As the birthplace of both American democracy and the delectable cheesesteak, Philadelphia is a perennial favorite with tourists. As such, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and its general aviation reliever, Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), surpassed more than 30 million annual passengers last year, with many coming to experience the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the iconic steps seen in two of the Rocky movies.
Add to that a busy convention schedule and thriving corporate scene in the City of Brotherly Love, and the collective regional economic impact of PHL and PNE topped $18.7 billion in 2023. What’s more, the two airports supported 102,600 jobs and generated $6.1 billion in earnings the same year.
In light of these exciting accomplishments, Atif Saeed, chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Department of Aviation, and his team thought the airports’ contributions deserved to be trumpeted to the community. The result was a State of the Airport forum held on Sept. 18, 2024, to showcase the progress and achievements taking place at Philadelphia’s aviation gateways.
| facts&figures
Project: Inaugural State of the Airport Event Subject Airports: Philadelphia Int’l; Northeast Philadelphia Governing Authority: City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation Event Date: Sept. 18, 2024 Venue: Pennsylvania Convention Center Attendees: Airport stakeholders; city and county officials & community leaders Key Content: Results of 2023 economic impact study Keynote Address: Nate Gatten, executive vice president of American Airlines Next Event: Sept. 17, 2025 |
“Our team collaborated to ensure that every aspect of the event was well-executed, from creating an exciting program and engaging presentation to offering an exceptional experience for guests from the moment they entered the event space,” Saeed proudly explains. “The feedback I received from business and civic leaders after our State of the Airport was tremendously positive.”
Planning
Cassie Schmid, chief strategy officer for the Philadelphia Department of Aviation, recalls how enthusiastic Saeed was to showcase airport achievements shortly after he began his duties as chief executive officer in December 2022.
“Atif came into PHL and saw all the amazing work that this incredible team has been doing year after year,” Schmid explains. “He really wanted to ensure that the successes were highlighted and that we were telling the story of how the work gets done, and who the people are that are involved in it. He wanted to be transparent about where we are going as an organization as well.”
After Saeed made his wishes known, the Strategy Division took it to another level. In addition to securing the Pennsylvania Convention Center as the event venue, staff members planned the program in detail.
“There was a lot of research involved, and our amazing team members were the ones at the helm of that,” Schmid says.
Heather Redfern, public affairs manager for the Department of Aviation, notes that conversations began in April 2024 to determine the framework for the State of the Airport presentation. A major focus was making sure that content was approachable and meaningful for the entire audience, which would include stakeholders such as airlines, concessionaires, rental car agencies, Customs and Border Protection, TSA and others that make the airports run on a day-to-day basis. Business, community and tourism partners were another key block, along with Philadelphia’s elected officials and community leaders.
“We really tried to think through the various audiences we serve as an airport and made sure that everyone was included and had the opportunity to attend and actively participate,” Schmid notes.
Data Rich
Much of the content presented was information Schmid deems standard, such as existing airline routes, new routes recently secured and details about new and Philadelphia-centric concessions. Results of the economic impact study were announced by Ethan Conner-Ross, executive vice president and principal of Econsult Solutions Inc., the firm that conducted the 2023 study and others in 2015 and 2018.
For the most recent study, Econsult began data collection early in calendar year 2024 with the goal of quantifying the annual level of impact in 2023. The report production process took around six months, with roughly two-month phases for data collection, economic analysis and producing the report.
“Economic impact studies are an opportunity for an airport system to benchmark its progress, and also to aggregate all of the different ways that it contributes to a regional economy to communicate those contributions to key stakeholders including policymakers, the business community and residents of the region,” Connor-Ross explains. In this case, the team knew much had changed in the travel industry since the last study due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The goal of this exercise was to establish a new post-COVID baseline for annual impact that PHL can measure progress against as its activity continues to grow going forward.”
Conner-Ross applauds the airport for holding a State of the Airport event because it provided an opportunity to report results of the impact study, share industry trends and outline PHL’s strategy and focus going forward.
“In a region that covers many different jurisdictions across multiple states, airports are one of the region-wide assets that benefit everyone,” Conner-Ross says. “We all have a stake in their success, from a quality of life and business point of view, but also as a point of civic pride—almost like a sports team. The event was a venue for PHL to lay out its strategy and build the foundation for stakeholders to track and participate in its future growth.”
On the Dais
In addition to bringing to life the $18.7 billion economic impact that Philadelphia airports have on the region, the quality and variety of speakers made the event meaningful for the audience.
“There was a lot of coordination with the mayor who did come and speak,” Schmid says. Elected officials on the program included City of Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and City Council President Kenyatta Johnson.
Schmid and her team were also intent on showcasing American Airlines, which operates 340 daily flights to more than 110 destinations from PHL. To that end, they worked hand-in-hand with the carrier to have Nate Gatten, its executive vice president, deliver the keynote speech at the event.
“Making sure that American Airlines was part of this event was really important to us,” Schmid says, noting that American is the largest hub carrier at PHL. “Ensuring that our content was aligned and that we were supporting one another as partners was a really big component of the program.”
Ultimately, Schmid says the event came together rather seamlessly under the theme Recap, Renew and Reimagine.
“From start to finish, everyone who attended had a very curated experience that was airport-centric,” Schmid reports. “It allowed people to immerse themselves for the hour and a half that we were all together, really thinking through and appreciating what the airports bring to not only the airport community, but the city of Philadelphia and the region as a whole.”
Saeed concurs, adding that he looks forward to seeing the event continue and evolve in the future. Strategic planning will be emphasized, as the city and its airports have several major events coming in 2026, including subregional games of the NCAA basketball tournament, the PGA Championship, the FIFA World Cup, Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and year-long festivities celebrating the United States Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary).
“With this event, we raised the bar for Department of Aviation events and showcased the innovative programs we’re bringing to the way we operate,” says Saeed. “I can’t wait to see what our team creates for this year’s State of the Airport on Sept. 17, 2025.”
