Shop Talk: Q&A with Andrew Davis, director, Worcester Regional Airport
Photo/Eileen Kennedy
Andrew B. Davis,
Director of Worcester Regional Airport
The Worcester Regional Airport has tried to unsuccessfully to grow for decades, and everyone in the area seems to have an opinion about how it should be run: just ask them. The airport now has one passenger airline, Direct Air, with flights to several locations in Florida, and in March flights to Myrtle Beach, N.C., are expected to start. Now that MassPort is running the show, it recently hired Andrew B. Davis to increase passenger and general aviation services at the airport. He left a position as general manager for American Airlines.
>>Can you tell me about your background?
I was with American Airlines for 25 years. I joined them fresh out of college into an entry level position and worked my way up the through the ranks. Almost all of it was in customer service at approximately 12 different airports as big as Chicago and as small as Vail, Colo., which has two flights a day.
>>How do you think the skills you’ve amassed will help you here?
They will help a great deal. What I was able to do at the 12 or so airports was to get a good understanding of how airports operate and not only on the airline side of the business.
>>Was there something specific about the job here that interested you?
One was the location. I grew up in Rhode Island, my wife grew up in Connecticut, I went to school in New Hampshire and I’ve worked in Boston, Providence and Hartford. On the professional side, this is an opportunity. I knew the terminal was absolutely beautiful, relatively new and underutilized. A lot of investments have been made in the airport to keep it up: the repaving of the runways and new lighting systems enhancements. It’s a ready-made airport.
>>Can you talk about MassPort’s outlook for this airport?
No new airports are being built, no new runways are being built and the population is still growing. The opportunity for growth is now in the 495 beltway, so this is a prime location.
>>There have been a lot of unrealized hopes around this airport over the years. What do you hope to do to make the airport successful?
What I hope to do personally is to be able to participate along with the civic leaders, the business leadership and the community as a whole, to promote the airport and attract new business.
>>How has Direct Air been doing?
They’re doing fine. They obviously are an airline that will not be happy unless every seat is filled and every face has a smile on it. There are some very good opportunities coming up with spring break, winter vacations and spring training with the Red Sox, specifically to Punta Gorda Airport near the Red Sox training camp in Florida.
>>So has Direct Air been filling most of their flights?
I don’t have their exact numbers but I know they’ve had some great high-load factors and some low-load factors.
>>Do you think later this year you might be able to attract any other airlines?
I don’t want to put a timeline on it. I have to appreciate the fact that the economy is still in a dire strait and virtually every airline has reduced capacity. The economy is going turn around and when it does, airlines will be looking for new ways to compete with each other. One of the prime ways to avoid competition is by flying out of an airport that doesn’t have a lot of competition.
>>Is there anything you would like to say specifically to business customers?
I would love to see a letter-writing campaign to the airlines by business customers. If people with American Advantage Platinum, or United Miles Plus or Delta Sky Miles would tell the airlines that they’d be very happy to fly out of Worcester, airlines are very receptive to premium customers.
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