"Baumgartner out as DIA manager"

Saturday, July 19, 2003

Aviation manager dismissed
Mayor-elect opens DIA study
By Mark P. Couch
The Denver (CO) Post


Denver Mayor-elect John Hickenlooper dismissed the city's manager of
aviation on Friday and launched a study that could lead to an independent
authority running Denver International Airport.

Bruce Baumgartner, Denver manager of aviation since May 1998, resigned after
a week of turmoil surrounding expansion plans at the airport.

Hickenlooper replaced him with two veteran airport employees - Turner West,
deputy manager overseeing engineering and maintenance, and Vicki Braunagel,
deputy manager of business and technologies.

Baumgartner was unavailable for comment. West and Braunagel referred
questions to Hickenlooper's office.

John Huggins, director of Hickenlooper's transition team, said the duo will
manage the airport while Hickenlooper staffers explore alternative ways of
running the airport.

The airport currently is a division of city government that is responsible
for its own budget. The city's finance department and officials oversee
DIA's debt when the airport issues bonds.

In some other cities, airports are managed by independent authorities that
can avoid restrictive hiring, compensation and purchasing rules that apply
to city agencies. Such authorities also shield airport managers from
political interference from city hall.

"Cities around the country recognize the need to infuse an entrepreneurial
spirit in airport management," said Joseph Schwieterman, transportation
expert at DePaul University.

Another option would be to find other money-making ventures to boost airport
revenues. Schwieterman said the airport could create partnerships with
private companies to construct office buildings, warehouses and hotels
around the airport.

"Airports are becoming like self-contained cities and they need a
sophisticated managerial structure that draws customers back," Schwieterman
said.

Huggins said the review could take several months. The committee also plans
to consider landing fees, taxes on airplane maintenance parts and other
issues that make DIA one of the costliest airports in the country for
carriers to serve.

Once the Hickenlooper administration settles the question of how to manage
the airport, it will then conduct a national search for a new top manager,
Huggins said.

Baumgartner moved to the airport after working as Denver's manager of public
works between November 1995 and April 1998.

During his tenure, Baumgartner instituted changes to make the airport more
flier friendly, said aviation analyst Mike Boyd of Evergreen. Baumgartner
also stood up to federal airport-security regulators who insisted on
installing screening machines in areas meant for passengers.

"Hickenlooper has one big milestone behind him: He has made his first big
mistake," Boyd said of Baumgartner's dismissal.

Baumgartner landed in the eye of a storm last week when outgoing Mayor
Wellington Webb shunned a demand by United Airlines to spend at least $65
million on delayed airport improvements.

A day later, the airport announced plans to proceed with a previously
shelved $300 million gate-expansion project for Denver-based Frontier
Airlines - a counterpunch at United that surprised many observers.

Without consulting the Hickenlooper team, Baumgartner said DIA would pay for
Frontier's project with money it had planned to use for United's $65 million
expansion.

In recent days, the Hickenlooper camp has been monitoring the city's
negotiations with United, which filed for bankruptcy and has until Aug. 6 to
affirm or reject its airport lease agreements.

The airline has asked to extend that decision until as late as October.

Huggins said he's hopeful that the city will be able to reach a
"comprehensive agreement" with United.

In the meantime, West and Braunagel will keep the airport running smoothly,
Huggins said.

"It's very important in these turbulent times to demonstrate to the
financial markets, the airline industry and the airport's customers that the
re would be continuity and stability at the airport," Huggins said.

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