Author: Scott Elmore

Houston Airports Strengthen Veterans Community

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

As community partners, airports are continually embracing opportunities that recognize the immense contributions veterans make to our communities and empower them as they move beyond their military service.

Houston Airport System is one of several airports across North America leading the effort to bring the Edge4Vets jobs training program to prepare and connect veterans to jobs that can lead to careers in aviation.  This work is incredibly important in Texas, which boosts one of the largest veteran populations in the United States. Edge4Vets is part of Airports Council International – North America’s “Workforce of the Future” initiative.

Developed by the Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham University in New York, Edge4Vet is operating at several airports currently, including Houston, LAX, Greenville/Spartanburg, Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, Edmonton, Memphis, Jackson, MS.

The program combines a workshop series with online training to help veterans do what business leaders say they most – that is, learn how to translate their strengths from the military, including values and skills, into “tools” for civilian success. The program enlists HR executives and hiring managers from partner companies, including airport authority departments and stakeholder companies, to attend the Edge4Vets workshop and serve as “mentors” to offer feedback to the veterans as Edge4Vets teaches the participants how to create a Plan4Success.

The Plan4Success guides them in the creation of statements in four areas – vision, values, skills and action – that identify their strengths and gives them an opportunity in clear, concise language to express how they will APPLY their military strengths to land a job that can lead to a career for the life they want.

Houston introduced Edge4Vets in 2018 as a pilot and now is working with partners in its employer network – that includes Houston businesses as well as airport employers – to grow and expand the scope and reach of the program.

Part of this expansion includes bringing in Goodwill Industries and its Operation GoodJOBS program as a partner to provide wrap-around support to veterans. Edge4Vets registers participants through a recruiting effort with support from the City of Houston, the Texas Veterans Commission and local schools, then Edge4Vets refers those who register to Goodwill for preparation in advance of the workshop.

Following the workshop, Edge4Vets channels participants back to Goodwill for personal support to refine their Plan4Success, hone their resume, and follow up on job interviews they lined up at the Edge4Vets workshop.

The combination of career preparation and this enhanced wrap-around support provided through the Edge4Vets/Goodwill partnership is giving Houston Airport System a powerful “one/two punch” to add talented veterans to the HAS workforce to strengthen the airport for the future.

Celebrating – and Growing – the Airport Industry Workforce

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

For some, Labor Day (or Labour Day for our readers in Canada) is a much needed long weekend culminating with a festive backyard cookout.  For others – our industry included – Labor Day weekend marks the end of another record breaking summer travel season.

At its core, Labor Day is a time to recognize the important contributions of a productive workforce to communities and economies. Today, we celebrate the nearly 1.5 million people working at airports across North America who make flight possible.

The aviation industry workforce extends far beyond pilots, flight attendants, and baggage handlers.  Airports are proud to employ innovative leaders from all of the disciplines found at a Fortune 500 company. From accounting to IT and real estate to business development, an airport represents a full ecosystem of professionals.

Managing a workforce as diverse and complex as that of an airport is tricky.  It might even be the biggest challenge of our time, says Candace McGraw, CEO of the Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) and Chair of ACI-NA.

“I think the issue of workforce development and talent development is a huge challenge to us all,” McGraw said.  “Historically, we in the airport business are focused on air service development, contracts and leasing, operations and planning for the future physical footprint of our spaces. As much as we focus on the infrastructure of the runways, taxiways, etc., I think we need to double-down on our human capital infrastructure.”

That’s why CVG launched a strategic workforce collaborative late last year.

“We have brought together all the airport employers, from the air cargo side to the passenger airlines and everyone in between, to talk about the issues on which we can collaborate today to achieve real results—exposing young people to careers in aviation, solving the ever-stubborn issue of better connecting people to their jobs, and creating aviation career pathways on airport, and more,” McGraw said.

One of the key components of CVG’s workforce initiative includes the inclusion of military veterans who will transition into the civilian workforce at the end of their service.  By including the successful Edge4Vets program into their initiative, CVG is able to tap into a highly skilled and trained talent pool.

In 2014, ACI-NA partnered with Edge4Vets with the shared goal of connecting veterans with airports to place them in careers that utilize the valuable skills they learned while serving in the military. At these workshops, Edge4Vets also teaches military veterans the skills they need to market their skills and themselves to civilian employers. Many veterans do not know how to search for civilian jobs and how to communicate with employers after they leave the military.

“Many veterans have valuable skills that are beneficial to employers, but they sometimes have difficulty selling themselves,” said Tom Murphy, Edge4Vets’ founder. “People serving in the military learn to work as a team and they sometimes don’t think in terms of their individual accomplishments and skillsets.”

While the Edge4Vets program continues to grow across the United States with several successes, the program recently launched in Canada.  Edmonton International Airport (YEG) hosted the nation’s first Edge4Vets workshop in May of this year.

“Edge4Vets is such a win-win program because it not only helps to expand the skilled workforce available to our aviation industry, it also provides rewarding careers to those who have served and protected our country,” says YEG’s President and CEO Tom Ruth.

The success of Edge4Vets speaks directly to the needs of airports as they plan their workforce for the future.  Ensuring airports have the right team with the right talents at the right times requires coordination and collaboration across the airport complex.

“Even if technology shifts the world of work for different types of jobs, we must have qualified, skilled people in all of our regions to support all the functions that thriving airports require,” McGraw said.” This is true for training the right people for leadership roles as much as it is to think about those front-line positions.”

Get Involved

Is your airport interested in becoming an Edge4Vets partner? Airports across North America are partnering with Edge4Vets and ACI-NA to help connect veterans to aviation careers. Current participants include GSP, LAX, HOU, MIA, JFK, CVG, YEG and more.

Contact Tom Murphy to learn more about hosting a workshop in your community. Edge4Vets is offered by the Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham University. Learn more here.

GSP Leads Efforts to Hire South Carolina Veterans

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

Independence Day is more than fireworks and cookouts.  It’s a special day we celebrate liberty and those who have helped secure the freedom we cherish today.

Honoring our veterans is a top priority for the airport industry.  That’s why ACI-NA partnered with Edge4Vets in 2014 with the shared goal of connecting America’s – and now Canada’s – veterans with airports across the country to place them in careers that utilize the valuable skills they learned while serving in the military.

Earlier this year, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) collaborated with Edge4Vets and the Upstate Warrior Solution to host a workshop for the region’s veterans.

“We are proud to bring Edge4Vets to South Carolina,” said Dave Edwards, GSP’s president and CEO. “This will be a good opportunity for Upstate employers to identify talent while mentoring veterans transitioning into the workforce or those looking for new opportunities.”

Several companies participated in the workshop, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, United Airlines, the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, airport concessionaires and Clemson University.

“Many veterans have valuable skills that are beneficial to employers, but they sometimes have difficulty selling themselves,” said Tom Murphy, Edge4Vets’ founder. “People serving in the military learn to work as a team and they sometimes don’t think in terms of their individual accomplishments and skillsets. Some also become so accustomed to using the language and lingo used in the military that civilian employers might not understand what they are saying. These slight adjustments can make a difference in a veteran landing a job and getting on a desirable career path.”

Get Involved

Is your airport interested in becoming an Edge4Vets partner? Airports across North America are partnering with Edge4Vets and ACI-NA to help connect veterans to aviation careers. Current participants include GSP, LAX, HOU, MIA, JFK, CVG, and more.

Contact Tom Murphy to learn more about hosting a workshop in your community. Edge4Vets is offered by the Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham University. Learn more here.

LAX CEO: We Need to Bring the Passenger Facility Charge Back to its Original Buying Power

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

Last week, Los Angeles World Airports Chief Executive Officer Deborah Flint addressed the Washington Aero Club at a lunch event in Washington, D.C. In her speech, Flint described Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) current $14 billion investment project and how it will help to relieve congestion and improve the LAX travel experience for passengers.

She also discussed how airports across the country are using technology to improve efficiency and ease long lines.

Finally, she urged Congress to return the Passenger Facility Charge to its original buying power by updating it to be $8.50. She noted that it’s been two decades since the PFC was updated and that it’s well overdue that we modernize it to keep up with inflation.

Excerpts from her speech are below.  Her full remarks are available here.

Flint on the need to modernize the PFC:

“A new level of investment in infrastructure is needed and for airports this can be real by bringing the Passenger Facility Charge to its original buying power.

“It is time. It has been two decades that the PFC has been unchanged even though there have been 26 models of the iPod, which was released the same year. It has been so long that the styles have even come back – parachute pants and tracksuits are back in again.

The ask is to increase the PFC from $4.50 to $8.50 and index it for inflation in the future. That will make a difference for airports of all sizes – large, medium, and small.”

Flint on LAX’s infrastructure projects:

“We are making a $14 billion investment in an Automated People Mover train system, roadways, a Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility that will combine the 20 separate facilities that burden our neighborhoods and roadways, a connection to regional rail, and modernizing each terminal.

“And we are beginning the environmental review to improve the airfield, build a new concourse off of Terminal 1, and a new Terminal 9, which requires billions of additional dollars.”

Flint on airports improving efficiency through biometrics:

“Back to my 16 year old and her airport expectations. For her, wifi and cellular are like air – as they have become for all of us. Her face is everything.

“I am talking about biometric aircraft boarding gates, self-baggage drop, TSA and CBP screening – all biometrically enabled at LAX today. While privacy and data security must have high bars, the efficiency of biometrics is astounding. We boarded an A380 using biometric facial boarding in 20 minutes.”

Flint on the future of the airport industry:

“Airport by airport, working with our partners in airlines and throughout the industry, we need to be excited, energetic and chase the next evolution. We need to push for our airports to be more innovative, sustainable, to be stewards for local communities, to bring the joy and certainty back to air travel, and together get the funding to invest and let our industry shine. At Los Angeles World Airports our vision is Gold Standard Airports … Delivered.  The U.S. deserves that vision for each and every one of our airports.”

LAWA Serves Veterans Through Edge4Vets Successes

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

Over the last few years, ACI-NA has been proud to partner with Edge4Vets to help connect veterans with airports across North America to place them in careers that utilize the valuable skills they learned while serving in the military.  Ahead of Armed Forces Day on May 18, ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin Burke caught up with Los Angeles World Airports Director of Airports Administration Paula Adams to hear about LAWA’s work to support the veterans’ workforce in the Los Angeles area.

KB: Los Angeles World Airports has been an incredible supporter of the Egde4Vets program.  Why is the program important and how you have developed it to serve veterans and your airport?

PA: One of LAWA’s strategic goals is to expect and support organizational excellence. Edge4Vets helps us meet that goal. We see the value that veterans bring to an airport environment and we are a better organization because of the 53 veterans who work with us across all divisions and levels of our team.

Being able to have someone join our airport system that knows how to work under pressure, who can meet deadlines, work as part of a team, and knows how to manage time is every hiring manager’s dream. These qualities are even more in demand at a large airport, and we know that in the right job, these veterans find wonderful opportunities to put their skills to good use.

Whether it’s with LAWA or one of our partners (e.g., airlines, concessions, retail, cargo), Edge4Vets provides veterans a unique opportunity to meet hiring managers face-to-face, which in today’s job market, is a powerful alternative to the now normal point-and-click path to an interview. In return, companies can learn more about how they can benefit from the skills that veterans bring to the table and may find new ways to bring those who have served our country into a new career.

 

KB: What successes stories have you experienced through the Edge4Vets program?

PA: The Edge4Vets program allowed us to make connections that might not have been made were it not for the format of the program. Edge4Vets allows a wide variety of airport companies to connect with individuals and learn about them within the context of their life as a civilian and a service member, and support them on a path to a living wage career. We have had a number of Edge4Vets participants who are now employed at LAX, and our hiring partners have been satisfied with the results. LAWA has found similar success in our hiring of Edge4Vets participants and we continue to seek out additional employees. In fact, just this week, LAWA made two provisional job offers to veterans who participated in the May 15 workshop. At that workshop, other airport companies who were there set up interviews with several veterans.

Further, at our most recent event, we heard from one veteran who highlighted “listening” as one of his key skills. After a little discussion and insight from the participating mentoring managers, the veteran elaborated that he was responsible for clearing landmines, which requires someone to have a large amount of self-restraint and ability to quietly listen. As an HR professional, I hear that story and think, “Here’s a person who is going to assess a situation based on what he knows before he acts.” He understands that there are costs to doing something wrong way, and is mindful enough to realize it. That’s a skillset that we can use.

 

KB: In the airport industry, collaboration between airports and their business and community partners is essential.  How is Edge4Vets helping LAWA strengthen existing relationships and building new ones?

PA: The Edge4Vets workshop’s real strength is connecting people. It fosters an environment for collaboration, not only between veterans and airport hiring managers, but also between LAWA and our airport partners, including companies that operate at LAX and nonprofit groups throughout the region. Initiatives like Edge4Vets allow us to broaden our reach to people who may not have previously had the opportunity to consider a career at LAX, and include them as part of our airport community.

KB: If an airport were thinking about rolling out their own Edge4Vets program, what piece of advice would you give them?

PA: Reach out to your local nonprofit groups who support your veteran community and partner with them to funnel qualified veterans seeking employment to your event. Then, do it! Edge4Vets is a wonderful program and provides a benefit for all involved – the airport, our partners and veterans seeking careers. Our service men and women know what it’s like working for a team and all of our airport communities can benefit by adding them to our teams.

 

Get Involved

Is your airport interested in becoming an Edge4Vets partner? Airports across North America are partnering with Edge4Vets and ACI-NA to help connect veterans to aviation careers. Current participants include LAX, HOU, MIA, JFK and more.

Contact Tom Murphy to learn more about hosting a workshop in your community. Edge4Vets is offered by the Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham University. Learn more here.

Infrastructure Week 2019: 20th Century Airports in a 21st Century World

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

Today marks the official start to Infrastructure Week 2019, the long-celebrated week each year when the infrastructure community comes together and engages in a broad conversation about the importance of modern infrastructure.  For us, every week is Infrastructure Week (we’re not the first ones to make that joke and we won’t be the last…), but we’re proud to join in and represent airports in such an important dialogue this week.

As part of our participation in Infrastructure Week, ACI-NA will continue to amplify our important message about the need to invest in America’s aging airports.  Beginning today, passengers in airports will have the opportunity to hear directly from ACI-NA on the benefits of an improved and modernized airport system.  Watch by clicking below.

We couldn’t think of a better way to get our message in front of those who stand to benefit the most from the improved passenger experience, increased airline competition and lower airfares, and enhanced safety and security that will come when we meet the nearly $130 billion in infrastructure needs of America’s airports over the next five years.

We are proud to count CNN Airport Network as a valued ACI-NA member and an active participant in our Beyond the Runway Coalition.  CNN Airport Network’s tremendous support for our industry is greatly appreciated as we ramp up our efforts to engage in a broad conversation about the importance of modern airports to local communities.

For the latest on Infrastructure Week, visit the Centerlines NOW blog or following along on social media using #InfrastructureWeek #BuildForTomorrow.

Communities Left Behind and Airline Industry Consolidation: The Promise of Airline Deregulation Has Only Partially Been Fulfilled

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the enactment of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, championed by Dr. Alfred E. Kahn while serving as Chair of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) under President Jimmy Carter, various industry experts were asked by the JDA Journal to comment on “whether the Airline Deregulation Act is meeting Dr. Kahn’s vision.” The following is the contribution by ACI-NA General Counsel Tom Devine.

 

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 has certainly provided benefits to consumers in many areas, as airlines and others often point out, but the promise of deregulation has not been fully realized, and many communities have been left behind.

Dr. Kahn assumed we could rely on market forces to supplant government regulation, but industry concentration is now higher than it was prior to deregulation, due to waves of industry consolidation in the past decade.  It is also likely that Dr. Kahn did not anticipate the advent and widespread use of ancillary airline fees (totaling more than $20 billion in 2017) that distort market signals.  Moreover, the paucity of viable new entrants and the dominant carriers’ reaction even to small-scale challenges from other carriers has meant that the market has not always been effective in curbing anti-competitive behavior of dominant airlines.  A distorted or constrained marketplace does not realize the benefits of true competition.

Competition also depends on access by airline competitors to necessary airport facilities, such as runways and terminals.  Preserving and enhancing competition was a key goal of Congress in 1990, when it restored, in a limited form, airports’ right to impose per-passenger fees to raise money for necessary airport capital improvements.  This was critical, because, while dominant hub carriers, for instance, were willing to finance improvements to benefit themselves, they were naturally reluctant to fund facilities that would enable competitors to gain access to the airport.  The PFC statute helped solve this dilemma and enhanced competition by explicitly (1) providing that airline agreements could not govern the imposition or use of PFCS and (2) precluding the leasing of PFC-funded gates on a long-term, exclusive use basis.

Unfortunately, the PFC was initially capped at $3 per passenger in 1990 and has only been raised once, 18 years ago, to $4.50.  The erosion of PFC purchasing power over the years–coupled with the fact that many airports’ PFC capacity is fully committed to pay off projects already constructed–thwarts airports’ ability today to fund the necessary infrastructure to provide for competitive entry.

While the ADA provided some mechanisms for addressing communities and consumers that have been disenfranchised, such as the Essential Air Service program, their effectiveness has proven to be limited.  Reduction in air service is the biggest concern of many of our non-hub, small hub, and medium hub airports throughout the country.  While airports are working diligently to take the self-help steps they can to induce, attract and retain air service, the tools and resources available to them are quite limited.

It is in everyone’s interests — airports, airlines, consumers, communities, businesses and the government, alike — to come up with creative and effective ways to ensure that small and medium-sized communities throughout the country have access to, and connectivity with, the national air transportation system and that there is effective competition throughout the system.  Airports currently produce $1.4 Trillion in economic activity.  Expanding access to the national network of vibrant aviation activity to underserved markets and ensuring true competition throughout the system will allow the economic and social benefits of Deregulation to be realized by all.

A version of this column originally appeared in JDA Journal on October 23, 2018. Read the full article, “40th Anniversary of the Airline Deregulation Act: Retrospectives from 7 Different Perspectives” >>

Will Technology Solve the Capacity Crisis?

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

Passenger numbers are expected to double by 2035.
IoT queue measurement technology enables airports to keep waiting times from growing.

By Marc Rauch, Xovis

The airport industry stays on the rise, while a capacity crisis is on the horizon. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects 7.2 billion passengers to travel in 2035, almost twice as much as today.

As many airports are landlocked and can’t just go bigger, the climbing passenger numbers further complicate the fight against long queues and waiting times. Already today, passengers at major US airports sometimes have to slog through a queue for over an hour. As a result, passengers spend less: according to an industry survey, an extra 10 minutes spent in a queue at security reduces a passenger’s spending on retail by 30 percent. How can airports prevent queues and waiting times from growing along with passenger numbers? Is there a way to streamline passenger flows within existing capacities to increase both passenger satisfaction and revenues?

REAL-TIME DATA AGAINST WAITING TIMES

There is good news: queue and passenger flow measurement technologies pave the way for preventing queues from building up and frustrating passengers. Not surprisingly, RFPs for queue measurement systems have been sprouting lately. More and more North-American airports count on robust real-time data from an IoT system with 3D sensors and software solutions: Ceiling-mounted 3D sensors count and track all passengers anonymously. The software receives data streams from the sensors and calculates the KPIs such as queue lengths, waiting times, process times and passenger throughput. The real-time data can be accessed by airport staff members and shared with passengers.

MSP: SMOOTH OPERATIONS AFTER SUPER BOWL LII

As the host airport for Super Bowl LII, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) pleasantly surprised passengers with shorter than expected waiting times the Monday after the Super Bowl. The airport broke its single-day record up to that time for the number of passengers screened, with 60,455 passengers going through its security checkpoints. This was nearly double the airport’s average day and well above the 40,000-plus that are screened daily during the busy spring break period.

3D sensors at security checkpoints helped smooth operations, measuring queue length, waiting time, and process time per security lane as well as other KPIs. “We aim to create a seamless passenger experience, using passenger flow technology to link together every touchpoint of the departure lobby area, the checkpoint locations, and all the way to the gate,”  said Eduardo Valencia, Vice President, Chief Information Officer at Metropolitan Airports Commission, which operates MSP and six general aviation airports.

“The real-time data the sensors provide is shared with all of the stakeholders and helps the Transportation Security Administration manage its security lines more efficiently,” said Phil Burke, Director of MSP Operations for the Metropolitan Airports Commission. “The system is also useful to passengers, who can choose the shortest lines based on wait times displayed on digital signs in the departure lobbies.”

MSP is one of four US airports that process more than 38 million passengers per year and count on a combination of 3D sensors and software solutions. Many more US airports and authorities are currently conducting trials to find the right queue and passenger flow measurement system.

THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF PASSENGER FLOWS AND QUEUES

Some airports are using tracking systems to help with passenger flows and queues. IoT systems in particular, combined with 3D sensors and software solutions measure KPIs such as waiting times, process times and passenger throughput. For example, Swissbased Xovis has equipped 352 sites (from check-in to gates, and from gates to taxi ranks) at 66 international airports with the Xovis Passenger Tracking System (PTS). Airport operators around the globe also use this system to monitor the fulfilment of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and to compare standard and new processes at security checkpoints (e.g. automated vs. conventional screening).

At landlocked Dubai International Airport (DXB), the third largest airport in the world, over 5,000 staff members use the data on their mobile phones and tablets to react upon identified bottlenecks. If the waiting time in a certain area exceeds a defined threshold, the team is alerted and can send more staff members and open more counters. DXB has reduced waiting times by a remarkable 10 per cent during the first three months of 2017. “This automated system provides us with timelier and more accurate data more quickly than the manual system that was used previously. As a result, the operations team and other organizations that work across the airport now have a bird’s eye view of bottlenecks, allowing them to better manage staffing levels and lanes, and improve the overall customer experience. We have more work to do in this area, but we are pleased with progress to date,” said Frank McCrorie, Senior Vice President of Operations at DXB.

BENEFITS FOR ALL AIRPORT STAKEHOLDERS

Smaller airports also aim at streamlining processes with a combination of 3D sensors and software solutions. Helsinki Airport (HEL) is an important hub for air traffic between Europe and Asia and serves as a good example to visualize the positive impact a reliable queue measurement system can have. Currently, HEL increases its annual passenger throughput from 19 million to 30 million. Antti Tikkanen, Business Analyst within the Digitalization Program at Finavia, the operator of HEL, describes how the airport benefits from the system: “Our 900 million Euro ($1.05 billion USD) Development Program includes both the optimized utilization of existing facilities and the adding of new sections. Having a technology in place to move the increasing number of passengers efficiently is key to improving the passenger experience. We now have the required real-time data to communicate effectively with all stakeholders and to keep queue lengths and waiting times as short as possible.”

A.I. FOR A SEAMLESS TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

With the right IoT queue measurement system up and running, airports can actively tackle the capacity crisis and shape the digital transformation on their premises. A.I.-powered 3D sensors will further perfect the accuracy of the gathered real-time data and enable new applications, in particular where anonymous passenger tracking over long distances leads to new insights. In the end, passengers will benefit the most from a seamless travel experience. As they save time from shorter queues, they are likely to spend more money in other areas of the airport.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marc Rauch is Managing Director for Xovis USA in Boston, MA. Prior to joining Xovis, Marc worked for more than 10 years in various capacities for Xovis’ first customer, Zurich Airport. Founded in 2008, Swiss home-based Xovis has evolved from a three-man start-up to a high-tech company with more than 80 employees. Since its opening in September 2017, Xovis’ US office has grown from a one-man show to a team of five highly motivated and skilled employees.

BNA Is Ever-Expanding

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

By Douglas E. Kreulen, A.A.E., President and CEO, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority

Nashville is on fire – there really is no other way to describe it. Always a great place to live, the city is now receiving an unprecedented level of attention from all across the country and beyond. National Geographic Traveller U.K. included Nashville on its “Cool List,” Business Insider named Nashville as one of the “33 Trips Everyone Should Take in the U.S. in 2018,” Forbes “The 20 Happiest Cities to Work in Right Now” list included Nashville, and the lists and accolades just go on and on. The word is out, and the world is coming here to see for themselves. In fact, according to recent U.S. Census estimates, 94 people are moving to Nashville every single day.

As aviation industry professionals, you know how this type of popularity and growth can put major demands on transportation facilities. The challenge is to anticipate and address those demands so as to best serve the aviation needs of the community.

The story of passenger growth at Nashville International Airport (BNA) has followed an irregular path. Nashville’s current terminal opened in 1987, built to accommodate the hub then-operated by American Airlines. Driven by that hub activity, BNA grew to serve more than 10 million passengers by 1992, though only 15 percent of which were origin and destination travelers. In the next year, however, American began reducing operations at BNA and ultimately “de-hubbed” from our airport, causing a steady decline in overall passenger traffic. As it turned out, the high water mark of 1992 would remain the passenger record at BNA for the next 21 years.

But the city and region continued to prosper, solid and steady, and passenger traffic grew likewise. With the end of the recession in 2009, Nashville boomed and growth surged, along with steep increases in air travel. Since then, we’ve been on a tear. By 2013, BNA finally surpassed that 1992 passenger record, and we would add an additional million passengers or more in each of the following five years, reflecting annual growth rates as high as 11 percent. Most recently, in our Fiscal Year 2018, BNA surpassed 14.9 million passengers, a ten percent increase, with nearly 90 percent origin and destination traffic.

This torrid growth required a response. Today’s passenger numbers are years ahead of the forecast found in our last master plan. It was clear to our Board of Commissioners and executive team that expansion plans needed to be finalized – and accelerated – to accommodate the region’s aviation needs.

So in 2016, after additional passenger analysis and forecasting, research and planning, we launched BNA Vision, our dynamic growth and expansion plan for Nashville International Airport. Upon its completion in 2023, BNA Vision will include a parking and transportation center, a new Concourse D, an expanded central terminal, an airport administration building, a possible hotel and transit connection, and a state-of-the-art International Arrivals Facility, among other features.

This billion-dollar project will be completed in phases, as to limit inconvenience and allow the airport to continue all operations. Current projects under construction include a terminal garage and transportation center; a second garage with an airport administrative office complex on top; Concourse D and ticketing wing expansion; and a terminal apron and taxilane expansion to accommodate the construction of our future International Arrivals Facility.

Our focus is on expanding and renovating BNA, and we’re working at a swift pace to add more than 500,000 square feet to our terminal. But the cranes and construction only tell half the story. Expansion for us also means adding air service to make certain we are taking Nashvillians to as many places as we can in the world while also bringing the world to Nashville.

In May of this year, transatlantic service returned to BNA after a 20-year hiatus. The long sought-after and highly anticipated service to London’s Heathrow Airport via British Airways was largely made possible thanks to the support from our community, business leaders, state and city officials and our Board of Commissioners. This new services truly opens Nashville up to the world with Heathrow serving as a gateway to so much of Europe and Asia. As our airport grows, and as Music City expands its increasingly recognized brand, we anticipate adding more international service to meet local demands and that of travelers worldwide.

And while we bring these dramatic changes to our airport facilities, it is vital that we maintain the sense of place and top-notch customer service our travelers expect. Nashville is truly a unique city – from the extraordinary food scene to the live music day and night for which we’re known. It is important to us that the moment you step foot off that plane you know you’re in Music City. This is top-of-mind with every decision we make during construction – the warm and welcoming vibe, the concession offerings, and especially the music. Our live music in the terminal program recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and touts more than 700 performances a year in six performance areas throughout the terminal, and we plan to add more. Nashville is southern hospitality at its best, and we want to make sure those values remain embodied in our approach to customer service.

So we’ve taken on a big challenge – expand the airport while maintaining that “Nashville feel.” We’re confident we will accomplish our goals thanks to the thousands of our hardworking colleagues and partners from all over Middle Tennessee. These are the people who make the aviation industry go. The people who show up every day, arriving before the sun rises and working until long after it sets, to open our storefronts and music stages, provide passenger safety and make sure our baggage systems are running while tackling so many other tasks necessary to make a modern airport function. Because of their commitment and dedication, we know the best days at BNA are in front of us.

And in this fashion, we’ll provide our world-class city with the world-class airport it deserves.

Pay It Forward: The Life and Legacy of Sue Baer

Posted on | by Scott Elmore

By Mimi Ryals

Sue was an exceptional airport leader who garnered respect and admiration among her colleagues,” remembers Candace McGraw, Chief Executive Officer of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and Chair of Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA). “She knew the industry and her craft and was always willing to share her knowledge and passion for the industry.”

During her 40-year career, Susan (Sue) M. Baer is credited with shattering the glass-ceiling in transportation. In doing so, she worked to strengthen aviation in the United States to ensure a successful future for the industry. Following her passing in 2016, she continues to leave a legacy worthy of being recognized with the 2018 William E. Downes, Jr. Award, ACI-NA’s highest honor.

TUNNELS, BRIDGES AND AIRPORTS

Though she has had a profound impact on the aviation industry, Baer began her career at the Panama Canal. When the U.S. passed control of the facility to the Panamanians, she joined the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a management analyst in the tunnels, bridges and terminals department.

“They wanted women who could type,” Baer recalled, as quoted in 2006 in Tom Murphy’s book Reclaiming the Sky: 9/11 and the Untold Story of the Men and Women Who Kept America Flying. “I convinced them that after traveling on my own through South and Central America, I could take whatever they gave me.”

Baer proved she could take whatever they gave her. She was swiftly promoted to Manager of the Public Services Division within the department. Then, she was named the Manager of the Lincoln Tunnel. She was the first woman to hold that position.

Next, Baer became the Manager of the Midtown Manhattan Port Authority Bus terminal, the world’s busiest bus terminal. She was the first woman to hold that position, too.

After mastering her various roles thus far in the agency, Baer joined the Aviation Department as General Manager of Aviation Customer and Marketing Services in 1988. She became the first person to manage all of the major agency airports – LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport. In 2009, she was named was named Director of Aviation for the agency. She was the first woman to hold that position.

“Though she followed in the footsteps of several powerful men, Sue charted her own course with a collaborative style that generated innovation,” recalls Ginger Evans, former Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Baer retired in 2013 following 25 years in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Aviation Department. To continue her successful career in the industry, she joined Arup, one of the world’s largest professional engineering and consulting firms. Her final role was as the firm’s Global Aviation Business Leader, where she oversaw consulting efforts at over 100 airports worldwide.

“Sue was the ultimate trailblazer, having been the first female General Manager at three of the largest airports in the United States (LGA, EWR, JFK) and then running one of the largest airport systems in the world, first as Deputy Director and then Director of Aviation at The Port Authority,” notes Lysa Scully, General Manager of LaGuardia Airport. “Her success and achievements have set the bar to a level that the rest of the industry will have to work endlessly to try and reach.”

A Natural Leader for Airports

Baer was regarded as a “natural leader” who exuded confidence and passion. Such traits were a vital part of her successfully managing one of the world’s most active aviation hubs. She understood the important role the airport plays in creating a seamless travel experience. Thus, she led multiple modernization efforts at New York City’s major airports.

“‘People say to me: ‘Your airports are always under construction. When’s it going to be done?’” Baer commented to USA Today on the continual modernization efforts underway in New York’s airport terminals. “‘I tell them: ‘I hope never’, because that means we’ve stopped and we’re not really meeting the needs of the future. You’ve always got to be doing something.’”

Any expert in the aviation industry will tell you that modernization efforts are necessary on the ground and in the sky. Baer was an advocate for a modernized air space to match the continual improvements the agency was making to airport terminals. She was one of the first airport leaders to champion implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), the FAA’s modernization of America’s air transportation system that aims to make flying more efficient.

She also had a deep understanding of the complexities and challenges of the New York airspace and air carriers that use it. “Sue also understood how supporting a new carrier like JetBlue that is and was dedicated to delivering low fares with a better customer experience would help discipline prices of other carriers and challenge the industry to raise its customer service game,” said Joanna Geraghty, President and Chief Operating Officer of JetBlue.

At Arup, Baer used her legendary leadership skills to foster collaboration between airport management and the design industry. Her expertise and enthusiasm made her an invaluable asset in preparing airports and the broader aviation industry for the future of travel.

A Legacy for Future Leaders

“As smart, effective and successful as she was, she will be remembered more for the integrity, kindness and wisdom with which she conducted herself in all she did,” said Jenny Buckley, America’s Aviation Leader for Arup.

Living by the motto “Pay it forward,” Baer left a legacy that ensures the future of the aviation industry and its leaders will flourish. During the busiest years of her career, she found time for a teaching role at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens, NY in hopes of making a rewarding career in the industry accessible to all genders, races and social-economic backgrounds.

A substantial part of Baer’s legacy is shattering the glass ceiling for women in transportation. She was the first woman to hold the majority of her leadership positions at the Port Authority of New York and Jersey – a revolutionary accomplishment during a time where the presence of women was rare in these industries. Following in her footsteps, there are nearly 40 women leading North America’s thriving airports today.

“What I’ve tried to do with it is give other women opportunities, and that’s something all women should be doing,” Baer once told USA Today. “It was hard for us to get here, but we ought to be making it easier for the people who are coming behind us.”