Toronto Pearson International Airport

When it took over responsibility for Toronto Pearson International Airport, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) had a desperate need to rebuild its facilities. Now that has been done, the next phase of strategic development can beginWith over 30 million passengers a year, Toronto Pearson International Airport is the busiest airport in Canada. When the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) was established in 1996, however, the facilities it inherited from the government were nothing less than deplorable. ÔÇ£They were in a dreadful state,ÔÇØ says president and CEO Dr. Lloyd McCoomb. ÔÇ£We took over two very old decrepit terminal buildings,ÔÇØ he says, ÔÇ£one built to an Aeroquay design back in the ÔÇÖ60s, which was hopeless in handling large modern aircraft or modern security needs. The second building was a bit of a lash up, a linear terminal building built in the early ÔÇÖ70s, with bits added on here and there, so whatever the original concept was had been lost.ÔÇØ The new company soon found itself facing a $4.5 billion project to reinvent the airport. ÔÇ£That dominated the whole scheme from the day the corporation started on 2nd December 1996, until January 2007,ÔÇØ says McCoomb. ÔÇ£That was when we opened the international part of the new terminal building.ÔÇØ That must have been a wonderful moment. ÔÇ£We could finally look at an airport we could be proud of,ÔÇØ he agrees, ÔÇ£that was an appropriate and welcoming front door to people visiting Toronto.ÔÇØ Organizing a ten year construction program, while keeping the airport operational at the same time, was all consuming, says McCoomb. ÔÇ£It did end, eventually, and it has opened up a wonderful opportunity for the airport to revisit its strategic direction and to adopt a new approach.ÔÇØ The single word that sums up the last decade, he says, is ÔÇÿbuildÔÇÖ. The word he chooses to capture the future state, is ÔÇÿcompetitiveÔÇÖ. ÔÇ£We want to be competitive in the sense of being an enabler for the economy of Southern Ontario, and we also want to be competitive in our own right, in terms of being the airport of choice for the gateway to North America.ÔÇ£We have at least a five year window now where we can focus on things other than just building,ÔÇØ he continues. ÔÇ£And when we pick up the hammer again, the heavy lifting is already done, the reinvention of the airport is done. WeÔÇÖll be adding piers to a terminal building thatÔÇÖs already there. ItÔÇÖs nothing like the challenge we faced before, where we virtually had to redo the entire place from scratch.ÔÇØAirports now have to be agile and flexible, says McCoomb. ÔÇ£The air industry has gone through an amazing transformation,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs become a commodity. ItÔÇÖs incumbent upon airports to recognize that thatÔÇÖs happening and to move with the times. Carriers are seeking to enhance their product differentiation and the airport has to play a more significant role in that differentiation. There are many trends out there in the industry and we want to ensure that we are in step with where our customers and our partners want to go.ÔÇØ The last few years have turned airports into the most dynamic of environments. Construction of the new facilities began in 1997, so the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001 came right in the middle of the program, when plans were well under way. ÔÇ£We suddenly got an order from the government to install 100 percent baggage screening on domestic operations,ÔÇØ says McCoomb. ÔÇ£We anticipated it was coming for international, but we had to make significant changes to introduce it for domestic.ÔÇØ If it had been a fixed price contract with one contractor, he points out, it would have been very awkward, ÔÇ£but by managing it ourselves we could absorb the shock more easily.ÔÇØ Having improved its infrastructure to the extent that it can now serve the needs of the modern air passenger, Toronto Pearson can turn its attention to satisfying its customers in more sophisticated ways. Innovation and continuous improvement are now on the agenda, but can this be done as effectively in a service industry, as it has been in manufacturing, for instance? ÔÇ£I donÔÇÖt see why not,ÔÇØ says McCoomb. ÔÇ£ThereÔÇÖs always room for improvement; you have to strive for that and I think itÔÇÖs a must. ÔÇ£We have reduced our runway snow clearing time from 90 minutes under government ownership back in the ÔÇÖ80s, down to 11 minutes,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£One of the great things about not having to be totally preoccupied with building is being able to focus on how to be more efficient.ÔÇØ Customer service is another cornerstone of the business, along with environmental stewardship, and safety and security. As in any other business, the greatest opportunities for reducing waste are where the most dollars are spent, and there are plenty of places where savings can be made for the benefit of the customer. ÔÇ£If you look at our cost breakdown, cleaning and airside maintenance are big dollar items,ÔÇØ says McCoomb. ÔÇ£Information service is another big one, and baggage handling is big bucks, too.ÔÇØ┬á