Press Release

For Immediate Release
December 6, 2022

Alexandria, Va.— Consistent with its heritage of fostering innovation to benefit airports, the aviation industry, and the traveling public, the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), through its Airport Consortium on Customer Trust (ACT) Program, has released a new catalog of key business terms and standard provisions for use in airport concessions contracts.

The new product will benefit airport managers throughout the United States regardless of airport size, location, or organizational structure.

Led by U.S. airport chief financial officers, Steer, EY Infrastructure Advisors, and Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, the ACT Working Group on Financial Innovations sought to provide sufficient context and background to allow airport decision makers to interact with their business partners more effectively and explore the best alternatives and contractual structures for their specific airport.

“Increasingly, airport leaders need to be collaborative across the industry to address our challenges,” said Philadelphia International Airport CEO Atif Saeed, A.A.E, IAP. “Our partnership with AAAE, industry, thought-leaders, and like-minded airports through the ACT program has been invaluable. It provides us with an opportunity to pilot innovation, create standards, and explore sustainable ways to reimagine the airport experience together. The work produced here is an example of this collaborative thought leadership.”

The working group sought to provide airport leaders a primer for discussions with existing and future concessionaire partners, including identifying some of the key business drivers of airport concessions and emerging trends in the industry. The document reflects the fact that each airport’s position will be unique and require consideration of historical precedents, local market influences, legal and commercial legacy agreements, consumer preferences, and market demand. The research reflects recent changes in the contracting environment since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights preliminary lessons learned. It also provides a forward-looking view as the industry continues to return and as passenger traffic and the health of the industry improves.

To view the research, visit aaae.org/act.

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ABOUT ACT: AAAE, with the support of CAG Holdings, LLC (CAG), a Carlyle backed company, created the ACT Program to evaluate and launch – with the backing of substantive industry expert partners – solutions in airports to address the near-, mid-, and long-term needs of the industry. It drives innovation, digitalization, thought leadership, and it helps airports pilot and research practical ways to meet critical needs. The ACT Steering Group, led by airport executives across the United States and Canada, identify and define the working group topics to pilot and study.

ABOUT AAAE: Founded in 1928, AAAE is the world's largest professional organization representing the individuals who work at public-use commercial and general aviation airports. AAAE's 9,000 members represent over 850 airports and hundreds of companies and organizations that support the airport industry. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., AAAE serves its membership through results-oriented representation in Washington, D.C., and delivers a wide range of industry services and professional development opportunities, including training, conferences, and a highly respected accreditation program. aaae.org

CONTACT:
Joel D. Bacon
Executive Vice President, Government and Public Affairs
703.575.2478

Jose Saavedra, C.M., M.E.
Director, Industry Programs
703.578.2517

@AAAEDelivers