AIRPORT REPORT: DALLAS / FORT WORTH
Tall story
DFW CEO, Jeff Fegan, talks to Benet Wilson about the airport’ s $ 2.3 billion capital improvement programme, retirement and his legacy after nearly 20 years in the hot seat.
Aviation will literally lose one its biggest personalities on September 1 when Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport’ s CEO, Jeff Fegan – who stands an imposing 6ft 3” tall – retires after clocking up close to 30 years at the Texas gateway. He joined DFW as chief planner in December 1984 and was promoted to assistant director before taking up the role of CEO in February 1994, so Fegan has effectively been the face of the airport and its driving force for a generation.
His successor will undoubtedly have big shoes to fill( size 12s, actually), although Fegan modestly plays down his achievements, pointing out that there is still much to be done at DFW.
It is hard to argue with that, as DFW is currently in the second year of its seven-year, $ 2.3 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program( TRIP) and has big ambitions for the future.
Indeed, such is the ambition of the airport, that it decided to start the project when the US economy was still in recession, making it harder to fund.
The airport also happened to be in negotiations for a new use agreement with its airlines, so Fegan reveals that the airport tied the project and the agreement together and made a case to renovate buildings that were almost 40 years old.
“ We told them we were operating 40-year-old buildings with 40-year-old technology, maintenance, energy efficiency, baggage systems, parking structures and security checkpoints,” he admits.
Also, the old parking structures relied heavily on stairs, he adds, making it difficult for passengers carrying a lot of luggage.
“ Our board of directors decided that there was no point in waiting, as from their and the public’ s perspective, everyone was so impressed with the work done on Terminal D, that they felt we should do the other terminals to the same quality,” says Fegan.
“ Our biggest challenge was to work with our tenant airlines to work through the renovation agreement.”
Fegan reveals that almost 70 % of the TRIP budget is being spent on behind the scenes infrastructure such as cooling and heating systems, IT, electrical systems and plumbing.
He is also quick to point out that the airlines 100 % support TRIP, noting that a“ strong partnership” is important, as DFW and its airline customers are“ in this together”.
“ They recognised the need for improvements,” remarks Fegan.“ As we negotiated, we laid out a 10-year financial plan under the use agreement. They saw where the costs and revenue would be and they believed it was a good investment.”
And, he is confident that the design of the airport and its terminals will ensure the minimum of disruption to airlines and, perhaps more importantly from an image point of view, the travelling public.
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AIRPORT WORLD / FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013