Vantage Airport Group marks 20 years of making airports better

Vantage Airport Group is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a global investor, operator and developer of airports at World Routes in Chicago. Over the last two decades, the company has left its mark on more than 27 airports worldwide.

In this same span, airports have transformed from sterile transit hubs through which passengers hurriedly move to customer-centric businesses, an experience and even a destination in themselves. Today, airports have the opportunity to both reflect and define a region’s unique sense of place. It’s this approach, paired with global airport management and operations expertise, that form Vantage’s winning formula for delivering better airports across its global network.

“We were one of the first players in the airport privatization market,” said George Casey, Vantage President & CEO. “Our enduring focus on the three pillars of our business—people, performance and place—have led the evolution of the company and the work we’re doing to make airports better.”

With a current portfolio of nine airports on three continents, Vantage’s network includes regional commuting hubs, holiday gateways and large capital city airports. While as diverse as the regions they serve, Vantage airports are united by the power of a network.

People
Essential to the company’s success is the strength of its global team and its partnerships with the community at each location. ”Our people take knowledge from one site and share it across the network, developing best practices and generating efficiencies,” said Casey. “They also work closely with local stakeholders, who may be members of government or leaders in the business community, to ensure Vantage staff understand local customs and culture, and what the region needs from its airport.”

Performance
A key area of focus for the company, Vantage measures performance in two ways: the value it adds to enhancing safety, efficiency and profitability at its network airports and the overall viability of the company.

“Vantage’s strong financial performance drives our ability to add value at our airports and enhance their overall success,” said Casey.

Understanding that success looks different from airport to airport, the company offers a product suite—a menu of services—that it leverages at each site.

“A great example from our product suite is energy management,” said Casey. “The costs associated with keeping terminal buildings comfortable for passengers and staff year-round is one of the top operating expenses for an airport.”

To help minimize these operating costs and allow airports to allocate funds to other experience-enhancing initiatives, Vantage has developed benchmarking information to set energy consumption performance targets. This enables the company to work with its airports and identify solutions for their unique needs. In Larnaka, this meant evaluating photovoltaic solar plants; in Montego Bay, implementing an optimized terminal cooling system; and in Hamilton, completing an energy retrofit that generated 25 per cent savings in the first month following implementation.

Place
The concept of a ‘sense of place’ that reflects local geography and culture was first successfully brought to life at Vantage’s partner airport, Vancouver International Airport (YVR). There, and at many Vantage airports since, art, architecture, building materials and colour schemes unite to create an experience that is unique to each airport’s roots. This approach helps foster a sense of homegrown pride for locals and deliver an authentic first and last impression of the destination to travellers.

At Nassau’s Sir Lynden Pindling International Airport, for instance, every detail reflects the beauty and warmth of The Bahamas, from the terminal’s undulating roofline and turquoise-tinted colour palette to a striking art installation featuring a flock of painted flamingos and conch shells incorporated into the flooring materials.

Rooted in Success
Borne of the entrepreneurial spirit fostered at Vancouver International Airport in 1994, Vantage, formerly Vancouver Airport Services, seeks opportunities that are a good fit within the portfolio. The company is currently leading a consortium bidding on the LaGuardia Central Terminal Building redevelopment project for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

“It’s an exciting time in the industry,” said Casey. “Leading a bid on a project of this nature is a testament to our 20-year history and experience as an airport investor and operator.” Selection of a preferred bidder is expected to be announced later this year.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Vantage is privately owned by equity shareholders Vancouver Airport Authority and Citi Infrastructure Investors (CII). The company looks forward to expanding the reach of its unique competitive advantage—a combination of best-in-class airport services, entrepreneurial zeal and a powerful global network.