Airport attendees are often in commercial, property or business development roles. They may also be drawn from other disciplines in the organisation such as finance or operations or may have been appointed to work on a masterplanning or development project with little previous experience of the non-aviation side of airport business.

The course provides participants with expertise and insight into all core aspects of a successful airport commercial environment. It supports them in developing a deeper understanding of their own role and their organisation’s role within the context of the wider airport commercial environment and helps them develop strong and successful relationships with all key airport stakeholders.

The focus is on the fundamentals of optimising commercial performance, from commercial planning, retail/F&B mix development and terminal and store design to forecasting, the tendering process and contract models.

Further dedicated sessions emphasise delivering a distinctive customer experience and building a strong, relevant commercial offer through customer research and segmentation, marketing and branding, advertising, digital and mobile technology.

CPI’s course directors join with invited local and international subject matter experts to deliver a relevant and contemporary course centred on the customer.

A group exercise gives participants the opportunity to combine their learning from the course with their own expertise and ideas and apply it to a real airport terminal commercial planning project.

A relaxed and informal social programme provides an important and valuable opportunity for delegates to mix and make lasting connections with peers from airports around the world.

Attendees receive a Certificate of Achievement on completion of the course.

Every course is developed and run by co-partners in CPI, Susan Gray and Jeremy Corfield. They are both leaders in the field of airport commercial planning. Between them, Susan and Jeremy have worked on hundreds of airport projects, large and small, around the world.

Susan Gray has spent nearly 25 years in the airports industry working initially in aviation journalism, then senior communications and business development roles for SSP, the leading airport F&B operator. Since joining CPI in 2010 Susan has been one of the leading airport commercial planning experts, working on airports of every size on every continent.

Jeremy Corfield has a 30-year career spanning global finance, media and digital businesses, focusing over the last 15+ years in the airports sector. A highly experienced airport commercial planner, Jeremy has unparalleled expertise and experience in the airport planning and development. He is also a highly experienced speaker and moderator.

CPI is delighted to be joined by the following guest speakers for the next Airport Commercial Development and Management Course in Sydney in March 2023:

Mark Zaouk is the Executive GM Commercial at Sydney Airport. He is responsible for the airport’s commercial strategy in a role encompassing a portfolio that includes leasing and management of retail, hotels, property, parking and ground transport. Mark has over 20 years of experience in commercial roles across the airport.

Craig Pring joined Lagardère AWPL Travel Retail as Chief Development & Strategy Officer for the Pacific region in 2021, working with airport partners and suppliers to deliver innovative retail concepts to suit customers’ changing needs. He has also held roles in operations, buying, leadership and strategy, having spent nine years with British retailer, WH Smith, leading their entry into the Australian market, and before this with Newslink.

Mark Wolfe is Aviation Lead & Principal at Hassell, an international multi-disciplinary design practice. Mark has around 25 years of experience leading major aviation and transport infrastructure projects in Australia, the UK, Europe and Africa. His career has combined consultancy roles as well as client side roles at both Heathrow and Gatwick Airport. Recent projects include major expansions of Adelaide and Gold Coast Airports.

Recent past guest speakers have included:

Theresa Hughes is the Managing Director of Chauntry, which provides business critical reservation systems to airports, car park operators and more across the globe. Theresa established Chauntry with her partner Ray Vaughan in 1991. In 2017 Chauntry was purchased by one of its longest standing clients Holiday Extras, for whom they developed and maintained the booking engine. She is also an associate director within Holiday Extras group.

Tim Wheen, Head of Research and Commercial Insights, London Heathrow Airport Ltd has been responsible for research and insights at London Heathrow Airport since 2012. He delivers a comprehensive and fascinating insight into how his team’s work informs the commercial strategy and delivers tangible commercial benefit to the airport, including reference case studies.

Stephen Turner, Commercial Director of Manchester Airport has overall responsibility for all commercial business at Manchester Airport, including overseeing development and delivery of the impressive expansion and renovation of Manchester Terminal 2, phase one of which is now open.

The CPI Airport Commercial Management and Development Course currently runs in the UK and Australia.

Australia course

Dates: Monday July 29, 2024 – Thursday August 1, 2024 (delegates arrive afternoon/evening of Sunday July 28, 2024)
Venue: HC Coombs Centre, 122A Kirribilli Ave, Kirribilli NSW 2061
Located in Kirribilli, North Sydney and a few minutes’ by car or train to Sydney CBD, the HC Coombs Centre is a purpose built professional development facility owned and managed by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The training room overlooks Sydney Harbour, with views of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Download the draft prospectus and a registration form for the 2024 course here. To register or to ask any further questions, please email us directly at susangray@concession-planning.com:

UK course

Dates: Monday October 14 – Thursday October 17, 2024 (delegates arrive afternoon/evening of Sunday October 13, 2024)
Venue: De Vere Horsley Estate, Horsley, near London KT24 6DT.

Set in 70+ acres of grounds, the De Vere Horsley Estate is an absolutely magnificent 19^th century mansion integrated with a state of the art, dedicated learning and development facility. It is conveniently located 18 miles from London Heathrow Airport; 25 minutes by car and 27 miles from London Gatwick Airport; 30 minutes by car. It also within easy reach of London via a direct rail connection.

This is a fabulous venue supported by some exciting social events. To find out more, download the 2023 course prospectus and a registration form here:

Our next course will take place on July 29 – August 1, 2024 in Sydney, Australia

Fees:

Per first delegate – AUD$4995 + GST

For every additional delegate from the same organisation – AUD$4500 + GST

The venue is the HC Coombs Centre for Financial Studies, Kirribilli, Sydney NSW, a purpose built professional development facility managed by the Reserve Bank, overlooking beautiful Sydney Harbour and very close to the CBD.

For our course taking on October 14 – 17, 2024 in the UK

Fees:

Per first delegate – £3850 (no VAT is charged)

For every additional delegate from the same organisation –  £3450 (no VAT is charged)

The venue is the De Vere Horsley Estate. Conveniently located for London and Heathrow and Gatwick airports and set in 70+ acres of grounds, the De Vere Horsley Estate is an absolutely magnificent 19^th century mansion integrated with a state of the art, dedicated learning and development facility.

The price for both courses is fully inclusive of:

• All course materials and refreshments (morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea) Monday through Thursday
• Bed & Breakfast accommodation for 4 nights from Sunday evening
• Course dinner and social event Monday night
• Course dinner Wednesday night

Tuesday evening is left free for delegates to make their own arrangements. The course finishes at lunch time on Thursday, allowing delegates to depart in the afternoon.

Please contact us directly to register your interest in these courses. Or email us directly to request more info at susangray@concession-planning.com.

For both courses, a non-residential fee is available on request.

We develop and deliver courses tailored to specific organisations’ needs. Often, if an airport or airport-related business is considering sending several delegates to one of our courses, it could be more cost-effective for us to come to you!

We work directly with the relevant internal stakeholders well in advance to tailor our workshop programme to your airport. This allows us to place greater or lesser emphasis on key areas of the programme; tailor the content to directly address specific issues or challenges either being faced or anticipated in future; and use examples and case studies more relevant to your airport’s own experience.

Such courses can be particularly useful in advance of a major project such as a planned new terminal redevelopment, to ensure the entire commercial team – and often other internal stakeholders – understand the challenges and opportunities of the project.

‘Once again, fantastic engagement from the CPI team! Jeremy and Susan embraced the brief, undertook an enormous amount of investigative work and delivered a fantastic, bespoke, program for the MAG retail team.’

Stephen Turner, Commercial Director, Manchester Airport

Register your interest in developing a course tailored for your organisation.

or