By almost every measure, 2015 was a good year for the airline industry. U.S. airlines and foreign carriers serving the U.S. flew an all-time high of 895.5 million passengers last year, up 5% from the previous record high of 853.1 million reached in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Twenty-sixteen is on track to be another record-smasher.
TOP AIRPORT TERMINAL ARCHITECTURE AND A/E FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Corgan $65,839,265
2. HOK $60,840,000
3. Gensler $44,390,000
4. Gresham, Smith and Partners $25,600,000
5. RS&H $24,300,000
6. Stantec $19,226,351
7. HNTB Corporation $15,998,381
8. HKS $15,309,071
9. Leo A Daly $13,529,252
10. Alliiance $11,260,000
That’s good news for AEC firms that design and construct airport facilities. “Airports and airlines are pulling the trigger on projects that have been in conceptual mode for many years,” says Robert Chicas, AIA, LEED AP, SVP/Director of Aviation and Transportation Practice at HOK. Terminal construction in the U.S. will grow from $5 billion in 2015 to $5.9 billion in 2016, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. Terminal work will reach $8 billion in five years.
New York’s LaGuardia Airport has $4 billion of construction in the works. The domestic terminal at Atlanta’s mammoth Hartsfield-Jackson is undergoing a $393 million modernization. Most of the nation’s other major airport authorities also have expansion or modernization on their minds.
Self-service ticketing kiosks have already allowed airlines to reduce the number of ticketing agents and shrink ticket counters. “There may be a point where there are no ticket agents,” Chicas says. Less space for ticketing opens up more areas for revenue-generating services, he says. Airlines might even locate their premium flyers clubs in those locations.
Security operations are a critical factor in today’s terminal design. New technology could help alleviate this frustrating experience, but to have the biggest impact, airports have to revamp the whole security process, says Damon Brady, Division Leader for Intelligent Infrastructure at Leidos. “Infrastructure has been set up as a series of checkpoints—information display, ticketing, security, shopping, gate holding areas, boarding areas,” he says.
TOP AIRPORT TERMINAL ENGINEERING AND E/A FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Jacobs $138,770,000
2. Burns & McDonnell $71,332,857
3. WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff $61,418,000
4. Arup $38,079,330
5. Ghafari Associates $22,500,000
6. Ross & Baruzzini $11,121,605
7. Walter P Moore $7,476,835
8. Woolpert $6,272,452
9. Jensen Hughes $6,023,819
10. Leidos $5,707,000
Each step adds time to the procession from front door to departure gate. Instead, passengers could use mobile technology to check in, obtain boarding passes, and print out baggage tickets themselves.
Airports in Europe and Asia have already revamped customs procedures for international arrivals. In the past, passengers presented their passports before getting their bags, then proceeded to another checkpoint with bags in tow. Now, it’s a one-stop process: Passengers pick up their bags before queuing up at Customs. The new process does require larger pre-screening areas for passengers toting luggage, says Daniel Diez, RA, Senior Associate at contractor Heery International.
Some overseas airports have introduced pre-screening mobile apps that speed up the customs process. Passengers enter biographical and flight information that can be verified by computer before the plane lands. In the U.S., the TSA may follow suit, possibly for domestic flights as well, Diez says. These new technologies and procedures should improve passenger flow, but in the short term, the trend is toward larger security gate areas.
In Europe, there is a new approach to waiting areas near gates, says Fernando Gavarrete, AIA, Heery’s Vice President and South Florida Area Manager. “It used to be that you would provide seating for 80% of people waiting at the gate,” he says. “The trend in Europe is to only provide seats for a small percentage of the population, especially for the elderly and handicapped.” Everyone else waits in restaurants or elsewhere in the concession area.
TOP AIRPORT TERMINAL CONSTRUCTION AND CM FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Hensel Phelps $664,080,000
2. Turner Construction Co. $400,203,029
3. Austin Industries $341,922,742
4. Skanska USA $313,740,376
5. Walsh Group, The $283,239,511
6. Balfour Beatty US $140,722,239
7. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The $133,323,660
8. Manhattan Construction Group $129,346,000
9. Clark Group $126,144,654
10. McCarthy Holdings $125,989,779
AIRPORT GIANTS SPONSORED BY:
For this strategy to work, passengers must have real-time flight schedule information within eyesight to ensure they can make their flights. This may require more flight information screens, though many passengers are using their mobile electronic devices for status updates.
Airport operators want to get passengers through security and into the concession area as quickly as possible. “When passengers are more relaxed, they are more likely to shop,” says Enrique Melendez, Leidos’s Market Technology Leader. Every airport operator wants to boost revenue via more and better concessions.
With concessions essentially becoming gate holding areas, there is an opportunity for merchants to bring their products to the people, Brady says. Dynamic, personalized advertising can allow waiting passengers to order and pay for food or goods on their mobile devices, then dash into the store to pick up their orders—or even have them delivered to their seats. Retailers might even want to demonstrate products in front of waiting passengers. Plenty of space to accommodate such sales techniques, comfortable seating, and ample smartphone charging outlets will be needed to optimize this strategy.
The recent introduction of Airbus’s giant A380 model, which holds up to 544 passengers, means gates have to be expanded to accommodate boarding and disembarking the megaplane. “When one comes in, 500 passengers are looking for a bathroom as soon as they get off the plane,” says Gaverette. More and bigger bathrooms might be needed as more of these behemoths take to the skies.
The demand for design and construction services to provide additional capacity and modernize terminals bodes well for AEC firms working in the airport market. Those trends should result in several years of strong demand—a welcome change from the doldrums of the Great Recession.
The new Air Traffic Control Tower at San Francisco International Airport was recently named the Grand Conceptor award winner by the American Council of Engineering Companies. The new tower, designed by Walter P Moore (SE) to withstand a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, replaced the 1960s-era tower that was temporarily knocked out of commission during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It will open in October. Photo: © John Swain Photography. Click to enlarge.
RETURN TO THE GIANTS 300 LANDING PAGE
Related Stories
Construction Costs | Apr 18, 2024
New download: BD+C's April 2024 Market Intelligence Report
Building Design+Construction's monthly Market Intelligence Report offers a snapshot of the health of the U.S. building construction industry, including the commercial, multifamily, institutional, and industrial building sectors. This report tracks the latest metrics related to construction spending, demand for design services, contractor backlogs, and material price trends.
MFPRO+ New Projects | Apr 16, 2024
Marvel-designed Gowanus Green will offer 955 affordable rental units in Brooklyn
The community consists of approximately 955 units of 100% affordable housing, 28,000 sf of neighborhood service retail and community space, a site for a new public school, and a new 1.5-acre public park.
Construction Costs | Apr 16, 2024
How the new prevailing wage calculation will impact construction labor costs
Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, two pivotal changes in federal construction labor dynamics are likely to exacerbate increasing construction labor costs, according to Gordian's Samuel Giffin.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 16, 2024
Mexico’s ‘premier private academic health center’ under design
The design and construction contract for what is envisioned to be “the premier private academic health center in Mexico and Latin America” was recently awarded to The Beck Group. The TecSalud Health Sciences Campus will be located at Tec De Monterrey’s flagship healthcare facility, Zambrano Hellion Hospital, in Monterrey, Mexico.
Market Data | Apr 16, 2024
The average U.S. contractor has 8.2 months worth of construction work in the pipeline, as of March 2024
Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator increased to 8.2 months in March from 8.1 months in February, according to an ABC member survey conducted March 20 to April 3. The reading is down 0.5 months from March 2023.
Laboratories | Apr 15, 2024
HGA unveils plans to transform an abandoned rock quarry into a new research and innovation campus
In the coastal town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., an abandoned rock quarry will be transformed into a new research and innovation campus designed by HGA. The campus will reuse and upcycle the granite left onsite. The project for Cell Signaling Technology (CST), a life sciences technology company, will turn an environmentally depleted site into a net-zero laboratory campus, with building electrification and onsite renewables.
Codes and Standards | Apr 12, 2024
ICC eliminates building electrification provisions from 2024 update
The International Code Council stripped out provisions from the 2024 update to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that would have included beefed up circuitry for hooking up electric appliances and car chargers.
Urban Planning | Apr 12, 2024
Popular Denver e-bike voucher program aids carbon reduction goals
Denver’s e-bike voucher program that helps citizens pay for e-bikes, a component of the city’s carbon reduction plan, has proven extremely popular with residents. Earlier this year, Denver’s effort to get residents to swap some motor vehicle trips for bike trips ran out of vouchers in less than 10 minutes after the program opened to online applications.
Laboratories | Apr 12, 2024
Life science construction completions will peak this year, then drop off substantially
There will be a record amount of construction completions in the U.S. life science market in 2024, followed by a dramatic drop in 2025, according to CBRE. In 2024, 21.3 million sf of life science space will be completed in the 13 largest U.S. markets. That’s up from 13.9 million sf last year and 5.6 million sf in 2022.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 12, 2024
Habitat starts leasing Cassidy on Canal, a new luxury rental high-rise in Chicago
New 33-story Class A rental tower, designed by SCB, will offer 343 rental units.