NEXTTravEl
sPEEd da TiNG airports get just 20 minutes
to woo airlines to consider fying to their city.
annual trade show/mating ritual in
which airports try to sell themselves
to airlines and get added to destination lists.
Route planning is an arcane
and drawn-out process—messy with
algorithmic solutions that take into
account geography, demographics, and
those ever-fuctuating fuel prices—that
determines where and when airlines
will put their steel in the air, as they
say in the industry. It’s an especially
difcult endeavor right now, with the
global economy so uncertain and the
airline business beaten down. The
International Air Transport Association estimates that the world’s airlines
will collectively lose around $5 billion
this year. So how do you navigate in
such turbulent conditions? To fnd
out, I spent some time at the Routes
Forum in October and learned that
the aviation industry is trying to rally
with a little male bonding and a whole
lot of hustle.
The hype begins, as at many other
trade shows, with the swag. As representatives of airports from Abu Dhabi
to Zagreb move into their tricked-out
booths, they hand out (and collect)
enough freebies to trigger some
massive excess-baggage fees after the
conference. (We’re guessing everyone’s
exempt.) There are golf shirts, stress
balls, and even tiny bottles of anise
liqueur courtesy of the Prague booth.
And there are logos, logos, logos. (Oslo
Airport’s is particularly stylish.)
In each of the three adjacent meeting
halls packed with grids of small
tables and slip-covered banquet chairs,
airports try to court airlines in the
industry equivalent of speed
dating. Representatives of more than
700 airports and 500 airlines from
around the world attended Routes this
year. The airports usually initiate the
meetings, requesting time with the
airlines they want. It helps to have
something to brag about: LAX was at
the conference touting its multibillion-dollar modernization project, while
ofcials from Dallas and Detroit were
showcasing their airports’ face-lifts.
But the big men on campus—say, the
London Heathrows and the Denvers
of the world—can always land meetings
with their preferred partners, and many
of them have “chalets” (usually known
outside the industry as cubicles).
Second- and third-string airports
face frequent rejections and constant
reminders that they are second- and
third-string players. Explains Buddy
Anslinger, a Continental Airlines executive: “If we know that only 20 passengers a day want to fy to, say, Minsk,
we’re probably going to turn down
that airport’s request to meet with us.”
Each session lasts only 20 minutes.
And each airport has sent not just
a lead negotiator but also a team of
consultants who serve as matchmakers
of a sort. Using proprietary software
that crunches data any way you like,
the consultants supply cryptic analyses
to help their client airports press their
cases. The airports will even offer
blandishments such as tax abatements
and landing-fee waivers. As an enormous digital stopwatch ticks down the
remaining moments, an emcee—with
a British accent, of course—announces,
“The next session will commence in
fve minutes’ time.”
WhErE To
FroM hErE?
shifting routes refect the changing
economics of the airline industry.
business hubs in asia and the Middle
East are strong. European and u.s.
leisure routes ain’t.
routes added
CHInA EASTErn AIrLInES: SHAnGHAI–COPEnHAGEn
COn TInEn TAL: nEwArK–SHAnGHAI
EMIrATES: DuBAI–LOS AnGELES
ETIHAD: ABu DHABI–MOSCOw
GuLf AIr: BAHrAIn–HyDErABAD
SHAnGHAI AIrLInES: SHAnGHAI–MuMBAI
unITED: wASHInGTOn, D.C.–DuBAI
VIrGIn BLuE: BrISBAnE–DEnPASAr (BALI)
routes Cut
AMErICAn: CHICAGO–HOnOLuLu
AuSTrIAn AIrLInES: VIEnnA–CHICAGO
BMI: LOnDOn–AnKArA
COn TInEn TAL: nEwArK–SAn JOSE
DELTA: OrLAnDO–nEw OrLEAnS
Luf THAnSA: DüSSELDOrf–MArSEILLE
unITED: wASHInGTOn, D.C.–SAn JOSE
uS AIrwAyS: CHArLOTTE–GuATEMALA CITy
Were it not for the trade-show holy
trinity—booze, buffet meals, and
beautiful women—the mood at this
year’s conference might have been a
bit more glum. Airlines have
been forced to pursue innova-
tive route-planning strategies,
from serving more markets
on a purely seasonal basis
to ditching destinations that
in fusher times were cheap
crowd pleasers (think Orlando
and Las Vegas). Some have
even rethought their raison
d’être. Southwest Airlines,
traditionally a leisure carrier,
now aims for a 50-50 split
between business and
vacation travelers, according
to Lee Lipton, its director of
network strategic planning.
For the most part, no
vows are taken at the forum.
A successful meeting usually
only means more meetings
in the future—further
opportunities to swap logo-
emblazoned knickknacks and
raise a few glasses to better
times for the air-travel
industry. Meanwhile, thank-
fully, nachos and margaritas
provide some comfort—which
is more than you can say for
the fight home. 1.
Photograph: Courtesy the route Development Group
58 Fast company December 2008 / January 2009
