Margaret “Maggie” Hartnett
Customer Relations Manager
San Diego County Regional Airport Authority
Age: 37
- Alma Mater: B.A. – University of Washington M.A. – San Diego State University
- Favorite Aircraft: A380
- Favorite Book: Persuasion, Jane Austen
- Favorite TV Show: The Crown
- Favorite Movie: Star Trek
- Favorite Hobbies: Stand up paddle boarding, beach, getting outside with my family
Margaret Hartnett has always held forward facing positions in her professional career, which allows her the opportunity to interact with numerous people every day.
Each impression she makes with someone is an opportunity to improve their experience. Hartnett said the opportunity to make a difference for travelers in an airport is what makes it such a great position.
"I love that interaction with people and in an airport, you have people going through a whole range of emotions and activities,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to meet people and impact them and make their day a little bit better.”
Hartnett joined the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority in May 2016 and has been revamping the way we approach the customer experience at SAN ever since.
"Airports are fascinating places to work," she said. "I love how the industry brings so many people together with various backgrounds and specialties all to create a better travel experience."
One of her first initiatives was to bring the airport’s entire volunteer program in-house; eliminating $140,000 per year in contract costs. The volunteers work more than 30,000 hours per year to help travelers have a better experience in the terminal.
“I would never ask a volunteer to do something that I myself wouldn’t do, so I always try and find time to get into the terminals and work with the volunteers at the various stations,” Hartnett said. “Not only do I really honestly enjoy chatting with them and our passengers, but it also helps me do a better job as a manager. By working the stations myself, I can get to know the needs of both groups on a first hand basis.”
She implemented a real-time restroom alerting system at SAN that allows passengers to text restroom conditions to airport staff. This program has improved response time to restroom conditions and made the customer experience interactive.
Hartnett also added roaming volunteers a key locations within the airport deployed during busy periods and recently opened a new information desk in the meet-and-greet hall.
Hartnett is building partnerships with airlines at San Diego, concessionaires and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to find new ways to improve the passenger experience. She also works with Guide Dogs of America, Love on a Leash, Include Autism, Wounded Warriors, Autism Tree Project Foundation, JetBlue’s “Blue Horizons for Autism” and Honor Flight San Diego.
She is currently working on creating a revenue generating concierges program that will provide VIP services to the traveling public. This program will include passenger assistance through the checkpoint, meet and greet services at the gate and other valuable amenities.
