Oct 20, 2007

As airports look to retail revenue, travelers get more shopsBy APDailyHerald.com

New York — If you’ve done any traveling lately, you’ve likely noticed that many airports are looking more like malls.

“I was kind of surprised to see jewelry here,” said Jackie Steven of Aberdeen, Scotland, while doing a little preflight shopping at Newark Liberty International Airport one recent afternoon. “You don’t expect jewelry.”

But jewelry is just one of the many new retail offerings popping up in airports. Fliers are as likely to find a Brooks Brothers or Victoria’s Secret as an overpriced doughnut cart. Weary road warriors can spend layovers in a spa as well as a bar. And if you forget something for the kids, your choices are no longer limited to a few racks of marked-up gift store knickknacks. Name-brand toy stores are cropping up in terminals nationwide.

Airports fund their basic operating costs and infrastructure improvements out of the money they charge airlines to land, passengers to fly and stores to lease space. In addition to paying for labor and construction, airports have had to improve security procedures and accommodate more travelers for longer periods of time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Airports have responded by improving their retail and restaurant offerings to add revenue and meet the needs of passengers. Some airport operators believe their mix of shops and eateries gives them a competitive advantage over other airports.

Gone indeed are the days when air travelers’ shopping and eating choices were few and overpriced. Many airports have gone so far as to implement “street pricing” policies, in which stores are required to charge no more for goods sold in the airport than they charge elsewhere.

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