UK. Leading UK airport authority Manchester Airports Group today announced an innovative new element to its commercial services by launching the Travel Extras Store at Manchester, East Midlands, Bournemouth and Humberside airports.
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“We are looking to expand the amount of touch points we have with our customers and I want the new online store to offer our users the best products available to them“ |
Andrew Harrison Commercial Director Manchester Airport |
The holiday extras market – including car parking and airport lounges – is estimated to be worth around £5 billion, and the airport group believes it can generate significant revenues from the sector.
Four out of five travellers pay for extras once they have booked holidays, and the airport group already supplies products such as car parking.
The first phase of the launch includes a new lounge at Manchester Airport, the opportunity to book private jet flights and overseas assistance packages.
More products are planned for later in the year as the group works towards a comprehensive one-stop solution for travellers.
New terminal at Bournemouth Airport
The Travel Extras Store will also support the launch of a new terminal at Bournemouth Airport, which will be unveiled in June.
Bournemouth, East Midlands and Humberside Regional Marketing Director Caroline Plant welcomed the news, saying: “We’re growing our business significantly this year with the opening of a new terminal at Bournemouth. It will extend our reach into the marketplace even further, while the new store will give our passengers more choice over the type of products they want to support them on their travels.
“We want passengers to choose our airports over our competitors and we want to improve those customer relationships that we already have. The new store will be a key part of that process.”
New Escape Lounge at Manchester T1
Manchester will also host a new Escape Lounge in Terminal 1. It will stand alongside the new Emirates Lounge, opened in October 2009, which will welcome passengers travelling on the A380 from September.
Click on the icon above to view a video of the new Escape Lounge concept at Manchester Airport |
Manchester Airport Commercial Director Andrew Harrison said: “Last year was a massive success for the £80 million worth of improvements we unveiled in the terminals and we have subsequently seen passengers spending more. We completely rejuvenated old infrastructure and modernised it for the benefit of the consumer and we were delighted with the results.
“By unveiling the new store, we’re looking to expand the amount of touch points we have with our customers and I want the new online store to offer our users the best products available to them.”
The Travel Extras Store will also offer the opportunity to hire private jets via the airport’s partnership with Private Fly. Private Fly is an internet broker, bringing together passengers with private jet operators, flying to any airfield of choice – a service that proved useful during the recent volcanic ash crisis, the company said.
Call Uma will provide overseas assistance and luggage tracking services, offering travellers multilingual help and information across all time zones and locations.
To see the full list of products available at each airport visit: www.manchesterairport.co.uk, www.eastmidlandsairport.com, www.humbersideairport.com and www.bournemouthairport.com
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In related news, Manchester Airport will host the first-ever Airport Food & Beverage Conference and Awards, run by The Moodie Report on 6 and 7 September 2010.
The event, which will begin with an informal Opening Cocktail on 5 September, is themed “˜Championing Innovation and Excellence in Airport Food & Beverage’.
Confirmed speakers to date include Manchester Airport CEO Andrew Cornish; Rick Blatstein, President and Founder of acclaimed independent US airport F&B operator OTG Management; SSP Chief Executive Andrew Lynch; and HMSHost President and CEO Elie W. Maalouf.
They will be joined by Manfred Funke, Manager Horeca (Hotel, Retail, Catering) at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol; Manchester Airport Commercial Director Andrew Harrison; Doug Tomlinson, CEO of US airport wine bar specialists Vino Volo; Rajeev Panjwani, Managing Director of India’s leading F&B concessionaire Travel Food Services; Peter Martin, Founder, Peach Factory and Peach Report; and David King, Director of The David King Partnership.
