Managing an Airport with a Green Model

Strategic Management and Planning at JFK International

Introduction

JFK International is one of the busiest international airports in the US. It is located in New York, and serves millions of passengers every year. For that reason, the airport’s use of strategic management and planning are very important—not just for every day operations but also for emergency situations that can arise at a moment’s notice. From a simple business point of view, strategic management is a vital part of what goes on at JFK—but it is also necessary when managing risk. This analysis will critically evaluate the application of dynamic strategic management and strategic airport planning at JFK, highlighting both the strengths and potential problems that its approach has for operations.

Background

Because JFK International is such a busy and prominent airport in the US, it commands respect and attention for anyone interested in strategic management. The airport deals with high volumes of traffic every day from carriers all around the world. It is located in a major metropolitan area, and it supports thousands of jobs and contributes significantly to the global economy. Thus, understanding how JFK uses strategic airport planning is important.

Master planning, stakeholder engagement, and risk management are all part of JFK’s strategic management approach. Airports like JFK always have a Master Plan that outlines the long-term vision for the airport's development and that outlines the airport’s capacity needs, infrastructure, and environment. In the past, JFK has unveiled master plans that detail multi-billion-dollar transformations with respect to terminal expansions, improved roadway access, and public transportation connections (Song, 2021). JFK has introduced Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosks to expedite the customs process for international travelers. It has explored the use of electric ground service equipment and the implementation of green building standards for new constructions. When COVID struck, JFK introduced health and safety protocols, such as social distancing measures and health screening for incoming international passengers (Tabares, 2021). It is also a major factor in the local and global economy, working with both local and international businesses. All of this indicates that JFK is worthy of analysis and that much can be learned from taking a critical look at its approach to strategic management, consisting of dynamic strategic management and strategic airport planning.

Dynamic Strategic Management

Dynamic strategic management has several benefits for JFK airport. One of its main advantages is adaptability. This means JFK can quickly change its strategies based on new technologies, political changes, or even global health issues (like the COVID emergency of 2020). This kind of dynamic adaptability helps the airport stay up-to-date, operating optimally, and safe and efficient, even when unexpected challenges arise.

Another benefit of this type of strategic management is how it involves different groups of people. JFK can keep revising its strategies, which lets management work closely with many stakeholders. These can be airlines, passengers, local businesses, or the community, but through this constant revision the airport makes sure its plans match what these groups of stakeholders need and expect (Henry, 2021).

Another pro to this approach is that it encourages JFK to always look for ways to get better. The airport has to checking its strategies to find what is working and what is not and make adjustments if necessary. This way, they can fix problems and improve their services and operations proactively instead of waiting for big problems to become manifest.

However, there are some downsides to dynamic strategic management. One issue is that it can use up a lot of resources. Changing strategies often means spending more time and money on monitoring, revising, evaluating, and adjusting (Henry, 2021). If JFK tries to adjust to every small change out there, it might end up using far too many resources, which can strain the budget and produce budgetary gaps.

Another problem is that changing things too often can make things unstable, especially for stakeholders. Stakeholders like stability. If strategies are always shifting, it might confuse the people involved, like the staff or customers. So, as important as it is to be flexible in strategic management, it is also important to find a middle ground between flexibility and staying consistent (Henry, 2021).

Plus, there is a concern about focusing too much on the present and not enough on the future with dynamic strategic management. Dynamic strategic management places all the focus on being adaptable. But if JFK only looks at short-term goals and forgets about its long-term vision and plan, it might not be prepared for future challenges that are constantly coming down the industry pipeline.

Strategic Airport Planning

Strategic airport planning has several benefits for JFK International Airport. One of the main advantages is future-proofing, i.e., planning ahead for things like sustainability, implementing green models, and so on (Santa et al., 2020). Another benefit of JFK’s strategic airport planning is the way it uses resources efficiently. By applying a green model, for instance, the airport knows where to put its money, energy, time, and focus (Santa et al., 2020). With this kind of focus, the airport can plan ahead for the future, as the strategic plan basically becomes like a guide that will help everyone involved with the airport to understand the vision, goals and processes.

However, there are some challenges with strategic airport planning. One issue is that a plan can be too strict. If JFK sticks too closely to a plan, it might struggle when unexpected things happen, like COVID (Tuchen et al., 2020). Airports that could not adjust to the requirements placed on them by regulators faced significant hurdles in handling incoming and outbound traffic. JFK’s ability to flex and change was thanks to its strategic planning approach. The plan was never too restrictive.

However, plans can also become outdated. The aviation industry changes fast, and that is a sure fact: the more that technology advances, the more that airports are expected to keep up. Today, there is blockchain and new transit systems like Uber that have replaced old systems like taxis. If JFK does not update its plan regularly, it can end up being anachronistic in a high-tech, fast moving world.