The Leading Airport Magazine

Julian Jäger, Member of the Management Board, Vienna Airport: “New long-haul routes will remain an important growth factor to us – we have noted a strong increase in the last five years, with passenger traffic to the US increasing by about 57% since 2011.”

Vienna Airport is building on a record year in 2015, with its proactive route development strategy stimulating key new long-haul routes, and a continued focus on development of the Airport City. Julian Jäger, Member of the Management Board, Vienna Airport, outlined his vision to Marta Dimitrova.

Vienna Airport’s success in 2015 is most vividly illustrated by the record 22.8 million travellers handled (+1.3%). It was also a year punctuated by an ongoing development programme, in which €79.9 million was invested, including €13.3 million related to work on the taxiways and €10 million for winter services and equipment storage halls. Further investments were made in connection with the planned third runway, as well as IT equipment and explosive trace detectors.

Julian Jäger, Member of the Management Board, Vienna Airport, articulates a positive vision of future growth, with a further increase of up to 2% in passenger numbers in 2016. “New long-haul routes will remain an important growth factor to us – we have noted a strong increase in the last five years, with passenger traffic to the US increasing by about 57% since 2011,” he explains. “Passenger growth is also expected in the low-cost sector, which is becoming increasingly important.”

The latest available figures show 2.5% year-on-year growth in the first two months of 2016 to 2.7 million passengers.

New routes already announced for 2016 include Austrian Airlines services to Shanghai, Bari, Havana and Isfahan; and NIKI services to Faro, Split and Dubrovnik. Meanwhile, new routes and expanded frequencies are expected from easyJet, Eurowings, Jet2.com, SAS, Transavia, Vueling, Turkish Airlines, Nordic Aviation, People’s Viennaline, and SunExpress.

“Interesting markets could be the Asian region, including Hong Kong, and destinations in South America where we would see potential markets,” Jäger adds.

Vienna Airport has created an electronic feedback system, offering passengers the opportunity to evaluate the quality of various airport services, including security checks, and retail and F&B facilities. “This input provides important insights to further optimise our service quality,” comments Julian Jäger, Member of the Management Board, Vienna Airport.

Airport City key to business strategy

Alongside the myriad new route developments, Vienna Airport is continuing its Airport City development, with positive results. An international logistics investment is about to be finalised, adding up to 40,000sqm of new infrastructure close to the airport. Major companies including Kühne & Nagel, Makita, and Cargo Partner are located onsite, while the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Moxy Hotel took place at the end of February. “We have also repurchased properties covering over 25,000sqm in the core area of Vienna Airport. This will serve as the basis for the start of a future real estate development project within a short time,” Jäger says.

The transformation into a multifunctional Airport City is a key component of Vienna’s business strategy. Commercial space will ultimately total 140,000sqm, including 84,000sqm of office and conferencing space. With its 20,000 employees, the airport site is already a vital engine of the economy and the continued development of the Airport City will only enhance that further.

Airport Carbon Accredited: Level 2 Reduction

Sustainability is an important business objective for Vienna Airport, which recently upgraded to Level 2 Reduction of ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation and is already striving for Level 3 Optimisation. “We will certainly further focus on the reduction of carbon emissions,” Jäger asserts. “We are striving to enhance customer satisfaction and service quality, while improving energy consumption and environmental compatibility.”

Over 100 individual measures have been implemented to reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency. Jäger adds that these steps reduced carbon emissions by 11% in 2014, and looking ahead there are plans to construct two new photovoltaic facilities onsite.

Vienna Airport is also participating in Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM), which Jäger explains “has led to an ongoing optimisation of operations, for example the taxi and waiting times of aircraft, which in turn reduces CO2 emissions.”

Constant investment in new technologies

This progressive approach to the environment is mirrored by a similar focus on digital innovation. Central to this is the proposition of free, unlimited WiFi for travellers. The recently developed Vienna Airport App has been well received, while the relaunched website features a responsive new design and is compatible with all tablets and smartphones. The airport is also proactive on social media, with over 62,000 Facebook ‘likes’, and 60,000 views on its YouTube channel.

“Vienna Airport constantly invests in new technologies,” Jäger says. “For example, passenger queuing at the security check is measured in real-time so travellers can see the estimated waiting time before entering security control. We have also created an electronic feedback system, offering passengers the opportunity to evaluate the quality of various airport services. They can rate the quality of the security checks, their satisfaction with the retail and food & beverage facilities, or the cleanliness of the toilets. This input provides important insights to further optimise our service quality.”

These initiatives really serve to highlight Vienna Airport’s commitment to maximising the experience throughout the passenger journey, and achieving its goal of being in the “European Premier League of airports”.

New routes already announced for 2016 include Austrian Airlines services to Shanghai, Bari, Havana and Isfahan; and NIKI services to Faro, Split and Dubrovnik.