| The Vision |
Airport Leaders' Vision and Determination Pay Off |
 |
Twenty years is an era in aviation time. Most of the milestones in air traffic growth and terminal upgrades at Will Rogers World Airport have occurred approximately every 20 years. So it was logical that the Oklahoma City Airport Trust would begin assessing needs in the 1990’s and considering expansion options for the early years of the new millennium. |
|
Since Oklahoma City’s leaders have historically dreamed big and planned optimistically, it was characteristic that the Trust would seek advice from an established and respected international airport consulting firm. After all, Oklahoma City wanted nothing less than a world-class airport. |
|
When the Director of Airports and the Trust contracted with Landrum & Brown in 1997 to perform an exhaustive study of Will Rogers’ terminal needs, there was ample reason to predict the consultant would recommend expansion. Commercial air traffic through Oklahoma City was literally booming, challenging the capacity of every function in the terminal—especially during peak business hours. Not only that, but the number of enplanements and deplanements was growing consistently every year, as was the number of landings and takeoffs. |
|
The airport that had prided itself on rapid in and out movement for passengers was seeing vehicle traffic and parking congestion, long lines at ticket counters, standing room only in departure lounges and long waits at baggage claim. The business traveler, especially, was facing a loss of convenience. |
|
The massive MAPS program had been approved by voters and projects were underway, promising new growth and more exciting destinations for visitors. Anyone who understood economic development was interested in a friendlier, more impressive gateway to Oklahoma City—a terminal building with a real face that could greet visitors appropriately and better reflect what Oklahoma and its capital city were becoming. |
|
Tenants of the terminal, too, wanted bigger and better facilities. The airlines needed a more modern baggage-handling system, while retail shops needed better locations. |
|
It seemed altogether obvious that Will Rogers World Airport needed a bigger, better terminal. |
|
The Three-Phase Transformation |
|
Although the consultant’s study identified ten different options reaching that goal, one option seemed to fit Will Rogers best. It called for a combination of expanding and renovating the usable portion of the existing structure, while constructing all-new concourses and demolishing the old ones. Furthermore, it could be divided into three phases. Not only was a phased approach preferable for maintaining full airport operations during construction, but it also provided for both a short-term and a long-term solution that was tied to actual need. Phases I and II could be begun immediately, while Phase III could be added when passenger traffic and airline needs exceeded the capacity of Phase II. |
|
They hired an architect, completed the preparatory work and launched the construction project in early 2001—all with few reservations. |
|
On September 11, 2001, America and the aviation industry in particular were turned upside down. Air traffic plummeted. There was a drastic revolution in airport security requirements. Revenues dropped at every airport in the U.S. Naturally, the Oklahoma City Airport Trust had to pause and reconsider the $110-million terminal expansion. Should it be severely curtailed? Should it be postponed? Should it be abandoned completely? To these types of fear, doubt and pessimism, the Trust, like the American public everywhere, decided to” just say no.” |
|
After only a month, the leadership team came down on the side of confidence —in the economy, in the resilience of airlines and the traveling public. The project that demanded optimism and faith in the future was back on track. |
|
It would have been easy to back out, or back down, in those dark days. But it would have been a mistake that airport officials would deeply regret today. Although passenger traffic nose-dived after 9/11, it came back—slowly at first, then more quickly. By the end of 2005, enplanements and deplanements at Will Rogers were at an all time high. Air service, too, has expanded to offer more non-stop destinations from Oklahoma City. It is unthinkable now that the project could ever have been in doubt. |
|
Yet without those courageous and determined decisions by the Oklahoma City Airport Trust, the celebrations of the beautiful new terminal would not be occurring today. And the city’s renaissance might have been impaired by an outmoded, overcrowded gateway to our modern city. |
|
The Airport Leadership Team |
|
The Oklahoma City Airport Trust was formed in 1956 to develop and finance the city’s three municipal airports. By law, the Trust consists of three members: Oklahoma City’s city manager, a representative of the bank that maintains the Trust’s accounts and a citizen trustee, who can represent the interests of local residents and businesses. |
|
In the 1990s, when the recent terminal expansion was under consideration, the Trust was chaired by Kenneth W. Townsend, banking industry representative and an enthusiastic promoter of progress for Oklahoma City in general and Will Rogers World Airport in particular. |
|
Townsend keenly wished for a terminal that would present an attractive Oklahoma face to every visitor. Although Townsend passed away in 2001, his influence and leadership on the Trust survived him and, according to some, is discernible in the splendid new terminal completed this month. |
|
Also on the team that conceived and forged ahead with the expansion plan were Trustee and City Manager Jim Couch; Citizen Trustee Jim D. Scott; and Director of Airports Luther E. Trent. Together, they demonstrated vision, pragmatism and great courage. |
|
Trent retired in September 2005, and Scott retired in October 2006. But both of these leaders left an indelible mark on Will Rogers World Airport and, therefore, the City of Oklahoma City. |
|
The leadership team today consists of: |
|
|
|
Chairman of the Trust, appointed by Bank of Oklahoma in 2002 to represent the Trust’s bondholders |
|
|
|
Trustee since 2000 and City Manager of Oklahoma City |
|
|
|
Citizen Trustee, appointed in October 2006 |
|
|
|
Director of Oklahoma City Airports since October 2005 |
|
