USA. The US$5.1 billion invested in New York LaGuardia Terminal B has transformed this passenger facility into one of the great travel experiences in North America. Senior Business Editor Mark Lane discusses its commercial strategy and progress with LaGuardia Gateway Partners Chief Operating Officer Suzette Noble.
The Moodie Davitt Report: What was LaGuardia Gateway Partners’ over-arching vision for LaGuardia Terminal B and how is commercial integrated into the terminal building and experience?
Suzette Noble: Working closely with our P3 partners, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, LaGuardia Gateway Partners’ vision for LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B was to create a modern and efficient airport terminal which would offer guests a world-class gateway to New York City.
In that vein, the new terminal was designed to integrate commercial spaces seamlessly into the passenger experience, offering a wide range of food, beverage, and retail options for travellers.
Featuring over 35,000sq ft of concession space, the commercial offerings within the terminal were carefully curated in partnership with the Port Authority, to reflect the local culture and community.
The terminal design centres the majority of commercial options where passengers naturally gather – within our Arrivals & Departures Hall surrounded by natural light, greenery, and comfortable seating for passengers alongside our now-iconic water feature.
This design approach is intended to provide a more enjoyable and stress-free environment for passengers and visitors, while also maximising guest engagement opportunities for our commercial partners.
Who are Terminal B’s core user groups?
Given its proximity to Manhattan, LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B has always been a favourite for both business and leisure travellers. We’re thrilled to see a steady increase in business travellers returning to the terminal, but leisure travellers remain our main constituency for the time being.
The shift of many roles to remote work has driven an increase in blended travellers as well that are attending to both work and fun while they travel. This is likely to be a trend we see continuing in the near-term.
What elements of the commercial offer have worked best so far?
We’ve seen tremendous success and a great reception from our guests to our strong New York City Sense of Place, which is woven throughout the terminal experience and delivered via relevant local brands. These include The Strand, Eli’s, Zaro’s, McNally Jackson, The Met, Made in Queens maker products plus many more.
Our guests can find both the essential items that are needed for travel as well as the types of enjoyable shopping experiences that would be expected from an iconic New York City airport such as LaGuardia.
How important is Sense of Place, including the many art installations, to delivering the experience?
As part of the Vantage Airport Group network, one of our shared priorities with the Port Authority was to infuse a Sense of Place throughout the terminal. We celebrate New York City throughout the building from the curb to gate – from shops and dining to artwork and even see it reflected in the storefront façades.
We’re especially proud of our one-of-a-kind water feature, which uses a combination of three laser projectors, two media servers, and a talented team of content designers (including programmers, visual artists, and sound engineers). We have created a series of signature shows celebrating New York City and its vibrancy projected onto the water feature every fifteen minutes.
The terminal’s interior environment was designed to evoke the excitement and beauty of New York City and its remarkable cultural diversity.
Post-security retail and dining ‘neighbourhoods’ include offerings from local brands such as Brooklyn Diner, Junior’s Cheesecake, Eli’s as well as dining experiences from acclaimed local chefs such as La Chula from Chef Julian Medina and Mulberry Street by Chef Marc Forgione.
Guests travelling through the terminal are treated to public art installations that The New York Times compared to the city’s best art galleries. In partnership with Public Art Fund, four of the world’s leading artists were commissioned to create site-specific works which would ultimately become part of the fabric of the building itself.
The four artists (Jeppe Hein, Sabine Hornig, Laura Owens, and Sarah Sze) were each encouraged to draw on their personal experiences of NYC in creating their individual installations. For example, Hornig’s work evokes stained glass in a sanctuary, showcasing NYC buildings in such high definition that you could spend hours looking through the visible windows.
How does the F&B and retail offer chime with evolving traveller needs?
We offer a range of dining and shopping experiences geared towards all types of travellers, which is what speaks to our guests. These range from grab & go, quick service and full-service dining as well as shopping experiences tailored to our guests needs – travel sundries, luxury items, a wide selection of beauty items including iconic makeup brands and fragrance, as well as great giftable items and souvenirs.
We hear from our guests time and time again that the programme connects to them because it is so diverse and well-rounded; we have a little bit of everything for all of our guests to enjoy and relax in as a part of their travel experience.
How much space has been given to leisure and entertainment purposes in the new terminal? How important is this to the overall passenger experience?
Our commercial programme and terminal aesthetic both recognise that travel can be stressful and are designed to minimise this as much as possible. Our guest experience is designed to put our passengers at ease so that their enjoyable trip can begin the moment they enter the building.
Leisure and entertainment are clearly featured prominently in the design of Terminal B itself and is reflected in many of the elements we’ve spoken about today. From our world-class art programme to park spaces, and kids’ play areas, our facility is designed to emphasise guest enjoyment.
This design aesthetic allows our commercial offerings to exist in a physical space which allows for and encourages relaxation.
I do believe we’ll see more and more airports focus on integrating entertainment into their guest experience as a successful strategy to engage the flying public and incorporate the airport experience into the travel journey more holistically.
How will you adapt and evolve the concessions programme in Terminal B to remain relevant as consumer behaviours and
trends change?
Our commercial partners are incredible innovators who are always evaluating how best to serve the changing needs of our guests. We are continually collaborating to assess the feedback we receive from guests and develop plans to meet those changing needs.
The recent opening of Starbucks in the building is a great example of how we continue to evolve to serve our passengers. We know that our guests loved our coffee programme, which includes local partners such as Irving Farms and Zaro’s and our national brand offering from Dunkin’. Starbucks is another piece of the puzzle that provides something our guests are looking for.
Furthermore, our retail partners are continually introducing new partnerships and offerings that speak to what our guests are telling us they love. Examples include more Lego offerings in The Bowery Bay, expanded pastry offerings from Eli’s Essentials, new grab & go food items in our sundries shops, and travel exclusives from MAC and The Beauty Hub.
We are listening to our guests and working closely with our partners to constantly innovate and enhance our offerings to provide the right mix of offerings.
How has digital been exploited in supporting passengers and the commercial offer in the new terminal?
In addition to traditional Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS), we also developed a secondary FIDS system to help our guests make decisions on how to spend their time at the terminal. The unique design includes information on walking distances to the gates as well as messaging to either ‘go to gate’ or ‘relax’ based on flight departure time.
The ‘relax’ message lets guests know they can explore and enjoy our amenities and commercial offerings. In recent years, the Port Authority also added game-changing digital features to their LaGuardia website, including real-time security wait times, taxi wait times, and parking availability with an option to pre-book.
We also offer guests a one-stop-shop for their journey via our digital assistant, a central point where passengers can check on flight status, book a porter to help with bags upon arrival, find directions to their ride-share or taxi pickup points, book a B-fast security pass, and even order food to pick up. It brings the full experience together for passengers – like a concierge in a fine hotel.
How are you measuring user reaction to the concessions programme, and ultimately your success here in LaGuardia Terminal B?
Our recently announced 5-Star rating from Skytrax offered us some incredibly validating feedback and we’re excited to be the first terminal in North America to achieve this prestigious rating. We were also thrilled to be recognised by Skytrax further with recognition as the World’s Best New Airport Terminal.
These achievements are the result of the hard work and dedication of the entire Terminal B community – and our close collaboration with the Port Authority – and we couldn’t be prouder.
Besides these external accolades, we survey our guests each month to measure and track our overall Net Promoter score. Questions related to our commercial programme and how our guests are receiving it are a big part of this research.
These results combined with revenue and other forms of guest feedback allow us to measure our success and highlight areas of focus for continual improvement. 
