On Thursday 17th January, the agreement making TAV Operation Services (TAV OS) a majority shareholder of GIS was put into effect. The Munné family will continue being the second largest shareholder, and Mr. Josep Munné will continue as President of the company and member of the new GIS Board of Directors.

TAV OS, a company of Turkish nationality, is one of the main operators worldwide in the non-aeronautical airport services sector. It is currently present in 25 airports in 14 countries, managing 60 lounges around the world and providing a wide range of premium services for passengers. Together the two companies are now the second largest lounge operator worldwide. We are present in 22 countries, operate 84 lounges and welcome more than 7.5M passengers a year.

TAV OS is owned 100% by TAV Airports Holding, a company listed on the Turkish Stock Exchange. Additionally, the ADP Group (which is listed on the French Stock Exchange) is the major shareholder of TAV Airports Holding, having bought 38% of the stock in 2012 and another 8% in 2017. This transaction created the world’s foremost airport operations partnership, providing service to 228 million passengers annually.

TAV Airports is the leading airport operator in the Middle East and North Africa. It manages a portfolio of 14 airports in 6 countries, including Turkey, Georgia, Tunisia, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia and Croatia. The group reported a consolidated turnover of €1.1 billion in 2018, with an EBITDA of €573 million. It employs more than 15,800 people and provides service to over 152 million passengers (a 31% increase over 2017).

Following its majority acquisition of GIS stock, TAV OS will continue expanding its activities in other geographical areas, especially in Europe and Latin America, which is where GIS’s activities are currently focused, and will also incorporate the GIS management team and specific GIS products to contribute to its future growth. The combination of TAV OS and GIS’s regional know-how and unique operational capabilities will further enhance our integrated efficiency, operational management and business strength.

The incorporation of a partner like TAV OS into GIS’s capital stock will benefit its financial strength and help it carry out its growth plans, while also consolidating its operational and human resources to further improve the provision of services to our customers in an increasingly global environment.

Every year some of Europe’s most important airports meet at the World Airport’s VIP Forum (WAVF), an event created for airports to meet and get to know professional and passionate companies who lead the creation and management of VIP or Premium experiences at airports, with the main goal of sharing their experiences seeking for a constant improvement.

Nowadays more than 20 airports participate in this encounter, like for example El Prat – Barcelona Airport where Premium Traveller, GIS’ online platform for VIP services, has represented them for the past five years and still does amongst the rest of international airports.

At the event all participants share their ideas and new concepts with the aim of improving airports’ VIP service offering. The main fields of action sum up in the following:

• Establish rules and common procedures.
• Exchange programmes for employees.
• Establish and intensify relationships among the associates.
• Share knowledge and best practices.
• Develop and implement new concepts.

At GIS, under our constant goal of improving and innovating in every area we work in, we take part in the WAVF because, aside from it being one of the most important meetings worldwide for airports, it is a way of improving our processes and a very interesting way of networking in order for VIP passengers to receive the best experience possible.

Furthermore this encounter enables us to position as a reference company and pioneer in the creation and management of exclusive services in airport infrastructures. Precisely at the latest WAVF edition celebrated last May, at GIS we had the opportunity of presenting our new concept of resting rooms inside airports, our new HelloSky Air Rooms where we took as an example the latest Air Room project that was taking place in Rome – Fiumicino Airport.

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Airlines and airports are very often under people’s eye in order to evaluate whether their infrastructure, efficiency and services meet passengers’ expectations. The evaluation of which meets their needs better is something very common and like in every other sector, it is necessary for airports to renew themselves and innovate to offer their best to every traveller.

Skytrax, a website that audits and compares the quality of the different airports and airlines around the world, recently launched a ranking based on the opinion of more than 19 million travellers in order to establish which long-flight airlines position at the top of the podium worldwide.

As the Spanish diary Expansión explains in this article, Asian airlines lead the list, where Qatar Airways win the Gold in Skytrax’ ranking, followed by Singapore airlines and ANA ALL Nippon airways respectively.

The amount of Asian airlines in this ranking is indisputable. Among the first 10 airlines only one European airline has managed to be among the top 10: Lufthansa, the german airline ranked in the 7^th position. Regarding Spanish airlines, Iberia is the first airline in the ranking occupying the 42^nd position out of the 100 best airlines.

But not only airlines are exposed to rankings, airports are also evaluated and so far in 2017, we see a pattern repeat: the Singapore Changi International Airport is considered five years in a row as the best  airport in the world according to the ranking by Skytrax. Both for its architecture as for the availability of shops and services it offers, its facilities have stolen many hearts.

The airport believes strongly in the idea of constantly innovating and improving, the reason for which they now have embarked on a new project, as this article in the Expansión newspaper. The construction of «Jewel», a project worth 1.518 million euros consist in the building of a glass and steel dome that will enable to place the proximity train inside Terminal 1. Inside the dome a magical space will be created with several bridges for passengers to cross next to a 40 metre-high waterfall , a garden 5 stories high and the recreation of a forest or jungle among many others elements.

With this ambitious project Changi will then become a very strong rival for the rest of airports planning on becoming number one in the ranking, positioning as the best airline or airport in the world. To sum up, hard work on a day-to-day basis, innovation and renewing yourself is definitely a key factor for success.

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Fabiano is the Commercial Director of GIS. More than 8 years of experience on the development of VIP and business services at airports with an extensive knowledge of the airport services industry.

1. Each time more and more airports and airlines are tending to outsource their premium services and VIP LOUNGES to specialized companies. Why do you think this is becoming the trend and what would you say are its’ main benefits?

I believe it’s the combination of many factors that is leading the airlines and the airports to outsource their premium services but for sure the economic and quality aspects are especially relevant.

Specialized companies like GIS, are able to deliver excellent services at very competitive rates helping to increase revenue (or reduce costs) without detriment of quality standards and brand experience through strategy alignment.

The partnership with a trusted operator allows the airlines and airports to focus on their core business while helping to enhance competitiveness and passenger experience.

2. Are VIP services inside airports only available for First Class or Business Class passengers?

No, fortunately not anymore. Most of the VIP services that used to be exclusively within reach of top-tier passengers are now available to anyone who wishes to add extra comfort to their trip, and I may say there is a strong demand for it.
Airports have become a stressful environment and the search for ways to make them friendlier is leading to the design of a wide range of services focused on the passenger experience.

3. Premium services are perfect for business trips. What services can business travellers find in order to make a better use of their time in airports and be efficient during their layovers?

Efficiency is the key concept and there are services that can help them achieve it in every situation. Meeting rooms inside the terminal, executive lounges with business facilities or even meet & greet services to speed up clearance procedures are some of the current services available in every major airport.

4. For those who prefer to have a few hours rest whilst waiting to board their next flight, what exclusive services do you offer? 

We have created a product specially designed for longer stays at the airport. The Air Rooms concept is a small hotel located inside the terminals which offers to the client the alternative of using its comfortable rooms according to their needs. There are three basic types of use:

• Shower-at-arrival – For a quick refresh after a long flight or before a meeting
• Day-use – 3h or 6h packages to rest during the day
• Overnight – for those who prefer to sleep at the airport

5. Why do you think Air Rooms are one of the best options for those tourists who need to be near the airport?

Since our rooms are located inside the airports, it’s very safe and easy to access and our clients have full control of their time. Moreover, not worrying about transfer shuttle to nearby hotels or city centre represents time and money saving.

6. Premium Traveller by GIS currently manages several Air Rooms in Barcelona and Madrid’s airport, and very soon will do so too in Rome. Would you like to expand this project in the future to other international airports too?

GIS currently manages the Barcelona Airport Air Rooms with 10 resting units and 19 at the Madrid Barajas’, in which we also have an arrivals lounge.
As part of our internationalization process, in the second semester of 2017 we’ll inaugurate our new Air Rooms in Rome Fiumicino with 33 resting units and a Arrivals lounge.
Other European airports have showed interest in our model and we expect to announce new openings soon.

7. Is there any existing platform that offers full premium and quality services at airports? 

In our e-commerce platform our clients can book a variety of premium airport services in more than 45 airports, some of them directly operated by us also services provided by our partners.