At a recent session of Matins ESADE, Barcelona Airport Director Fernando Echegaray announced that the airport will expand its international service in March to include direct flights to Qatar and Montreal on Qatar Airways and Air Canada, respectively.
According to a ranking drawn up by the airport’s routes committee, 50 destinations around the world account for an uncovered demand of 700,000 tickets to Barcelona each year. This list is topped by Buenos Aires, New York and Tokyo, each of which provides more than 50,000 indirect passengers to Barcelona annually. This demand goes above and beyond the airport’s current three flights a week to Buenos Aires and the three flights daily to New York. Barcelona currently does not offer any direct flights to Tokyo. Mr. Echegaray argued that these destinations have the potential to better connect Barcelona to the world, adding that “supply and demand are the keys to creating new routes".
According to Mr. Echegaray, the airport’s priority is to connect continents and attract more airlines to Barcelona. “This is not exclusively the airport’s responsibility", he said, explaining that the business community, and chambers of commerce in particular, would need to collaborate in this effort. “Although it is the airlines that supply the airplanes, the city needs to be attractive and profitable enough for the airlines to want to do that", he said, adding: “Barcelona sometimes is, and sometimes isn’t".
Expectations of growth beyond 2025
Mr. Echegaray estimated that the airport had suffered a 23% decrease in passenger traffic in 2009. He was optimistic, however, as he discussed new growth figures, noting that the airport had finished the month of December with a 4% increase in passengers. He explained that the airport was expected to suffer further losses during the first few months of 2010, but that its total passenger traffic for the full year was not likely to fall below 27 million.
Mr. Echegaray argued that improving infrastructure is a good way to deal with the current economic situation. “It’s not a bad thing that we have begun an expansion process during a time of crisis", he said, “because it will allow us to be ready when economic growth resumes". He added: “We are certain of growth at least through 2025".
New satellite terminal
As an additional way of expanding is capacity, the Barcelona airport is planning a new 150,000 m2 satellite terminal capable of handling 70 million passengers per year. This new 35-jetway terminal, to be named T1-S, will handle intercontinental flights. The T2 terminal will undergo major renovations to consolidate the check-in desks, baggage claim areas, boarding zones and security checkpoints. Architect Ricardo Bofill will be responsible for the design.
The objective of the remodel is to centralise the terminal’s activity. T2 handles 21% of the airport’s flights, for airlines such as easyJet, Air Berlin, Transavia, Aer Lingus, Wizz Air, Germanwings and bmibaby. T1 handles the remaining 79% of flights, for the three main airline alliances (Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam) as well as a handful of independent carriers. Additionally, the airport’s private aircraft area handles around 50 operations per day. Although T1 has the capacity to handle 55 million passengers per year and 90 movements per hour, it is currently operating at 64 operations per hour. Together, T1 and T2 offer more than 150 destinations, 900 flights per day and 100 airlines.
Competitive airport costs
Mr. Echegaray adopted a positive tone as he discussed fee negotiations among airports. The airport’s costs are set at 2%, and Aena’s fees are 45% lower than the international average. According to Mr. Echegaray, this means that “competitively, this is very inexpensive and therefore fee negotiation makes no sense".
Mr. Echegaray explained that, for this reason, he prefers to concentrate on other factors: “Fees are one aspect that we need to take into account as we work to attract intercontinental routes, but services are what really make us competitive".
Programme:
Fernando Echegaray, Director of the Barcelona Airport, will feature this session of Matins ESADE titled "The new Barcelona Airport".
Welcome and closing: Xavier Sanchez (Lic&MBA 97), Director of ESADE Alumni
Introduction and presentation: F. Xavier Mena, Economics Professor of ESADE
Conference: Fernando Echegaray, Director of the Barcelona Airport
Discussion:
Moderated by Jordi Goula, Economics Editor at La Vanguardia
Fernando Echegaray
Director of Barcelona Airport, was born in Barcelona in 1959. He has had more than 24 years experience in the aeronautical sector, both at the national and international level. He has held the post of director of the Grupo Canarias airports handling more than 32 million passengers and was also director of Tenerife South Airport. On joining Aena in 1985 he was responsible for various areas of activity in Palma de Mallorca Airport. He was later technical director of operations for the Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico in Mexico, a company in which, through its subsidiary Aena Desarrollo Internacional, SA, Aena carries out the role of airport operator for 12 airports, handling more than 20 million passengers. Fernando Echegaray is a graduate in Information Systems, an industrial engineer and a graduate in General Management (PDG) from IESE.
