Starbucks' airport location staff — and company technology — will be put to the test this week during some of the busiest travel days of the year. For the aviation industry, bottlenecks at airport Starbucks are just another sign of soaring demand and overcrowded airports. Licensing modelA challenge for Starbucks is that licensees — not Starbucks itself – operate its airport locations. Starbucks opened its first airport location with licensee HMSHost in 1991 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which serves Starbucks' hometown. While HMSHost still operates the overwhelming majority of Starbucks' airport cafes, more operators, such as Paradies Lagardere and OTG, have since taken a swing at it.

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Persons: Jeff Greenberg, Coresa Barrino, Brian Niccol, Niccol, Jennifer Simkins, Ursula Cassinerio, HMSHost, Paradies, OTG, Mark Kalinowski, Leslie Josephs, Kevin Schimpf, Sara Senatore ., Senatore Organizations: Miami International Airport, Universal, Getty, Starbucks, New, Transportation Security Administration, U.S . Department of Transportation, Aviation Administration, Dallas Fort Worth International, International, Airlines, Tacoma International Airport, HMSHost, Equity Research, LaGuardia, CNBC, Bank of America Locations: Miami, Charlotte , North Carolina, Charlotte, Chipotle, U.S, Seattle, New York City