A fifth new runway on the Delaware River, once seen as
the linchpin in a long-range expansion plan at Philadelphia International
Airport, is on hold for now because of changing flying trends, said the
airport's new CEO, Rochelle "Chellie" Cameron.
image:
http://media.philly.com/images/445*343/20160307_inq_chellie07-b.JPG
Rochelle “Chellie” Cameron became CEO of Philadelphia
International Airport in January. Among her priorities for the job is “putting
a spit-shine on all our facilities.”
Major carriers, including American Airlines with a hub in
Philadelphia, are flying bigger airplanes, packing more people on them, and
phasing out small 50-seat regional jets, Cameron said in her office last week.
Takeoffs and landings at Philadelphia International have
declined from 535,666 in 2005 to 411,368 last year. Passenger numbers have
hovered around 30 million a year, although they ticked up in 2015 to 31.4
million.
The peak for Philadelphia passengers was 32.2 million in
2007, before the Wall Street collapse and global recession that followed.
Aircraft operations in Philadelphia - takeoffs and
landings - are down 23 percent since the original expansion proposal was
approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and sifted from 29 options
considered in 2000.
"What that means is the driving need for the new
runway is less than it was when we put the plan together," said Cameron,
who became the airport's chief executive officer in January.
"Because the delays are not as bad as they were,
because the takeoffs and landings are less, we really need to look at terminals.
They are old, and they are small. And that's what people see," she said.
"At some point, a new runway will be needed. It's
not needed today."
The expansion plan includes lengthening two runways,
replacing current rental-car surface lots with a multistory consolidated
rental-car building, and designing an automated "people mover" to
transport passengers between terminals.
Cameron, 47, who came to Philadelphia in 2011 after 13
years with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates
Reagan National and Dulles International Airports, said she has three
priorities for the Philadelphia airport.
Improving customer service and "the passenger
experience. That means everything from how a passenger feels, to what they see,
to what they have to do, to meeting their travel goals and objectives."
Making the best with existing airport terminals by
"repairing and rehabilitating, and putting a spit-shine on all our
facilities." Work has begun replacing HVAC heating and air-conditioning
units on roofs, renovating bathrooms, installing new escalators and elevators,
and replacing old jet bridge walkways that connect aircraft gates to the planes.
Continuing with the airport expansion plan, estimated in
2012 to cost between $6.4 billion and $10.5 billion.
The construction would be paid for by Philadelphia
revenue bonds, passenger-facility charges, and federal FAA grants - not by
taxpayers. Debt service on the bonds is primarily paid for by rates and charges
that airlines pay.
Current work includes a main east-west runway, 9 Right-27
Left, being lengthened by 1,500 feet to 12,000 feet, capable of accommodating
large long-haul aircraft that could fly to Asia.
Construction also is underway on straightening taxiways
on the airfield to queue planes better for departures.
Airlines in July approved $173.25 million in
rehabilitation and repair projects for the airfield and terminals.
Cargo and passenger airlines at the airport will decide
by the end of 2016 on one, or up to three, additional construction projects.
They could include:
Redesigning the Terminal B and C ticketing areas, with
automated baggage handling and screening, and a centralized, spacious
passenger-security checkpoint.
Lengthening Runway 8-26 to 7,000 feet.
Relocating the FAA air-traffic-control tower from Hog
Island Road to an area near the cellphone waiting lot to prepare for a possible
new runway along the Delaware River where the United Parcel Service airfreight
facility is now.
"We are talking with the airlines already about what
comes next, what's the focus," said Cameron, whose No. 1 priority will be
improving customer service.
J.D. Power & Associates last fall surveyed passengers
in small, medium, and large airports about their satisfaction with the
terminals; airport accessibility; screening checkpoints; baggage claim; the
check-in process, including checking luggage; and food and shopping.
Among 31 large airports, Philadelphia ranked 27th. Newark
Liberty was at the bottom, preceded by New York LaGuardia, Los Angeles
International, and Chicago O'Hare. Congested, older urban airports rated behind
newer, more modern ones that handle fewer passengers. Portland, Ore., and
Tampa, Fla., were ranked at the top.
Cameron said Philadelphia airport plans to do its own
passenger survey, and send volunteers and customer-service staff to gate areas
to ask travelers about their airport experience and "how we can improve
it."
The Division of Aviation also is developing a
customer-service video that will be mandatory viewing for the airport's 20,000
"badged" employees who work in secure areas and meet the public.
Retail and food concessions, and airlines, do their own
customer-service training, "but we want to hit everybody equally,"
Cameron said. "If they get a badge, they'll have to view the video."
Cameron, who has a master's of business administration,
served as Philadelphia airport's chief financial officer for three years. She
became chief operating officer in 2014. Mayor Kenney named her to be chief
executive officer in December.
The new CEO has been doing town-hall meetings with
employees. She met recently at 5 a.m. with custodians who clean bathrooms and
public spaces.
"I told them: 'I'm incredibly proud of being a
Philadelphian now. It's a place that pulls you in, and makes you part of it.
I'm even more proud of the airport and what every one of you do,' Cameron said.
" 'But we need to make sure that we show that to all
our passengers. If you see a passenger who needs help, a mom with two little
ones who is having trouble finding her way, if we don't approach her and try to
help, we've missed an opportunity.' "
Cameron said all those in the room shook their heads and
said: "Yeah, you're right. This is our airport. We need to make it
better."
Source: Philly.com
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