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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Guide for In-Terminal Airport Concession Programs</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2226016</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Strategies and models for in-terminal airport concessions continue to evolve. Airports have to demonstrate resiliency and use innovative thinking to provide flexibility to concessionaires in a new environment. Escalating capital, labor, and operating costs have strained the existing business model of in-terminal concessions, while e-commerce, digitalization, and changing demand patterns have challenged traditional ways of understanding airport in-terminal concessions.

Airports are looking for opportunities and approaches to become more agile and ensure their concessions programs provide a best-in-class experience for passengers while optimizing revenue to help meet rising airport operating costs and ongoing debt and enhance airport financial self-sufficiency.

Building a concessions program requires airports to have the data and tools necessary to determine the best concessions models and strategies. The goals of a concessions program include optimizing concessions space, ensuring a balanced concessions mix, reducing barriers of entry, and identifying appropriate contracting and management practices.

Research is needed to develop a guide to help airport operators develop and manage their in-terminal concession programs.

The objective of this research is to create a guide to help airport operators develop and manage their in-terminal concession programs. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Aug 2023 09:45:57 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Revenue and Financing Alternatives for Medium and Small U.S. Airports in an Evolving Aviation Landscape</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2226007</link>
      <description><![CDATA[ACRP Research Report 285: Revenue and Financing Alternatives for Medium and Small U.S. Airports in an Evolving Landscape provides medium, small, and non-hub airports with opportunities to improve their revenue production and related practices to better navigate the evolving landscape of aviation funding and market conditions. These opportunities were identified via a broad data collection effort, followed by a more deliberate plan to highlight specific case studies. The report will be of interest to the staff at medium, small, and non-hub airports as well as the consultant community that supports them.

U.S. airports generate significant economic benefits for their surrounding communities that often do not result in revenues to the airports. Medium, small, and non-hub airports [as classified according to the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) commercial airport categories, per the current (2025–2029) NPIAS published by the FAA on October 28th, 2024] in the United States typically rely on federal funding and conventional revenue models that may no longer be sufficient to support necessary maintenance and expansion, and they need to supplement their incomes. At the same time, the industry is evolving rapidly, creating new opportunities and challenges. The identification and generation of airport revenue streams and financing are essential to maintain fiscal responsibility and realize future growth of the airports and the communities they serve. Under ACRP Project 01-56, “Revenue and Financing Alternatives for Medium and Small U.S. Airports in an Evolving Aviation Landscape,” the Aviation Planning Group, LLC, was asked to create a guide and database for U.S.-based medium, small, and non-hub commercial service airports to increase and diversify revenue streams from existing and new sources and provide models for leveraging revenue sources to increase capital financing opportunities. The research included the development of a white paper, now included in Chapter 1, defining the scale of the issues, and case studies about relevant revenue opportunities, both successful and unsuccessful, as well as best practices from domestic and international airport industries and outside the aviation industry. In addition to ACRP Research Report 285, the following materials are available at https://doi.org/10.17226/29376. The following deliverables are available on this page as well: an Excel database exploring potential revenue generation opportunities found during the research for ACRP Research Report 285; a database user guide; and the Conduct of Research Report.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 08 Aug 2023 06:57:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2226007</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Incorporating Technologies into Airport In-Terminal Concession Programs</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2004698</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technologies in consumer purchase behavior and concessionaire operations. This is being reflected in airport in-terminal concessions. For example, e-commerce is often preferred to in-store purchasing of retail goods and food services, and some airports have started to implement omnichannel e-commerce platforms to deliver an advanced retail experience for passengers. The success of airport in-terminal concession programs will rely on much more than simply rolling out new technologies. Airports need to understand the challenges and opportunities these technologies might offer, how they would meet customer needs, and their impact on airport and concessions operations. However, there is little information and few resources available for airport operators to make informed decisions as they consider the incorporation of technologies into their in-terminal concessions programs.

The objective of this research is to develop a primer, framework, tools (e.g., flowchart, decision tree, checklist), and case studies to help airports identify, evaluate, select, and incorporate appropriate technologies into their in-terminal concessions programs.

The primer should define and describe relevant current and emerging technologies and document the role of technology in airport in-terminal concessions programs, with an emphasis on developments since 2019.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2022 10:56:03 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2004698</guid>
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