Peak Season: Managing Holiday Travel Queues
Peak Season Trends: Travel
Surveys indicate the 2024 holiday travel will be a return to form, with passenger numbers hitting new records in the US and elsewhere. They also point to an interesting trend that could increase pressure on terminal operators: more people taking shorter trips.
Hybrid work arrangements have been one of the drivers behind changes in travel patterns that have emerged in the post-pandemic era. The result is less dramatic but more prolonged travel peaks, which means operators must be equipped to contend with intermittent passenger surges over an extended period.
Instead of the periods immediately surrounding holidays, more airport operators need to balance traditional holiday season surges with mid-week getaways. For example, Thanksgiving Eve flights home with mid-week trips to a beach or ski destination. Considering the current global security situation, that can mean long wait times, unhappy passengers and a blow to non-aeronautical revenue.
Peak Season Trends: Commerce
Getting passengers safely from origin to destination is the primary purpose of airports, but terminals serve many crucial functions—retail and food services just two of many. Non-aeronautical revenue is what enables terminal operators to keep service levels high, and the holiday season is a unique opportunity for landside and airside business to capitalize on demand and the higher spend levels among passengers.
What is the basket size of someone running to make a flight after waiting in mismanaged queue? Much lower than operators want, if not zero. The surest way to ensure non-aeronautical revenue grows is giving passengers more time to peruse, to shop, to buy.
There are many different estimates about the impact of queuing and airside spending—a 30% reduction in passenger spending for an extra ten minutes at the security control is often mentioned. The scope of the impact may vary, but what is constant is the negative impact on sales resulting from excessive queuing.
Managing passenger flow at airport terminals is the most effective way to ensure passengers have ample time for activities adjacent to modern air travel. That could mean shopping, dining or, in some cases, squeezing in a workout.
Peak Travel Trends: Solutions
Xovis has been helping airports plan for and manage peaks in real time for over a decade. Managing queues, improving staff allocation and optimizing space utilization in the high-density public use spaces, like airport terminals, is our specialty.
Passenger throughput per lane per hour is a crucial performance metric. Increasing hourly throughput to 220 from 200 across nine lanes is the equivalent of an additional A320 aircraft every hour! Achieving these rates is essential during travel peaks.
We work closely with terminal operators to deliver solutions that respond to changes in travel patterns and passenger demands. Accuracy and flexibility are why more than 110 airports use our solution, many of them spending more time with our dashboards during the holiday season.
Real-time data is vital for fact-based decision-making year-round, but it's indispensable during the holiday travel season—where fast-changing situations can have a highly-disruptive effect on terminal operations.
To make the most of the holiday travel season this year, and in the future, terminal operators need a robust passenger flow management solution that can keep pace with industry trends. Peak season, summer or winter, are excellent opportunities for Xovis to prove why it remains a market leader. But it also helps to reinforce our approach to industry-specific innovation.
Tags: | airports| peak season | terminal operators | holiday | travel |
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