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3 Introduction In todayâs competitive aviation industry, airports and airlines are always seeking innovative ways to reduce expenses while providing high levels of customer service. Airport-airline con- sortiums may provide an opportunity to more effectively manage resources and reduce costs, while maintaining high customer service levels. An airport-airline consortium is a special-pur- pose business entity that is usually owned and operated by a group of airlines, and that may be assigned the responsibility of developing and/or managing certain facilities, equipment, systems, or services at an airport. The purpose of creating a consortium and assigning it responsibilities is to capitalize on certain advantages the consortium may have over an airport or individual airlines. Today, there are 39 airport-airline consortiums providing services at airports in the United States with responsibilities ranging from complete terminal operations to single service scope such as aircraft deicing operations. The oldest consortium has been in operation for more than 40 years and the creation of new consortiums has been increasing in frequency. Opportunities to implement new consortiums are studied when airports or airlines believe that the consortium structure may result in improvements at their airport. However, studies do not always lead to new consortiums being implemented. Clearly, airports and airlines would benefit from additional information to increase their under- standing, evaluation, and participation in consortiums. ACRP Synthesis 31 recently described sev- eral current consortium arrangements and concluded that the consortium model is flexible and can be adapted to fit many circumstances and requirements. Airport operators and airline representatives may use this Guidebook to investigate the appli- cation of the consortium model at their airport. Motivations may be to reduce costs, to improve efficiency; or to develop, lease, finance, and construct new facilities. This Guidebook serves as a decision-making guide for parties interested in exploring the application of the consortium model at their airport. Objective The objective of this project was to prepare a Guidebook for airport operators and airline rep- resentatives who are responsible for agreements related to airport facilities, equipment, systems, and services and who may be interested in evaluating, advocating, or forming consortiums to provide certain services. The Guidebook is based on a review of available literature about consortiums along with interviews of airport, airline, and consortium operators. The Guidebook combines literature, C H A P T E R 1
4 A Guidebook for Airport-Airline Consortiums interview findings, and the authorsâ experience to document consortium key attributes and to provide decision-making guidance on the consortium formation process. Purpose The Guidebook will serve as a resource for airport operators and airline representatives who may be interested in evaluating, advocating, or forming consortiums to provide certain services at their airport. The target audience for the Guidebook is airport operators and airline represen- tatives who are responsible for agreements related to airport facilities, equipment, systems, and services, and who are considering the consortium concept as an avenue to maintain the facilities and equipment and provide passenger services. Terms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms For the purposes of this Guidebook, an airport-airline consortium, often abbreviated herein as âconsortiumâ or âairline consortium,â is defined as a group of airlines that jointly hold respon- sibility for the common operation and maintenance of facilities, equipment, and/or services at an individual airport, usually as delegated by an agreement with airport management. At some locations, airport representatives also participate in the governance of the consortiums. Further, under this definition, the consortium is always a legal entity that has been formed specifically for the purpose described. There are numerous airline committees at airports in the United States through which airlines work together toward a common goal. The majority of these committees, however, are not legal entities. Because airline committees that are not legal entities are unable to hold contracts and conduct business in a manner similar to legal entities, they are beyond the scope of this report. A glossary of relevant terms, abbreviations, and acronyms used in the Guidebook is Appendix B. Organization The Guidebook has two primary sections: the main text organized by chapter and appendices. The main text is brief, providing information and guidance in an abridged format. Frequently asked questions; glossary of terms, abbreviations and acronyms; bibliography; and case study details are included as Appendices A through D, respectively. Chapters 2 through 7 of the Guidebook present the consortium formation process. ⢠Chapter 2: Initial Consensus ⢠Chapter 3: Feasibility Study ⢠Chapter 4: Business Entity Selection ⢠Chapter 5: Consensus to Proceed ⢠Chapter 6: Prepare Agreements ⢠Chapter 7: Implementation Chapter 8, Decision-Making Guidance and Considerations, provides guidance and options for the decisions that will be faced when working through the consortium formation process. Chapter 9, Existing Consortiums, presents the research findings related to the consortiums that exist today in the United States.
Introduction 5 Chapter 10, Consortium Success Metrics, discusses various techniques for determining con- sortium performance success. Detailed information was gathered and compiled during the preparation of this Guidebook regarding the following consortiums: ⢠AATC Atlanta Airlines Terminal Corporation ⢠CICA TEC CICA Terminal Equipment Consortium ⢠DENCO Denver Consortium ⢠LAXSUL LAX Shared Use Lounge Company ⢠OFFC Oakland Fuel Facilities Corporation ⢠TOGA Terminal One Group Association, L.P. Detailed information on each of these consortiums is presented in Appendix D.
