Mike Flack, Executive Director of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport

MidlandsBiz:
What is your educational background?

Mike Flack:
I have a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Kentucky.  After college, I spent seven years in the army before being hired as Director of Administration and Finance at Bluegrass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky.  After a couple of years, I was promoted to Executive Director and stayed in that role for 11 years. 

The opportunity to head up the Columbia airport was attractive to me because I felt that I could really make an impact and accomplish something.   I remember calling up my predecessor, Bob Waddle, to ask him a few questions about Columbia and he told me: Mike, you are going to love working in South Carolina.  In May of 1998, I came here to Columbia and Bob was right.   

MidlandsBiz:
Outline a brief history of the airport. 

Mike Flack:
Before World War II, Lexington County had an airport here. Between 1941 and 1946, this space was used as the Columbia Army Airbase.  The City of Columbia took ownership of the airport after 1946 when a federal law put this airport, as well as about 50 others in the United States, back into the hands of local entities.   

By 1962, airline service had been moved from Owens Field to this facility and local leaders started talking about a regional effort to upgrade and expand the airport.  In 1964, the City relinquished ownership of the airport, the Richland-Lexington Airport Commission was established, and a new terminal was built and opened in 1965. 

The Commission started the conception of the current terminal in 1992.  They really wanted to make a loud statement about this airport and what it represents to the community.  An airport is often the first and last impression that people have of a region so it’s important to have a nice, well-run facility.  A massive renovation broke ground in 1995 and was completed in 1997.

To this day, perhaps the most talked about aspect of the airport is the beautiful architecture of the terminal building.  When compared to airports in other state capitals like Jackson, Mississippi; Tallahassee, Florida; or Montgomery, Alabama, our terminal building is something that we all should be very proud of.

The terminal is the most visible part of the airport, but the airport is the 2,700 acres that comprise the entire property.  We also operate a 108-acre tract within the Columbia Metropolitan Airport complex called a Foreign-Trade Zone.  The FTZ is a duty-free, quota-free, secure area in a customs port of entry that is actually considered to be outside the US Customs territory.  Facilities can be built within the zone through a negotiated ground lease between the Airport District and either the user or a commercial developer.

MidlandsBiz:
What is your ownership structure?

Mike Flack:
By state statute, we are established as a special district of the state of South Carolina with a status similar to a city or a county.  We have our own fire and police departments, power of condemnation, and to a certain degree, our own power of taxation.  We set our rates and fees for use of the facilities so, for example, if you want to build a hangar, the Commission determines that rate. 

The district is operated by the 12 members of the Airport Commission. The two members from the City are nominated from City Council, and the five members from each of Richland and Lexington counties are nominated from the members of their respective legislative delegations.  Appointments to the Commission are made by the Governor.

MidlandsBiz:
Do you sit on the Commission?

Mike Flack:
I am employed by the Commission; I do not sit on the Commission Board.  The current Chairman of the Board, a position that rotates every two years in accordance with state law, is Larry Koester from Richland County. 

MidlandsBiz:
Who are your customers?  How do you make revenue?

Mike Flack:
Our customers are the people who do business here: the airlines and the concessionaires.

Our constituents are the travelers who use this facility. 

We are entirely self-sufficient; we don’t receive any money from state or local authorities.  The airlines rent space from us and pay a landing fee every time they touch down here in Columbia.  Those landing fees cover the cost of the maintenance and operations for the airfield area.  The rentals and concessions revenue cover the cost of operations of the terminal and the terminal grounds. 

MidlandsBiz:
How do you pay for large infrastructure projects like new runways?

Mike Flack:
We are part of a program that is run similar to the federal highway funding program but that is dedicated to aviation.  When you buy an airline ticket, you pay an airport tax that goes into a trust fund administered by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).  We receive federal grants every year out of that pool of money based on the number of people who are traveling in and out of our airport. 

We have been very fortunate the past few years with the monies that we have received out of this trust fund. In 2008, these transfers have enabled us to widen and resurface our north-south runway, and we plan on starting the other runway in a couple of years.

MidlandsBiz:
Where does air travel fit into the local transportation strategy?

Mike Flack:
There are 5 modes of transportation: waterways, highways, airways, railways, and pipelines.  There is a purpose for each of these and they all have to work together.  A few years ago, intermodal got to be a big buzzword around the transportation industry, but airports always have been and always will be intermodal facilities.  Our job is to connect the airways with the highways, and in some ways with the railways. 

Traffic out of this airport is mostly business; we don’t have a lot of leisure travel, and when we do, it is mostly outbound.  Air travel in general is in a period of transition.  The impact of technology has altered people’s travel habits and now means that some people don’t have to travel at all. 

MidlandsBiz:
How have the economic conditions affected the airport and air travel in 2008?

Mike Flack:
Air travel reflects the local economy that it supports.  2008 has been a tough year because of the price of fuel and the national and international economy.  Our local economy has been pretty steady so while we are down a little in 2008, in some airports around the nation, traffic is down significantly. 

MidlandsBiz:
What trends are you seeing in air travel?

Mike Flack:
There is lots of change out there. It seems every day there is news of a new flight, or a new city added, or a new city dropped.

We are now 30 years into deregulation and down to six legacy carriers (those that existed before deregulation): Northwest, Continental, US Airways, United, American and Delta.  In a couple of months, we will be down to five because Northwest will be absorbed by Delta.  These carriers have had to learn to compete against upstart airlines such as Southwest, AirTrans, JetBlue, and Spirit Airlines, to literally name just a few.  Every month another airline starts up!  The legacy carriers often have to deal with issues that don’t affect the newer companies: unions, fleet maintenance and fleet replacement. 

One trend that people predic
ted would happen (and one I’m sure that our travelers have noticed) is the number of interline agreements between different carriers.  It is impossible for us to keep up with the connection agreements between the different carriers because they come and go so quickly. At one time, we had Chautauqua Airlines flying out of this airport under three different colors.  It’s hard to tell which airline is which these days.  

MidlandsBiz:
What roadblocks do you encounter as you look to build new relationships with the airlines and thereby build revenue?

Mike Flack:
I do have an advocacy role to play here and we are constantly looking to improve air service and the number of airlines.  We are small compared to other major centers in the United States, and when we try to add service, we are competing with some pretty large places.  When I visit airlines, I have to recognize that the they can put an additional route in any airport in the country.   Everybody thinks Charlotte is our competition, but in reality, every airport in the country is our competition.
 
The most important factor in recruiting an airline to this area is our population base.  Charlotte has 14 million passengers a year; we have one million.  Until you have a population base over a million people, it’s hard to attract a big carrier who might offer a popular destination like Boston, because it’s all about whether you have enough people who are willing and able to travel that route and thereby make it a profitable.  Southwest actually publishes very clear guidelines about the size of city into which they will enter.  They are in only one city with less than a million people, and that is only on an experimental basis. 

Still, we do visit Southwest Airlines once a year because I am convinced that they will eventually expand their strategy and enter into Tier 2 cities like Columbia.  When that happens, I hope to be one of the first cities they choose. 

MidlandsBiz:
What percentage of your business is air cargo? 

Mike Flack:
UPS flies a great big MD11 in and out of this airport everyday.  Some days they will have 8 flights out of here; other days they have between 15 and 20. 

The public generally doesn’t know the impact that UPS has had on not only this airport, but also the region.  Because UPS pays over 50% of our landing fees, it has made it easier and more profitable for other commercial airlines to do business here.  UPS gave us the ability to upgrade the navigational equipment at the airport so that we can operate in weather situations that would normally close an airport of our size. 

UPS is a major employer and an excellent corporate citizen, but FedEx and DHL also have a presence in this market.

MidlandsBiz:
What is your leadership style? 

Mike Flack:
An effective leader has a clear vision of what he wants to accomplish, so I always try to focus on what we want this airport to look like 10 years from now.  An effective leader also has the ability to communicate that vision to members and supporters of the organization. The last critical component of leadership is the ability to get the team to commit to that vision.  I have an incredibly dedicated and competent staff here at the airport who are at the center of any of our successes.

MidlandsBiz:
What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Mike Flack:
I am most proud of how we have been able to change people’s perceptions about the airport over these past ten years.  We have added a new parking garage, a new road system into the airport, and we invest a lot of money into the landscaping.  It has all helped build up local pride in this airport and thereby this city and region.

Ten years ago we had three airlines here in Columbia and there was a threat that we might lose Continental; today we have Delta, US Airways, United, Northwest, American, Spirit, and Continental.

Ten years ago we had non-stop to only four cities: Charlotte, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Raleigh.  Now we have non-stop service to 15 different hubs and non-stop service to all of our top ten destinations.  We offer more non-stop cities than other airports in similar-sized cities. 

MidlandsBiz:
What has been the most difficult situation you have faced as leader of the airport?

Mike Flack:
We now have a very sad reference point in our history.  The accident that occurred out here on September 20 was a terrible day in our history and one we’d all just as soon never happened.  We will always be greatly affected by the events of that day.  The challenge for the moment is still that we don’t know exactly how it happened.  That’s tough.