Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is no stranger to construction projects. Since 2009, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has been hard at work on a $14 billion capital improvement program at LAX and garnering the distinction as the largest public works program in the city's history.
Located about 70 miles northwest of O'Hare International, Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is often obscured in the shadow of its busier, better-known neighbor. This fall, however, RFD enjoyed a significant moment in the sun, when it opened one of the largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in the world.
In his new book, "Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things In Extraordinary Ways," Fast Company co-founder William C. Taylor emphasizes, "You don't have to be working at world-famous innovators such as Uber or Airbnb to be accomplishing something remarkable. Often, the best opportunities are in the humdrum sorts of businesses that clean buildings, run parking lots or deliver rural health care."
Lost Nation Municipal Airport (LNN), a reliever for Cleveland Hopkins International, has an unusual business as its major tenant. It's not a corporate flight department or aircraft maintenance shop, but rather a family sports and recreation facility, complete with basketball courts, indoor soccer fields, batting cages and lots of other facilities designed for fun.
Maximizing income from multiple sources is important for all airports, but it's especially crucial for small general aviation facilities that don't collect commercial landing fees, or have high-volume potential from parking and concessions.
When plans for Denver International Airport (DEN) were first conceived in the 1980s, airport executives knew a hotel and mass transit connection to downtown Denver would eventually be needed. Their foresight is now beginning to take shape, in the form of an on-airport hotel/conference center that opened in November, and a new transit center slated to open this spring.
Removing rubber from runways is a significant maintenance expense at most big-city airports. As such, facility operators are continually debating the relative merits of outsourcing the job or investing in personnel and equipment to handle the ongoing task in-house. Given the cost and safety-sensitive nature of the work, it's a pivotal decision.
A new stream of non-aeronautical revenue began flowing for Vancouver International Airport (YVR) when an upscale outlet shopping center opened on airport property in July. The landside development includes 65 stores for designers such as Coach and Armani, and is located just two stops from YVR on Canada's popular rapid transit system.
Roger Wehner, executive director of the Mobile Airport Authority, keeps the photograph of a child he barely knows on his desk as a reminder of the authority's mission. The young boy was playing in an old park that used to be part of the Brookley Air Force base. These days, the park serves a lower-income community adjacent to Mobile Downtown Airport (BFM), and the airport authority is helping renovate it.
