It's All About Business

Fegan: The one thing that we’ve done here that is kind of extraordinary is that we have transformed what was sort of stogy, traditional public agency into a high-performing, entrepreneurial business. There are not many opportunities out there in this country that allows the public sector to do that. And if I had any criticism about the public sector and the people who are responsible for managing it, it’s that I think being in the public sector is not an excuse for not running your airport like a business.

Unfortunately, many airports are under severe constraints in terms of their ability to do the things that we are able to do at DFW. That’s been a real competitive advantage for us. Our governing structure; the willingness of our board to allow us to have the resources to be successful. I wish every airport in the country had a similar situation because I see airport executives who are very competent but very frustrated and I feel for them. They’re very confident; want to do great things for their city; but they’re being held back by the constraints of being in the public sector.

Politics is a word that some airports find themselves struggling with.