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I forget the name of the company, but many of the concessions at terminals in US airports are basically monopolies controlled by one company. They go a long way
by exogeny 5y ago
I forget the name of the company, but many of the concessions at terminals in US airports are basically monopolies controlled by one company. They go a long way in obfuscating it through iPads, authentic-sounding fronts (ie: the Biergarten in this example), and partnerships with celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck who are willing to whore their name. But in the end everything goes back to a common commissary kitchen, where they serve up cafeteria food.
It's ridiculous, and part of the reason why almost all US airports are awful, Kafka-esque centers of frustration and disappointment.
Edit: The company is OTG. They're basically what Aramark is to sporting arenas, except to airports. Get a monopoly for the captives, drive up prices, and serve up garbage.
- Justin_K 5y agoMost likely HMS Host. All your airport receipts will say that, once you start looking.
- sithadmin 5y agoHMS host doesn’t do the upscale appearance and iPad thing. They tend to stick to low end franchise operations and news stands.
- sithadmin 5y agoYou’re probably thinking of OTG, the offender in the article linked. I disagree with your assessment of their quality. As someone that used to spend a majority of the year traveling in the pre-COVID world, OTG takeovers have only improved the quality of food and drinks that are available in the airports they have won contracts in. Yes, they have some establishments that aren’t great, but I still prefer their attempt to be somewhat more appealing than Subway/Burger King/Dunkin Donuts/whatever other garbage tier food option used to be in the same spot OTG took over. Their prices are stupidly expensive, but for business travelers with expense accounts…it doesn’t matter.
- goatherders 5y agoNot sure why this is being downvoted. As a guy that travels 200k miles a year you have hit the nail on the head.
- soperj 5y agoI don't think you're travelling. At 200k miles a year, your home is the airplane. Whatever you do outside of that is your travel.
- draw_down 5y agoCome on
- soperj 5y agoI see that you disagree. As someone who's done 100k miles in a year, at 200k miles you're basically travelling every other day. 100k miles is hard on your body.
- pgwhalen 5y agoI did some quick math and that’s about 36 weeks of round trip NY to LA. Is that really so hard to believe? My understanding is that there are jobs that are essential all travel (call it 48 weeks a year).
- soperj 5y agoYou're basically just getting over the jet-lag when you have to leave again. It's not hard to believe, it's just very hard on your body. I've done a trip that was West Coast to South Korea for 5 days, then to South Africa for 6 days, then New York for 3 days, and back to the West Coast. Took 2 weeks to feel right again, and I was in my 20s.
- akudha 5y agoThat is roughly 550 miles per day, every day, 365 days a year. That is a lot, did you mean 20k miles? What kind of work do you do?
- pmoriarty 5y agoThey've also got a captive audience, almost none of whom are going to go out of the airport to go to a competitor because they'd have to suffer through the traffic, parking, and security lines to get back in. It's a similar thing with ski resorts, skating rinks, bowling alleys, etc.. all of whom tend to charge exorbitant prices for mediocre food, or worse.
- im_down_w_otp 5y agoThe only airport I've been to in the US that doesn't appear entirely beholden to this dynamic, or one very similar to it, is PDX. Portland International seems to have several eateries and establishments which are representative of some of the more popular local "name brand" establishments, e.g. Stumptown, Country Cat, Kenny & Zukes, etc. As a result, it's one of the only airports I don't dread eating at when I'm coming & going.
- jdavis703 5y agoOff the top of my head SFO and MSP also have locally themed establishments, but ran by a single concessionaire.
- chrisco255 5y agoAustin's airport does this as well, a lot of local joints. And the Southern Terminal even has a food truck.
- duxup 5y agoMSP (Minneapolis) does this too. Local brands have spots. The folks running the airport actually manage selecting the establishments to make sure there is a variety of price points, types of places, and etc.
- basch 5y agoRun by the company this article is about, using local brands as clothing. https://www.otgexp.com/experiences/featured-experience?loc=282 https://www.otgexp.com/experiences/featured-experience?loc=2...
- jpalomaki 5y agoNoticed the same thing on the local Helsinki Airport. Most of the restaurants are actually operated by either HMShost[1] or SSP[2]. Seems to be part of the business model that they partner with global and local brands. [1] https://www.foodtravelexperts.com/international/ https://www.foodtravelexperts.com/international/ [2] https://hmshost.international/ https://hmshost.international/
- wyager 5y agoAfter being stuck in LHR for 40 hours due to alleged equipment isses, my layover in HEL was a huge breath of fresh air. Tons of personality for an airport. Made me want to go back and visit Finland sometime.
- zippergz 5y agoOTG is much, much smaller than HMS Host. If they appear to be in all airports, it's probably just because you happen to go the airports where they operate. A list is on their site: https://www.otgexp.com https://www.otgexp.com Once you're out of the East Coast, you will not encounter OTG.
- danhak 5y agoMy life changed so much for the better once I got lounge access. Unlimited free food and beverages (restaurant quality at The Centurion), free WiFi to do some work, and a clean relaxing space to decompress a bit or even shower before a flight. Will never pay $18 for a mediocre airport sandwich again.
- sithadmin 5y agoI’m very much looking forward to the Centurion Lounge ending their ‘2 free guests’ admission policy next year. They’re fantastic lounges when they aren’t horrifically overcrowded and have screaming kids running around, which seemed to increasingly be the norm up until COVID hit. By 2018 or so, I often began avoiding the Centurion in favor of Delta lounges just to have some space to myself.
- seemaze 5y agoLol, we have a saying where I work: The only thing better than executive platinum status is not having to get on another f#cking airplane.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- OminousWeapons 5y agoYea the current Amex Platinum annual fee is insane but the lounge access you get on that card is pretty amazing. It really is worth it if you travel a lot.
- savoytruffle 5y agoWow — before I finished reading your post, I said to myself, "it must be Aramark". I am surprised it is a different company, but not surprised that it's similar.
- onlyrealcuzzo 5y agoDoes anyone know of an article on how/why this happens? The airport is the most interesting situation because it's the most unavoidable monopoly. If you have really bad food, it might be bad enough that I decide it's not worth going to the stadium - this is theoretically bad for the stadium. I doubt many people are going to not fly because the food in the airport sucks. They'll just pack snacks. The airport doesn't really care.
- galaxyLogic 5y agoThe question is why was a single company granted the contract for all food in a given airport? Why not have multiple providers? A monopoly like this smells like corruption to me.
- dagw 5y agoWhy not have multiple providers? Why would the airport want to deal with a dozen small providers, a third of which will no doubt drop out on any given year? Far easier to hand it off to one provider, let them deal with everything, and focus their energy on more important parts of their business. Also in many places one company will own or operate several airports. I'd assume having the same company provide restaurant services across all their airports just makes life easier.
- cosmodisk 5y ago"almost all US airports are awful, Kafka-esque centers of frustration and disappointment." Haven't been to the US, but the same applies to most European airports. Silly shops, silly layouts,etc. Heck, a few weeks ago I departed from a midsize airport that recently benefitted from billions of investment. Rest assure the money didn't go to make the whole process a bit easier for passengers and we all still had to stand in a crowded corridor and then on the stairs with no aircon except a big fan hanging off the ceiling.
- ryan_lane 5y agoAirports in the EU and Asia all force you to walk through vast duty free sections before you get to cramped sitting areas all crammed together.