In the second of our series of What, Why, How, When and Where blogs, we explore Airport Demand Forecasting, another one of our key services.
What
Evaluating air travel demand is an essential part of any airport’s plan. AiQ Consulting’s role when asked to carry out Airport Demand Forecasting for any of our clients could be to assess the need for new capacity for a passenger terminal, analyse airside vehicle activity or to create an overview of an entire airport’s operations, in order to ensure that our clients meet the future passenger demand.
We also explore options to meet those future needs, and suggest ways to realise additional capacity.
Why
It is vital to be able to reliably forecast demand, in order to assess capacity, utilisation and operations. This allows airports and airport operators to make decisions, both on the day-to-day running on the airport and further development of infrastructure and facilities. It also minimises risk to the business.
Without demand forecasting, it would be difficult for clients to reach an objective. Existing and additional capacity needs to be quantified authoritatively, and all parties need to understand the implications of growth.
How
With AiQ’s bespoke 2D modelling software, Transvision Air, and our skills in dealing with stakeholders from all levels in the airport environment, we are able to process the data into easy to understand presentations, allowing airport management to have the data they need to make decisions.
We use Transvision Air to analyse and present data. This can include information from the airport (such as flight schedules, passenger numbers, etc) and trends and patterns which are also taken into consideration, such as domestic and international travel and its impact on the industry as a whole. We can also look at a particular sector, country and airport. Factors taken into account here can include local and global economy, population, policy changes, fuel prices and demand in air travel.
When
Airport Demand Forecasting is typically carried out when changes are due to happen at airports. For example, new entrants and airlines into terminals, existing stakeholders (airlines, baggage handlers and so on) out-growing their space, and changes in air travel demand.
Where
AiQ have worked with many airports to provide this service, including London Heathrow. For LHR Terminal 3 our team worked on Demand Forecasting for Airside Operations. Using flight schedules, we carried out an airside vehicle demand analysis for our client to understand the impact of ground handler changes on their airside road network.
Developing a complex simulation model integrating vehicle types and their engagement standards, geographical locations of handlers, ULD empty/full storage as well as airlines and more; we were able to communicate clearly with the customer and other stakeholders the increased traffic flow, as well as the critical path surrounding predicted problems and delays in the turnaround process.
For more information about our solutions to airport demand forecasting, contact us today.