NEWS - Ports & Transportation

Food Court Enhancements Completed

The Savannah Airport Commission has released a portion of its fourth quarter and annual fiscal 2010 financial results which show strong improvement in passenger enplanements from October through December 2010, with a marked upward trend that began in September 2010.

And that growth in passengers boarding at Savannah means the Airport received more than $500,000 in additional revenue in 2010 from Passenger Facility Charges (termed PFC's) which the Commission can use for capital improvement projects approved by the FCC, or to pay off borrowing and interest charges from previous capital projects.

PFC's are just one source of revenue for the airport, a $4.50 charge that is added to each passenger ticket price, collected by the airlines, and then paid to the airports for each passenger that departs from the Savannah Airport.

According to Patrick Graham, Executive Director of the airport, the Commission will have paid off the major bonds taken out in the 90's to build the new airport by 2017. After that, the PFC charges may be able to be reduced, depending on capital projects needed. Annually, the Commission spends $2.9 million in principal and interest on those bonds.

For the 4th Qtr. 2010 alone, PFC revenue for Savannah Hilton Head International Airport was $ 844,903, an 18% increase over 4th Qtr. 2009 revenue of $713,511. However, the airlines have 30 days to report their enplanement statistics to the FAA and to pay their fees to the airports, and the airport reports revenue when it is received, according to Eleni Elling, Financial Analyst for the Savannah Airport Commission. Therefore, actual individual passenger enplanement statistics must be reviewed to get an accurate picture of monthly and quarterly statistics.

The Enplanement Statistics for the same Oct - Dec 2010 period explain the revenue growth: for 4th Qtr. 2010, 214,233 passengers enplaned at Savannah versus 196,790 in 4th Qtr. 2009, still an 8.86% increase. "We began to see the upturn in September," explained Elling.

In the last six years, the strongest 4th Qtr for the airport was in 2007 when 249,618 passengers flew out of Savannah.

For the year, Savannah had 835,728 passenger enplanements in 2010 versus 821,216 enplanements in 2009 (up 1.77.) Deplanements for 2010 were 817,574 passengers deplane versyus 829,167 in 2009 (a decrease of 1.4% in passengers.)

The airport also showed strong growth in total tons of cargo shipped out in 2010 - 8,177.2 tons in 2010 versus 7,133.5 tons in 2009. The airports highest tonnage volume was also in 2007 with more than 10,782 tons serviced.

Rental car revenues received by the Savannah Airport also began to rebound slightly in the 4th Qtr. of 2010, up approximately 3.2%. For all of 2010, travelers spent $ 30,997,591 versus $ 32,669,095 for 2009.

Food Court Gets New Design
In 2010, the Commission continued its modernization and expansion strategies with the completion of an updating of the Food Court. The Commission retained Schmidt Design of Orlando, Fl. to update the appearance of the food court in the main terminal, with the goal of capturing the feel of historic Savannah. Schmidt Design Studio "used classic lines, rich gold colors, art pieces from the local Savannah College of Art and Design, and interesting patterns on the floor to please travelers," according to the firm.

"When the team from Schmidt Design Studio first toured the food court, the restaurant and hospitality design professionals found the airport pit stop to be dated, bland and even a little disjointed. The old seating, outdated floor and lighting and mix-matched counters were certainly not a welcome sight for weary travelers," according to Anna Schmidt, CEO.

"We wanted to bring in continuity," said Schmidt, the firm's principal interior designer. "Even if people were just rushing through, we wanted to remind them of Savannah. The artwork from the local Savannah College of Art and Design really helped with the finishing touches on that note."

The quick transformation which opened late last year was a team effort with Schmidt hired by HMSHost and working in connection with architecture firm Kippels & Associates.

The first step of the transformation was cleaning up the lines and updating the colors. The makeover started with steady, modern signage for Pino Gelato, Pizza Hut and Nathan's.

The old ceiling fans and outdated lighting were removed in favor of smaller, more current recessed fixtures and glass lantern wall sconces. Travelers might now notice the detail work on first glance, but what will definitely stand out is the floor, explained Schmidt. Fresh, light porcelain tiles were selected and interest added with a secondary color pattern mixed throughout.

The most important touch is the artwork. Ten pieces were collected from the Savannah College of Art and Design which embody the southern feel and include towering moss filled trees and images of the past. Six additional pieces were implemented through a Florida gallery.