"Welcome to ""The Capital Runway"" podcast from Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority! In the first episode, our CEO, Jack Potter, shares insights on the aviation industry's challenges, the achievements he is most proud of, and the type of talent the organization is looking for in potential candidates. He also reveals what goes through his mind when walking through the airport terminals at Dulles International and Reagan National airports.
In This Episode:
Get ready for an exciting episode of "The Capital Runway" podcast! In the first episode, CEO Jack Potter of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority shares insights on the aviation industry's challenges, the achievements he is most proud of, and the type of talent the organization is looking for in potential candidates. He also reveals what goes through his mind when walking through the airport terminals at Dulles International and Reagan National airports.
Discover some of the most interesting things that happen behind the scenes at airports that you never knew about! In addition, he debunks a common myth and misconception about the industry, giving listeners an inside scoop on what really goes on.
But that's not all - he also discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry and how the airport is approaching these challenges. Listeners will also learn what it takes to succeed and grow at MWAA, the construction of a new concourse, and the plans to add more gates and improve parking facilities at both Dulles and Reagan National airports.
Don't miss out on this must-listen episode that offers an exclusive look at the inner workings of the aviation industry.
What Do You Want to Hear? - Send Us a Request! on 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
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[00:00:00] Amanda: Hi, I'm Amanda.
[00:00:01] Charles: I'm Charles, and 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, Dallas, and Reagan, national airports. Well, hey Charles.
[00:00:16] Charles: Hey, Amanda. How are you?
[00:00:17] Amanda: I'm doing well. How are you?
[00:00:19] Charles: Life is good. I've got no complaints.
[00:00:22] Amanda: I'm super excited to be here and to be launching our new podcast. I'm Amanda. I manage all of the social media for both IAD and DCA. If you ever interacted with us on Twitter or Instagram or Facebook, I'm usually the one behind the keyboard on that. I've been with the authority for about five years now, and it's been such a ride to learn about everything aviation related.
I've had so much fun getting out there and getting up-close to the airplanes, and learning all about the new routes, and meeting the crew and the passengers. It's just been such a fun experience so far.
[00:01:05] Charles: Great. My name is Charles, and I'm not so brand new to the airport anymore. I've been here about a year, and I'm the diversity outreach manager for the airport. My job is twofold. One is to make the airport an exciting place to work for our employees and to attract the very best employees to the airport. The other side is I work to increase our supplier diversity efforts here at the airport. We want to help small businesses be able to contract with the airport and take advantage of procurement opportunities to grow their business.
[00:01:35] Amanda: Cool. What are you looking forward to most about this year, 2023, in general?
[00:01:40] Charles: Well, personally, just looking forward to personal and professional growth for myself, healthy family, just enjoying life all around. Always open to new experiences, meeting new people, and I'm really hoping that this podcast will open up some doors to experience some more conversations about the airport.
[00:01:57] Amanda: Do you have any fun travel plans?
[00:01:59] Charles: We were just talking about that the other night. I think we were talking about Louisiana, going down to New Orleans for a couple of days. Grand Cayman Islands. I'm a beach snob, so I'm looking forward to some white sand beach and some warm weather.
[00:02:14] Amanda: Yes. Especially right now it's cold and rainy outside.
[00:02:17] Charles: Yes. Give me your white sand beach foodie drink and some crystal clear blue water and I'm a happy man.
[00:02:24] Amanda: Oh, sounds like a dream.
[00:02:25] Charles: What about yourself? You got any travel plans?
[00:02:27] Amanda: Nothing in the books yet. I'm hoping to maybe plan a trip over to Ireland later this year, or Italy. I don't know. I have big plans to go back to Europe. It's been a minute for me, so I'm really hoping to get back out there.
[00:02:43] Charles: Cool. Have you ever been to Iceland, by the way?
[00:02:45] Amanda: I have been to Iceland.
[00:02:47] Charles: We were talking about that last night, and I'm on the fence about that. What do you think?
[00:02:51] Amanda: Oh, I loved it. It was so cool. It's almost like visiting another world like the moon. When you first land, you're like, "Where am I?"
[00:03:00] Charles: What was the best part about it?
[00:03:02] Amanda: The best part was probably some of the landscapes. They have a lot of landscape developed from lava because of volcanic activity. There's some really cool sites and waterfalls out there, can hike on some glaciers. The whole thing is just amazing, awesome, and they had really good food and the culture was just super fun. I loved every minute of it.
[00:03:26] Charles: Nice. It's a must-do?
[00:03:28] Amanda: It's a must-do. In my opinion, personally, I tell everybody you have to go.
[00:03:32] Charles: All right. How long did you go for, and where'd you stay for?
[00:03:34] Amanda: We were there for maybe four days. We did it as a tag on to an end of another trip, so we just wrapped up our trip there, and it was such a great way to end the trip. Speaking of Iceland, we actually have a new airline coming later in the year called PLAY Airlines. They are, I believe, in Icelandic Airlines, so I'm super excited to get back over there using that airline.
[00:04:02] Charles: Direct flights or?
[00:04:03] Amanda: Yes, it's nonstop. Directly to Reykjavík from Dulles International. It's about a seven-hour flight.
[00:04:10] Charles: Add that to the bucket list.
[00:04:11] Amanda: Absolutely.
[00:04:12] Charles: All right. Last year we went to Anchorage, Alaska.
[00:04:15] Amanda: I've never been.
[00:04:16] Charles: Yes, I went with low expectations but I was pleasantly surprised. I think that one of the best experiences, we took a helicopter trip to one of the glaciers. When you're up a couple of thousand feet, you realize you're very small to the rest of the world. You just have a whole new appreciation for nature and the landscape. I never thought I would say, "Yes, let's go to Alaska," but now I want to go back for a second trip.
[00:04:41] Amanda: Yes? That's awesome. Did you go during the summer or?
[00:04:44] Charles: Actually, we went in, I want to say, May of last year, and believe it or not, they were just thawing out. It wasn't freezing, but believe it or not, when we went on the glacier, it was 90 degrees. I just don't understand how it can be 90 degrees on a glacier but we had to take the coats off because it was that hot.
[00:05:02] Amanda: Wow. Yes, I would imagine.
[00:05:04] Charles: Yes. Then we did some dog sledding, and just had a whole lot of fun.
[00:05:07] Amanda: Oh, that sounds like so much fun. It's on my bucket list, for sure. Who do we have today, Charles?
[00:05:15] Charles: We're excited that today's guest is none other than Mr. Jack Potter, the CEO of the Airports Authority. Jack, how are you today?
[00:05:22] Jack: I'm fine, thank you.
[00:05:23] Charles: Good. Thanks for joining us. [crosstalk]
[00:05:24] Jack: Good to be here.
[00:05:24] Charles: Thanks for joining us. Most folks don't understand that their whole operation behind the scenes. Can you tell us what is your role as CEO of the airport?
[00:05:33] Jack: The role of a CEO is the same everywhere. It's basically to assure that, in my case, the airports operate effectively and serve the needs of the traveling public and the airlines. In short, we meet the mission of the airport, provide the infrastructure, whether that's the runways, the concourses that the airlines need to safely and efficiently fly folks, and we want to meet needs of the traveling public. As a CEO, my job is to make sure that it all works, that all the pieces work to safely and efficiently move people from street side, onto an airplane, and then off again later on when they come back.
[00:06:14] Charles: Great. What's the best part about your job? What do you love most about it?
[00:06:18] Jack: When I think of the most exciting part of my job, it's, first of all, what we do on a day-to-day basis to enable people to travel to and from this metropolitan area, and then in the process contribute to the local economy. The thing I enjoy most, though, is the strategy. Where are we going to be 20 years from now, 50 years from now, and what is it that we have to put in place today to ensure that we will get there and that we will continue to contribute, handle whatever growth that comes our way? Whatever other challenges.
For example, environment is a big challenge today, so not just planning for traditional growth, but deal with things that are new and out of the ordinary.
[00:07:00] Charles: Great.
[00:07:01] Amanda: The aviation industry has had some really interesting past few years. What would you say is really a big challenge for the industry right now, and how are we as an airport approaching it?
[00:07:15] Jack: The biggest challenge for the aviation industry is the environment. The aviation industry does not have a good record when it comes to the environment. They're one of the heaviest polluters there is, and it's the least environmentally friendly way to travel. We, at the airport, have to be very mindful of this. Now, there's very little we can do because of the fact that it's the aircraft that produces the bulk of the pollutants. Our job is to support the airlines as they move in that direction.
In the meantime, we're supporting their movement to take their carts and electrify their carts, we're doing the same with solar power. We're going to have the largest solar firm on an airport property in America out of Dulles Airport, and we're going to do and have been doing our part, and we're going to support the airlines as they address their challenges.
[00:08:09] Charles: You manage more than 1,700 employees, what does it take to succeed and grow at MWAA, and what type of talent are you looking for in potential candidates?
[00:08:19] Jack: Any organization's key to success is all the people that work for it. MWAA's a great place to work. We have a great team of people. The people are very welcoming. They're eager to share their knowledge. They're very mindful of the needs of customers. When it comes to getting good people, starts with competitive pay and fantastic benefits and we do both. We have an extensive training program to help any individual improve their skills, and prepare for positions of increasing responsibility. We want people to come and think that they have a career. You do that by making sure you have training programs to, first of all, give them their basic skills butto grow beyond that. When we're picking people, we want to pick people that work well with others, who have great character, who respect the people around them, and who want to be part of a team.
We want all people to think of themselves as future leaders. Future leaders are people who embrace change and guide change, and want to be part of the process of the institution growing, and the institution changing to meet the needs of the traveling public. We're fortunate to have an environment that is welcoming to people, that pays well, that has great benefits, and has the opportunity for people to grow and feel good about themselves.
[00:09:42] Charles: Awesome. What are some of the achievements, by the organization, that you're most proud of?
[00:09:47] Jack: The thing I'm most proud of, is that we've positioned ourselves to grow and to meet the needs of the airlines and the folks who traveled through the airports, proud of the fact that we completed Project Journey at DCA, which added a new concourse, concourse E. Proud to the fact that we added the new security checkpoints that opened up National Hall, and made it easier for passengers to move from one of the peers to the other peers.
I'm excited about the fact that Terminal 2 is going to be rehabbed, to make it feel like that new concourse, so really excited about that. Really set the table there. I'm excited by the fact that the Silver Line has now opened the Dulles Airport, something that was envisioned over 50 years ago. It's already helping people get to the airport at a very reasonable cost. It's something that international passengers are really excited about because it's become a norm, internationally, for people to be able to land at an airport in a big city and take a train downtown.
In some respects, we're catching up, but I also think that, in some respects, we're leading the way in the United States because that's not common in the United States, but it is common internationally. I'm very proud of the fact that we've modernized a concession program and updated it. From a customer standpoint, I'm really proud of what we've done in IT, and our Wi-Fi system, and what we're doing to enable people to continue to use their devices, wherever they are in our airports, we don't charge for it.
Information is going to lead the way going forward, and so it's not just what you see and experience as a customer out on our concourses with Wi-Fi, it's also what we've done internally here to really modernize our IT systems. All our back offices were modernized. We now have data that's been generated recently to improve the customer experience and to work better with all of our airlines, and others who are on our campus serving people. When all is said and done, I have to say the one thing that we do and we're here for, is to help the economy of the DMV. What we've done to make our airports more competitive, has put us in very, very goodposture to do that. Not lost on me that when Amazon came to Crystal City, they changed the name to National Landing. When I asked them, what's the National piece, they go National Airport.
I think we're doing our part, and so when I look back at this decade, those are some of the highlights, but the thing I'm most proud of is the growth that I see in the people that we have here. Outstanding people who do a great job for others, really happy that they have started to be recognized for all the good work that they do.
[00:12:30] Amanda: Jack, tell us what's next for us. What's next for the Airports Authority? What are we doing next?
[00:12:36] Jack: We've just scratched the surface at DCA in Dulles. Let's talk about DCA, we built the new security checkpoints in Terminal 2, the new concourse, we're in the throes of renovating that entire terminal, but we also have Terminal 1. Our goal is to replace that, the roadways, a lot of roadway congestion at DCA. Modernize the roadways and really upgrade that traffic experience at Reagan National.
At Dulles, we have our temporary CD concourse that was built to last 20 years, and I think we're probably in near 40 or 50, who knows where we are, but we have to replace the CD concourse. I'm excited by the fact that we're about to do that first step with a tier 2 east. That work has to take place, and hopefully, it will be open in 2026. Beyond that, we have to revamp all of our concourses at Dulles, and so excited about the opportunity to do that.
Those are the big projects, and then we have to continue to grow and be more responsive to customers because they're changing as we're changing. Whether that's supporting their need for digital services, Wi-Fi, or whatever it happens to be, we'll continue to do that, and we'll continually refresh our concessions and our parking offerings to meet the changing needs of customers.
[00:13:59] Charles: Great, thank you. What's one lesson you've learned in your career that you think other people should consider for success in theirs?
[00:14:07] Jack: I think the key to success in any career is to be a good communicator. When it comes to communication, the first thing you have to do is listen. You have to take the time to listen to other people, listen to their ideas, know what their concerns are, what their interests are, what their needs are, and then after listening, process it and then respond and act. I think all too often people think they know everything. The course of my career I've learned that the people who are doing whatever activity is, they know better than anyone. When it comes to experience, you can't assume what somebody's experience is, you're better off asking, whether that's a passenger coming through our terminals, whether that's a co-worker, whether that's a subordinate, listen, ask the right questions, and then use that data, whatever you learn, to then take actions.
[00:15:04] Charles: Let's talk about the aviation industry a little bit. What are some of the most interesting things that happen behind the scenes at airports that most people are unaware of?
[00:15:13] Jack: I would compare our airports to Disneyland. You go down there and you have this great experience, but you don't have a clue as to what happens behind the scenes. In Disney World, they have tunnels and other things that you hear about or read about how they remove garbage from the park. In our case, it really is what happens behind the scenes, whether that's our mechanics or all the hard work that takes place in order to make passenger experience or the airline experience seem very seamless, giving people plenty of tours.
The thing that surprises them most is when they go into the belly of the airport and they see all the activity that occurs, not at the terminal level or the concourse level, but what happens below. When they see baggage handling systems and all the belting that's down there on keying positions on baggage handling systems and screening that takes place of their bags and all that the movement that occurs to get those bags out to the planes, a thing that shocks people is when you say, "We have 25,000 people who work at our airports." They don't think of 25,000 people.
That's a lot of people. What's their roles? How does this thing operate? When you think about how complex the team is to run an aviation business, certainly, it's our 1,700 workers, but it's also the thousands of folks who work for the federal government, whether that's in customs, who work with TSA, whether it's the baggage handlers, the custodians, the bus drivers.
It takes an army to really pull this thing off, and it takes people working for different entities, but acting as one team to pull it off. Because unless you work as one team, it won't be a seamless experience for a customer. It won't be a good experience for a customer. I think that's the thing that kind of surprises them. There's no one entity that runs an airport. It's multiple entities that do it.
It's very, very complex. There's a bevy of activity that happens below the surface. The movement of even food into and out of our campus. They can buy their hamburger, their hotdog, or buy their magazine or get their salad, or whatever it is. It's this group of people that make that experience a good one.
[00:17:33] Charles: What is a common myth about MWAA or the AVH industry that you've heard and would like to correct?
[00:17:39] Jack: I think the biggest misconception is that somehow the Airport's Authority and the folks who run airports are in charge of the airspace. When it comes to noise, there's some perception that Jack Potter, or whoever the CEO is of an airport or the Board of MWAA, has some control about time of day when a flight takes off, and what runway is used and what direction on that runway it occurs.
The truth of the matter is, that's something that's controlled by the FAA. There are people who have a misconception along those lines, that Reagan National Airport is shut down between 10:00 AM and 6:00 AM in the morning, which it is not, it's a 24-hour airport. Again, I think there's a misconception of just how much control the entity that runs the airport has over the activity at the airport.
[00:18:32] Amanda: As CEO, what goes through your mind when you're walking through the terminals, both at Dulles and Reagan National?
[00:18:40] Jack: First of all, what goes through my mind is I'm trying to observe and see what the passenger experience is all about. Making sure that all the players are performing well, whether that's TSA, whether that's our concessionaires, and then I unfortunately probably have the mindset of, jeez, I'm walking through and making those observations. How can we do things better? What suggestions could I make to any one of the entities that I see?
The other thing that goes through my head is just how nice our airports are and the quality of the people that we have at the airports. When I see folks reaching out to folks that work, our visitors aid, or our employees, how they go out of their way to make that passenger experience a good one. I see someone that looks a little confused and before I can get there and ask, "Can I help you?" Someone else jumps up. It's not necessarily an MWAA employee, it's airline employee, someone from TSA. That's the positive. Then it's, jee, how can we do something even a little better and be open-minded about that?
[00:19:44] Charles: Great. I travel a lot, and since I started working here, I have a greater appreciation for our airports. When you travel and you're walking through another airport, is there anything that says, "You know what? We have a goodo here at DCA or IED."
[00:20:00] Jack: That's an interesting question in the sense that when I go to other airports, I focus on things that they do well that we could improve on. It could be something as simple as, there's a restaurant that I haven't even heard of and there's a crowd at it, jee, we should probably consider that restaurant. Or, look at that signage. That signage is probably a little clearer than what we do, and we should probably think about copying that. I also, in the course of those observations, think about how much better our airport is on at a lot of the things that I'm observing.
[00:20:38] Charles: Great. Jack, thanks so much for joining us today on The Capital Runway. Are there any parting thoughts or words you would like to leave our audience?
[00:20:47] Jack: One of the things that I would just say to folks is, first of all, use Dulles, use Reagan, fly often, and that's the message. More important, as you start to think about life, in general, beready to compromise.
One of the things that whether it's in your personal career or just in general, I think we all have to be ready to compromise. Tell you a quick story. When I was in the post office when I first became Postmaster General, and Bill Russell, who recently passed away was--
[00:21:20] Charles: The basketball player.
[00:21:21] Jack: The basketball player, Boston Celtic, Hall of Famer, great coach, but just great humanitarian. I had the opportunity to have a very long conversation with Bill, and there was somebody else in the room who said, "Hey, Jack's going to try and do all these things as in the post office." After I got through talking about them, because this guy coaxed me into doing it, Bill said to me, "Gee, that sounds great, but aren't you part of the government?" I said, "Yes."
He goes to me, "What's the government a product of?" I don't know, I tried and reached back to my grammar school days and said, it's a product of folks who led Europe and tried to find a better way of life and blah, blah, blah. He goes, "All the nuns would've probably given you an A, but that's wrong."
I said, "Okay, so what is it a product of, Bill?" He goes to me, "It's a product of compromise." He said, "You think those guys way back when that wrote the Declaration of Independence all got in the room and said, 'Hey, this is it. Unity and synergy between all of them'? Obviously not." He said, "What's the point, Bill? Why did you bring that up?" He goes, "Because you have some goals."
He says, "Whether it's the government or others, you just can't have this mindset that what I have in my mind is what's going to happen. You have to work with others, you have to be willing to compromise. You have to be able to move the rock up the field." That would be my parting shot, would say, "Hey, everyone, let's focus on doing it, do it right, but do it together."
[00:22:56] Charles: Great. Thanks so much.
[00:22:58] Amanda: Did we just make our first podcast, Charles?
[00:23:00] Charles: I think we did, and it was a lot of fun. Okay.
[00:23:02] Amanda: It was so much fun.
[00:23:03] Charles: Yes. I can't wait to listen. I can't wait to share this with our listeners. I look forward to future conversations.
[00:23:09] Amanda: Thank you, guys, for tuning in to our first episode of the Capital Runway Podcast, and we will catch you next time.
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