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Mobility of the Future: Fraport and Volocopter

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Fraport AG and Volocopter GmbH are pioneering mobility ofthe future. Together, they are developing concepts for ground infrastructure and operations required for air taxi services at airports. This cooperation focuses on smooth passenger handling and efficient integration into the existing transport infrastructure. This will be examined using a so-called Volocopter Port. In the future, Volocopter Ports could link existing urban transportation junctions with one another and provide connections to and from Frankfurt Airport (FRA).

Fraport is a globally active airport manager with many years of expertise in airport operations – particularly in ground infrastructure, ground handling, and terminal and passenger services. Fraport can also leverage its extensive experience in unmanned flying. Via its FraDrones program, Fraport has already tested various scenarios for using drones for operational purposes. Volocopter has already proven that its electrically-powered vertical take-off multicopters meet the requirements of Urban Aerial Mobility in various test flights, most notably in Dubai. Based on drone technology, the Volocopter offers space for two people and is a suitable urban transport solution thanks to its quiet and zero-emissions flying. Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s most important aviation hub with more than 69.5 million passengers last year, offers the ideal conditions for this innovative partnership.


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Anke Giesen, Fraport AG’s executive board member for operations (COO), explained: “Autonomous flying will fundamentally change aviation in the years to come. We want to be the first airport in Europe to harness the potential of electric air taxis in partnership with pioneer Volocopter – for the benefit of our passengers and the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. This partnership underscores Fraport AG’s role as a key driver of innovation in diverse fields.”

Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH, said: “Providing the ideal connection between the city center and the airport poses a huge challenge for the world’s major cities. Together with Fraport AG, we are excited to pioneer the implementation of an air taxi service at one of Europe’s most important airports. We will be tapping into Fraport’s wealth of experience to integrate the Volocopter Service safely and efficiently into the complex array of processes required at a major international airport.”

1989-2019: Baptized by Thai monks KLM Boeing 747 landed at Amsterdam Schiphol Hotel garden

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A Boeing 747 has arrived in the garden of the Corendon Village Hotel this morning. There the plane will be converted into a 5D-experience about the 747 and the history of aviation later this year. After a five-day mega transport from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Badhoevedorp, the  Boeing 747 has arrived.

A Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet began its last journey from Schiphol Airport on Tuesday night. The dismantled aircraft was placed on a trailer of specialized transport company Mammoet to cover the 12.5 kilometers to the hotel. During that, the aircraft had to cross 17 ditches, highway A9 and one provincial road. The A9 was successfully crossed in the night from Friday to Saturday. In the night from Saturday to Sunday, the transport crossed the Schipholweg after which it was parked backward into the hotel garden, requiring 57 movements. The spectacular transport attracted worldwide attention and was covered by national en international media.

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The Boeing 747 is the former KLM aircraft ‘City of Bangkok’ that will be given a new final destination in the hotel garden after 30 years of reliable service. The plane is 64 meters wide, 71 meters long and weighs 160 tons. To keep it safe and steady, the aircraft has been lifted on 1.5 meters high steel bases, totalling 15 tons of steel. These are built on heavy concrete slabs, strong enough to carry the enormous weight.

5D experience

De Boeing will be converted into a 5D experience later this year. Visitors will be able to walk on, over or under the plane and visit places that are normally not accessible to the public. They can visit the cargo area where the luggage is loaded, learn about the fuelling of the plane, take a look in the kitchen of the business class and the cockpit on the upper deck. They can even do a wing walk over the thirty-meter-long wings. Visitors also make a journey through the history of aviation. That begins with the ancient human desire to fly and leads them from the first serious flight attempts around 1900 to the development of the Boeing 747. The highlight of the trip is the 5D experience, in which they can experience flying in all its facets. The garden where the Boeing is placed is partly an ecozone, open to hotel guests, and can be used as a festival site.

Organizer Atilay Uslu had booked a room in the hotel. Exactly on the spot where – if everything went well – the nose of the Boeing would be placed in front of the window.  “When I opened the curtains this morning, I saw her in full glory. I realized that after months of preparation we really succeeded in getting the plane to its final place with a lot of fitting and measuring. That kind of takes your breath away”,  he says.

Iconic plane

The transport of the aircraft this weekend coincided with the celebration of the first test flight of the Boeing 747 on February 9th, 1969, exactly fifty years ago. The 747 is an iconic plane and was the largest aircraft in the world until 2007. It could transport 2.5 times more passengers than other conventional types. It was also the first wide-body aircraft, with two aisles. Characteristic is also the upper deck, where the cockpit is located. KLM introduced the first Boeing 747 in its fleet in 1971. The ‘City of Bangkok’, which was added to the fleet in 1989, was then baptized by nine Thai monks. After almost thirty years of loyal service, the repainted aircraft now decorates the Corendon hotel garden.

The transport in figures

The last five-day trip of the Boeing was an impressive operation. The plane first had to be transported 8 kilometers over the Schiphol airport area and then another 4.5 kilometers through the fields. Heavy transport specialist Mammoet transported the 160-tons aircraft on a trailer that weighed even more: over 200 tons. The trailer divided the weight of the Boeing over 192 wheels. To make sure the trailer would not sink into the marshy land, a special road was constructed of approximately 2.100 metal road plates weighing 1.500 kilos each. Special bridges were built over the 17 ditches. The trailer was traveling at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour and was controlled remotely by people from Mammoet, who walked beside it. It was powered by two so-called power packs, each with a capacity of 390kW, generating more than 1000 hp. A total of 18 turns had to be taken during transport, of which the first 7 were on the airport.

Meetings Redesigned: Centara Hotel one-stop MICE service

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Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, is bringing fresh thinking and new approaches to deliver better meetings with the launch of New Agenda: Meetings Redesigned. Centara introduces a newly innovative ‘Meeting Redesigned’ concept, providing a one-stop MICE service and enhance customer experience.

Winfried Hancke, Corporate Director of Operations Food & Beverage, Centara Hotels & Resorts, says the new programme was conceived in response to customer feedback and a desire to take full advantage of the company’s outstanding venues and prime locations.

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“Our clients told us they were open to bold ideas and innovative ways to engage meeting participants, and we listened,” he says. “We are confident that the ideas and resources at the core of New Agenda: Meetings Redesigned will deliver more stimulating and effective meetings for our clients and their organisations.”

For too long, offsite meetings have followed a cookie-cutter approach that makes one meeting feel identical to another, resulting in bored participants and low engagement. New Agenda is designed to put an end to that, with a one-stop MICE service and enhanced customer experience and helps business to achieve the essential part of MICE: the spread of knowledge and professional practices and a key factor in building better understanding and relations amongst professionals.

The New Agenda programme is built around three main elements:

1. A one-stop Meeting Guru to serve as a single onsite resource and point-of-contact for end-to-end event management, ensuring seamless communication, planning and execution.

2. A redefined approach to team-building led by Centara’s in-house team-building specialists and in partnership with the professionals at Asia Ability, to develop effective new team-building techniques and energising activities.

3. Creative catering to reinforce engagement and strengthen participant involvement, with new ideas brought to life by Centara’s talented Food & Beverage teams such as ‘dinner in the dark’ concept by having Thai dancers enter with each course with dimmed LED Candles in hand or with blindfolds provided to create an ultimate sensory experience for all guests.

New Agenda is being progressively rolled out to a total of 25 operating Centara’s properties through 1st March 2019.

A Record £3.4 Billion in Travel Industry Deals at WTM London

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WTM London 2018, the event where ideas arrive, will generate a record £3.4 billion in travel and tourism industry deals, surpassing the figure of £3.1 billion from WTM London 2017.

The global travel and tourism industry continues to grow with more than £1.4 billion trips predicted to taking place globally in 2019, with the number predicted to rise to £1.8 billion by 2030. Inbound tourism to the UK is approaching 40 million trips annually, while Brits make almost 73 million outbound trips each year.

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WTM London 2018 reflected this growth with an increase in visitors of more than 4% to a record 32,462, with the event seeing a total of almost 89,000 (88,742) visits from 51,409 participants. In total 4,664 exhibitors from 182 countries and regions took part in the event.

Independent research of WTM London’s exhibitors reveals WTM London 2018 will generate a massive £3,353,042,708 in travel industry deals, either through contracts signed at the event or from negotiations with WTM Buyers’ Club members – the buyers with the greatest purchasing responsibility in the travel industry – which will lead to deals signed before WTM London 2019.

The record number of visitors and business conducted demonstrates the success of WTM London 2018’s new Ideas Arrive Here concept, which included the introduction of five regional Inspiration Zones – UK&I and International Hub, Europe, Asia, Americas and Middle East and Africa. These Inspiration Zones led to an increase in content, ideas and inspiration for participants to take back to their business and implement to help fuel the growth of the travel and tourism industry.

This strategy saw a greater number of senior CEOs and tourism ministers take part in the content programme – including easyJet’s CEO Johan Lundgren and UK tourism minister Michael Ellis. Meanwhile, more research was added to the programme – including dedicated regional research sessions – from respected research organisations including Euromonitor International, Mintel, ForwardKeys and Nielsen.

Furthermore, two new launches in Travel Forward and the International Travel & Tourism Awards (ITTAs) grew WTM London’s reach further. Travel Forward – the event to inspire the travel and hospitality industry with the next generation of technology – was a great success with more exhibitors and visitors than its predecessor The Travel Tech Show at WTM. The inaugural ITTAs saw almost 500 audience celebrate excellence within the travel and tourism industry.

WTM London, Senior Director, Simon Press said: “I am delighted with the record amount of business conducted at WTM London 2018. This success firmly positions WTM London as the event where ideas arrive and a must-attend for national and regional tourist boards, global brands, luxury and technology companies.

“The record visitor numbers at WTM London 2018 alongside the £3.4 billion in business generated shows that WTM London – as it approaches its 40th event in 2019 – and the travel and tourism industry are both in good health.”

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises six leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7 billion of industry deals. The events are: 

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £3.4 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 4-6 November 2019 – London.

Travel Forward is a new travel technology event co-located with WTM London 2018 and part of the WTM portfolio of events. The inaugural Travel Forward conference, exhibition and buyer programme will take place on 4–6 November 2019 at ExCeL London, showcasing next-generation technology for travel and hospitality. http://travelforward.wtm.com/.

WTM Latin America attracts about 9,000 senior executives and generates about US$374 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 8,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 2-4 April 2019 – Sao Paulo.

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/.

Next event: 10-12 April 2019 – Cape Town.

Arabian Travel Market is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2018 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, with representation from 141 countries over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arabian Travel Market 2019 will take place in Dubai from Sunday, 28th April to Wednesday, 1st May 2019. To find out more, please visit: www.arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

CONNECT Middle East, India & Africa is a new route development forum co-located with Arabian Travel Market 2019. The inaugural event – taking place on 30th April and 1st May 2019 in Dubai – will include unlimited one-to-one pre-scheduled appointments, a conference programme, panel discussions and airline & industry briefings as well as an exhibition area dedicated to airport and suppliers. For more information, visit: www.connect-aviation.com/2019-meia/

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at more than 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than seven million participants. Reed’s events are held in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

About Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism events organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether they are global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have more than 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.

Fraport launches operations at Nashville International Airport in the USA

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Fraport launches operations at Nashville International Airport in the USA

Beginning February 1, Fraport is taking over the overall management of concession areas for shops, restaurants and other services at Nashville International Airport (BNA). With almost 16 million passengers in 2018 (up 13.2 percent year-on-year), BNA set an all-time record for the sixth consecutive year and maintained its position as one of strongest performing aviation gateways in North America.

Fraport USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fraport AG, won the bid last year in a highly competitive tender process. Since the signing of the 10-year contract last summer, Fraport USA has been preparing for the February 2019 startup. The agreement with the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) covers the design, construction, lease and management of concessions space throughout the airport’s four concourses in the passenger terminal. A major airport expansion to be completed by 2023 will result in some 12,300 square meters (more than 133,000 square feet) of concession space for over 90 shops, restaurants and service outlets – plus common-use areas for seating and entertainment. Fraport is expected to invest some 17 million dollars in the BNA concessions development during the next decade, with further investments to be made by the individual subtenants.

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Dr. Stefan Schulte, Fraport AG’s executive board chairman, commented on the Group’s launch of the company’s fifth location in the U.S. market: “We are pleased to expand Fraport USA’s concessions development and management program to Nashville Airport. Nashville is the second new concessions development to be launched by Fraport USA in less than a year.”

Famous as the Music Capital of America, Nashville’s metropolitan region of about 1.8 million people has become a major tourist destination and one of the country’s fastest growing business hubs. Dr. Schulte added: “Our Nashville team is highly committed to developing an innovative retail concept that exemplifies the spirit of Nashville, with its rich cultural heritage and thriving music industry. We will focus on giving passengers a memorable experience with an exciting mix of the best local restaurants and brands, as well as international outlets. We look forward to many years of close partnership here where the music plays!”

Fraport USA is renowned for setting the standard in managing, designing and developing airport retail concessions in North America. Along with Nashville, Fraport USA is the developer and manager of the retail, food and beverage concession areas at a total of five airports in the United States: Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), Cleveland International Airport (CLE), Nashville International Airport (BNA), New York Kennedy Airport (JFK – JetBlue’s Terminal 5), and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).