Wilfred S. Manuela Jr., Asian Institute of Management, Makati City, Philippines

Mark Friesen, QUINTA Consulting, Frankfurt, Germany

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

Car parking facilities are a major source of

commercial revenues at airports.

Most studies on commercial airport revenues

consider revenue sources other than car parking.

Our paper analyzes the factors that determine the

provision of car parking facilities at the ten largest

European airports, based on passenger data, for the

period 2011–2015.

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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Our research will identify the factors that determine

airport car parking revenues and the number of

airport car parking spaces.

Our research helps airport authorities as well as

airport managers and operators optimize their car

parking-related infrastructure to improve non-

aviation revenues and profits, resulting in a more

financially viable and profitable airport operations.

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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Commercial revenues account for some 50% of airport revenues

with retail revenues being the most significant, although there is

considerable variation by region and individual airports (Graham,

2009).

The main drivers of airport commercial revenues per passenger

include the number of transit passengers, the ratio of

commercial to total airport revenues, income, the share of

domestic and leisure travelers to total passengers, and the

number of flights (Fuerst, Gross, and Klose, 2011).

The leisure time that passengers have at their disposal inside the

airport tends to increase airport commercial revenues (Castillo-

Manzano, 2010).

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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Airport customers use airport parking facilities

infrequently but those who do park for long durations

(Airport Cooperative Research Program Report, 2014).

While airport customers pay higher parking fees, the

cost of parking normally represents a small percentage

of the total door-to-door travel cost (e.g., airfares, rental

car charges, lodging, and other costs) and customers

place high value on time and convenience (particularly

those traveling on business purposes) and some have no

option other than driving to, and parking at, the airport

(Airport Cooperative Research Program Report, 2014).

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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We collected and estimated airport-related data from

databases, airport websites, and other online sources for the

period 2011–2015

◦ London Heathrow Airport, 75.0 million passengers (2015)

◦ Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, 65.8 million passengers (2015)

◦ Istanbul Atatürk Airport, 61.8 million passengers (2015)

◦ Frankfurt Airport, 60.9 million passengers (2015)

◦ Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, 58.2 million passengers (2015)

◦ Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, 46.8 million passengers (2015)

◦ Munich Airport, 40.9 million passengers (2015)

◦ London-Gatwick Airport, 40.3 million passengers (2015)

◦ Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, 40.2 million passengers (2015)

◦ Barcelona El Prat Airport, 39.7 million passengers (2015)

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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The econometric model consists of two equations due

to the endogeneity of the car parking spaces variable

in the car parking revenues equation

We estimated the system of equations simultaneously

using ordinary least squares

Due to missing data for some airports in a number of

years, the estimation results are still preliminary

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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REVENUES (xy) = β0 + β1 PASSENGERS (xy) + β2 SPACES (xy)

+ β3 RATE (xy) + β4 BUS (xy) + β5 RAIL (xy) + β6 TAXI (xy) +

β7 DISTANCE (xy) + β8 GDP (xy) + β9 BUS LINES (xy) +

Where for each airport x and year y,

REVENUES = car parking revenues in € million

PASSENGER = airline passengers in million

SPACES = number of car parking spaces

RATE = maximum car parking rate or tariff per day in €

BUS = bus fare to or from the city center in €

RAIL = train fare to or from the city center in €

TAXI = taxi fare to or from the city center in €

DISTANCE = distance from city center in kilometers

GDP = gross domestic product annual growth rate (country of airport)

BUS LINES = number of bus lines to or from the airport

= error term

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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SPACES (xy) = β0 + β1 POPULATION (xy) + β2 OPTIONS

(xy) + β3 DISTANCE (xy) + β4 RAIL TRAVEL (xy) + β5

TAXI TRAVEL (xy) + β6 BUS TRAVEL (xy) +

Where for each airport x and year y,

POPULATION = catchment population in million

OPTIONS = number of alternative car parking facilities near the airport

RAIL TRAVEL = travel time to or from the city center by train in minutes

TAXI TRAVEL = travel time to or from the city center by taxi in minutes

BUS TRAVEL = travel time to or from the city center by bus in minutes

The other variables are as defined in the REVENUES equation

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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In the REVENUES equation, the number of passengers passing

through the airport, number of car parking spaces, car parking

rate or tariff, and the GDP growth rate should have a positive

relationship with car parking revenues.

Car parking revenues should decrease with an increase in bus

fare, rail fare, and taxi fare because fare increases suggest an

increase in the cost of fuel, which makes driving to the airport

more expensive.

The impact of the number of bus lines on car parking revenues

is negative since transport network connectivity discourages

people from using their cars to move around.

The impact of distance of the airport from the city proper on car

parking revenues is also negative since travel cost is higher and travel time is longer.

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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In the SPACES equation, the catchment population and longer

travel times by bus, rail, and taxi should have a positive impact

on the number of car parking spaces.

Alternative parking facilities should impact airport car parking

spaces negatively.

The distance of the airport from the city center should impact

the number of car parking spaces negatively due to the higher

cost of driving as the distance increases.

Airport distance may have a positive impact on car parking

spaces as the number of passengers in the car increases because

the cost per person of driving to the airport and parking the car

decreases as family size increases. The same argument can be

made for people with more luggage.

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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Dependent variable: Airport car parking revenues

Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic

Constant 5850.888 525.115 11.142 ***

PASSENGERS -65.618 9.793 -6.700 ***

SPACES 0.038 0.007 5.397 ***

RATE 59.740 5.515 10.833 ***

BUS FARE -106.978 44.616 -2.398 **

RAIL FARE 105.600 14.643 7.212 ***

TAXI FARE -6.523 3.187 -2.047 **

DISTANCE -89.293 15.897 -5.617 ***

GDP 1074.280 3570.717 0.301

BUS LINES -102.910 16.686 -6.167 ***

Adjusted R2 = 0.8658 *** significant at the 1% level

No. of observations = 50 ** significant at the 5% level

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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Dependent variable: Number of airport car parking spaces

Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic

Constant 4498.334 5510.217 0.816

POPULATION 958.044 161.445 5.934 ***

OPTIONS 730.327 207.294 3.523 ***

DISTANCE -356.565 270.824 1.280

RAIL TRAVEL 51.173 108.881 0.470

TAXI TRAVEL -130.320 132.788 -0.981

BUS TRAVEL 66.524 174.949 0.380

Adjusted R2 = 0.6193 *** significant at the 1% level

No. of observations = 50

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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The number of car parking spaces, car parking rate or tariff,

and the GDP growth rate behave as expected, that is, higher

values for these variables tend to increase car parking

revenues.

Bus and taxi fares, airport distance from the city center, and

the number of bus lines serving the airport behave as expected,

that is, higher values for these variables tend to decrease car

parking revenues.

Higher rail fares tend to increase car parking revenues while

more passengers passing through the airport tend to decrease

car parking revenues. These results appear to be

counterintuitive.

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

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Only the catchment population and parking options are

statistically significant in the second equation.

Catchment population behaves as expected, that is, higher

values for this variable tend to increase the number of car

parking spaces.

The number of parking options tend to increase the number of

airport car parking spaces, which appears to be

counterintuitive, although the reverse sign may indicate that

passengers prefer airport parking due to its proximity to the

departure and arrival gates.

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

WORK IN PROGRESS

We identified and analyzed factors that impact car parking

revenues and the number of car parking spaces at 10 large

European airports for the period 2011–2015.

The results indicate that the number of car parking spaces, car

parking tariff, higher rail fares, and the GDP growth rate tend to

impact car parking revenues positively.

The results also indicate that a bigger catchment population

tends to increase the need for car parking at airports.

Overall the results suggest car parking revenues may be

improved by optimizing the number of car parking spaces

available and car parking tariffs and that a reliable rail service

between the airport and the city center does not necessarily

impact car parking revenues negatively.

ATRS 2017 World Conference University of Antwerp, Belgium 5–8 July 2017

WORK IN PROGRESS