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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > February > 28 > Entry
Editorial: Dayton airport poised to get even better
Iftikhar Ahmad, the ambitious director of Dayton’s airport, is — to no one’s shock — leaving.
Though he hasn’t yet nailed down his contract in New Orleans — so theoretically the deal still could fall apart — he appears to be on to bigger things.
Mr. Ahmad, 43, has had remarkable accomplishments in his short tenure in Dayton.
He took over an airport in 2006 that was struggling, having first lost its status as a passenger hub and then as a cargo hub. The fees it charged airlines were high; its facilities were dated and dusty; and nearby local governments were looking for ways to make sure that the regional asset didn’t grow because they were so angry at airport administrators.
Mr. Ahmad, who has been in the sights of recruiters before, is leaving an airport that has sharply cut fees to airlines. At the same time, passenger traffic has gone up steadily and significantly.
And the facilities have been spiffed up and modernized.
There’s a new air traffic control tower and parking garage being built. A new hotel is on the drawing board to replace a musty, money-losing one.
The hope of bringing companies to the developed and undeveloped land nearby hasn’t been realized, but the economy has not been on Mr. Ahmad’s side.
If there’s a takeaway from his tenure, it is that Dayton can attract young, talented professionals who want to show what they’re made of. The challenges at the airport were, and still are, big, but there are smart people who have creative ideas and are willing to work hard to make them happen.
(Mr. Ahmad wanted to get to the point where he could afford to pay airlines to land in Dayton, rather than charge them. That would be unprecedented in the industry, he has said.)
Mr. Ahmad owes Dayton to the degree that it offered him an opportunity. But the community owes him for being sharply focused and for acting with urgency.
The airport continues to be an economic development opportunity because of the space that’s there and because of its easy access for both trucks and trains.
Of course, if passenger service isn’t protected, that could become a stumbling block to companies that want to grow and to compete nationally and internationally.
NCR’s Bill Nuti, when he was justifying moving his company’s headquarters to suburban Atlanta, complained about the lack of flights in and out of Dayton. Then and now that argument was exaggerated, but it does have to be responded to.
(Atlanta’s airport is so clogged that, if you’re talking about how long it takes to get door-to-door, flying out of Dayton and dealing with a connection can be faster than navigating Hartsfield.)
Mr. Ahmad has been valuable also because of his almost pitch-perfect marketing. He is candid and analytical in his selling of Dayton, even as he has been an aggressive and unabashed promoter.
The work in New Orleans isn’t going to be easy. The Times-Picayune said Mr. Ahmad is moving from an airport that is “too big for its customer base” — how’s that for a good problem to have — to one that is “seen as too small and has limited space to expand.”
Meanwhile, the aviation board there has applied to be one of five airports nationally that could be privatized, a more common situation in Europe than in the United States.
If Mr. Ahmad negotiates a contract that preserves his position even in the face of a contractor taking over, that could pave the way for him to pull down more money from a private business. He earned just shy of $124,000 in Dayton.
Mr. Ahmad’s successor has a tough act to follow. But he or she will be taking over an asset that is positioned well.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Editorials, Ellen Belcher, Local Business, Transportation
Comments
By nyc
February 28, 2010 6:43 AM | Link to this
dayton needs to quick fooling itself by billing itself as an international airport…yea they may fly to canada but give me a break..you are what you are…a hillbilly, redneck…one horse town…
By bobby
February 28, 2010 8:56 AM | Link to this
nyc, Please quit denigrating Dayton. If you were the sophisticate you think you are, you would be reading the New York Times, not the Dayton Daily News at 6:43 on a Sunday morning.
By It's Great in Dayton!!!
February 28, 2010 5:58 PM | Link to this
nyc —-OK, Dayton might be a hillbilly, redneck one horse town, but the airport is fairly nice.
By davidss2
February 28, 2010 8:52 PM | Link to this
The airport is nice, but do they have redlight cameras and speed cameras there? Think of the money they could make giving tickets to out-of-towners. ———-Too bad we drove to Columbus for our last trip! Cheaper and easier. Otherwise it’ll be Indianapolis. We’re not giving Dayton politicians the money to play with instead of fixing their city’s problems.
By It's Great in Dayton!!!
February 28, 2010 10:45 PM | Link to this
Ya know, City of Dayton could turn a buck by pilfering the luggage of people flying into town. Sell the valuable stuff on Ebay. Who knows, maybe they already do this…? ————-DAYTON’S DYING————-
By Resident
March 2, 2010 12:14 PM | Link to this
Did Iftikhar write this himself? Just to clear something up, the parking garage and tower were already planned long before Iftikhar came.
By Resident
March 2, 2010 12:15 PM | Link to this
Did Iftikhar write this himself? Just to clear something up, the parking garage and tower were already planned long before Iftikhar came.
By N/A
March 2, 2010 8:59 PM | Link to this
Significant passenger growth? They were down over 14% in 2009. How is lowering costs to the airlines working out. Less capacity! Great move! How’s employee moral. They can’t wait till he leaves. The Tower was in process and designed before his time. Parking deck as well. To be honest, anybody can spend money and get things built. So, now what has been accomplished? New business development? Nothing! New air service? Nothing! How are revenues? Down! DDN, please do some research. This is all true. Good Luck New Orleans!
By Airline lady
March 3, 2010 8:41 AM | Link to this
They used to charge us airlines $14 before he got here. Now it is just a couple bucks. Columbus is down 10%, Cincinnati is down 24%,it is the economy. And any organization has “plans for progress.” It takes somebody to implement them effectively. Give credit where credit is due. Let’s show the next candidate who might replace him that we are not a bunch of haters.
By N/A
March 3, 2010 9:01 AM | Link to this
Cincinnati is down 24% because Delta is downgrading the hub, but there traffic originating in Cincinnati is way up. A couple of bucks is great for the airlines that won’t be adding any new flights or service, but it has eroded revenues to the airport, the vast amount of equipment that the airport owns and operates to keep the airfield open and safe is in shambles and debt has increased because of the spending spree on new construction. If traffic is down 14% and you have voluntarily erdoded your revenue stream and reserves and there has been no new business development, how is the airport going to pay for all this new debt? Not being a hater here, but the love fest is just a little much.
By It's Great in Dayton!!!
March 3, 2010 10:10 AM | Link to this
Attracting and retaining excellent administrators is a serious, real-world problem that Dayton is not very good at addressing……A bunch of self-proclaimed creative class weenies in a funky old building will not accomplish jack squat. A silly-@ss poster, making films, websites, blogs, or mediocre slogans and logos will not do a d@mn thing.>>>> Unless the city center moves into crisis mode, and gets extremely aggressive about fixing itself, then————-DAYTON’S DYING———————-
By It's Great in Dayton!!!
March 10, 2010 11:50 PM | Link to this
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