Airport Authority hires firm to find ways to improve Airmall offerings
Twenty-eight years ago, the late Allegheny County Commissioner Pete Flaherty’s distaste for an overpriced cup of coffee at Pittsburgh International Airport gave birth to the Airmall, a mix of specialty shops and restaurants bound by competitive pricing.
The concept, launched when the midfield terminal opened in 1992 and tweaked over the years, has proved to be a big hit with travelers. But with retail ever changing in the age of online shopping, Pittsburgh’s Airmall may be headed for a makeover, just like the terminal itself.
Allegheny County Airport Authority officials have hired Concession Planning International to review the Airmall’s mix of retail, with an emphasis on customer experience and more local offerings.
The goal, said authority CEO Christina Cassotis, is to incorporate “the latest and greatest in terms of concession, food, beverage [and] retail trends to make sure that we’re giving passengers what they want, what they expect, what they see elsewhere, and
what’s going to do the most good from a customer service perspective.”
Part of what is driving the review is the airport’s $1.1 billion modernization. The new landside building — to be used for ticketing, security and baggage claim — will meld into the airside building, where most of the Airmall shops and restaurants are located.
To make for a better transition, it is possible the layout of the Airmall’s stores and eateries, particularly in the airside building’s center core, could change.
Travelers will use elevators or descend escalators or stairs from landside to get into airside to board their planes.
“One of the things that we want to make sure of is that we’ve got really good sight lines as you’re coming into the [airside] terminal so that you know where you’re going,” Ms. Cassotis said.
As for the retail itself, Ms. Cassotis in the past has raised the potential for unorthodox amenities like a grocery store, a dry cleaner and even a 24/7 pet center.
She also has pushed for more local offerings. A Primanti Brothers restaurant recently opened in airside, which also is home to a Sarris Candies store, Penn Brewery and The Strip Market, stocked with local products.
The Concession Planning study, Ms. Cassotis said, will look at all types of retail, particularly given the prevalence of online shopping these days.
One avenue she would like to see Fraport USA, the Airmall’s operator, explore is more experiential retail. She cited as an example InMotion, an Airmall retailer that sells tablets, fitness bands, Bluetooth headsets, headphones and cameras.
“People are shopping more digitally and they’re comparing prices and they want convenience. So are we doing everything we can? I don’t know,” Ms. Cassotis said.
She also wondered about the potential for display space similar to the Tesla showroom at Ross Park Mall.
“How do you price that? Because you’re not getting a percentage of sales. You’re never going to say you bought your Tesla because you ran into it at the airport, right?” she said.
“So the question becomes how do we think about the fact retail is different, people are shopping differently, and how do we capture that?”
Ben Zandi, Fraport USA president and CEO, said the firm is on board with the study and the vision outlined by Ms. Cassotis.
He is predicting a total revamp of the Airmall concessions program in time for the opening of the new landside building in 2023, with the challenge being to match the preferences of travelers today with those five to 10 years down the road.
“We want to be relevant but at the same time we want to be trendy and we want to be the first in North America,” he said.
Like Ms. Cassotis, he mentioned the possibility of more experiential retail and Tesla-like display space.
“We feel the store of the future may reflect the same methodology, the same thinking and the same approach,” he said. “The store of the future will be completely different than today.”
One thing that won’t change is street pricing, under which the rates charged by Airmall shops, bars and restaurants must be the same as those at similar outlets outside of the airport.
The authority remains committed to that, spokesman Bob Kerlik said.
Change has been no stranger to the Airmall. It was forced to adjust hours, close some stores and make other modifications after US Airways drastically cut service and closed its hub in Pittsburgh in 2004.
Between 2001 and 2008, it saw sales plunge by a whopping 33 percent but still managed not only to survive but thrive.
More recently, it closed upscale shops like Hugo Boss, Collezioni, The Beauty Gallery, Armani Jeans, Furla and Lacoste. It has added new stores like The Candy Shoppe, Soul Mates and Timeless Travel. A new duty-free store also opened in the center core Monday.
With the uptick in flights and traffic over the past few years, the airport authority has seen a boost in concession revenue — from $7.89 million in 2016 to $8 million in 2017 and $10.58 million last year.
The latter figure is higher in part because the authority began collecting a higher percentage of profit from Fraport last year, although Mr. Kerlik said revenue would have been up without that change.
Mr. Zandi said the Airmall also is seeing year-overyear growth, adding that per passenger spending in Pittsburgh is among the top seven in airports nationwide.
As part of the terminal modernization, the authority plans to increase the number of concessions in the landside building. It also is mulling the possibility of outdoor dining areas, in both landside and airside buildings.
The Concession Planning study, which cost $84,000, is the third the airport authority has commissioned in recent years relating to the Airmall and its shops and restaurants. It should be completed by the fall.
Authority officials paid California-based consultant Leigh Fisher $41,000 in 2016 to analyze the Airmall. They also added $370,563 in 2015 to a contract with Chicago-based consultant Ricondo & Associates Inc., partly to look specifically at concessions in the landside building as they related to master plan options.