Quote:
Originally Posted by galleyfox
Cheap connectivity >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dining and shopping
Vast majority of Americans: 5 stars for $100 direct flight and McDonald’s
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Exactly. This is why airports being able to cash in on retail lease revenue instead of depending so heavily on airline fees is ideal for the American traveler. Airline fees get passed through to the entire flying public whereas retail fees get passed through to... the people who use the retail. These airline fees vary wildly from city to city and are part of the equation airlines use when deciding whether to grow at ORD vs IAH vs DEN etc. For example, why route connections through ORD when it will cost 30% less to route them through DEN?
Emphasizing retail and dining is also ideal for extracting as much revenue as possible out of passengers not actually visiting Chicago but only sticking around for a few hour layover. Not only is that lease revenue for the airport its tax revenue for the city.
London Heathrow for example collects more in retail revenue than O'Hare collects in
total revenue.