"All in a day's work for Miami's aviation director"

Monday, November 4, 2002

County politics, security demands, and airport upgrades and expansion
are all in a day's work for Miami-Dade's aviation director
The Miami (FL) Herald

 
It's early on a Friday morning, and Angela Gittens is holding her weekly
staff meeting on the progress of Miami International Airport's massive,
$4.8 billion expansion program. The room is filled with dozens of
staffers, agendas in hand, updated reports at the ready.

Gittens' attention is piqued, as an employee details her attempts at
finding county approved contractors for a $1.2 million terrazzo floor
for the airport's federal inspection area -- a minuscule piece of the
project. Approved flooring contractors can install carpeting but not
terrazzo, leading to frustration and delays.

Gittens asks questions. She wants to be kept abreast of the results.

''You have to fight for your customer,'' she would later say. ``That's
my job.

``If I seem combative, it's not me as a person. It's because I'm
representing the customer. I have to take their place, because they
don't have time to go to meetings of the bureaucracy.''

Gittens doesn't mince words when she describes MIA's decrepit
facilities, sieve-like loss of domestic passengers to Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International, or close-to-the-bottom ranking in
customer-satisfaction surveys.

Working 70-to-75-hour weeks, dealing with everything from county
politics to security demands, Gittens is piloting Miami International
Airport on a course for change.

As aviation director at an airport known for political interference, she
is steering the outdated facility through a major expansion, trying to
upgrade its standards and improve customer service, amid post-Sept. 11
economic challenges.

And she's encountering significant turbulence.

Her job: to manage a $4.8 billion capital improvement program and all
that entails, deal with new security regulations, cope with the loss of
passengers and revenue at the nation's 12th-largest airport, and
navigate an industry hobbling through the toughest time in its history.

''We're all dealing with the same issues,'' Gittens said, referring to
her counterparts around the nation, as she walks through MIA toward her
office. ``But I do get more sympathy than most, because of the political
situation.''

One-and-a-half years into her five-year contract, Gittens has seen
various attempts to derail her efforts. There has been opposition from
County Manager Steve Shiver, regarding the plan to upgrade airport
concessions, and measures to usurp her authority, such as placing the
airport's communications department under the aegis of the county's head
of communications.

Shiver has also pushed to centralize the airport's procurement and
marketing departments and merge its computer information system --
charging the airport, Gittens said, for a share of a service it doesn't
need.

Shiver said that while he and Gittens ``may sometimes disagree on the
methods of how to get to point B from point A . . . we both have the
best in mind for Miami International Airport.''

Said Gittens: ``It's frustrating that I see us get in our own way,
because I see so much potential and so much greatness there. We're mired
in our own quicksand.''

And she does not have a reputation for getting bogged down.

''If you ask anybody in the business what Angela is best known for, it's
that she is very strong and will not yield to pressure,'' said Jeff
Fegan, chief executive at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, who
has known Gittens for about 10 years. ``She does the right thing and
sticks to it.''

Gittens is no stranger to airport politics. She headed Hartsfield
Atlanta International following a major corruption scandal and was a
deputy director at San Francisco International, another political
hotbed. Before that, her career had been in health administration, which
has its own share of internal politics.

''Steve Shiver feels that it's just another county department,'' she
said. ``I feel that it's more than that and that the owners of the
airport need to make the decisions to sustain and make the airport
thrive,

even if it doesn't fit into what the county is doing.''

Shiver says that he gives Gittens as much flexibility as possible but
that he doesn't think the airport should be treated as a special case.

''The airport, like the seaport, like the water and sewer department,
like solid waste, is a department of Miami-Dade County, and it is not an
independent authority,'' he said. ``And there are certain
responsibilities and obligations of reporting that each department has
to my office and the board of county commissioners, ultimately, and
Mayor Penelas.''

SLOW PROGRESS 

Gittens' accomplishments since her hiring in March 2001 have come
slowly. Her emphasis has been on improving standards and aesthetics and
setting the capital improvement program on course. She has cleared out
old carpeting and had the terrazzo polished, replaced ceiling tiles and
brightened the terminal with stronger lighting.

She also has set up a new business and marketing division, headed by
Miguel Southwell, who had worked for her in Atlanta.

''My real focus is to try to develop standards and guidelines, because
it makes decision making easier and less political,'' she said.

She has stopped forcing passengers to give up luggage carts after
leaving Customs, placed signs above shops, and created a corridor near
the entry to the airport.

''The whole place was random,'' Gittens said, walking through the aisle
in flat, comfortable, rubber-soled shoes. ``We created the area,
delineated this as a corridor. There was no path.''

Before, for example, phone-card machines were scattered haphazardly
throughout the terminal. She created clusters, so that the machines do
not impede traffic and passengers have more of a sense of place.

After Sept. 11, Gittens instituted a recovery plan to deal with
financial and security issues and put into effect a $90 million
expense-reduction plan, to offset declining revenue and rising security
costs without increasing airline fees.

She also started a program that sends weekly e-mails on airport topics
to all staff members and began holding weekly capital improvement
program meetings with staffers.

But county issues, coupled with the effects of Sept. 11, have created
stumbling blocks. A delayed concession plan is yet to be implemented,
and a long-awaited new computer system is still on hold.

''We're getting there. It doesn't happen overnight,'' Gittens said.
``I'm making progress at the airport, and that is the beginning.''

Some airport insiders agree.

''You clearly see an improvement in the standards. She's got a very
progressive attitude,'' said Stephen Timms, vice president of airports
for Starboard Cruise Services, the managing partner of MIA's duty-free
joint venture.

``It's very difficult to manage a major [capital improvement program]
through the current environment, and she's bringing a high level of
professional integrity to the whole process.''

SOME DETRACTORS 

Not everyone is a fan, however. Lobbyist Michael Benages, who represents
Dollar Rental Car at the airport, says Gittens hasn't accomplished much
yet.

''She came in here thinking that she was the queen of the heap and she
could do anything she wanted,'' Benages said. ``And I think that is
improper.''

Still, others who have bumped against her say they respect her.

''She's tough-minded but still able to deal with people she disagrees
with,'' said Charles Barclay, president of the American Association of
Airport Executives, who once served with Gittens on a commission on
aviation policy issues. ``She and I disagreed a few times, but it was
always a pleasant experience, even in disagreement.''

One of Gittens' most public clashes was with American Airlines, the
airport's dominant carrier, this year. The dispute centered on the
financing of cost overruns of the North Terminal, designed for
American's use. In the end, an agreement was reached.

''There's no question that we got a bit sideways with Angela regarding
those issues,'' said Gary Kennedy, vice president for corporate real
estate for American, ``but, since then, we've both been able to move
forward. And we have an excellent working relationship as it relates to
construction of the North Terminal. We just had a different view on how
the budget on the North Terminal should be handled.''

Gittens readily admits that MIA is the most outdated of the nation's
major facilities. Newark and Detroit, which previously shared the
distinction, opened new terminals recently.

''Now, we're number one,'' she quipped.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood surpassed MIA in 1999 in its volume of
domestic-origin and -destination passengers. And MIA has ranked among
the lowest major airports the last few years in a J.D. Power and
Associates customer-satisfaction rating.

Gittens has had to instill that reality in airport staffers, who for
years blindly defended the airport's low marks and refused to recognize
Fort Lauderdale as a competitor.

At MIA, Gittens manages an airport struggling to regain passenger
volume. Revenue is off by about 15 percent, largely, she says, due to a
20 percent decrease in parking fees.

For years, MIA's traffic stagnated at a little more than 33 million
passengers, as domestic travelers increasingly headed to Fort Lauderdale
to catch their flights. Unlike MIA, which has focused on international
passengers, Fort Lauderdale has staked its niche among domestic discount
carriers, attracting Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and others.

Nearly one year after the terrorist attacks, MIA's August traffic volume
was still off by 9 percent compared to the same month last year. That's
slightly better than the average decrease of 10.2 percent experienced by
14 major U.S. carriers surveyed by the Air Transport Association. But
passenger volume at Fort Lauderdale, by comparison, was down just 1.9
percent.

MIA LAGS BEHIND 

MIA is recovering more slowly, overall, than other U.S. airports.

''We're the airport that is most dependent on the Latin American
economy,'' Gittens said. ``And we're also one of the few major airports
that, on the domestic side, is almost solely dependent on [traditional]
carriers.''

New projections show that it will take MIA until 2006 to return to
pre-Sept. 11 levels. And, as it expands, the airport must maintain
landing fees competitive with other airports.

Gittens says she spends as much as 25 percent of her time on internal
politics, 25 percent on industry issues and 25 percent on daily
operations and short-term planning. The remaining 25 percent, she says,
she spends on staff, personnel development and routine correspondence,
with admittedly little left over for the five Miami-Dade general
aviation airports that she also oversees.

SENSE OF HUMOR 

Asked if a photographer could shoot pictures of her during her leisure
time, she responds flatly: ``I have no life. Next question.''

Though Gittens delegates, she has her hand in most issues. At meetings,
she is firm yet interjects humor and mild sarcasm.

During the recent quarterly meeting attended by about 100 airport
employees, a staffer outlined plans for new stores and said data
indicated that they could generate a 20 percent increase in revenue.

''Imagine,'' Gittens responded, alluding to opposition to new
concessions: ``You put in something new and you get an increase in
sales. What a concept.''

Her admirers lavish praise, saying that she is smart, analytical and
articulate. Her former boss at San Francisco International Airport, Lou
Turpen, now chief executive of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority,
calls her the best airport director in the United States and the second
best in North America. (He ranks himself first.)

And David Plavin, president of Airports Council International-North
America, who has known Gittens for about 12 years, said: ``The reason I
think she has done well is that she has managed to convey to all people
that her responsibility is to protect the integrity of the process. That
has always been her strength. She believes there's a right way to do
things and a professional and an impartial way to do things.''

Gittens is one of about a dozen female directors of sizable airports in
North America. Among those women, she runs the second largest in terms
of passenger volume. Only Lydia Kennard, director of Los Angeles World
Airports, handles a facility used by more travelers.

Hired in March 2001 at $190,000, Gittens now earns $201,571. She has
received two annual 3 percent cost of living raises, but her county
personnel file lacks a written evaluation or a merit increase -- both
required after one year.

Don Allen, director of Miami-Dade's employee-relations department, said
it was not unusual for evaluations to be overdue for county executives
at her level. It falls to Assistant County Manager Bill Johnson -- her
direct boss and once a candidate for the job -- to complete Gittens'
evaluation. Shiver would then concur or add information.

LATE EVALUATIONS 

Shiver agreed that evaluations are often months -- if not years -- late.
He said he did not know, however, why Gittens' evaluation had not been
completed.

Johnson did not respond to a request for an interview.

Gittens negotiated a contract that would allow her a severance payment
of $380,000 should she be fired without cause in her first or second
year.

Her contract has reportedly been researched recently at the county to
see if it would be possible to buy her out.

But Gittens says she's not quitting.

''I plan to stay as long as they let me,'' she said.

And Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas says he supports her.

''She is doing fine, my relationship with her has been very positive,
and I think she would be even better if we get an airport authority and
significant procurement reform,'' the mayor said. ``Then I think she
could do an even better job.''

Gittens said she took the position at MIA because then-County Manager
Merrett Stierheim and Penelas convinced her that they wanted a change
and were looking for professional management.

''Once a place wants to change,'' she said, ``I'm interested.''

MIA, she admits, ``had a terrible reputation: It was seen as completely
political, never got anything done, very corrupt. There were no limits
set on spending. American Airlines, whenever they asked for anything,
they got it.''

Her tack is different.

''I see the airport needing to operate in a prudent fashion, because so
much is at stake and so much is at risk,'' she said. ``And certain
county interests still see it as a cash cow and that it doesn't have to
be run in a prudent fashion.''

''From a perception point of view, she has depoliticized the airport,
and I think that's a very positive thing,'' said Miami lawyer and
businessman Chris Korge, who used to be an active lobbyist at the
airport. ``Lobbyists become expendable when the operations run
efficiently. If she runs a good airport and makes good business
decisions, there will be less lobbyists that get hired, less lawyers,
less litigation, less problems.''

Gittens feels her college degree in sociology helps her cope. Though she
has faced opposition here, she believes she understands the reaction.

''They want a change in the results, but they don't always understand
that means a change in the steps that get to the results,'' she said.
``It's a normal process. It's a normal tension.''

That's why, she said, ``you need someone to come in from the outside who
can resist the temptation to return to normalcy.''

Attached Photo:

STANDING FIRM: Despite turbulence Angela Gittens is determined to take
outdated Miami International Airport to new heights.


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