Sammy Patel

As a member of Vantage’s executive team, Sammy Patel leads the company’s commercial strategy, focusing on growth initiatives, revenue generation and strategic partnerships. In 2017 he was appointed CEO of Midway Partnership, an innovative joint venture responsible for the concession redevelopment at Chicago’s Midway International Airport.

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Panel discussion: How to ‘humanize’ airports and make them more intuitive

This panel session will reveal future strategies that can positively impact non-aviation revenue by making airports more human and less like machines. It will specifically explore how we can develop intuitive, stress-free, emotionally engaging airports that offer a new and futureproofed approach to the commercial experience while responding to passenger expectations and their different missions and physical and emotional states. The panel will provoke dialogue on how an airport can drive passenger comfort, engagement, dwell and spend while considering biophilic design, multisensory environments, ‘soft spaces’, tactility, psychological triggers, visual noise, vistas, visibility and the power of beauty.

The audience will learn:

• How an airport can create truly positive passenger sentiment and become a ‘love brand’
• How airports can become healthy places
• How ‘humanizing’ airports can increase non-aviation revenue
• How we can create airports that are intuitive and stress-free
• How airports can be positive beacons in their local communities

Panel discussion: Driving digital innovation – transforming airport retail and concessions

This panel will explore the sense and nonsense of how digital innovation is revolutionizing the delivery of products and services in airport environments. From leveraging technologies to enhance the passenger experience to implementing seamless digital solutions for retail and F&B, it will discuss the strategies shaping the future of airport commerce. Industry leaders will share insights on omnichannel integration, digital personalization and how technology is enabling airports to deliver tailored services while maximizing non-aeronautical revenues. Discover how airports are redefining commerce in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

The audience will learn:

• The role of digital platforms in modernizing airport retail and concession delivery
• How omnichannel strategies bridge in-terminal and online commerce
• Leveraging AI and data analytics to create personalized passenger experiences
• Innovations in digital ordering and fulfillment for F&B and retail
• Best practices for implementing seamless digital solutions in airport environments