Press release January 2014
After an increase of 1 million passengers in 2012 (4th biggest increase among European airports according to ACI Europe's ratings), Marseille Provence Airport held on to its position in 2013. Traffic levels were stable, up 0.5% (excluding transit passengers), totalling almost 8.3 million passengers.
Although overall traffic was stable, international traffic increased and now accounts for 56% of total traffic. The introduction of a direct service to New York in the summer of 2013 as well as the development of Turkish Airlines and British Airways played a role in this achievement.
The internationalisation of traffic at MRS is set to continue in 2014 thanks to new direct flights to Toronto and Heraklion, and the arrival of the first charter flights from Seoul, confirming the new tourism appeal of destination Marseille-Provence.
Passenger traffic stable in 2013, with strong internationalisation
Although there were slightly fewer flights operating in 2013, improved load factors on these flights plus the launch of new routes succeeded in maintaining 2012's outstanding traffic level.
"Marseille-Provence 2013, European Capital of Culture" and the new attractions in Marseille (new hotels, new museums, etc) contributed to this success. Without Capital of Culture Year and the related rave reviews in the international press, a large number of tourists arriving by air would not have come to Marseille!
The passenger profile at MRS remains more or less the same with a balanced spread between leisure traffic, business traffic and VFR traffic (Visiting Friends & Relatives).
The final destination of the majority of tourists flying into MRS is located within one hour drive from the airport. The appeal of the city ofMarseilleis growing, with an increase of 300,000 tourism passengers since 2006 (1 million in total).
In 2013, a host of promotional initiatives showcasing the new Marseille and Marseille Provence European Capital of Culture 2013 events were deployed inFranceand abroad by the airport and its tourism partners (Marseille's Tourism and Congress Board, Bouches-du-Rhône Tourisme, the PACA Regional Tourism Board and mp2013).
2013 registered a big increase in the use of public transport for travelling to and from mp Airport: 1,150,000 passengers – i.e. 1 passenger in 7, or 3,150 passengers per day - now take the regional express train (TER) or bus (11% up on 2012; 37% up on 2011).
New bus routes to Marseille Euromediterranée, Martigues, Salon, Gap andSaint-Tropez have been a success, and snow shuttles to ski resorts in theSouthern Alpshave been laid on again this winter.
143,000 air passengers used the Vitrolles-Aéroport MP railway station (up 22% on 2012).
Clients applaud new services introduced in 2013
Almost 3 million euros were invested in new products and services that make air travel easier for passengers - from preparing their trip all the way to the boarding lounge. Sold by the airport and by travel agents, they increased customer satisfaction and were a huge commercial success:
- Websites: over 5 million visitors per year now visit mp Airport's websites, attracted by a search engine that spotlights direct flights (1st inFrance), a one stop shop on the home page for purchasing products and services, and a separate page for each destination. The mobile website is also going from strength to strength (+170% with 1,200 visitors per day), demonstrating the pertinence of investing in mobile communications, a field in which travel is one of the most dynamic sectors. All in all, mp Airport's websites generated half a million "commercial leads" for the purchase of airline tickets.
According to the IRank charts, mp Airport is the number one French airport outside Paris for presence on social networks.
- On-line parking reservations: Over 500 sales are made per day, some by travel agents, for parking at the P10 car park (on-line reservations accepted up to 4 hours before departure) and the long-term car park.
- Fast Track, VIP Lounges and Biometric Border Control are used by 2,500, 4,800 and 9,500 clients respectively per month.
Most of these services function with the airlines' 2D barcode technology, so simply scanning a boarding card is all it takes! A first inFrance.
- Building work carried out in 2013 has produced outstanding results:
The 14 new restaurants and 10 new shops in the mpShop programme created 52 new jobs at mp Airport, increased customer satisfaction by 11.5 points, and boosted these businesses' turnover by 28% (compared to 2012).
The P7 car park extension with its 900 new spaces takes parking capacity at mp Airport to over 13,500 vehicles. Clients love the parking assistance technology built into the extension.
Plans and outlook for 2014
A major investment programme (30 million euros) to improve the client experience is scheduled for 2014. The main building projects are:
- Changing the flooring in the landside zone in Hall1
- Creating new aircraft parking bays
- Extending terminal mp² (improving security checkpoints and shops)
- Launching a mobile application.
In terms of traffic, new scheduled routes will start up in 2014, including:
Destination Airline Flights per week
Athens Aegean Airlines 2
Heraklion Aegean Airlines 2
Palma Vueling 2
Geneva Etihad Regional 3
Toronto Air Transat 1
Catania Ryanair 2
Bordeaux Ryanair 7
... plus the first "leisure" flights fromSouth Koreain the spring.
On April 6th to 8th, Marseille Provence airport welcomes the congress Routes Europe 2014.
Welcome to Marseille-Provence.