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San Fernando
Monday, Mar 18, 2024

Valley’s High Flier

Frank Miller has managed airports in many states and overseen construction at them but nothing compares to the project at his new job at Hollywood Burbank Airport. At the San Fernando Valley’s only commercial airfield, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority plans to build a 14-gate, 355,000-square-foot replacement terminal on 49 acres along Hollywood Way. It will replace the existing 14-gate terminal, which was built in 1930. The new terminal would open in 2022. The project follows the airport’s construction of an intermodal transit center – designed to connect passengers with train, bus and rental car transportation – which opened in 2014. As executive director of the airport, Miller, 62, will oversee construction of the new terminal while at the same time maintaining service for passengers and visitors. “I’ve done car rental facilities, air traffic control towers, cargo buildings,” Miller said. “But this building most likely with the footprint and whatnot will be the largest one.” A self-labeled “Army brat” who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, Miller has managed airports in Texas, Florida, Colorado and Alaska. He started at Hollywood Burbank in September, taking over for Dan Feger who held the executive director positon for eight years. Miller is not a direct employee of the authority but instead works for TBI Airport Management Inc., the management firm contracted with the authority for airport operations. TBI is a subsidiary of Airports Worldwide, an airport management company based in Sanford, Fla. Miller spoke with the Business Journal about the challenges of his job, status of the replacement terminal project and why he never learned to fly. FRANK R. MILLER TITLES: Executive director Organization: Hollywood Burbank Airport Born: Fort Hood, Texas, 1955 Education: Bachelor of science, business administration from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash.; accreditation by American Association of Airport Executives Career Turning Point: City manager in Juneau, Ala. appointed him as airport manager. Personal: Married, one daughter, lives in Burbank Hobbies: Tennis, running Question: What motivates you? Answer: Projects like the one we are about to embark on. I have a lot of experience with the development of airports and seeing the ability to put in place the type of facilities that we are looking at here in Burbank, it is fun to watch it come together. How did previous positions prepare for Hollywood Burbank role? I’ve managed airports of a lot different sizes, smaller than Burbank, larger than Burbank. The last airport I was at was San Antonio. It’s given me a good perspective of operations of airports of all sizes. I’ve been chairman of Airports Council International, North America which gave me some good insight not only on how things are done here in the United States but seeing some of the good things that are done in other countries. Now we are starting to see where the U.S. airports are taking some of those best practices and apply them here. Can you give an example? The biggest example is what we call common use, where airlines are assigned gates and ticket counters. If you go to other countries you will see where airlines are moved around during the day. You are starting to see that even here in Burbank. Twenty years ago, the back wall of the ticket counter had the logo of the airline and that was a fixed component. Now you are seeing we are using monitors. The monitors give the ability as needed to move the airlines around. Common use would also allow us to be more active in the assignment of gates. We can be more efficient in how we operate the airport and the terminal by having a common use systems in place. What’s the biggest challenge in managing airports? How airports are regulated. We are constantly in Washington talking with Congress about the need for more money. Infrastructure needs at airports is a very important challenge for us and trying to find ways to finance that has the least direct impact on our rates and charges with the airlines. How is that done? Typically what you see is airports sell airport revenue bonds. We pledge the revenue at the airport to retire the debt service. Like Burbank, the airports around the United States are self-sufficient, not relying on local tax dollars. We sell bonds, we use the revenues from our operations to pay off those bonds. Doing that has an impact on what we charge the airlines and others. There are grants we can get from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), we have a passenger facility charge we can use for our projects. We look at all those sources. What does the new terminal mean for the airport? It really provides that ability for the airport to provide the level of service that people want here. It gives the ability to pull the airport farther away from the runways, meet the FAA criteria for terminals. It gives us the opportunity to build a new structure that meets the seismic design standards for earthquakes. And with this replacement terminal we can do things that we can’t do right now to provide a more customer-friendly experience, from concessions to getting through security to moving from gate to gate. It really helps the airlines as well. But you’re not going to have jetways, right? Passengers will be able to go up the stairs to the airplanes? I hear more people say they enjoy boarding an airplane from the front and the rear. They want to see us maintain that. That is going to be a topic of discussion as we go through this charrette exercise. There is a tremendous need for that. Southwest and Alaska operate from the front and the rear. There is no preconceived notion on my part that we have to have a loading bridge. What is the status of the new terminal project? Right now we are working with the FAA. We have an airport layout plan and we have to amend that. That will help us identify where the replacement terminal will be and how it fits with the airfield environment. Once that is done, the next step on the federal level is we have to do an environmental study. Typically that takes anywhere from 18 to 24 months. Any interesting stories while managing an airport? I think for Burbank, my friends and colleagues in the industry talk about me being in Hollywood. And I tell them we do see celebrities that come through the airport. I kind of brag how off the airport on the other side of the fence is Jay Leno and talk about his car collection. Why was becoming airport manager in Juneau a career turning point? I went to Juneau when I was young; I was in my mid-20s. I was hired to be the transit manager. About two or two and a half years into that role, the positon of airport manager opened up. I had been administering the ground transportation contracts for the hotels to the airport. The city manager looked to me to take over the airport. That was a fundamental shift for me. It didn’t take long to realize that what I really liked doing was the work at the airport. That was the career changing opportunity that I was given in Juneau. What were your career plans before that? I was going to be the transit manager and live in Alaska. By going to the airport it opened up and broadened my horizons and my perspective. Juneau was the first of five airports. Prior to that I was fine in Juneau, I loved it. I still take trips back there because it does hold a special place for me. What is the biggest source of complaints at an airport? It is always how long does it take to get your bags when you arrive. If parking is full, it’s curbside congestion. At this airport, the complaints here are not a lot. It is so convenient to fly in and out of this airport that it really downplays the concerns you would see at a larger airport with a lot more congestion. Typically it can be anything from noise to congestion to the desire for more flights or more non-stop flights. Those are the types of things that we hear. Has the name change from Bob Hope to Hollywood Burbank Airport worked? I think for the purposes of the airport it was something that needed to be done. I am sensitive to the name of Bob Hope. I am an Army brat and with my father we watched every Bob Hope Christmas special that was on TV. But for us as we start to raise the awareness of the airport and for branding purposes, Hollywood Burbank really begins to identify where the airport is, the region that it serves. The official name remains the Bob Hope Airport. For branding purposes it is the Hollywood Burbank Airport. It was done strictly for the ability to let people know where the airport is located. What kind of traveler comes through this airport – business or pleasure? Probably a very good mix. I’ll watch people and by watching them I can see who is a frequent traveler. If they are a frequent traveler they are a business traveler. They know how to get through the terminal. They like the airport for the convenience. There is a strong discretionary (segment) of family travelers, again, because of where we are. It is a good mix of both business and leisure. What is a typical day like for you? I don’t really have a typical day other than to say there are a lot of scheduled meetings that deal with anything from a terminal replacement program where we are sitting down to discuss how we go forward with financing, how we are going to undertake the design to personnel issues and operational issues. That is part of the attractiveness of this job – there’s not a typical day. Yes, I am in the office or I am working around the terminal or being driven around the airfield. It is always nice to get out of the office and do that. I am here but at any given time your schedule can change. What is the most recent book you’ve read? A book about JFK right now and the events leading up to his assassination. And it is really interesting to me right now because last year I had the opportunity to fly to Cuba and spend 10 days there. The book starts off with the relationship that Kennedy and Castro were trying to forge prior to the assassination. I am about a third of the way through that book right now. Who has been an influential person in your life? From a professional standpoint I know a person who is now consulting who started on the airline side. I met this person in Juneau. So I am talking about 35 years ago. We still maintain a professional relationship. He is still consulting. He helped me at an early time in my career when I was given the opportunity to manage the airport in Juneau. He was influential in my career in helping me develop how I deal with the airlines and understanding their contracts and dealing with the rental car (companies) and understanding their contracts. I still bring him into my needs regardless of which airport I am at. You listed running as a hobby. Where are your favorite places to go running? Here it is just in the neighborhood. The best run I’ve had was running the Washington mall. I was out there for some meetings. To be out there and having that environment was a fun thing to do with all the history, it was a nice crisp cool morning. Have you ever run a marathon? I have not done a marathon. I’ve done a 5K race. A marathon would take a lot more training than I have time to do. Did you ever learn to fly a plane? I am not a pilot. There are certainly a lot of managers out there who started off as pilots and got into the business. I did not take that route to get here. I haven’t had the time to learn to fly. I’ve thought of that. It’s not necessarily something you need to know to be a director of an airport but it certainly helps in understanding a lot of the issues out there on the airfield. Other than the ones you worked at, do you have any favorite airports? I was raised in the Seattle area so I always have a soft spot for SeaTac (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport). It is a very friendly airport.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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