As Abu Dhabi International Airport’s upcoming Midfield Terminal prepares to accept the brands it has chosen for its 11,300 square metres of dining space in the building, other airports overseas are moving fast to upgrade their passenger facilities.
The operator Abu Dhabi Airports did not disclose to The National which brands will be in the terminal, but said the concessionaire contracts went to the Emirates Group subsidiary Emirates Leisure Retail (ELR), the airport and motorway dining specialist HMSHost International, the duty free retailer Lagardère Capital and the British caterer SSP.
Abu Dhabi’s European peers, meanwhile, are racing to redesign their terminals and offer new services to pull more passengers into their stores, in the face of online competition and militant attacks that have kept away some big-spending Asian travellers.
Seeking to boost the key measure of retail sales per passenger, airports are expanding and refurbishing shopping areas and ensuring routes to gates steer customers past – or through – as many stores and restaurants as possible.
Vienna Airport, for example, plans to expand the shopping and food area in its Terminal 2 by about 50 per cent – including a duty-free store positioned right after security, which passengers must pass through.
London’s Stansted has just completed an £80 million (Dh425.3m) makeover that increased space in the departure lounge by 60 per cent, providing more room for shops.
“Airports now are basically shopping malls with runways,” said John Jarrell, the head of Airport IT at Amadeus, which supplies technology systems to the industry.
Retail accounts on average for almost a fifth of airports’ revenue, a proportion that has grown steadily in the past decade, according to the airports association ACI Europe, and is increasingly relied upon to help fund infrastructure and services.
But the lucrative business has been hit by falling numbers of Asian travellers, traditionally the biggest spenders. Major European airlines have reported falling demand from passengers from China and Japan this year as a result of the attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Airport retailers’ advantage of a captive audience of travellers has also been undermined by people being able to shop and compare prices at will on mobile devices, so they are being forced to employ new strategies to court customers.
“Air travellers have become very discerning price-wise and impulse buying at the airport is becoming rarer,” said the ACI Europe spokesman Robert O’Meara.
Frankfurt airport is trialling a scheme where passengers in the Lufthansa lounge can shop on their tablets and have goods brought to them, and another where passengers can order food from tablet-toting staff to be brought to the gate and eaten there or on their plane.
Stansted, Britain’s fourth-busiest airport, is offering hand massages at the Jo Malone area in its duty-free store, while its bigger London rival Gatwick and Copenhagen airport have thrown up temporary “pop-up” shops to tempt passengers into spending there and then, rather than waiting.
Many European airports, including Copenhagen, Gatwick, Stansted and London Heathrow, also now offer “collect on return” services that allow customers to buy goods and pick them up when they return from their trip.
Stansted launched the service at the beginning of the year and customers are leaving about 3,000 bags a week full of airport-bought goods and collecting them upon their return.
Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, offers passengers not flying via Terminal 5 the chance to order items from the Chanel store there – a service much used by high-net worth customers flying to the Middle East from Terminal 4.
“If you give passengers good service, put them in control of their time, they will spend more with you,” said the Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye told.
His airport completed a £40m revamp of its luxury shopping area last year that added more shops, including Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta.
France’s Nice Côte d’Azur Airport announced in October it was undertaking its largest-ever commercial renovation – one that it hopes will achieve its vision to create the “most surprising commercial experience in a European airport”, Filip Soete, the chief commercial officer, said at the time
The rejuvenated Terminal 1 is set to open this month, with 11,000 sq m of its area impacted by the revamp, seeing retail space grow by 160 per cent, lounges by 70 per net and seating spaces by 60 per cent. In Terminal 2, meanwhile, 23,000 sq m will be updated, with 110 per cent more commercial space, 90 per cent more seating and lounges doubled in size, to open in May 2017.
“By 2017, both terminals will have been entirely renovated to provide double the retail areas and double the waiting areas,” Mr Soete said.
Several new outlets have already opened in Terminal 1. Mr Soete said Nice Côte d’Azur Airport has opened its first walkthrough duty free store in Terminal 1, in partnership with Aelia, so far generating a sales increase of 40 per cent.
“We began with the idea two and a half years ago to revamp our two terminals, and are investing €4m [Dh188.8m],” Mr Soete said. “Our vision is to deliver the most surprising commercial experience in a European airport, with a real sense of place and local brands to create that surprising effect. We want to be a little bit different and that was a goal throughout the tender process.”
This sense of place will be particularly evident in the food and beverage offer, he said, with two new operators, SSP and RELAY France, developing compelling concepts consistent with the airport’s vision. “These are the most surprising and, while being entirely contemporary, most loyal to our locality, the French Riviera,” Mr Soete said.
While the concept of duty-free was invented in Shannon, Ireland in 1947, it has since lost meaning for European travellers, which do not get the tax-free prices that passengers from outside the European Union enjoy.
Munich Airport’s new satellite facility for its Terminal 2 was put into operation on April 26, 2016. “As one of the world’s most advanced airport terminal facilities, the satellite offers passengers a new level of comfort,” the airport said.
Thanks to the satellite building, work to expand Terminal 2 capacity is already fairly well advanced. By contrast, the next big construction project in the passenger segment, the refurbishment of Terminal 1, is still at the planning phase. The refurbishment will significantly increase the appeal of Terminal 1, the airport said, creating enhanced capacity and expanding the functionality of the terminal.
Munich Airport plans to build an extension westward from the Terminal 1 building. The project will enhance the efficiency of passport and security screening and speed up the baggage claim process. Along with additional aircraft positions, Terminal 1 will gain a new central shopping area.
The Frankfurt airport operator Fraport illustrated the importance of Asian travellers when it said that passengers from China, Russia, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam made up just 7 per cent of passengers in 2015, but 31 per cent of retail revenue.
Both Fraport and fellow operator Aeroports de Paris said this week that retail sales per passenger had dropped in the first quarter of 2016, partly due to the impact of the Paris attacks.
Faced with such hurdles, airports are trying to maximise the time available to customers to shop by reducing times spent queuing at security checks and giving people better directions via apps or touch-screens to find their way around often sprawling terminal buildings.
Fraport’s app, for example, allows passengers to take a picture of a sign at Frankfurt airport and have it translated into Chinese.
European airports relied on non-aeronautical revenue – sales earned from retail and car parking – for 40 per cent of their revenues in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available, according to ACI Europe.
Of that revenue, retail – including food and drinks sales – accounted for 46 per cent, up from just 28 percent in 2008. That equates to about 18 per cent of airports’ total revenue.
Typically, airports receive fees from retailers comprising of rent and royalties from sales. Citi analysts said of the airports they covered, Heathrow had the highest per passenger retail revenues.
The British hub increased its retail revenue by 9 per cent in 2015, about a fifth of its total annual revenues, representing per passenger retail revenue of £7.58, up from £7.14 the previous year.
Across the Atlantic, Los Angeles airport has gone one further. In November authorities there approved opening a special terminal for the rich and famous to wait for their flights, far from the paparazzi and riffraff.
The so-called “remote lounge” will be housed in a separate hangar and eclipse even the business class and first-class areas available at major airports.
Celebrities, business executives and other well-heeled individuals can expect to pay US$1,500 to $1,800 to access the space, according to US media.
Back in Abu Dhabi, the people behind the Midfield Terminal were all too aware of the importance of giving passengers a memorable experience when deciding on which firms to include.
"We challenged bidders to capture the essence of Arabian hospitality," Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi Airports, told The National.
“The winning concessionaires were those that had demonstrated their ability to deliver on the vision behind it all – providing spectacular ideas that will translate into sensational experiences, exceeding the expectations of our business partners and customers alike.”
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SPECS
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
SHAITTAN
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ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
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What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
STAR%20WARS%20JEDI%3A%20SURVIVOR
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Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mountain%20Boy
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Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m, Winner: Zalman, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hisham Al Khalediah II, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Qader, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Mujeeb, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly
8pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nayslayer, Bernardo Pinheiro, Jaber Ramadhan
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
HWJN
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