Listening and Learning: How the Passenger Experience Drives Airport Design

Designing and building an airport is a massive undertaking. Construction – whether for a new terminal or an entire facility – is often planned decades in advance. Complex permitting processes, a wide range of management philosophies, and government regulation of the air transport industry all combine to make these projects even more complex.
As a result, no two airport terminals are ever the same. But at Vantage, we think that’s a good thing. Airports can cater to tourists, locals, or business travelers, they may be busier at night or during the afternoon – the list goes on. Every facility has its own needs and challenges. Our philosophy is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to creating the best passenger experience possible. Whenever we join a project, whether a redevelopment or a new build, we listen, learn, and adapt.
First, We Listen – Responding to the Needs of Passengers and Airlines
To understand what the passengers of a particular airport need, we start with a listening tour. We listen to operations management, the airlines, local public safety, maintenance staff – and of course, passengers.
We look at who uses the airport, what the local community wants to see – and what people are used to. This can vary greatly from facility to facility – for example, some airport check-ins are mostly self-service kiosks, while others are still heavily reliant on staffed counters. Natural lighting can make an airport feel less confined and can even save on lighting bills – but what if the facility is busier at night? Even sustainability features, a priority for nearly every airport these days, need to be built to meet the needs of each specific airport. A rainwater collection system, for example, could save water in an arid region but could be an unnecessary use of electricity in a rainy one.
While there’s no cookie cutter template for creating an airport, Vantage does center the design process around key touch points – elements like restrooms, food and retail, security screening, and check-in. While they may not look the same in every airport, they’re important steps along the passenger journey—and often the most memorable elements of a terminal experience.
Build. Test. Revise, and Test Again
Every detail matters when building an airport that will be used by thousands of passengers a day. During the construction of the new Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, design teams explored around a dozen potential layouts for the check-in area. They created full simulations, including fly-through videos, to visualize each option. Embracing a client-centric approach, these virtual tours helped narrow down the choices to a shortlist. The team then built physical mock-ups using cardboard boxes on the terminal floor, walking through the space to experience it from a passenger’s perspective. Each development solution and decision-making process is unique; sometimes, drawings or fly-through videos suffice, while in other cases, physically standing in the space is more useful. At the new Terminal 6 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York – currently under construction – a working “test” restroom helps the team gather data and tweak the design based on how the restroom is actually used by passengers.
And there’s no substitute for seeing how these designs work in practice. To that end, mockup rooms are a place where we can bring airline partners, like The Port Authority in New York, as well as contractors and designers, to physically walk through the different elements and see what passengers will experience. Do wheeled bags get stuck on the carpets? Do these tiles look nice but make too much noise? Are the sinks at the right height? These are questions you can only answer by testing the space with actual people.
When it comes to really critical touch point items, you’ve got to try it out. When it doesn’t work, you pivot.
When teams are selecting furniture for airport seating areas, they seek input from maintenance and cleaning teams, who will pick up on small nuances, like a fold in a chair that could trap food and dust – that an architect or executive may not. Vantage procures all seating in advance and tests each piece in a live terminal to ensure a proper fit. This process helps identify any flaws early and leaves time to make necessary adjustments. Part of our success comes from being flexible, nimble, and forward-thinking, allowing us to adapt quickly and effectively to any challenges that arise.
Long-term Planning is Non-Negotiable
Airports are long-term developments. Even renovations or redevelopments can take many years to plan and complete. This can present a paradox. For example, IT infrastructure typically has a two-to-five-year lifespan, and airport operators run the risk of deploying features and technology that is outdated by the time the ribbon is cut on day one. Designers at Vantage work to create spaces that consider not just what travelers need and want today, but well into the future. Flexibility is the watchword, and floor space is designed so that it can be rearranged to accommodate changing habits. IT infrastructure is built with the capacity to be easily upgraded.
We always have an eye on where trends are headed.
While flexibility and a customized approach are hallmarks of Vantage’s approach, so is practicality. Through decades of experience at 30-plus airports, we have always focused on how to make things easier for passengers. Airports can be stressful places, and our team works hard to make sure they’re not asking travelers to make unnecessary decisions. This allows passengers to navigate the more stressful aspects of airport travel, such as check-in, bag drop, and security, with minimal hassle.
LaGuardia Terminal B offers a great example of this approach: after passengers clear security screening at the central TSA checkpoint, they follow a single set of escalators and elevators up to the expansive shopping and dining area. Once they reach this dynamic central space, they’re greeted with a variety of options for how to spend their time, before they must decide on one of just two paths, gates in concourse A or gates in Concourse B.
Vantage approaches every opportunity to build or redevelop an airport with a commitment to listen to our partners, test and readjust our plans if necessary, and above all put the guest experience first. We’re looking forward to working together to build the airports of the future, facilities that will last and deliver seamless travel experiences for years to come.
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