Industry overview
What is shaping aerospace
Aerospace brings together airlines, airports, MRO providers and component suppliers, with safety, reliability and certification at the centre of every decision.
- Passenger experience is a key differentiator for airlines and airports
- MRO and component buying depends on certification and turnaround
- Skilled talent is in short supply
Client background
An airport retail concessionaire, working in Two hub airports in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- An airport retail concessionaire
- Sector
- Aerospace
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Quantitative research, Offline data collection, Reporting & insights
Client challenge
Footfall in departure lounges was high, but conversion in retail and food outlets was low. The concessionaire wanted to understand passenger behaviour and barriers to spending.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: understanding why travellers shop, or don’t, at airport stores.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of passengers.
- Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 5 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 1,600 passengers.
- passengers1,600
Audiences we typically reach in aerospace
PassengersAirline and airport managersMRO providersComponent suppliersEngineers and technicians
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Two hub airports in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Markets: United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
- United Arab Emirates
- Qatar
Research methodology
A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.
- 1Brief
- 2Departure-lounge intercept interviews
- 3Store observation
- 4Insight
Interviewers spoke with passengers in departure areas about their time before boarding, spending intentions, price perceptions and what would encourage them to visit outlets. Observers recorded footfall patterns.
Quantitative researchOffline data collectionReporting & insights
Sampling strategy
- passengers
- 1,600
- Respondents were selected across Two hub airports in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
- Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.
Data collection
- Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
- Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
- Auditors and mystery shoppers followed a standard checklist, recording evidence at each visit.
Data quality & validation
- Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
- Time and location checks on field interviews
- Supervisor accompaniment in the field
- Recordings and transcripts for every session
- Re-screening of qualitative recruits
- Photo or document evidence for audit points
- Second-reviewer checks on scores
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
- Journey and decision mapping
Key findings
- Anxiety about boarding time and the perception of high prices kept many passengers seated near gates.
Removing small anxieties can unlock spending more than discounts.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: removing small anxieties can unlock spending more than discounts.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: anxiety about boarding time and the perception of high prices kept many passengers seated near gates.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The concessionaire added boarding-time screens inside stores and introduced value ranges near gate areas.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: what shapes the passenger experience?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.