CHINA. The ACI Airport Business & Trinity Forum proceedings began yesterday with a record-breaking attendance of over 320 delegates.
The Trinity Forum, as it is popularly known, is a joint venture between The Moodie Report and Airports Council International. It is hosted this year by Shanghai Airport Authority.
The Forum’s Platinum sponsors are food & beverage specialist SSP, leading beauty house P&G Prestige Products and Lagardère Services, the owner of Aelia and HDS.
The event’s coffee breaks are sponsored by GABICO while Nuance-Watson (Hong Kong) and The Estée Lauder Companies are sponsoring the two lunches. Other sponsors include Dubai Duty Free (special prize draws for delegates), MCM, Villiger, Shanghai Tang and Mars International Travel Retail.
The day’s proceedings were moderated by The Moodie Report Founder and Publisher Martin Moodie as well as Deputy Publisher Dermot Davitt.
In addition to the day’s speeches, the event also featured exclusive film footage of some of the world’s most cutting-edge airport commercial developments, produced by Marshall Arts International.
The proceedings ended with a unique insight into shopper (and non-shopper) behaviour at Luton Airport, where French retailer Aelia had agreed to allow in-store filming in a study by Consumer Watch, whose director Garry Stasiulevicuis presented and analysed the film.
After the Forum, delegates were invited to attend ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) conference. Hosted by the Shanghai Airport Authority, the shared Gala Dinner included the annual ASQ Awards, the most important consumer-led recognition in the airports industry.
Incheon International Airport, led by its ever enthusiastic President and CEO Jae-Hee Lee, made a clean sweep of the awards by bagging the “˜Best Airport Worldwide’ accolade amongst others.
1 APRIL 2008
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The ACI Airport Business & Trinity Forum kicks off at the Shangri-La hotel with a crowd of over 320 delegates | |
SESSION 1 – THE BIG PICTURE: PUTTING THE TRINITY FORUM IN CONTEXT
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The Moodie Report Publisher Martin Moodie (left) and ACI Director General Robert Aaronson open proceedings | |
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Wu Nianzu (left), Chairman and President of Shanghai Airport Authority, the event’s official host, welcomes the delegates to Shanghai, together with China Civil Airports Association Secretary General Wang Jian (right) | |
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“Heathrow’s headlines will improve,” says World Duty Free Managing Director Mark Riches to Martin Moodie, following a speech on how Heathrow is approaching commercial revenues at the new Terminal 5: “˜Putting the consumer first’ | |
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Quoting American poet Maya Angelou, Bacardi Managing Director – Global Travel Retail Maurice Doyle illustrates the importance of creating emotional ties with consumers, rather than simply providing them with reasons to purchase | |
SESSION 2 – CUTTING EDGE: STATE OF THE ART AIRPORT COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS
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A documentary on “˜Best Practice in Airport Commercial Revenues’ by Marshall Arts International featured airports such as Bengalaru International, Baltimore, Hong Kong International and Vancouver International | |
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(Left) Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Director (Commercial) Lim Peck Hoon highlights the commercial and design principles behind Singapore Changi Airport’s stunning new Terminal 3; (Right) The Nuance Group Executive Vice President Business Development & Strategy Ivo Favotto introduces some of Nuance’s newly developed concepts, including SWIFT, the FIFA Official Store, Disney Naturally, PGA Tour and Fashion Gallery | |
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Arriving in style: Auckland International Airport General Manager Retail Nick Forbes explains the increasing importance – and opportunities – of Arrivals revenues to Auckland, just hours after the airport’s state-of-the-art new 1,600sq m Arrivals store, run by DFS, opened | |
SESSION 3 – CREATING THE ULTIMATE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE IN AIRPORTS
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‘Avoid Fads, Trends have power, Never take away the Forever favourites’: Words of wisdom from HMSHost President and CEO Elie Maalouf, who underlined the power of the consumer’s voice in the era of the Information Age | |
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HDS Retail Asia Pacific CEO Scott Raisin discussed the unique challenges of the News & Books category in the face of a changing consumer profile with The Moodie Report Deputy Publisher Dermot Davitt | |
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“Airports must treat passengers like five-star customers, rather than as sheep in a pen to be herded,” stressed Abu Dhabi Duty Free General Manager Dan Cappell, on how the Trinity can work together to “˜exceed customer expectations’ | |
SESSION 4 – UNDERSTANDING WHY TRAVELLERS SHOP – AND DON’T SHOP
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“DON’T listen to your consumers”: Counter Intelligence Retail & Consumer Watch Director Garry Stasiulevicuis explained why traditional research methods cannot adequately discover how consumers actually shop – and how they can be boosted by Shopper-Watch and Eye-Watch studies using state-of-the-art tracking devices | |
LUCKY DRAW
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Lucky dip: Martin Moodie, together with Deputy Publisher Dermot Davitt and Commercial Director Mandy Shine, gives away some fantastic prizes, including a chance to win US$1 million in Dubai Duty Free’s Millennium Millionaire draw | |
THE 2008 ACI AIRPORT BUSINESS & TRINITY FORUM GALA DINNER AND ACI AIRPORT SERVICE QUALITY AWARDS
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Meeting of cultures: National costumes and traditional Chinese orchestral music set the scene of the 2008 ACI Airport Business & Trinity Forum Gala Dinner and ACI ASQ Awards, held at the grand Shanghai Science & Technology Museum | |
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Shanghai Airport Authority Chairman and President Wu Nianzu (top left) and Airports Council International Director General Robert Aaronson (top right) open the Gala Dinner in style as Chairman Wu raises a toast to the audience (bottom right) | |
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The night’s entertainment featured a troupe of energetic “˜kungfu boys’, a fashion show, and traditional Chinese opera | |
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The ACI Airport Service Quality Awards ceremony honours some of the world’s best airports in customer satisfaction, with winners being selected by the most important judges of all – the passengers themselves | |
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The big night belonged to Incheon International Airport, which scooped the coveted “˜Best Airport Worldwide’ award; an exuberant Jae-Hee Lee, Incheon’s President and CEO, celebrates the well-deserved win with his team | |
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(Left) The great line-up: The winners for the night gather for a photo opportunity as the awards ceremony comes to a close; (Right) The ACI team with representatives from the top three performing airports worldwide: Malaysia Airports Managing Director Dato’ Seri Bashir Ahmad (Kuala Lumpur International Airport – third from left), Incheon International Airport President and CEO Jae-Hee Lee (fourth from left), and Civil Aviation Authority Director (Commercial) Lim Peck Hoon (Singapore Changi Airport – extreme right) | |
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