In this episode of The Capital Runway, we speak with Scott Cooper, the Director of Airline Business Development at MWAA, to gain insight into how airports attract new airlines.
In This Episode:
Scott Cooper, one of the directors of Airline Business Development at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, shares his insights with us about the work that goes on behind the scenes to bring new airlines and nonstop destinations to the Washington DC region.
To stay up to date with MWAA Airline Business Development, follow their LinkedIn Showcase Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dcasd
On a lighter note, Amanda shares her favorite birthday meal, Penne a la Betsy, which can be found on The Pioneer Woman's website: https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11085/penne-a-la-betsy/
Have questions for us? We'd love to hear from you! Send us an email at podcast@mwaa.com.
For more information, please visit our website at https://thecapitalrunway.com.
Staff:
Tanisha Lewis, VP of DISI
Jaimini Erskine, VP of Marketing & Concessions
Charles Wilson, Co-host/Co-producer
Amanda Ohbayashi, Co-host/Co-producer/Social media producer
Ryan Burdick, Editor/Co-producer
Bong Lee, Graphics
Brian McCoy, Digital Strategy/Co-producer
Sagia Depty, Marketing Lead/Co-producer
Adam Lawrence, Web producer
[00:00:00] Amanda: Hi, I'm Amanda.
[00:00:02] Charles: I'm Charles. Welcome to The Capital Runway podcast.
[00:00:05] Amanda: We're here to share experiences of our people, functions, and operations of both Washington Dulles and Reagan National Airports. Hello. Welcome back to another episode of The Capital Runway. I am Amanda.
[00:00:22] Charles: I'm Charles.
[00:00:23] Amanda: How are you doing, Charles?
[00:00:24] Charles: Life is good. I have no complaints. The weather is nice. We're finally got through winter hopefully, but everything is well, what about yourself?
[00:00:33] Amanda: Oh, not nothing new. Nothing to report. Just live in life. Had a birthday recently, so celebrated with some family.
[00:00:41] Charles: What'd you do?
[00:00:42] Amanda: I went up to New Jersey and visited with my family. My niece and nephew live up there, and their parents too, obviously. [laughs] They were the real highlights, my niece and nephew.
[00:00:54] Charles: Did they take you out to dinner or [crosstalk]?
[00:00:56] Amanda: No, we made dinner. We made one of my favorite meals, which is a pasta shrimp recipe. It's really good.
[00:01:03] Charles: All right.
[00:01:04] Amanda: It's called Penne a la Betsy from the Pioneer Woman if anybody is familiar. [laughs] Today we are going to have Scott Cooper on. Scott is one of my personal favorite people at the airport. He is one of the directors of Airline Business Development, so I'm sure he's going to have lots of fun things to offer us.
[00:01:26] Charles: I'm still new at the airport, so I'm interested to hear what he has to say, see what he does day in and day out. It sounds like an exciting career, so we'll see.
[music]
[00:01:36] Amanda: I'm excited to talk to him. I am super excited about today's guest, the one, the only Mr. Scott Cooper. Scott is one of our directors of Airline Business Development. Welcome.
[00:01:51] Scott: Thank you for having me. Excited to be here.
[00:01:53] Charles: Welcome, Scott.
[00:01:54] Scott: Thanks, sir.
[00:01:55] Charles: Excited about today's conversation.
[00:01:57] Amanda: Why don't you start by giving us a little bit info about yourself and tell us how you got into aviation?
[00:02:03] Scott: I am probably one of those airline geeks through and through. When I grew up in Tampa, Florida, my dad would always ask my brother and I, what we want to do for our birthdays? My brother would always answer, "Chuck E. Cheese," because that's what most kids do for their birthdays. Makes sense, right?
He turned to me on my birthday and he'd ask, "What do you want to do?" I'd say, "I want to go to the Tampa airport." He's like, "What?" I would go to the airport and literally with my dad, get a room at the hotel Marriott and watch airplanes land out the window for hours. Eventually, that would also result in pizza and cake as well.
I guess I have my cake and eating at too, at both, I guess. [laughs] That started off my interest in Aviation just as a kid. Then after college, I started working with Delta Airlines in the reservation sales department before moving into a corporate sales role with Delta. Then from Delta, I moved over to Southwest Airlines for about six years in corporate sales, [00:03:00] and then previous to this current job at MWAA, I worked with JetBlue Airways for about 10 years also in their corporate sales department. Been a long journey through airline sales and now several years with MWAA on the airport side, so it's been super exciting.
[00:03:14] Amanda: That's awesome.
[00:03:15] Charles: Great. Before I get to the second question, I just had a follow-up question. Now that you're in the business, what attracts you most to aviation?
[00:03:25] Scott: I think what attracts me most to aviation is just the actual travel experience itself is really exciting for me. Where you can go, what you can see, where you can journey, just at a high level, that's probably what most excites me. I think growing up as an airline geek, it was looking at the printed schedules and ordering the meals online, and the excitement of just trying something new and going someplace different. I think that probably has been like a journey, I think, throughout my life that I've experienced and enjoyed. That's probably what has got me interested in aviation in particular, is that it is just a business of moving around and traveling and experiencing new things.
[00:04:03] Charles: Cool. It's awesome. It's always good to hear the backstory-
[00:04:06] Scott: Oh, for sure.
[00:04:06] Charles: -of people's journeys. What attracted you to Airline Business Development?
[00:04:11] Scott: I think after about 19 years, as I mentioned, with some of those airlines and living here in Washington for about 16 years, I really was looking for something a little bit different to do and this job posted. It was really interesting as I read the job description because it seemed like it was-- Oh, first I guess after that, after this point, I have no idea how airports influenced and impacted decisions for airlines to fly into markets.
I mean, I think all of us might just assume when you go on a website, and look for a place to travel, and they magically appear, the airlines you're looking for. I had no idea some of the work that goes into actually making those airlines appear on those websites we all look at. The job description was interesting because it seemed to combine what I really have enjoyed doing, which is presentations in sales work with a love of a city that I really enjoy living in for the past several years, which is Washington.
It also was exciting because it was a new position for the Airports Authority. It was a chance to start at the ground level with a brand new team to build as we go and to work together to figure out how we're going to increase air service. I think really having been here for such a long time in Washington, also being able to have an impact on the local economy, I think, is really exciting because you can basically say you've worked so hard to bring something and it's benefiting a whole community.
Whether it be a new route or new airlines, I think that was the real attraction for me. Something a bit different to do with a different challenge but also involving some of those skill sets that I came with the airlines from, which is presentations as well as our love of this area.
[00:05:53] Scott: Great.
[00:05:53] Amanda: Absolutely. Tell us what is a day in the life like for Director of ABD. Are you on [00:06:00] the phone with airlines all day? Are you selling the airports, so to say? What is a day like that for [crosstalk]?
[00:06:06] Scott: Yes, I think there's never a dull moment for our group and we have an amazing summer ahead with the launch of four new airlines out of Dulles this summer. It's very exciting for us to have that many that are starting. In a day for me is basically reading up on the airlines that are in my portfolio. Coming from a sales background, I think one of the most important things that I can do when I'm trying to secure new airline routes is to be as knowledgeable about the airline as possible.
Every morning I start out reading about the airlines. They have maybe earnings calls, or if there's a marketing campaign out there or if there's a promotion or something that might be newsworthy. They just continue to build knowledge about the airline. That's the first part of my day.
Then we might have presentations to work on for a routes conference coming up or meetings with network planners down the road. We're very good at telling stories with data. I think people look at Excel data and just want to scream and run, but we actually make it fun. We actually take the Excel data that we get from various sources and put it into PowerPoints and we actually tell a story to airlines on why they should be flying to Dulles. I think that does take time to build. We actually work on those business cases for meetings with network planners if they're at the headquarter locations as well as with these routes conferences that are throughout the year. I think my day in the life, if you will, is a lot of reading and a lot of researching and a lot of building presentations and pitches to eventually give these airlines.
[00:07:33] Charles: What do you like best about your job, Scott, because you have a fun job? Is there ever a time where you'd like to step back, pinch yourself and like, "Wow, I get to do this at the airport?"
[00:07:44] Scott: I'd say first is my office has a great view of the Dulles runways. That's amazing. When I'm not looking out the window at airplanes landing, yes, you're right, I do. There are a few moments where I do pinch myself, but I think one of the things I'm really excited and elated to have at this job is the team I work with at Dulles. These are folks that all started with me about the same time. We all came together from day one trying to build this team and trying to figure out how we move forward and what outside the box thinking we can do and it's a great group of people.
We've got folks that are former airline marketers. We've got folks that are former airport folks as well as consultants. I came from an airline sales background, so I think we've all blended quite well together and we have a lot of collaboration in the office. I think the team itself I work with is fantastic. Then I think I pinch myself when airlines actually show up at the gate after we've worked for years sometimes to secure air service.
It is the most amazing feeling when you're there for an inaugural flight that you really work so hard to actually produce and the plane pulls up, it goes through the water cannon arc and it pulls up to the gate and you're just like, "Wow, I did that or I had a part in that." It's just really exciting for the community and that's the 'pinch me' moment, I think, when that happens.
[00:09:00] Amanda: Yes, the inaugural gate events for those new airlines are always so much fun. I really love attending them and seeing the different decor and how everybody comes together from the airline and the performances. It's really a fun time, we really enjoy them. For anyone who might be listening, and is curious about being in Airline Business Development and doing what you do, what advice would you give to that person for how they would maybe look into getting into a career like that?
[00:09:28] Scott: I'd say for any careers to have primarily a passion for what you're doing. I grew up as that kid who chose airport hotels over Chuck E. Cheese. While I certainly wouldn't turn down pizza nowadays, it was something that I knew as a young person that I wanted to pursue, a career in aviation. I think, for someone looking to do what I do, it's first, have the passion for what you're going to be doing, but also just to know your market really well.
If you're going to be, for example, an ABD director here in Washington, it's knowing Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, knowing about the events that take place, knowing about the local economy. What's happening with the Amazon, what's happening with some of the new construction in the area, because a lot of times airline network planners don't know that. They have data on some of these new routes they're considering, but they look at hundreds of those routes. You being able to add the subject-matter expert, if you will, piece of that, to what's happening locally, can oftentimes push the business case in your favor, because they don't know that, they can't know that, they don't live here, and we all do.
I would say just being that subject-matter expert is a really important piece. I think it also requires a lot of persistence and patience in this job. It's ultimately about building professional relationships that are grounded in trust and being reliable. Certainly sales background for me, it's helped quite a bit in presentation skills and having a good understanding of data analytics and how to tell a story with the data that we pull from various sources.
When you're pulling from various sources, whether it be census data , or demographic data, or household income data, how do you take all of that, that's basically on an Excel sheet and then put that into a PowerPoint that you can give it a New York minutes, so to speak, to an airline and really make the pitch that way to them. I think that's really important to be able to fine tune some of that, and that just takes time to develop. I think some of those are just the skills I think will be very important for this role.
[00:11:26] Amanda: Yes. One would think that selling Washington DC is pretty easy, but it's probably very complicated and complex, and a lot goes into it. Right?
[00:11:36] Scott: It really is, and that was my misperception coming into this job. Again, like we said, at the top of this podcast, we all go on Expedia, or wherever we go, Google Flights, looking for a destination from like Washington to XYZ city, and it pops up, and it just happens, right? My big takeaway from this job in the last six years is it takes a considerable amount of patience and persistence [00:12:00] to make something like this work. When you see an airline that shows up and, yes, I pinch myself when Allegiant, for example, started their service for the first time in 2021. Those things just don't happen. I think you're right, Amanda. We're a type of city that we're competing against other cities of similar size, like Boston, the Chicago, San Francisco-- Airlines will look at places like New York City, they'll look at Miami, LA, and they're looking at sort of other cities behind those cities. We're in that group of cities. Our job is really to get those airlines look at us first. We want that opportunity to have the economic impact first.
[00:12:37] Amanda: So interesting. Fascinating.
[00:12:39] Charles: [laughs] Scott, tell us what's new to the Airline Business Development world?
[00:12:44] Scott: Charles, there's a lot going on in ABD these days. We have four new airlines starting service at Dulles this year, but looking at both airports at DCA and at Dulles, there are about 11 new routes that are starting. Actually, they're all starting about within a day of each other. Between June 1st and June 2nd, we are going to be running around like crazy with new airline starts. Before I get into that, and we actually have been very busy this year rolling out a brand new airline incentive program, which we're excited to offer new airlines as well as existing airlines to help them with a marketing support program and plan, to get them off the ground or to highlight expanded air service.
We're also rolling out this year a cooperative marketing program for existing carriers at Dulles, so they can actually tap into funds and we can match those funds with their funds and be able to do ad campaigns to benefit their service. Then those new airline launches, that's what's really exciting. It is WestJet starting service to Calgary from Dulles. It is ITA Airways starting service to Rome, Norse Atlantic going from Dulles to London Gatwick. Then, finally we've got PLAY Airlines starting service from Dulles to Reykjavík, so a lot going on between both airports. Certainly, very heavy at Dulles this summer, though.
[00:13:59] Amanda: I'm super excited about all of them. I don't think I can take them all in one year, but--
[00:14:03] Scott: [laughs]
[00:14:05] Amanda: -maybe it's a challenge. [laughs]
[00:14:05] Scott: You'll be busy with us too. All of us working very hard on those.
[00:14:08] Amanda: I'll be on that first flight.
[00:14:10] Scott: Oh, I know. Pick your destination, right.
[00:14:13] Charles: Correct me if I'm wrong, but does one of them fly to Iceland?
[00:14:16] Scott: You are correct. Actually, so PLAY, which is a very playful-sounding airline, they're actually going to be starting service in April, so that's April 26th. You're right, they'll be starting service between Dulles and Reykjavík. If you haven't been to Iceland, it's beautiful, recommend it highly, especially Iceland in the summertime, you've got about 20 some odd hours of daylight. If you're a daylight person, you're going to love it. Beyond that, though, PLAY Airlines will offer service from Iceland to about 30 European destinations. It's really a big deal for us because it's a low-cost carrier that's starting between Dulles really and not only Iceland, but across Europe. To tag onto that question, we also have Norse Atlantic starting, which is also a low-cost carrier. [00:15:00] They'll be doing non-stop service between Dulles and London Gatwick. What's really cool about all this is that we've never, in the history of Dulles, had this level of low-cost service that's going to be operating trans-Atlantic. We've done a good job in trying to secure domestic service in terms of Allegiant being in the market out of Dulles, but this is the first time we really are excited about having a Trans-Atlantic option for our economy.
[00:15:26] Charles: Amanda's trying to convince me to take a trip to Iceland.
[00:15:28] Scott: Oh, you should totally go.
[00:15:29] Amanda: I think it's a wonderful magical place.
[00:15:30] Scott: It's a beautiful place. Its waterfalls and [crosstalk]-- glaciers and waterfalls.
[00:15:37] Charles: I might make that trip this summer, so we'll see.
[00:15:39] Scott: Oh, I highly recommend it.
[00:15:40] Amanda: Is PLAY going to do a stopover program or--?
[00:15:43] Scott: They'll be doing some promotions actually this summer, but they will be doing something of an Iceland stopover, so you can see Iceland and then continue on to a destination in Europe if you want to. Kind of the best of both worlds there because then you get to see Iceland and you can go onto Paris.
[00:15:59] Amanda: Absolutely. When you're flying through other airports, are you looking for things or taking notes?
[00:16:05] Scott: Constantly.
[00:16:05] Amanda: Yes, me too.
[00:16:06] Scott: It's one of those things where prior to this job, I never did. I think prior to this job, I just got to the airport, had my head down, got to the gate, wanted to find my Starbucks, get on the plane, go on my way. Now I find myself doing these nerdy airport things where I take pictures of billboards or maybe some things that the font might be a bit mad.
We had Ryan and some other folks here on your team came over with us yesterday to DCA to look at some of the monitors and just pay attention to some of those things that maybe the average person may miss, but I think all of us are very attuned to. It's definitely made me more, when I go to other airports, I like to take best practices, if you will, and what they've seem to be doing in their terminals that we may be able to implement at Dulles or at Reagan National.
[00:16:54] Amanda: Yes, I'm always taking photos of signage and sending it, and "Why don't we try this for our concessions?"
[00:17:00] Scott: Which is funny because in the past I take pictures of mountains or where I'm going or my dog or whatever. Now, I'm like, "Oh look, here's the parking lot. We should do this for our ages." Yes, it's different.
[00:17:10] Amanda: I also take photos of the planes. I'm like, "Oh, look at that at 747 or I've never seen that airline."
[00:17:18] Scott: I can imagine both of our Instagram friends, rolling their eyes, "Again about these planes you're posting." It's like, "Well, that's what we do."
[00:17:25] Amanda: It's now my personality. [laughs] Before we get to our final question, are there any final thoughts or anything you want to add?
[00:17:34] Scott: Well, I do want to say that I forgot to mention that we had been up to and we just recently got published was our LinkedIn showcase page, which our listeners can go find at linkedin.com/showcase/DCASD, which is for DC Air Service Development.
[00:17:53] Amanda: We'll include that link in the show notes, too.
[00:17:56] Scott: Amazing.
[00:17:57] Final question. One, that [00:18:00] I think we should start asking all of our guests, but where are you flying to next?
[00:18:04] Scott: Where am I flying to next? I'm actually flying out to Tennessee tomorrow just to see some family in Tennessee, but the next business trip I'm actually flying out to Las Vegas next month to meet with our partners at Allegiant Airlines. They have a conference and marketing event that happens every year, so I'll be there representing Dulles and talking about some new opportunities potentially for Dulles on Allegiant.
Then later this year, the World Routes Conference will take place which I'm really looking forward to. That is the Super Bowl, if you will, of airline network planners and airports coming together for this mass undertaking of what routes make the most sense for which airports. [unintelligible 00:18:47] this fall.
[00:18:48] Amanda: Where is that one?
[00:18:49] Scott: In Istanbul.
[00:18:50] Amanda: That'll be a fun trip. Thank you so much for joining us, Scott.
[00:18:55] Charles: Thank you. It was fun.
[00:18:56] Scott: This has been a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
[00:19:00] Announcer: We don't travel to escape life, we travel so life doesn't escape us. We dream of a place, anywhere in the world, and in the blink of an eye, we're there. That's the wonder of flight. All you have to decide is where to. Dulles International Airport, let your imagination soar. Book your adventure today at flydulles.com/nonstop.
[00:19:30] Charles: Wow, that was an interesting conversation.
[00:19:31] Amanda: It really was. Isn't Scott great?
[00:19:34] Charles: Yes. I didn't know about all these different airlines that come in and out of the airport and what it takes to actually get them to come to the airport.
[00:19:42] Amanda: Yes, definitely. I love that he would go-- instead of having a birthday party as a kid, he would go watch planes. I should think about that for my next birthday. Just come out to the airport and watch some planes. Sounds like a great time to me.
[00:19:56] Charles: My son would love that.
[00:19:57] Amanda: How old's your son?
[00:19:58] Charles: He's seven. Anything airplane-related, he loves.
[00:20:03] Amanda: You should bring him out for some behind the scenes tours.
[00:20:06] Charles: I was thinking about after school one day bringing him out to the historic lobby area and just let him watch the airplanes take off.
[00:20:12] Amanda: That sounds like a lot of fun.
[00:20:14] Charles: Yes, he would love that.
[00:20:15] Amanda: Cool. Well, until next time, thank you all for listening to The Capital Runway. If you have any questions for us, you can email us at podcast@mwaa.com. That's, again, podcast@mwaa.com. Thanks guys.