Critical Evaluation of Airport Business Plan

Abstract

The airport business plan is a logical and disciplined structure to set out goals, objectives, and action plans for daily operations and management of airports. To evolve the business, airports need to follow different strategies. These strategies are implemented through the business plans of the airports. The following are the objectives of this research.

1. Identifying the business plan and its components
2. Developing Criteria to evaluate airport business plan with its performance
3. Evaluating the impact of how the airport business plan affects airport performance by utilizing developed criteria.

A literature survey was carried out to identify the components of the business plan. Interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted to develop criteria including airport business plan elements (ABP Elements). Identified ABP elements are Airport & Market, Organization, Marketing, Operations, Aviation Products, Services & Facilities, Financial and Information Technology.

Key performance indicators were identified under each ABP element to evaluate the impact of how the business plan affects the airport performances. Four business plans were selected as case studies namely, Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Mattala Rajapakshe International Airport (MRIA), Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), and Amsterdam International Airport (AMS) according to the availability of information. These business plans were benchmarked based on the key performance indicators under each ABP element. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was utilized to calculate the weights of the elements of the ABP.

As findings, HKG was the highest performing airport, MRIA was the lowest-performing airport in terms of Airport Business Plan. The areas that need to be developed in Airport Business Plans of BIA and MRIA were identified and recommendations were given. The created rubric by developing a table of airport business plan criteria and sub-criteria for the selected four airports can be used as a decision-making tool. The airport can enhance its efficiency to identify new business opportunities and attract investors by implementing a standard business plan.

Keywords: Evaluation, Planning, Airport Business Plan, Airport performance, Airport benchmarking