terminal

Crazy at the Airport

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The Beer Flight (brewery tour) has arrived!

The news is full of stories about people behaving badly at airports. You might think that because I worked at a desk safely tucked away from the public that I never had to deal with any shenanigans. Well I definitely didn’t have to deal with as much crazy stuff as the gate agents and flight attendants, but I still experienced my fair share.

Crazy drivers

The airport is not large and, in my opinion, not especially complicated. The road around the airport makes a one-way loop. You drive in from the west, circle around the front of the terminal and then head back out to the west again. It really isn’t hard to navigate and there are plenty of signs to direct you. Yet I still observed a lot of crazy driving.

I’ve watched drivers start to enter the garage, then change their minds and drive backwards down the entrance ramp, trying not to hit all the other cars entering the garage. Then they have to try to re-enter the traffic flow. I’ve seen them take out light poles with this manouver. I’ve seen them nearly hit other cars. I was nearly hit myself.

Employee lot

I’ve also seen drivers going the wrong way against traffic. Actually, I’ve seen this way too many times and frankly, it always scared the heck out of me. On my second to last day at work I was almost to the garage when I saw headlights coming at me – driving west in a part of the loop that only goes east. Thank goodness traffic was light and I was able to swerve around the car. When I thought about it later I was unable to figure out how the driver could have possibly ended up the wrong way unless they entered by the hotels and drove the entire loop backwards. But they’d have had to pass in front of the terminal going the wrong way and how they did that without crashing or getting stopped by security is beyond me.

Unattended Baggage

What is the one annoucement you hear over and over and over at the airport? “Do not leave bags unattended. Unattended baggage will be confiscated.” (And if you happen to be at the airport where I used to work, you might even hear me issuing that reminder.) Please especially don’t leave unattended bags near me! As an Airport Authority employee I was required to report any bags left lying around. And I always had better things to do. Like plane spotting. Or going home.

Back when I parked in the employee lot I had to go through baggage claim to get the shuttle. One evening as I was trying to escape I happened across a suitcase sitting near the doors, all by its lonesome. I looked around hoping to find the owner nearby. No one seemed interested in it. I REALLY didn’t want to have to call and report the abandoned bag so I waited around for several minutes hoping someone would come along and fetch it. Nope. Eventually I gave in and called, then waited for security to show up. Never did find out who that bag belonged to.

Bags waiting for their people after the great Southwest Holiday Meltdown of 2022

Intoxicated Passengers

The accounting office is not easy to get to. You have to walk down a long hallway, through a door (which automatically locks after 5pm) down a set of stairs and then through another door (which is locked all the time and requires credentials to access). Or you could skip the stairs and take the elevator. It also locks down after 5pm. You have to know where you are going or be escorted by someone to get down there. Which is why I was very surprised when I was leaving work late one night to find a guy with luggage standing outside the department doors. Since both the door at the top of the stairs and the elevator were locked I figured someone with credentials must have walked him down and he was waiting for them.

I stopped in the bathroom before heading out and was relieved to see that the man was no longer there. Unfortunately I found him a few moments later at the top of the stairs trying to open the door. Since the door was locked he set off an alarm every time he pushed on it. I asked what he was doing in the stairwell and he said he was trying to catch a flight. I was immediately suspicious. No one in their right mind would come this way to board a flight. And sure enough I quickly discovered he was definitely NOT in his right mind.

While I was puzzling over what to do, a coworker came along. She asked him what airline he was flying and asked to see his boarding pass. He was able to get to Delta’s website, but couldn’t bring up his pass, nor could he tell us where he was going. Since it was highly unusual to find a passenger in this location I called security to give them a heads up before letting him out.

Friendly reminder: Delta flies
out of Concourse C!

As my coworker and I walked him out to the lobby, he kept trying to wander off into non-public areas. At one point he headed up the walkway that most of the TSA workers use to go outside to the ramp. Anyone without clearance who wanders out that way will be in a world of trouble! We finally got him to the ticketing area and told him how to get to Delta’s gates. He thanked us and wandered off in the wrong direction. I watched as he shuffled around aimlessly for a few minutes, then sat down and put his head in his hands.

It was clear to me that the man was in no shape to be going anywhere. When he got up and meandered off again I grabbed the first TSA agent I could find, explained what was going on and described the guy. The agent asked me to call security and took off to find the passenger. I called the Comm Center and explained the situation. They told me to stay put and that they were sending police. When the officers arrived I went over what had happened and they also took off to locate the passenger. Finally I was able to go home – more than half an hour later than intended.

On the way home I wondered again how that guy managed to get down to the area outside the accounting department more than an hour after the access points were automatically locked. I got my answer the next day. The police went through the video from that evening. Turns out a co-worker who left 10 minutes before me took the elevator up. When you do that after hours you are supposed to exit the elevator then wait for the doors to close before leaving the area. That way no one without credentials can access the elevator. But my coworker forgot and walked away without waiting. The passenger was able to stumble into the elevator before the doors shut.

The next time you head to an airport, check out a map ahead of time. Know the traffic patterns. Pay attention to the road signs. Better yet – take a taxi or an uber. Once there remember – there are cameras everywhere inside and out. If you decide to misbehave the police will see. Please, please, please don’t leave your bags lying around. And if an airport employee shuts an elevator door in your face, don’t take it personally.

Plane spotting at CLT!

Oh No – They Owe!

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One of the stories in the news not long ago concerned the death of the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. As a former airport employee tasked with billing and collecting payments from airlines let me tell you – mergers are a pain, but bankruptcies worse. And airlines that simply cease to exist are worse still.

The Check is in the Mail

My former colleague over in the Parking Department has it pretty easy when it comes to collections – any company or person who doesn’t pay for their parking pass has their access turned off. Funny how fast people decide to pay the bill when they realize they can’t get into the lot! On the airline side of the house it isn’t that simple. Because our airports receive federal funding, they cannot restrict who lands there. So it doesn’t matter how much an airline owes, it can continue to fly in and land any time it wants and there’s nothing the airport can do about it. Well… almost nothing.

General aviation so… no bill for you!

Disclaimer

Before I go into more detail about my semi-creative collecting strategies, let me drop a couple of disclaimers. First, I HATE collections. Seriously. I don’t mind sending an email or making a quick call to remind someone to pay their bill, but going after someone repeatedly to collect past due accounts isn’t my thing. Second, the vast majority of airlines were great to work with and never gave me any trouble. All the major carriers at our airports are signatory which means they’ve signed operating agreements which spell out payment terms that they were good at following. Most of the challenges came from small charter companies that were periodic visitors. Third, every airport is different. My experiences don’t necessarily reflect how things are handled at other airports.

Who are you? Who? Who?

Sometimes the biggest hurdle in collections was figuring out who to bill in the first place. The Operations team uses tail numbers and tracking software to determine who a plane belongs to, but then you have to find contact information for the owner. Sometimes that’s as easy as going to the comany’s website. But sometimes there is no website, or there’s no contact info on it, or there’s contact information but no one will talk to you, or they’ll talk to you but tell you that the company who chartered the flight is paying the bill and then you have to track THEM down. You get the idea.

In case you were wondering, many of these charter companies land and go directly to the FBO so there is no interaction with the Airport Authority. There’s no requirement for them to tell the Authority that they are coming in. And at our Passenger Airport, there is no agreement with the FBOs to collect landing fees – that has to be done by the Authority. So while the FBOs knows who they’re handling and who to bill, the airport doesn’t. (Different story at the Cargo Airport – see below.)

Warbird! No bill for you either.

No Gate for You!

Sometimes the larger charter companies will need to go to the terminal to pick up/drop off passengers rather than the FBO. Since the Airport Aithority owns the gates, this is one place where I had a little leverage. I could let the Operations Department know which charter companies were on the naughty list and they’d make sure someone at the company spoke to me before any gates were assigned. Fortunately, I never had to use this tactic, although I got close once.

F B Oh No You Don’t!

As mentioned above, the Airport Authority runs the FBO at the cargo airport. This gave me a lot more leverage than I had at the Passenger Airport. No payment? No unloading cargo and no fuel. Thankfully we never actually got to the point of refusing service. Instead we’d have airlines with delinquent accounts pay for all their charges (fuel, turn fees, landing fees, etc.) via credit card when they arrived. Easy-peezy! Sometimes the FBO would get them to pay for any unpaid charges the carrier had at the passenger airport too. Double win!

There were at least two and maybe three companies that operated as “Eastern” during my time at the airport.

Bankrupties

Airports naturally want all their customers to be successful and profitable. But hard times can happen to anyone. As the collections person, I often went out of my way to try work with airlines that were in financial trouble. I set up payment plans which allowed them to take more time to pay off balances. As long as the airline paid something on a regular basis and were good at keeping in touch, I could give them a fair amount of leeway.

But when the financial strain becomes too much, bankruptcy becomes inevitable. Any time I recieved a bankruptcy notice, all collections stopped immediately on invoices for services provided prior to the filing date. It is up to the court to decide how much (if anything) the airport will get paid. Some airlines, like Miami Air, file bankruptcy then cease operations. (I was so sad! Long-time readers may remember I spent months stalking them for a decent pic.) Other airlines, like iAero, continue operating. So I couldn’t collect on the old invoices, but still had to collect on the newer ones. Ugh! Headache!

Awwww – Miami Air.

Vanishing Act

Then you have airlines like Elite Airways who simply cease to exist. No bankruptcy filing, no warning, – one day they just stop operating. *Poof* Gone. That’s a bummer because then there’s no hope of collecting any payment. Of course, there have been rumors that it might return. However, Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport siezed everything that Elite left behind (including at least one airplane) and auctioned it all off. Then they sold the hangar. That plus the fact that the DOT has revoked their operating license makes it highly unlikely that Elite will return any time soon.

Don’t Worry – Be Military!

You know who I never had to worry about? Military planes! That’s because we didn’t invoice the military. So not only are military planes super cool, but they were also low stress. Now that I’m no longer at the airport, I don’t see the military planes as much, which makes me sad. But then again, when I receive a JetTip notification about a new airline scheduled to fly in, I can be excited to go see it, without having to worry about figuring out who to bill. And that works for me!

Military, military, military, military, military!

Changes

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When I walked in the door of the airport nine years ago, I was sure that this was the last job I’d ever have. I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to work anywhere else. There were airplanes outside the office – what more could an avgeek like me want?

But I’ve learned that what happens inside the office has a huge impact on how I experience what happens outside the office… or if I experience it at all. Eventually it reached the point where I barely noticed the airport around me. Finally I made the difficult decision to move on.

I could go into the gritty details of all the things that led to this decision. However, I think it would be a lot more fun to look back at some of the amazing adventures I got to have. It is hard to rank them, but I’m going to try. Cue the countdown theme music!

5. Visiting ARFF

Back in 2019 my deparment took an afternoon off to head next door and visit our friends over at the ARFF station. For those who don’t know, ARFF stands for Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting. They are the crews tasked with responding to emergencies on the airfield. We got to tour the station, see where they sleep, eat and train. We also got to sit in the fire trucks. Your inner three-year-old is absolutely correct: fire trucks are cool! The ARFF team did a demonstration for us, including how they are able to penetrate the skin of an aircraft to spray foam or retardent on the inside.

4. Time on the Taxiway

Photo by Andrew Stricker

In late 2017 Delta began to recieve the first A350s into their fleet. The plane itself was still fairly new having entered service only a couple of years before. Designed primarily for long-haul flights, it isn’t the sort of plane that would be used at my airport. However, Delta decided to fly in as part of a series of acceptance and training flights. I, of course, had plans to be on the garage so I could get plenty of pics. Imagine my surprise when one of the Operations Managers appeared at my desk and asked if I’d like to ride out onto the airfield and watch from there instead. Would I? Are you kidding me? We parked on a taxiway and I got to watch the plane land right in front of me. It was amazing! And then when it was time to depart we parked on a different taxiway off the end of the runway so the plane took off right over us. Again, amazing.

3. Time on the Runway

The first time I ever went on one of the runways as an airport employee I was in a passenger shuttle. Someone from airfield maintenance was driving around trying to find one of the pavement sensors. Since then I’ve been on the runway many times. I worked at the water station during the Runway 5Ks which was located about half-way down Runway 28 Right. I was even allowed to drive a shuttle up and down that runway. (What on earth were they thinking?!) The runways are the heart of any airport. They are central to the airport’s existence. As a non-pilot who doesn’t travel that much, being able to be on the runway and get close to the lights, the markings and yes, the pavement sensors, was a real treat for me.

2. Four ATC Towers and a Tracon

The Airport Authority manages three airports which have four towers between them. I had the pleasure of visiting all four. Two are contract towers – one at the cargo airport and one at the general aviation airport. One is a former ATC tower, now used as a base of operations during snow events. And one is an FAA tower with a tracon. Being able to visit these facilities and see the controlers at work was quite an adventure. Seeing several types of towers at multiple airports with different levels of traffic gave me a much better understanding of the ATC system. And let’s face it – ATC towers are cool. I could never get tired of the view.

1. Working on the De-ice Pad

Of all the amazing avgeek things I got to see and do while working at the airport, this was hands-down the most exciting and unexpected. In the fall of 2016 I was approached about whether I’d like to train to assist on the de-ice pad. Uh… are you serious? Heck yes!!! At the passenger airport the Operations Department is responsible for managing the flow of traffic into and out of the pad on frosty mornings and during snow events. This is done by driving an airport vehicle around the pad and communicating with pilots, ATC and others via the radio. As a humble accountant I never in my wildest imaginings ever thought I’d get to do something like this. I got to tell pilots what to do. And they listened to me! I got to drive around on the ramp. And somehow everyone survived!

So, what’s next for me? That’s a good question. I’m taking some time to decompress. Then I’ll be doing some part-time freelance bookkeeping work for a friend while I look for my next big adventure. If you know anyone who is looking for an accountant with avgeek tendencies (or an avgeek with accounting tendencies), let me know.

And what about the blog? The blog will definitely continue. You can take me out of the airport, but you’ll never take the airport out of me. Interesting things are going on at airports everywhere and I have nearly a decade of experience that will allow me to bring them to you with a critical eye. Plus I have stories still to tell and plenty of aviation adventures ahead. Stay tuned!

I’ve left the airport, but my Spirit remains! Seriously. I left this plane at my desk. No idea what my co-workers have done with it. If you fly out of gate 21 let me know if it is still in the window.

Attention in the Terminal!

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Except where noted, all photos in this blog are stills from one of the best aviation movies of all time – Airplane!

If you have followed this blog for any length of time then you know that there are certain things at the airport I shouldn’t be given access to. The ATC tower, for example. If I could go up there whenever I wanted then I’d show up unannounced, commandeer a desk and refuse to leave. Some of my coworkers have clearly caught on, which is why the stairs trucks continue to be off-limits. But there are some co-workers who remain blissfully unaware.

A few months back there was a notice in the weekly staff email that the Customer Service Department was looking for volunteers to help them re-record the airport public announcements. You know the ones – they remind you not to leave bags unattended and to have your ID ready before you get to the checkpoint. We’ve had the same PAs for a very long time so the decision was made to refresh them.

I considered signing up. I mean come on – who doesn’t want to record airport PAs? I’ve been secretly plotting to access the system and page Captain Oveur for years. (And if you don’t recognize the reference then you haven’t seen the movie Airplane!, in which case we can’t be friends.) Unfortunately my job has been ridiculously busy and I completely forgot all about this golden opportunity until well past the deadline.

Then a couple weeks ago the fire alarm went off. This is not an unusual occurence – sometimes little kids escape from their parents and pull the alarm, sometimes one of the restaraunts burns someone’s lunch and sets off the smoke sensors. Any time the alarm goes off we are required to leave the office and stand out on the ramp near the tug drive. My coworkers congregated in groups. I hid myself around the corner where I could avoid small talk and watch airplanes.

But then I saw the Customer Service Manager waking my way. She said hello and asked how I was. Then she asked if I would be interested in recording some of the airport PAs. They had gotten several volunteers, but she was hoping to get someone from accounting. Of course I agreed to help out. I mean, we can’t let the accounting department go unrepresented, now can we!

The next day I got an email with a copy of the annoucements and a request to select a time slot to do the recording. I selected one of the last slots available. I then reviewed the verbiage I’d be required to read. *Yawn* Airport announcements are pretty darn boring. There has got to be a better way to remind people about all the things they should probably already know. “Yo! Listen up people! Keep an eye on your bags. Don’t take guns through the checkpoint. Find your ID. And for the love of God find your kids so they don’t pull the damn fire alarm again.”

One week later I showed up at my appointed time with a print-out of the announcements in hand. The Customer Service Manager was there. So was a tech who was in charge of the recording. They sat me in front of a microphone and explained that when I was ready the tech would start the recording, wait two seconds to capture the background noise, then he’d point at me to begin speaking. We would go through the announcements in order, beginning with the one about unattended bags and ending with the one about curbside lanes.

Things went pretty smoothly. The tech pointed, I read and we made small talk between takes until the tech was ready for me to read the next one. We worked our way through the list until we got to the last one. The curbside annoucement is supposed to be about lanes being restricted and unattended vehicles being towed. But I didn’t read it. Oh no. I was not about to pass up an opportunity to make the announcement I’ve waited my whole career to make. I took a breath, waited for my cue, leaned in to the microphone and said:

“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.”

I watched the Customer Service Manager out of the corner of my eye as I was speaking. She looked confused. She checked the paper with the announcements. Then a look of recognition dawned and she began to laugh. Then the tech began to laugh. And by the end, I was also laughing. Bucket list item – complete!

Of course, I had to go back and record the actual curbside announcement. However, the decision was made to save the white zone announcement too, although I’m not sure what they plan to do with it. If you ever fly through a medium-sized midwestern airport late at night and hear an announcement about not stopping in the red zone, you aren’t imagining things. And if you need to use a courtesy phone, be sure to use a white one.

A Starship stopped by recently. So glad I happened to be watching when it left.

Lessons from the Window

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It has been almost a year since I moved to my desk by the window. As expected, it has been AMAZING. Even though I’m no stranger to the activity on the airfield, there are still some things I’ve learned from this new perspective.

Yes, I CAN Get My Work Done

Let’s get this out of the way first. It has been suggested that I might be so fascinated by the airfield activity that I won’t get anything done. Nope. I’m actually a good multitasker – I can work and keep an eye outside at the same time. Plus I’ve perfected my camera grabbing technique so I can go from tedious spreadsheet to amazing airplane pics in just a couple seconds.

Airbuses and RJs and Boeings… Oh My!

My desk is right behind gate 21 and I can also see gate 19, both of which are leased by American Airlines. They mostly park A319s and E175s out there. However every now and then a CRJ shows up. The CRJ200 is probably my favorite because compared to the others it looks like a little toy plane. To connect to the jetbridge they have to lower the steps, which makes it look even more like a toy. As passenger numbers have increased American has started to bring back the 737s. It makes for a nice mix of planes through-out the day.

I Hope It’s Worth the NOISE!

It’s no secret that the airfield is a noisy place, but I have a whole new appreciation of what that means. Let’s start with the jetbridges. Every time they move, alarms go off that sound just like old fire alarms or school bells. Then there are the APUs. Most aren’t noticeable, but every now and then a plane shows up with a loud, whiny APU. Of all the airfield noises, this one makes me the most crazy. Ground support vehicles aren’t exactly quiet either. The Air Start Cart can make quite a racket. And did you know tugs have horns? Oh yes. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeep!

Special Liveries

I see a lot of American and Southwest airplanes from my desk because both have gates on the south side of the airfield. By happy coincidence, both airlines also have a number of special liveries. Southwest has the most flights so it isn’t surprising that I see multiple special liveries a week. They have a new one called Freedom One that I’m quite fond of. My favorite thing, however, is when American’s PSA livery parks at gate 21. It’s hard not to smile back when there’s an airplane smiling in the window at you.

The South Side is the Best Side

My desk looks out at the south runway, which is the longer of the two and both FBOs are on this side of the airfield. This makes for a wide variety of airplanes for me to enjoy. Even when the south runway is closed, if 28 Right is in use then most planes will have to taxi by my desk to get to it. Win-win! This dramatically increases my ability to catch the resident P-51. Nothing makes a work day better than a warbird!

Mighty Military

When I combine a desk view with Flight Radar 24 or ADSB Exchange plus Live ATC, then not even the military can sneak by me. A few months ago I managed to catch a C-130 and a KC-135 doing practice approaches, followed by a C-17 and TWO C-5s which landed at the airport to pick up cargo. All this in ONE DAY!

Snow Cool

If you’ve looked at my older posts then you know I’m fascinated by winter operations. Now I have a front row seat to watch the snow warriors get it done. From plows on the runways to deice trucks to mini snow pushers on the ramp, I get to see all the action.

Upside Downside

If you ask my coworkers what they don’t like about being by the windows they’ll tell you two things – it can get very cold on cloudy winter days and every now and then it smells like jet fuel. They have a point about the cold. I keep a stack of extra sweaters, jackets and even gloves to wear at my desk. As for the jet fuel… well you know me – I love the smell of Jet A in the morning!

You Can’t Get There From Here… Yet

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So you’ve been looking for a non-stop flight to your favorite vacation destination and discovered, to your dismay, that none exist. What? How can this be? Lots of people travel to this place. Surely the airport can just ask the airlines to offer non-stop service, right? Uh… well, no. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.

The process of establishing new non-stop service can require quite a bit of behind-the-scenes work that can take years to complete. Although I don’t get involved until it is time to start billing, I’ve asked my friends in Business Development a million questions which they have been kind enough to patiently answer. It can be a complicated process, but here’s a look at some of the basics.

The “Easy” Way

Sometimes one of the airlines currently operating at the airport decides to add a new route based on their own research and goals. They already lease gates and counter space. They already have ground crew and ticket agents. There’s nothing that the airport needs to do so… Done! Gee, that was easy!

The “Somewhat Easy” Way

Sometimes a new (or new to us) airline will decide to include us in their route structure. These decisions are usually based on anticipated demand and their ability to operate profitably. They will request specific details about our passengers, facilities and costs which they will review to make a determination about whether to proceed or not.

Once an agreement is reached, the airport will make sure that all the necessary space, equipment and signage is in place for the airline to operate. It takes a bit of effort to coordinate, but over-all this is a pretty simple way to add a new destination to our collection.

The Harder Way

When an airline wants to add a route, it usually happens. When someone else wants an airline to add a new route… well that’s a different story. Sometimes the Airport Authority’s own research will identify an underserved destination. Sometimes the local business community or government entities will identify a need and inquire about adding service. The Business Development team scruitinizes travel data from the Department of Transportation which, among other things, includes the ultimate destinations of all our passengers who took connecting flights. They look for trends try to confirm that there are enough people traveling to specific destinations to perhaps entice an airline to start flying there.

The airport will then approach the airlines with the data they have collected to try to convince them to add a route. We already have relationships with many airlines so these conversations likely begin with some phone calls. The team will also fly to airline headquarters to make their case in person. Pre-covid there were conferences in which a number of airlines and airports would attend and then there would be a series of short, private meetings during which airports could present their cases. A coworker referred to this as “speed dating for airlines.” The airport would get to meet with several airlines at once, but there wouldn’t be a whole lot of time for discussion.

Incentives

It can be quite expensive to start a new route. It takes time for it to become established and to develop the load factors needed to be profitable. This is where incentives come in. Airports and other entities will offer discounts or waive fees to offset some of the initial costs. This can be a tricky topic since there are some pretty strict rules around what kinds of incentives airports are allowed to offer. Some states will sweeten deal by adding in financial incentives of their own. Even business organizations will sometimes come together and pool funds to be able to offer a finacial incentive to try to get a coveted business destination onto the departures board.

Strings Attached

Even if there is a strong incentive package involved, the airline still has some bills to pay. We typically require a deposit which represents a portion of the amount we expect them to pay for things like rent once the incentive period is over. And they have to offer the agreed upon routes for the agreed upon length of time. If the airline decides to terminate the route early, they could be asked to pay back some or all of the incentives they were given.

Unsurpringly, it can sometimes take years of discussions before an airport is able to land a coveted route. We spent at least five years securing a non-stop flight to Seattle. The quest for a flight to Europe has been going on for a decade or more.

So what’s a passenger to do? Well keep traveling to your favorite destination. The more people who fly there, the more attractive it becomes for an airline to start non-stop service. Be patient – these things take time. Be realistic – some routes are just never going to be non-stop. And it wouldn’t hurt to learn to love connections, at least for now.

Show before the Show – OSH19

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas. I’m talking about Airventure Oshkosh, of course! It’s my happy place. The place where everyone understands me. The place of 10,000 airplanes. It is so much better than Christmas!

I arrived early once again this year.  Unfortunately, so did the rain in the form of a series of intense thunderstorms. It halted all arrivals and turned the Airventure grounds into a marsh. Needless to say I spent quite a bit of time in my car, waiting out the deluge.

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Once the rain stopped I made the first of what are sure to be many trips deep into the heart of Camp Scholler. Why? I have friends who are staying there in a rented RV. More importantly, they have my beer  And my cookies. My observations of Camp Scholler thus far:

– It’s huge.

– The people are super-friendly and will give you rides on their golf carts.

– Like the rest of Airventure currently, a good portion of it is under water.

– Did I mention that it’s huge?

15D1999E-DED7-4757-B8CA-86BD39920EB3Sunday I started off visiting the actual airport terminal. After all, this blog is called Tales From the Terminal so it seemed like a good idea to stop by. It was quiet. And small. But there’s an airplane hanging inside which automatically makes it excellent. I ran into a group of Airventure newbies who needed some advice on how how to get their wristbands and I was happy to point them in the right direction.

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The rest of the day was spent wandering the Airventure grounds watching airplanes. The arrivals have been much quieter this year because of all the rain – the aircraft camping areas are under water so none of the GA aircraft were allowed in until very late in the day. Thankfully there were still lots of amazing airplanes to see.

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The day ended at the Redbird Preflight Reception which was held at their exhibit tent just off the main plaza.  I got a chance to take a peek inside some of sims, which are all very nice. I also got a chance to catch up with many old friends who were also at the event.

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On Monday Airventure officially begins. I am super excited to see the A-10 and F-35 demo teams. I’m also looking forward to seeing the new KC 46 Pegasus tanker which is scheduled to arrive in the evening. Of course some of the best moments at Oshkosh happen completely unexpectedly.  I don’t know what adventure will come my way, but I’m ready so bring it on!

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Airfield Envy

/ niffer90 / 4 Comments

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Who can see a pic like this and not be envious? I know I can’t! Photo by @41satmanDan

I know it’s not good to be envious of others, but sometimes I can’t help it. It’s not that I don’t love where I work and what I do – because I truly do! It’s just that there are so many other amazing airports and interesting jobs out there… I can’t help wanting to be a part of it all.

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Not an RJ.  Not landing at the passenger airport.

The passenger airport where my office is located is officially categorized as “medium sized” in terms of the amount and type of commercial traffic that we have. That translates into lots and lots of ERJs, CRJs, B737s and A319/20s, along with some Mad Dogs. Other than Air Canada, we have no regular service from international carriers. It’s a little hard to look at the variety of planes flying into places like O’Hare or Atlanta or JFK and not be a bit jealous.

And before you all point it out, yes I KNOW we actually get an interesting variety of airplanes at the cargo airport. The problem is, my office isn’t down there so I rarely get to see them. Plus they have an annoying habit of sneaking in and out in the middle of the night. Supposedly that’s just what cargo planes do, but I’m pretty sure they do it on purpose to taunt me!

kbosThen there’s the runways. At the passenger airport we have a very respectable set of parallel runways. Same at the cargo airport. They suit our needs quite adequately. But… well… they’re not very imaginative. Other airports have really upped their runway game. Take O’Hare for example.  It has a variety of runway sizes and orientations. Or what about Boston Logan whose runways all seem to intersect with each other.  I can only imagine how that went down:

Airport Management: “We need to add another runway.”

Planner: “OK. How about… here.” *draws a random line across the diagram*

Airport Management: “But… that cuts across other runways!”

Planner: “No worries – ATC will take care of it.”

Airport Management: “Oh, right!”

It’s not just the other airports I’m a bit jealous of. It’s also the people who get to be out on the airfield every day. I’m sure right now my Ops and Airfield friends are rolling their eyes and thinking, “Right. YOU come out here and work when it’s 100 degrees. Or in the pouring rain. Or during a blizzard. See how jealous you are THEN!” OK, OK – I get it. Every job has aspects that are substantially less than enjoyable. No, I don’t think it would be fun to have to scoop bird pieces off the runway or be on call or work nights. But you have to admit, the perks are pretty damn awesome!

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That whole working during a blizzard thing actually looks really cool! I am so totally jealous! Photo by Francis Colacino

The ops and airfield teams get to see sunrises and sunsets from out on the airfield, which, as everyone knows, is the best place to see them. They get to work in all kinds of really cool equipment, like plows and brooms (and maybe even stairs trucks). They get up-close and personal with all types of airplanes. They get to drive all over the airport property including up and down the runways! (Don’t underestimate how awesome that is.)

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Love this tail! Jealous on so many levels here… Photo by Tom Rainey @traineyjr

Plus they have the satisfaction of knowing that all those happy reunions taking place in the terminal are happening because of their hard work. If the ops and airfield teams stop showing up, everything would shut down pretty fast. Whereas if the finance and accounting department was to suddenly get sucked into another dimension, it would probably be a week or two before anyone noticed.

Employee One: “Hey – didn’t we used to have an accounting department?”

Employee Two: “Oh yeah! I wonder what ever happened to those guys?”

Employee One: “Dunno. Good thing the payroll department is still here.”

Lest you think I’m being a total whiner, I’m not. I may be envious, but I haven’t forgotten how lucky I am to be able to work where I do. I have had some amazing experiences that I couldn’t have had anywhere else. Besides, it doesn’t matter that I’ve seen thousands of RJ departures – every time one takes off I still stop to watch. Because flying is magic and aviation is fascinating and I’m so glad to be a part of it.

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Brooms in action with a gorgeous sky. Wow! Photo by Jeremy R (Special thanks to Jason C)

Airport Terminal of the Future

/ niffer90 / 4 Comments

IMG_0263Think back for a moment to what aviation was like 60 years ago. The DC-3 was a common sight and the Boeing 707 was brand new. Passengers could be accompanied by their families all the way to the gates. TWA, Eastern and Piedmont offered flights at my airport. Things sure have changed a lot since then! Well, except for the terminal. It has had several additions and face-lifts over the years, but at its core it is the same building in the same location as it was in 1958.

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O’Hare International Airport also has a big terminal construction project planned. (Photo by Carol M. Highsmith [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

Now let’s imagine 60 years into the future. What will air travel look like in 2078? What kind of airplanes will we fly? What kind of cars will we drive? (Will we even still be driving cars?) What if you had to design and build an airport today that will meet the needs of the flying public (both commercial and GA) for the next 60 years and beyond? What should the terminal look like? How big should it be? Will the security needs be different? Those are just a few of the considerations that airport designers face.  I have a hard time  deciding what to have for breakfast – I couldn’t imagine being tasked with these types of decisions.  Needless to say I’m very glad that I’m not an airport planner!

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Salt Lake City International Airport is in the middle of a large expansion project.  Estimated cost: $3 Billion (Photo by GoMan195531 at English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons)

After 60 years, the functional life of our terminal is starting to wind down. We went through a modernization program recently that will extend our ability to use the building another 15 years or so. However, the time is coming when a new building will be needed. But… how do we know when that time is? As it turns out, the answer is rather complicated.

The first, and perhaps most obvious, factor is the number of passengers using the terminal. We know the maximum number that the current facility can reasonably handle. When we reach a certain point in passenger growth we’ll need to start construction so that the new building is ready when we hit max capacity. Another thing to consider involves infrastructure. When key items like boilers, furnaces and AC units begin to wear out, it will probably make more sense to start construction on a new terminal than to spend millions of dollars putting new equipment into an old building. There are other factors as well, but these two are probably the biggest. If we keep going at our current pace, we expect to hit one of these thresholds in the next 8-10 years.

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Indianapolis’ new terminal opened in 2008.  I dig the trippy lighting! (photo by By utahwildflowers  via Wikimedia Commons)

Even though construction won’t start for a while that doesn’t mean we can just sit back and relax. Nope – there are a whole lot of things we’ve been working on in the meantime.  First off we had to figure out where the new terminal should go, as well as the parking garages, lots, rental car facilities, etc.  Then we had to work on all the studies, evaluations, surveys, environmental impact reviews, wetland assessments, etc. that are routinely required as part of any construction project. Then once all of that has been worked out, the basic infrastructure must to be put into place so that when we’re ready to start building, we have what we need. In our case that means putting in all the utility lines, as well as relocating some of the big RTR antennas.

Another thing on the to-do list is figure out how to pay for it all. The full project is slated to cost over a billion dollars. Ouch! Most airports use a combination of methods to finance this type of project including borrowing money, obtaining grants and using Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) funds.

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Concourses B and C at Philadelphia International Airport were also built in the late 50s. (Photo by David Broad via Wikimedia Commons.)

Not familiar with PFCs? Check your next airline ticket. Every time you get onto an airplane you’ll see a charge of $4.50 (capped at $18/trip). The airlines are required to charge these fees and then remit them to the airports. I love recording the PFC charges because they come from airlines all over the world. We routinely receive remittances from  Japan Airlines, Air France, Luftansa and Qantas. No, none of those airlines fly into my airport.  However, if you buy a ticket to Paris via Air France, then Air France will charge you the PFC and remit those funds to us, even though you’ll actually fly out of my airport on one of their partner airlines (or one of their partner’s regional carriers). The FAA has pretty strict rules about how PFCs can be used. Airports can only use them for very specific things like enhancing security, reducing noise or increasing capacity. FAA approval is required in advance – and the airlines are allowed to give their input as well.

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Wouldn’t be a post from me if I didn’t include a pic of the latest cool airplane to fly in!

One thing my airport won’t use to finance the new terminal is local taxes. Since we aren’t owned by the city or county but instead function as an independent agency, we don’t use county or city taxes for construction projects or for our daily operations either.

So, what DOES the airport of the future look like? Well I’ve heard we are going for a modular design that will allow us to start with what we need, and leave room for us to easily add/adapt as passenger and airline needs change. The proposed design itself is… interesting. A lot can change in 10 years, so what the terminal will actually look like remains to be seen. But based on the most recent conceptualization let’s just say that I think the Jetsons would feel right at home.

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I’m not saying Hanna Barbera designed the look for the new terminal… but they totally could have!