A Guidebook for Airport-Airline Consortiums

This report provides guidance for airport operators and airline representatives who are responsible for agreements related to facilities, equipment, systems, and services and who may be interested in evaluating, advocating, or forming consortiums to provide needed services. The Guidebook provides a discussion of the structure, organization, governance, membership provisions, scope, administrative and operational staffing; presents best practices for the preparation of consortium agreements and performance standards, capitalization, and cost allocation methodologies; and identifies areas that have been most challenging in the operation of consortiums from the airport’s, airline’s and operator’s perspectives. The Guidebook provides decision-making guidance on a variety of issues including the benefits and risks of establishing consortiums for both airports and airlines; information needed to establish a consortium; organizational and management structures; standard levels of services; financial considerations (e.g., capital and operating costs); federal, state, and local regulatory requirements; and the common problems relative to the formation and operation of consortiums.