The Melbourne Airport vision is to ensure that all of its terminals encompass the aspects that make the city great. The next stage of the airport’s ambitious redevelopment focuses on Terminal 2, with plans including a luxury retail boulevard in the international departures area. With a Melbourne-centric approach in mind for Terminal 2, the airport has employed NH Architects to help create a development that reflects the ambience of the city.
“NH Architects has had a hand in designing some of the world’s best retail precincts, including Myer Bourke Street, which won the world’s best department store in the 2011 Oracle World Retail Awards,” comments Andrew Gardiner, Chief of Retail & Launceston, Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne). “Customer research has guided our discussions with luxury brands and we are close to concluding agreements with the world’s finest luxury retailers. Once we have these in place, we will happily share more about this exciting, transformational project.”
Andrew Gardiner, Chief of Retail & Launceston, Australia Pacific Airports (Melbourne): “The aim is to ensure we are creating offerings that will appeal to the wide range of audiences that pass through the airport and to better our airside developments in the future.”
Commercial revenues remain very important to Melbourne Airport and are an area in which it is experiencing double-digit growth. Gardiner explains that enhancing these further is a process that starts with understanding the customers, and providing the brand and product line that they want. Central to this is creating a sense of place in the retail and food & beverage environment. “Part of this success for Melbourne Airport is about focusing on product development and understanding the products and technology that connect with our customers,” says Gardiner.
Iconic coffee house Brunetti is a great example of how Melbourne Airport has delivered on this sense of place in Terminal 4. With its rich history, the well-known coffee house was a natural choice to inject the city’s passion for coffee and enhance the sense of place in the terminal. “We also selected Two Johns Taphouse in T4, named after John Batman and John Falkner, the two ‘Johns’ responsible for founding Melbourne,” adds Gardiner. “Our aim is to develop an airport that truly reflects the needs of its passengers. There is a strong vision across the terminals for us to create Melbourne’s airport – designed by Melburnians, for Melburnians.”
The vision also includes a desire to innovate. The airport has been designed so all four terminals are under one roof, to ensure it is easy to navigate as a passenger. “We are currently testing and trialling technology that will allow us to engage with customers from their home, to our car park and through to their departure gate,” explains Gardiner.
The Terminal 2 developments follow the opening of the new Terminal 4 last December, which provided a unique opportunity to transform the retail experience. Conscious of the mix of airlines that would be populating the terminal, the airport retail team set out to ensure the retail component would deliver variety in terms of the outlets available and the price points.
Pioneering the Common Use Departure Lounge (CUDL) in Australia, all travellers remain in the CUDL until their flight is called for boarding. “By delivering a central gathering area that clearly displays the time passengers have until boarding, some of the stress and anxiety passengers may experience can be eliminated,” says Gardiner. “Surrounding the CUDL are 34 retail outlets, and travellers have access to free WiFi, big screen TVs and charging stations. The design of the departures lounge ensures passengers can relax prior to their flight.”
The F&B outlets are performing very well, and the fashion retailers continue to grow month-on-month at Terminal 4. The Brunetti coffee house and the Two Johns Taphouse are both proving to be a hit with travellers. “Both these brands not only deliver on the Melbourne-centric vision of the terminal, but are also providing travellers with new F&B options not available at other airports,” Gardiner concludes.
