New Directions

BY ANDREW TELLIJOHN

Left: For her work in leading growth at Boise Airport, building strong relationships with community groups and her work in the industry, Rebecca Hupp has been named AXN’s Director of the Year in the medium airports category.

In February 2021, JetBlue announced plans to launch service from Boise Airport (BOI) to John F. Kennedy International (JFK) starting in July, marking the first time BOI had a nonstop flight to New York. The achievement fulfilled a long-term goal of both the community and Airport Director Rebecca Hupp.

It was just the latest announcement coming from BOI about new service, new routes, new airlines and a better network of flights serving the region.

“Nonstop service to New York City is something our community has been asking for,” Hupp said at the time.

BOI and Hupp saw passenger traffic grow 49 percent between 2014 and 2019. The non-stop route network has grown from 16 to nearly 30 during her 12-year tenure. The expansion in passenger demand resulted in another achievement: the Federal Aviation Administration reclassified BOI as a medium hub airport.

For her work in leading this growth, building strong relationships with community groups and her work in the industry, Hupp has been named AXN’s Director of the Year in the medium airports category.

“She’s the best airport director I’ve ever worked for,” says Bill Connors, president and CEO of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. “Whenever I introduce her, I say she’s the best airport director in the country. She’s done a great job here.”

Hupp acknowledges that in growing the airport’s traffic and route network she’s had some help. She credits a region that has become increasingly popular for its low cost of living and its tax-friendly business climate, and a strong staff that sources in the community say love working for her.

Boise also has a relatively mild climate for a northern city and it is the only major commercial airport for more than 500 miles, she says.

“Boise really has become known as a great place to live for a variety of reasons,” she says. “It also is less expensive than some of our larger cities, both to the west and to the east. That has made Boise a very attractive place to live.”

But civic leaders who work with her say she also has a unique grasp on how the airport and community organizations like the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Boise Convention & Visitor’s Bureau work better together than apart.

“She’s really engaged in the community, particularly the business community, because she understands the economic development importance of the airport as an asset,” Connors says.

And, they say, she has done a great job building a team that has, in turn, thrived when it comes to operating a clean, efficient, user-friendly airport.

“Everybody who goes to the Boise Airport says what a great facility it is and how easy it is to use,” he adds.

Boise Mayor Lauren McLean credits Hupp with contributing to the vibrancy of the local community by helping those who work and live there connect with opportunities outside the city. “Our residents must be able to connect to opportunities when and where they exist,” McLean says. “Those opportunities are not only in and around Boise, but around the region, country and world. Director Hupp has done incredible work making those connections for Boiseans, and in helping others connect to our beautiful city.”

Hupp acknowledges the work she and her team have put in building relationships in the community to find out what airlines and routes they should be prioritizing.

Another factor adding to the successful growth at BOI has been an airline marketing incentive program that supplements all of the attributes the city already enjoys.

Above: BOI saw passenger traffic grow 49 percent between 2014 and 2019. The non-stop route network has grown from 16 to nearly 30 during Hupp’s 12-year tenure.

Left: Demand for parking exceeds available capacity. Several projects are in the works, but the layout of existing facilities requires a certain order to completing upgrades.

Boise also recruited a 135,000-square-foot SkyWest maintenance facility to the airport in 2015. SkyWest flies for multiple carriers and many of those planes are now routed to Boise overnight for maintenance.

“That added service that we maybe otherwise wouldn’t have received,” Hupp says. “Our community responded positively to that, meaning the service was well utilized and when the service is utilized, then airlines continue to add more flights.”

Hupp prefers remaining under the radar when possible, but is proud of what has been accomplished.

“Big companies want to make sure that they have multiple access points to the national transportation system, and internationally as well,” she says. “And Boise has great connectivity via hubs to virtually anywhere in the world.”

With growth comes new challenges. BOI’s reclassification from a small to medium hub earlier this year could reduce the amount of federal funding the airport receives for airport improvement grants. It also adds federal regulatory requirements related to passenger services, airline competition plans and reporting.

But BOI has been preparing for this, Hupp says. The airport recently met two requirements by constructing a service animal relief area and a nursing room, each of which are required for medium hubs.

“The Boise Airport has been anticipating this reclassification,” she says. “We have been on the borderline between small and medium for quite some time.”

It’s unlikely the reclassification is temporary. All the factors that came together to cause this growth at the airport are expected to continue. And, while COVID19 wasn’t fun for anyone, the pandemic did give BOI officials time to breathe and plan. Otherwise, when at peak, the airport and its existing amenities are stretched.

“We definitely used it to our advantage to continue planning,” she says. “We never stopped the design.”

Demand for parking, at least during normal times, exceeds available capacity. And the airport itself is full, as well, Hupp says. Several projects are in the works, but the layout of existing facilities requires a certain order to completing upgrades.

As traffic returns, Hupp says the airport has bid out an employee garage and a public parking garage together as a single project “in the hopes that we get better pricing,” she says. “Because it’s a larger project, we’re hoping that it will alleviate some of the supply chain issues and allow some economies of scale.”

BOI also is in the design phase for a Consolidated Rental Car Facility. Both employee parking and existing rental car parking need to be moved and an aircraft parking apron to the south needs to be constructed, likely in 2022 or 2023, in order to build a new concourse, likely in 2024 or 2025. A security checkpoint expansion in 2019 that added a sixth lane also is now insufficient for current traffic.

“Luckily we have some sufficient space there that we can do that and we’ll be able to squeeze in one more lane as a relatively quick fix,” she says. “It’ll be ready for peak season next year.”

But all the projects need to be done in the proper sequence to make sure space is available.

“We’re just trying to be ready for it,” she says. “Our community has continued to grow during COVID. While we haven’t seen as much travel, people have continued to move here. So, I expect that when passenger travel returns to normal levels, we will see increased travel.”

She’s also working to add non-aeronautical revenue opportunities at the airport, planning this fall to release a request for expressions of interest for a 300-acre industrial park on airport property.

“It’ll allow us to diversify our revenue,” she says. “We expect with our developer that the whole project will be built out in about 10 years.”

Managing through a pandemic and planning major capital projects for future growth wasn’t initially part of Hupp’s aviation dream. While she assessed early on that aviation was an option, she initially looked at the airline industry, whether working for a carrier, as a consultant or perhaps the FAA in a regulatory role. It was as her college years came to a close that she began realizing airports might have a wider variety of career options.

“For me, just the breadth of opportunity at airports was more intriguing,” she says. “I liked the different aspects of the airport environment, whether it be operations, business development, project management – I think that is what really attracted me to the airports.”

She spent time at Kansas City International (MCI), becoming one of the first employees to go through a management training program there.

Hupp then moved on to Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ), which was smaller than MCI but allowed her the opportunity to lead a team and take on a variety of challenges. Finally, she went to Bangor International Airport (BGR), which presented an interesting learning opportunity because it’s a designated diversion point for many airlines and for the Transportation Security Administration. She was there for 12 years before heading to Boise, a community with an airport she found interesting and challenging and a family life she found attractive.

While Hupp is deeply involved in the local Boise community, she continues to find time for involvement on the national stage, as well. She has long been involved with the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), both on the national board and in leadership roles with most recently the Northeast Chapter.

Early on, getting accredited was important because “it’s a designation that speaks highly to the professional caliber of a person,” she says.

Now she appreciates the networking opportunities. And she currently chairs the organization’s Environmental Committee, which is looking at air quality, water quality, emissions and noise. One of the big issues right now is the “forever chemicals” found in the foam used to fight fires involving jet, diesel and other hydrocarbon-based fuels.

“That’s an issue I’m heavily involved in, monitoring how we as an industry respond to the risk of the chemical, how we mitigate and also how we are prepared moving forward to fight fires if we can’t have this foam,” she says.

She takes sustainability seriously back home at BOI, as well, incorporating environmentally friendly strategies into development whenever possible. The airport, for example, installed a solar power project a few years ago that powers its entire hot water system.

“We’ve expanded it because it has been successful,” Hupp says. “It is definitely something on our radar and we are continuing to explore increasing, for example, solar use. … we don’t have it all figured out yet, but it’s something we are keeping as a priority.”

Mayor McLean complimented Hupp’s efforts in this area. “Under her leadership,” she says, “the airport, like the rest of the city, is helping to create a sustainable environment for generations.”

When Hupp finds down time she’s frequently heading off to sporting events. She has two teenaged boys, one on the football team, one on the swim team.

And she likes to travel, at least during non-COVID times, whether it’s skiing, hiking or jetting to England and Scotland and checking out an off-thebeaten-path, Harry Potter-themed attraction. Hupp is happy to have found an opportunity that is a good fit for both spending time with family and growing her career.

“It’s always been about not just the job, but also the location,” she says. “So, for me, Boise was a great professional opportunity, but also, personally, it was very attractive to me and my family.”

Below: Hupp worked at a few small airports before landing in Boise 12 years ago. At that time, Boise Airport was classified as a small hub but it recently graduated to the medium-hub classification.