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Managing Director Andrew Cornish briefs journalists before an extensive tour of the new-look Terminal 1 |
UK. Manchester Airport’s £50 million overhaul of its flagship Terminal 1, officially unveiled to the media last Thursday, is designed to create “a new airport experience” for travellers.
The Moodie Report joined local and national consumer media to tour the terminal and there’s no doubting the ambition and quality of the transformation of what had been a badly dilapidated 47 year-old terminal.
Manchester Airport Managing Director Andrew Cornish told The Moodie Report: “We’re really delighted and proud of what we’ve produced here. We’re proud for the airport, proud for the people that put it together, and proud for Manchester and the North West. I have to say that this really is a jewel in the crown for the North West of England.”
The project is part of a wider development of all Manchester Airport’s three terminals. Terminal 1 features one of the UK’s largest airside shopping complexes and a radically revamped flow designed to enhance and quicken the passengers’ journey.
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Andrew Harrison’s consumer vision at Manchester Airport Manchester Airport Commercial Director Andrew Harrison tells Martin Moodie about some of the key principles underpinning Terminal 1’s exciting new commercial offer |
The new-look T1 was designed following an extensive analysis of the passengers’ mentality as they travelled through the airport, led by UK company Human Engineering.
Psychologists monitored the “mental workload” of travellers, scrutinised their body language and monitored their comments and conversations to build up a picture of the emotions passengers experience from arriving at the airport to stepping onboard an aeroplane.
The results were then overlaid with lessons gleaned from the liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) limits introduced from late 2006 and the Glasgow Airport terrorist attack in 2007. As a result all pre-security shops were abolished in T1 and T2 departures and the whole commercial thrust refocused on airside.
T1 now boasts some 550 linear metres of retail frontage with retailers and food & beverage operators having contributed some £15 million worth of investment, creating 52 new units.
The 10,000sq m of retail and food & beverage space represents a +153% increase over the former area. Food & beverage alone has seen a tripling of seats.
Such a dated structure posed many challenges in creating a truly contemporary terminal, Cornish said, but the end result represents a triumph of collaboration.
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An aerial view of the ambitiously revamped Manchester Airport |
Click on the arrow to view a traveller’s first experience of the commercial area at Terminal 1 |
T1 benefits from a centralised £14 million 14-lane security area opened in April 2008, the same time as the main Biza tax and duty free store (now run by Autogrill’s UK subsidiary WDF) was unveiled.
Cornish said the company had adopted an integrated approach to both operational and commercial considerations. “The operational teams and the commercial teams have worked hand-in-hand to make sure that the security experience is as important as the retail experience, for example,” he told The Moodie Report. “The experience in security will have a heavy influence on what actually happens within retail and catering. If you have a bad experience then you’re not going to shop or eat or drink as much – it’s as simple as that.”
Post-security, the terminal is split into a series of zones, all designed to cater to the passengers’ changing state of mind. The first zone is known as “˜transference’ – a deliberately neutral, sterile area, free of advertising so that passengers can feel that they are transferring from the stress of check-in and security into a mellower area where their holidays begin.
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(Left to right) Commercial Director Andrew Harrison; Head of Retail Categories Steve Foster; Managing Director Andrew Cornish; Project Manager John Sherrington; and Major Projects Director Brad Miller; Photograph: Ian Howarth |
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A streamlined central security operation (above and below) is integral to maximising commercial dwell time |
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Zone 1 – Reassurance: The designers have tried to create a return to the “˜airport experience’ here, where the fun of the holiday truly begins. The zone caters for “˜holiday essentials’ such as currency, magazines, books, travel accessories and pharmaceuticals.
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Post-security, the first experience of the commercial offer is this stunning International Currency Exchange outlet |
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Travellers are constantly reassured by an unusually high number of flight information display screens around the terminal |
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Specialist retailer Sock Shop makes its long-awaited retail comeback at Terminal 1 |
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Note the delightful wayfinding provided by the ‘blue river’ of lights above the Thomas Cook Bureau de Change |
Zone 2 – Desire: This zone features the striking Biza duty free store (WDF) and the giant 835sq m Attitude tax free fashion department store run by The Nuance Group, split into three distinct areas – men’s, women’s and accessories.
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The Biza store’s big bold graphics and wide entrance lure the passenger into the impressive walkthrough store |
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The Nuance Group runs what has been dubbed the world’s biggest (850sq m) airport fashion emporium |
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The Nuance Group has also added a strong upscale element to the Manchester Airport T1 line-up |
Zone 3 – Explore: New outlets in this specialist retail-led zone include Mango, Fat Face, Monsoon and Kurt Geiger. Another highlight is a Be Relax spa which offers a wide range of relaxation and beauty treatments. There is also extensive community seating.
 | Fat Face and Mango are two of the big name high street brands integral to a diverse retail mix |
Zone 4 – Relax: This features a new Starbucks cafe and a number of food & beverage outlets from the likes of Giraffe and The Real Food Company. The airside Food Court on the upper mezzanine level is 1,530sq m and boasts attractive views over the airfield and departure lounge.
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The Be Relax spa literally takes the stress out of travel |
As he welcomed journalists to the tour, Andrew Cornish noted: “The fundamental principles of the terminal development are based around the customer.” The terminal he said had been designed to make the journey easy and “fun”.
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This iconic Veuve Clicquot Champagne display typifies the bold, engaging approach within the Biza store |
“Airports have become a necessary evil if you want to travel and we have tried to turn that on its head,” he commented.
Manchester Airport had addressed “areas of confusion and distress” for travellers, he added, citing landside retail, check-in and security.
Since August 2006 (the date of the UK terror alert), there has been a +75% increase in security lanes at the airport. Now, Cornish promised, 95% of passengers will clear security in less than eight minutes.
Commercial Director Andrew Harrison added: “This started out as a retail scheme… but very quickly we realised that this was actually a terminal redevelopment scheme, an opportunity to really change the look and feel of the airport.”
He said the company had attempted to create “a real Sense of Place”, adding: “We’ve also really tried to evoke a sense of romance – the holiday starts here.”
He continued: “We’ve put an awful lot of effort in terms of design. This is an old building with lots of columns and low ceilings.” Out of that, he said, a whole new experience had been created.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Manchester Airport takes particular pride in its food & beverage offer, which, both at T1 and T2, is among the best The Moodie Report has seen in a European airport.
SSP’s post-security execution of its in-house Caffè Ritazza concept in T2 is outstanding, the dining offer being superbly complemented by the distinctive white “˜wasps’ nest’ structure that adorns the outlet (see picture).
SSP enjoys a particularly strong presence at T1 with a portfolio that includes Burger King, Caffè Ritazza, The Real Food Company, Runway Bar and Soho Coffee Co. A new Starbucks cafe and a typically vibrant Giraffe outlet (The Restaurant Group) add further diversity to the mix.
Throughout both T1 and T2 there’s a commendable focus on local and regional flavours as well as big international names. If you haven’t tried the delights of Eccles cake or Manchester Tart, you’ll get the opportunity here.
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SSP has brought its best game to town in T1 with possibly its best execution of the Caffè Ritazza concept |
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Manchester Airport has tripled the number of seats in its food & beverage areas |
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Starbucks is one of the big international names at T1. Note the strong emphasis on general seating areas |
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Soho Coffee Co offers a range of freshly prepared foods as well as its core organic coffee offer |
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(Above) Most of the landside commercial offer is found in the arrivals area; (Below) State-of-the-technology has been utilised to speed passenger processing | |
TERMINAL 2
Courtesy of Head of Retail Categories Steven Foster, The Moodie Report was also treated to a tour of T2, where a major commercial revamp is nearing completion, underpinned by a £10 million overhaul of the security area in July 2008.
There, as with T1, landside retail has (apart from Arrivals) all been moved airside in an effort to minimise consumer stress and maximise commercial dwell times airside.
T2 caters for a combination of charter and long-haul flights, and its focus on the holiday maker is reflected in its retail mix. The Claire’s accessories store, for example, does well here. So does the sunglasses offer from The Nuance Group’s Temptations brand.
WDF’s Biza brand – itself the subject of a £3.5 million investment by the retailer – dazzles, particularly with its multi-media ‘content-tainment’ wall.
Another highlight is the 540sq m Observatory Bar – “a real step forward for SSP,” enthuses Foster – while The Restaurant Group is set to open a Frankie & Benny’s outlet in coming weeks, an important first for Manchester Airport.
As in T1 the Food Court embraces a range of offers, from self-service to table-service; international to local flavours; health food and fast food. “There’s something for everyone here,” says Foster.
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Check-in: Bright, airy spaces and excellent wayfinding are key traits of the revamped airport |
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T2’s diverse retail offer, which includes Nuance-run Temptation, Claire’s and Dixons (below) is targeted at leisure holidaymakers while the food & beverage range includes strong local names such as Broderick’s | |
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COMMENT
“Something for everyone” is indeed an apt description of Manchester Airport in general. It’s good to see an airport company that is so acutely conscious of its consumers’ feelings, wants and concerns. Many a larger international airport could learn from the way Manchester has focused equally on the operational and the commercial, knowing that the two are mutually dependent.
You can have the greatest stores in the world but if you leave your passengers stranded in security queues, you’ll never maximise your commercial revenues. Manchester Airport has realised that but, equally importantly, has sought to calm and reassure its passengers as soon as they get airside, not just seek to take their money.
There are many highlights – a really great International Currency Exchange outlet immediately post-security (who said foreign exchange has to be boring?); the vibrant liquor section of the Biza store; the brilliant Food Court; the lovely window displays of the Mango and Kurt Geiger stores, for example. But my overriding impression of the new-look terminals as I travelled home to London was of balance – balance in the diversity of food & beverage and retail offers; balance between customer comfort (plentiful seating) and commercial concerns; and balance between the international and the local.
Here’s an airport company that knows exactly who it’s catering to and which is determined to supply what they need and want.
[NOTE: We’ll bring you more detailed coverage of Manchester Airport in a special edition of The Moodie Report PLUS in coming weeks.]
MORE STORIES ON MANCHESTER AIRPORT
Manchester Airport unveils new-look Terminal 1 following £80 million investment – 02/07/09
bmibaby launches new routes from Manchester – 01/04/09
New EYE study tracks flyers’ airport observations – 19/03/09
The Nuance Group provides fashion with flair at new Manchester Airport department store – 09/12/08
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