Vantage Airports Group is on the road again, seeking new airport projects as it begins work on New York JFK’s Terminal 6
Vantage Airports Group was at Routes showcasing its New York JFK Terminal 6 project, which is under construction and will open in 2026, and signalling its desire to secure additional airport development projects.
“We have been heavily focused on the New York market with our LaGuardia and T6 projects,” explained Steve Thody, Chief Operating Officer of JFK Millennium Partners, the Vantage-led company selected by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to build and manage the new T6.
“As we come through those and go to the execution phase, we are looking at other airport development opportunities,” said Thody, who joined Vantage as Project Director Strategic Initiatives in 2019 after an 18-year career with British Airways, latterly as General Manager JFK T7.
The US$5.1 billion LaGuardia Terminal B (which first opened in late 2018) and the $4.9 billion JFK T6 project, have consumed the Vantage airport teams over the past few years but now the firm, which also operates airports in the Caribbean, Canada, elsewhere in the USA and Cyprus, is “re-energised” to find new ones, said Thody.
“We came here primarily to talk to airlines about T6, but we’ve found several markets and airports with development projects that were put on hold during Covid looking at reviving them with the right partner. We have had a lot of rich meetings,” he said.
“LaGuardia, which is the only five-star Skytrax-rated airport in the USA, has caught the eye of many with its combination of public and private expertise,” said Thody, who noted that Routes Istanbul is the first World event Vantage has attended since 2015 as it looks to expand its wings again.
Seeking airlines
In addition to re-establishing its new project pipeline, the mission for Thody’s team is to lure more airlines to T6 to accompany anchor tenant Lufthansa Group. The Group will make T6 its home when the first four widebody (plus one narrowbody) gates and world-class lounge open in early 2026, with Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines all moving across. T6 will feature 10 gates in total when completed in 2028.
The market at JFK is a varied one. Several airlines have their own terminals, such as American, Delta and JetBlue, while those at Terminal 7 will have to find a new home when it is demolished in 2026 as part of the T6 project. This includes Aer Lingus, Alaska, All Nippon and Norse Atlantic.
“The market at JFK is competitive but we have had airlines queuing up to talk to us [about T6],” said Thody. “We will have a new, shiny, boutique terminal with a small number of gates but a high service level.
“Over the next 12-18 months we are looking to lock down the capacity for the first phase of the terminal,” he said, with two new carriers close to announcing they will operate at T6.
A major selling point for carriers is the opportunity to build a premium lounge at T6, Thody noted, being aware from his BA days of the importance of a business class product to satisfy frequent travellers.
“There is room for five premium lounges in the current design. JFK is very important to airline networks and their brand,” he said.
