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. The following tasks and resulting information will be described in a concise report: (1) Review existing literature. (2) Collect parking and financial data on airports (NPIAS Primary Hub-large, medium, small, nonhub) that currently charge for parking. The scope of data collection includes airport parking rates, operational and financial statistics, geographic characteristics, availability and strength of parking competition, existing modes of access accommodated at the airport, and choice economic indicators of the markets served. (3) Summarize the data to enable effective interpretation of data for potential users of this synthesis study. (4) Array data considering factors such as geography/region/climate, size of metropolitan area and number of airports serving the catchment area, number of on- and off-airport parking spaces, amenities and location versus occupancy, competition from off-airport parking operators and other ground access modes, airport revenue needs/goals, and other parameters deemed of importance. (5) Describe the relationships between parking pricing, revenues and components to parking pricing. (6) Provide case examples from interview of at least five airports that highlight a range of practices for understanding the components that airports deem important in setting parking pricing to achieve goals. (7) Describe further research from gaps identified in the research.

• 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: 20200323
• 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