2019: A Year in Review at AiQ
As the year comes to an end, we take a moment to reflect on the important events of 2019 and begin to look ahead at what’s in store for us in 2020. It is with no doubt that we will look back on 2019 as one of the most exciting and important years for AiQ. Together, we’ve made steady progress towards continuing to develop our team, improve our services and provide intelligent end-to-end support and solutions to our clients. From winning awards and collaborating with NATS, to signing prestigious framework agreements and working on groundbreaking projects with airports worldwide, we look back on some of our key highlights of 2019…
Visual Storytelling
2019 saw us reinforce our brand messaging and engage with customers on an interactive level with the release of our very own branded video showing how we came to be the company we are today.
The People Behind the IQ in AiQ
Our team are at the heart of what we do, and this year we have welcomed two new talented members, Dr Sherry Li, Airport Simulation Engineer, and Peter M, Senior Airport planner.
Sherry has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London where she developed various Python models, including a Python model to run a Monte-Carlo simulation (and post-process the simulation results) for Lamborghini. As Airport Simulation Engineer, Sherry creates process capacity models and simulations utilising our bespoke TransvisionAiR™ capacity and demand forecasting in-house tool in addition to using Excel and Visual Basic. This includes creating allocation plans, databases, mitigations and network maps and simulations for baggage, ground handling, passenger and airport vehicle movements.
A fantastic asset to our team, Senior Airport Planner, Peter has over 14 years of aviation experience, specialising in airport capacity assessments and detailed analysis of airport facility requirements. As an integral part of our airport capacity planning and airport strategic planning team, Peter engages with stakeholders at all levels, from operators, airlines, to ground handlers and delivery integrators.
Our experienced team has been delivering intelligent airport consultancy including capacity planning solutions for many years, and this year continues to develop well and hone their expertise and have enjoyed many team outings, including a visit to Royal Air Tattoo in the summer!
International Recognition
It seems that all of the hard work our wonderful team do paid off in November, with AiQ bringing home the trophy for the Best Solutions Provider at the AOA annual awards – here’s to many more in 2020!
Forging Relationships with Strategic Partners
Awards are fantastic, but great relationships are even better – as our RIBA Plan of Work blog demonstrates, 2019 saw us employ different techniques at different times in order to work with architects, airports and contractors successfully for many projects worldwide. At PTE in London, we announced a new collaboration with that NATS to combine and share expertise to launch a new End-to-End Capacity Enhancement service, and as this year draws to a close, we continue to foster ongoing close relationships with BAG (British Aviation Group) and AOA (Airport Operators Association).
Groundbreaking Advancements for Team AiQ
From partnering to enhance services, to supporting each other at events, our collaboration with NATS saw us execute a joint presentation at the British Irish Expo, as well as showcasing together at the ACI Airports Exchange event in Abu Dhabi.
We’re very proud to have been awarded two three-year framework agreements from Budapest Airport and London Heathrow Airport, where we worked with the airports to develop and maintain demand and capacity models of airport activities.
April 2019 saw us attend the Urban Turbine Project Session, listening with interest to the work going on to set out the airport of the future. As supporting partners, looking at a seamless experience and better integration for airports, we were pleased to hear more about the project. Read more about the fascinating approach of Henrik Roth’s Urban Turbine project on page 84 of Passenger Terminal World Magazine.
Our wins at Heathrow airport continue to grow, with the acquisition of a vehicle airside pass at Heathrow enabling us to carry out surveys and install our surveying equipment on airside in our new branded truck. Our team now all have an airside pass at Heathrow, meaning that our team are always up to date with current operational process of landside and airside!
Leading by Example – Our Work in Action
We have continued to help airports solve the most complex airport capacity planning challenges as seen in these 2019 case studies:
- Budapest Airport: looking at Operational Readiness Activation and Transition (ORAT) following the first phase, a capacity assessment for their current departures and arrival baggage process. We continue to work with them for the next 3 years as part of our framework agreement.
- London Southend Airport: completing a check-in to gate E2E capacity assessment with dynamic simulation.
- London Stanstead Airport: validating design for future development.
- Yanbu, Qassim & Hail, Saudi Arabia Airports: Full holistic baggage and check-in operational requirements analysis of the three airports.
- Leeds Bradford Airport: analysing their security process during peak summer and winter period with offering improvement recommendations.
- We are fortunate to be involved in many Heathrow Airport projects this year such as T4 Baggage handling System (BHS) replacement, T1 Central Out of Gauge Baggage Handling System (BHS) replacement, Cargo tunnel, Eastern Tug Road assessments and GSE Electrification. This latter project is to understand the factors involved in converting Ground Handlers, Ground Service Equipment (GSE) vehicles to an electrified fleet. This considers options around equipment movement around the airport campus, usage based on aircraft schedules and charging location points and demand.
Shaping the Future
In addition to giving support to the Urban Turbine Future project, we have also been supporting Darren Swanson and Pascall + Watson on examining urban air mobility and vertiports. Together, Swanson Aviation Consultancy, Pascall + Watson and AiQ Consulting teamed up to understand the unique operational characteristics of vertiports.
Sharing our vast knowledge, Adrian Todd, CEO, and Mevin Varghese, Airport Planner, took a trip to Singapore earlier this year to deliver an Airport Planning and Capacity Management course to senior airport managers within development and design departments. The Airport Planning Capacity Management Course, facilitated by EquipGlobal and based on IATA standards, was extremely well received by attendees, who highlighted in the course feedback the focused approach, wealth of knowledge and excellent coaches from AiQ Consulting.
What’s Next for AiQ? The Year Ahead
Our bespoke demand, capacity and simulation modelling tool TransvisionAiR™, enables us to recommend and demonstrate the best solution with rapidly adapting or solving requirements not previously identified. This will continue to be updated and we are currently working on some very exciting developments for the software! We’re working on developing a sophisticated Capacity Assessments IATA tool using the new LoS requirements as outlined in the ADRM edition 11, published in March this year… keep your eyes peeled for more announcements in 2020!
Last but not least, thank you to our team, partners, clients and stakeholders for making 2019 such a memorable one for the AiQ team. Here’s to a great 2020!
If you would like to talk to our team to see how we can work with your airport in 2020, contact us today We can explore how our groundbreaking simulation can assist your decision making processes, how we can implement small changes that make a big difference in your capacity, or give your airport a full holistic assessment alongside our strategic partners.