This year's post-Thanksgiving Sunday is anticipated to be the busiest air travel day nationwide. Expect large crowds, disrupted schedules, and extended stays in terminals for many travelers, potentially due to insufficient staff, adverse weather, or system overload. During such times, it's evident that the airport experience is as crucial as the flight itself.
TL;DR
- Airport CEOs now balance operations, experience, community, and resilience, a shift from past focus on just infrastructure.
- The passenger experience is now the primary product, influencing satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue for airports.
- Airports act as global gateways, reflecting local identity and fostering pride through design and cultural elements.
- Technology, sustainability, and wellness are key mandates, transforming airports into humane, efficient, and environmentally conscious spaces.
That was a lesson I grasped early on in my professional life. Over forty years ago, as a nascent architect, Art Gensler personally requested I revise the firm's design for Delta's new LAX terminal just before a significant presentation. Following his review of my drawings the subsequent morning, he included me in the meeting and then had me present my concepts to Delta's chairman. The design received approval that very day, influencing the terminal's construction, which remains Delta's gateway to Los Angeles to this day.
When I started my career, an airport CEO's role focused on operations, runways, gates, schedules, and safety. Now, it encompasses experience, community, description, and resilience. Over four decades, airports have transformed from mere infrastructure to influential entities, and their leaders from managers to orchestrators, with design emerging as a key instrument.
Then and Now – The Expanding Mandate
Previously, airport leaders' success was judged solely on efficiency: passenger volume, punctuality, and seamless airline functioning. While the architecture could be striking, like Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center, the underlying systems were much less complex. Security checks were basic. Retail options were restricted. Technology was analog. Nobody considered sustainability.
CEOs today face a vastly expanded scope of responsibility, answerable to a diverse group including passengers, airlines, retailers, local communities, sustainability committees, and investors, each with unique expectations. Their effectiveness is now more frequently assessed based on experience indicators, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) results, financial stability, and their positive influence on communities.
Essentially, the contemporary airport chief executive now functions as a blend of business strategist, hospitality expert, and civic representative.
The Passenger Experience Becomes the Product
Airports' reputations have shifted from how quickly they can process travelers to the overall experience they provide for them.
At San Francisco International Airport, Harvey Milk Terminal 1 illustrates this transformation. With its natural light, art-adorned passageways, and plant-filled green spaces, it converts what used to be the most taxing part of a journey into an experience that allows travelers to relax.
The Delta One Lounges in Los Angeles, New York, and Boston offer hospitality-focused settings that foster a feeling of peace and community, which travelers are increasingly seeking. These areas are designed not only to facilitate smooth transit but also to establish the mood for the whole trip.
For chief executives, experience has transitioned from being a mere embellishment to a critical performance indicator that influences customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and overall revenue.
The Local Airport as the Global Gateway
Airports now serve as the primary gateway to their respective cities, with airport chief executives acting as their main narrators. The most effective terminals convey a distinct sense of place.
Pittsburgh International Airport's terminal is transformed into a statement of local identity through its native food offerings, cultural events, and welcoming community spirit.
Southern California's relaxed vibe is reflected in the materials, artwork, and ocean-inspired designs found within the new Terminal 1 at San Diego International Airport.
Airports that mirror their cities foster resident pride and visitor connection, setting them apart in a crowded travel market.
Technology and Data – From Bottlenecks to Seamless Journeys
Technology used to make airports feel impersonal. Nowadays, when combined with thoughtful design, it makes them more humane.
JFK's New Terminal One is set to provide a biometric experience from the curb to the gate, fundamentally changing the international traveler's journey. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, art installations powered by data transform waiting periods into calming ambient signals instead of sources of confusion.
With biometrics, automation, and AI transforming every interaction point, design needs to foresee swift changes. Adaptable spaces, flexible infrastructure, and planning centered on the user are now indispensable, not merely choices.
Climate and Wellness – The New Mandate
Today's CEOs are also prioritizing the planet's welfare. Sustainability now guides every capital investment decision.
At JFK’s Terminal One, solar arrays are designed to generate up to 40% of the terminal’s energy. At SFO, a “Triple Zero” strategy guides progress toward zero carbon, zero waste, and zero net energy. Pittsburgh’s outdoor gardens and SFO’s Sensory Room for neurodiverse travelers show how environmental and human wellness are increasingly connected.
These features are not solely amenities, but mere expectations for 21st-century infrastructure.
Leading at the Intersection of Commerce and Culture
Airports sit at the nexus of civic identity, global commerce, and public trust. CEOs now balance operational rigor with social value, technology with empathy, and growth with sustainability.
Design isn’t just what airports look like, but rather how leaders deliver on their mission. Great airport design is leadership made visible.
And it is unfolding during a wave of airport modernization across the U.S.
The Lesson That Endures
I frequently recall that morning at LAX, when Art gave me the opportunity before I felt prepared. He demonstrated the impact of trust and foresight.
Four decades on, I observe that same principle influencing today's airport executives, whose focus is on passengers, not aircraft. Their efforts encompass the entire travel experience, extending beyond mere arrivals and departures.
Future airport leaders will be evaluated on the quality of passenger movement, not just volume. Airports are more than transit points; they're the actual starting point for every trip.
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