“By 2026, 70% of the energy used by our airports will come from self-consumption of solar power,” declared Maurici Lucena, Chairman and CEO of Aena, at a recent session of Desayunos ESADE, organised by ESADE Alumni in collaboration with CriteriaCaixa. “Our photovoltaic plan will prevent the release of 167,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere,” commented Mr. Lucena, before noting that today is World Environment Day. “This measure will position us as leaders among European airports in the production of renewable energy for self-consumption,” he added.

In addition to climate change, the company faces many short- and medium-term challenges, including Brexit and the concentration of airlines. “Airport traffic will double in the next 20 years, and our goal during this period will be to consolidate the significant growth that Aena has seen so far and to generate new value-creating lines of business,” commented Mr. Lucena. “We are the world’s biggest airport operator in terms of passenger volume. Even if this changes – and it might, since we have very aggressive competitors – we’re not worried. The important thing is not volume but profitability, and we will continue being the most profitable operator.”

Network model and shared economic development

Mr. Lucena attributed Aena’s efficiency and profitability to its hybrid ownership system (“a unique setup in Spain”); to Spain’s “virtuous cycle” in relation to its quality and efficiency as a destination; and to the company’s efficient network model, which “has many advantages from the perspective of economic efficiency and general interest”. Mr. Lucena then highlighted several key aspects of Aena’s network: “Our traffic between airports, our financial strength for individual projects and airports, our economies of scale, our quality and technological development, our capacity to undertake large investments, and our ability to attract new traffic.”

“Airports are key pieces of regional infrastructure and have a galvanising effect on the economy of the region where they are located,” observed Mr. Lucena. “Therefore, their business interests and profitability must be joined to those of the population and the environment. Aena reasonably combines quality, operational capacity, infrastructure and efficiency.”

Innovation

In order address the challenges ahead, Mr. Lucena explained, Aena has adopted a strategic plan that calls for expanding the capacity of the organisation’s airports, raising service quality standards, and boosting innovation as a guarantee of growth and competitiveness. Along these lines, Mr. Lucena highlighted his interest in transforming the company’s facilities into smart airports. Among other measures, this transformation would involve “the use of drones to illuminate runways and biometric technology that would make Spain the only country in Europe to overcome the need for security and boarding filters with facial recognition.”

Mr. Lucena also described projects undertaken by Aena to optimise the commercial areas of its airports and take advantage of available space in the surrounding area. In addition to these strategic foundations, Mr. Lucena mentioned two other factors – “international expansion and talent attraction and retention” – which he described as “even more important”. “In a market as competitive as the current one,” he concluded, “these are the true differentiating factors.”

At Desayunos ESADE, organised by ESADE Alumni, Maurici Lucena was joined by Juan María Hernández Puértolas, Director of Communication at CriteriaCaixa, and Pedro Riera (Lic&MBA ‘65), Managing Partner at Seeliger y Conde.