Airport officials flying high after retailer signs

When the Springfield-Branson National Airport's midfield terminal opens in February, more than just the departure gates and security checkpoints will be new. Airport officials hope a nationally recognized retail provider and new food service will help fight a national trend of economic turbulence and decreasing consumer satisfaction in air travel.

The airport announced this month that Atlanta-based The Paradies Shops will be the terminal's retail provider. The company, which runs more than 450 stores in some 70 airports across North America, will have two retail offerings in Springfield: CNBC News, a business traveler-oriented newsstand and retail shop, and Route 66 News and Gifts, a store design unique to Springfield.

Bobbi Passavanti, managing director of marketing and communications for The Paradies Shops, said the company responded to the airport's request for proposal this summer because it sees growth potential.

"We actually do business in some other smaller markets, which is why Springfield was so attractive to us," Passavanti said, pointing to Midland and Harlingen, Texas, as examples. "When we go into these smaller airports, we find there's a lot of potential for growth and we can ... work closely with the airports and give them what they're looking for as they ramp up their new facilities."

Springfield's growth potential is sending it toward the magical million-total-passenger mark in the next three or four years, according to spokesman Kent Boyd. That growth is made more impressive by the national trend of airport woes; an Oct. 7 Wall Street Journal article, "Airports Suffer Terminal Illness," points out numerous examples of facilities caught in the vicious cycle of financial pressures and declining service from airlines.

Boyd said that while the million passenger prediction is based on the uncertain assumption that the current economy won't "send passenger numbers plummeting into the basement," revenue so far this year indicates the airport hasn't taken as big a hit from economic trouble as some of its larger counterparts.

"Even though passenger numbers are down, revenue numbers are flat," Boyd said. "Parking revenue is the same, which tells us business passengers are still traveling. We haven't felt that pinch yet."

Revenue opportunities

Paradies Shops will spend at least $660,000 for infill of the two shops, according to its proposal, and the airport has agreed to give the company a $100,000 allowance out of its $119 million construction budget.

Airport officials were pleasantly surprised that a company the caliber of Paradies Shops showed interest in Springfield, according to Boyd. Boyd noted that the current terminal has one provider for both retail and food options, because separating the two entities wouldn't create enough annual revenue to entice a company to locate there. Retail and food revenues grossed about $1.6 million in 2007.

As for food options, Boyd said the airport is in negotiations with an unnamed company that is planning to offer an upscale coffee shop and a delicatessen with already prepared food items; a third food option is also a possibility. Boyd said the airport hopes to be able to announce a deal in early November.

Boyd said having two different companies offering retail and food services should allow each to better focus on customer service, which should help resolve complaints that he hears.

"Whether it's a fair judgment or not, most fliers don't think that the airlines provide customer service anymore, so anywhere they can get it in the air travel experience is a good thing," Boyd said.

Advertising up in the air

Also among business opportunities at the new terminal is advertising - but Boyd said that particular potential revenue source is farther down on the list of priorities.

"It will be one of the last things we figure out - I wouldn't be surprised if some of it doesn't get figured out until after we get into the new terminal," Boyd said, noting that the aesthetic aspects of the new facility such as its numerous curves and use of glass façades make placing advertisements a challenge. "We made a conscious decision to pull back on the advertising planning and wait for the building to progress until we could get a better feel on where to put advertising without detracting from the architecture."

One possible ad spot is in the terminal's flight arrival and departure status display.

"We want to avoid what we have here, which is a bunch of back-lit transparencies, whether they're wall-mounted or on a circular kiosk," Boyd said. "They're very static, very 20th century."

Boyd said that digital system is part of a $2.75 million package of airport technology recently awarded to Lenexa, Kan.-based C&C Group.

Boyd added that there also isn't a budgeted amount to set up advertising opportunities, due mainly to the near-daily changes that accompany the last few months of a major construction project.

"It's going to boil down to where we are budgetwise when we make that decision," he said. "Advertising is important, of course, but in the big scheme of things - trying to get that building up and running - it's not a high priority."