Happy passengers spend more. This is a well-known theory in the airport sector and one that has been backed up by many industry reports over the years. A recent study from airport management platform AeroCloud, for example, found that 80% of passengers indicated that they would spend more if they could move through check-in and security more quickly.
However, airport operators are now looking to go further than just providing a seamless journey. They are seeking to create spaces that unlock positive passenger emotions that leave travelers happy, encourage them to return and, hopefully, motivate them to spend more.
For example, in 2023 Groupe ADP in France launched a new travel retail and hospitality concept called Extime, specifically aimed at increasing passengers’ pleasure during their time at the airport. The concept is based on the creation of a ‘boutique terminal’ that combines excellence and uniqueness of design, offer and service. It is built around three pillars: excellence of design, excellence of service and excellence of offer (see Extime makeover below).
Customer Centric Consulting works with airports to ensure they are ‘experience fit’. According to its director, Claire Donnellan, for any passenger experience strategy to be successful, it must first be aligned with corporate strategy.
“When I start a discussion with airports on their experience strategy, the first area we explore is their corporate strategy and the related value drivers for the business,” Donnellan explains. “This is key. If there is no commitment at a corporate level to mobilize behind an experience strategy, then there is not a clear link to what the business sees as value in the airport experience.”
According to Donnellan, to ensure that airports remain experience fit they must also always have the future traveler in mind, especially when it comes to new investment programs within a terminal. “Investment programs take time to scope, fund and deliver, so it is important that they are informed by the needs of the traveler for the lifetime of the investment,” she notes. According to Donnellan, big trends shaping the future traveler include inclusive travel, choice of travel, assistive technology and increasing expectations regarding responsible travel.
“Examples include kiosks, which play a central role in airports, serving various functions such as information, wayfinding, check-in and border processing,” she says. “However, the accessibility features on these devices, such as adjustable text size, audio prompts, high contrast and accessible route mapping, often vary greatly – not just within a single airport but also across multiple airports that travelers encounter on their journeys. Ensuring these assistive features are available would create a smoother and more inclusive experience.”
Another improvement could come from the intentional design of orientation and decompression spaces. “These areas allow travelers to pause, plan their next steps, regroup or simply wait comfortably for others,” continues Donnellan. “While some airports have incorporated such spaces effectively, they are often added as afterthoughts rather than essential design elements. By prioritizing these spaces early in project planning, airports can create a more ambient environment, which is known to drive more positive experience and propensity to spend. People are seeing these offerings as the norm at places they experience on a regular basis, like shopping centers, and are astonished when airports are not offering the same level of experience. This will only become more astonishing as time progresses and the gap widens, unless airports act.”
“The data is also getting more reliable on how this converts into increases in revenue”
Claire Donnellan, Customer Centric Consulting
Donnellan notes that she has seen first-hand that when an airport makes a commitment to invest in airport experiences, sentiment increases. “The data is also getting more reliable now on how this converts into increases in revenue, as well as sentiment,” she continues. “This not only improves the passenger experience but also builds culture and pride in an airport, creating a perpetual cycle of improvement.”
The Copenhagen Airport experience
One airport that is working hard on ensuring it protects its brand and its reputation for high levels of passenger experience during a major investment project is Copenhagen Airport. The hub is currently midway through its project to remodel Terminal 3, which, when complete in late 2027, will expand the airport by 60,000m2 and enable it to handle 40 million passengers per year. The expansion work is being undertaken while the airport remains fully operational.
“The T3 expansion project, with the ongoing construction work in the center of Copenhagen Airport, has been planned to allow for the 24/7/365 operation of the airport,” says Henrik Vahlun, senior project director at Copenhagen Airports. “As we expand in vital areas, such as baggage reclaim, border control and in the shopping center, our passengers and staff are affected by the construction works. The relatively narrow passage from west to east, because of the temporary construction walls, for example, could potentially create a bottleneck. However, our experience from the summer of 2024 has shown that our planning and passenger concept have fulfilled our expectations.”
The passenger concept referred to by Vahlun is part of the T3 Experience Project, which aims to turn any negative impacts from the construction works into positive ones for passengers. To develop the T3 Experience Project, Copenhagen Airport worked with Zeso Architects, which has been involved in many parts of the T3 expansion, including developing the new border control areas and working on the integration between the existing and new terminal elements.
Christina Okai Mejborn, head of planning at Zeso Architects, says, “While the T3 construction work was being planned, it became clear that the frequent changes of the terminal layout due to construction phasing issues at the heart of the airport were going to have an extensive impact on operations and the accommodation of 25,000 daily passengers.
“With the T3 Experience Project, we wanted to achieve three outcomes. First, we wanted to address the anticipated negative passenger experience during construction, to instead create a positive outcome. Second, our ambition was to create a memorable attraction that would communicate the airport’s identity and values in a visionary and forward-looking way. Third, we wanted to create an appealing temporary setting that prepares passengers in a meaningful way for the exciting permanent experiences of the new T3 expansion project, awaiting at the end of the tunnel.”
The Art Wall
Three main elements framed the T3 Experience Project: the Art Wall, the suspended ceiling and new temporary seating. “The Art Wall, by local artist Ruth Campau, serves as a tactile, main visual element, with an explosion of colors covering the construction wall along a 250m-long passageway through the terminal,” explains Mejborn.
“Passengers on their first visit to our airport do not associate the ambience with a building site”
Henrik Vahlun, Copenhagen Airports
According to Mejborn, the primary function of the Art Wall is to support passenger flow. It is also flexible and scalable. “The Art Wall defines the temporary identity of T3 for the next three to four years and beyond. Instead of just looking forward to the beautiful end product of the completed T3, the sensory experience provided by the wall has already been shown to complement the overall look and feel of the terminal, here and now.”
“The Art Wall is a vital part of our experience project in the temporary areas of Copenhagen Airport and has more than fulfilled its purpose,” adds Vahlun. “Passengers on their first visit to our airport do not associate the ambience with a building site, and the feedback we have received has been positive.”
The Art Wall also aligns with Copenhagen Airport’s overall architectural strategy, which uses art and architecture to support operations and passenger flows and enhance the traveler experience.
“Architecture is a part of the Copenhagen Airport DNA,” comments May Køster, lead airport masterplanner, strategy and consultancy at Copenhagen Airports. “The airport has been developed on a distinctive architectural heritage that we are renowned for and receive positive responses to. We have strategies for architecture and art to ensure a continuation of this heritage into the future. Natural daylight, spatial coherence, an apron view and the use of local materials support intuitive wayfinding and provide passengers with a sense of place, for example,” she explains.
“Furthermore, the T3 Experience Project also gives our passengers a feeling of control and calm, with its clear notion of where you are and where you need to go next. This is important for the overall passenger experience and impacts the performance of the shopping center on a measurable level.”
The suspended ceiling has been deliberately designed to mitigate cross-flow conflicts and emphasize the art experience thanks to its directional light and reflection qualities. It has also been designed to encourage passenger movement in specific directions, while compensating for the temporary loss of daylight during the construction process.
And the seating furniture, called Havn x Small, compensates for the seating capacity lost in the former terminal area. “The seating modules are designed for temporary settings, with a focus on creating as many seats as possible for fast-paced movement,” explains Mejborn. “It is constructed of household waste containers from Copenhagen, and in this way the project has upcycled one ton of plastic waste. As with the Art Wall and the suspended ceiling elements, the furniture can be easily relocated and placed in new configurations.”
Stakeholder engagement
The T3 Experience Project is the result of a thorough cross-organizational user involvement process at Copenhagen Airport, where diverse departments contributed with their input.
Considerations were made regarding passenger flows, operations, commercial units, seating, aeronautical and commercial wayfinding, advertising, etc.
“Our approach to working with temporary areas has been the same as when we work with permanent changes. The stakeholders participating in the temporary phases are the same as those working on the long-term expansion,” explains Vahlun. “By planning in this way, and not differentiating between the stakeholders in permanent and temporary solutions, we strive to achieve a consistent and ambitious passenger experience throughout construction.”
“The best ideas come from those with a front-row seat to the experience”
Claire Donnellan, Customer Centric Consulting
Copenhagen Airport is now measuring the success of the T3 Experience Project through its Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program. “During construction we have adjusted our standard questionnaire in the ASQ to address areas where construction works are being undertaken in our building complex. The ASQ gives us quarterly feedback and allows us to adjust accordingly. We also monitor the performance of our commercial units, and alterations have been made if performance is challenged,” explains Vahlun.
Customer Centric Consulting’s Donnellan believes that this first-hand feedback is essential when striving to improve the passenger experience. “The best ideas come from those with a front-row seat to the experience,” she says. “It amazes me how many airports still rely on anecdotal information. Airports that know what is happening across the travel journey have a real opportunity to see if their investments are driving real change and to build a direct relationship with their customers.”
Donnellan also believes that having clear goals is essential when trying to increase the airport experience: “A Japanese proverb that was shared with me recently sums this up: ‘Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare.’ Be clear on what drives value in your business, work out how you measure this and then ensure you monitor the performance so you know if you are succeeding. If experience is not seen as a driver of value and has no clear vision, expecting the airport experience to be valued or driven by your teams and broader stakeholders is a fruitless exercise.”
Arena to the airport
According to Matt Thome, senior customer experience strategy consultant, airport experience at Southwest Airlines, live events at arenas and stadiums have one commonality: they evoke high levels of emotion that keep people coming back for more. How do they achieve this? Thome notes that they create an environment that is easy to navigate and caters to customers’ needs despite sometimes stressful and disappointing situations. How can this approach be applied to airports?
“Travel is an experience – just like attending a sporting event,” says Thome. “The process of getting from A to B may not be as exciting as a buzzer-beater game-winning shot in a basketball match, but customers go through many of the same experiences, such as ticketing, security, seating, food and beverage, entertainment and parking.
“While the excitement level may not be equal, airports can still create compelling experiences for customers passing through. Experiences such as brand activations, kids’ activity areas, interactive shopping experiences and live entertainment can help make a mundane and sometimes frustrating experience more enjoyable and bring customers back.”
Thome also believes that it is essential to “pay attention to the types of customers passing through a space” to ensure that the environment services their needs. “The look and feel of a space also matters a great deal to customers. They want an open, inviting space that doesn’t feel cramped or like an afterthought,” he adds.
Advice hub
Three industry experts share their key tips for provoking positive passenger emotions
Claire Donnellan, director, Customer Centric Consulting: “Understand the data you have available. Data will help inform the potential of the airport experience within current facilities, capabilities and practices. It can also inform what areas could be focused on to remove barriers in the journey – from home, back to home and all the experiences in between – not just within the airport. The cost/ benefit of acquiring high-quality data may not suit all airports but there is always some level of data airports can acquire easily to help inform decisions on some level.”
Matt Thome, senior CX strategy consultant, airport experience, Southwest Airlines: “Lead by example with your employees, invest in experiences and keep innovating. Constant evaluation of your programs and activations is key to ensure customers want to keep coming back time and time again. Improving your customer experience should also be fun. Find ways to include ideas and tactics from your employees to get buy-in on your new initiatives. Your frontline staff live this work every day, and their input is invaluable.”
May Køster, lead airport masterplanner, strategy and consultancy, Copenhagen Airports: “Most airports are in constant development. Expansions and reconfiguration influence the passenger experience. The efforts made in the Copenhagen Terminal 3 project to maintain a high-quality passenger experience throughout both construction and in the long term can hopefully provide a source of inspiration to other airports.”
Extime makeover
Groupe ADP’s Extime retail and hospitality concept aims to give back “meaning and pleasure” to passengers – by transforming the wait before their departure and after security into an unforgettable experience. It is built on the following principles:
Excellence of design: Appropriate design scale and a maximum journey time of six minutes, with unique styling, interior design and architecture, as well as strong integration between the commercial area and departure lounge – all with a strong sense of place.
Excellence of service: Embodied by a ‘maître de maison’, whose presence is palpable; a wide range of personalized services and events; and a unique welcoming ceremony and other small but important attention details.
Excellence of offer: Exclusive joint ventures in duty free, F&B, media, lounge or travel essentials that are consistent and work synergistically. Greater individuality through chefs’ restaurants and cultural planning, as well as attractive offers and transparency on pricing. In October 2024, Groupe ADP strengthened its Extime offer through two acquisitions: Paris Experience Group, a creator of tourist experiences in Île-de-France; and PS, an operator of exclusive airport terminals in the US. The former will enable Extime to offer passengers “experiences throughout their stay in Paris”, while the latter will tap PS’s expertise in high-end, tailor-made services such as private lounges, spas, valets and even transportation to the aircraft by airside car.
This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Passenger Terminal World. To view the magazine in full, click here.
