Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Doha: does your Connect 2020 plan aim to make Paris-Charles de Gaulle the equal of these global benchmarks?
Augustin de Romanet - The key point is that year after year, we are making progress in terms of welcome and quality of service. Over the last two years, Paris-Charles de Gaulle has gone from from 95th to 33rd place in the Skytrax rankingwhich was voted for by travellers from all over the world. It now features in the top 10 of the best airports with more than 50 million passengers, and hall M in terminal 2E was voted best departure lounge for shopping and services. We need to continue on this path, and our brand dedicated to passengers, Paris Aéroport, has a series of key objectives.strong commitments to our passengers.
Let's imagine that we are on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. How do you see the airport in that timeframe, linked to the capital by the CDG Express?
A. de R. - We are committed to this project on a daily basis, so that by the end of 2023, we will be able to offer our customers the best possible service, Roissy can be as little as 20 minutes from Gare de l'Est thanks to a dedicated rail link. Independently of Paris for Olympic Games and for theWorld Expo 2025The CDG Express is essential for the attractiveness of the airport and the image of Paris. Over the period 2016-2020, we will invest 4.6 billion euros3 billion to optimise and modernise our infrastructure. Thanks in particular to the merging of the international satellites in terminal 1 and the linking of terminals 2B and 2D, the airport will be able to accommodate up to 80 million passengers a year.
We're working to make the passenger journey as smooth and straightforward as possible
The attractiveness of the Paris hub also depends on the diversity of the connections offered? What are your objectives in this respect?
A. de R. - The Air Connectivity Observatory puts France in the top three for the attractiveness of long-haul traffic and, in an increasingly competitive environment between major hubs, our aim is to attract more traffic in ParisEurope's leading hub for intercontinental traffic. A dedicated Route Development team is working hard to promote Paris as a destination, particularly on long-haul and connecting flights. Incidentally, the French government recently granted additional traffic rights to China.
In terms of airport charges, we have introduced a more attractive pricing structure and taken measures to encourage airlines to expand their networks: 38 new lines were opened last year.
Innovation is at the heart of your strategy. What developments can you expect to see to offer passengers a smoother journey?
A. de R. - Our hubs are great places to experiment, and this year we are launching "Play your airport", a challenge open to everyone to invent the airport of the future. Innovation hubOur approach in this area brings together start-up incubators and enables us to test around fifteen experiments a year, the most conclusive of which will be deployed. This is the case, for example, with the automatic baggage drop-off system, which allows passengers to check in their baggage in less than a minute. We are currently testing the facial recognition on Parafe airlocks for border controls. Generally speaking, the Big Data revolution is leading to the advent of the "smart airport", with which passengers will interact even more easily in the future than they do today, and benefit from a more personalised experience.
What messages would you like to send to business travellers inviting them to leave or transit through Paris?
A. de R. - The primary concern of business travellers is to keep their time under control. From the moment they enter the terminal to the moment they board the plane, we take action to a route that's as simple and straightforward as possible. By coming to Paris Airport, business travellers can book their parking space in advance, be informed in real time and guided every step of the way via the ParisAéroport mobile application, and self-check-in and self-board via selfcheck-in and self-boarding systems developed jointly with the airlines. In order to reduce waiting times for passport controls, which can sometimes be very long, we are financing the installation of new "Parafe" airlocks, enabling passengers to cross the border more quickly. Business travellers who need to work can go to one of our Business Lounge. If you have a long correspondence, you can take advantage ofInstant ParisA lounge in the heart of the international zone of terminal 2E at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, where you can eat, shower or relax in a hotel room. Last but not least, a 100 % digital loyalty programme rewards each visit and entitles you to permanent discounts in a network of partner shops.
Numerous projects are underway at Orly. What are your ambitions for this airport and how does it complement Roissy?
A. de R. - Paris-Orly's development is based first and foremost on its intrinsic strengths: its proximity to the capital makes it the preferred airport for the people of Ile-de-France, and its compactness facilitates turnaround times for airlines, particularly low-cost carriers, which accounted for 35.7% of traffic at the airport in 2016. Since 2012, a major transformation in several stages has aimed to bring Paris-Orly into line with the best European standards in terms of service quality and passenger comfort. Following the commissioning of a new boarding hall for wide-bodied aircraft and international flights, we have launched work on an 80,000 m² building that will link the South and West terminals. This junction will bring together all the functions linked to passenger departures and arrivals and will increase the capacity of the airport, which will now have a single terminal, to 32.5 million passengers a year while complying with the traffic limit [250,000: the number of aircraft movements per year]. Paris-Orly and Paris Charles de Gaulle are highly complementary. The first serves 'origin-destination' traffic, mainly short and medium-haul, operated in particular by low-cost airlines, while the second handles most long-haul flights from Paris and is home to the Air France-KLM hub for connecting traffic.
Le Bourget is Europe's leading business airport. What do you plan to do to make it even more attractive?
A. de R. - I believe strongly in the potential of business aviation, and Paris-le Bourget must retain its position as the world's leading business airport. its European leadership for private jets. Since 2013, the airport has been modernising: we have renovated the hangars vacated by Air France Industrie and created 20,000 m² of aircraft parking areas. Business customers are welcomed in the best possible conditions and we are preparing for the arrival of new aeronautical companies as part of the Greater Paris project. Le Bourget is a centre of excellence, home to 80 companies, including the European maintenance centres for aircraft manufacturers Cessna, Dassault Falcon Service and Embraer.
Office buildings, hotels... are the Roissy and Orly airport areas destined to become economic hubs in their own right? Are the Greater Paris projects moving in this direction?
A. de R. - Real estate is the ADP Group's third core business. We own our land, a significant proportion of which is dedicated to property: 1,300 hectares out of a total of nearly 6,700 hectares. Two-thirds of this land is built-up, and we have the possibility of developing the remaining third. As a result, in addition to projects dedicated to aeronautical activities, particularly cargo (hangars and warehousing, freight building), we have built up the backbone of the airport city with the Roissypole district combining offices and hotels, and anticipated the growing urbanisation of the Orly area with the Cœur d'Orly programme. The property offering at our hubs will clearly benefit from the developments of the Grand Paris project, as our airports will eventually be served by three metro lines: lines 14 and 18 at Paris-Orly and line 17 at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-le Bourget. This means that five metro stations will connect the airport areas: a fantastic opportunity for development!
