Errol McGlothan explans why strategic partnerships are cornerstone to the success of lounge operator, Airport Dimensions.
In today’s fast-paced aviation sector, partnerships are becoming increasingly important in creating new opportunities and delivering progress.
For Airport Dimensions, these alliances are not just simple business deals, they are at the heart of our approach to innovation and improving airport experiences.
Collaborating with best-in-class partners is helping us deliver quality outcomes across our operations and helping us adapt to variations in demands or tastes across the world.
Pushing the boundaries of experiences
At the heart of our strategy is the goal to transform airport passenger experiences, making their journeys as inspiring and rewarding as time spent at their chosen destinations.
We are using different kinds of collaboration across our business to develop and deliver solutions that enhance airport revenues, create distinctive experiences and align with our brand propositions, or those of the partners we are working with to deliver branded experiences for their customers.
This is driving us to push back boundaries and create new possibilities, whether this is in the wellness space, the gaming arena, modernising dining or redefining airport retail – all offerings that we know are in demand amongst passengers.
Partnering for excellence
In developing our business, we seek out delivery partners who share both our commitment to excellence and passion for innovation. For example, our collaboration with SSP and Travel Food Services to create the recently opened Kyra Lounge experience at Hong Kong International
Airport exemplifies how pooling expertise can help us create propositions perfectly positioned for market success.
Attributes of a great partner
At the core of our partnership approach is a desire to work with organisations that share our values, as this makes for the most efficient and aligned working relationship.
In practice, this creates the potential for multidimensional thinking by bringing together leaders with deep expertise. Cultural fit, underpinned by consistent performance and solid financial returns, is the foundation for any successful partnership.
A holistic understanding of market audiences is also key, we have a wide portfolio of different brands, each of which cater to a different audience demographic with their own diverse needs.
For instance, our lounges in the UK need an F&B partner who can deliver a range of experiences from the truly premium to more mainstream market and value conscious. In APAC, it is important that we work with F&B partners who have an intrinsic understanding of quality, authentic local cuisine.
Driving digital transformation
We’ve partnered with hospitality platform Servy to implement Connecta at Los Angeles International Airport as a turn-key solution to help it track and analyse traveller behaviours, and then engage them with real-time loyalty and marketing incentives driving incremental revenue to airports and their concession partners.
We are excited to offer this next gen digital marketplace programme first at LAX and believe in its potential to be adopted widely at other airports in our quest to deliver innovative ways to bring together the physical and digital experience at the airport to meet traveller needs in our lounges and beyond.
Qualities of successful partnerships
We believe that successful partnerships are shaped by three key attributes: shared ambition, complementary capabilities and a commitment to success.
We know that partnerships must be so much more than business deals to be successful. But they do not come together without a clear recognition of strengths on both sides, a clear vision of what success looks like and a great deal of hard work behind the scenes.
Then there is the challenge of proving to customers that a partnership will deliver on its promises of combined strengths, which is where a strong track record like the one Airport Dimensions has been building with partners around the world really helps.
By aligning with like-minded organisations and leveraging complementary strengths, we can achieve breakthroughs and continue to raise the bar in airport experiences to benefit passengers, operators and our respective businesses.
This is why we are committed to developing partnerships as a key strand of our growth strategy.
About the author
Errol McGlothan is the managing director of Airport Dimensions.