Crunching Numbers, Setting Priorities

Whew! We completed the budget. For months, Airport Authority staff have worked collaboratively to crunch numbers for our new fiscal year, which begins April 1.  Yesterday, Airport Director Mike Landguth and Finance Director Tom Barritt presented the budget to the board for its consideration. They will vote on it next Thursday. 

While many may not think the budget is the most exciting thing at the airport, (our apologies to the  finance team) it gives insight into the priorities we’re setting and the projects you’ll soon see at RDU.

We’ve talked before about changes in the aviation industry and how they affect RDU. Those changes led to the creation of a new strategic plan, crafted by our staff over the past 15 months. This strategic direction forms the backbone of this year’s proposed budget.

As you may have noticed, the work to modernize Terminal 1 is progressing quite rapidly. So, it’s natural that Terminal 1 will be the cornerstone of this year’s budget.  We’re paying for the project with cash and have many tasks that have to be completed to ready it for opening, move the airlines and open the shops and restaurants.  We’re excited that early next Spring, you’ll get the opportunity to travel through this new building.

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="300"] New parking machines are one of the things that you'll see as a result of the proposed 2013-14 budget.[/caption]

Terminal 1 is the last major piece of airport infrastructure to be developed. With that said, we’re making a transition from building big projects to maintaining them. That process starts in this budget year.  Here’s a couple of other projects that are proposed in this year’s budget.  Each demonstrates our commitment to maintaining our facilities:

• A new parking management system, which translates to new payment machines for you at ExitExpress kiosks and at the parking lot entrances and exits.
• New touchscreens for airline self-check-in kiosks in the terminals
• New pavement striping on the airfield
• A continued focus on recruiting air service 

These are just a few examples of major projects. We have also dedicated fund to help put a renewed focus on internal and external customer service. In short, whether it’s our physical infrastructure or our people, we want you to have a world-class experience each time you visit RDU.

So what’s the bottom line? When we crunch numbers and set priorities for the airport, our customers and region win.