BAA reaches new deal at Pittsburgh

Gavin Lipsith

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The group extends its retail management contract until 2017 as the airport ditches its minimum annual guarantee

Pittsburgh International airport has agreed a new lease to accommodate dwindling sales at BAA's Airmall, which it operates under a retail management contract with the airport. According to local reports the new lease extends the contract from 2007 to 2017 and favours a slightly increased percentage fee of sales revenue, from 56% to 59%, abandoning the $3.3m base minimum annual guarantee BAA paid the airport under the initial contract.

The contract also removes a provision from the original agreement that would have required Pittsburgh to pay BAA $10m if sales at Airmall fell below $72m a year. Total annual sales at Airmall have dropped from a peak of just under $90m before September 11 2001, to $75m in 2004, said Pittsburgh executive director Kent George.

BAA director of international retail Paul Weber told RavenFox.com that despite falling passenger traffic due to the restructure of dominant carrier US Airways, retail at Pittsburgh was still flourishing. "We are still achieving high penetration rates and we have developed possibly the best airport speciality retail offer anywhere in the country," he said.