The Loney Group - Airport, Airline and Aviation Consulting Press Releases and Awards

Editorial - The Right Stuff

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER - October 7, 1996 - Mary Rose Loney set Philly's notorious airport along a more friendly, usable flight path.

A few years back, some Third World nations were said to have friendlier and more sprightly airports than the one in America's fifth-largest city.

The Philadelphia International Airport was a notoriously inhospitable place. It forced airline passengers to undergo full cardiovascular workouts, dragging luggage for what seemed like miles up and down dreary corridors. When they reached outside, they faced the choice of tackling even more steps to catch a SEPTA train, or dealing with a corps of taxi drivers little versed in the wisdom of Ms. Manners.

Then, the soon-to-be-ending Age of Mary Rose Loney began at the airport down by Tinicum Marsh.

Now, there are modern moving sidewalks like those long found in other major cities and soon there'll be a new easier way to move body and bags to a train.

A little while ago, the maligned green carpet at Veterans Stadium was in better condition than the taped and tattered remnants around the Delta Airlines' passenger gates. The airport's bathrooms were only slightly more user friendly that those at old gas stations.

Now Delta is committed to its first $1 million worth of improvements in 20 years. About $160 million in upgrades are completed or underway at terminals, baggage handling, security and food operations.

Now airport visitors are more likely to hear a courteous "Can I help you?" than "You got a problem?!"

Lots of steel-and-glass construction projects camouflage the new image, but walk around the terminals and the changes are palpable.

The airport is no longer a third-rate Banana Republic operation; it's headed for the major leagues of international airports, and regular air travelers have begun to notice.

Much of the credit for that transformation belongs to the relentlessly upbeat Ms. Loney, who was hired as city aviation director in 1993.

She used Mayor Rendell's staunch support, and the advice of a new, 40-member regional board, to help her build an efficient city-run operation with increasing revenue.

Her successes show what tireless professional competence, backed by steady political support, can accomplish-even in a city that often bogs down in conflict and cronyism.

The only downside is that her successes have earned her a job offer from Chicago's O'Hare, the world's busiest airport. She'd worked there before; she returns as the boss.

She'll be missed, but she leaves a fine legacy. Philadelphia the nation's 23rd busiest airport now has nearly as many direct flights to Europe as many of its Northeast counterparts. Destinations include Rome (a competitive coup of Ms. Loney's tenure), Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid, London, Zurich, and Paris.

In the final days of her frequent and brisk walks around the concourses, Ms. Loney is stopped constantly by frequent fliers and airport employees who want to thank her.

On one recent day, Gabe Marabella, whose family founded and later sold a string of restaurants in the region, said his goodbyes to Ms. Loney as he prepared to open his new restaurant at the airport. Mr. Marabella notes that Ms. Loney suggested the "Air", in his newly named "Air Parma Italian Café."

This new eatery is emblematic of how the airport is transforming its once-nondescript airport food operations into an ethnic festival of cuisine. The airport also features home grown art works, and imaginative, back-lit advertising that decorates its once-bare walls.

FAA security inspector Andrew Coose also stopped Ms. Loney, saying "Congratulations. And thanks for being here. We've really leaped light-years ahead on what existed in airport security before you arrived."

And a janitor yells to Ms. Loney as her high heels click along a concourse on her way to giving a plaque to a retiring airport police officer.

"I'm sorry I didn't win an ACE award while you were here," he chirps, referring to the airport customer excellence awards she initiated to honor airport workers whose friendly helpfulness caught the public's eye. "You still have a week," Ms. Loney calls back.

If Ms. Loney's successor is smart, this worker will still be able to win those awards after she departs. In fact, Mayor Rendell might want to extend the ACE awards-goodies, meals and tickets from local businesses-to city workers who earn the public's gratitude.

Ms. Loney leaves some other unfinished business for the city. It must complete work on two football fields worth of new baggage areas, and a new commuter airstrip that will not open until 2000.

Not surprisingly, the airport's success has hatched long-range plans for another $500 million worth of expansion, including a much larger international terminal, four other new terminals and as many as 48 new gates, all on the modest airport footprint of 2,200 acres.

Big dreams. The words of airport security director Jeffrey Shull explain who helped the city start dreaming them: "Mary Rose is phenomenal. She's so driven and fanatical. Once you're hooked on her program, there's team feeling to accomplish it."