A
$30 million “game changer” will bring eight new dining destinations, 1,000
iPads and 15 tech-driven gate lounges to Philadelphia
International Airport – a transformation that will offer those passing
through PHL an authentic taste of the city and a peek into the future of air
travel.
Officials
with the airport, American
Airlines and hospitality company OTG will formally announce the massive
renovation of Terminal B Wednesday afternoon in an airport hangar where guests
can sample food from the award-winning chefs now bringing their cuisine to PHL.
Terminal
B, where American exclusively operates, has had only minor updates since its
construction in the 1960s.
“When
this project is done, this will be the number one destination at the airport,”
said Rhett
Workman, American Airlines managing director of airport and government
affairs.
American
is in the middle of a $3 billion investment in enhancing customers’ experiences
at 335 airports, including in Philadelphia and its eight other hubs, around the
country, he said.
Those
changes – new ticketing and check-in kiosks, revamped lounges, among other
improvements – are unlikely to cause jaws to drop. But the newly conceived
Terminal B – funded primarily by OTG – just might, said Workman, calling the
airline hospitality company “the jewel in the crown.”
“This
allows us to personalize the Philadelphia airport experience in a new way,” he
said.
“This
will be a game changer for us,” added Airport CEO Chellie
Cameron.
Construction
is anticipated to start in the early fall with an expected completion date in
mid-2018.
Cameron,
who has spent a chunk of the first four months in her new role assessing how to
improve PHL customers’ experience, said once the overhaul is finished, it will
make a “very quick impact” on passengers.
“I
hope everyone comes screaming back saying we want more of this,” she added.
DINING
OTG
will introduce eight new eateries to the airport with this project, bolstering
PHL’s culinary roster with the help of two Top Chef winners and six others
whose resumes include local favorites Tria, Laurel, Le Virtu, Sbraga and more.
Rick
Blatstein, OTG’s CEO, said they considered “rising stars and diamonds in
the rough” for the roles and made incorporating a genuine Philly food
experience a priority.
"They
work with us to create these new concepts," Blatstein explained. "We
create the restaurants for American
Airlines, for the customer in Philadelphia and for the mindset in
Philadelphia.”
The
new dining destinations and the locals behind them are:
- Liberty Prime: Steakhouse from Chef Kevin Sbraga, the winner of T op Chef: Season 7 and owner of Sbraga
- Baba Bar: Mediterranean-style cafe from Chef Nicholas Elmi, winner of Top Chef: Season 11, and the chef/owner of Laurel.
- LOVE Grille : Comfort food from Chef Erin O’Shea, one of the country’s only female barbecue pit mistresses and chef/partner at Percy Street Barbecue
- Noobar: Japanese ramen and sushi from Chef Hiroyuki “Zama” Tanaka, a self-taught sushi chef and chef/owner of Zama and coZara.
- Boule Cafe: Bakery and cafe from Chef Anne Coll, executive chef at Whip Tavern in Chester County and previously the executive chef at Meritage.
- CIBO Italian Bistro: An Italian restaurant already operated by OTG, an expanded menu will come from Chef Joe Cicala, executive chef at Le Virtu.
- Mezzogiorno: Neopolitan style pizzafrom Chef Stalin Bedon, owner of Nomad Pizza, which began as a food truck before expanding to 2 brick-and-mortar locations in Philly and 2 others in New Jersey.
- G ermantown Biergarten: A beer garden, which pulls from the northwest Philly neighborhood, from John Myerow and Michael McCaulley, owners of Tria.
Coffee
shops and other retail shops will also be scattered throughout the terminal.
Each
concept will have a full menu, around 60 to 80 items, with restaurant staff
cooking dishes from scratch, Blastein said.
It
will also provide a sample of the culinary offerings available in the city to
those on layovers, possibly leading those who would otherwise only know
Philly's airport a reason to return to the city for a true vacation, he
suggested.
Price
points at the eight restaurants will be on par with what customers would pay at
similar establishments outside the airport.
It’s
a pricing strategy, Blastein says, OTG learned in Philadelphia in 1996 when the
company launched by taking over a dozen concessions from Aramark as it exited
the airport.
“We
don’t believe our customers are our captured audience,” said the CEO, who is
originally from Northeast Philly. “They are our guests.”
With
some of the city’s most well-known and well-regarded culinary talent, the menus
will be a draw, but the iPads will be the first thing diners notice.
“Every
single seat in every single restaurant will have a iPad in front of it,”
Blatstein said.
The
iPads function in 21 different languages. Customers place their customizable
orders through the devices, which offer visual menus, as well as the ability to
track one’s flight, surf the web and play games – some that even offer prizes,
he said.
Suprisingly,
the added technology will not negatively impact food service jobs at
Philadelphia International.
“We
don’t replace server staff with the iPads,” Blatstein said. “We enhance the
server position and have them spend even more time on hospitality.”
Roughly
150 employees work for OTG and its subtenants in Terminal B. When OTG has
brought comparable “experiences” to other airports, the number of workers
doubled, Blatstein said.
“When
we create a full experiential terminal, our sales are roughly 50 percent higher
than the average of the top 50 airports in North America,” Blatstein said.
So
the iPads bring about more business for the terminal’s restaurants and retail
shops, creating additional work and the need for more employees.
Asked
if putting the tablets at the tables would hinder impromptu conversations among
passengers, Blatstein said that has yet to occur in the 11 airports where OTG
has already put its stamp. Philadelphia
International Airport already has 110 iPads in Terminal F at Local, which
features Iron Chef Jose Garces’ cuisine.
Describing
what he calls “the lean,” Blatstein said the iPads creates a more social
environment than anticipated when someone sees something on the tablet and
leans over to show their neighbor.
“It
is important for customers to interact,” the OTG CEO said.
TECHNOLOGY
Reimagining
Terminal B with an eye towards technology doesn’t stop with the restaurants.
For
the travelers who head straight from security to their gate, iPads will also be
at 75 to 80 percent of the seats at the terminal's 15 gates.
Nervous
about a flight change? You can stay planted in your seat at the gate and use
the devices to order food, beverages or retail items. The purchases will then
be delivered.
Customers
will also have access to more than 1,000 power ports once the redesign is
complete.
The
additions also mean newly created jobs, although Blatstein declined to provide
an estimated figure.
The
tech might be a turn off for some who remember the good ol’ days before
smartphones and the Internet, but American Airlines' Workman says the upgrades
will make the airport more competitive.
“If
you look at airport trends of the future, this is where they are headed,”
Workman said.
Last
year, 31.4 million passengers traversed through PHL. Travelers making a pit
stop in the airport between flights account for 45 percent of the airport’s
passenger traffic, according to PHL.
“More
and more passengers are making choices of flights based on the connecting
airport,” said PHL’s Cameron. “If all other things are equal, price and
schedule, then you start to think about those intangibles. I want to go through
Philadelphia because I know I’ll have a great meal.”
Upping
the appeal of PHL with Terminal B’s reinvention “will make us more
competitive,” Cameron said. “That might tip it over the edge from an airport
where they don’t know what to expect.”
CONSTRUCTION
With
plans to handle the work in phases, both Workman and Cameron said travelers
should not feel a significant impact during the approximately 18 to 24 months
of construction.
Cameron
added that any disruptions customers may experience will be worthwhile in the
long-run.
“If
we are ever going to go from good to great, we have got to go through that
temporary period of inconvenience,” she said.
The
exact details of each phase are still being sorted out.
Some
parts of Terminal B will be refaced temporarily, said Blatstein, offering
passengers a preview of the project’s full scope.
OTG
already has a significant presence at the airport, operating eight dining
options, along with the Garces-led Local, across several terminals.
The
opportunity to transform an entire terminal – at the airport where OTG got its
start 30 years ago – gave the company a chance to return to its roots.
“A
lot of of us from OTG are from Philly,” Blatstein said. "This is a proud
moment, for all our crew members.”
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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