Details of an ambitious year ahead for Hamilton Airport have been revealed.

A refurbishment of fire appliances, upgrades to the carpark, and complete refurbishment of the airport hotel were all on the cards Waikato Regional Airport Ltd chief executive Mark Morgan told councillors at a Waipā District Council meeting this week.

"With the hotel, a major acquisition for the group this year, we are well down the track," Morgan said.

CHRISTEL YARDLEY/STUFF Waikato Regional Airport Ltd chief executive Mark Morgan is excited for what the airport will be like by the end of next year.

"We would expect to be able to announce by Christmas that we have secured an operator for the hotel."

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It is intended that the new operator will take over from April 1 next year, with the upgrade also commencing around that time.

TOM LEE/STUFF Air New Zealand currently has a monopoly on services to Hamilton Airport, but research is being done around a potential business case to bring in other airlines.

"That upgrade will be both an external upgrade - so it'll look and feel completely different to what it does now - and a total refurbishment of the interior, up to a 4-star standard."

The pending operator was noted to have a strong focus on food and beverage and customer service elements, and Morgan thought "we will have a really exciting outcome by this time next year".

Refurbishment of the airport fire appliances will cost $1.3m, and will save substantial money that would otherwise be required to have new appliances built.

Waikato Regional Airport Limited/SUPPLIED "We are well down the track" of change for Hamilton airport, chief executive Mark Morgan says.

The refurbishment will involve the current engines being stripped down to the chassis and rebuilt.

Meanwhile, the planned new technology for usage in operation of the airport carpark will include various enhancements, including number plate recognition to provide more methods and ease by which people can pay their parking fees.

Another large piece of planning by the airport involved a look into the possibility of bringing more airlines back to the airport.

Air New Zealand currently holds a monopoly.

"We are doing a piece of research at the moment, and we've just commenced that," Morgan said.

"Really, what I'd like to understand once and for all are the facts around what the proposition is for [another] airline such as Jetstar to consider Hamilton, because there is a lot of misinformation and anecdote in the marketplace."

The research will be received in March, having assessed the situation, whether there is a potential business case to welcome another airline to Hamilton, and help the airport prepare a business case.