PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 6: Strategic Airport Planning and Development

This report provides a comparative analysis of Heathrow Airport in London, UK, and John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport in New York, USA, focusing on strategic airport planning and development. It begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of airports as critical infrastructure and economic ...Read More

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STRATEGIC AIRPORT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
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Introduction
An airport is an integral piece of the transport network of any country. It is one of the largest
infrastructures that a nation can invest in. It is the most convenient means of transportation
across borders, provides relative speed and efficiency with regards to valued goods and persons.
It also delivers an opportunity to cities and countries to offer employment to persons both airside
and landside. Air travel also provides revenue to governments that help further governance and
environmental improvement. This study aims to provide a comparative analysis of two airports
to provide an appropriate bearing for the reader to make a self-assessment on the right policies to
make for better customer response (Halpern & Graham, 2013). For this case study, the airports of
choice will be the Heathrow airport in London UK, and John F. Kennedy airport in New York,
USA. The two airports are the busiest in their countries, rank as number 2 and 55 respectively,
and provide airline services in destinations within the six continents worldwide. They are also
offered landing and takeoff platforms for similar airline companies such as British airlines. As of
2018, Heathrow airport handled a total of 80.1 million passengers and 477,604 aircraft. John F.
Kennedy airport achieved a load of 59 million passengers in 2017, and more than ninety airlines
operated from the airport.
Ownership structure
The ownership structure is referred to as the distribution of equity concerning capital but also by
equity owners’ identity. The owner structure which most of the airports all over the world fall
into is the public and private liability company.
Heathrow airport is owned and operated by the Heathrow Airport holdings. They are, in turn,
owned by FGP TopCc limited. They are considered one of the pioneers of airport privatization;

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however, they stopped trading their stocks on the market when a takeover was carried out in
2006. The airport is under the management of an international consortium, led by Ferrovial.
They have several partners such as Qatar Holdings LLC and GIC private limited. It is a
conglomerate of individual holdings that maintain the airport as an independent entity. It is the
second busiest airport in the world after Dubai international airport. The government in 2017
established a separate airport's commission to assess various options for the increasing activities
at the airports. The airport receives relative support from the British government in a bid to steer
development adaptively. The aim is to provide alternatives to curb the increasing passenger
numbers arriving at the airport. Air alliances manage terminals. Terminal 2 hosts star
memberships except for Air India, which is in terminal 4 (Halpern & Graham, 2013).
The John F. Kennedy airport is located in Queens, New York. The airport has six terminals and
four runways, and it is the 22nd busiest airport in the world. The airport is under the Port's
authority of New York and New Jersey. The airport has six terminals that are maintained by
major airlines that operate within the terminals. The ports authority initially allocated the
significant airlines, during its inception, the space to develop their terminals. It created an
environment of competition and development was mainly steered by necessity. The airport's
terminals are currently maintained by airlines such as JetBlue. The oversight and navigation
policies are drafted and tabled by the Port's authority. The airport facilitates oversight, budgeting,
and approval of any developments therein. They partner with airlines in the hope of curtailing
costs and meeting planned objectives.
Heathrow airport has a private system of management, this provides each shareholder a
particular stake in the establishment, and thus voting power varies among partners. It means that
each member has a voting share based on the percentage of their own. John F. Kennedy airport is

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different regarding that the Port's authority facilitates every decision. The airport's budgets,
repairs, and developments are all approved by the airport's authority. It makes development more
generalized into other infrastructure that is within the area. Such include roads and subway
systems. The result is a slow and gradual development process.
Heathrow Airport was initiated in the year 1929 as a small airfield on the Heathrow southeast
and at this time the airport gains this name. The whole of Heathrow development was developed
in the year 1944 where the large airport was established. This airport was developed by the
government as a civil airport.
In comparison to other airports such as Dubai and Heathrow, the airports steer projects more
efficiently in contrast to JFK due to the leadership structure. They offer a better, more
competitive customer experience with better shopping experiences, well-structured wait rooms,
and better food choices. Passenger experience is on the general, pleasant in comparison to John
F. Kennedy airport. Also, this airport gains popularity and it was a very reliable airport at those
times.
Terminal buildings
An airport terminal is referred to as a building where the passengers transfer between the ground
transportation and facilities that permit them to board or onboard an aircraft. Within the terminal
building, the passengers will purchase the tickets, then transfer their luggage and then go for
security checkup. Thus the terminal building is very crucial for any airport.
Heathrow airport currently has four terminals in operation. Terminals two, three, four, and five.
Terminal one was closed to facilitate the expansion of terminal 2. Terminal 2 is assigned to star
airlines and few non-aligned airlines. Terminal 3 is used by airlines such as Oneworld, Malaysia
airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Airlines, and middle eastern airlines. Terminal 4 accommodates

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by SkyTeam, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, and most non-aligned airways. Terminal 5 is
used primarily by British airways for most destinations, except for those at terminal 3 and Iberia.
Terminals 2 and 3 are within a short walk from each other. The use of a pedestrian underpass
connects them (Derudder, Devriendt & Witlox, 2010 pg., 349). The Heathrow express connects
the terminals 4 and 5. The trains take about 20 minutes, and there are four trains per hour
traversing to each of these terminals. To use this facility, one needs a free travel card that one can
purchase at the terminal. The London underground train is all interconnected to the terminals, but
to use the system, one needs to the London Oyster card or a contactless payment card.
The airport has its baggage system operated by a handling agent and an automated baggage
screening and tagging system. The average wait time for baggage clearance is 20 to 3 minutes
but can take longer during busier times of the year. The baggage handling system is equipped
with several shoots to prevent stalling in the event of a malfunction. Baggage trolleys are
available at each terminal to ease transportation. The provision of a luggage tag with a ten-digit
barcode ensures that the destination of the luggage is established. The owners wait for the
clearance upon arrival. The airport offers several options to passengers, including a more
comprehensive array of food choices. The terminals are equipped with self-check-in systems to
ease traffic during busier times. The terminals are spacious and offer several amenities such as
ATMs, banks, and currency exchange centers. The terminals also have extra seats and enough
entry and exit points to prevent the bottle-neck effect.
JFK airport has terminals numbered 1 to 8, except for 3 and 6, which were brought down in 2011
and 2013. They are connected by the AirTrain system that traverses between terminals. The train
takes 4 to 5 minutes. The terminals are arranged in an O shape (Conway, Kamga, Yazici &
Singhal, 2012 pg., 85). They surround other amenities such as parking systems, rental car

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facilities, hotels, and other amenities. The airport also has a free shuttle bus service that traverses
between terminal 2 and 4. It is free and at the passenger's disposal (Derudder, Devriednt &
Witlox, 2010 pg., 349). The airport has several amenities, check-in areas, accessible trolley
services, and fast food chains. Some of the food franchises within the airport include McDonald's
and Wendy's food court. The airport has several baggage transfer services. Baggage handling
services are mainly manual. There is substandard equipment present at the airport. The luggage
system is not as advanced as Heathrow airport. It may translate to preferences among consumers.
Business Insider, among other news features, has provided critical acclaim to the airline with
references to other airports such as Dubai international airport. Many of the terminals are
considered substandard concerning other airports. JFK still enjoys an increase in passenger
traffic.
There are significant infrastructure differences between airlines. Heathrow airport has integrated
terminals. The airport has two parallel east, west terminals. The terminals are all operational,
each connected to others with the aid of a train system and under walks. A private organization
supervises the operations of the airport; thus, improvements are steered by competition with
other airports around the world. Their luggage systems are fully automated, hence reduce
clearance time. The terminals at Heathrow airport have provided a multi-story parking system
and private transit systems to offer convenience to passengers upon arrival. There is the
provision of luggage carts at terminals within the airport. The Port's authority provides to expand
the airport's terminals to accommodate the increase of travelers over the coming years. The
provision of ATMs and currency exchange systems within the terminals offers convenience to
the passengers. The duty-free products at the airports offer the passengers the option of doing
their shopping at the airport, thus creating more avenues for income generation. Rental car

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services offer mobility while parking provides convenience for a reception. Terminal 5 at
Heathrow airport, for example, is four stores high with two satellite buildings connected by an
underground people mover. Satellite building C has dedicated stands for the Airbus A380. The
terminal was decorated as the best airport terminal by Skytrax in 2014. The terminal has the
capacity for 30 million passengers and over 100 shops and restaurants. It provides excellent
customer experience, thus maintaining consumer preference. There is a dedicated motorway spur
link that connects terminals to the M25 in between junctions 14 and 15. It provides convenience
to passengers to access their means of transportation.
The construction of the terminal building between the runway will occur the total capacity of
55M pax. The project also entails accessing the roads, parking, and railways. The main
characteristics of the terminal are that it is designed so that it can accommodate the capacity of
the passengers at once (Masiol, and Harrison, 2015). Also, the terminal building is constructed in
a way that it can access to the roads. Moreover, the terminal building is connected to the parking
lot where there are 7500 parking spaces on the first floor and 2000 parking spaces on the ground
floor. And lastly, it is connected to the railways' infrastructure. The total building area is 524,800
m².
Conclusion
JFK and Heathrow airport have secured their place as critical infrastructure within the region.
They both provide landing for some of the biggest airlines in the world, such as British Airlines
and Lufthansa (Jacquillat, and Odoni 2014). The airlines consider several factors to maximize
profits on air travel. Consumer preference is a critical factor in making this decision. An increase
in consumer options is critical in making an airport a world-class choice for passengers. The
availability of malls, food joints, money exchange facilities, and other facilities improves

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consumer satisfaction in this regard. Heathrow airport has been integral in this regard. The
airport is only second to Dubai international airport. Both airports have airlines that have
destinations in all of the six continents world over (Jacquillat, and Odoni 2014). Transport
network by use of train, bus, or walkways has a crucial purpose in the facilitation of passenger
mobility between terminals. The stark distinction starts with the handling of luggage. Heathrow
airport has automated the luggage handling process from reception to clearance. JFK has several
improvements to be made in this regard. Earlier this year, a snowstorm caused the luggage hold
up to last more than a week. In light of the increasing human traffic, both airlines need to
improve the reception and passenger experience. However, Heathrow airport seems better suited
to make these amendments. The oversight authority in the U.K., the airport's commission, shows
overt support in this regard. They allowed the addition of a third runway in 2016. It will ease the
airport's efficiency with regards to landings and departures. The Port's authority in New York
suffers managerial problems that extend to the infrastructural developments within the airport.
Since its inception, the airport has evolved around necessity, from allocating each airline its own
space to develop a terminal to the plan tabled by Governor Cuomo to boost productivity.
Changes have mainly motivated the airline. It has lowered the cost of development and has
steered the airport's transformation to be as adaptive as possible (Butcher, 2012). In light of the
future expectations of the airline, the approach from adaptive to proactive. There are looming
suggestions about privatizing the airport; however, if the current management were forward in
their path, the problems encountered within the airline would steadily subside. There are joint
efforts from airline companies to improve the state of the airline. In Heathrow airport,
developments are directed by the Heathrow airport holdings on oversight by the airport's
commission. To enhance consumer satisfaction, one needs to provide options, to allow the

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passengers to make more extensive choices (Davies, Dodgson, and Gann, 2016). Conveniences
such as parking, transportation, bookings, and currency exchange all translate to a better score
among other airports. Airports are capital intensive investments; however, with the right
management, vision, and planning, the returns prove more than worthwhile (Masiol, and
Harrison, 2015)

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Derudder, B., Devriendt, L. and Witlox, F., 2010. A spatial analysis of multiple airport cities.
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