Milan Bergamo Airport, an increasingly complete travel experience

Not only departures and arrivals, but an increasingly well-kept travel experience at every stage of the airport journey. Milan Bergamo Airport is experiencing a phase of evolution that concerns the spaces of the terminal, the quality of services, catering, shopping and also the relationship with the territory and Lombardy mobility. Matteo Baù, Non-Aviation Commercial Director of Milan Bergamo Airport, talks about it in an interview that focuses on what really matters to travelers today: comfort, simplicity, accessibility and quality of time spent at the airport.
 

In recent years, Milan Bergamo Airport's offer has grown and evolved. What are the main innovations that passengers can find today between catering, shopping and services?

 

"In recent years, Milan Bergamo Airport's offer has evolved in parallel with the transformation of the airport spaces. With the redesign of the terminal, and in particular of the route after the security checks, the overall configuration of the shopping area has also been rethought, with the aim of better accompanying the passenger throughout the journey to the gate. One of the main innovations concerns duty free, which today is the first point of sale immediately after security filters, according to a logic now consolidated in many international airports. In fact, it is often a more planned purchase than impulse purchases, which tend to be concentrated in the areas closest to the gates. 

Duty free has also been significantly expanded, with a doubling of spaces, a richer assortment and a wider and deeper product selection. This has also made it possible to attract higher-end brands. Also with a view to innovation, a catering point has also been included in the duty free, a Motta point of sale managed by Autogrill, designed to hybridise retail and food and offer passengers a more complete experience. The presence of a space of this type helps to make the stay in the area more pleasant, accompanying the traveler in an initial phase of the journey in which he is still far from the gates.

Among the most recent innovations is the new Dif newsstand, redesigned not only in terms of furnishings and image, but also in format, with a more contemporary proposal that goes beyond the traditional newspaper and is closer to a real convenience store, with items dedicated to the person, food products and a technological component that also allows you to search for or reserve books. The evolution of commercial spaces will continue in the coming months with new openings.

Among these, the future Lego Store stands out, which will represent a particularly significant project: it will in fact be the first Lego flagship store in an Italian airport, a format designed to further enrich and diversify the offer with a recognizable, attractive brand capable of speaking to different audiences. Also on the catering front, the airport is working to expand and differentiate the proposal more and more. New formats have recently been introduced such as Sushi and Prêt A Manger, an international brand of great renown. Also on the way are a Piadineria, which will preside over a segment not covered so far, and Scirocco, an award-winning brand among the best in the Italian street food scene. The logic behind all these innovations is clear: to offer passengers an increasingly wide, varied and consistent choice with different travel needs, while improving the overall quality of the airport experience".

For many travellers, time spent at the airport is no longer just waiting, but part of the journey. How are you working to make it more pleasant, comfortable and functional?

"To make the time spent at the airport more pleasant, comfortable and functional, we have worked first of all on the quality of the environments, from an infrastructural point of view. In particular in the airside area, but progressively also in the landside area, the goal was to create spaces perceived as comfortable and welcoming, thanks to the materials, the spaciousness of the rooms and the presence of natural light, elements that contribute to conveying a feeling of greater relaxation. Alongside this, we also pay great attention to the right balance between the different functions of the terminal: retail spaces, operational areas, communication areas and waiting areas must coexist harmoniously, without one need prevailing over the others. It means, for example, not sacrificing either the usability of a rest or catering area, or the functionality of the routes to the gates and boarding areas. It is a continuous balancing work, which naturally starts from passenger flows and traffic volumes, but which always aims to ensure adequate standards for each type of space. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the passenger experiences the airport not as a congested or dispersive environment, but as an orderly, readable and pleasant space to cross".

BGY is a dynamic airport, with passengers who often have fast turnaround times and very practical needs. How do you build a commercial offer and services that are really useful for this type of traveler?

"While growing in terms of traffic, volumes and infrastructure, BGY continues to maintain a characteristic that passengers have long recognized in us: that of being an airport that is easy to live in, an "easy airport" and, in many respects, also a "friendly airport". Even if with the expansion of the spaces some routes have inevitably lengthened, the goal is to ensure that the passage through the airport remains intuitive, readable and pleasant, avoiding dispersive solutions or non-functional movements. The central theme, therefore, is not only the dimensional growth of the airport, but the way in which this growth is accompanied by an experience that remains practical and accessible for the passenger. From this point of view, one of the aspects on which it will be important to work further concerns accessibility on the land side, i.e. everything that affects the arrival and departure from the airport.

This is a strategic front, also linked to the implementation of the Development Plan, which in the coming years will lead to interventions on parking, roads and access to the airport. Among the objectives is also the opening of a new access from the east, which will make it possible to lighten the flows from the west and make it faster to cross the infrastructure, even at times of greater congestion. In this perspective, building a truly useful service offer means not only thinking about what the passenger finds inside the terminal, but considering the entire travel experience, starting from how he reaches the airport and how easily he can move around the airport".

Today, the airport experience matters more and more. What aspects are you working on most to ensure that the passenger, from his arrival to boarding, feels oriented, welcomed and at ease?

"We are working the idea of building an increasingly oriented, welcoming and easy-to-live airport experience, also through the development of a real digital ecosystem, designed to accompany passengers from their arrival to boarding. The goal is to make useful information and services available through a plurality of channels, integrated with each other. Those who want to use an app must be able to do so, but at the same time there must also be a responsive website, information kiosks at the airport, physical and digital communication tools, direct assistance and clear institutional content. The idea is not to rely on a single tool, but to offer the passenger different access points to information, based on his habits and needs. In this direction, we believe that there is still a great deal of room for development in the way airports communicate and make their services available. Today, digital experiences are often fragmented: in many cases, there is still a lack of a common thread and a truly integrated vision. This is why we imagine a system capable of making the passenger's journey simpler and more readable, both in terms of information and services.

Useful information must concretely help the traveler to move better at the airport: for example, through information on waiting times, travel times, baggage tracking and, more generally, on everything that can facilitate passage through the airport. Added to this is a better enhancement of airport services, such as fast track, lounges, parking, accessibility and connections to the city and the territory. The basic idea is to ensure that the passenger feels followed throughout the journey, with simple tools, clear information and easily accessible services, so as to experience the airport with greater peace of mind and awareness".

Airport catering now plays a central role in the travel experience. What is your strategy to offer a differentiated proposal that combines quality, speed and attention to the territory?

"Our strategy starts from a precise principle: to offer passengers a wide, differentiated catering proposal capable of responding to very different needs. This is why we focus on a plurality of operators, with different formats that coexist within the terminal and which, in fact, also measure themselves against each other in terms of the quality of the offer, pricing, service and attractiveness of the point of sale. Another important element concerns the contractual model. We work with medium-term contracts, which on the one hand allow operators to amortize their investments, but on the other hand also allow us to periodically review the formats and push partners to reinvest, update concepts and constantly qualify the offer. From the point of view of content, our idea of territory is broad: we do not limit ourselves to a strictly local reading, but we consider the airport as a showcase capable of representing recognizable excellence appreciated by a very wide audience. For example, the presence of Eataly in Bergamo offers a complete format, capable of combining market, catering and table service. And it is a project destined to grow further, because by the end of 2026 it will be able to count on new spaces, further strengthening the service component and the overall quality of the experience. More generally, we continue to work to diversify the offer and intercept different needs, both in terms of timing and in terms of food preferences. The goal is to ensure that each passenger can find a solution that suits their way of traveling: from those looking for a quick but well-kept meal, to those who want to stay longer, to those with specific needs or special eating habits. In short, the direction is clear: more variety, more quality and increasingly up-to-date formats, to make catering a concrete and qualifying part of the travel experience at BGY".

Are there any services present at BGY that, in your opinion, passengers still know little about but that could make their journey easier and more comfortable?

"Yes, there are several services present at the airport that, in my opinion, many passengers still know little, but which can make the journey significantly easier and more comfortable. These are mainly services designed to facilitate the crossing of the airport and improve the overall experience at the airport. We offer several, many of which can also be booked through our marketplace. In the past, these services were perceived mainly as premium, while today they are becoming increasingly transversal and used by a much wider audience. This is demonstrated, for example, by the growth recorded by the VIP Lounge: it currently welcomes between 400 and 750 people a day, very different numbers than in the past, when the previous lounge, smaller in size, recorded much lower volumes. This change also tells a good story about an evolution in the way travel is organized. If once the passenger thought mainly of the flight, the hotel or the transfer, today he also pays more and more attention to the airport component: book parking, evaluate the Fast Track, consider access to the lounge and, more generally, look for solutions that make the passage through the airport faster and more pleasant. Among the services that deserve to be known more is, for example, BGY TOP, which offers dedicated assistance and personalized accompaniment, up to, in some cases, even on board. Next to this there is BGY GO, which represents a similar but more essential formula: in fact it is the "younger brother" of BGY TOP, because it maintains the logic of dedicated support, but without the accompanying alongside. In short, today the airport is no longer just a place of passage: it is an increasingly important part of the journey itself, and learning more about these services can really make a difference in terms of comfort, time and quality of experience".

BGY is also experiencing an important transformation phase outside the terminal, with projects such as the future railway station, the new hotel and the airport service center. How will these interventions contribute to concretely improving the passenger experience and the role of the airport in the Lombardy mobility system?

"In my opinion, this is one of the most important transformations that affect today not only the airport, but also the territory as a whole. Projects such as the future railway station, the new hotel and the airport service center will in fact contribute to strengthening BGY's role as a node increasingly integrated into the Lombard mobility system and as a point of connection between different but very close realities. The territory that gravitates around the airport has in fact an extraordinary concentration of strategic poles: I am thinking of the tourism sector, business, accommodation, but also realities such as the Bergamo Fair, the Kilometro Rosso, the University of Bergamo, hospitals, the nearby shopping center and, of course, the city of Bergamo with its historical and cultural heritage. They are realities that have different functions, but which can communicate much better thanks to a more advanced and integrated accessibility system. In this context, the arrival of the train directly at the airport will represent a decisive step, because it will make BGY even more connected with the territory and with the main hubs of regional mobility. To this will be added interchange parking lots, soft mobility solutions and new services, such as bicycle rental, helping to build an increasingly complete intermodal system. For passengers, all this will translate into a simpler, smoother and better integrated experience: reaching the airport, moving to the city or other destinations, and finding useful services even beyond the terminal will be more immediate. And this is precisely the direction in which we are going: to make BGY not only an efficient airport, but an infrastructure that is increasingly connected to the territory and its various poles of attraction".

 If you had to invite passengers to choose BGY for their travels, what are the strengths of the airport today that you would highlight?

"If I had to point out BGY's strengths to a passenger, I would start first of all with the breadth of the offer: today Milan Bergamo Airport provides a very extensive network, with hundreds of destinations and a wide and diversified presence of airlines, which allows you to find travel solutions suitable for very different needs.

Alongside this, I would emphasize the ease of use of the airport. BGY, despite being a growing airport, maintains a size that makes it practical and simple to live in, and this is an important value for travellers. All the more so if we also look at the improvements planned on the road and accessibility front, which will help make it even easier to reach the airport. Another distinctive element concerns the quality of the environments. The goal is to offer welcoming, functional and pleasant spaces to walk through, in which the passenger can feel at ease during all phases of the journey. Added to this is an increasingly articulated system of services, which includes operational components, retail, food, parking and dedicated services, designed to accompany the traveller in a concrete and functional way. More generally, I believe that one of the real strengths of BGY is the ability to offer an excellent relationship between quality, efficiency and affordability. And it is precisely this balance, today, that makes the airport an interesting choice for many passengers".