US. Autogrill, through its US HMSHost division, has renewed its food & beverage and retail services concessions agreement at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where the group has operated since 1994.
The company will carry on its F&B business for another ten years and its retail operations (excluding duty free which has been awarded to Duty Free Americas) for another seven. These are expected to produce total revenues in excess of US$1.2 billion over the total duration of the contracts.
The agreement covers 44 points of sale, 31 F&B and 13 retail, which are in Concourse C and the new Terminal where the airport’s international traffic is concentrated.
The locations under renewal plus the other 35 retail stores HMSHost operates bring the total number of locations managed to 79.
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Travellers will be able to use the ‘B4 You Board’ service, a smartphone application developed exclusively by Autogrill through HMSHost.
B4 You Board enables travellers to order a meal and pay for it in advance and pick it up in the restaurant or have it delivered to them at the boarding gate. Launched first at JFK in New York in 2011, the service is also available in the Minneapolis, Chicago O’Hare and Sacramento airports and will gradually be extended to other airports. The App can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple Store or Google Play.
HMSHost has introduced information & entertainment concepts at the airport such asThe Wall Street Journal and CNN International News, as well as stores like Touch Table offering all the latest developments from brands like Apple, Samsung and Blackberry.
The airport will also feature concepts developed in partnership with well-known chefs, from Lorena Garcia Tapas to Tony Morrow’s The Pecan and Chip Joyner’s The Real Chow Baby.
The new offering will also focus on regional specialities, with exclusive concepts like The Varsity, a traditional local brand and the world’s biggest drive-in restaurant. Other labels include Ecco, a restaurant with European cuisine ranked “Best New Restaurant in America” by Esquire magazine, and well-known brands such as Starbucks Coffee and French Meadow Bakery Café.
Atlanta Airport has seen strong growth in international travellers since the end of the 1990s (up +8.4% in 2011) and has become the world’s busiest airport, topping 90 million passengers . With the construction of the new Terminal in addition to the current Concourse E, the airport now has 40 international flight gates linking the capital of Georgia to over 80 destinations in 50 countries around the world.
Active in 111 airports in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, HMSHost operates in the top 20 airports in North America by passenger traffic.
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