Window Seat Issue No4 May 2014 by Miami International Airport

The Official Newsletter of Emilio T. González Aviation Director, Miami-Dade Aviation Department

Issue No. 4

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

May 2014

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

JOHN ARROYO

Landside Operations This month’s Employee Spotlight is on Landside Officer 2 John Arroyo, who has been a member of the MDAD team for more than 31 years. John is a customer favorite who has received numerous positive comments on his customer care. Here are just a few examples of what MIA customers are saying about John’s top-notch customer service: “Can’t say enough about the service and his help. I will continue to see MIA as a great and easy destination to fly in and out of.” Jessica Blackburn Nashville, TN We arrived at MIA from abroad and were looking for the train to Ft. Lauderdale. John Arroyo cheerfully and graciously helped us. We really appreciated him because when we had to travel in the opposite direction from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami, we had to pay $80 for a cab because the hotel we were staying at didn’t know the train existed! It was only a few dollars and very comfortable and speedy. A big thanks to Mr. Arroyo! Dixie Johnson Grangeville, ID

A Little Extra Spring in Our Step

pring is in the air – not that winter is ever too noticeable here in sunny Miami – and the signs of new growth are everywhere at MIA. Six new international carriers are launching service at our airport this year and more are in the works. Last month, travelers from Belgium and Aruba began arriving at MIA, and additional travelers from places like Finland, Bolivia, Spain, and Qatar will soon be joining the tens of thousands of passengers that pass through MIA’s concourses each day. These new arrivals from abroad will provide a welcome boost to our international passenger totals, which are already growing at a fast clip. At the same time, we’re gearing up for one of the planet’s premiere sports events – the World Cup – which will be kicking off in Brazil in June. MIA is America’s leading gateway to the host country, with 10 Brazilian destinations and daily flights to places like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, so be on the lookout for soccer aficionados proudly wearing their country’s colors as they pass through our airport on their way to and from the games. You can also expect to see plenty of World

Cup-themed events and promotions at MIA in the coming months to welcome the influx of fans of the jogo bonito – music and dance performances, soccer-themed concessions and artwork, just to name a few. Even Claymore has caught the fever, as you’ll see in this issue. All this growth is good for MIA, but it comes with some growing pains, too. With so many international flyers coming to MIA, many of our customers have been caught waiting in long lines to get their passports stamped and clear customs. But every challenge represents an opportunity and we’re working hard with our partners from CBP, as well as with our South Florida congressional delegation and Florida’s U.S. senators, to get more CBP staff. A big shout out to the Terminal Ops staff for their hard work in our federal inspection areas to help passengers during this challenging time. As far as airport problems go, growing too fast is a wonderful problem to have. New growth, new airlines and World Cup travelers coming through MIA: plenty of reason to have a little extra spring in our step this year.

Window Seat │ Issue No. 4 │ May 2014

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT (continued from page 1)

JOHN ARROYO

Landside Operations I arrived back in Miami on a Friday evening after being away for two weeks. While the arrivals area was extremely busy, Mr. Arroyo was calm, efficient and handled customer extremely well. You can be proud to have Mr. Arroyo as your employee! Brian Hersh Miami, FL John, it’s clear that you love your job and that our customers love you too. Thanks for all that you do to make MIA shine!

THE MIA ONLINE STORE: NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS Not too long ago, my daughter told me that she’d seen a celebrity on TV wearing an MIA hat. I won’t name names, but it was the famous girlfriend of one of the Miami Heat’s biggest stars sporting our well-known call letters. That little episode got me thinking: if trend-setting celebrities are wearing the MIA brand, why aren’t we taking the lead and selling the brand ourselves? After all, we are the one and only MIA! And with that, the MIA Online Store concept was born. Today, people from all over the country – and from right here in “the 305” – can log on to themiashop.com and order their own wearable version of our iconic logo. We’ve opened up shop with MIA logo hats, special edition 85th Anniversary caps and MIA coffee mugs. More items will become available in the coming months, and all of them will help spread MIA’s strong, easily recognizable brand around the world. Check it all out and consider wearing our winning brand yourself and giving the gift of MIA to friends and family.

QATAR AIRWAYS BRINGS NEW FACES FROM NEW PLACES The fast-approaching arrival of Qatar Airways’ new Miami service is generating plenty of excitement around the airport and throughout our community. In fact, when it begins service in June, the new Doha-Miami route will be Florida’s one and only direct air connection to the Middle East. That’s definitely something we can all be proud of! With new routes like this one come a whole new set of passengers from a whole new set of destinations. Qatar Airways is a 5-star global airline that serves an impressive list

of long-haul destinations around the globe from its Doha hub. With MIA joining that network, visitors from places like India, China, the Persian Gulf and Africa will soon be arriving at our beautiful airport on a regular basis. So let’s all make it a point to greet these new customers from the farthest reaches of the globe with a smile and a warm ‘welcome’ – or ‘huan ying’ (Mandarin Chinese), ‘ahlan wa sahlan’ (Arabic), or ‘kuwakaribisha’ (Swahili).

The Official Newsletter of Emilio T. González, Aviation Director - Miami-Dade Aviation Department

40 MILLION REASONS TO CELEBRATE

2013 was a year of exciting milestones for us, but none was bigger than breaking the 40-million annual passenger mark for the very first time in our 85-year history. As 2013 drew to a close, it was clear that we had a shot at the all-time record, but that it would come down to the wire. It certainly did: On Friday, December 27th, passenger number 40,000,000 made their way through the terminal and helped us join the ranks of other elite global airports. The milestone also placed MIA among the top 10 U.S. airports for passengers, with the airport jumping from number 12 to number 10 on the list.

There’s no way that we could have accomplished this incredible feat without your efforts, and for that I am truly grateful. From Operations, Maintenance, Business Development, Administration and all points in between, you keep this incredible operation humming 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s a huge undertaking and it takes a strong, committed team like ours to succeed. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the recent celebrations we held to mark MIA’s big year. Here are a few fun facts that offer some perspective on this shared accomplishment:

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In 2013, MIA moved the equivalent of Argentina’s entire population – or the combined populations of Florida and New York

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The Miami Heat would have to sell out every single regular season home game at the 19,600-seat American Airlines Arena for the next 50 years in order to match MIA’s 2013 passenger total

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The Miami Dolphins would have to sell out every single regular season home game at the 75,540-seat Sun Life Stadium for the next 66 years in order to reach the 40-million mark

SAY HELLO TO JOE NAPOLI In February, the newest addition to our staff joined the MDAD team. Joe Napoli serves as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor in my office and brings plenty of valuable experience and know-how to our department. Like me, Joe is a former U.S. Army Colonel who served our country for more than 25 years at home and abroad. He held high-level posts throughout his military career, including at the United Nations; the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina; the U.S. Southern Command; and in Iraq. He’s bilingual and has valuable leadership experience in the private sector. A graduate of the prestigious U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Joe also earned a master’s degree from Columbia University.

ages MDAD’s Communications, Fine Arts and Cultural Affairs, Governmental Affairs, Professional Compliance and Protocol and International Affairs divisions. Joe is a very welcome addition to the team – despite the fact that he’s a big Boston Red Sox fan. Please be sure to say hello and give him a warm MIA welcome if you see him around the terminal or out on the AOA.

Joe has a proven ability to lead and manage large organizations, make sound decisions in high-pressure situations and effectively communicate complex ideas – all qualities that will serve MDAD well. He oversees long-term projects for the department and directly man-

Window Seat │ Issue No. 4 │ May 2014

CUSTOMER CORNER “We want to thank Terminal Ops Agent Jesus Roses and recognize him for helping a tired and hungry family. Please recognize that he went beyond the necessary requirements of his role, which saved us essentially 1/2 hour of waiting.”

WORLD CUP TROPHY VISITS MIA In keeping with the World Cup theme, MIA welcomed the competition’s big prize – the FIFA World Cup Trophy – on April 15. The 13-pound, 18-carat gold trophy has been winding its way around the world on a 90-nation tour for the past nine months and received a warm welcome from the crowd of local officials

and soccer fans that gathered at Landmark Aviation for the big arrival. Considering all of the soccer fans who will travel through MIA on their way to the World Cup, it’s only fitting that the trophy made an appearance at MIA on its way to Brazil.

David Schleifer Cambridge, MA “In an airport as vast as Miami, I would never have expected such personalized service as I received from Terminal Operations Agent Carl Burger.” Alexandra Marshall Miami Beach, FL “Landside Ops Officer 1 Joel Hernandez is an exceptional worker and represents your organization well. Hard work and integrity should be commended.” Bill Joiner Irvine, CA “Terminal Ops PSA Marie Wagnac-Ricks’ quick action saved me from having to try and do without some key information…I appreciate her efforts to go above and beyond the status quo.” Daniel Newton Yuba City, CA

WORLD CUP TRAFFIC How much of an impact do we expect the World Cup to have on MIA? I asked our number-crunchers to find an answer to that question, and here’s what they came up with: Based on the flight schedules of the three airlines that serve the Brazilian market from Miami – American Airlines, GOL, and TAM – MIA will have 578 departures to Brazil in June, up from 437 last June, for a 30-percent increase. With the increase in scheduled flights, we estimate that about 200,000 passengers will fly between MIA and Brazil this June during the World Cup, up from 153,000 last June. That’s about 1,600 more travelers to and from Brazil every day! By the way, Americans have bought more tickets to the 2014 World Cup than any other nation, with the exception of our Brazilian friends from the host country. So you might want to brush up on your soccer knowledge and definitely be ready to give World Cup travelers a warm MIA welcome.

The Official Newsletter of Emilio T. González, Aviation Director - Miami-Dade Aviation Department

THIS AIRPORT’S GOT HEART Sometimes airports can seem like cold and impersonal places to the passengers who move through their bustling terminals each day. But that’s not the case here at MIA, where the tremendous heart and compassion of our airport family was recently on full display when our public safety and operations teams came together to help make a special birthday for a little boy with leukemia.

Tyler Seddon, a Rhode Island boy who is battling leukemia for the second time, idolizes police officers and firefighters and made it his birthday wish to receive cards from his heroes when he turned seven on March 6th. When they learned about Tyler’s battle with cancer and his simple wish, members of MIA’s public safety and operations teams gathered together for a large-scale photo shoot on the airfield that included police vehicles, fire trucks, K-9 teams and an American Airlines Boeing 777.

But the highlight of Tyler’s birthday card was undoubtedly the many heroes in uniform from the MDPD Airport District, the MDFR Aviation Division, MDAD, CBP, and the TSA, who had a simple message for the birthday boy: “Happy Birthday Tyler from Miami International Airport’s Public Safety Team.” A very special thanks to Lauren Stover for rallying the troops and pulling this wonderful birthday tribute together!

TRIENNIAL DRILL TESTS FIRST RESPONDERS On February 27, MDAD, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Aviation Division and other emergency response agencies successfully carried out a full-scale aviation emergency exercise with the help of more than 140 local volunteers. The drill fulfilled an FAA requirement to conduct a live, simulated emergency scenario on MIA’s airfield every three years and tested our airport’s emergency plan and the ability of emergency services to respond to a major incident. I’m happy to report that our entire team, across all divisions, passed the test with flying colors. In fact, things went so well that we may go above and beyond FAA requirements and hold these valuable training exercises on a more regular basis. Stay tuned… For now, my sincere thanks to everyone who had a hand in the planning, coordination and successful execution of this massive exercise. Job well done by all!

The Official Newsletter of Emilio T. González, Aviation Director - Miami-Dade Aviation Department

PROGRESS If there’s one word that sums up the year-to-date at MIA, it’s ‘progress.’ Our passenger numbers are increasing, new staff additions are making our airport team even stronger, our network of destinations is growing at a steady pace, and we’re adding new amenities and airlines to serve our customers even better than before.

We’re definitely making progress, and it’s thanks to your hard work that we continue to thrive. On a closing note, Claymore is busy getting ready for the World Cup, too!