Philadelphia isn’t only about the Liberty Bell and other key pieces of U.S. history. It’s also the site of a new and innovative approach to airport design and concessions. In October, Philadelphia International (PHL) cut the ribbon on a completely renovated Terminal B and formally marked the end of its $48 million stem-to-stern overhaul.
Some project officials describe the new concourse as one giant concessions area with boarding gates sprinkled throughout. Passengers use iPads secured to holdroom seating to order food and beverages, which vendor staff deliver to them gateside.
OTG, the airport’s food/beverage provider, invested $32 million in the project, American Airlines paid for the new furniture and PHL funded the rest.
“This development has been three or four years in the making,” says PHL Chief Revenue Officer James Tyrrell. “We reviewed our concessions leases and found that we could coordinate an overhaul, and we started talking to MarketPlace [the airport’s concessions developer/manager] about what we could do.”