Synthesis of Information Related to Airport Practices. Topic S01-25. Airport Parking Pricing Strategies

Parking facilities are one of the most significant non-aeronautical revenue contributors to airport finances. However, airports vary significantly from each other in terms of revenue collected through operating parking facilities. A quick review of the top 10 business airports in the U.S. (as measured by total enplaned passengers) identified that parking revenue ranges from $36.6 million to $190 million in 2018. Parking revenues are not specifically tied to airport annual enplanements, but are determined by many complex factors. When an investigation to uncover connections between parking revenue and components to parking pricing is missing, it is likely that airports are not pricing parking resources appropriately. This mismatch may lead to less optimal utilization of parking resources and generation of airport revenue, and reduce benefits to the traveling public and other community stakeholders. This study aims to depict a national airport parking pricing landscape to assist airport authorities’ review and benchmark how they manage parking facilities through pricing. Results of this synthesis are expected to (1) help airport authorities optimize parking pricing at airports, and (2) assist the traveling public to make economically sound decisions when accessing airports. Parking pricing strategies have been thoroughly studied in the context of urban transportation and congestion. These urban area specific analyses focus almost exclusively on the impacts and best practices for congested areas. Despite many inquiries focusing on either urban and airport parking, no readily available resource exists for airport operators to answer questions such as "What rate should I charge for my airport parking?" or "Should airports use flat rate pricing or switch to dynamic pricing?" Airport authorities would benefit from a review and compilation of airport parking pricing practices around the U.S. This synthesis would complement literature resources on airport parking maintenance, lighting, safety, and provide airport officials with another resource that informs micro-level financial decision making relating to parking pricing. The objective of this synthesis is to compile practices in airport pricing strategies of parking facilities at commercial service airports to better understand components that airport managers use in setting parking rates. The audience for this synthesis is airport parking and finance managers responsible for managing competing goals and setting airport parking pricing policy.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4905
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $45000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 11-03, Topic S01-25

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Airport Cooperative Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Project Managers:

  Staba, Gail

• Start Date: 20191125
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airports; Decision making; Literature reviews; Optimization; Parking facilities; Parking fees; Pricing
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Finance; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01723643
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 11-03, Topic S01-25
• Files: TRB, RiP
• Created Date: Nov 25 2019 3:12PM