Inside Bradley International Airport

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Welcome to Pulse of the Region,brought to you by the Metro Hartford Alliance.
The Metro Hartford Alliance collaborates with investorsand partners to elevate the Hartford region
through economic development work, convening thecommunity, and providing chamber support for the
City of Hartford. Learn more abouttheir mission and how to get involved at
Metrohartford dot com. Pulse of theRegion is produced in partnership with oak Hill.

(00:23):
Oak Hill was originally founded as aschool for the blind in eighteen ninety
three. Oak Hill has provided holistic, person centered services for individuals with disabilities
for over one hundred and thirty years. With empowerment and independence as its guiding
principles. Oakill works in partnership withthe individuals it serves to provide residential education

(00:44):
and enrichment opportunities. Learn more atokillct dot org. Now here's your host
for Pulse of the Region, KateBauman. Hello, Hello, and welcome
to Pulse of the Region, theshow where we love to highlight all of
the incredible things happening here throughout ourHartford region. I'm Kate Bowman here today
in the iHeartMedia Studios and our beautifulcapital city of Hartford, Connecticut. Thank

(01:07):
you so much for joining us today. Today we are getting the pulse about
Bradley International Airport, everything from whatnew routes are flying this summer to new
enhancement enhancements in the terminal, andwe're also going to take a look at
how the airport is driving economic growthfor our region and also for the state
of Connecticut. So a lot ofgreat things to talk about here today,
and I'm very pleased to have theConnecticut Airport Authority here with us for the

(01:32):
conversation. And today she's really onthe hot seat here, She's stuck with
me for the next thirty minutes.So we're very excited to have the Connecticut
Airport Authorities Senior manager of Marketing,Communications and air Service Development, Alissa sees
it so Alyssa, welcome to theshow. Thank you so much for having
me. So good to be withyou. Of course, no, I'm

(01:53):
thrilled to have you here because Ihave to say, traveling is one of
my favorite things and Bradley's my favoriteairport. So to me, this is
I'm literally taking notes today, notabout for the show, but just more
on where I can travel next.On what's coming up. I love that
it's all about travel here at BradleyInternational Airport, and we have some really
good things happening this summer. Definitelya lot of great things, which we'll

(02:14):
dive all into that today. Sofirst things first, though, Love Alyssa,
if you don't mind just sharing aboutthe Connecticut Airport Authority, I think
it's important to kind of remind orreintroduce maybe some listeners on really kind of
just the role of that organization andwho you guys are and what you do
on a day to day basis.Yeah, no, I appreciate that's a
really good question. The Connecticut AirportAuthority is a quasi public state agency and

(02:36):
we manage, operate, and developBradley International Airport, certainly something that maybe
some of your listeners may not befamiliar with. In addition to Bradley International
Airport, we also manage five othergeneral aviation airports in Wyndham, Danielson,
Groton, and Hartford Waterbury, Oxford. I should mention as well. Okay,

(02:59):
nice, So a lot under thepurview of the Airport Authority, and
certainly Bradley International being you know,kind of one of the the largest that
within that purview and that scope anda lot of happenings. Yeah, Bradley,
which is very exciting. So whynot if you don't mind, we'll
kind of first start on, youknow, this summer. What can people
really expect from the airport when itcomes to routes, excitement and things along

(03:22):
those lines. Yeah, summer travelersin full swing here at Bradley International Airport.
You know, we love this timeof the year. It's great to
see all of our passengers, youknow, the loyal users, but also
those visitors who are you know,giving us maybe a first try as passengers.
We're seeing the passengers are taking advantageof our growing list of non stops.

(03:44):
Bradley International Airport now has more thanforty NonStop destinations, which is incredible.
It's also more than what we've hadbefore the COVID pandemic. So what
were the numbers like pre pandemic Justto give us some person, So pre
pandemic we were at about twenty ninenon stop destinations. So there's been significant

(04:04):
growth. A lot of it hasbeen fueled by our airline partner, Breeze.
We've become one of their bases andthey've been exponentially growing here at the
airport. Even this summer, forexample, we've just launched five new routes
with them, which we're very excitedabout to give passengers even more access to

(04:27):
the destinations that they love and thatthey want to travel to. And then
also the summer we welcome back someother popular routes like, for example,
NonStop service to Los Angeles with JetBlue. We also welcome back service on
Southwest to Denver, Myrtle Beach servicewith Spirit and well as Minneapolis with some

(04:48):
countries. So all together, youknow, we are continuing the momentum with
the growth, and it's really allabout getting people to where they want to
be. Definitely, and you mentionedthose five new routes that Breeze Airport Breeze
is doing, could you talk onwhere those destinations are, because yes,
of course, where I'm going tobe planning my next next trip, that's

(05:09):
where you're going to plan your nexttrip, certainly. So the destinations are
Cincinnati, Greenwell's, Spartanberg, MyrtleBeach, newbern and Orlando. So a
lot of great leisure destinations. ButBreeze is also interested in seeing how the
local corporate travel market may respond tosome of the destinations they have and naturally

(05:30):
they have a growing list of otheroptions out of the airport. Fantastic and
would love to touch on that abit more. It is kind of that
corporate travel and really what goes inbehind selecting some of these these new direct
routes is is that something you workwith the business community to kind of build
out what would be most important forthe work they're doing. So it's a

(05:50):
combination of things. We look ata lot of data to see where people
are traveling, We look at,you know, what would make sense to
operate out of the airport. Wetalked to a lot of the airlines,
you know, to see what intereststhey may have, But mostly it's us
pitching it to them because as youcan imagine, there's a lot of airports

(06:11):
across the country and there's only somany airlines and only so much available aircraft.
So that means that we really haveto make a hard case for a
lot of the routes that we have, and when it comes to routes that
are driven by corporate travel, youknow, of course we rely on our
business community to support those routes,to let us know where they want to

(06:32):
be flying, but again to beavailable to us when we do make these
pitches to the airlines so that wecan be successful in bringing these routes home.
I appreciate you saying next. Youknow, in a few months ago,
we were lucky to have Kevin Dillanon with our president CEO David Griggs
and talking about you don't understand youknow, I didn't understand at that point,

(06:54):
and maybe listeners are in the sameboat where the competitiveness and you're going
to these airports or airlines with kindof proposals on here's you know, the
why and based on that data.And I don't know if you could talk
a little on the data too.I thought this was fascinating, just everything
from credit card information to other data. Is that's really how you're seeing potentially

(07:15):
too, who's traveling out of NewYork, out of Boston, who may
be coming from Connecticut. Anything youcan you know, shed a light on
there would be great. Yeah,I mean, like other airports, and
you know, we look at alot of things, like you said,
data, you know, potential travelers, travelers that are using other surrounding airports
in the region. They may notbe using Bradley because there's no not sub
service. We also look at migrationdata into this state and what that looks

(07:41):
like. We also, you know, look into GPS data and it's it's
a really world on its own,if you will, But all of it
makes helps make the case for whenwe pitch these routes. And again,
the business community is key here becauseyou know, understanding what routes would be
beneficial to them is one element ofit. And then again encouraging them to

(08:03):
use the routes once they're here tohelp sustain the longevity of them, and
to also reassure the airlines that there'sa commitment from the community to help them
make the routes successful. Okay,fantastic, And is there anything future forward?
Are there any routes that you canyou know, share publicly today on

(08:26):
you know that maybe in the workson you know, looking to either expand
travel to or add new destinations.I mean, we're always looking to expand
routes. Again, we're fortunate todaywe have eleven airlines operating out of the
airport. Many of them are lowcost carriers, which you know is really
what we're seeing is a strong demandin the leisure market. But also you

(08:46):
know, the corporate trail market isimportant, and so we're also always looking
to expand other destinations, like forexample, into the West Coast, which
would allow some more connectivity, youknow, to other parts of the world,
but naturally also continuing to look intogrowth, you know, transatlantic growth.

(09:07):
That's always a priority. It's reallyconstantly on our mind. And I
think your listeners can rest assured thatwe're working very, very hard behind the
scenes and aggressively in making a casefor Bradley, for the Greater Harford region,
for Connecticut that this is the placewhere they need to be and this
is the place where they will besuccessful. I love that. Now,

(09:30):
thank you so much for that insight. And one thing I want to ask
briefly it too, is because Ithink it's important. You know, certainly
travel during the pandemic changed drastically,and you know, across the country,
across the globe, and how areyou seeing kind of travel numbers now even
just you know, ass around theworld here in the United States, but
then also here in Connecticut. Wheredo those numbers kind of seem to balance

(09:52):
out or maybe not balance out comparedto pre pandemic. So pre pandemic in
twenty nineteen Bradley International served about sixpoint nine million passengers, and naturally,
you know, depend we did takea hit during the pandemic, as all
the other airports did as well,so we're close to recovering to that.

(10:13):
So it'll probably take us a littlebit more. Some in part is due
to the business travel, because theenvironment for business travel has changed quite a
bit since the pandemic with people workingfrom home and the introduction of these pleasure
trips, if you will, whereyou combine business and leisure. So I

(10:35):
think, you know, we're we'relagging slightly, but I think we're seeing,
you know, that we're moving inthe positive direction into growing a passenger
base. And this summer alone,we think we're going to be seeing maybe
approximately one point two million passengers thatwill travel out of the airport in and

(10:56):
out of the airport. Wonderful.Wonderful, And let's transition over and talk
about the airport. For those whohaven't been to Bradley recently, there's a
lot of incredible changes that have happenedat the airport. And even by recently,
you probably could have been there acouple months ago and there's been enhancements
since. So if you could talka little bit on kind of what our
travelers you can expect when they goand visit the terminals. Yeah, really

(11:20):
exciting things. If you've not beento the terminal in a while, you
will see some changes to our retailand dining environment. Only a few weeks
ago, we opened Beer Coat Kitchenand Bar and you sit down restaurant and
the gates twenty one to thirty Concourse, So this is our first time that
we have a sit down option inthe Concourse. Nice. We've also had

(11:43):
two of our retail shops go amajor renovation. One of them has opened
reopened as Charter Oak Emporium to givea nod to Connecticut's history, which we
love. And we have some otherthings that are on horizon, including the
revamp of some of the other retailstores and also the opening of a refresh

(12:07):
concept pre security, which is alsoimportant in the former cask and Barrel space.
But long story short, without havingthe opportunity to give you all the
details because we would run out oftime, there's a lot of happening again,
just with the focus on making thepassenger experience, you know, easy,

(12:28):
convenience and enjoyable, right, andwe also want to make sure that
we introduce concepts that are familiar toConnecticut and that there's a sense of place
for passengers, you know, whetherthey're leaving or coming, but obviously more
importantly if they're first coming into theairport, because we're the first entry into

(12:50):
this great state. No, Ilove that, and it's really the welcome
center where it sure is. Andhow can you catch the flavor of Connecticut,
you know, as soon as youwalk off that plane. And you
know, one other thing too withwith the terminal is there's been a lot
of parking additions, you know,right close to the terminal. And I'm
trying to think, I don't know, you'll know exactly when I know new
ish I'm going to say, butwithin the last couple of years, if

(13:11):
you talk a little bit that,I mean, just the ease and the
convenience of having you know, allof those parking options right around the terminal
is incredible. Yeah, you bringup bring up a very good point because
you know, when you think abouteven when your travel, parking is so
important to the passenger journey. Sowe're definitely always looking at all the elements
of the passenger journey right and again, parking being one of the key ones,

(13:33):
and we recently rebranded a parking product. It's called now BdL Spark,
and so when you come to theairport, look for the bright blue shuttles
with a spark on them for easyrecognition. We all continue to offer a
lot of surface lot parking, includingthe as well as the parking garage,

(13:54):
and then obviously with the opening ofour new ground transplantation center, we've also
able to add further garage parking,which you know, there's a passenger base
that does enjoy covered parking and we'rethe only ones that really in the area
offer a true garage environment when itcomes to parking. Okay, nice,

(14:16):
No, it's great. And Iknow, having it so close, I'm
sometimes maybe a little late for flights, so it's easy to run from the
parking lot right in. It trulyis and you know, that's again one
more thing that sets us apart fromthe larger airports in the area. And
you know, we encourage people tothink of us, you know, for
their travel because you really do savea lot of on time versus traveling to

(14:39):
some of the other state airports.You save on time when it comes to
driving, to parking and to somany other things, definitely, and I
want to continue down that path becausewe've touched on you know, new flights
and add addition to to you know, reinvigorated old flights, additionally to all
the upgrades for the terminal, andthere's a lot of upgrades. It's kind

(15:00):
of on that convenience side in additionto the parking, if you could talk
a little bit on you know,on that front is kind of what else
has been exciting happening at BdL.Yeah, you bring up a very good
point again in this arena of makingtravel easy for passengers, because that's what
passengers want. You know, welook at all of the elements, right
what it's parking, the dining,the retail, but it's also services and

(15:20):
amenities. And you know, thissummer we relocated our TCA pre check lane
to a dedicated security checkpoint and that'sreally great because you know, as you
know, we normally you would goto for the screening experience in the center
of the purchase level, but we'vewe've been streamlining that experience a little bit

(15:43):
more so that the general screening isnot seeing as the volume that it normally
sees when it's combined between the two. So it's it's making easier for both
the you know, those that haveTSC pre check and those that do not
have TSA pre check, and wecontinue to have clear uh also available at

(16:06):
both checkpoints. And then heart ofthe Press, we just launched a new
concierge program with our partner with ourpartners at Travelers Aid, and it's a
really great program for somebody who justwants even more ease and peace of mind
when traveling through the airport. Soit's ideal for you know, families with

(16:27):
children or you know, anybody reallywho needs that extra assistance through the airport
that they want, you know,somebody with them at the check in,
somebody takes them through TSA, somebodythat walks them through the gate, helps
them get the food, maybe helpsretrieve luggage. And that's a new program

(16:48):
we're very proud to have rolled out, and it's available for pre booking,
uh you know, with a fee, and we've already had seen some initial
interests and bookings, so we're veryencouraged that that there truly is a demand
for the service. That's great.And is that something kind of unique to
certain airports or is that really kindof something across the country. I think

(17:11):
some airports have similar programs. Wehave partnered with Travelers Aid International and were
their first airport on their umbrella tohave this concept here in Connecticut. Addice,
I look at that. I loveit when Connecticut's kind of first on
the scene things. That's fantastic.And you know, looking ahead, I'm

(17:33):
sure you know a lot on thehorizon and a lot of projects that are
kind of you know, building atBradley Airport. So if you could first
talk about you know, I knowthere is kind of giving us kind of
the timeline on these two would befantastic. But I know the first one,
you're really looking at some new baggagescreening processes. If you could talk
a little bit about that and whatwill that look like and how will that

(17:53):
impact travelers? Yeah, I meanthose we have that's one of the bigger
projects that we currently have happening.Fortunately, passengers will not see much of
an impact at this time. Youknow, if they come over this summer,
they'll probably see some construction walls,but really there's no impact for their
travel experience. But the impact willreally come when it's all finalized and our

(18:17):
passengers will see the benefit from that, because in essence, what we're doing
is we're building an eighty thousand squarefoot facility behind the Sharton Hotel when I
walk from the New Lats. Yes, so we're building a new facility,
and in essence, what it willdo it will allow us to add more

(18:37):
gate space, but mainly it willhouse the airport's explosive detection machines. And
this means that check baggage that youleave at the ticket counter will get screened
in this facility, so you willno longer need to, you know,
take your check bag and bring itto the TSA office as your current you

(19:00):
do. So again, a majorimprovement on that front coming up in late
twenty twenty five. Very nice,that's great, great news. And then
also to you have another project that'scoming in your vertical circulation projects. So
time, I know, it's amouth as a poster, that's what we

(19:21):
internally refer to. We probably shouldshould come up with some more use a
friendly name for it. But inessence, while it sounds complex and in
some regard it is, when youlook at the construction, it's really an
effort to simplify and improve the experiencefor passengers. So in essence, what's

(19:41):
going to happen is we're creating twonew exit lanes on each of the concourses,
so you will no longer be exitingthe airport in that center area where
the TSA screening is. You willbe using the sides at the end of
each concourses. That means there willbe no longer kind of that intermingling of

(20:02):
passengers who are leaving and who arearriving, and it should make for an
easier, more streamline flow inside theterminal for all parties traveling. So that's
coming online as well in late twentytwenty five. So really a lot to
look forward with these projects that arecoming on board. Definitely, I would

(20:25):
say a lot for you know,in additional, where you're going to go
is kind of how you're going toget There is a lot of wonderful improvements.
So extremely appreciative of all the workyou and your team's doing because you
can tell so much that goes inbehind the scenes in order to put this
all together, and so thank youvery much for that. No, of
course, yeah, we have anincredible team and incredible leadership at the airport,

(20:47):
and you know, there's a lotof great momentum, and there's a
lot of great passion for the airportand with the understanding that we all live
and use it, you know,and we want it to be great for
our community. Definitely, definitely,And but the last part of the show
today, you know, I'd loveto circle back. We touched a little
bit kind of on the economic developmentpiece and it's you know, been great

(21:10):
where you know, both of ourorganizations really discuss a lot about you know,
the importance of Bradley here in ourregion and here in the state is
it's huge for attracting businesses, forretaining companies here. So if you would
talk a little bit on just howyou kind of from your perspective, you
feel Bradley Airport is really enticing companiesto really choose Connecticut, and you know,

(21:32):
would love to get your thoughts onthat. Well. I think there
there's many aspects to that. Imean, we're very fortunate to have partners
like the Metro Harford Alliance, youknow, where we mutually support each other's
efforts to you know, further economicgrowth in the Hertford region closer to the
airport. Another example is the BradleyDevelopment League, which is a consortium of

(21:53):
the four talents surrounding the airport,which together with them, you know,
we work on bringing in new businessesand marketing the available parcels in the area
and helping you know, potential companiesunderstand the opportunities that are available in this

(22:14):
region. And then you know theother thing too, we you know,
continue to promote, you know,with the airlines that this is an attractive
place to operate out of which youknow helps the business community. But in
the key is for example of Breeze, you know, they have set up
a base here at the airport,which means that you know, there will

(22:37):
be job growth. They're generating jobs, which is something you know that we're
driving as well. Definitely, andwould love to dive a little bit deeper
on that, just you know,that job piece of it is, do
you have a number of kind ofan estimate number of people that are employed,
you know, at the airport andeven too in addition to the other
airports that you're managed, and seehow that kind of ties into the whole

(23:00):
workforce here. Yeah, that's areally good question. We're almost like a
little town or on our own.We have more than five thousand employees and
of course then you have to factorin the surrounding businesses around the airport that
benefit from all the traffic that happensat our airport. So that's something you

(23:23):
know, would take great pride inthat to be a place of great employment
for our community in the aviation industrydefinitely, and those surrounding communities. You've
seen a lot of growth as youtouched on a little bit, but a
lot of growth there certainly too insome manufacturing facilities, some distribution centers.

(23:45):
You could share a little bit tooon that impact, and you know kind
of what that's really you know,the airport I think is kind of drawing
a lot of businesses there and expansionthere and if you have any feedback from
those organizations on what they've been experiencing, well, I think I mean in
large part, you know, transportationis key for a new business attraction,

(24:06):
and I think because we do offerthe convenience out of our airport and the
growing list of nonstops and we're agreat asset to our community. So naturally,
very pleased to see, you know, all the new businesses that are
popping up and hoping that we canbe you know, a good partner to

(24:26):
them as they establish here in Connecticut. Okay, definitely, and going back
to on you know, looking onthat piece on the economic development front,
the last time we were able tosit down with the airport authority is you
know, we're talking about a potentialdirect flight from from Bradley to London and
that's something that we're really looking at, you know, as we're seeing a

(24:47):
lot more UK companies choosing to domicilehere in Hertford, Connecticut, the insurance
capital of the world. That's youknow, a big would be a big
win for the state of Connecticut.I don't know if there's any updates you
can share on that, or ifI'm not even allowed to ask that,
but no, of course you're allowedto ask. Yeah, no, all
good, All good. I mean, I think London service something that's been

(25:08):
on our wish list for a verylong time, and naturally with the work
that the Alliance is doing, youknow, there's great synergy with that on
top of you know, all thelocal corporations that have regular you know travel
to London and back and forth.So it is something you know, we're

(25:30):
still very very much committed to,and you know, there's just a few
things that need to fall into placeon that front, you know, including
the support from the state of Connecticut, but also the local business community,
you know, some of the keyplayers, but also others you know who
are traveling or have traveled to Londonand beyond. Because again, just to

(25:55):
go back to what we spoke aboutearlier, it's really about making a good
case to potential airlines of why wethink, uh, the service will be
successful at the airport because at theend of the day, you know,
they have to ensure that their investment, you know, is a good decision

(26:15):
and that the planes are full.So we're continuing to pursue that and certainly
encourage continue to encourage companies who haveyou know, traveled to and from London
and beyond to continue to stay engagedwith us. In the meantime, we
are benefiting from the Airlinus service whichhas been operating as of late daily and

(26:41):
taking people to Dublin and then withthe opportunity to connect to over twenty cities
in Europe. So very excited tohave them back as well. Okay,
now that's why I would say Airlinkis one of my favorites, and that's
been I hoping fingers crossed will beone of my next next strips. You
definitely should take it. I like, well, there you go, I'm

(27:03):
sold. That fantastic. And thelast question I have today is if you
kind of you know, crystal Ball, you know, looking at what do
you feel is kind of could potentiallybe next for the airport in the you
know, kind of near future,the next five years and maybe even beyond
that. Yeah, so I thinkthat's a really good question. I think,
you know, we're going to continueto pursue non stops and continue to

(27:26):
pursue, you know, some ofthese more strategic destinations because you know,
at the end of the day,you know, that's part of creating the
convenience that passengers want. We're reallyexcited about the growth you know that's forthcoming
with these two new big projects thatwill truly transform the terminal. I think

(27:48):
it's it's hard to visualize it atthe moment, but I think come twenty
twenty five that we will be ableto, you know, see more tangible
movement inside the turn and you know, I think passengers and others will be
able to better understand some of thechanges that we have. And you know,
the other thing too, I mean, airport's like us. We have

(28:08):
a master plan which outlines some ofthese changes, so I think we're on
a good path forward and moving what'sbeen outlined in that plan. So for
example, that includes like the groundtransportation center and these two new projects.
So it's really looking at a highlevel, you know, where the airport

(28:29):
could be over a period of twentyyears, and so we have a roadmap
and I think we're well on theirway towards achieving the direction we had envisioned.
Naturally, we did have a bitof a setback with COVID, but
right now things are looking pretty good, excellent, well, incredible news and

(28:51):
incredible things happening today for the future. So thank you so much for sharing
kind of behind the scenes look andfor anyone who wants more information, where
are the best please for them togo. Well, first of all,
thank you so much for having me. We appreciate the partnership with the Metro
Harford Alliance and to have the opportunityto share you know, what's happening here

(29:12):
at the airport for those wishing tolearn more. We of course encourage everyone
to check out our website, whichis Brandley Airport dot com, but then
also look us up on social media. We're on Facebook, Twitter, or
x whichever you prefer. Instagram,we're on LinkedIn, and we regularly share

(29:33):
updates on all the great things thatare on the horizon. Fantastic. Well,
thank you so much, and thesame thing. We echo the importance
behind our partnership and with many otherpartners that we work here in the region,
in the state of Connecticut. Sothank you for all you do.
I look forward to flying out soonand then flying back home into Connecticut.
So love it, so fantastic.Well, thank you again for being here

(29:56):
and for all the details about today'sshow, you can visit Pulse of the
Region. A big thank you toour show partner, Okill, and of
course thanks to you for listening.Hopefully we'll see you at the terminal in
Bradley International Airport soon. For today, I'm Kate Bauman. Go out and
make today a good day here inConnecticut.