YQB presents its strategic plan for 2025-2030 - Strongly rooted and aligned with its business environment, YQB is "in the right place"

QUÉBEC CITY, Feb. 26, 2025 /CNW/ - Following two rounds of expansion, a pandemic, and a focused effort on recovery and the growth of air services, Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) enters a new chapter. Moving forward, the organization is committed to further strengthening its position in an unstable and unpredictable environment, with the goal of continued growth and success. The plan is clear, and we are already on the right path to achieve our goals: namely, to ensure financial sustainability, enhance the YQB experience, strengthen awareness and appeal, implement our commitment to sustainable development and focus on efficiency and agility.

Our extensive strategic-planning project spanned several months and involved a wide range of stakeholders—including more than 30 key players in the region's socio-economic development—to define the path desired by the community. At the end of this process, the organization established a roadmap with six key objectives to be achieved by 2030:

1. Welcome 2.4 million passengers
2. Achieve a net income of more than $5 million
3. Maintain an average passenger satisfaction rate of over 8/10
4. Maintain an employee net promoter score (eNPS) above 35
5. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% compared to 2016
6. Generate a total of $1.4 billion in economic spinoffs nationally

Understanding the landscape: our foundations and the industry realities

At the core of this approach, the organization aims to build on its solid foundations:

• YQB has regained profitability after a pandemic that disrupted its momentum.
• It has high-quality, large-scale infrastructure capable of supporting its growth.
• Its flight offering has never been so extensive, frequent and diverse.
• The region stands behind its airport with a shared vision.
• The traveller experience has been enhanced through improvements to food concessions, an optimized passenger journey, better public transit service and a revamped parking offering.
• The organization has become more agile by restructuring its operations to improve efficiency and better serve passengers.

At the same time, the organization must address several challenges affecting the airport ecosystem. First, YQB's financial reality, which is characterized by limited flexibility, the ongoing need to invest in asset maintenance and the challenge of diversifying its revenue streams. YQB must also navigate the complexity of operating 24/7/365 within a regulated ecosystem. Furthermore, today's passengers expect frequent flights, diverse destinations, unique experiences, comfort and high-quality services, all of which influence the organization's decisions; however, market realities impose limits on these possibilities. Then there are structural disruptions that carriers face, and the growing importance of sustainability which requires airport organizations to rethink how they operate.

"The circumstances may seem daunting, but for our team it's a source of motivation. While the challenges we face certainly require careful attention, we have all the assets needed to distinguish ourselves, adapt to change, and drive growth. All of our initiatives are focused on five strategic priorities and reflect the realities of our industry," said the president and CEO of Aéroport de Québec Inc.

More specifically, and not exhaustively, YQB's objectives are as follows.

Ensure financial sustainability

• Reduce reliance on airport improvement fees by optimizing and diversifying revenue streams.
• Increase non-aviation, derived from commercial concessions, parking operations, land and building leases, and advertising sales.
• Develop sustainable and profitable real estate projects at YQB.

Enhance the YQB experience

• Invest $200 million in infrastructure for regulatory work and projects to drive growth and improve the user experience, including the redesign of the domestic arrivals area, which is already operating at full capacity.
• Implement initiatives to maintain high passenger satisfaction and attract new travellers.
• Continuously define and adapt the value proposition for passengers and airlines.

Strengthen awareness and appeal

• Boost our presence and strengthen regional relationships beyond the Québec City CMA.
• Continue deploying advertising campaigns that highlight the advantages of departing from Québec City.
• Strengthen our network of local strategic allies.

Implement our commitment to sustainable development

• Implement a sustainable development governance framework to measure environmental, social and economic performance and achieve carbon neutrality for airport-authority-managed operations by 2040.

Focus on efficiency and agility

• Optimize our capacity to receive passengers.
• Adopt a data-driven culture.
• Strengthen team engagement and cohesion.

"The conclusion is clear: YQB is in sync with both the industry's business realities and the ambitions of the region and its passengers. As it builds on its solid foundations and looks toward the new cycle ahead, YQB is definitely "in the right place," said André Boulanger, Chair of the Board of Directors of YQB.

"We already have the team, the infrastructure, the relationships and the knowledge of our market and industry. We are now implementing the plan we need to chart our course, establish the foundations for our future and ensure we remain "in the right place," said Stéphane Poirier.

The strategic plan updates the mission, vision and values statements to capture YQB's unique identity as an international airport that operates on a human scale, generates pride and drives growth for our community, and is known for its user-friendly services and the range of options it offers.

About Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) 

YQB is managed by Aéroport de Québec Inc., a private corporation responsible for the airport's management, operation, maintenance, and development since November 1, 2000. Around a dozen carriers offer flights from YQB to destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, and daily flights to the main hubs in eastern North America. 

Facebook: facebook.com/quebecyqb 
Instagram: instagram.com/quebecyqb 
Web: www.aeroportdequebec.com/en 

Source:
Étienne Cummings
Assistant Director, Public Affairs and Community Relations
Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport
[email protected]

SOURCE Aéroport de Québec Inc.