When Christina Cassotis took the helm of Pittsburgh Worldwide Airport in 2015, she inherited an airport in transition—one which had misplaced its main hub standing, however nonetheless possessed untapped potential. Practically a decade later, her daring imaginative and prescient has remodeled PIT right into a mannequin for the {industry}, proving that airports may be greater than transit factors—they are often catalysts for innovation, financial progress, and neighborhood improvement. Because the airport’s $1.7 billion terminal modernization nears completion, Cassotis displays on the methods and management ideas which have redefined what an airport can and needs to be within the twenty first century.
Within the following interview, Cassotis shares her successes serving to to remodel a significant worldwide airport that now higher displays “what Pittsburgh had grow to be.”
Beneath your management, PIT has remodeled into an industry-changing origin-and-destination airport with report progress. Inform us your methods for fulfillment.
After I took this function in 2015, I needed to change mindsets and redefine what success regarded like. It wasn’t about getting a hub again as a result of the way forward for PIT didn’t lie in recreating the previous. It was in constructing one thing new that higher mirrored what Pittsburgh had grow to be.
We pivoted to an origin-and-destination mannequin, investing in modernizing our infrastructure to raised serve the individuals who really reside and work right here. That meant making the airport extra environment friendly and cost-effective for airways, whereas additionally making a world-class passenger expertise that matched the town’s rising repute for innovation, tradition and {industry}.
We centered on positioning PIT not simply as an airport, however as a driver of financial progress, a testing floor for brand spanking new applied sciences and a connector for communities. We’ve constructed sturdy relationships with airways and took large swings, like launching our terminal modernization program and recruiting British Airways. None of this was about checking containers—it’s been about redefining what an airport can and needs to be.
You’re centered on making PIT probably the most accessible airport on this planet. What are among the key elements for attaining that?
Journey has to work for everybody. That’s why we’re not simply speaking about accessibility by way of ADA compliance, we’re taking it a number of steps additional by adopting Common Entry ideas that take into account how each passenger experiences the airport. That’s every thing from wayfinding for individuals with low imaginative and prescient to sensory-friendly areas like Presley’s Place, to height-accessible counters and extra locations to relaxation.
We’ve constructed a devoted service design crew to take a look at each touchpoint within the journey expertise by means of the lens of inclusion. Our new “We Received You” initiative places tech within the fingers of our frontline employees to allow them to reply to passenger wants in actual time.
However accessibility isn’t nearly passengers, it’s additionally about workforce—the airport’s, our companions and the area. That’s why we created onsite childcare and neighborhood workforce improvement applications which can be simply as necessary.
At present, you’re spearheading PIT’s $1.7 billion terminal modernization program that’s slated for completion later this 12 months. What does that appear like?
The brand new terminal displays how we imagine airports ought to perform—as environment friendly, resilient, accessible transportation hubs and financial drivers for surrounding communities.
The brand new terminal is a cost-efficient, sustainable terminal designed for Pittsburgh’s present wants with flexibility to adapt to future wants. The design was guided by an idea often known as NaTeCo—Nature, Know-how, Group—serving as a gateway to Pittsburgh and a illustration that defines Pittsburgh to the world.
We labored with our airline companions, who’re key funders, to make sure we’re assembly their operational wants for as we speak’s market. Their help has been key all through the method.
This system features a new pre-security terminal with state-of-the-art check-in, safety and baggage operations, a brand new good parking storage, and an overhaul of the post-security area to raised serve passengers and airways. Remodeling our airport meant deliberately infusing know-how into our design course of whereas offering a way of place and simplifying the customer journey.
We’re additionally very happy with what now we have been in a position to accomplish from a workforce and supplies standpoint. Roughly 90 % of the supplies and labor on web site are regionally sourced. I discussed our workforce improvement program above. Our PIT2Work program trains individuals onsite for union trades jobs, lots of whom at the moment are serving to construct the terminal and different key regional initiatives.
You’ve just lately hit your 10-year anniversary since taking the helm at PIT. What are some management classes that you just’ve realized alongside the best way?
Imaginative and prescient is necessary, however execution issues and so does belief. Early on, individuals instructed me this airport was a misplaced trigger, and that I’d by no means get the help that might be wanted to remodel it. I took that as a problem. However to maneuver one thing this advanced ahead, you must carry individuals with you—employees, companions, airways and neighborhood leaders. You need to hear and preserve the larger mission entrance and middle.
Management means creating area for others to succeed. Whether or not that’s constructing a pathway for somebody to be taught a commerce or creating infrastructure that serves the neighborhood higher, legacy is measured in affect. I’ve realized that whenever you spend money on individuals, you create a pure tradition of innovation and can see outcomes you by no means anticipated.
And, I’ve realized that taking threat taking is important. From totally powering our airport by a microgrid and changing into the primary within the US to realize that, to opening our doorways to startups by means of xBridge, our onsite innovation middle, we’ve taken calculated dangers and seen tangible rewards.
One of many first issues I wished to ensure of is that we’d bake innovation into every thing that we do. That’s as a result of I didn’t come right here simply to run an airport. I got here to alter a complete {industry}, and we’re doing that in Pittsburgh.
