Airport Experience News - November/December 2020

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 / V18 N230-231

DEFINING THE

POST-PANDEMIC T R AV E L E R E X PE R IE NCE

BILL WYATT

MCO’s South Terminal Takes Shape

KEVIN DOLLIOLE

PAUL BRADBURY

A XN SPOTLIGHTS ITS

2020 DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR!

2020 IN REVIEW

Congratulations!

AXN Airport Directors of the Year

SMALL AIRPORTS

MEDIUM AIRPORTS

LARGE AIRPORTS

Paul Bradbury

Kevin Dolliole

Bill Wyatt

Airport Director Portland International Jetport

Director of Aviation Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

Executive Director Salt Lake City Department of Airports

Congratulations to Paul, Kevin and Bill for earning this prestigious and well-deserved recognition.

We value their partnerships and are honored to be part of their respective programs.

As Paradies Lagardère celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, we also appreciate and respect each of the amazing business partners we have worked with through the years. Thank you for making this such a remarkable industry and we look forward to regaining our momentum in 2021.

– Gregg Paradies and the Paradies Lagardère team!

paradieslagardere.com

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13 Salt Lake Shaker

Bill Wyatt, AXN’s Director of the Year in the large airports category, delivered a new terminal for Salt Lake City International Airport in the middle of a pandemic.

20 Bravo for Bill

Bill Wyatt’s peers and colleagues praise his willingness to listen and ability to collaborate, and are sparked by his never-ending enthusiasm.

23 Hometown Hero

Kevin Dolliole, AXN’s Director of the Year in the medium airports category, returned to New Orleans late in his career to usher in the city’s new state-of-the-art airport.

30 Dolliole’s Dedication

Kevin Dolliole is a calm and highly competent leader who has impressed colleagues with his dedication and willingness to share his knowledge.

33 Impactful Leadership

AXN’s Director of the Year in the small airports category, Paul Bradbury is never without a project, and his boundless energy for his community is evident in his leadership of Maine’s Portland Jetport.

40 Bradbury Boosts Morale

3 Letter from the Editor-In-Chief 4 Data Check

53 5&Under

Demand for air travel is trickling back at an uneven pace. The top performing airports are ranked here.

5 Latest Buzz

The people in Paul Bradbury’s life recognize that his drive and passion for service inspire him to do great work for the airport and the state.

Orlando International’s South Terminal C was delayed mid-project due to the pandemic but has managed to pick back up with a new completion date on the books.

43 Year in Review

8 Director’s Chair

Tumultuous though it may have been, 2020 was a year that saw many headlines and big waves being made throughout the industry.

48 Relationship Rebalance

Regional airports have been struggling to cope with the loss of business caused by the pandemic, with little opportunity for reprieve in sight.

56 Advertising Index 57 Before You Take Off

Airports around the globe have been adopting a system of using bright green, sunflower-themed accessories to provide passengers in need with enhanced service.

Cindy Nichol took the helm at Sacramento International when the airport was booming. Now, like every other airport director, she’s scrambling to adapt to vastly changed circumstances.

Airports and concessionaires are together trying to shift back to growth mode after the devastation wrought by the pandemic. The landscape has shifted, prompting both sides to rethink the best way forward.

A X N E W S N O V E M BE R / DE C E M BE R 2 0 2 0

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TEAM Desiree Hanson

Executive Vice President

Melissa Montes Publisher

Todd Cusumano Business Development Manager

Carol Ward

Editor-in-Chief

Andrew Tellijohn

Senior Reporter

Shafer Ross

Copy Editor and Writer

Sally Kral

Contributing Writer

David Ward

Contributing Writer

Bill Wyatt, Salt Lake City Department of Airports Executive Director

Barbara Moreno

Portfolio Coordinator

Chad Wimmer

AIRPORT DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR 2020 CONGRATULATIONS BILL WYATT! The SLC International Airport family extends a warm congratulations to Bill Wyatt on being named the 2020 Airport Director of the Year.

Your leadership, vision and expertise has guided us through a challenging year and to a home run in opening the first new hub airport in the 21st Century.

Senior Editorial Art Director

Rae Lynn Cooper

Production Manager

Amanda Gochee

Group Marketing Director

Paige Heady

Senior Marketing Manager

Jenna Rothermel

Marketing Coordinator

Mawuena Bruce

Marketing Coordinator

Simon Kimble Chairman

Greg Topalian

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mark Wilmoth

Chief Financial Officer

Airport Experience® News Is a Division of CLARION Events 6421 Congress Ave., Suite 107 Boca Raton, FL 33487 Phone 561.257.1026 Fax 561.228.0882 To subscribe visit https://airportxnews.com/subscribe/

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A X N E W S N O V E M BE R / DE C E M BE R 2 0 2 0

ISSN: 1948-4445 Copyright © 2020 Airport Experience® News, all rights reserved. Any reproduction of this magazine is strictly forbidden without prior permission from Airport Experience® News.

11 12/2020

Dear Readers, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 / V18 N230-231

DEFINING THE

POST-PANDEMIC T R AV E L E R E X PE R IE NCE

BILL WYATT

MCO’s South Terminal Takes Shape

KEVIN DOLLIOLE

PAUL BRADBURY

A XN SPOTLIGHTS ITS

2020 DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR!

2020 IN REVIEW

As we head toward the end of 2020, it’s easy to get mired down in all the negative developments this year has offered. But there is room for optimism too. Air travel is increasing slowly but surely, there is recent enthusiasm about a possible COVID-19 vaccine and both airports and concessionaires are figuring out how to operate effectively in a pandemic environment.

This industry is incredibly resilient. Looking back over the past nine months, we’ve seen extraordinary action from the industry. Hit hard by the pandemic, the industry rose to the challenge early with modified offerings and policies. Check out this compilation of just a few of the many changes made to enhance the traveler experience in the evolving environment. click here This year-end issue of Airport Experience News celebrates three men who are extraordinary airport leaders. Bill Wyatt of Salt Lake City International Airport, Kevin Dolliole of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and Paul Bradbury of Portland International Jetport take the spotlight as AXN’s directors of the year in the large, medium and small categories, respectively.

Elsewhere in this issue, the AXN team looks at the way forward for the struggling concessions sector and highlights some of the biggest industry happenings in 2020.

This digital issue is supplemented by our robust news offering that now includes webinars, video interviews, podcasts and more. For breaking news and additional multimedia content, check out our website at www. airportexperiencenews.com. The AXN team will continue to partner with airports and concessionaires as together we navigate back to growth.

Best regards, Best regards,

Carol Ward Editor-in-Chief Airport Experience News

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DATA CHECK

THE LONG ROAD BACK Passengers Are Trickling In At An Uneven Pace

BY CAROL WARD U.S. Airports With Fastest Recovery Rank

(April to June 2020)

Airport

Code

April 2020 Departing Passengers

June 2020 Departing Passengers

% change

MDW

30,693

338,884

1004.11%

1

Chicago Midway International Airport

2

Baltimore/Washington International Airport

BWI

34,804

348,157

900.34%

3

McCarran International Airport

LAS

59,886

474,247

691.92%

4

LaGuardia Airport

LGA

19,113

133,272

597.28%

5

Denver International Airport

DEN

122,131

837,863

586.04%

6

Newark Liberty International Airport

EWR

24,984

166,791

567.59%

7

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

DCA

26,701

173,092

548.26%

8

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

FLL

44,011

274,203

523.03%

9

Miami International Airport

MIA

41,727

258,773

520.16%

10

Orlando International Airport

MCO

66,502

406,860

511.80%

Source: Finance Buzz/U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics

hen upwards of 90 percent of an airport’s passenger traffic is wiped out in a matter of weeks, it can be a bit daunting to build back.

Recovery is underway – slower and patchier than hoped or predicted, but the outlook for U.S. airports is nevertheless slightly better than it was six months ago.

FinanceBuzz, a personal finance firm, analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics to assess which airports are bouncing back best. Recovery is a constantly moving target, and the data covers the April to June time period. A lot has changed since then but the data gives a snapshot on where passengers are returning most quickly.

Among the top 30 airports in the United States, Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) had the strongest growth, with passenger numbers rising from just under 31,000 in April to nearly 339,000 in June. Baltimore/

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Washington International Airport (BWI) ranked second, rising from nearly 35,000 passengers in April to more than 348,000 in June. Both MDW and BWI are major connecting airports for Southwest Airlines.

McCarran International Airport (LAS) was third with just under 60,000 passengers in April, rising to just over 474,000 passengers in June. “With few tourist destinations welcoming people back, Las Vegas became a prime location for people looking to travel,” the study noted.

The FinanceBuzz analysis also ranked the airports seeing the biggest decline in departing passengers, comparing June 2020 numbers to the same month a year prior. The three New York metropolitan area airports – LaGuardia Airport (LGA), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) – topped the list due primarily to the strict limits on travel imposed throughout the region.

LATEST BUZZ

THIRD TIME LUCKY MCO Moving Toward 2022 Opening Of South Terminal

BY DAVID WARD

Above: Among the innovations in the new MCO South Terminal is a new baggage-handling system that delivers luggage to the top floor, enabling arriving travelers to immediately experience the sunshine and greenery the Orlando area is famous for.

hough it can be hard to see beyond the disruptions caused by COVID19, Orlando International Airport (MCO) is hard at work on its postpandemic future, with construction of a new $2.7 billion South Terminal still moving forward in anticipation of an early 2022 completion.

Phil Brown, CEO of the Greater Orlando Airport Authority (GOAA) says this is actually the authority’s third attempt at a new terminal in the last 21 years, noting the earlier plans, both driven by leisure travel and one involving a separate international terminal, were delayed due to first 9/11 and then the Great Recession.

“This time around we were experiencing growth in both leisure and business travel

T

and were facing a lack of gates for airlines to expand in Orlando,” Brown says. “We were tracking in February to be on pace for 51 million annual passengers in 2020, so we were over capacity and our growth projections.”

The new South Terminal is the cornerstone of the $4.2 billion, multi-year MCO Capital Improvement Program, although GOAA scaled back parts of the overall project in May 2020 to reflect the expected multi-year impact of the COVID19 pandemic.

The $3 billion original cost for terminal was cut by $226 million, with most of the cost savings coming from a reduction in gates from 19 to 15, eliminating the need to build an additional wing on the new terminal.

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LATEST BUZZ

“The major airline in the South Terminal is going to be JetBlue, and we’ve been in close discussions with them for more than a year about what that move will look like,” Brown says. “We think it’s probably going to take between four and five years to get back to pre-pandemic levels.”

During the fall, MCO was tracking at about one-third of the numbers the airport was seeing in February, a reality that caused carriers to reexamine service levels.

“Airlines are trying to figure out how to manage their schedule and manage their cash burn,” Brown says. “Not profitability, because no one is profitable, but they’re just trying to manage the cash burn on a daily basis.”

He says that the real key to viability will be restoring consumer confidence in aviation, adding that in both MCO’s existing terminals and in the new South Terminal, the airport will be doing all it can to provide travelers with a safe, enjoyable experience.

Right: The $2.7 billion South Terminal project is part of a $3.5 billion airport overhaul that also includes the Intermodal Terminal Facility and South Airport APM (Automated People Mover) Complex that are also currently under construction.

In a nod to the new realities, the South Terminal will feature 100 percent automated screening lanes at TSA checkpoints as well as 100 percent facial recognition for international arrival and departures.

“We’re looking at more contactless processing,” Brown says. “That’s going to take some effort, but the one thing the pandemic has been is an accelerant for technology, including the focus on touchless technology, using apps to process all the security requirements.”

Concession Contracts In Place Construction on the South Terminal in more than 60 percent complete and Brown says the concessions contracts for the South Terminal have been awarded.

A group led by HMSHost will operate seven food and beverage locations, while another six F&B concessions will be operated by a joint venture led by

Delaware North. A third F&B package, with seven locations, was awarded to Orlando Hospitality Airport Partners.

Marshall Retail Group will operate four locations in a combined retail and F&B package, while Paradies Lagardère won three retail locations.

There are direct retail agreements for locations for DFASS Duty Free, Universal Studios, Walt Disney World and Sea World.

“Pre-pandemic, 72 percent of our revenues came from concessions, parking and rental cars,” says Brown. “The other 28 percent came from the airlines. That’s why you can get competitive fares into Orlando.”

Brown says the South Terminal concession contracts will likely have some adjustments.

“We funded most of the South terminal through bond issues, and we were going to fund it through pay as you go with PFCs and customer facility charges,” he adds.

“There’s also a $3.50 charge on the rental car contract on a daily basis, that is used for transportation improvements and the rental car infrastructure. We’re not going to collect as much because enplanements are down, so we had to scale some portions of the project back.”

Showcasing The Florida Sunshine In its design of the South Terminal, MCO is borrowing from what already works well in the existing MCO terminals.

“The North Terminal has a lot of skylights and water features and foliage,” Brown says. ‘We’re taking that to 21st century in the South Terminal project, combining Florida hospitality with modern architecture.”

Designed by Fentress Architects, the South Terminal incorporates indoor and outdoor green spaces, plenty of windows and glass, and a large-scale interactive digital media presence to heighten the visual experience.

Left: In addition to concessions featuring both local and national brands, MCO’s South Terminal will also include largescale interactive digital media screens highlighting local attractions while improving the customer experience.

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LATEST BUZZ

Left: Orange County Brewers, an HMSHost concept, is one of several new concessions set to open next year in MCO’s new South Terminal.

Right: Delaware North will operate six concessions spaces, including Summer House, in the new South Terminal.

The new terminal will also feature a stateof-the-art baggage system that includes RFID chips for all the bags. But the biggest innovation is where baggage claim will be located in the terminal, Brown says, adding that traditional conveyor baggage systems relied on gravity, which is why most baggage claims areas are always at the bottom of an airport, the lowest floor.

“Ours will deliver bags to the top floor, so passengers who come to baggage claim will have the true Orlando experience, with skylights and lots of natural light and lots of experiential content that will give them a very enjoyable experience,” he says.

“By using new technology in the baggage system, we’re better able to bring the outside Orlando environment into the airport.”

Because of Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and other theme parks, Orlando will always be best known as a tourist destination.

But the GOAA is working closely with the local business community to reach out to carriers about new routes that not only serve the Orlando tourist sites, but also the area’s growing business, technology and manufacturing footprint.

“Orlando is the number-one visited destination in the country, but what many

V I E W F R O M CO N CO U R S E

people don’t know is that leisure and hospitality make up only 20 percent of our local job market,” says Casey Barnes, vice president of business development for the Orlando Economic Partnership. “The other 80 percent is grounded in industries outside of our tourism sector.”

The growth industries in the area include aviation, aerospace and defense, life sciences and healthcare, innovative technologies, advanced manufacturing and professional and business services, says Barnes, adding “It’s those other sectors that helped Orlando lead the nation’s large metros in job growth from 2014 to 2018.”

Barnes says the Orlando area has long attracted leisure and business

traffic from Europe, Latin America and Canada, noting that direct MCO flights to Dubai International Airport (DXB) BRAND NAME: SUMMER HOUSE has increased linkage to Asia. “We also continue to see company growth from U.S. firms based in the Northeast and other major metros expanding or relocating to Orlando,” he says.

While it will remain a tourist haven, Barnes praised MCO for not forgetting the needs of business travelers, including keeping rental car facilities on-site. “While so many other airports placed rental cars so far away travelers must take a shuttle or tram, Orlando International didn’t,” he says. “Business travelers especially enjoy this ease of access and time savings.”

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DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

MANAGING THROUGH CRISIS SMF’s Cindy Nichol Joined A Burgeoning Airport System, Then COVID Hit

BY CAROL WARD ditor’s Note: Sacramento International Airport (SMF) was thriving ahead of the pandemic. The airport reached 13.17 million passengers in 2019, a 9.3 percent increase and the sixth consecutive year of growth for the airport. Like many airports, SMF had expansion plans in the works when the COVID-19 pandemic hit earlier this year, prompting a sharp pivot to weather the crisis and begin to rebuild volume.

Cindy Nichol took over as director for the Sacramento County Department of Airports in October 2018, having previously served as chief financial officer for the Port of Portland, and in various other airport management roles. She is responsible for SMF, as well as Mather Airport (MHR), Sacramento Executive Airport (SAC) and Franklin Field.

Nichol spoke with AXN’s Carol Ward about managing through the crisis and preparing for future growth.

E

Above: Cindy Nichol, director, Sacramento County Department of Airports

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WARD: You’ve been director at SMF for roughly two years. Tell me a little bit about how it’s going so far, what your goals were and how far you’ve come in achieving them.

NICHOL: My goals were to really capitalize on the strengths of each of our four airports in a rapidly growing economy. I had six goals, which now seem a little trite. One is customer service. The reason we’re here is to serve passengers and facilitate air transportation of cargo. I also wanted to make sure that we were doing all of our operations safely and efficiently and [in an] environmentally friendly way. Also, stakeholder strategies were very important to me. In the past the airport hasn’t had great relationships with the airlines and other tenants, and I wanted to make sure that I built on the great work that had been done by my predecessor, John Wheat, in that regard. I also really wanted to make sure that I created a collaborative working relationship with all of my colleagues elsewhere in the county. I’m one of 38 departments. So that was very important and has been very successful. And last of all, for employees, I wanted to really focus on them and make this the place that they do their best work.

WARD: Do you feel like you’ve made headway on all those fronts?

NICHOL: I feel like I have. The curve ball from COVID has obviously changed things. One area where I would really like to do more is really getting out into the community, both our neighbors as well as our business community.

WARD: Obviously COVID is the big elephant in the room. Nobody expected anything of this magnitude to hit airports.

So how are you managing it? What’s the state of play currently at SMF? NICHOL: We had to do a 180-degree pivot.

When I started, we were far behind in meeting capacity needs. With COVID we’ve been able to turn on a dime and really change into a different mode of operation. Like many airports, our passenger volumes fell by 95 percent in April. We’re now much better – we’re about 60 percent down versus last year.

The challenge for us is passenger volumes really drive a lot of our net revenues and, of course, are important for our partners, the airlines and the concessionaires. We took some aggressive steps to cut our operating budget. We cut it by $17.4 million. We cut our five-year CIP by $104 million.

DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

We hadn’t even honestly really started to fully cost out the go-forward capacity investments that we were going to need to make – if we had, that cut would have been much more significant. We’re down to basically a handful of really important new projects. We put a freeze on hiring, eliminated noncritical travel, reduced, and in some cases eliminated, bus service to some of our remote parking lots, et cetera.

We took a lot of steps, but it wasn’t going to be enough. Thank goodness for the CARES Act money. We took about 70 percent of our CARES Act money and used it to buy down debt. So basically, this year [FY2021] and next year [FY2022] we have no principal payments. We reduced our cost by about $17 million in each of those years, which is huge. We just did a bond. We got a rate of about 2.1 percent, which is really good and we’ve reduced our debt service through 2041 by about $2 million. All along, we were making improvements to make sure that our passengers and employees are safe. We also put in place a tenant economic relief package, which waved concession and rental car minimum annual guarantees for April through June. We suspended all late fees through July and we also deferred airline and other tenant rents through all of June. The last thing I want to do is have

layoffs but if we absolutely must, then we will. We do have the remaining 30 percent of our CARES Act money left, which gives us a little bit of room to make some decisions. We wanted to save it in reserve in case things went the wrong way.

WARD: How is your traffic currently?

NICHOL: We were down 95 percent in April, and we are now (in September) down about 60 percent. Right now, we’re thinking it’ll probably take 36 to 48 months to recover.

WARD: You mentioned earlier that prior to the pandemic SMF was bursting at the seams. What’s the situation now? Are you undertaking projects or taking a wait-andsee approach?

NICHOL: There are a few things we’re continuing to do, but otherwise we’re holding off. We have a little bit of excess capacity. We looked at consolidating into one terminal, but we just have enough demand for gates that we need to keep both open. We looked at therefore adding gates more incrementally as we go forward, looking at trigger points and lead times. So instead of having to build a new concourse, now we can add more incrementally on the wings of the existing terminals. One thing that is worth pointing out we have a lot more demand for air cargo facilities. We just opened a 40,000-squarefoot facility at the international airport.

Above: Officials at Sacramento International have deferred minimum annual guarantees and taken other measures to try to help concessionaires weather the current crisis.

Right: Sacramento International Airport was in need of expansion prior to the pandemic; now planning has stalled as the airport regroups and traffic begins to rebuild.

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DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

Right: The federal CARES Act money that was allotted to airports earlier this year has helped SMF survive the downturn, and 30 percent of the nearly $50 million received has been set in reserve.

AXiNterviews connects industry leaders with Airport Experience® News reporters for one-on-one video conversations covering a range of subject areas.

TO WATCH OUR INTERVIEWS WITH INDUSTRY LEADERS, VISIT AIRPORTXNEWS.COM/AXINTERVIEWS

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10/28/20 12:18 PM

DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

We have demand for more and we also have demand for additional cargo facilities at [Sacramento] Mather Airport (MHR).

With the online retail, boom, we are actually seeing an increase in those kinds of activities.

WARD: Turning to concessions, what percentage of your concessions are open, and how and when do you anticipate them coming back? Also, do concessionaires need more in the way of assistance?

NICHOL: [As of September] 47 percent of our concessions in Terminal A are open. We did a slew of different things to help the concessionaires. One is the MAG abatement and rent deferral that I mentioned.

We’re looking at deferring MAGs from October through next June. Obviously, we need to make sure that we’re properly balancing the net revenues to the airport.

Those are affected by any kind of rent deferrals and MAG abatements that we give the concessionaires, but they also affect the revenue sharing that we have with the airlines. So it’s a three-way balance that we need to hit: helping our

concessionaire and rental car and other tenants making sure that the airlines aren’t on the hook for more than we really think is fair. And also of course we must meet our debt service coverage requirements.

We [also] allowed many concessionaires to close…and allowed relaxation of store hours. We are working with the concessionaires on a paced reopening plan, so that as we hit certain levels of passenger numbers each day, we’re encouraging the concessionaires to open.

We increased signage and we’re letting the concessionaires advertise on our monitors at ticket counters at no charge. We also have put in a lot of information at the TSA checkpoints about what’s open. We put that on our website as well.

Generally, we’re open to creative solutions. For example, we’re allowing some concessionaires to consolidate and operate through one storefront and provide offerings for a couple of stores.

We’ve also brought a set of rotating food trucks to the airport, which are before security, which had been very popular.

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FACT BOOK VOL. 23

2020 FACT BOOK HAS LANDED PURCHASE YOUR COPY TODAY

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 / V18 N230-231

BILL WYATT NAMED AXN’S

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR, LARGE AIRPORTS DIVISION

WYATT’S ENTHUSIASM, EXPERTISE, WIN OVER COLLEAGUES

DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

ENTHUSIASM ABOUNDS Bill Wyatt Took On Massive Terminal Project With Energy And Vision

BY CAROL WARD

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DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

Very few airport directors get the chance to build a new terminal from the ground up. When the opportunity arose for Bill Wyatt to lead Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and build the nation’s first 21st Century hub airport, he jumped at the chance.

That was in 2017, heady times for the aviation industry. No one knew then that aviation business would be turned upside down in March 2020, just months ahead of the opening of Phase 1 of the new terminal.

The timing was challenging, to say the least, but Wyatt pushed forward with the planned September opening and actually accelerated Phase 2 of the construction project, saving millions of dollars in the process.

Wyatt’s ability to pivot during an extraordinarily difficult time for the industry and still deliver a worldclass facility provided a bright spot in what has been a challenging year for North American airports. That achievement, coupled with his enviable relationships with airlines and his commitment to the broader aviation industry, prompted AXN to select him as its Director of the Year in the large airports category.

The honor is “very flattering,” Wyatt says, while acknowledging the contributions of the staff and colleagues supporting him.

“I realize that I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the amazing team around me,” he says. “I think it’s important to acknowledge in moments like this that this is a team sport and we happen to have a really good team.”

Primed In Portland

Left: AXN Director of the Year Bill Wyatt confers with colleagues. Wyatt led the completion of the recently opened new terminal at Salt Lake City International Airport

Wyatt’s first foray into the aviation business wasn’t exactly fortuitous timing either. He was winding down a position as chief of staff to Oregon Gov. John Kizhaber when he was hired as executive director of Port of Portland, overseeing Portland International Airport (PDX) and two smaller airports, four marine terminals and substantial industrial property.

Wyatt was hired on September 4, 2001. He then embarked on a pre-planned vacation abroad and was in Portugal when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred.

Several days later, upon returning to the United States, he faced a new job that looked starkly different than the one he had accepted just a few weeks earlier.

Right: SLC’s new terminal brings ample space and 21st century design to the Delta Air Lines hub.

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DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

The enthusiasm shown for the job doesn’t come as a surprise to many of Wyatt’s colleagues.

Curtis Robinhold, who succeeded Wyatt as executive director of Port of Portland, says he taps the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson to describe Wyatt’s approach: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

“He’s always super-enthusiastic – his style is to bring the enthusiasm and the vision,” Robinhold says. “The enthusiasm has a way of both charming people and getting them fired up to attack these big projects.”

The New Central Terminal

“We had some immediate challenges, like figuring out what was going to happen,” Wyatt says. “How was the business going to come back? And we had all these security related issues. We lost a third of our parking spots in the garage because the perimeter of the garage was too close to the terminal building for blast purposes.

And there was a question about whether we were going to be able to make our debt service.

“So, it was trial by fire and gradually, you know, business came back and we started aggressively recruiting international air service – we had very little,” Wyatt recalls. Wyatt wasn’t involved in the day-to-day business of running the airport, but he got “very involved in the recruitment part of the business,” especially focusing on international air service.

Wyatt’s efforts paid off, and those, coupled with a booming Portland economy, helped set the stage for a multi-year upward trajectory for PDX. “We undertook a lot of construction projects, expansion projects, some of which are still in the works in Portland,” Wyatt says.

Wyatt “retired” from Port of Portland in June 2017, but he wasn’t quite finished with aviation.

“About three days after I retired, I got a call from Korn Ferry about this [SLC] job,” he says. “I was ready for a change – 16 years in that job was plenty and I had a couple of other things cooking, but this just looked too exciting. And so, I loaded up my little Ford Escape and moved down here to Salt Lake.” Wyatt says he’d never intended to fully retire, he just needed a change.

He found it at SLC. “I get to come to work every day and build the nation’s only 21st Century hub airport – or first, I should say, but I think it’s going to be hard for someone to do this again,” he says. “This is an airport that will be here for the balance of the century, at least. I just couldn’t pass it up – it sounded like too much fun.”

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Above: Phase 1 of the massive SLC new airport project came in on time and on budget in September, despite an spring earthquake and the ongoing pandemic that put a wrench in progress.

Below: Wyatt had retired from Port of Portland, but the opportunity to lead an airport through a major transformation lured him south to take on the New SLC project.

Shortly after Wyatt began his tenure at SLC, he met with Mike Williams, owner of Making Projects Work, Inc., who SLC had hired to oversee the construction project.

Project timing was crucial. SLC had targeted fall of 2020 for the terminal opening but didn’t want to push too close to the holiday season.

“We just circled Tuesday, September 15” as an opening date, Wyatt recalls. “Then we had the initial challenge of getting the workforce because the economy here is so hot. Then, after we had established this date, we made several very large-scope additions to the project. We substantially increased the size of the customs and border protection facilities because when it was designed originally, Salt Lake didn’t really have that much international traffic, and all of a sudden we had quite a bit. We added a sterile corridor to the international gates. And we made a substantial addition, at Delta’s request, to

DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

their Sky Club – it is now the largest in their system and it’s spectacular too. And we said, and we’re still opening on September 15.”

The pandemic didn’t stop the progress.

Neither did a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Salt Lake City on March 18. SLC hit the mark with the September 15 opening the new Central Terminal, Gateway Center, Concourse A-West and parking garage. Had the pandemic not decimated traffic, the facility would have been a welcome respite – the previous airport was built for 10 million passengers but served 26 million in 2019.

HOK was the architecture firm on the New SLC, and construction was handled by HDJV, a joint venture of Holder Construction and Utah’s Big-D Construction. Rob Moore, CEO of Big D Construction, says Wyatt’s tenacity paid off.

“This could have been difficult for us – this is a massive project and we have as many as 1,650 craftspeople on the job every day,” Moore says. “You’ve got to make decisions quickly. Then of course COVID hit, and we had an earthquake in the middle of it. Bill is very calm, very precise. He said we’d get through this, and we did.”

The new SLC includes LEED Gold Certified Terminal and Concourse A, which features 25 gates for Delta Air Lines. The new Gateway Center houses car rental counters and quick-check airline ticket counters and leads to 16 security screening lanes with automatic return bins to aid in touchless travel. The project also included a two-level roadway system with an elevated road designated for departures and a 3,600-space parking garage. A total of 45 concessions locations are included in the new facilities.

Pat Murray, executive vice president of SSP America, says Wyatt helped find city-backed financing for some concessionaires who were struggling to build out their locations due to the pandemic and earthquake. “To my knowledge, something like that has never been done before,” Murray says. “It was really remarkable to see how quick he moved on that.”

Wyatt says being part of building the New SLC ranks as one of the biggest achievements of his career. “It’s pretty special to be part of something that is going to have such a longterm positive impact on this community,” he says. “There isn’t quite anything like it.”

as Delta. The next phase of expansion is also underway, with the previous terminal demolished to make way for an expansion of Concourse A to the east and construction of the concrete portion of a permanent tunnel to transport passengers between concourses A and B. Wyatt says the pandemic and subsequent traffic drop-off allowed the airport to speed up the timeline. Phase 2 is now scheduled to open December 20, 2024, ai160581210040_AXN Nov Dec 2020 3x half pg.pdf 1

nearly three years ahead of the original schedule.

While SLC has seen some uptick in traveler numbers, Wyatt says he believes the second-phase opening will more or less coincide with the recovery. “My sense is that whatever the new normal is, we will arrive there about the time that we open the second phase,” he says. “That doesn’t mean that it all happens at once, but I think it’s just going to be a very gradual build back.”

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Next Up In late October, SLC opened the B Concourse with 21 gates serving Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, as well

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Above: The New SLC opened September 15. Now, Wyatt and his team are gearing up for Phase 2 of the massive capital project.

Meantime, Wyatt is among the North American airport directors assessing if and how airports should move forward on COVID-19 testing, just one of the issues being tackled by the large hub committee for Airports Council InternationalNorth America (ACI-NA); Wyatt is vice chair of the committee. He also is involved with the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), where he serves on the policy review committee.

Wyatt is also continuing to build relationships locally. He was a newcomer when he arrived in Salt Lake City in 2017, a sharp change from the Oregon where “I knew everybody and everybody knew me,” he says.

“I moved down here and I knew nobody – I knew the mayor’s chief of staff basically,” he adds. “Slowly, largely through the airport, I have become more involved with Visit Salt Lake, which has a natural attachment.” Wyatt also wants to revive the international air service committee that was formed shortly after he arrived, comprised of people from the community who have interest

in international air service. “I think it’s probably a pretty good time to organize around that,” he says.

But top of mind is the next phase of expansion currently underway. Despite the fact that more than three years have passed since Wyatt first “retired,” he says he is committed to seeing the next phase of the project through. “I like what I’m doing – I don’t have wanderlust, I want to keep doing this. I really enjoy it. I like the people that I work with and I like the business.”

Wyatt is also keen to continue exploring Salt Lake City and the surrounding area.

He enjoys skiing and shooting skeet, opportunities for which are prolific in the area. Options for hiking, exploring national parks and other outdoor adventures are also plentiful in Utah.

Wyatt’s son and grandchildren live in Seattle and, although complicated this year due to the pandemic, are typically up for visiting at least twice a year. A swimming pool in the back yard of his house is the crowning touch, he says: “It’s a grandbaby magnet.”

AXiNsider is an interview-style podcast featuring in-depth discussions with professionals, leaders and wave-makers in the airport and concessions industries.

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PUMPING UP THE TEAM Bill Wyatt’s Enthusiasm, Collaborative Nature Stand Out Among Colleagues

BY CAROL WARD Bill Wyatt was a newcomer to Salt Lake City when he took the helm at the airport in November 2017. With SLC in the midst of a massive terminal project, he had to make connections immediately. As one colleague said, “it could have gone wrong really quickly,” but it didn’t. Wyatt jumped in full throttle, with enthusiasm and competence that has won wide praise in Salt Lake City and throughout the industry.

Here are a few snippets that illustrate Wyatt’s impact:

CYNDY MILLER, chair, SLC Advisory Board

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MIKE WILLIAMS, program director for the SLC redevelopment program.

CURTIS ROBINHOLD, executive director, Port of Portland

Working with Bill has really been great. He’s an excellent leader and he’s really engaged in the program.

He’s really good at getting consensus from his team on decisions we have to make. He’s very much hands-on day to day, ready to make all the decisions, from the small ones to the big ones. He’s really been a pleasure to work with.

Bill and I have a great working relationship. We know we’re going to run into challenges on Phase 2, hopefully not as many as on Phase 1, but he’s going to be there to help with everything we need. I enjoy working with him and I’m looking forward to delivering the rest of the program.

I met Bill back in the 1990s [working for then-governor John Kitzhaber]. I ended up reporting to Bill, and I’ve known him ever since. He’s been very supportive of me and my career. After spending 10 or 12 years outside public life, he suggested that I come back into public life at the Port of Portland and hired me to be his deputy executive director. He’s been a great mentor. He’s got great insight into organizational culture and understanding what makes people tick, and how to make big things happen He does big ideas really well. He has a vision, then transitions down to this delivery minutia. In between points he delegates very well and trusts his people to do the work. He’s always super-enthusiastic – his style is to bring the enthusiasm and the vision.

The enthusiasm has a way of both charming people and getting them fired up to attack these big projects.

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I think people would interpret Bill as being laid back. I don’t think he’s laid back; I think he’s calm and decisive without being a micromanager.

Because of that, he can inspire people to have confidence in their own abilities. He’s great at managing people with the right level of direct involvement.

We are an advisory board, involved with broad policy. With Maureen Riley and now with Bill, we haven’t had to get involved because they’ve run an excellent operation.

The new SLC terminal is phenomenal. The architecture and artwork is outstanding and will be outstanding, and the operational aspects…will be exceptional for Delta as the hub carrier and, I think, for airlines that service us as an O&D. We’re accelerating the project – we’re able to tear down the full [existing] terminal because gate utilization will not be at the level that we anticipated at this point in time due to COVID. Bill’s great communication with Delta and with all of our airlines meant we could do this. He changed course in a matter of weeks, and that makes a dramatic difference in how we not only keep costs down but probably reduce the total cost of the project.

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KEVIN BURKE, president, Airports Council International

PAT MURRAY, executive vice president, SSP America

Bill is just a barrel full of energy.

Coming into the situation he did, taking over for [former SLC director] Maureen [Riley], who was a sort of iconic leader there, really could have been a difficult situation. But Bill has been great.

I think the guy’s outright energy and charisma have wowed the place. He’s obviously a very smart guy too. He figured out what to do amidst building a new airport in the middle of a pandemic. I don’t think the City of Salt Lake could ever compensate him for how much of an impact he’s actually had.

After the earthquake, Bill and I talked about the challenges [faced by concessionaires] in financing and development. Bill went out and found a way to come up with [city backed] loans for the operators so they could build their restaurants. To my knowledge, something like that has never been done before. It was really remarkable to see how quick he moved on that. I think that’s just the kind of guy he is.

[Former SLC director] Maureen Riley was the person who got the terminal project started, working with Delta and working with the local community, and Bill was the right guy to be there to finish up the job. Bill has tremendous vision. It’s a beautiful airport for a city that’s got a big Delta imprint. That airport has been designed as a 21st Century airport, and that’s what we need for all of our airports.

TODD HAUPTLI, President and CEO for the American Association of Airport Executives

[Wyatt] delivered this world class facility in the midst of a pandemic and not only did they get it done but they figured out how to accelerate the project during this time. He’s incredibly collaborative with stakeholders. On a national level, not only is he really great with his congressional district, he’s also on our policy review committee. He’s been great to deal with on public policy issues impacting airports. He’s got a very credible voice on these matters, and did a great job in Oregon before coming to Utah. He’s extraordinarily well regarded in the aviation industry – not just airports, but his airline partners, the concessionaires, the whole ecosystem. His ability to manage stressful complicated issues and deal with people in a very friendly fun way is remarkable.

ERIN MENDENHALL, mayor, Salt Lake City

Bill is really a seasoned professional who has an incredible amount of knowledge of the industry. He has served our airport and our city exceptionally well, especially considering that we could not have anticipated the extreme challenges he would face in 2020.

Bill brings with him a lot of respect from the airline industry, and he’s known industry-wide for his very collaborative style. When the pandemic came and so dramatically affected airport operations and we were merely months away from opening our brand-new airport as a Delta hub, Bill had to use that collaboration, maybe more than ever, to work with Delta to figure out how we could reimagine the ultimate product. We ended up saving the airport and our airlines hundreds of millions of dollars.

He has been remarkably undeterred to keep the $4.1 billion project on time and on budget even through the pandemic and an earthquake in March.

Bill can analyze a situation and turn a problem into an opportunity, and we’ve seen him do that again and again.

ROB MOORE, CEO, Big D Construction

Bill is an incredible leader. The past director retired and Bill was hired to come in right in the middle of one of the largest airport construction projects in the United States of America. We didn’t know what to expect. Along came Mr. Wyatt – what a refreshing individual! He was able to come into a project of that size and that complexity, with so many different entities he has to work with including the general contractor, the design team, his own staff, and gain understanding of where we are in the project. He was then able to reach out and build a team and build relationships with us – that, quite frankly, was so refreshing. It was incredible, actually, to see Bill maneuver his way into a brand new city and to navigate the politics of that… I’m just really impressed.

He’s just done a great job overall. This could have been difficult for us – this is a massive project and we have as many as 1,650 craftspeople on the job every day. You’ve got to make decisions quickly. Then of course COVID hit, and we had an earthquake in the middle of it. Bill is very calm, very precise. He said we’d get through this, and we did.

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KEVIN DOLLIOLE NAMED AXN’S DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR,

MEDIUM AIRPORTS DIVISION

COLLEAGUES PRAISE DOLLIOLE FOR LEADERSHIP SKILLS, GENEROSITY

DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

DOLLIOLE COMES HOME Native New Orleanian Caps Career Unveiling New Terminal

BY ANDREW TELLIJOHN

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Kevin Dolliole was a decade into a consulting position with Unison Consulting in mid-2017 and not really looking to make a move. But his family’s roots in New Orleans run deep, going back more 260 years.

So, when the opportunity arose for him to return to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) to oversee the construction of a new terminal building, he couldn’t pass it up.

“When you’ve been around for the period of time I have, and if you’ve had a really good and really productive career, to have the opportunity to return to your hometown and take over a legacy project and deliver that for your hometown, it’s just too difficult to stay away from,” he says. “The more I looked at it, the more I wanted it.”

Dolliole and his team at MSY delivered the $1 billion terminal in November 2019. His efforts with the terminal, along with his involvement in the region and nationally with civic and industry trade groups, earned him Airport Experience News’ Director of the Year Award in the medium airports category.

Early Convert While he now has a four-decade record of contributions to aviation, Dolliole nearly never entered the industry in the first place. He started his career with Eastern Airlines in 1976, but interviewed there on career day at Xavier University only at the insistence of his future mother-in-law.

He became the only person the airline hired from his campus that day, but even then, his intention still was to work for a couple years, then transition into a career as an oil industry executive.

But when the pressures of deregulation ended up shuttering Eastern, he realized he was hooked on aviation.

It was airports, not oil, where Dolliole turned next.

Left: New Orleans native Kevin Dolliole returned to MSY in mid-2017 to oversee completion of the new airport terminal, which opened in November 2019. His family’s roots in the city go back to the 1760s.

Copyright: LEO A DALY/ Atkins, a Joint Venture.

Photography by: Creative Sources Photography.

Above: There are more than 100 ticketing counters at the new MSY, along with state-of-the-art a baggage screening system security checkpoints.

Copyright: LEO A DALY/Atkins, a Joint Venture.

Photography by: Creative Sources Photography.

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“It forced me to either go to another carrier or flip to a more stable side of the industry,” he says. “I took what I thought was a safer course, coming over to a safer side, and my career just blossomed. That’s the best move I ever made.”

He spent more than a decade in various roles at MSY, including deputy director and acting director before moving on. In 1999, he became aviation director at San Antonio International Airport (SAT), where he oversaw a complete overhaul of the concessions program and got the airport started on an improvement program aimed at modernizing World War II era infrastructure.

He became director of airports at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) in 2005, where he helped finish a significant airfield redevelopment that included a new runway. He also tweaked the Disadvantaged Business Program at STL to ensure it was reporting to the director.

After two years of commuting between San Antonio and St. Louis for family reasons, Dolliole left STL and took a job consulting for airports with Unison.

Below: It took eight years from when the New Orleans Aviation board was tasked with analyzing a new terminal to when it opened.

The new MSY arrived in Nov, 2019.

Copyright: LEO A DALY/Atkins, a Joint Venture. Photography by: Creative Sources Photography.

Coming Home And he was happy in that role and would have stayed, had the opportunity to return to MSY not come up. He couldn’t be prouder of having had the opportunity to contribute to a modernized airport that provides passengers with far more amenities than the previous overcapacity, outdated building.

For example, the new building has one large consolidated checkpoint. Once travelers pass through, they can access the entirety of MSY’s secure space. Previously, the airport had four concourses, each of which had small checkpoints leading to concourses that were not connected on the airside.

“You couldn’t move around between concourses,” he says.

The concessions program has been significantly improved, featuring several local New Orleans chefs, brands and cuisine.

“The program that was in place at the time was not a very good program,” he says.

Restrooms are more spacious and strategically spaced, electrical outlets are in abundance, the building curves, following the shape of the Mississippi River, and there are several pleasant architectural features, such as skylights, glass walls and an open, airy layout due to its three levels.

“You could go on,” he says. “In a number of different ways, even basic ways, it’s a big improvement over what we were in. As I compare it to facilities I’ve worked in and moved through over my 40-year period, it’s one of the better facilities overall that I’ve been through.”

Airport projects take forever to come together and they don’t happen without challenges. Among the biggest at MSY was the damp, porous soil on which the facility was built. Engineers and architects in the area are used to working with the challenging environment, but building a secure building that won’t shift over time takes some work.

“We were constructing these facilities basically on reclaimed swamp,” he says. “In this part of the world, you go through a very long and involved process of preparing a site before you build on it. … The soil is pretty damp and porous and moist below.

And once you prep it and build on it, there is still movement over time.”

Outside of overseeing the terminal project, Dolliole says he’s proud of having built a strong team to help with both what has been completed and what is to come. There were talented people on staff when he arrived, but also holes in the organization. There had not been a commercial development division or a communications department. The deputy director of finance and administration position had been long open. And there was no director of planning and development.

Those were important roles to fill, in part, he says, because with airport operations moving to the new facility on the north side of the airfield, it opened significant space to redevelopment on the south side of the airport. MSY officials are currently studying options for the additional space. Options likely include additional aeronautical services, such as cargo.

“It’s an identifying and tweaking of the organization, bringing in a good level of talent to mesh in with the talented folks that were here, tweaking functions in the organization so that things work more efficiently, then setting goals and giving that talent the authority to perform their functions,” he says.

Community, Industry Connections Dolliole also has worked aggressively to build relationships with organizations like the Port of New Orleans; Greater New Orleans Inc., the local economic development organization; and Visit New Orleans, the area’s tourism outreach organization, to see how they could mutually better each other.

“We have customers in common,” he says.

“Maybe there are some products or activities

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we can put in place that benefit our common customers. It’s seeking opportunities like that and really being out in the community and ensuring the community is informed on the importance of the airport, the broad spectrum of activities at the airport … and seeking out opportunities to collaborate on different projects.”

Dolliole has also gotten involved nationally. He was a founding member of the Airport Cooperative Research Program, which develops solutions for shared industry problems. He was on the board of directors for the Airports Consultants Council. He serves now on the board of Airports Council International – North America (ACINA) and on the Policy Review Committee for the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).

“Every time I have gone into a situation like that, my primary intent is to contribute to the industry,” he says. “The

intent is to not just be the guy in your facility, but also to be a part of making a contribution to the industry in maybe a bit more profound way.”

Todd Hauptli, president and CEO at AAAE, says that is an understatement with respect to Dolliole, whom he describes as a terrific guy who is always looking to help.

“He is an optimistic, get-it-done kind of guy,” Hauptli says. “It’s lucky for us he took ai160581210040_AXN Nov Dec 2020 3x half pg.pdf 2

the call because he’s strong. If you could bang out another 50 of him and spread them around the country, that would be terrific.”

Ricky Smith, executive director and CEO at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and current chair of the Airport Minority Advisory Council, has created the Airport Leadership Collective, a committee of past- and 11/19/2020 12:55:01 PM

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Retail Concessions Planning amd Management Market Research Finance and Economics Airport Information Systems Program Management and Controls

Above: Kevin Dolliole collaborates with local and regional business and tourism groups, and is also active with the airport industry nationally.

Chicago, IL | St. Louis, MO | Laguna Beach, CA

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Copyright: LEO A DALY/Atkins, a Joint Venture.Photography by: Creative Sources Photography.

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present-minority airport CEOS, to create opportunities to tap into institutional industry knowledge. About 30 people have signed on, many of them retired.

“Half the group decided to sign on because Kevin asked them to,” Smith says. “There are a lot of people I know and a lot of people I have a lot of respect for and could say good things about and, if you think they are qualified for a job, you may exaggerate a bit. That’s not what

I’m doing here. I don’t have to exaggerate for Kevin.”

Smith and Carl Newman, airport manager at Glendale Municipal Airport, both recall Dolliole taking a day off from his work to meet with them when they were hired to their first director jobs, to help ensure they were ready for the challenge.

“Sometimes you don’t know you need these things, but he recognizes it and goes out of his way to help,” Newman says. “He

Left: The new MSY spans 972,000 square feet. It has three concourses, 35 gates, two new parking garages, a surface parking lot and more than 40 food and retail opportunities Copyright: LEO A DALY/ Atkins, a Joint Venture Photography by: Creative Sources. Photography.

didn’t charge me for that, he didn’t ask for anything in return. He did it simply to help me out and I appreciated that.”

Adds Smith: “He’s done that for a lot of people in the business and he does that without expecting anything in return “As much as I can praise him for being a great airport professional, I envy just how good a man, a family man he is. You won’t find anybody that has anything negative to say about Kevin. You just won’t.”

Dolliole calls himself “kind of a boring guy.” Outside of his work, he’s a regular at the gym four nights a week and he likes to hit the links.

“I like cutting grass with golf clubs,” he says.

Otherwise it’s pretty common for him to be checking email at home and advancing correspondence even after he’s returned home from work and the gym.

And he’s happy doing so. He loves the job and is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the betterment of New Orleans. “My family has been in this town since 1760,” he says. “I just have really deep, deep roots here.”

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COMING HOME

New Orleander Dolliole Shepherds MSY, Industry Through Challenges With Integrity, Competence

BY ANDREW TELLIJOHN He’s extremely knowledgeable about aviation and a great leader, but friends and colleagues of Kevin Dolliole say that, more importantly, he’s a great guy.

The current director of aviation at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) has, on more than one occasion, dropped in on friends who have taken on new director roles, just to offer guidance and make sure they’re in the right mindset to succeed.

Here’s a sampling of what colleagues and peers had to say about Dolliole.

JUDGE MICHAEL BAGNERIS, chairman of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Board

MONICA DEL RIO, senior manager in airport affairs with Southwest Airlines

“When you are designing and building a large project like MSY’s North Terminal, it’s important to balance the design wishes of the owner with the functional needs of those who will operate from the building. Kevin understands this delicate balance.

When he became the airport director, he immediately jumped into his new role and worked alongside airport partners and other stakeholders in a collaborative and transparent way.”

“His leadership skills are just off the charts.

When you’re in the room and there is an issue that is being presented, everybody is, first of all, quietly listening to whatever it is Kevin has to say. And he does it in such a calm demeanor that you’re always almost hypnotized by the voice when he’s talking. He was already named executive of the year here in New Orleans just a few months ago. It’s very rewarding to see that others recognize his leadership abilities. He is all that and a bag of chips.”

KEVIN BURKE, president and CEO of Airports Council International – North America

“He’s one of the friendliest and nicest people you’d ever want to meet. Here’s a guy who knew all about airport operations and he came in to pretty much finish up the Louis B. Armstrong International Airport, the new terminal. … They thought through everything – it’s a true 21st century airport for the TSA checkpoints, the Customs and Border Protection, the restaurants, the offerings for the travelers. It’s a real reflection of New Orleans, and that’s what it should be.”

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EDWARD LEVELL JR., former aviation director at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)

When he [initially] left New Orleans, I hated to see him go. But it was probably a smart move. He went to [other airports] and became familiar with a lot of other aviators. … He became an expert in all phases of aviation. He did a wonderful job. When that job opened in New Orleans, there was no question about who I thought should get it. He got it and he’s done a fantastic job.

DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

CARL NEWMAN, airport manager at Glendale Municipal Airport

“When I went to Jackson [Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN)], that was my first CEO job. Kevin took the time out of his schedule, without me asking, to come down and visit with me. He’d been a CEO on a couple different occasions. He came down and sat with me for a good portion of a day to talk about the role, things I needed to consider. All that information was right on the mark. I appreciated it. Sometimes you don’t know you need these things, but he recognizes it and goes out of his way to help. He didn’t charge me for that, he didn’t ask for anything in return. He did it simply to help me.”

TODD HAUPTLI, president and CEO of the American Association of Airport Executives

“He’s done a fantastic job since returning to the role of aviation director. He delivered a key project for his community in getting that new facility up and operational in a very challenging environment. He’s been an airport director and he’s been a consultant, so he really understands how to get things done. And, despite a huge project locally, he’s been very active on the national public policy front. He’s a member of AAAE policy review committee. He’s very engaged with his congressional delegation and is in close coordination with them. Kevin is terrific.”

T.J. SCHULZ, president of the Airport Consultants Council

“His background, coming from an airport, then being in the private sector and now back at the airport, really gives him a tremendous world view on all aspects of how airports are run and how capital development programs are planned and eventually implemented. He’s always seemed to be someone who was looking for collaboration to find solutions.

Kevin is incredibly dynamic. He certainly has a broad world view on all things related to airports and the industry. And, also, he’s a great guy on a personal level. He always takes an interest in other people and how they are doing.”

MARCI GREENBERGER, manager of the Airport Cooperative Research Program

“He’s very calm, very soft spoken, and he knows what he’s talking about. This is someone you want to listen to. He’s very unassuming. There’s no bravado from him. He’s doing what he thinks is right. You know, there are some people who have big personalities and they want everyone to see them. He’s not that. He’s not going to stand on a table and say ‘listen to me, I’m right.’ All of my colleagues, we all thought he was very approachable – he made sure to greet all of us.”

RICKY SMITH, executive director and CEO at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

“When I go to a conference, Kevin is one of the first people I connect with and we always spend a lot of time together, because I learn so much from him and I enjoy his presence.

Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that behind these professionals are individuals, and what makes Kevin such a special recipient of this award is that even when he is not in the airport industry, he is still going to be a great person. He is a great man. He’s just a genuine, high-character person.”

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AXiNsider is an interview-style podcast featuring in-depth discussions with professionals, leaders and wave-makers in the airport and concessions industries.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 / V18 N230-231

PAUL BRADBURY NAMED AXN’S DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR,

SMALL AIRPORTS DIVISION

BRADBURY WINS PRAISE FROM LOCAL AND INDUSTRY LEADERS

DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

MULTIFACETED MANAGER Bradbury Uses Engineering Background, Relationship Skills To Benefit PWM, Industry

BY ANDREW TELLIJOHN

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Paul Bradbury’s route to becoming the airport director at Portland International Jetport (PWM) wasn’t necessarily the conventional one, and his long stay in one place defies the modern trend, as well.

But he’s learned a lot during his 28 years of service to the state of Maine’s largest airport, becoming an asset not just there, but to the local tourism and transportation industries, as well as the aviation industry nationwide.

His efforts across all spectrums has earned him Director of the Year honors for the small airport category.

Growing Up At PWM Born and raised in Maine, Bradbury arrived at the Jetport in 1992. Unlike most directors, he started out as the engineering and facilities manager. Early on, he spotted a parking shortage that was not only causing a decrease in customer satisfaction but also costing the airport revenue.

“It was a double whammy,” he says.

That problem was solved with a couple of different parking expansion projects, through which he worked directly with his predecessor, Jeff Schultes, and learned about financing major projects.

“That really started a great bigger picture for me, he says. “For a lot of what I wanted to do, you had to understand airport management and finance,” he says.

Taking On The CIP Bradbury succeeded Schultes as airport director in 2008. Shortly thereafter, PWM embarked on its largestever capital improvement project.

The project included a 137,000-square-foot terminal expansion that doubled its size, an aircraft deicing fluid capture facility, a new parking garage, a new terminal apron and the rehabilitation of a runway.

Left: Paul Bradbury, airport director, has been at Portland International Jetport since 1992. He’s overseen significant passenger and flight growth at the airport and contributed significantly to the industry.

Right: The largest capital improvement program in PWM’s history resulted in a spacious new terminal with high ceilings made from sustainably harvested wood.

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DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

It added other improvements to ticketing, the concourse, concessions (one restaurant actually serves lobster to-go) and to the security screening experience, including what Bradbury calls the largest “recombobulation” area of any airport in the country.

The new terminal brought a sense of place, with its high, wood ceilings and locally branded concessions, important when much of the state’s economy revolves around tourism.

The new facilities helped improve the customer experience immensely.

Concurrently with kicking off the project, Bradbury redoubled the airport’s focus on customer service and being the local convenient airport of choice for local travelers.

The strategy has paid off. PWM has collected several customer service awards in recent years, including the Airport Service Quality Customer Experience Award for Best Airport by Size and Region in North America the last three years.

The project also had several sustainable characteristics. A geothermal heating and cooling system helped the terminal project receive LEED Gold accreditation from the U.S. Green Building Council. The deicing facility also received the Environmental Achievement Award for Mitigation from Airports Council International (ACI-NA).

Bradbury says he used every lesson he learned since his early days at PWM on the $75 million expansion project, from his original engineering skills to the financial lessons he’d learned from Schultes.

“You have to invest in your business. You have to invest in the product. No business grows without nurturing and investment,” he says. “It was a brilliant lesson early for me as a young engineer coming in that there is no limit, the pie is not the pie. The pie gets bigger. It’s up to you to grow the pie. It’s not finite. It can be expanded. You just have to invest and nurture.”

More To Do That project was completed in early 2012 and in the years since, up until the COVID19 pandemic hit, PWM had experienced significant growth, both in seeing passenger traffic surge past 2 million annual passengers and in airline service. Even in February, just as COVID was coming to the U.S., the airport had a record month, and that followed up on four successive years of traffic increases.

Below: Bradbury has gained industry respect due to his efforts on the national stage, pushing for policiies that will help airports of all sizes.

“Since [completion], we’ve really had an exceptional product to offer our passengers,” Bradbury says, embracing the idea of investing in airport infrastructure.

“Before you know it, those investments grow more passenger volumes.”

That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for future improvements. One area the capital improvement program didn’t hit was baggage claim for returning passengers.

Bradbury acknowledged that prior to the pandemic, traffic had reached a point where wait times had become problematic.

While a long-term fix is still to come, Bradbury met with airline partners and got creative, establishing a competition through which the fastest baggage delivery crew would get to park in a short-term lot near the terminal. That provided significant incentive for improvement, Bradbury says, especially during cold winter months.

“This is just how you can take one problem and help the team get even better with some friendly competition and some incentives,” he says.

The pandemic has also at least temporarily put the brakes on a federal inspection facility that had been under consideration as part of a desire to add some international service.

“Obviously international traffic is not doing anything right now,” Bradbury says.

Additionally, as COVID-19 pushes airports to create a more touchless experience, Bradbury suspects the airport’s ticketing process will be overhauled into a seamless process where travelers are greeted, led somewhere to drop bags and sent on to security with fewer steps than currently exist.

Building Relationships While he’s been running a successful airport on the local level for several years, national airport trade officials and local civic leaders say Bradbury also has played a significant role in growing the region and the industry as a whole.

Todd Hauptli, president and CEO of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), said his relationship with Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, was among the biggest factors in the airport industry receiving $10 billion from the CARES Act after the pandemic eviscerated travel.

“He is a happy, positive, optimistic person who truly loves aviation and understands how important that is as an economic engine for good in the state and

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across the country,” Hauptli says. “His relationship with Susan Collins and her staff has been invaluable for airports in the state of Maine and throughout the country.”

Bradbury joined the board of Airports Council International-North America in 2018. Assistant Director Zachary Sundquist represents the airport on the Northeast Chapter Board for AAAE. Earlier in his career, Bradbury says, he punted on getting involved nationally, figuring representatives from the larger airports could handle politics and policy.

Over time he’s recognized that not only are there more small airports, but they come to negotiations with different priorities and issues than their larger colleagues. So, he has since embraced the responsibility of making sure those needs are heard.

“There are so many more small airports and we’re in an industry,” he says. “It’s up to all of us. You learn stuff over time and you have to get involved and start to move.”

He also recognized that while Maine is smaller than most states in terms of geographic size, it has two senators, just as all states do, giving his equal pull. So, he embraced building relationships with Collins, Sen. Angus King, ME-Independent, and otherai160581210040_AXN members of theNovlocal delegation.

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“Maine has had a track record of very bipartisan senators that have been very good at doing an exceptional job for the state of Maine and for the country,” he says. “Collins has just always been very supportive of transportation.”

His involvement extends to the local level as well. He’s been involved in several organizations, serving currently on the board of Greater Portland Metro and on the Maine Better Transportation 11/19/2020 12:55:01 PM

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Above: Under Bradbury’s leadership, PWM has won several customer service awards, including the Airport Service Quality Customer Experience Award for Best Airport by Size and Region in North America from ACI-NA the last three years.

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DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

Association, a nonprofit that supports investment in the state’s transportation resources, where he is the immediate past president. Several years ago, he was the project manager for the Portland Transportation Center development.

“If we don’t have transportation, we’re not connected to the country, so, it is really critical to us that we really reach out and make sure that we are advocating for the needs of transportation,” he says.

It was during that stint that Martha Fuentes, the association’s executive director, gained respect for his humility, his multimodal knowledge and his ability to go all out, all the time.

“He has been a really inspirational leader and not just at the Portland Jetport, but in Maine in general,” she says. “He has led efforts in other modes just because people or agencies wanted him to chair them. He’s just so skilled and gifted at collaboration and negotiation.”

Fuentes also says Bradbury is humble, hard-working and committed to his home state.

“He’s really developed relationships a c ro s s not o n ly t he d i f fer e nt transportation sectors, but certainly communities and businesses,” she says.

“He’s just one of those people you don’t know how he gets everything done. He’s also probably one of the most positive and optimistic people I know. Even when it seems like the world is crashing down, he finds a silver lining.”

Takes Care Of Himself Running an airport and liaising with lawmakers can be grueling, so Bradbury tries to regularly find time to take care of himself.

Young children slowed his penchant a few years ago for training for and entering triathlons: “You just can’t give up your Saturday to triathlon training because that’s what it really takes,” he says.

But he’s still an avid snowmobiler. And he runs long distances, having competed in the Boston Marathon several times.

“It’s not about winning or anything, though I was thankful I could qualify for Boston,” Bradbury says. “It’s more of a stress relief, mind and body kind of thing for me. I know that sounds weird, but … it’s really neat to go out against a bunch of Type-Aers and see how you perform.”

He did lose one of his Sunday runs earlier this fall to another hobby: beekeeping. A sting sustained when he wore regular shoes instead of a proper pair of boots left him with a swollen ankle. Nonetheless, the beehives he inherited from his parents after they and their initial successors, their neighbors, both moved away in retirement from the third-generation family farm, provide another of his favorite rewards.

“It is a lot of fun,” he says, adding that with COVID limiting in-person activities, it’s been nice to have this as an outlet. “It’s something I do right in my backyard. There is nothing better than having my toast on the weekends with some nice autumn dark honey. It’s a beautiful thing.”

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CONGRATULATIONS PAUL BRADBURY!

THE PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL JETPORT TEAM CONGRATULATES PAUL BRADBURY ON BEING NAMED AIRPORT DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR! Your guidance and leadership has produced a world-class customer experience that conveys the essence of Maine. The 1,200 tenants, partners, and staff congratulate you on being named Airport Director of the Year!

DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

BRADBURY’S IMPACT Industry Partners, Civic Leaders Praise Bradbury’s Energy, Positivity, Multi-Faceted Knowledge

BY ANDREW TELLIJOHN Paul Bradbury is a stickler for service, both in how he wants passengers that travel through Portland International Jetport (PWM) and how he attracts new airlines to Maine’s largest airport.

He’s active in the local and airport communities, eagerly educating citizens or his congressional delegation on the importance of the airport or other stakeholders on the history of the state’s different transportation sectors.

He’s a trained engineer who works well with people and with numbers. And, Bradbury’s colleagues, partners and observers say he’s also a genuinely nice guy. Here’s a sampling of what they think has made him a successful leader at PWN and an important stakeholder in the aviation community.

KEVIN BURKE, president and CEO of Airports Council International – North America

“He’s like the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps moving. He’s loved. The people up there love him, he takes very good care of his staff. The airlines love him and have a lot of respect for his abilities.

The local government loves him, and the board loves him. Coming from a small airport, he’s got a big picture mentality about how it all fits, how Portland plays a role within the entire the airport community, and when one section hurts the rest do, as well.

TONY CARUSO, director, Bangor International Airport (BGR)

“I respect his energy and his drive. He always seems to be going at 100 percent all the time, unwavering in his optimism around the industry. He’s, for me, been a valued industry peer, somebody I can turn to or talk to on issues. … Besides his drive, he has a keen sense on issues. When he and I talk, he always seems to have thought through several angles and ramifications to certain issues. He’s certainly been a valued sounding board.”

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SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R-Maine)

“Paul is an experienced professional and a valued partner in improving Maine’s aviation infrastructure, and I congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition. As the airport director of the Portland Jetport for the past 12 years, Paul has skillfully navigated a period of tremendous passenger growth and has managed successful projects to increase capacity and enhance travelers’ overall experience. The major terminal expansion he oversaw that was completed in 2011 moved the Jetport to the top tier for convenience, comfort, security and beauty. As the Chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, I have enjoyed working with Paul to ensure the Jetport has the resources it needs to serve Maine families, businesses and visitors.”

DIRECTORS OF THE YEAR

GREGG FLUCKIGER, general manager for Portland Jetport, Paradies Lagardère

TODD HAUPTLI, president and CEO of the American Association of Airport Executives

“His focus on customer service is what has really made this airport a success. Throughout the years there has always been a great attention to detail to servicing the customers, not only with a good selection of flights to various parts of the country but also to making sure the people that are working in the airport, both the city employees and the vendors, are focusing on the same prize, which is to take great care of customers.”

“His relationship with Susan Collins and her staff has been invaluable for airports in the state of Maine and throughout the country. Sen. Collins and her staff rely on him as a barometer for what’s going on in the industry and, as a result, she’s had him testify in Washington, he’s been in numerous meetings with the senator and her staff at key points in the legislative process. It’s not a coincidence that Sen. Collins supported an increase in the PFC in the appropriations bill a few years ago. Paul’s fingerprints were all over that. Sen. Collins and her staff reached out to Paul during the CARES Act relief discussions and airports secured $10B in relief aid. Paul’s help on that cannot be overstated.”

MARIA FUENTES, executive director for the Maine Better Transportation Association

“I felt so lucky to have him as first an officer and then president when he was because he just really knows how to bring people together. He really knows how to collaborate and he’s really obsessed with moving Maine forward. He’s got a real strong technical mind but he’s also pretty passionate about policy. He knows everything that is going in the highway and bridge sector, he knows freight. He’s really something special in terms of the work ethic and the drive and the team building.”

LYNN TILLOTSON, president and CEO of Visit Portland JIM STANISLASKI, senior associate with Gensler

“He’s whip-smart. He understands things more than many clients because he’s trained as an engineer.

He’s interested in architecture and design, he’s good with numbers, he’s a good people person, he’s a good businessperson, he’s a triathlete. He’s kind of a modern renaissance man.”

“He’s really humble. He’s not the type of person who has to constantly be out there saying ‘I’m doing this, I’m doing this, I’m doing this.’ He just does it. He doesn’t ask for anything in return. He’s just super genuine. I love that about him. I remember when I first met him, I thought, ‘he’s the airport director.

He’s not going to give me the time of day.’ He was so gracious. And the next time I met him he knew my name. I’m always impressed by people like that who are so thoughtful in everything they do in life.”

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AXiNterviews connects industry leaders with Airport Experience ® News reporters for oneon-one video conversations covering a range of subject areas.

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2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

BY SHAFER ROSS

As another year ends, AXN takes a look at some of the most prominent happenings in the airport and concessions industries in 2020.

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Obletz Named President, Delaware North Travel

Carter Elected Chair, CAC Joyce Carter, president and CEO of the Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA), is the newly elected chair of the Canadian Airports Council (CAC), becoming the first woman in the post in the organization’s history.

Delaware North names James Obletz president of its travel division, where he’ll be responsible for providing oversight and strategic direction for the company’s portfolio of 24 airports throughout North America.

PHX Hails Completion of Terminal 3 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) honors the late U.S. Senator John McCain with the opening of the John S. McCain III Terminal 3 following a $590 million renovation.

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

HMSHost Drops Starbucks Exclusivity HMSHost and Starbucks end their exclusivity agreement, paving the way for new partnerships in airport concessions.

Areas USA Appoints Bernal as CEO Carlos Bernal is named CEO of Areas USA. Bernal was brought on to lead the company’s extensive growth plans, which were at least temporarily thwarted by the pandemic that emerged just two months later.

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Concessionaires Form New Association Several airport restaurant and retail operators in North America join together to form the Airport Restaurant & Retail Association with a goal of educating the broader industry on issues of importance to concessionaires.

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Hairston Named AXN’s 2019 Property Manager of the Year Airport Experience News names Ingrid Hairston, director of business initiatives for RaleighDurham International Airport (RDU) as its 2019 Property Manager of the Year.

ACI World Proposes Global Policy Response to COVID-19

Airport Experience News Awards Recognize Industry Excellence The final night of the 2020 Airport Experience Conference culminates in the recognition of several airports, operators and individuals that made an impact in the airport industry in 2019.

ACI Director General Angela Gittens urges governments to equally consider airports along with other stakeholders when formulating bailouts or other measures to shore up the aviation industry against the impact of COVID-19.

MARCH

The Federal Aviation Administration issues updated guidance that urges airports to consider the “changed circumstances created by the public health emergency,” among other factors, when making a decision to renegotiate rent terms with tenants.

APRIL

FAA Issues COVID-19 Guidance for Airports

Coronavirus Has Airports, Operators Preparing The COVID-19 coronavirus begins to impact airports.

Within a month, the entire global air travel sector loses 90% or more of its passengers, leaving airports and concessionaires decimated.

Airports Told To Consider Tenants’ Changed Circumstances in New FAA Guidance

Canada Provides US$288M for Domestic Airports

Airports have latitude when it comes to closing restaurants, retail activities, gates or sections of terminals, according to guidance offered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

CARES Act Relief Money Aids Airports The U.S. government begins dispensing relief funds to airports from the CARES Act, which provides $10 billion in emergency aid..

The Canadian federal government waves rent payments for the country’s largest airport authorities so that they can redeploy that money to support operations crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

DFW Right-Sizes Concessions Programs as Traffic Rebuilds

Airports Refine Guidelines Amid Prep for Passenger Return Airports prepare for returning passengers with new health and safety protocols, but the ongoing pandemic depresses demand throughout the summer and into fall.

New Arrivals & Departures Halls Opens at LGA The $5.1 billion transformation of LaGuardia Airport’s (LGA) Terminal B reaches a milestone when the Arrivals & Departures Hall opens.

MAY

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) begins to accept leased space back from concessionaires with no penalty as the airport tries to right-size its program for current demand.

JUNE

JULY

AXN Launches Four New Multimedia Brand Extensions To keep the industry up-to-the-moment with the latest news and developments, Airport Experience News launches four new interview series across a variety of media and platforms.

BNA Opens Fourth Major Concourse Nashville International Airport (BNA) opens its new Concourse D, adding six domestic aircraft gates and 115,000 square feet of terminal space.

2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

Dolliole Selected as AXN’s Director of the Year, Medium Airports Category SLC Opens New Central Terminal The Salt Lake City Department of Airports formally opens a brand new $4.1 billion Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), featuring a new parking garage, gateway center, central terminal and Concourse A-west.

SEPTEMBER

Airport Experience News names Kevin Dolliole, director of aviation at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), as its 2020 Director of the Year in the medium airports category.

OCTOBER

Bradbury Selected as AXN’s Director of the Year, Small Airports Category Airport Experience News names Paul Bradbury, airport director for the Portland International Jetport (PWM) in Maine, as its 2020 Director of the Year in the small airport category.

Wyatt Selected as AXN’s Director of the Year, Large Airports Category Airport Experience News names Bill Wyatt, executive director of the Salt Lake City Department of Airports, as its 2020 Director of the Year in the large airports category.

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Above: Concessionaires are looking for a passenger rebound in 2021, but are also focused on redefining relationships with airports and gaining federal assistance.

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It Will Take Cooperation, Compromise for Airport Concessions to Weather the Pandemic Storm

BY SALLY KRAL

As we near month nine since world travel came to a screeching halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still many uncertainties. “The global aviation industry has been dealt a hand never seen before – and few, if any, could have predicted early on just how long the downturn would last,” says Carlos Bernal, CEO of Areas USA, noting that traffic

has been slowly recovering but most airports are still seeing an approximately 75 percent decrease in passenger volume compared to a year ago.

“Now, however, we know recovery is not a matter of months,” he adds. “Most, I think, would agree it will be years before passenger volumes are back to pre-pandemic levels.”

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Indeed, true recovery can only occur when passengers return, which will require the development and wide distribution of a vaccine to significantly lower the spread of COVID-19. Until then, monetary support has been the main focus, but while airlines and airports have received aid from the federal government, airport concessions have been left out of these funding packages.

“The current landscape of airport concessions is, to put it bluntly, bleak,” says Alan Gluck, senior aviation commercial planner for global consultancy firm ICF. “While we’ve observed multiple cases where sales per enplanement have increased, total sales have decreased substantially.”

Concessionaires are facing not only the decline in air travel, but also restaurant operations changes due to health concerns, Bernal adds. “The issue, therefore, is what concessionaires need to survive until passenger confidence is restored and nearnormal travel patterns resume.”

With no clear end to the pandemic in sight, concessionaires need top-down support and they need it immediately. “The less relief provided by the airport, the more likely that concession businesses will fail, if they haven’t already,” Gluck says. “The concessionaires that will do the best in the future will be those located in airports that are working with their concessionaires to find a fair way forward.”

Top-Down Support Areas USA’s Bernal says that what restaurant and retail tenants need from airports first and foremost is waivers of minimum-annual-guarantee (MAG) rent and lower percentage rent charges. “Sales are nowhere near where they need to be to justify MAG rent,” he notes.

James Obletz, president of the travel division of Delaware North, agrees. “Our financial survival will be dependent on working with airport authorities on rent relief. Enplanement levels remain at or below 30 percent of last year. Minimum rent guarantees weren’t designed to withstand the current environment. They’re a tool to foster competition within an airport among operators, encourage operators to maximize their capture rate and to share in a minimal level of downside risk – certainly not as a way to offload the challenges of an 80 percent drop in enplanements.”

Obletz adds that concessionaires also need to be afforded the flexibility to adjust

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Alan Gluck, senior aviation commercial planner for global consultancy firm ICF, warns that without substantial leniency and support from airports, many concession businesses are poised to fail, with smaller, local, minority and ACDBE operators at the most risk.

their operational footprints, store openings and hours of operation to align with passenger volume. “Onerous requirements will create financial operating losses that are unsustainable and put too much financial hardship on the concession companies,” he says.

Gregg Paradies, president and CEO of Paradies Lagardère, also points out that flexibility is key right now. “We need support developing a proper and viable business operation, with dining and retail units reopening according to enplanement levels – this will help right-size our programs while still maintaining options for travelers,” he explains.

In order to support this more adaptable business model, Steve Johnson, president and CEO of HMSHost Corp., says that fees and charges need to be eliminated for a year, and that it’s also imperative to delay RFPs and midterm refurbishments to preserve cash and protect jobs.

Other costs are also under scrutiny.

“Charges for storage and maintenance of common areas and other charges must be eliminated until enplanements are back to 85 percent of 2019 levels,” Bernal says.

“Furthermore, concessionaires must be able to temporarily close establishments until business returns without being penalized and, in worse case scenarios, close permanently and exit leases without financial penalties.”

Bernal adds that for those concessionaires that survive the pandemic, lease terms should be extended to provide opportunities for tenants to recoup their capital investments, and mid-term or other improvement projects should be delayed until enplanements reach 85 percent of 2019 levels. “Concessionaires know that this is a lot to ask of our airport partners, but these are unprecedented times and without such strong support our ability to succeed will be in question, especially for our women- and minority-owned business partners,” he says. “The painful reality is that even with relief in the near-term, some might not make it through 2021, and those losses will be felt deeply by airport authorities, the remaining restaurant and retail tenants and our employees, and the air travelers who depend on all of us.”

ICF’s Gluck also envisions this undesirable outcome if airports don’t make drastic changes to support their concession businesses. “In many cases, the operators of concessions - notably smaller, local, minority and ACDBE operators - will not have been able to sustain their businesses through lean times,” he says. “The deferment of rent may not be any relief if the airport expects repayment at some specific date, since nobody has any idea when the pandemic will end and traffic will return. If an airport has deferred payments for months – instead of years – and expects payment of all deferred amounts shortly after the deferment period ends, it does not increase the possibility of business survival. Unless the airport is working with its vendors, I believe we’ll see substantial numbers of vacant concession spaces when traffic returns.”

Group Effort As the Airport Restaurant & Retail Association (ARRA) – a group of North American concessionaires that was formed earlier this year – pointed out in its July paper Facing Facts 2: The Survival and Revival of Airport Shopping and Dining, “the American aviation system is deeply intertwined and interdependent.” And as such, the industry’s survival will depend on the collaboration and cooperation of every party involved.

Concessionaires, airports and airlines have banded together to advocate for federal financial relief for the entire industry. Michael Mullaney, executive vice president of corporate strategy and business development for Hudson, notes that this

lobbying for government support and funding must continue as the pandemic goes on.

Pat Murray, executive vice president of SSP America, feels the same. “We’re at a critical moment as Congress considers inclusion of our industry in the next relief bill. To be successful in 2021, which is going to be a very tough year, we need every member of the aviation community to ensure congressional representatives are kept informed.”

But Murray adds that even with more federal relief, the speed of recovery may not be fast enough. “Every component of the overall aviation ecosystem will be challenged – we all need to pull together, work to get support, fight our way through these challenging times and then work to build a future that takes a realistic look at a post-COVID world,” he says.

Susan Stiene, president and CEO of Optimas Management Group, notes that while this is undeniably the worst time in history for all business partners in the aviation sector, a bright spot has been the way many airports and concession operators have come together to support one another. “Groups like the ARRA and Airports Council International (ACI) who are forging relationships to help each other and work with government to successfully get through the pandemic in a safe yet responsible environment will likely be stronger together and move programs forward quicker in the future,” she says.

Delaware North’s Obletz says that the majority of airports – though not all –

Susan Stiene, president and CEO of Optimas Management Group, notes that while this is an undeniably terrible time for the entire aviation industry, the way that many airports and concession operators have come together to support one another has been promising and will remain crucial into the future.

Rob Wigington, executive director of the Airport Restaurant & Retail Association, praises several airports that have been especially helpful to their concession partners by offering such things as rent relief, suspension of certain fees and penalties, and lease flexibility.

recognize the challenges concessionaires are facing and are responding accordingly.

“The common elements include waiver of minimum rent guarantees for an extended period, flexibility on hours of operation, a pragmatic approach to mid-term capital spending obligations and extensions of contract terms,” he says, pointing out that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has done all of these for its concessionaires as a means of ensuring their survival, allowing them to recover and

creating more time for them to earn back their original investment.

Obletz notes that while ATL was one of the first, many other airports have followed suit with similar relief efforts, including Denver International Airport (DIA), Tampa International Airport (TPA) and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MYS).

Rob Wigington, executive director of the ARRA, calls attention to several airports that have been especially helpful to their concession partners, namely Baltimore/ Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), ATL, Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

“BWI was the first airport to provide immediate rent relief in April; DFW was the first airport to allow concessionaires to give back space without penalty, along

Left: Concessionaires are lobbying the U.S. government for financial support to save their businesses battered by the pandemic. But even with a bailout, concerns remain that not all concessionaires will be able to survive.

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with MAG suspension through March 2021 and flexibility on the opening and closing of units; ATL granted the longest MAG abatement of 16 months plus three years of lease extensions; SLC developed and offered unique construction funding solutions for its concessionaire partners to allow an on-time terminal opening; and SEA offered a three-year term extension and the elimination of MAG and the marketing fund contribution through the end of the year.”

Collaboration bet ween air ports and concessions is pivotal to recovery, Wigington adds. “While we have a long road ahead of us, with 2021 promising to be an incredibly challenging year, the advent of conscious leadership that recognizes community building has proven there is room for creativity and innovative solutions in these unprecedented times.”

ICF’s Gluck believes the ARRA can, and should, have a significant role in recommending new lease terms and RFP requirements by working with its members to make suggestions to airports for future implementation. “The key for both sides as we determine the new normal is reasonableness,” he says. “Don’t expect the other side to give up everything.

Compromise. Listen. And then we, together, can find the best way forward for all.”

Stiene notes that it’s still too early to tell if the current changes to RFPs and lease terms will remain in place into the future. “Similar to after 9/11, the world needs to get to a steady improvement state for all parties to make major long-term adjustments,” she says. “The silver lining is that those airports and concession operators that are supporting each other will likely have a better chance of making changes to lease terms and future RFPs that work for a highly successful operation for all parties, including the passenger, in the future.”

Other Factors For Future Success While the timeline for recovery remains largely unknown, Gluck advises that airports and concessionaires do their best to prepare for steady volume increases.

“All airports are, or should be, looking at phasing reopening of concessions as traffic returns,” he says. “If the program was rightsized before the pandemic, eventually it will be right-sized again, so significantly reducing the number of concessions

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LeMonica Hakeem, CEO and president of Conekt Hospitality, outlines several areas that concessionaires should be focusing on into the future, including rightsizing store square footage, employee numbers and restaurant menus.

permanently is a losing strategy. But, analysis of demand for concessions at different traffic levels will provide guidelines for the reopening of concession locations. Opening too many concessions too early will contribute to business failures, while failure to open enough will result in long lines, poor customer service and diminished passenger experience, leading to substantive problems in the future – flexibility and cooperation will be critical to a successful reopening.”

LeMonica Hakeem, CEO and president of Conekt Hospitality, outlines several areas that concessionaires should be focusing on into the future: “They need to look at maximizing the square footage of their operations to be as productive as possible while minimizing the footprint of back-of-house areas or non-revenuegenerating areas; having the correct number of employees while ensuring that the team in place can wear many different hats; and having a menu that isn’t too large, but also not too limited while minimizing waste,” she says.

“Suc c e s s w ill c ome to t ho s e concessionaires who can adapt and reinvent portions of their operations to adjust the business to accommodate the fluctuations in passenger traffic,” Hakeem continues. “Being able to quickly change for each new guideline set in place, every health and safety procedure that’s added,

as well as social distancing and seating requirements will be required. Thinking outside the box with innovations like QR codes, touchless menus and mobile ordering are all things that will lead to success.”

Steine also notes that innovation will be a key driver of success for concessionaires.

“Those operators that are trying out new processes to encourage quicker, easier and safer service for the passenger are the winners,” she says. “Trialing the sale of new healthcare products, offering vending machine operations, using contactless technology are all changes that will likely be here to stay in the future. All of these adjustments help not only the airport but the airport’s city to inspire visitors and residents to travel.”

Instilling trust in returning customers is indeed a major focus for all businesses right now. “Until a vaccine is developed and widely distributed, the rebound of passenger growth continues to rely on a partnership between landlords, airlines and concessionaries to rebuild travelers’ confidence in the safety of travel in airports and onboard aircraft,” Hudson’s Mullaney says. “Many North American airports are continuously identifying, improving and implementing innovative safety measures throughout their locations in collaboration with concessionaires and in alignment with recommendations from health officials and local authorities.”

Early on, airports and concessionaires alike were quick to enhance their cleaning and safety protocols and this will certainly remain the case for the foreseeable future. “We must continue offering responsible and sustainable solutions to ensure travelers and our own associates feel safe and comfortable,” Paradies of Paradies Lagardère says, adding that in addition to heightened cleaning protocols, contactless pay and checkout solutions that were already underway before the pandemic will be even more important in the future for the added safety they bring.

“It’s our hope that we can all work together and look at this pandemic as an opportunity for growth and transformation for the entire industry,” HMSHost’s Johnson says. “Travel will return, and we will be there to serve our guests. In the meantime, as we build back up, 2021 is about re-imagining an environment where we can all be successful together.”

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THE HARDEST HIT

Regional Airports Have Experienced the Brunt of Pandemic-Induced Air Service Losses

BY SALLY KRAL

Left: After experiencing an all-time low of 441 enplanements in April due to the pandemic, Kalamazoo/ Battle Creek International Airport saw passenger counts steadily increasing – but then the airline cuts began. Thanks to the CARES Act funding, the airport has managed to offset revenue losses and retain all staff.

irlines that received Payroll Support Program grants from the U.S. government as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act agreed to several conditions, including a continuation of minimum levels of service at airports where they fly.

But those stipulations expired on September 30, prompting numerous airlines – including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines – to cut service, mostly at smaller regional airports., “Small community air service had been artificially protected because of the CARES Act – but if there isn’t a CARES 2 package made available to the airline industry, then I fully expect that the landscape will begin the process of redrawing itself,” says William Swelbar, chief industry analyst for the Swelbar-Zhong Consultancy.

A

William Swelbar, chief industry analyst for the Swelbar-Zhong Consultancy, believes air travel cuts will continue at regional airports – especially if a CARES 2 package doesn’t come together soon.

Indeed, while airlines have been steadily adding some flights back after initial cuts earlier this year, many small airports are still being left in the lurch. “The Department of Transportation has a mechanism in place to ensure a community is not left with no service, but most regional airports have seen cuts in service to destinations and loss of frequencies,” says Mark Sixel, president of Sixel Consulting Group.

“While we’re starting to see a lot of adds of flights between major markets and sunny destinations, smaller regional carriers have not been included in these adds.”

Dramatic Drop in Demand Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO) was on track to have a great year before COVID-19 emerged stateside.

“After experiencing an 11 percent increase in passengers during the first two months

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Mark Sixel, president of Sixel Consulting Group, has an optimistic outlook on the future of air travel at regional airports, pointing to data that show economic recovery happening faster in smaller markets.

of 2020, we saw an immediate hit in March and in April the airport saw an all-time low of 441 enplanements,” says Craig Williams, AZO’s director.

Williams adds that passenger counts doubled each month in May, June and July, but then the airline cuts began. “In May, United announced that it would pause service at AZO in July, August and September,” he says. “They assured us that they believed in the market and that prior to COVID-19 the numbers were healthy. They still sold tickets throughout the down time for flights post-October 1. Even with those assurances, as a small market any disruptions to service are bad – no matter the reason.”

Then, later in August, American announced that it would suspend service to AZO for the month of October. “Another blow! They too shared their confidence in the market and continue to sell tickets, but had tough decisions to make,” Williams says. In addition, Delta Air Lines reduced their normally five daily flights from AZO to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and one to two daily to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) down to just one daily service to DTW – this has recently crept back up to four daily flights to DTW and one daily flight to MSP, but it’s still below normal service numbers.

During the month of April, passenger traffic at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) was down 96 percent from the same time in 2019, with airlines adjusting their schedules

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Right, Below: During the month of April, passenger traffic at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport was down 96 percent from the same time in 2019. But the airport is seeing the beginnings of a recovery this fall, with airlines resuming some flights after initially suspending them – Southwest Airlines even added new service to William P. Hobby Airport beginning in November.

accordingly, says Michelle Newman, communications manager for GreenvilleSpartanburg Airport District. “However, late summer and early fall have shown the beginnings of a recovery, with August seeing 66 percent of expected traffic,” she adds, noting that airlines will resume flying to additional destinations in November, including daily flights to DTW and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).

Additionally, Southwest Airlines just announced a new flight from GSP to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) beginning in November. “We see this as a sign of ongoing recovery,” Newman says.

Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) lost service from Delta Air Lines for this winter season, but United and American are looking to fill some of the gaps, notes

Rich Englehart, the airport’s interim director. “We anticipate this will help get us close to last December’s numbers, but we don’t know what the rest of the winter season beyond December will look like at this time,” he says.

A Mixed-Bag Future There is, of course, a lot of uncertainty about the entire air travel industry, and especially about smaller airports that have been the hardest hit in many ways.

Swelbar sees air travel cuts at regional airports continuing into the future. “My reasoning is simple: if it’s expected that the industry will be smaller than it was in 2019, then certain hubs will be smaller. If hubs are smaller, then connectivity is reduced. If connectivity is reduced, then less small

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community air service is needed to fill the larger aircraft at the hubs. Any network industry is replete with interdependencies that will impact other parts of the network even if unintended.”

That said, Swelbar adds that not all regional airports will necessarily suffer. “In fact, some might even thrive,” he says. “If work-at-home trends remain in place and people decide to vacate densely populated metro areas looking for an opposite lifestyle, then those airports stand to benefit.”

But still, Swelbar believes it will be a mixed bag. “Those airports with minimal leisure attributes or struggling economies will likely have trouble maintaining the same levels of service they received in 2019,” he says. “I also think regional airports that lie in the shadow of a larger airport with significantly more service and lower prices are particularly vulnerable.”

Sixel is a bit more optimistic. “If you look at employment and load factor data, many smaller markets have held up pretty well and are filling up airplanes,” he notes. “I also think that recovery is happening faster in smaller markets All the data I have shows this, and as that data become more studied, airlines will figure out how to send more planes back into smaller markets.” Sixel points to Boise, Idaho as an example of a smaller market faring well despite the national recession. “Boise actually led the nation in the number of jobs it produced from January to July this year – it actually added jobs in the market while the country was losing 12.5 million or so.”

Sixel adds that for smaller airports, the CARES Act relief goes a longer way. “Many of these regional airports are very fiscally conservative and have put away money for contingencies,” he says. “I haven’t heard of any smaller airport that’s hurting so much financially that it would impact operations, services or safety. The Federal Aviation Administration also has contingency funds available should an airport find itself in the situation where it cannot operate.”

Indeed, at ASE, Englehart notes that there have been no furloughs or layoffs thanks to the CARES Act funding, which has helped to reduce the impacts of

Above: Aspen/Pitkin County Airport lost service from Delta Airlines for this winter season, but United Airlines and American Airlines are looking to fill some of those gaps to help the airport get closer to last December’s enplanement figures.

But looking past December, the outlook remains uncertain.

lost revenue. The funding has also served AZO well. “Some of our peer airports are experiencing tough budget decisions, but we’re blessed that past business decisions made by the airport’s leadership gave us a nice cushion to support the revenue loss, and the money from the federal government certainly has – and will – go a long way in supporting our recovery,” Williams says.

The current landscape has also allowed some regional airports to focus on other

aspects of their businesses. “As for the future, the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners will be recommending direction to staff on an airport layout plan that will set the vision for the next 20 to 30 years,” Englehart says. “Both airside and landside improvements at ASE are being considered, including terminal improvements.” The airport is currently reviewing a substantial list of recommendations it gathered from the community over the course of 15 months.

“I wish the pandemic disruption hadn’t happened, but the timing of it comes as the staff and board is creating a new vision for AZO,” Williams says. “It gives us an opportunity to reflect and plan based on a new reality. The tough part is that we don’t know what that reality will look like, but the big focus is creating the strategy and the resource infrastructure to support it.”

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January/February 2021, Volume 19, Issue 232 & 233

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Right-Sizing A Concessions Program Knowledge:

The Upside Of Data Sharing Policy:

ACDBE – Program Changes Needed?

Director’s Chair:

An Interview With An Airport Director Latest Buzz:

Vancouver International’s Terminal Expansion NOTE: Editorial subject to change

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SUNFLOWERS IN BLOOM

In Increasing Numbers, Airports Adopt Program Identifying Hidden Disabilities

BY SHAFER ROSS any travelers are navigating the airport at a disadvantage; hearing impairments, developmental disorders, chronic pain and more can make air travel a struggle that is not immediately visible to others, particularly airport staff.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, some airports have developed innovative ways for travelers who may need assistance in their journey through the airport to discreetly alert employees.

“We wanted to still accommodate these special needs travelers, so our customer experience team started looking at how we could do that and continue to assist them for when they’re ready to travel next,” says Sarah McQuaide, manager, communications and media relations for the Columbus Regional Airport

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Authority (CRAA), which operates Columbus, OH-area airports, including John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH). “So, we focused on bringing together new and existing resources into one convenient kit for travelers.”

CMH is the latest in a string of airports that have adopted this type of program, which was pioneered by Gatwick Airport (LGW) in 2016. For its part, CMH has partnered with OhioHealth Neurological Rehabilitation and Autism Society Central Ohio to offer those organizations’ clients, as well as all airport guests in need, Journey Care Kits.

The kits contain a collection of materials meant to ease a disabled traveler’s trip through the terminal, i nclu d i n g a t r avel preparations checklist with helpful hints; cloth face coverings; a CMH bag tag; information on the TSA Cares program, which allows a passenger to arrange ahead of time for a TSA officer to assist them through the security screening process; and a choice

Left: The Columbus Regional Airport Authority partnered with local organizations to put together Journey Care Kits. The kits include sunflower-decorated lanyards and bracelets, alerting airport staff that enhanced assistance may be needed.

between two resources: a CMH social story designed to demonstrate what kind of social interactions passengers with developmental disorders like autism can expect to have in the airport; or an OhioHealth “Wheels Up!” brochure with a series of frequently asked questions about traveling with a disability.

Items that are constant among all airports are sunflower-themed bracelets and lanyards that travelers can wear to let airport employees know they may need extra assistance in their journeys.

“It’s a really bright green with bright yellow sunflowers, so it’s discreet but still an obvious sign [to those who know to look for it],” McQuaide says. “We wanted to make sure that our employees, and even our airport partners… have an understanding of the significance of these sunflower accessories.”

CMH is one of a growing number of North American airports to adopt the sunflower lanyard approach. SeattleTacoma International Airport (SEA) claims to be the first airport in the U.S. to offer the program, starting in late 2019. Since then, others including Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), John F. Kennedy International Airport’s (JFK) Terminal 4 and Orlando International Airport (MCO) have launched similar efforts. MCO’s program was launched in late October.

Brian Engle, director of customer experience for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA), operator of MCO, welcomed the initiative, saying, “Not all disabilities are visible and this program allows our staff to subtly identify those in need of an extra level of customer service and make sure that everyone, no matter what their circumstance, has a good Orlando experience.”

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