Growing up in a lower income family on the east side of St. Paul, Minn., riding in an airplane, much less working in the aviation industry was something that didn’t really cross Jeff Hamiel’s mind.
But when he was 10 years old, he had an experience that changed his outlook, exposed him to a possible career path and determined his future.
Hamiel went to visit a cousin in Sheldon, Iowa, who had joined the Naval Academy as a cadet and one day, he wanted to take Hamiel on an airplane ride. They went down to the local airport, got on board and took a one-hour ride.
“I just enjoyed it. After that, I always had an interest in it in high school,” he said.
Hamiel’s one-hour plane ride led him to the Air Force and into the aviation world until he eventually was named chairman, executive director and chief executive officer for the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) in the Twin Cities, Now after nearly 40 years in the airport industry — 30 of which he spent at the helm of MAC — he’s retiring from his position in May, after guiding one of the largest airports in the U.S. through some of the most formative years in the evolution of the airport and airline industries.
Dawn of Deregulation
After attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth, going through ROTC, then joining the Airforce for pilot training, Hamiel came back to Minneapolis looking to be a pilot, but in 1977, none of the airlines were hiring, so he got a job at the airport. While it didn’t pay as much as the airlines he was content with his position and the growth it offered.
“Eventually the airlines called, but you know, I thought I got this airport job and it’s a pretty good deal,” he said. “It’s a good position, I have a master’s degree and I don’t have to worry about flying every holiday.”
By 1985, Hamiel had moved through the ranks of MAC and was picked to run the organization.
In 1978, Hamiel said the industry saw its biggest sea change with the implementation of deregulation of the airline industry. Airlines had been told where to fly, when to fly and what to charge until that point. When the legislation took hold, it turned the industry on its ear as they could fly when and where they wanted, using the equipment airlines deemed the best and fares were charged based on direct competition.
“That was the beginning and quite frankly, we’re still sifting through the results of that legislation,” Hamiel said. “Since 1978, in nearly the last 40 years, we’ve seen the creation of new low cost carriers; mainstays like Pan Am, TWA and Northwest are long gone; smaller ultra-low-cost carriers have come around and there have been bankruptcies and lots of consolidation.”
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) found itself in a bind with consolidation with Northwest teetering on the brink of bankruptcy in the early 1990s. Hamiel led MAC as it decided to loan the airliner $300 million, a deal he said was never done before or since.
Hamiel said the industry continues to change and with it, the experience of flying, so airports have worked to adjust. Deregulation coupled with new demands in passenger amenities along with security concerns brought on in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks changed the landscape of airports drastically.
“Back in those days, the '50s, '60s, '70s, flying was a pretty prestigious thing,” he said. “Most of those who had flown were business men or people of substantial means. Back in those days, most of us were still getting in the family car, driving four days to Yellowstone, spending two days there, then driving four days back.
“Now the airports have become mini shopping malls, where you can buy clothing items or shoes if you forgot them at home, and the food and beverage options have significantly expanded. I remember in the '60s there was barely a lunch counter in the airport, but today it’s a $200 million enterprise.”
A Better Airport Built
When Hamiel started at the airport, MSP was moving about 8.3 million passengers per year. Now more than 36 million come through per year and projections place growth to more than 50 million by 2030.
Leaders in the Twin Cities area knew changes were needed in order to meet growth and serve the community as best as possible, so in the 1990s they began exploring options for addressing those needs.
Hamiel said the “MSP 2010 Building a Better Airport” plan was forged to meet the challenges and prepare MSP for future demands. The plan paved the way for new Terminal 2-Humphrey; new Terminal 1-Lindbergh concourses A and B and additional gates on Concourse C; a fourth runway; new parking, transit and auto rental facilities; new cargo facilities; improved aircraft deicing and storm water retention facilities; new roadways; installation of light rail tunnels and stations; and replacement of hundreds of acres of airfield pavement.
The MAC needed to address issues with noise pollution, growth, and safety issues around the airport and Hamiel said one of the options included the idea of building a brand new airport about 15 to 20 miles from the current MSP location. There was a lot of merit to building a new airport, he said, but the more than $3 billion in upgrades to the current facility worked.
The airport has worked to address noise problems near the airport as part of the plan, which Hamiel said is the most expansive noise limitation work done in the world. Millions was spent insulating about 15,000 nearby homes to combat noise and nighttime flights were adjusted to mitigate noise issues.
“Looking back on this, we made the right decision when we took this up in 2005,” he said. “It was the right decision because if we had just built a new airport we would have been carrying about $7-$8 billion in debt into this past recession.
“But at some point in the future, the new executive director is going to have to take a look at building a new airport.”
Hamiel said he’s stepping down now because the airport is working on its 2035 plans and it’s something the new leaders should guide, such as addressing parking issues with a new major parking facility along with handling the contract out to build a hotel on location at the airport.
Terminals 1 and 2 need expansion and more gates and the airport is starting a $2.5 billion runway program.
“We’ve got a lot of things in the works right now,” he said. “We’re on the very beginning of the next 10-15 years of plans and we just finished a $3.2 billion expansion in 2015.”
A new future
Hamiel said the MAC has a more than $10 billion per year economic impact on the Twin Cities, making it the most powerful public revenue generating source in the upper Midwest between Chicago and Seattle, so new leaders will need to recognize this impact and address it as air travel continues to grow as the preferred way to travel while long distance rail and bus traffic drops.
However, with about 600 total employees, the next generation of leaders at MAC will need to handle this growth with a relatively small staff for such a large operation.
“What we need in the future are people who are committed to public service, who are prepared to manage huge financial institutions and make good decisions to make a positive impact on the community,” he said.
Looking at the next 30 years of service for airports, Hamiel said it’s critical the industry work to attract young, talented professionals and overcome the fact younger generation of workers don’t see public service “as an impressive occupation,” but airports are a very critical piece of infrastructure in cities across the nation.
One of the limiting factors is the size of the industry. With a limited number of large hub airports in North America and a limited number with substantial air carrier service, it’s a small fraternity of professionals, but there needs to be a focus on the opportunities the next generation will have to make a difference in the community.
“We need to have young people have an interest in aviation and they need to have exposure to this,” he said. “Once exposed to it they will see it’s a great, fascinating and dynamic industry and we can attract people to this kind of employment if they look at it carefully.”
