One year into leading the world's busiest airport, Louis Miller's performance can be compared to a string of planes waiting to take off.

The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport general manager has a host of jobs that are still in the works, including new concessions contracts that will put a fresh face on airport restaurants for travelers.

Miller has made some gains, but not a lot, in meeting the goal laid out for him early on by his boss, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed: Grow air cargo and create jobs.

He's also working on preparations for next spring's opening of the airport's $1.4 billion international terminal, his biggest responsibility.

Miller, a long-time airport manager and accountant by training, took over leadership of Hartsfield-Jackson last September after heading up the Tampa airport. The airport has begun some expansion projects and rolled out some new services, but as of yet, Miller doesn't have many major accomplishments to tick off.

He said he considers his most significant accomplishment to be keeping the international terminal within its budget. "To me, that's significant, and it's a large project and we're still under budget," Miller said.

Atlanta council member Felicia Moore, who sits on the council's transportation committee that oversees the airport, had a wait-and-see attitude when asked about Miller's performance on the international terminal planning and concessions.

"The jury's still out on that," Moore said. "We've had delays in the concessions program, which is causing, perhaps, a delay with the terminal itself, as well."

The mayor sees it differently.

"I have been pleased with Louis Miller's performance," Reed said in an email statement. "Louis has kept the new international terminal on schedule and on budget, increased our air cargo capacity, improved airport operations and overall efficiency, and he continues to lead the world's busiest passenger airport in a fashion which will assure its dominance for years to come."

Miller, for his part, said he has needed time to assess operations.

He has not firmed up a full permanent management team at the airport, and still has three interim officials in place.

"I'm not going to make any changes or do anything different till I've been here for a year," Miller said.

However, if the general manager were able to complete the biggest tasks at hand, the gains would be significant:

The airport concessions revamp covers 126 food and beverage locations and 26 retail locations throughout the airport.

The international terminal will prepare the airport to serve an anticipated 13 million travelers by 2015.

Hartsfield-Jackson generates 10,200 cargo-related jobs, according to a 2009 economic impact study, and Reed hopes Atlanta will eventually break into the top 10 U.S. airports for cargo traffic.

The concessions overhaul recently took a major step backward when the city's procurement chief made an independent decision to toss all of the proposals for new concessions and start over. City officials felt there were too many proposals missing documents, which they said would decrease the quality of concessions and revenue for the airport.

The decision could affect when the international terminal will be completed, but city officials said they still plan to open in the spring as previously announced.

The mayor's goal involving air cargo is something Miller discusses during his frequent speeches to business groups. Hartsfield-Jackson has reported some advances, with several Asian airlines increasing cargo capacity in Atlanta.

Yet the International Air Transport Association, in a recent report, said worldwide air freight has stagnated since the beginning of the year. In February, the airport held an event to celebrate Cargoitalia's service launch to Atlanta; in April, Cargoitalia discontinued the service.

Miller, 63, began his career in his native Salt Lake City, where he became chief executive of the airport authority. He went on to lead the Tampa airport, eventually leaving amid a conflict with some members of the airport authority.

He was hired for the airport manager position in Atlanta with a salary of $221,000, but Reed opted not to give contracts to Miller or other major city officials he appointed, meaning they serve at the mayor's behest. Fulfilling the mayor's vision is a key priority for an airport manager who wants to keep his job. It also put Miller in a different position from his predecessor, Ben DeCosta, who had an employment contract and took an independent-minded approach to running the airport.

"It appears that a lot of what's going on at the airport is driven a lot more through the mayor's office than it was before," Moore said. "The general manager of the airport should definitely work with the mayor's office in overall goals and objectives, but certainly should have the authority and latitude to run the airport."

Miller's first day on the job in Atlanta happened at the same time Southwest Airlines announced plans to acquire AirTran Airways, which could move him closer to the mayor's cargo goal. Southwest's entry in Atlanta in February could lead to a boost in air cargo; Southwest carries freight, while AirTran does not.

While DeCosta had a big personality and strong views, Miller has a more unassuming style.

"He has kind of a low-profile way of dealing with stuff," said C.T. Martin, Atlanta city council transportation committee chair.

Of first-year job surprises, Miller said he initially was unaware of the myriad relationships with nearby jurisdictions, including Clayton County, Fulton County, Hapeville and College Park.

Miller has launched an effort to update the airport's master plan --- the first revision since 1999 --- which might be one of the most prominent ways he leaves his mark on Hartsfield-Jackson.

Another will be the next round of lease negotiations with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines. Delta's current lease runs through 2017, and Miller said he plans to start negotiations in 2013 to reach a new deal by 2015.

To his credit, Miller has built a good rapport with the carrier. Holden Shannon, Delta's senior vice president of corporate strategy and real estate, said "the working relationship between Delta and the airport has never been better. ... We at Delta really value his opinion."

Miller said his biggest challenge will continue to be "dealing with a struggling economy and the potential resizing of passenger travel plans.

"If the fuel prices keep rising and we start to see the recession continuing, to me, that's a problem," Miller said. "Because we've got to still balance the financial needs of the airport going forward."

Continuing coverage

For two years, AJC reporter Kelly Yamanouchi has been covering developments at the airport, one of the metro area's most important economic engines. Here's a look at the challenges faced by Hartsfield-Jackson's general manager.

Responsibilities of Hartsfield-Jackson general manager Louis Miller

As general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Louis Miller oversees the following:

More than 500 Department of Aviation employees

$400 million annual budget

4,700 acres

5.6 million square-foot terminal complex, plus a 1.2 million square foot international terminal to be added next spring

Five runways

Handling of more than 250,000 passengers a day