SUMMARY MINUTES STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING OF MAY 16, 2018

Transcription

1 SUMMARY MINUTES STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING OF MAY 16, 2018 Ms. Merrick chaired the May 16, 2018 Strategic Development Committee Meeting, calling it to order at 12:33 p.m. A quorum was present during the Meeting: Mr. Sudow (Co-Chair), Mr. Griffin, Ms. Hanley, Ms. Lang, Mr. Lazaro, Mr. Mims, Mr. Pozen, Mr. Tejada, Mr. Uncapher, Ms. Wells, Mr. Williams, and Mr. Session (ex officio). Ms. Merrick stated that the upcoming presentation was about growth which reflected the work of many talented people who want to grow the business of two Airports, and the resulting benefits that would accrue to the entire region when that growth happened. Airline Business Development Information Report. Jerome L. Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, stated that the Committee Members had been told about some of the Airports Authority s plans the prior day and that the day s presentation would provide snapshots of [new airline service] launches in the future. He then introduced Yil Surehan, Vice President for Airline Business Development. Mr. Surehan stated that he would expedite the portion of his presentation providing a snapshot of what the Airline Business Development team had been working on since the last report, and then provide information regarding the Volaris Airline (Volaris) launch and some of the future strategies of the team. Mr. Surehan advised that Essential Air Service (EAS) is a government subsidized service to small communities, and that in January there was an EAS Request for Proposal (RFP) issued for service to Plattsburgh, New York from various hub airports. SkyWest Airlines (SkyWest) was one of the bidders for that service, and bid for twice-daily service between Plattsburgh and Washington Dulles International (Dulles International) using regional jets operating as United Express. Other bidders for the service included the incumbent on the route, which submitted a bid for turboprop service to Boston. Mr. Surehan stated that two months following the closing of the bids, the Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded SkyWest the authority to operate EAS between Plattsburgh and Dulles International, and that twice daily service would begin on August 29.

2 Mr. Surehan reported on Russian air rights and stated that the United States and Russia had agreed on an extension of overflight rights to U.S. carriers. He advised that when U.S. carriers fly from the United States to Asia, often they take the polar route, flying essentially over the Arctic Circle and the North Pole, transiting Russian airspace, for which Russia requires a permit for the U.S. carriers. Mr. Surehan reported that after significant negotiations, the overflight rights were extended until October 28. Mr. Surehan stated with respect to visa issues, there had been reports that Russian aircraft crews and in-flight crews were experiencing difficulties attaining visas to enter into the United States as part of their flight operations. He stated that just recently, Aeroflot had announced that they had sufficient crews with visas through the end of Mr. Surehan stated further that the Airline Business Development team would continue to monitor this situation since it could potentially impact Aeroflot s flights from Dulles International to Moscow, which occur three times a week during the summer, and one time a week during the winter. Since the last Airline Business Development report, Mr. Surehan stated that American Airlines had started new daily service between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Reagan National) and Little Rock, Arkansas, as well as to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He also stated that new air service to Dulles International had been offered by three different carriers. Frontier Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier, began twice a week service to Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 11; Delta Airlines would begin service to its Seattle focus city on June 8, joining United Airlines and Alaska Airlines as competitors on that route; and United Airlines (United) would begin seasonal service to Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Surehan stated that the Airline Business Development team was in discussions with United about expanding that service to more than weekend-only service. The big news reported by Mr. Surehan was the launch of three new international carriers to Dulles International, the first two of which Mr. Davis had advised earlier, are lost-cost carriers. Volaris is one of the largest low-cost carriers in Latin America, with substantial operations not only in Central America, but in Mexico and South America, and it would begin service that night, with an arrival at 11:30 p.m., and a departure the following morning, close to 2:00 a.m. The Volaris service would be offered twice a week between Dulles International and San Salvador, with continuing same-plane service to San Jose, Costa Rica.

3 Mr. Surehan stated that if the Volaris service works well, that would give the company great confidence to expand its offerings from Dulles International to other points in Latin America. Mr. Surehan stated that Primera Air would become the Airports Authority s first transatlantic low-cost carrier, beginning service to London Stanstead Airport five times a week. He stated that his team was in discussions with that carrier about expanding service to other key points in Europe, assuming the initial service launch was successful, for which the Airline Business Development team was confident based on the Volaris launch presentations that would be shared following his presentation. Mr. Surehan stated that Cathay Pacific would begin four times a week service to its Hong King hub starting September 17, and that the Airline Business Development team was confident that the service would do well. He added that through Hong Kong, Dulles International passengers could access 50 destinations in China and Southeast Asia, and that the Airline Business Development team was in discussions with Cathay Pacific about increasing the frequency on its Hong Kong route. The only bad news reported by Mr. Surehan was Frontier Airlines discontinuance of service to Las Vegas on August 11. He stated that the Airline Business Development team was in discussions with a couple of other carriers about adding service to Las Vegas, competing with United s service. Mr. Surehan acknowledged the very strong and talented seven-member Airline Business Development team and stated that they are dedicated to their own groups of airlines, and not only travel to airline headquarters but also to various conferences, meeting with airlines, travel agencies and travel managers to promote Dulles International, gather information, share new information and results about Dulles International, especially the Silver Line expansion, the steady reduction in cost per enplanement at the Airport, and, of course, the growth of the regional economy. Mr. Surehan then shared a list of a few of the events that the team had attended including: the January ACI Data Conference on new methods of data collection and forecasting methodology; the February 21 GBTA major business travel tradeshow, during which the team spoke with travel agencies and travel managers about Dulles International service; Routes Asia, the largest airline to airport industry conference in Asia, where the Airline Business Development team met with 21 airlines to

4 discuss route opportunities at Dulles International and participated in speed-dating, where airports have 20 to 30 minutes to talk to an airline with the ultimate goal of getting that carrier interested enough to invite them to Dulles International to a headquarters meeting to provide details about service opportunities; the March ITB, the world s largest travel show where the Airports Authority staff promoted Dulles International to travel agencies, managers and tour operators; and Volaire Air Service Forum, a conference focusing on smaller airports where staff met with airport representatives about Dulles International service, and interestingly met with Scranton, PA and Ithaca, NY, both of which will have service staring October 4. Mr. Surehan stated that while staff does not hit homeruns all the time, the new airport services are evidence that successes are achieved by attending these conferences. Finally, Mr. Surehan advised of his team s attendance of a new conference in April, the Airline Networking Airport Conference, where the Airline Business Development team met with 12 airlines to discuss route opportunities, which resulted in several follow-on airline meetings, and the team s participation in Routes Europe, the largest airline to airport conference in Europe, where the team met with six airlines to discuss route opportunities, and from which several follow-on meetings at airlines headquarters had already been scheduled. Mr. Surehan stated, in addition, that the Airline Business Development team works very closely with its stakeholder partners, including the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Destination DC, and others. He stated that in March, Carl Schultz, the member of the Airline Business Development team who is responsible for the Star Alliance, joined a United Airlines/ Destination DC team on a very successful series of sales missions travelling through Europe to promote Dulles International service from other points. Mr. Surehan stated that the Airline Business Development team also focuses on cargo opportunities, not just pure freighter, but the bellies of every wide-body aircraft that goes through Dulles International since cargo is a very strong component of the imports and exports to this region. He stated that in February, Joe Maly, the Airline Business Development team member responsible for air cargo development, attended the largest air cargo conference in India and met with 14 airlines and logistics companies to promote Dulles International, the facilities, access and strength of the economy, which drives imports and exports and a few weeks later, Mr. Maly also attended the world s largest air cargo industry conference in Dallas, Texas, where he met with 14

5 additional air cargo companies and logistics companies to promote Dulles International services, the latter of which led to two follow-on meetings scheduled within the next quarter. Mr. Surehan stated that once the Airline Business Development team finalizes new airline services, it works closely with the Airports Authority s Marketing team, Operations, Customer Service and the Media teams to promote the new routes and gain media awareness. He stated that representatives of the Airline Business Development team travelled to Little Rock, Arkansas on April 3 to promote the new service between Reagan National and Little Rock, and on the same day, other team members were at Shenandoah Valley to promote the new service between Dulles International and Shenandoah Valley. Mr. Surehan concluded his presentation by introducing Scott Cooper, one of the Airline Business team s three Airline Business Development Directors, who is responsible for non-aligned carriers, and Christian Dorn, who is a shared resource with the Marketing team, both of whom worked closely together on the Volaris launch event. Mr. Surehan stated that they developed a very thorough launch program with a different approach. Mr. Cooper started by reiterating that he and Ms. Dorn would provide information regarding the very exciting launch for Volaris that had been planned for that evening and the following morning, and emphasized that 2018 is an exciting year for Dulles International, especially on the lowcost international front since the Airports Authority would be welcoming two low-cost international carriers to Dulles International. Mr. Cooper referenced portions of his presentation concerning the planned festivities for the Volaris launch event, one of which displayed the flight information, including its arrival time of 11:35 p.m. from San Salvador, and pointing out that the flight would originate from San Jose, Costa Rica. Mr. Cooper stated that the flight would operate twice weekly, arriving into Dulles International on Mondays and Wednesdays, operating on an Airbus 319 aircraft with 144 all economy class seats. The aircraft would then depart for San Salvador from Dulles International at 1:52 a.m., and continue onward to San Jose, Cost Rica the following day, with that scheduled service operating on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

6 Mr. Cooper discussed some of the key opportunities and threats associated with Volaris, and stated that while the carrier is well-known in Mexico and Latin America and is a low-cost carrier that will make travel more affordable for all, the threat is the lack of brand awareness locally. Mr. Cooper stated that increasing brand awareness was the focus and introduced Ms. Dorn to discuss how working with local media partners and use of promotional items were being used to ensure the local population was aware that Volaris has flight operations at Dulles International, the specific routes flown by the carrier and the type of service provided. Mr. Cooper stated that the team would also be monitoring competition reactions from another carrier that serves the route flown by Volaris, but emphasized that the goal of the Airline Business Development team is to maximize the likelihood of long-term success and to look to grow other markets that Volaris could serve. Ms. Dorn stated that the launch campaign for Volaris consisted of two categories of emphasis---one is inside the Airport, and one is outside the Airport. Within the Airport, many Airports Authority-owned channels were used, including videos on the baggage claim carousels and the CNN monitors, as well as promotional exhibits, which she would discuss later in her presentation, airport shuttle bus signage and the Fly Washington Magazine, in addition to the launch event itself. Outside the Airport activities included the paid media, earned media, digital campaign and her favorite, the announcement from the Airports Authority s WiFi addresses. Ms. Dorn then displayed a screenshot of the Volaris displays on the CNN monitors post-security and the Dulles International arrivals TV monitors, followed by a commercial advertising the launch of Volaris as a new carrier, as well as information about the destination. Ms. Dorn stated that the videos had been displayed since April and would conclude in July, when new videos would be substituted about the second new carrier, Primera. Ms. Dorn stated that the Airport print activities supporting the Volaris launch included an in-airport exhibit then on display above the AeroTrain in the east and west bridges at Dulles International, including photos of both the Costa Rica and El Salvador destinations. Referring next to a shuttle bus sign displayed on the presentation screen, Ms. Dorn stated that the advertising displayed was in a median that had never been used by the Airports Authority, and that the advertising was being used in both Dulles International and Reagan National shuttle buses to generate awareness of the new launch since many passengers who are travelling to Latin American destinations originate from Reagan

7 National. Ms. Dorn then referred to an example display of the advertisement of the new service in Fly Washington Magazine, which included an article on San Salvador, and included an opportunity for Volaris to provide a full-page advertisement when that issue of the magazine is distributed at both Airports. Mr. Cooper then reviewed the two inaugural events scheduled for Volaris, one of which would take place that evening, and he and Ms. Dorn would be leaving for Dulles International to finalize logistics, including a water cannon salute, that would be captured on video. Mr. Cooper stated that that the plane would arrive at Gate B 37 at 11:35 p.m., that there would be light refreshments and promotional items as the arriving passengers deplaned the aircraft from San Salvador, including some welcome guides and books provided by some of the Airports Authority s tourism partners. Mr. Cooper also stated that there would be a social media component with the launch to ensure the message reached the masses, and that gift bags would be given to passengers as they boarded the flight from Dulles International to San Salvador. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the arriving flight was also planned for that evening, with remarks from some of the inbound Volaris executives aboard that flight, as well as Airports Authority officials. The second event would include a ribbon cutting and would take place at 10:00 a.m. the following morning with remarks by Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, Karima Woods from the Deputy D.C. Mayor s office and several Airports Authority spokespersons. Elected officials, dignitaries and guests had been asked to arrive between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m. Similar to the Air India ribbon cutting event, there would be time afterwards for media and press interviews prior to the event s expected conclusion around 11:30 a.m. In summary, Mr. Cooper stated both would be exciting passenger-focused events for inbound and outbound customers, with an opportunity to highlight and gain media exposure during the second event. Ms. Dorn provided an overview of the digital marketing associated with the Volaris launch, and stated that associated information was distributed across the Airports Authority s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using a different type of approach. There were two campaigns underway, one involved a threedestination approach marketing San Salvador, Costa Rica, as well as Edinburgh on United, and the second campaign was a Volaris-specific campaign consisting of a Volaris commercial, for which the Airports Authority had the ability to translate the information when a user listed a Spanish language preference. Referring to a screen display, Ms. Dorn

8 stated that while the displayed information was in English, it would be translated into Spanish if that was the user s language preference. Ms. Dorn stated that the commercial advertisement had reached over 46,000 persons in the District of Columbia metropolitan area, and that the three-destination advertisement had reached over 38,000 persons. The Volaris campaign used the hashtag #IADtoSanSalvador, which transferred the viewing digital user to different landing pages, and which Ms. Dorn presented in a later portion of her presentation. Ms. Dorn stated that across the Airports Authority s FlyDulles.com page a carousel image was being used, attracting over 500,000 unique visitors. She referred to a destination-specific landing page that provided information about the San Salvador region and how to book the flight. Ms. Dorn also displayed an example of the three-destination approach to which she referred earlier, where there was discussion of each of the three new destinations, as well as information on how to book flights to each. Ms. Dorn stated further that another unique aspect to the recent launch campaign involved its utilization of partnerships, including an in-kind relationship with the Washington Redskins, through which the Airports Authority has the opportunity to advertise on the Redskins digital mobile app. The Airports Authority had provided Volaris the opportunity to advertise on the Redskins mobile app, as well as to work with Destination DC and Virginia Tourism and other launch partners to generate awareness of its new service launch. Ms. Dorn explained that the marketing campaign that she referred to earlier consisted of a database of over 1.4 million Airport Wi-Fi users that had been scrubbed, so that s about the campaign had been distributed to over 500,000 users to provide information about the new destination and how they could book flights on Volaris. She advised that the paid media campaign included radio ads for the threedestination approach that were announced on WTOP and WAMU, and the prior day the Airports Authority finalized the script for a unique Volaris-specific advertisement that would air in English, as well as in Spanish, on WTOP. The advertisements began running in February, and would conclude in July, when the campaign would transition over to Primera. Ms. Dorn also stated that the launch campaign involved an ethnicspecific approach, targeting the Hispanic population in the region

9 through TV and radio, as well as other targeted marketing approaches. TV channels like Univision, El Sol, and others for Radio America and morning shows with live radio reads, as well as commercials, had been utilized. Mailers in zip codes specific to Hispanic-populated areas, and advertisements in laundromats, convenience stores and food trucks had also been used. Mr. Cooper finalized the presentation with slides emphasizing some internal pieces, including a story in On Good Authority and a special announcement, as well as marketing through earned media coverage, where they were looking to connect with bloggers influence to have the new service mentioned, especially by persons who had retweeted, and that the Airline Business Development team would be pitching articles to travel magazines and websites. In conclusion, Mr. Cooper stated that he and Ms. Dorn felt good about the package they had employed to support the new carriers so the carrier could be successful at Dulles International. Ms. Merrick stated that the presentation was for information only and invited the Board Members to raise questions or provide comments. Ms. Wells asked whether the Airline Business Development team had included specific information from the Costa Rican Tourism Bureau, which she considered a hidden jewel in providing important about the destination. Mr. Cooper stated that the Airports Authority has a contingent of Costa Rica media, as well as from El Salvador, being used to make sure the destinations are promoted. Ms. Wells stated that the Costa Rican Tourism Bureau publishes information about the 5-star hotels and other information that would support the success of the Volaris service and highly encouraged the use of their materials. Mr. Cooper thanked Ms. Wells for that recommendation. Mr. Williams asked how WAMU is a part of the Airports Authority s paid media. Ms. Dorn stated that the Airports Authority has a media buy with WAMU and advised that WAMU advertises the three new destinations through live radio reads, which are 15-second ads that are read live over the radio station. Mr. Potter stated that these radio buys are called sponsors but they are the equivalent of paid media. Ms. Dorn acknowledged the terminology of media sponsors differs from media buys.

10 Mr. Tejada stated that he was happy about the Volaris effort and that he is hopeful that it will have longevity. He referenced the possibility of competition that was mentioned during Mr. Surehan s presentation, and stated that competition is healthy and may result in lowering fares and the addition of other carriers, and hopefully competition will be a great benefit. Mr. Tejada referred to comments made by Mr. Sudow about what makes a market successful and stated that the Washington metro region seems to be an ideal population in that it has the second-largest Salvadoran-American population in the country, with Los Angeles having the largest. He congratulated Mr. Cooper and Ms. Dorn on the media outreach with Latino media and others, and stated that he had received a lot of s from persons asking if they can come, to which he had responded come on down! Mr. Tejada thanked Mr. Cooper and Ms. Dorn for the presentation and encouraged them to keep up the good work. Ms. Merrick stated that Mr. Cooper and Ms. Dorn provided an excellent report and that she appreciated their integrated approach, the partner marketing strategy, the earned and paid strategy and characterized the launch campaign as one reflecting real innovation and thanked them for all of their hard work. Mr. Sudow thanked Mr. Davis and Mr. Surehan for the quick start on route development initiatives. He asked about efforts underway to increase traffic at Reagan National, which seemed a little down while traffic at Dulles International had increased. Mr. Davis stated that looking at capacity in terms of available seats sold at Reagan National for the year 2018 versus 2017, that capacity is pretty flat. Based on the first quarter, Mr. Davis stated that there was no reduction in capacity but rather a decrease in passengers using the Airport because of weatherrelated events. He referred to weather events earlier this year, including a snow day, severe weather, significant winds and crosswinds, and more recently thunderstorms that affected aircraft operations. Mr. Davis stated that the passenger decline [during the first quarter of 2018] at Reagan National was not indicative of a lack of carrier success at the Airport or the Airports Authority s inability to sell flights from the Airport because Reagan National sells itself, and stated that he was not concerned about any long-term trends since the decline is largely attributed to weather.

11 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Project Journey (Project Journey). Roger Natsuhara, Vice President for Engineering, was joined by Richard Golinowski, Project Journey Integration Manager. Mr. Natsuhara provided an update on the Secure National Hall project, stated that prior month expenditures were $216,000 and total expenditures to date were $27.2 million. He reported that the lane widening on the south side of the arrivals level had been completed. Mr. Natsuhara also reported that the majority of the work to widen the lane on the north side of the arrivals area was complete. He stated that the recent rain events are impacting some of the civil work, including the widening project, which should be completed this month. Mr. Natsuhara reported that he believed the delay should cause only a minimal impact [to the schedule], but that Airports Authority staff will work with Turner Construction (Turner) to determine the impact. He also reported that the relocation of the communication rooms on the ticketing levels is underway and will continue for approximately another year. Mr. Natsuhara advised that the test pile program is nearly complete, and the Airports Authority is awaiting test results. He reported that the support of excavation on the north and south benches is underway. The installation of the auger piles would begin in June. Mr. Natsuhara shared several slides of the progress thus far on the Secure National Hall project, which is on track for its scheduled completion. Mr. Natsuhara then turned to the New Concourse project and advised that prior month expenditures for the enabling projects were $178,000 and total expenditures to date were $35.6 million. He reported that the construction procurement for the north area Airport security fence/gate modifications had been completed the prior month, and the construction would be completed in October. Mr. Natsuhara also reported that the central utility plant modification electrical rough-in and conduit for the motor control centers had also been completed. The installation of the variable frequency drive valves would be completed later this month, at which time the existing electrical system would be demolished and the initial testing of the system would begin. Mr. Natsuhara reported that the New Concourse prior month expenditures totaled $468,000 and the total expenditures to date were $46.2 million. With regard to activities on the apron, Mr. Natsuhara recalled that he had previously advised that the Airports Authority had established a surcharge on the area where the dirt is piled and the surcharge settlement period is underway. He reported that the blast wall installation would be completed this month. Mr. Natsuhara also

12 reported that the installation of the underground utilities outside of the surcharge areas is underway, and the installation of the underground utilities inside the surcharge area would begin in October. He stated that the New Concourse utility and ground surveys would be completed this month, and the pavement demolition and grading would continue through August. Mr. Natsuhara reported that the test pile program would begin in June. He shared several slides of the progress thus far on the New Concourse project. Mr. Golinowski reported that he would provide a Project Journey update from a customer s perspective. He shared slides and provided information on construction activities associated with the earth work on the hill adjacent to the Metro tracks; the north end roadway widening; the south end roadway widening; and sign changes. Mr. Golinowski reported that the progression of work on the temporary pile installation and preparation for the permanent pile installation is increasing traffic flow on National Avenue. He explained that there is a great deal of truck traffic, which is not impacting the lower level roadway. Mr. Golinowski advised that the traffic shift with the reduction of four lanes to two lanes in the area will remain for the duration of the outside work. He referenced the north end roadway widening and recalled the three traffic options [detour areas] to move traffic from the inner lanes prior to exiting the Airport. Mr. Golinowski referenced a slide and reported that after observing the traffic for a couple of days, staff determined that it could eliminate one of the options. As a result, traffic is flowing much easier northbound along the fence of the Airport. Mr. Golinowski reported that staff is presently finalizing a plan to use the same traffic model again in the coming months when the lane would be closed to accommodate additional utility work. Mr. Golinowski shared several slides of the south end roadway widening. He stated that the referenced roadway was being widened so that two lanes of traffic would be maintained when the pile installation is underway during the next phase of construction activity. Mr. Golinowski reported that staff is working diligently to ensure that the Airports Authority s wayfinding and informational signs are accurate and as informative as possible for the passengers. He stated that signs are often changed multiple times to address concerns or questions raised by customers. Mr. Golinowski referenced a slide and stated that the pictured signs had been changed four times in the past week. He recalled that Mr. Tejada had asked about the taxi and app-based ride

13 services at the April meeting. As he had mentioned the prior month, Mr. Golinowski stated that the sign had been changed, even as recently as the past week to indicate that the taxi and app-based ride services are located on this floor instead of the first floor based on comments received from customers and Traveler s Aid. He reported that staff had begun to fabricate and install more Project Journey information signs on the dust walls, and he shared a slide of one of the walls on the ticketing level. Mr. Golinowski stated that all of the signs are produced in-house by the Airports Authority s sign team. He introduced Gary Miller, Building Manager Supervisor; Jackie George, Sign Maker; and Charles Jones and Frankie Haynes, Structures Maintenance Mechanics, who are responsible for fabricating, installing, and maintaining the thousands of signs on Reagan National. Mr. Golinowski thanked them for their work and commented on their pleasant attitudes despite the numerous, sometimes daily, changes. They all received a round of applause. As far as upcoming customer changes, Mr. Golinowski provided information on the mock-up of the security barrier on the ticketing level; the demolition of the north end traffic barrier; the installation of structural piles and its impact on traffic; and seating changes near a couple restaurants on National Hall. He reported that a key feature of the Secure National Hall project is creating a secure separation between the ticket level and National Hall. Mr. Golinowski shared a rendering and pointed out the perforated security barrier, which extends from floor to ceiling. He described the full-scale mockup near door number one that is currently under construction, which should be installed during mid- to late-june. Mr. Natsuhara noted that the first 10 feet of the barrier would be constructed of glass, and the remainder of it would be constructed of mesh. Mr. Golinowski advised that the architects and engineers had dedicated a great deal of time designing the mesh feature to ensure that it complements the architectural features of the Airport, as well as helping to provide good airflow and acoustics, and light flow between the spaces. Mr. Golinowski reported that the north end traffic barrier on the arrivals level would be demolished. Presently, the concrete traffic barrier separates the traffic lanes that allow customers to either Return to the Airport or Proceed to GW Parkway. Mr. Golinowski advised that the barrier would be removed to accommodate the installation of a new storm water structure, and that it will significantly impact traffic once the construction begins in June. He shared a slide of the area on the lower level where the auger cast test piles had been installed and advised

14 that the Airports Authority is awaiting approval from the design team to ensure that they satisfy the requirements. Within a couple of weeks of receiving the results, Turner would use heavy equipment to begin installing the permanent piles along the wall in preparation for the new storm water structure. Since the work areas would be surrounded by safety cones and barriers, they would be extended north and south by approximately 20 yards each way and restrict traffic. Mr. Golinowski also reported that new seating configurations near Chickfil-A and Il Villaggio restaurants in National Hall are anticipated to accommodate work on the lower level as the new security checkpoints are built. He shared slides of the barrier s location, as well as the dust wall area. Mr. Golinowski stated that once the barrier is installed, it would be covered with advertising for the concessions team to direct customers to other options in the Airport. He noted that customer seating should not be impacted and Chick-fil-A and Il Villaggio will remain open during the construction. Mr. Golinowski reported that a change had occurred since the materials had been provided for the day s meeting. He advised that Turner indicated that it may be able to delay this portion of the construction until 2019 without hindering the overall progress of the project, which is positive news for the Airports Authority and the concessions. Mr. Golinowski reported that staff is currently analyzing Turner s proposal to ensure it does not change the overall schedule for the completion date of With regard to the Airports Authority s Communication Program, the new 1640 AM radio station on Roadway Advisory Radio serves as a traffic advisory system for customers. Mr. Golinowski reported that several prerecorded messages were created that can be turned on and off as needed, depending on the traffic conditions on the Airport. He played the audio message that is currently programmed into the system, which provided details about construction, its impact on the roadway and parking facilities, speed limit in the work zone, use of Metrorail, as well as the website (FlyReagan.com/ProjectJourney) so that customers could learn more information. Mr. Golinowski advised that the radio station has a two-mile radius so it could be heard from the Key Bridge to Alexandria and as far south as Shirlington, which provides good coverage for all customers coming to Reagan National. He reported that getting 1640 AM procured and installed was no small feat, and Mr. Golinowski recognized the following staff who were instrumental in achieving the outcome: Dan Branch, Manager, Electrical Division; Kevin Frazier, Electrical Division Planner; Rob Yingling, Media Manager, the voice of the pre-recorded

15 messages; and Joe Neligan, Purchasing Agent. The staff received a round of applause, and Mr. Golinowski stated that he appreciated the work they performed on the unique, challenging opportunity. Mr. Golinowski stated that Directors may have recently heard about the plan for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to begin platform rehabilitation work in He reported that the planned work would affect Reagan National s Metrorail platform, as well as stations south of it. Mr. Golinowski advised that discussions are already underway with WMATA, and the first meeting with the WMATA team would be held on May 24 to ensure that Airports Authority staff is aware of the information to share with Airport customers. He further advised that staff anticipates using the new radio station to advise passengers about the potential traffic problems with the WMATA station closures in The meeting was thereupon adjourned at 1:22 p.m.