To Start, Air Access Updates…
We’re excited to note that our client Bangor International has gained year-round AA service to Charlotte as well as week-end American flights to Chicago.
Also, American will be operating from Traverse City Cherry Capital Airport to the Big Apple this summer, with nonstops to LaGuardia. These join the seasonal TVC-DFW flights that were facilitated by a SCASD grant crafted by Boyd Group International.
Stand by. More to come…
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Congratulations, Las Vegas.
America’s Only Truly Functional China-Welcome™ Gateway
On December 2, 2016, the first nonstop flight from Beijing arrived at Las Vegas.
A notable event, one year ago.
But even more notable was that this was the implementation of the first truly in-depth, functional and comprehensive China-Welcome™ program at any US airport.
It was also notable to the arriving passengers. A year later, it remains so.
From the welcome they receive in Mandarin at the jetway from a team of uniformed 欢迎大使 – Huanying (Welcome) Ambassadors – all the way through the customs processing, right through to ground transportation, these important customers are supported every step of the way into Las Vegas, and back to China, too.
Signage and wayfinding in Chinese is deployed at all communication touch points, and the Ambassadors are ready to assist these important visitors as they processed into the US.
At the FIS, they’re guided by new signage in simplified Chinese characters. The unfortunate fact is that at most US gateways, the even the official US Customs signage is still in “traditional” Chinese – and that hasn’t been used in mainland China since Chiang Kai-shek skedaddled out of town. It borders on insulting to visitors. That’s not the case at McCarran.
More Than Fluff Greetings – Mining Important Strategic Planning Info, Too. The program is not only a marketing success, but a strategic one as well.
At each departure, circulating in the lounge area, the Ambassadors politely ask passengers if they would share information on their trip, including for Chinese citizens where they are going and what part of China they are from. The process conveys the perception that the airport recognizes the value of their business.
While anecdotal, the information is also very valuable in collecting basic demographic information on this emerging international visitor sector. .
LAS – Leader In Innovative China Outreach. In addition to this local program, LAS has also implemented an aggressive digital presence in China.
McCarran stands out in having the most comprehensive WeChat app of any US airport. WeChat is the most widely used – and most flexible – mobile app in China, with over 500 million Chinese subscribers.
The McCarran WeChat app puts the airport literally into the pockets of thousands of Chinese travelers before they leave China. And once at LAS, the app serves as a navigational as well as a digital forum for airport concessionaires to offer Chinese menus and special promotional offerings.
It’s a tool not only for visitors on flights directly from China, but for the over 340,000 Chinese who pass through the airport on other flight routings. The QR code to download the app is also conveniently provided in signage across the airport, including on the inter-terminal transit trains.
In fact, the sophistication of the McCarran WeChat app is the equal of those at Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong airports. That’s natural – it was designed by the same team, a team that’s now associated with Boyd Group International.
There’s Veneer China-Prep, And Then There’s China-Welcome™. A lot of US airports will claim they are “China ready,” but Las Vegas McCarran is the only one to have a truly functional and pro-active outreach that goes beyond a couple of signs, a Mandarin speaker on hand, and “cultural” awareness programs.
At LAS, Chinese visitors are proactively made to feel that the airport respects and values their business. The uncertainty and anxiety of Mandarin-only speakers are aggressively addressed.
That is not the case at most other US airports. To be blunt, Mars probably has better Chinese wayfinding and welcome than at most US international gateways.
Interested In Gaining More of This Traffic? We’re Ready. With an expected 26 million visitors expected from the Middle Kingdom in the next five years, it is aggressive airports such as McCarran that have the eye of the new Chinese airlines seeking to enter the US.
Boyd Group International is proud to have worked with McCarran in establishing their China-Welcome™ program. And across the US, we’re working with a number of airports – of all sizes – in crafting programs tailored to their specific China opportunity.
If your airport or community is interested in developing a China-Welcome™ program, let us know. From full-featured systems such as at LAS, down to informational brochures available and ready, we can craft a program that puts your facility ahead of the competition.
Yes, But Our Website Already Has A Chinese Translation. No, You Don’t. Here’s some important advice. If your local website has one of those automated google-type “translations” into foreign languages, including Chinese, we’d suggest you stop right now and get it off your site as fast as possible.
Those machine translations are insultingly inept and make the airport look stupid to Chinese visitors. They translate words in raw form, with the result being laughable and embarrassing.
Instead, let us assist in implementing a web strategy, from a simple professional Chinese tab on your existing site all the way up to hosting a full-featured website in China, created in Chinese, not translated from English..
For more information on the range of cost-effective China-Welcome™ channels we offer, click here to the China Ni Hao website.
In the meantime, congratulations to Las Vegas McCarran.
Don’t Just Talk About It…
Get Ready To Experience The Future
At The 22nd Annual
Get the insights, perspectives, and forecasts you need to take advantage of the emerging opportunities and challenges across the industry…
The IAFS(tm) has set the standard for aviation planning events. It’s focused on data and real business intelligence that no other event delivers.
Two Days of Exploring The Future…
Real forecasts – And Real Planning Insight
The Summit is different. Very different from any other event. As our regular attendees will tell you – when you leave the Summit, you are armed with business intelligence and futurist perspectives that represent real competitive advantages.
The unique approach of the IAFS™ is that attendees have the opportunity to interact with airline and industry CEOs and executives. Instead of a string of panels, the Summit starts with the emerging trends, and we explore them with the presenters from all across the industry and the globe.
Tackling The Future. The Summit does not dance around issues. It’s known for its laser-focus on the metrics and trends that affect all sectors in aviation – airports, airlines, financial institutions, suppliers and labor. The Summit takes on the real issues, as-is, where-is, and with no regard for political correctness.
Whatever area of aviation you’re in, you need to be at the Summit to not only see the future, but experience it. It covers hot button issues including:
How will emerging new airline strategies – in the US and globally – affect traffic patterns and airport capacity needs?
Exploring aviation infrastructure needs – it’s all about intelligent futurist planning… not just building things
And speaking of infrastructure – what about airport funding changes… PFCs? Discretionary? Privatization?
New fleets – how will airlines take advantage of new aircraft capabilities. And what’s the outcome of continued retirement of small jets?
Traffic growth – where will airline fleet and market strategies result in meteoric increases, and how will these shift consumer travel patterns?
Globalization – It’s affecting all of aviation, in all areas of the country. Where are the opportunities for aviation investment?
The new “Parallel Airline Systems” – both in the US with ULCCs and internationally with entities such as Norwegian and Wow will drive tactical direction at incumbents. But where, and how
Not to worry. We’re covering it all. And a whole lot more at the Summit.
Aviation Leaders Will Be At The Summit. Be One of Them. And we’ll be exploring them with the key CEOs and decision makers from airlines across the globe. This year, we’re excited to have participation from
Southwest, Alaska, Spirit, Allegiant, American, United, Air Canada, Air China, Hainan, Hawaiian, TAP, Korean – for starters
As you might guess, the International Aviation Forecast Summit is a very intense two days of gathering new insights and planning intelligence. A lot of “pluses” such as:
Plus: the popular “View from Wall Street Analysts”
Plus: fleet trend forecasts from global aircraft manufacturers
Plus: the comprehensive Airports:USA® enplanement and traffic trend forecasts
Plus: The Boyd Group International Airports:China™ forecasts, outlining opportunities for US airports, communities, and businesses
Plus: Outstanding opportunities for networking with airlines, airports and aviation decision-makers.
The unique approach of the IAFS™ is that attendees have the opportunity to interact with airline and industry CEOs and executives. Instead of a string of panels, the Summit starts with the emerging trends, and we explore them with the presenters from all across the industry and the globe.
Some examples of why aviation leaders join us year after year…
From The Airports:USA Traffic Forecast: Large US non-hubsite airports will increasingly be in the cross-hairs of EU carriers looking for additional feed for their connecting hubs.
At BGI we outlined this trend four years ago… and as usual, we were alone in the prediction. But since that time, we’ve seen British Airways add Austin and New Orleans to their route map, with more in the pipeline.
At the Summit, we’ll be covering the factors that carriers such as BA and members of the SkyTeam alliance look at when considering a US spoke city. There are a number of key elements that are necessary, most of which traditional ASD forecasting miss entirely. Join your colleagues and get a jump on the opportunities this new trend represents for airports, suppliers, financial institutions and economic planners.
New Trends In Fleet Applications – And They’re Positive. As small jets are phased out – both in the US and across the world, the new economics of larger airliners will have major effects on where airlines assign assets, and how they strategize for the future. In 2012, IAFS forecasts indicated that replacement of 50-seat jets would be mostly positive for air service access in the US. While contrary to consensus thinking, which held that lots of communities would see reduce frequencies and less traffic, the forecast has proven accurate.
Yes, There Will Be Data On China. And, as the #1 forecast firm in regard to China-US traffic and aviation, we’ll be looking at the opportunities that will be in line for both gateway and secondary US airports as this segment of travel matures from gateway-to-bus into gateway-to-connecting flight.
We’re also planning some exciting pre-Summit workshops this year, including one on the economic opportunities for rural US airports. In fact, the IAFS™ Workshop program itself delivers more hard data and planning focus than other conferences in their entirety.
If you have not registered yet, click here to get the early registration rate. We’re at the fabulous Wynn Resort, and our hosts, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority and McCarran International Airport will be again delivering a super event.
Join us! Early registration rates are in effect – and they represent greater value than any other event. So click here for more information and to reserve your space.
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