Barcelona broadens commercial base; underlines global ambitions

The Moodie Report

By Dermot Davitt

We want Barcelona Airport to be a hub between east and west, between Asia and the Americas.” That’s the big ambition harboured by senior airport management for Spain’s second-largest airport, as articulated by Barcelona Airport Director Fernando Echegaray del Pozo.

We’re sitting at national airport authority AENA’s offices at Barcelona, discussing the airport’s expansion plans and the role of commercial activities in growing its business. 

For Echegaray del Pozo, commercial, as much as any other department, plays a key role in airlines’ and passengers’ perceptions of Barcelona Airport. “Quality is our centre of gravity in everything we do,” he says. “To convince airlines to come here we need to offer them a quality home. That means good facilities, efficient connectivity between alliance partners and an emphasis on capacity. We now have capacity for 55 million passengers a year since T1 opened in June 2009. We won’t hit that for a few years [the airport handled 29.2 million in 2010 –Ed], but airlines want to know that you have the ability to expand, and we can show that. 

“Having a broad mix of commercial activities, services and lounges is also important. We designed the SkyCentre (the T1 airside complex) to be accessible to all passengers, and created it as one central area housing all of these facilities. 

“We can offer some surprises too. We had the President of Singapore Airlines here recently and we showed him our wellness area, our lounges and other commercial areas, and he was very surprised by the quality on show. Singapore Airlines has to offer a picture of quality to passengers – it’s part of their brand – so it’s important that we can offer that to them. That’s why they connect to Brazil through Barcelona and not one of Europe’s other hubs.” 

For Barcelona Airport, driving growth in such inter-continental routes – still an under-developed part of the business – will be vital to its ambition of becoming a hub between East and West. 

“Four years ago we had 16 intercontinental destinations,” says Echegaray del Pozo, “and now we are at 30 – which means 200 flights a week to long-haul locations. 

“At first we weren’t sure there would be an appetite for many global carriers to come to Barcelona and establish it as a hub. But we have shown that there is, after meeting many airlines and explaining our business plan, and what we can bring to the table. Now, when I have a meeting with an airline CEO, they see Barcelona as a potential point of connection to the world. 
“And we have been able to sell the idea of connecting Asia and the Americas. Two recent examples: Pakistan Airlines now flies through Barcelona from Lahore and on to Chicago; and Singapore Airlines connects to and from São Paulo. What’s next? We think Iberia will connect more destinations in North and South America and there is a possibility to build its presence in Asia, with Barcelona as a potential connection point. So we are taking steps in the right direction.” 

That drive is aided by the fine blend of local and international brands and concepts in the impressive T1. The commercial spaces – from the landside Arrivals zone ‘La Plaça’, to the landside Departures area of ‘El Mirador’, to the airside SkyCentre, were designed to deliver a town square effect, and act as gathering points for visitors. 

“The zones aim to offer different experiences but are all commercially led,” says Barcelona Airport Commercial Division Head Isabel Pardo Martín-Gil. “We want to attract locals to come to the airport, so La Plaça plays an important role, and that will grow when the underground comes to the airport from the city [scheduled for 2013 –Ed]. 

“At El Mirador we have the Porta Gaig restaurant, newly opened by Michelin-starred chef Carlos Gaig, which is a premium meeting place for businesspeople, and offers a great flavour of Catalan cuisine. It’s a talking point. 

"So often at airports the range is fairly standard so by introducing a restaurant operated by a Michelin-starred chef you are transmitting a message about service and about quality at the airport. It helps us re-evaluate the perception of the airport.” 

It’s a point taken up by AENA Commercial Services & Properties Director Mariano Sanz. “In Spain, food is quality, food is variety, and we want to give passengers a taste of that,” he reflects. 

“In recent years Spain’s reputation for food has grown on the international stage,” adds Sanz. “We have many great, authentic chefs that are widely celebrated, and we want our airports to show this quality and class. 

"It’s the reason we invite Michelin starred chefs to open outlets at our biggest airports, and at smaller ones – those with fewer than 9 million passengers a year – we invite the best local chefs to work with us. 

"We want also to encourage local producers to showcase their work, whether they are selling food or handicrafts or other items. The airport should be a mirror for the best of a region or a country. Here, it’s all about giving Spanish airports their own flavour.” 
The effort to create points of difference continues in the SkyCentre, described by Pardo as “our jewel in the crown”. Here, she says, “we’ve created a series of different plazas, to make what is a vast space [the T1 pier runs the length of four football pitches –Ed] smaller and more manageable.” 
In the SkyCentre there is much that reflects Barcelona or Spain in categories such as fashion, led by brands such as Desigual, Cottet or Zara, while food & beverage carries as strong a Sense of Place as you’ll find in an airport of this size. There are neat bar and tapas concepts such as Lizarran, regional flavours from La Pausa or full-service restaurants such as Monchos, Mussol or Semon. 

The zones are split according to perceived demand and price ranges, aiding passenger orientation. To the left as passengers descend the escalators post-security, there is the mid-priced fashion zone and F&B, with the major Aldeasa duty free store as the anchor, while to the right are the higher end fashion units and the full-service restaurants, leading up towards the lounges. 

“It’s about offering the right experience to each type of passenger,” notes Isabel Pardo. For people who are spending more time in the terminal we have a variety of flavours, with seafood and even a celiac restaurant, as well as wine concepts and international brand names such as McDonald’s. Each of them is relevant to a different audience at different times of the day.” 

Another element aimed at adding value and surprise to the passenger is the VIP lounge, wellness centre and hairdresser. These were created in response to customer demand for more beauty, fitness and body care concepts, and offer passengers with longer dwell times the chance to pamper themselves. 

One thing is sure: the airport is intent on making the journey through Barcelona a memorable one, a drive enhanced by regular commercial promotions across categories and concessionaires. 

“We do a lot of communication to encourage people to come early to view the offer, and to reinforce the fact that we do offer value,” says Pardo. “The airport is a reference point for Catalonia and we are in a high-profile position so it’s necessary to do that. We create regular commercial activity each month around the various segments: one might be promoting the fashion offer and prices, another around F&B, where we invest in activations, and try to add theatre through rock concerts or classical music shows, or celebrate festivals such as Saint Jordi (on 23 April each year).” 

Next on the development agenda is T2, home to low-cost carriers such as easyJet and Ryanair. 

“When Terminal 1 opened, 80% of traffic moved there, but since Ryanair came to Barcelona last year traffic at T2 has grown, so we are reacting,” says Pardo. “We are reconstructing many of the areas with a deadline to finish by June 2012. The long-term plan is to centralise security – currently there are entrances in areas A, B and C, which is a legacy of the original terminal built for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. This will give us the potential to create a new walk-through shop and to centralise the commercial offer.” 

With its well-balanced commercial portfolio and strong Sense of Place, Barcelona Airport has raised penetration and spend per head in the two years since T1 opened. In 2011, Q1 traffic climbed by +15%, with spending in the commercial areas closely mirroring that, says the airport. 

And with its drive to attract more inter-continental traffic, plus its ambition to become a hub linking east and west, Barcelona Airport may only be beginning to tap into its vast commercial potential.