Andrew Cornish, CEO Liverpool John Lennon Airport: “Our strategy is to increase the connections that the region needs. The Liverpool City Region market is underserved and we want to provide greater choice for passengers not just locally, but further afield too.”
Liverpool John Lennon has a clear commitment to further enhancing the airport experience. This is visible not only through the current £1 million (€1.4m) departure lounge improvement works, but also initiatives like its review to better understand the passenger experience. The man leading these developments is Andrew Cornish, CEO Liverpool John Lennon Airport. He spoke to Ross Falconer.
Liverpool is among the UK’s major tourist destinations, welcoming 56 million visitors each year, and with tourism contributing £3.4 billion (€4.6bn) to the local economy. Its attractions are myriad; the Liverpool Waterfront is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has the UK’s largest collection of art galleries and museums outside London, and of course it has a world-renowned musical heritage. Rough Guide even ranked it the number three city in the world to visit in 2014.
This tourist appeal is just one reason behind Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s impressive growth. Passenger numbers increased by over 4% in the first four months of this year, driven by new scheduled services including Blue Air to Bucharest and Bacau, and Flybe to Belfast City. There have also been increased load factors on many of the existing easyJet and Ryanair services.
There is scope for further growth – while Liverpool is the UK’s fifth largest city, its airport is the country’s 12th largest, and Andrew Cornish, CEO Liverpool John Lennon Airport, is leading a progressive strategy to maximise that potential. “Our strategy is to increase the connections that the region needs,” he explained. “The Liverpool City Region market is underserved and we want to provide greater choice for passengers not just locally, but further afield too. Gaps in the market that we are looking to fill include charter holiday traffic, more business routes, services to main European points, and making sure the airport has more global connections.”
It is a strategy that is reaping rewards. Over the past six months alone, the airport has announced nine new services and four new carriers, and Cornish believes passenger growth may reach 5-6% by the end of the year.
Departure lounge improvements nearing completion
Improvements to the customer experience are another core element of the Liverpool John Lennon strategy. The latest development is the £1 million (€1.4m) departure lounge improvement works, which are nearing completion.
Among the most noticeable differences for passengers is that the works have opened up more views within the departure lounge over the apron, runway and to the Mersey Estuary. “It has given this part of the lounge a more spacious, light and airy feel,” Cornish said. “The revised look and feel to the much-expanded Kissing Gate Bar & Eatery is also a further noticeable improvement, with the introduction of popular booth seating so that diners can now have a meal while overlooking the airfield.”
Of course, the key challenge associated with developments in a live airport environment is project managing the works so that passengers are not inconvenienced by keeping any noise and disruption to a minimum, while also keeping the retailers and concessionaires happy. Cornish explained that major phases of work that would cause significant disruption take place outside peak times.
Liverpool John Lennon is also currently undertaking a review to better understand the passenger experience, which aspects of their airport journey they enjoy and which need improvement. “This has included participation in the ASQ Survey programme – the world’s leading airport customer satisfaction benchmark programme, developing a customer service training programme for staff across a number of areas of the business, and even establishing a VIP Customer Board, with key regional stakeholders and regular airport users giving us their views on the airport experience and how we can make this even better,” Cornish explained.
These latest improvements demonstrate Liverpool John Lennon’s commitment to further enhancing the customer experience, and the airport’s relaxed, hassle-free ambience.
