SUMMARY

Airport Practices for Onboarding a New Passenger Airline

This synthesis focuses on the behind-the-scenes preparatory work that an airport carries out once an airline has announced plans to begin serving an airport. The behind-the-scenes process is a topic that has generally received little attention in the industry. Defined as “airline onboarding” for this report, the numerous tasks completed by airport staff when preparing for service by a new airline are extensive and require months of work. For context, “airline” throughout this report refers to regularly scheduled commercial passenger service.

Before onboarding a new airline, airport staff typically engage in “air service development.” Although not the topic of this synthesis, numerous airports across the country have dedicated, trained staff to approach new and existing carriers with hopes of securing new or additional airline service. This practice of air service development has been extensively studied and reported. ACRP Report 18: Passenger Air Service Development Techniques (Martin 2009) is one such resource.

Collectively, the U.S. national aviation system consists of almost 20,000 landing areas, of which 5,069 are public-use (open to the public) (FAA 2022a). Within this mature air transportation system, only 517 of the nation’s airports (approximately 10% of public-use airports) are Part 139-certificated and eligible to serve commercial passenger airlines. This is airline preference in that airlines only serve cities and airports where sufficient demand exists to generate profits, or in the case of the Essential Air Service program airports, where federal subsidies exist to cover costs.

Annually in the United States, airlines announce new destinations and additional nonstop service. Although it is common for these additional routes to supplement existing airline service at an airport, some airlines may begin serving an airport for the first time, especially newly created airlines. Airports that did not previously have airline service will be welcoming airline service for the first time.

Adding an additional airline at an airport that is already served by incumbent airlines is often not as daunting as when an airport transitions to a commercial-service airport by adding an airline for the first time. Preparing to integrate these new airlines into the airport operating environment requires months of planning and preparation, often involving numerous airport departments addressing very specific areas of the onboarding process.

Although a comprehensive review of the literature on airline onboarding was conducted for this synthesis, there is a dearth of literature on this topic. The Airport Survey on New Airline Onboarding instrument, created for this synthesis, gathered data from 22 participating airports. This online survey was only disseminated to a list of airports known to have welcomed service by a new airline within the past 3 years–by definition, a relatively small group. In addition to the online survey, telephone calls to select airports with experience

onboarding new passenger airlines resulted in the development of 12 airport case examples for the report. The case examples highlight the procedures and practices used by airports to prepare for operations by a new airline, including the roles of specific airport departments.

The synthesis resulted in numerous lessons learned, presented in 12 case examples in Chapter 6, as well as several sample checklists and a sample airline operating agreement in the appendices.

1. By enabling the airline to select their preferred vendor for both above- and below-wing services, the airport can ensure that the airline secures sufficient services for their operations. Additional time will be required for security badging, insurance, and agreements if the airline prefers to secure the services of a vendor not currently operating on the airport.
2. Airport staff need to ensure that appropriate agreements are signed by the airline, including the operating agreement and space use agreement. Although this aspect of onboarding can occur simultaneously with other onboarding tasks, it may require more time than anticipated because airline legal staff may request revisions to the agreements, thus requiring a back-and-forth negotiation process. Keep in mind that the airport will require certain agreement provisions, possibly limiting the flexibility of the airline in negotiating terms that are not in compliance with airport requirements or agreements with incumbent airlines.
3. Airports may have unique constraints related to terminal space, gates, noise, and so forth. For example, are sufficient gates and hold rooms available? Are landing slots available? Is sufficient automobile parking available for passengers? These constraints can affect the airline onboarding process, with specific parameters in place for new airlines. It is important to consider possible space conflicts if airline requests are granted (e.g., locating a major carrier and their codeshare partner at adjacent gates).
4. Some airports have found great benefit in developing an airline onboarding checklist. By having a checklist with each task, due date, and individual responsible, the airport can ensure the airport is fully prepared for the airline’s inaugural flight.
5. In the airline onboarding process, communication is key. Many airports have learned that holding weekly internal airport meetings, as well as weekly calls with airline personnel, creates a more robust onboarding process.
6. Some airports have learned that airlines can become confused if there are multiple airport staff members with whom they must interact as part of the onboarding process. Creating a single airport point of contact can minimize this confusion.
7. Airports experienced with airline onboarding have learned the benefit of contingency planning. Although some airline onboarding processes have been standardized, each airline is different, with unique needs and expectations. In the dynamic aviation industry, planning for contingencies can be helpful.
8. Debriefing after the online onboarding process is complete can yield positive results. The debrief can highlight any challenges encountered, as well as successes experienced. It will be helpful to include any feedback from the airline regarding the onboarding process. Debriefing is most effective if performed with the goal of improving the onboarding process for future airlines.
9. Information Technology (IT) is the backbone of airline operations. Airline IT needs, considering airport systems (such as common use), should be part of the initial discussions with the airline. Full IT integration may require a significant investment of time and should begin early in the onboarding process.
10. Effective airline onboarding requires significant lead time prior to the inaugural flight: 6 months is generally preferred, with 3 months the recommended minimum lead time. Although ultra-low-cost carriers commonly provide less lead time than major airlines,

all airlines need to provide at least several months’ lead time. Some airports may require significantly more time to prepare for new airline service. For example, a non-Part 139-certificated airport may require several years to develop an Airport Certification Manual (ACM) to obtain an Airport Operating Certificate from the FAA.

11. Airports commonly engage in some aspect of marketing as part of the onboarding process. Although mainly an airline responsibility, airport marketing can support the successful operation of the new airline with high-yielding promotional efforts to the local community.
12. Numerous airport staff are engaged in airline onboarding activities. Even if the Airport Director, for example, has experience with airline onboarding, delegation is key to ensuring that additional staff gain onboarding experience and to making the process most efficient.
13. Although most airline onboarding activities happen in the months prior to the inaugural flight, airline onboarding, in an operational sense, continues after the inaugural flight. For instance, airline staff may need help with challenges related to operating the jetbridge, Flight Information Display System (FIDS) boards, and baggage claim devices.
14. Partnerships with local businesses and elected officials can support full integration of the new airline into the local community. By creating a more collaborative environment, the airport can strengthen the airline onboarding process.
15. Airline onboarding will require some degree of coordination with various regulatory agencies, such as the FAA, TSA, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). For example, airports may be required to determine the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) Index, TSA passenger screening requirements, and international passenger processing requirements.
16. Many tasks in the airline onboarding process occur simultaneously. Various airport departments generally work on assigned tasks concurrently. For example, IT is generally working behind the scenes while other airport departments are also completing onboarding tasks. This approach reduces the total length of time needed to onboard a new airline.
17. Some airlines have found it beneficial to conduct an airport site visit early in the onboarding process. Such a visit will enable the airline staff to meet airport staff and to better understand facilities, including available space. Likewise, airport staff can also better understand airline requirements to ensure a smooth onboarding process. Even if not initiated by the airline, airports can consider requiring airline staff to conduct a site visit as part of the onboarding process.

In summary, although numerous lessons learned and highlights of unique practices are presented in this synthesis report, each airport is unique and each one of these lessons may not be appropriate in all contexts. Airports need to consider the strengths of airline onboarding practices from various airports, given that airports of all sizes continue to enhance the airline onboarding process.