Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

April 1, 2013

More nimble airport authority still on arrival

Photo | Pablo Robles Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority.

Connecticut's promise of a more nimble, market-responsive airport authority has been delayed by the long process of switching authority from the state Department of Transportation.

But the promise may come to fruition soon as ConnDOT will relinquish full control to the Connecticut Airport Authority sometime between mid-April and mid-May.

"Most people are very anxious to see this happen," said Kevin Dillon, CAA executive director. "It is a pretty comprehensive undertaking. Most people think that one day you shake hands and the next day you're in charge."

The state General Assembly created the CAA in June 2011 to change the oversight of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks to an organization free of ConnDOT's bureaucracy. The concept is that an independent airport could faster respond to the needs or airlines and the business community.

The long transition in achieving that freedom from bureaucracy has made members of the legislature's Transportation Committee wary of establishing other similar organizations, such as a state port authority, said State Rep. Antonio Guerrera (D-Rocky Hill), co-chair of the legislature's Transportation Committee.

"Seeing the complications we had with the airport authority lets us know how we can implement a port authority a lot smoother," Guerrera said.

After CAA was created in June 2011, the legislative and executive branches still had to make their appointments to the board of directors, which didn't have its first meeting until October 2011. The board's top priority was to hire an executive director, and the searched landed Dillon, who started in July.

In the past nine months, Dillon has worked to transfer airport authority from ConnDOT to CAA, a complicated endeavor that includes 500 contracts and 125 parcels of land, including Bradley and five general aviation airports.

"When you are transferring from one organization to another, you have to have reasonable expectations," said State Sen. Gary LeBeau (D-East Hartford), who as co-chair of the legislature's Commerce Committee played a significant role in CAA's creation. "We are right on the timeline we need to be right now."

The long power transfer slowed other CAA initiatives, especially enhancing route structure and making Bradley improvements, including plans for a new terminal. All new agreements made by the CAA still need the consent of ConnDOT as Bradley's landlord.

"We have a lot of high hopes for the CAA, and right now we are eager to have that authority officially placed with us," said Mary Ellen Jones, chairwoman of the CAA board. "The whole point was to create this more autonomous organization that could be more nimble and responsive to the market."

The CAA's landmark goal remains transatlantic, international service out of Bradley, which would be a sign that the facility is reaching its true economic potential in serving the region, Dillon said.

Dillion has talked with international carriers about returning transatlantic service, similar to the Amsterdam non-stop out of Bradley that flew from July 1, 2007 to Oct. 1, 2008. Part of those efforts included roping in the Greater Hartford business community, which spends $40 million annually on transatlantic service.

"That becomes a pretty enticing package to offer the carriers," Dillon said.

CAA is actively campaigning for an airline to offer non-stop West Coast service as well, Dillon said. Since the authority starting dealing with the airlines, Delta Air Lines added seasonal international service to Cancun, and Jet Blue Airways added 38 new positions at Bradley.

"That is a good sign of future growth," Dillon said.

Outside of enhancing its route structure, CAA wants to build up economic development around Bradley and the five general aviation airports — Danielson, Groton-New London, Hartford-Brainard, Waterbury-Oxford, and Windham. These development zones offer tax incentives for businesses to grow inside the specified area.

"They have been very responsive, and we are pleased with the progress to date," said Patrick McMahon, economic development director for Suffield and member of the Bradley Development League. "We've established a good relationship with the new authority."

Under CAA, the Bradley Development Zone added its first two companies — East Granby optical manufacturer Nufern and North Granby retail service provider Merchandising Partners, bringing a total of 55 jobs total to the area. At least three more companies are nearing approval for the development zone, McMahon said, including Suffield manufacturer Metal Finishing Equipment and Supply.

"The authority has been doing a great job of bringing the applications through," McMahon said.

CAA wants to be responsive to Bradley customers as well, offering improved airport amenities — such as making over the food court — so more people want to fly out of the facility.

One Bradley improvement Dillon is proud of — that didn't happen under ConnDOT — was the creation of a cell phone lot, an amenity most major airports offer, where motorists can park for free while they wait inside their cars for a call to pick up someone who is arriving to Bradley.

"We had the cell phone lot online within 30 days of making the decision to put it in," Dillon said.

To make larger improvements, CAA needs full control over the airport facilities, particularly the large capital improvement of tearing down the old Murphy Terminal for possible airport expansion or to put in a regional transportation system, along with realigning the road in front the Bradley.

CAA is working with the Connecticut State Police to move its station out of the Murphy Terminal, so the demolition can take place in 2014.

"It is very, very important for that terminal facility to come down," Dillon said. "It is a symbol of the old regime."

Improvements such as the Murphy demolition and an enhanced route structure will be much easier once the old ConnDOT regime is transitioned out, Dillon said.

"When that happens, you will see that nimble, quick agency that we want to be for the business community and our aviation partners," Dillon said.

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF