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Retiring CAA Director Reflects on Growth, Potential at Bradley

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Kevin Dillon says Bradley has made great strides over the past decade
Tourism & Hospitality

Final Approach

Kevin Dillon says Bradley has made great strides over the past decade

Kevin Dillon says Bradley has made great strides over the past decade and has the potential to eventually welcome 10 million passengers per year.

Kevin Dillon will be retiring from his position as executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) in January, after 12 years in that job and a half-century in the aviation industry.

As he talked with BusinessWest late last month for what will likely be the last time in his tenure, he listed a number of accomplishments and milestones during his stint — everything from sharp increases in the number of carriers and non-stop flights at Bradley International Airport (12 and 47 are the current numbers) to the addition of trans-continental and trans-Atlantic flights; from the completion of the airport’s $210 million ground transportation center to the recent kickoff of $250 million worth of additional improvements to BDL.

“We’ve accomplished most of the goals we set down when we established the airport authority,” Dillon said. “Certainly the re-establishment of trans-Atlantic and trans-continental service was a very high priority for us, and we’ve been able to accomplish that with our Aer Lingus service and our LAX and other California service that we’ve had over the years.”

But he spent far more time with what has become his favorite subject — where this airport, the second-largest in New England, can go from here, building on the momentum gained over the past dozen years and the solid foundation that’s been built.

Indeed, Dillon has talked often over the years about Bradley reaching 10 million passengers per year (the current number is about 7 million) and what it will take to get there.

Specifically, it will take more of what the roughly 2.8 million people living and working in Bradley’s catchment area (mostly those within an hour’s drive from Windsor Locks) are looking for — more carriers, more flights, and especially more non-stop flights to more places, in this country and beyond.

Kevin Dillon

Kevin Dillon

“Business travel hasn’t come back to the level it was pre-pandemic. And that’s a question mark across the country; will the business ever get back to that level?”

Bradley was making considerable progress in these efforts, increasing passenger volume from just under 6 million to 7 million, before significant headwinds, in the form of the pandemic and its after-effects, set things back, as they did at airports across the country.

But slowly but surely, as air travel has recovered in dramatic fashion and Bradley has added more non-stops via carriers such as Breeze and, most recently, Avelo, the airport is back to roughly where it was before the pandemic, Dillon told BusinessWest.

“We’re turning over an airport that still has tremendous opportunity and potential in front of it,” he said. “Right now, we’re back to where we were before the pandemic, and we’re back on that growth mode. I certainly believe that the next person coming in has a real opportunity to bring that airport passenger count to that 10 million level.”

As it looks to make continued progress, the airport, as it eyes nonstops to London and other popular destinations, is facing enormous competition from every other airport looking to grow its numbers, he went on. Meanwhile, the carriers have only so many planes.

“We’re in competition with every other airport in the country for the airline assets,” he said. “Every airport is trying to convince airlines to put flights into their airport; we compete with every airport in the region for passengers, but we compete with every airport in the country for airline assets.”

Then there’s the still-sluggish business-travel market, which is an important part of the equation at Bradley, where, before the pandemic, roughly half the passenger volume was business-oriented — a high percentage for an airport of this size — and now, it’s closer to 40%.

“Business travel hasn’t come back to the level it was pre-pandemic,” he said. “And that’s a question mark across the country; will the business ever get back to that level?”

Overall, Dillon is bullish on Bradley and believes it has all the ingredients to become an even more popular alternative to Logan in Boston and the airports in and around New York. For this issue’s focus on travel and tourism, he talked about how to, well, get there from here.

 

Plane Speaking

Dillon became the first executive director of the CAA after its formation by state officials more than a dozen years ago in an effort to help Connecticut’s airports, and especially Bradley, reach their full potential.

“We’ve demonstrated time and time again that, if we have non-stop service to a location, we will capture at least 80% of everyone in our core area that’s looking to travel to that location.”

Prior to that, he had worked at several different airports and in various capacities, starting with more than 20 years with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with his last assignment as acting general manager of LaGuardia Airport. Later, he served the Massachusetts Port Authority as director of Aviation Operations before working in Manchester, N.H. as director of its airport, in Orlando, and then as president and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corp., before taking the helm at the CAA in 2012.

As noted earlier, his time at Bradley has been marked by a number of accomplishments, including a doubling of non-stop flight destinations, the addition of several new carriers, an economic impact to the region of just under $4 billion, and several capital improvements.

These include upgrades to the terminal building, including $250 million in ongoing work, including an in-line baggage-check system that will also bring two additional gates to the airport, which are sorely needed as it continues to grow.

There’s also a vertical-circulation project that will change the way travelers move through the building, allowing the airport to expand its security checkpoint, Dillon explained, adding that these improvements will effectively extend the useful life of the terminal building.

Some of the biggest steps forward, though, have come with the adding of new carriers, especially those in the “ultra-low-cost” category, as he called it, which are in demand among consumers.

Such carriers include Breeze (which has made Bradley a hub), Frontier, Spirit, and, most recently, Houston-based Avelo, which will start service from Bradley to Cancun; Montego Bay; Jamaica; Charlotte/Concord, N.C.; Daytona Beach and Orlando, Fla.; Houston; and other destinations starting in November.

“That’s a level of carrier that didn’t really exist when the CAA was first created,” he noted, adding that, at the time, Bradley had most of the mainstream carriers — Delta, United, Southwest, and others — and has since has put a hard focus on the lower-cost carriers, “because we saw that’s what the marketplace was looking for, and it has really fueled a lot of the growth here at Bradley as well.”

Another key is the addition of more non-stop flights, which are also in demand among consumers, Dillon said, adding that the total is now at 47 and certain to climb higher. Many of them are to Florida, courtesy of Breeze, JetBlue, Southwest, and Spirit, he said, adding that such flights are popular and integral to the overall success of any airport in the Northeast.

“We know where people in our catchment area are flying to and what airport they’re using to do that — so it’s a matter of aggregating that data and then presenting it to an airline and making the business case for why an airline should start that level of service at Bradley.”

“We’re thrilled to see this level of coverage down into the Florida market,” he said. “It’s what allows us to continue to keep people in our market home instead of seeing them travel to a New York airport or Boston.”

 

Non-stop Action

These initiatives and others have positioned Bradley for continued growth, Dillon believes, adding that the priorities moving forward are to stress Bradley’s many assets while continuing to add more services to the mix.

Doing so will enable the airport to draw more customers from within that 60-minute-drive circle, while also perhaps expanding that radius, making Bradley an attractive alternative for people in various regions.

That includes Western Mass., the source of perhaps 20% of Bradley’s overall passenger volume, he said, adding that the 413 is definitely a potential source of additional growth, as is the area just east and south of Worcester — and Connecticut, for that matter, he said.

One of the priorities — and opportunities — moving forward is adding non-stop service to London, a key destination and part of the success quotient for any large airport.

“Far and away, I think London would be the most successful trans-Atlantic service for us, simply because of the high level of demand into London itself, but also all of the connectivity opportunities that exist,” he said, adding that Bradley has been in discussions with British Airways and other carriers about such service.

It would come with a certain amount of risk at mid-size airports such as Bradley, he went on, adding that, because of this, airlines look for revenue guarantees and/or business-community commitments that will guarantee a certain amount of revenue on the flight.

“There’s always risk when you start a service like that,” Dillon said. “But I do believe, based on the numbers we’re generating every day in the market area that we serve, of people who are traveling to London, that it would be a very successful service.”

Other priorities include additional non-stop flights to spots in the Caribbean and this country, including Seattle, an increasingly popular destination.

With more non-stops, the airport can, as he noted earlier, attract more people in its main catchment area.

“We’ve demonstrated time and time again that, if we have non-stop service to a location, we will capture at least 80% of everyone in our core area that’s looking to travel to that location,” Dillon said, adding that this bodes well for carriers looking to accept the risk of bringing more of these flights to Bradley.

“If we can bring Seattle service to Bradley, people are going to stay home and utilize Bradley for that service,” he went on. “Today, if you want a non-stop service into Seattle, you have to go to either Boston or New York. We have a lot of data available to us; we know where people in our catchment area are flying to and what airport they’re using to do that — so it’s a matter of aggregating that data and then presenting it to an airline and making the business case for why an airline should start that level of service at Bradley.”

Strong levels of business travel always help an airport make its case, he continued, adding that Bradley has historically been blessed with that quality. Thus, the future of business travel will be one of the factors determining the overall trajectory of its growth pattern.

Overall, many factors will ultimately decide where Bradley goes from here. And as Dillon prepares to step into retirement, he believes he’s helped put the airport on the proper flight path.

People on the Move

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People on the Move
Lara Sharp

Lara Sharp

Lara Sharp, dean of the School of STEM at Springfield Technical Community College, has been named to the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering Technology Council. Sharp is the only community college representative on the council. The ASEE is a nonprofit organization of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology. The ASEE Engineering Technology Council is committed to promoting quality engineering technology education. “It is an honor to be voted on to the Engineering Technology Council,” Sharp said. “This will be an opportunity to share best practices and develop new ideas that we can use in our engineering technology programs at STCC.” The only technical community college in Massachusetts, STCC offers a wide variety of programs in science, technology, engineering, and math, many of which cannot be found elsewhere in Western Mass. The college offers affordable transfer options in engineering and science as well as two-year degrees and one-year certificates that prepare graduates for positions in the region’s workforce. Programs include civil engineering technology, electrical engineering technology, mechanical engineering technology, optics and photonics (laser technology), and more. Sharp was named dean of the School of STEM in 2021. Her professional experience includes six years at St. Petersburg College in Clearwater, Fla., as the program director for Engineering, Manufacturing and Building Arts and also serving as the acting dean of Natural Sciences, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Building Arts. From 2013-2015, she was at the Corporate College of Polk State College, in Winter Haven, Fla., managing National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Labor (DOL) grants in advanced manufacturing and engineering technology. Sharp spent more than 11 years teaching chemistry, natural science and engineering to high school students at various locations. Sharp also brings industry experience, having worked at Specialty Minerals Inc. as a process engineer and an operator technician as well as an educational consultant for PASCO Scientific. She has been recognized for her outstanding teaching as well as her community engagement including a STEM Woman of the Year Award from Girls Inc. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.

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Tracye Whitfield

Tracye Whitfield

The Coalition for an Equitable Economy (CEE) announced the hiring of Tracye Whitfield as its new executive director. In this new role, Whitfield, named a Woman of Impact by BusinessWest in 2021, will lead the coalition’s efforts to ensure equitable access to capital for BIPOC small business owners across the state of Massachusetts. Whitfield will continue the coalition’s efforts in creating new programs and policy needed to change and dismantle racist structures preventing the equitable investments needed to support the growth and viability of these businesses. Prior to joining CEE, Whitfield was appointed as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer by Mayor Reichelt for West Springfield. Her work in this role included promoting a diverse environment free from discrimination among employees as well as residents of their town — with an emphasis on racial equity when recruiting new people or hiring existing ones. In her 25-year career, Whitfield has served as a finance analyst for the city of Springfield and data analyst at Springfield Technical Community College. She also worked in various positions including one with MassMutual Financial Group and youth advocacy at Martin Luther King Family Services. She served as the director of Business Development for Training And Workforce Options (TWO), a collaboration between STCC and HCC where she assisted employers in developing customized trainings to strengthen their workforces. She’s also the owner of T&J Tax and Credit Savers, focusing on individual and small business tax preparation, credit repair, and assisting clients on their journey to home ownership. In 2018, she became an elected official in her community as a Springfield city councilor at large. She is now the first African American woman vice president of this position. For the past seven years, she’s served as co-chair of Mason Square C-3 Initiative. This position has allowed her to work closely with residents and local organizations and police officers to promote public safety while also improving the quality of life throughout the community. The Coalition for an Equitable Economy convenes and partners with a broad cross-sector coalition of stakeholders from across Massachusetts aligned around a shared commitment to building an equitable small business ecosystem and to the values of racial equity, collaboration, and shared leadership.

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Sheila Bandyopadhyay

Sheila Bandyopadhyay

Sheila Bandyopadhyay has joined Shakespeare & Company as its director of training, beginning her new position on August 9. A director, movement specialist, performer, and devisor of original theater, Bandyopadhyay has an extensive background in both new work and Shakespeare and has trained and taught with the company as an education and training artist. “I began my career at Shakespeare & Company, so taking on this role is a wonderful return,” said Bandyopadhyay. “I look forward to upholding the high quality of actor training Shakespeare & Company is known for, establishing inclusive practices, and expanding our offerings to keep us at the forefront of theatrical artistry.” Bandyopadhyay has been an active player in New York’s independent theater scene, with work at venues including the West End Theater, the Brick in Brooklyn, the Tank, the 72nd St. Theater Lab, and multiple festivals for new work (directing/devising); the Boston Center for the Arts, Gallatin NYU, FSU/Asolo, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts Company (movement and choreography), and The Humanist Project and Stages on the Sound as a performer, among others. Before becoming director of training, Bandyopadhyay served as head of the Professional Training Program and Core Movement Faculty at Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, and Head of Movement at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Bandyopadhyay has taught actor training workshops internationally and on both coasts. In her new role, Bandyopadhyay will steward Shakespeare & Company’s acclaimed Center for Actor Training into a new era, continuing to refine its aesthetic and enacting positive change for a more accessible, inclusive environment.

•••••

Insa, a grower and retailer of medical and adult-use cannabis in Massachusetts, announced the hiring of three new employees who will play key roles in helping propel the Company forward in the burgeoning cannabis industry:

• Michael Bird has been named chief people officer. Bird brings significant human resources experience to the team having worked in the field for almost 30 years. Bird started in Human Resources at the Yankee Candle Company as an Employment Recruiter in 1995 when the company was owned and operated by the founder, Mike Kittredge, had 700 employees, and operated 27 retail stores. As Yankee Candle grew, so did Bird’s career. He advanced to hold a variety of positions within HR at Yankee Candle, including serving as the HR director of North American Operations where he led a team of HR business partners serving all corporate functions, with more than 5,000 employees and 500 retail stores. He went on to join The East Coast Tile Group in 2017, a family owned and operated tile importing and multi-channel tile distributor as vice president of Human Resources.

• Nicole Constant joins as brand director. She brings more than 10 years of CPG experience to the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Prior to joining Insa, she was at Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., where she led innovation for the cooperative’s Foods Business Unit, which includes the Craisins® brand. Prior to that, Constant led the new Accelerator team within Ocean Spray’s Innovation Hub. In this role, she took an entrepreneurial approach to building disruptive innovation from within.

She is a strong believer in the medical benefits of cannabis and the quality and craftsmanship of Insa’s product portfolio. In her new role, she will be leading brand expansion and development as well as strategic planning within new and existing markets; and

• Kate Nelson will hold the role of director of Digital Experience. In the newly created role, she will lead the creation of a full digital experience in-store and online that puts customers first and offers them seamless ways to make purchases, communicate with customer service, interact with the brand across social, SMS, email, benefit from Insa’s loyalty programs, and educate themselves on adult and medical-use cannabis products. She joins Insa from Vista Outdoor, a publicly traded company who owns over 40 outdoor and action sports brands, where she created loyalty programs and digital marketing strategies leveraged across their portfolio. Prior to Vista Outdoor, Nelson worked at DEG Digital, a digital marketing agency where she created digital marketing strategies for premier brands such as Walmart, PepsiCo Brands, and AMC Theaters.

“We are thrilled to welcome Nicole, Michael, and Kate to our team at Insa,” said Pete Gallagher, Insa co-founder. “They each have valuable expertise and deep knowledge in their respective areas. Their hard-work, insights, and problem-solving abilities will be critical in growing the Insa brand, helping the Company meet its objectives, and in helping bring high-quality cannabis to many more Insa customers.”

•••••

Stephen Duval

Stephen Duval CFP, a Private Wealth Advisor with Summit House Wealth Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. in South Hadley, has qualified for the company’s Circle of Success annual recognition program and will be honored for this achievement in 2022. To earn this achievement, Duval established himself as one of the company’s top advisors. Only a select number of high-performing advisors earn this distinction. He has 30 years of experience with Ameriprise Financial.

UMass Chancellor to Retire in 2023 

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Daily News

AMHERST — UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, under whose leadership the commonwealth’s flagship campus experienced a decade of unprecedented success and momentum, today announced that he will retire at the end of June 2023. 

Subbaswamy arrived in Amherst in July 2012, and during his tenure the campus has excelled in a wide range of key areas, including attracting growing numbers of diverse, high-achieving students, steadily improving graduation rates, and conducting cutting-edge research with real-world impact. 

“It has been a privilege to serve as chancellor of this great university,” said Subbaswamy. “I will forever treasure the support and friendship of the faculty, staff, students and alumni whom I’ve come to know over the past decade and am grateful for all that we have accomplished together. By channeling our revolutionary spirit, we have become one of the fastest rising top-tier public research universities in the country and I am confident that, in its next chapter, the University of Massachusetts Amherst will soar even higher.” 

UMass President Marty Meehan said, “Chancellor Subbaswamy’s leadership of UMass Amherst over the last decade has been truly extraordinary by any measure. The university has grown in impact and national stature under his skillful guidance, while he has always remained focused on student success. That was never more evident than during the last two years of unprecedented challenge and change. It has been an honor to call Swamy a friend and colleague.” 

In the latest U.S. News & World Report Colleges Guide, UMass Amherst is ranked No. 26 among the 209 public universities included in the national survey. A rankings rise from No. 52 in 2010 marks a 26-step ascent, principally during Subbaswamy’s tenure. 

Robert Manning, chair of the UMass Board of Trustees, said, “UMass Amherst has blossomed with Chancellor Subbaswamy as its leader. That has required skilled management, the ability to recruit great people, a sense of humor, and an unyielding pursuit of the land grant mission to serve Massachusetts and the nation through excellent teaching, high-impact research, and powerful service.” 

Manning has named UMass Trustee and UMass Amherst alumnus Victor Woodridge as chair of the search committee that will be appointed to identify candidates to be the next UMass Amherst chancellor. 

Under Subbaswamy’s leadership, the university has played a pivotal and unique role in educating the commonwealth. UMass Amherst alone enrolls more first-year students from Massachusetts than do the commonwealth’s top eight private universities combined. In addition, UMass Amherst awards more undergraduate STEM degrees than any other college or university in Massachusetts, public or private. 

Meanwhile, the university’s research enterprise is driving innovative solutions to the world’s greatest challenges and boosting the state’s economy. In FY 2021, UMass Amherst totaled $213 million in research expenditures, and it ranked first among public universities in New England in National Science Foundation grant awards. 

UMass Amherst recently secured major investments in computer science, fueling the Massachusetts tech economy. An $18 million naming gift will endow the Robert and Donna Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences. A state investment of $75 million—along with $30 million from the Amherst campus—will enhance and expand the college’s facilities, enabling accelerated enrollment growth. 

The university is also playing a lead role to help address the commonwealth’s pressing health care needs supported by the largest gift in UMass Amherst history to the Marieb College of Nursing. The $21.5 million naming gift from the Elaine Nicpon Marieb Charitable Foundation is advancing the university’s innovative nursing engineering center, and it is also providing support for student scholarships, an endowed professorship, and mentorship and research initiatives designed to further access, equity and excellence in nursing education. 

Subbaswamy emphasized that much remains to be done in the coming months. “Over the next year, I will remain focused on fulfilling our mission as the flagship campus of the commonwealth,” he said. “Together, we will work on significant university efforts, such as expanding flexible learning; advancing our Carbon Zero, renewable energy plans; addressing campus issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and preparing for our new fundraising campaign.” 

UMassFive Bids Farewell to Sam Killings; Welcomes Jeremiah Bentley

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Daily News

HADLEY — UMassFive College Federal Credit Union (UMassFive) announced the retirement of board member Sam Killings at its 55th Annual Meeting on March 23. New director Jeremiah Bentley was elected to the open position at the virtual event.

Killings is retiring from the UMassFive Board of Directors after serving since 1998. During his tenture, Killings served on the credit union’s Asset and Liability Management Committee, which he chaired for several years, as well as the Human Resources Committee and the Diversity Task Force. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and 42 years of experience as an internal auditor and assistant controller for Research Accounting at UMass Amherst.

With his retirement, Killings was recently honored with the status of director emeritus, the first person to hold this title at the credit union.

Bentley has been a member of UMassFive since 2015, when he moved to the area after completing his Ph.D. in accounting from Cornell University. He previously

served as a volunteer on the credit union’s Asset and Liability Management Committee. He currently serves as a research foundation director for the Institute of Management Accountants, and in multiple positions with the American Accounting Association. He is also the Richard Dieter & Susan Dieter Faculty Fellow and associate professor at UMass Amherst, where he teaches financial and managerial accounting and examines how accounting systems change the way people think about and report on their performance.