airports

Cleveland travelers now have a bright new mall to call their own

Unless you were traveling through Cleveland Hopkins Airport Monday night, you missed the grand opening ceremonies for AIRMALL, a collection of 47 shops, restaurants and specialty services throughout concourses A, B, C & D. These aren’t the tired old shops that were here before 2009.

BAA Cleveland is the new operator of retail services at Cleveland Hopkins Airport and has been working since 2008 to completely redo retail operations in the concourses. Before they even completed the renovations, improvements were so dramatic that Cleveland Hopkins won the Most Improved Airport of the Year Award in 2009 from Airport Councils International. Read more...

RDU Retail Going Upscale

Morrisville – In just a few months, weary fliers at Raleigh-Durham International Airport will be able to kick back and enjoy a relaxing glass of Pinot Noir at a wine bar after browsing for trendy clothes at Brooks Brothers and supping on made-to-order gourmet food.

The retail revolution that began a couple of years ago with the opening of RDU’s redeveloped Terminal 2 will continue with the debut of the terminal’s second phase in early 2011. Read more...

Frankfurt Airport City Mall opens with strong retail and F&B offer

Germany - Fraport Group has opened a remodelled and expanded City Mall at Frankfurt Airport, including a strong new retail and food & beverage offer. The Airport City Mall connects the airport’s major car parks, regional train station and Terminal 1.

It is located on Level 0 underneath the Departures and Arrivals levels of Terminal 1, extending the full length of the A, B and C Concourses. Read more...

Philadelphia Marketplace Food & Shops Launches New Interactive Website

Philadelphia — Just in time for spring break travel, The Philadelphia Marketplace Food & Shops at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) recently unveiled an exciting new look and feel for its Web site, www.philamarketplace.com. The new Web site features an interactive directory by terminal, retail and dining information, an instantaneous concierge button, and more. To celebrate the launch of its new site, the Food & Shops will be giving away a $500 Visa gift card to one lucky winner. Read more...

Airport gift shop offers last-minute goodies

Maybe an airport isn’t the ideal place to pick up a gift, but if you find yourself in a real pinch this holiday season, it might be the only place to grab something decent at the last minute, even as you’re about to take flight. Luckily, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport has a variety of items you could pass off as a thoughtful present. We stopped by its gift shop recently and found a handful of affordable, giftable things. Read more...

Brands to take turns running airport store

Pop-up retail is a concept we've been covering for years, generally focusing on a store that opens for a limited time in an otherwise unused space. Turning that notion on its head, in some respects, is Planeshop, a permanent store opening soon in the Glasgow Airport that will be periodically taken over by a different brand. Read more...

Retail sets airport image; Laggard LAX plans bigger, better options

Los Angeles, CA – When Clifton Moore ran the Los Angeles airport system from 1968 to 1993, there wasn’t much emphasis on dining and shopping for people waiting for their planes. About all they could get were the basics: a newspaper, a cup of coffee, cafeteria fare and a preflight libation.

The mantra was “We are an airport, not a shopping mall,” and people on the staff were proud that Los Angeles International Airport had the least concession space of any major U.S. airport.

Not anymore. Read more...

A golden new gift option for air travellers?

Frankfurt (AFP) — Tired of buying perfume, chocolates or wine for your spouse while flying home? Looking for a special and safe investment in these turbulent times?

Passengers who clear security at Frankfurt airport and fear inflation more than flying could soon find an answer with a machine that doles out a bright, shining answer: gold.

"The reaction by Asian people was fantastic," gold dealer Thomas Geissler told AFP after his company, TG-Gold-Sper-Markt, tested a prototype dubbed "Gold to Go" in the airport's main hall last week. Read more...

Many businesses seek airport rent reductions, but few are granted

Las Vegas, NV - Although several concession operators at McCarran International Airport have pushed for rent reductions in the face of slumping passenger counts, airport management has gone along with only a few.

Easily the largest break was granted to casino developer Michael Gaughan, who owns about 1,500 slot machines scattered through concourses. His minimum annual rent was reduced by $8 million to $27 million. The indoor smoking ban, costing an estimated $3 million in slot play, plus the shrinking flight schedules have combined to slash slot revenues by 18 percent through the first three quarters of this year, creating the probability that the previous $35 million minimum could have imposed losses on Gaughan. Read more...

Expanding during a recession

It might seem counter-intuitive to expand a business during a recession but Robin Valliear Barre is doing it anyway.

Barre owns Artizan, a wholesale-retail company that specializes in fashion jewellery and accessories. She will open five new stores this year in North American airports. Add that to the five she opened between December 2007 and November 2008, and you get an idea of how a creative entrepreneur operates when the rest of the world is running for cover.

"We're expanding because we're doing well," Barre explains. "In fact, we're benefitting from this economy." Read more...