The message from Auckland Airport is that it is very much open, with domestic and international passenger numbers recovering over the past year following the removal of New Zealand’s travel restrictions. International seat capacity serving Auckland is increasing significantly as airlines resume services and launch new routes, and is expected to reach 70% of pre-pandemic levels in December.
This strong recovery has enabled Auckland Airport to recommence its infrastructure investment. Speaking to Future Travel Experience after participating in the recent FTE APEX Asia Expo 2022 conference, Jayne Wear, Head of Commercial Products & Transport, shared the journey Auckland Airport is on to transform the travel experience for customers through the delivery of one of its key infrastructure projects, a new Transport Hub.
Wear articulates a clear focus to re-orient the business to a more customer-centred view. “We are working to reimagine the customer and create experiences that better resonate with what customers value across their travel journey, starting with their transport experience,” she explains. “We had the opportunity during the pandemic to revisit our thinking and inform the design of a new world-class transport facility that will transform the way our customers arrive and depart from the international terminal.”
The Transport Hub will provide Auckland Airport’s customers with close, covered and connected access at the front door of the terminal, while catering for different transport modes including those travelling by bus, private car, rideshare, taxi, shuttle or rental car. This includes 2,150 parking spaces, with 415 additional spaces at ground level and 150 spaces for electric vehicles. “It will transform the experience for our parking customers, shifting from on-grade predominately ticket-based parking to new ticketless automated access and multi-level zoned parking with easy safe connectivity to the terminal,” says Wear. “The design is future-proofed to allow for expansion to mass rapid transit such as light rail.”
Transport Hub a platform to a future ‘connected experience’
The new Transport Hub will play an important role in supporting Auckland Airport’s ambition to deliver a world-class travel experience into the future. Wear explains that it is the first leap forward in smoothing out the travel experience for customers at one of the critical points of their journey, their arrival at the front door of the international terminal and in the future to a new integrated domestic and international terminal. “It also provides a platform to a future ‘connected experience’. Through leveraging the investment we are making in infrastructure, we are reimagining how our customers experience Auckland Airport and it’s the start of our journey to create a world-class travel experience that will look to seamlessly integrate our different product and service offerings across their travel journey.”
