single facility instead of being scattered all over. Think of it as concentric circles.
The center
-----------
The center of the building would be the customer service area with all the counters and offices of the rental car companies. Customers get to the customer service center by bus or by people mover.
The automobile or car is the central to the American lifestyle. Outside of the big cities like New York and Chicago and the eastern seaboard, the auto reigns supreme. There are drive thrus for everything, not just fast food restaurants but also banks.
Because cars are such a dominant feature, the rental car industry in the US is very large. Passengers either have their own cars parked at the airport, get someone to pick them up, rent a car. Generally, a smaller proportion use cabs or bus or trains to get to and from the airport.
So how do passengers get to the rental car lot to pick up their rental cars? They would wait on the curb for the rental car company bus to pick them up. Once at the lot, they would enter the customer service building and do the necessary paperwork to rent the car. Then they will pick up their car. The variation to this would be to do the paperwork at a counter in the passenger terminal before proceeding to take the bus from the curb to the rental car lot.
For the larger airports, this presented a significant problem as the number of buses circling the terminal buildings would be quite large. (given that they were at least 6 to 9 rental car companies typically competing in a particular airport.
This evolved into the birth of the Consolidated Rental Car Facility. All the rental car counters would be housed in a single facility instead of being scattered all over. Think of it as concentric circles.
The center
-----------
The center of the building would be the customer service area with all the counters and offices of the rental car companies. Customers get to the customer service center by bus or by people mover.
The inner circle
----------------
Once customers have collected their cars, they go to the Ready-Return Area just behind each rental car counter/office. They go to the correct numbered space and pick up their car. This is the same location they will return their rental car.
----------------
Once customers have collected their cars, they go to the Ready-Return Area just behind each rental car counter/office. They go to the correct numbered space and pick up their car. This is the same location they will return their rental car.
The outer circle
-----------------
The outermost area is the maintenance area for each rental car company. This is where the company cleans, refuels and washes the cars to make them ready for the next customer. They also have maintenance bays for servicing the vehicles.
The outermost area is the maintenance area for each rental car company. This is where the company cleans, refuels and washes the cars to make them ready for the next customer. They also have maintenance bays for servicing the vehicles.
Typically the amount of land needed for a full Conrac facility is about 80 to 200 acres. (32 to 80 ha)
The newest Conrac to open is the one at Atlanta and it is connected to the terminal by light rail. (click here)
Other Conracs include: Phoenix, Houston Bush, Albuquerque, Dallas Fort-Worth, Kansas City, Anchorage.
There are variants to the concept.
1. Some Conracs don't have the maintenance centers adjacent to the Ready return areas and Customer service centers.
2. Some Conracs can be accessed by foot and there is no need to take a bus or train.
Key Organizations in the Airport Industry (ICAO, ACI, IATA)
This is a simplistic overview of the key organizations in the Airport Industry that airport planners should be aware of.
International
-------------
1. ICAO - International Air Transport Organization, the United Nations body charged with civil aviation matters
2. ACI - Airports Council International, representing Airports
3. IATA - International Air Transport Association, representing Airlines
4. Department of Civil Aviation, Civil Aviation Authority of each country
United States
-------------
1. FAA - Federal Aviation Administration (part of the US Department of Transportation)
2. ACI-NA - North American branch of ACI, representing Airports (generally the larger commercial service airports)
2. AAAE - American Association of Airport Executives, representing Airport executives
3. ACC - Airport Consultants Council, representing consultants
4. ATA - Air Transport Association, representing airlines
5. AOPA - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
6. State Department of Transportation (e.g. TxDOT etc.)
7. NBAA - National Business Aviation Association
8. NASAO - National Association of State Aviation Officials
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Airport Planning Courses
Click here for latest update of this 'Airport Planning Courses' page
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If you are asking, where can I learn about airport planning? Here are some courses which I am aware of. Let me know if you are aware of any more out there.
(Updated 8 July, 2012)
United States
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1. UC Berkeley - Airport Systems Planning and Design. Offered by National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research (NEXTOR). 4 day course that tends to be held in Nov. Look under short courses in the Nextor website. The next one is 8 Oct - 11 Oct 2012. (Early Bird USD1850, Standard Rate USD1950, FAA USD1000)
2. ACC/ACI-NA/FAA - Airport Planning Workshop - 3 day course. Held annually or once every 2 years. First one was held in Dec 2009. The last one was 5 - 7 Dec 2011. It tends to be jointly held with the NEPA workshop. It is orientated to the US airport industry and rules. (ACI USD590, Non-member USD690)
3. MIT - This 5 day/3 day course was held every 2 years. It is from an Airports Systems perspective. The last one was in 2006. For some reason, there has not been one since then. IAAE Canada is hosting a 3 day Airport Systems course by MIT Professors de Neuville, Odoni and Belobaba from 22 - 24 Aug 2012 in Montreal. (click here) (CDN2500 non-members, CDN2250 members)
4. AAAE Accreditation or Certified Member - If you are American or work in the US Airport Industry, this is also a good option as it ties in with FAA regulations and the unique characteristics of the American Airport Industry. It is a self-study program with a Multiple Choice exam. There are 4 modules in the Body of Knowledge, one of them is pertaining to Planning, Construction and Environmental. The other modules are Finance and Administration; Operations, Security and Maintenance; Legislative Affairs, Marketing and Communications, and Air Service Development. There is also a week long course (AAE/Certification Academy) that helps you go through the material and prepare you for the exam.
In addition, there are a number of aviation schools throughout the country that use Alexander Wells book "Airport Planning and Management" as a textbook for their undergraduate classes.
International
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1. Cranfield University - Cranfield offers a MSc Program in Airport Planning and Management. Most of the modules of the MSc Program are offered as 5 day short courses (GBP1370). Go to "Short Courses in Air Transport" to check it out. Cranfield MSc started when Loughborough University ended their MSc program which was running for more than 20 years.
2. Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA) - SAA is the training arm of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. SAA has held Airport Engineering courses annually for many years. They appear to be transitioning to a new 9 week Airport Engineering Programme jointly organised by Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley and Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA). The next class is 30 Jul - 28 Sep 2012 (USD14,800). There is also another class from 29 Jul to 27 Sep 2013.
3. IATA - This 5 day course appears to be run annually in Montreal. The next class is 15 Oct to 19 Oct 2012. (Non-members USD3700, Members USD3145, Developing Countries USD2590)
4. ACI-World - Airports Council International (ACI) Global Training also has a 3 day training course on Airport Master Planning. The next class is 17-19 Oct 2012 in Brussels (EUR650) and 7-11 Oct 2012 in Abu Dhabi (EUR1000).
No longer available / discontinued?
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1. UT Austin - 3 day course at UT-Austin. (Center for Lifelong Engineering Education, look under Civil/Transportation) Typically run in Aug/Sep time of the year. I think it has been going on for more than 10 years. There are also courses on Airport Pavements, Airport Engineering & Management, Airport Noise and Air Quality models. Each one is not always run annually. The last course was in 2010. It seems to have discontinued.
2. Harvard - 3 day course last held in Jul 09 under the auspices of the Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education Program. Not sure if this is a one off. The theme was "Next Generation Airport Design: Toward a Customer Friendly, Efficient, Safe, and Secure Passenger Airport"
Related Posts:
Airport Planning and Management Online Training
Airport Planning and Management Online Training
What is the best book to learn about managing an Airport (United States)
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