Operations of Airports in Blackpool International Airport and the Haven Airport - Case Study Example

Reflective Report Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Title Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 INTRODUCTION 5 BLACKPOOL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 5 THE HIVE AIRPORT 8 NEW CASTLE 55O NORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 9 COMPARISON OF THE THREE AIRPORTS 10 CONCLUSION 10 REFERENCES 12 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS New Castle 55o N.I.A New Castle 55o North International Airport B.I.A Blackpool International Airport EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There has been an increase in the use of air as a mode of travelling. This is necessitated by the need to keep pace with the first moving world and the fact that this mode of travel is relatively faster. The key focus of travelling by air has been the ensuring passenger safety. However things are changing and more measures need to be put in place to enhance the customer experience. The layout of an airport and its management plays a big role in enhancing the passenger experience. This paper is a reflection of aviation experience. The paper seeks to compare the operations of different airports and how they are organised to ensure that while they continue to make profits, ensure safety and adhere to environmentally friendly operations, they also seek ways of enhancing the passenger experience. The main airport discussed is the B.I.A which is then compared to the Haven Airport and the New Castle 55 o N.I.A. Comparisons are made on the organization structure, airport layout, passenger flow and the development and expansion projects taking place. INTRODUCTION The use of airports is becoming an integral part of our travelling. Many more people today are forced to make choices on which airport to use based on several factors. For this reason they consider the pros and cons are important. Traditional factors such as availability and flight costs have been used before in informing the choice of an airport (Button et al, 1999). Recently other factors such as passenger experience, efficiency of the processes, customer care, public relations, airport and maintenance have come to the fore. To remain in a competitive position in the market, the different airports are charged with the responsibility of not only making sure that their customers are safe but they also enjoy the experience of travelling and being in the airport. According to Limao and Venables (2001), factors that help to create a better experience at the airport include good organization, utilities that make access to planes easier, better handling of luggage’s, variety of goods in the shopping malls and other key management strategies. Other factors such as the timely provision of flight information, excellent handling of delays and availability of space for travelers who wishes to work while waiting for their flights coupled with the provision of facilities for disabled persons, can go a long way in enhancing the travel experience of the customers (Hanoka, 2009). BLACKPOOL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT The airport can be classified as an ultra modern airport and with even bigger plans to expand it to help make the travelling experience more memorable for the clients. As outlined in its mission the airport seeks to ensure that the travelers are safe and that they enjoy a balanced travel experience which is integrated with the statewide aviation system. The airport also seeks to have a system which meets all the customers present and future needs while at the same time accommodating the responses from the wider public since it lays importance in earning public trust. Key among the strategies aimed at gaining public trust is ensuring that the airport remains environmentally friendly as stipulated in the Government regulations that require that airport ensure environmental planning are integrated with the master plan of the airport at large (Lijesen, 2001). The organisation of the airport management is well structured so as it can ensure that all areas are well catered for. At the senior most level of management there is the Director of the airport who is in charge of the different departments. Key among the departments is the department of business development which also oversees the commercial activities of the airport, and answers directly to the Director of the airport. There is also a legal department and finance department both of which works independently and answer to the airport Director. The operations department is charged with the most sensitive of the tasks since it is under this department that both the airside and terminal operations fall, the cargo and logistics operations, the safety and other security operations and also the navigation systems operations. Most of the responsibilities of the operations department are meant to ensure that the customer experience is enhanced and that their safety is well catered for during their stay at the airport. Swan (2007) states that, with poor management the reliability of large airports dwindles and hence they lose business to the smaller airports that operate in the region. This is a clear indication that even though the prices are of importance other softer factors will have an impact on the choice of an airport. B.I.A has a good layout with well designated airside and landside. The airside is the area in the airport that is designated for the passengers only and it from this area that the planes do arrive and depart. The landside is the general area of the airport where activities such as check-ins and security operations take place. Airport that has designated enough area for the landside are viewed as more passenger focused and hence the experience of travelling is more enhanced making the passengers want to use the airport even in the future since travelling is made more convenient (Brueckner, 2004). This gives enough room for the passengers to choose where they would like to spend much of their time in the airport. The B.I.A also has some major development projects that are taking place. One of them is the upgrade of the existing runway in order to accommodate bigger and more modern planes and the building of a new runway to be used by larger planes, which will see the capacity of the airport increase. B.I.A is currently building a new passenger terminal that will have the capacity of handling a bigger number of passengers. The new terminal will cost the airport an average of 156 million pounds. The most important aspect of the terminal is that it will have 15 stands. Cloughtery and Zhang (2009) state that, the higher the number of stands ensures that there are minimal delays when the passenger arrive or when they want to access the airside in readiness for their flight. This goes a long way in enhancing the making the passengers feel that they are in control while at the airport in opposition to the current style of operations where the many passengers feel they are being controlled (Button et al, 1999). THE HIVE AIRPORT In its mission statement, the airport indicates that it desires to make the travelling experience of their passengers a memorable one through the provision of a safe and personal services that are utilise the new technologies available. The airport also aims at becoming the pinnacle of the aviation industry by facilitating the provision of travel services using modern aircraft and enhancing the growth of passenger traffic. In the flow of passengers the airport has one of the most organised systems where once the passenger arrive, they move to the ticker purchase are and then to the ticket check in area. At this point their luggage is taken as they go through the different security checks reducing the hustle of having to take care of the luggage and at the same time be subjected to security checks. The airport has two parallel runways which makes the departure and arrival of flights much easier. The two runways are fitted with path indicators which enhance the safety at the airport. The docking area is also well organized and has azimuths guidance on where to stop and is well fitted with safe gates and other guiding systems. To further ensure that the passengers have a good experience during their travel, the airport authority has organized a system where there are taxis and buses that ferry passengers from the city and other neighbouring areas into the airport. In accordance to the set government regulations, the airport has several green initiatives such as the use of solar generated electricity for the most part of the airport and the use of “piezoelectricity” which is the generation of electricity through vibration (Lijesen, 2001s). NEW CASTLE 55O NORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT The airport aims at becoming a hub for the aviation industry in the UK by ensuring the highest level of satisfaction for the passengers, airlines and other stakeholders. To ensure that there is growth the airport seeks to reinvest at least 50% of the annual profits that it gains. The airport also has established green-Eco friendly standards which ensure the environment preservation and also efficiency of services in the airport. To further enhance the passenger experience, there are good transport links and car parks available at the airport. The airport also has a rail link in place which connects the terminals and the underground parking. The airport also has a fire station in place so as to deal with any events of fire that may arise. In its expansion plans, the airport is undertaking a construction project for a new runway which is approximately 3,000 feet longer than the current one so as to ease congestion and be able to accommodate much larger aircrafts. The organisation structure of the airport has the Chief Executive Officer at the helm of the airport operations. The different departments are headed by directors who answer directly to the Chief Executive Officer. The airport also has a public relations director who oversees project management and compliance with government standards. The airport has an aviation development program that ensures that it continues to grow and keeps abreast with the developments in the aviation industry. The airport also has different departments that take care of the airside and the landside of the airport. COMPARISON OF THE THREE AIRPORTS The use of the green technology is one of the key differences between the Hive airport and B.I.A. Another key difference is that the management of The Hive has at the top most position the shareholders of the company followed by the managing director and then the assistant managing director who also takes care of the human resources of the airport, while at the New Castle 55o N.I.A is the Chief Executive Officer. The airport also has an internal audit which answers directly to the Managing director. The Hive airport has similar departments to those of the B.I.A but stands out as it has put in place a public affairs department which is supposed to create a good relation with the surrounding communities by ensuring that their opinions and needs in terms of noise other forms of pollution is well addressed. The Hive also has put in place a facilities department which is charged with the responsibility of maintenance of the facilities at the airport which helps not only in cutting costs but also to ensure that the passengers get to use the facilities in good condition. The airports have given an equal attention to the security of the passengers at the airport. Unlike the other airports, the New Castle 55o N.I.A. has given priority to the compliance with different regulations as demonstrated by the establishment of the Compliance department headed by the Compliance manager. CONCLUSION Passenger experience is the core business of the aviation industry. This is not only left to the airlines but also the airports that offer terminal points on flights. The facilities at the airport, the management at the airport and other factors have a significant role to play in ensuring that the end to end journey is a good experience for the passengers (Hanoka, 2009). Traditional methods of choosing airports based on safety and other few measures seems to be toppled by other factors that are more appealing to the feelings, views and thoughts of the passengers. The experience at the airport is regarded as a multi-dimensional one and which is underpinned by more real events rather than the traditional ones. According to Aizeman (2004), most passengers will give preference an efficient and an airport that is trouble free since these are perceived to be more capable of handling delays and other unexpected events that could contribute to delays. REFERENCES Aizeman, J 2004, Endogenous pricing to market and financing cost. Journal of Monetary Economics, 51(4), pp. 691-712. Brueckner, J 2004, Network structure and airline scheduling. Journal of Industrial Economics, 52, pp. 291-312. Button, K et al., 1999, High technology employment and hub airports. Journal of Air Transport Management, 5, pp. 53-59. Cloughtery, J & Zhang, A 2009, Domestic rivalry and export performance: Theory and evidence from international Airline Markets, Canadian Journal of Economics, 42(2), pp. 440-468. Hanoka, S et al., 2009, Low cost carriers in Asia: deregulation, regional liberalization and secondary Airports, Research in Transport Economics, 17, pp. 25-36. Lijesen, M 2001, Hub premiums in European civil aviation. Transport Policy, 8(3), pp. 193-199. Limao, N & Venables, A 2001, Infrastructure, geographical disadvantage, transport costs and trade, The Word Bank Economic Review, 15(3), pp. 451-479. Swan, W 2007, Misunderstandings about airline growth. Journal of Air Transport Management, 13, pp. 3-8. Read More