MAA – 6-2025

Bradley Byrne: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the Mobile Matters podcast, powered by the mobile Chamber where we dive into the big topic shaping mobile’s thriving business community. Before we dive in, we’d like to thank Visit Mobile for making today’s episode possible and for their continued support of mobile’s growing business community through tourism.

I am your host, Bradley Byrne, president and CEO of the mobile Chamber. Today we’re excited to welcome Andy Wilson, the Executive Director of the Mobile Airport Authority. Andy and his team are leading the charge on one of the biggest infrastructure projects happening in our region. The construction of a brand new terminal at Mobile International Airport, moving Air Service even closer to downtown mobile.

Andy, welcome to Mobile Matters.

Andy Wilson: Thank you, Bradley. It’s a pleasure to be here. Glad you’re here.

Bradley Byrne: Okay. For anyone who may not be familiar, Andy, tell us a little about the Mobile Airport Authority [00:01:00] and what it does and what your role is within it.

Andy Wilson: Well, the role that I play at the Airport Authority first is being responsible for the management of the three aviation assets that we have, regional Airport, St.

Elmo, and of course, uh, the Berkeley downtown or Mobile International Airport. Uh. I have a staff of about a hundred people that I’m responsible on a day-to-day basis, uh, through my senior management to provide day-to-day operational guidance for the airport. And probably most importantly, as you alluded to at the beginning of this conversation, uh, is to oversee the administration and management of the, uh, construction of the passenger terminal.

Bradley Byrne: So you’re also a landlord, I think, think you got a neat, uh, tenant out there called

Andy Wilson: Airbus. We do. As a matter of fact, one of the things that, uh, sometimes complicate what we have to do on a day-to-day basis is we are a landlord and we’re a landlord to a wide [00:02:00] variety of clients. Uh, we administer lease space for construction companies that are working for Airbus.

Uh, we manage the tenants and all of their real estate assets that. Surround Airbus. Uh, we are 10. The Federal Aviation Administration is one of our tenants. Uh, the three scheduled carriers that we have out at Mobile Regional are tenants. Uh, we have the United States Coast Guard. The United States Army Aviation Reserve Unit.

Uh, gosh, we have the Marine Corps, army Transportation. Uh, so we have a wide range of, of stakeholders, if you will, up here at the airport.

Bradley Byrne: The, the reason I asked you that question is not everybody understands that you’re just not operating in an airport. You’ve got a whole lot of other things happening, and it is airports plural.

It’s the three you just named, but the one that’s kind of gotten everybody’s attention most recently is, is brookley. And we all know that this [00:03:00] new terminal is a game changer for the community. So putting you on spot a little bit, but can you give us a timeline?

Andy Wilson: Well, we’ve about got the building dried in.

Meaning we have the exterior envelope completed, the roof, the curtain wall, uh, which should allow us to commence some of the work on the interior of the building, probably around the 1st of June. Uh, we would like to think that, uh, we’ve got most of the major components procured, heavy mechanical, heavy electrical conveyors, loading bridges, uh, and just waiting for the appropriate time in the construction phases to start the installation of that Pacific equipment.

Okay. Uh, I know a question that, uh, you and I discussed briefly before we got here, but, uh, we’re looking now at, uh, likely a sometime in the summer of 2026 for opening the new terminal building. Okay. Everybody, uh,

Bradley Byrne: don’t hold him to that because sometimes things slide in construction projects, but at least by the end of [00:04:00] next year, you would think you would have it done, I would think at the latest.

And that’s, yeah. Yeah. Good deal. That, that doesn’t meet my personal expectation. I, I understand we’d all like it to happen tomorrow, but it’s gotta be right. Yes, sir. Speaking of being right, what would be some of the features that people will like about this new complex?

Andy Wilson: Well, I think that replacing a 40-year-old terminal building with a brand new terminal building will be like moving into a new home.

Yeah. You won’t be disappointed by it. Uh, it’ll provide a lot more amenities that, uh. Are currently available at the existing terminal building. Give us an example of that. Uh, just what we would consider to be like a master tenant agreement. So we will have a better selection. There’ll be more than three seats at the bar, I promise you that.

Uh, we’ll have a much wider food offering Oh, good. Uh, at the airport, so it’s not just a small lunch counter, but we will have, uh, [00:05:00] two uh. For an airport, full service restaurants. Oh, wow. Um, we’re not quite sure. That’s still up in the air. We’re gonna be advertising for, uh, a master concessionaire here probably in the next 60 days.

Uh, but four people that are guests of mobile, they’ll be able to come into the, you know, and pick up a little, you know, trinket or some memorabilia from their trip. Uh, also for people that are coming home at myself who. Whether you’re running late for a birthday or something like that, you still have the option to pick something up.

For my son, that was a lot easier when he was five years old ’cause he loved little plastic airplanes. Now it’s a little more difficult, but uh,

Bradley Byrne: and there’s gonna be a deck, right? A parking deck? Yes, sir. So I. Be a little bit closer to the airport than perhaps some people are parking at a regional. So that, that’s gonna be good for everybody.

So, um, so from a public per [00:06:00] perspective, what’s the most important thing people should know about the move to Berkeley?

Andy Wilson: That if you’re flying out on the first day, we open, come to the right airport. That’s a good point. Everybody in mobile pay attention to that. Yeah, I think otherwise, uh, just. You know, come prepared to hopefully be amazed when you walk into the new building.

It will be beautiful. Well, that’s good

Bradley Byrne: because the, the, the appearance of that building. Tells incoming travelers a lot about the community. So we’re really glad to hear that. I’ve been telling everybody for a while now that this move is truly a game changer for this community and it’s not just a game changer in that it moves to place.

It’s a much nicer building, but it’s also a game changer in what it allows us to do in economic development and, and that has a lot to do with, you know, attracting new airlines, perhaps attracting new destinations. Perhaps speak to that if [00:07:00] you can.

Andy Wilson: Yeah, Bradley. So a lot of people, when they look at an airport in their community, they expect to have access to the air transportation network, uh, that rivals larger airports in larger metropolitan areas.

Uh, mobile is a, is a city that’s growing, moving forward with an increasing population, and as a result of that, an increased demand for air service. So that’s what the airlines will use in a lot of instances. Are there enough people there for me to start sending larger aircraft and do I have enough of a traveling basis, but also on the same, you know, in the same uh, vein, companies that are looking to relocate here, do they have access?

To air travel? Can they get to where they need to go? Uh, I know conversations that we’ve had with local business leaders have identified some key markets where it would be advantageous if they had direct service. Um, [00:08:00] the reality of that is that unless you can fill up an airplane five or six days a week, you’re not gonna have direct service back and forth between two stations.

Uh, the good news is. The city like mobile at this point in time. You can connect from here to any number of major hubs, be it Houston, Dallas, might not be the places people want to go, Charlotte, uh, Atlanta, but from one. But all you need to do is board one more aircraft at those locations and you can go almost anywhere in the world.

That’s true. So until you live in the city that is, is home to a major hub like a Chicago, Seattle, la. Uh, it’s very difficult to get that global network because of the things that are associated with the cities where they operate, and a lot of times it’s just not passengers,

Bradley Byrne: but it would still be possible for you to get some [00:09:00] destinations.

We don’t presently have direct destinations. Yes, sir. That’s absolutely one of our targets. That that’s part of what you, and that’s part of what your conversations are with these companies around town to figure out where they need to, to fly. Yeah. There’s.

Andy Wilson: Uh, the airport authority will be represented, uh, the first week of June, actually, right before we go to the air show in Paris.

Yeah. Uh, we’re gonna attend Jumpstart, which is one of the top air service development conferences. It’s hosted up in Indianapolis. This, uh, this June 9th, 10th, and 11th. Wow. So I’ll be there the ninth and 10th and then fly back home. And then we go to,

Bradley Byrne: we go to Paris. Paris a couple days afterwards. But Paris, you can be a well traveled man that week.

Yeah, I know. Well, we, you have a great new airport to look forward to next year, hopefully when we travel to the air show. Okay. We’re gonna take a quick sponsor break, but when we come back we’ll talk about the air service options taking off out of mobile.[00:10:00]

We’re back with Andy Wilson from the Mobile Airport Authority. Alright, Andy, we talked a little bit about, um, what we hope happens in the future with Air Service, but just so everybody knows, what Air Service do we have now?

Andy Wilson: I. So right now we have service from the three legacy carriers, Delta, United and American.

Uh, it’s all direct hub service back to Charlotte, uh, DFW, Houston, uh, Atlanta, uh, and also up to, [00:11:00] uh, Washington Dulles, our primary routes.

Bradley Byrne: And a lot of people don’t know there’s some really great international service outta Dulles. I’ve flown out of that for international flights. And of course we have great international service outta Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, and uh, Atlanta Atlanta’s the busiest, uh, airport in the world.

So those are actually great hubs to go to. Um, we know that United has that direct service to Washington at a mobile regional. Tell us about that route and what it means for travelers and business.

Andy Wilson: Well, I think with the, you know, the importance of getting up to the nation’s capital and, you know, that provides access, uh, to business people here that tr you know, commute regularly up to that area.

But it also provides another opportunity for international travel as well. If you’re flying to Europe, you don’t wanna fly west to go east, right? Uh, just from a times perspective, even though it’s not that [00:12:00] far to get there when you add it back onto. Another departure, you’re adding a couple hours to your flight leg, which if you fly from here to Dulles, you’re that much closer.

It’s about seven hours, I think, to get to Heathrow from there. And, uh, if you’re outta Houston, it’s a little over nine and a half.

Bradley Byrne: Yeah. So, I mean, I,

Andy Wilson: significant time savings,

Bradley Byrne: as I say, I’ve, I’ve flown out of Dulles to a number of European destinations and it’s a good, a good spot for, for those that don’t know, there are actually two airports in Washington.

There’s Reagan, which is very close to downtown, just. Across the river from the city and, and this one at Dulles is actually out where a lot of growth is occurring. And it’s really not that, uh, a big a deal to drive in or to drive back out. It’s really not that far. Um, every time I’ve been on that plane between here and Washington, since y’all started it, there’ve been a lot of people.

It was pretty crowded. So it looks like it’s a successful route for you.

Andy Wilson: Uh, it has been. As a matter of fact, all of the routes in and out of mobile, uh, are [00:13:00] now starting to. Perform at a very high level. So using the term of load factor or a number of seats occupied on a given aircraft, uh, mobile is basically operating at a level now that all the aircraft that fly in and outta here by the airline standard are considered full.

Wow. Uh, so we’ve already seen changes in the fleet mix. By that I mean the type of aircraft and the number of seats available. Uh, so when I first took this job mere six months ago. The majority of the aircraft flying in and out of mobile were Embraer 1 45, so their fifth 49 seat aircraft. Uh, the last few trips that I’ve been on, uh, United is flying 70 seaters and 75 seaters.

They do still have 1, 4, 5 on the, on the route. Uh, American has up gauged their flights now from one 40 fives to 90 seat regional jets. On almost every leg, with the exception of [00:14:00] two flights to Charlotte. Uh, the balance of those are 70 seaters now, and, uh, Delta is only operating 70 or 90 seat regional jets back and forth to Atlanta.

So the seat markets, uh, the seat, the available seats are increasing, which hopefully in the long term will be reflected in, uh, the lowering of costs. I think, actually, I shouldn’t say that. I already know the prices have started to come down a little bit.

Bradley Byrne: Good. That’s really good to know that. So by moving the airport, do we think we’ll attract more people to fly in an automobile?

Andy Wilson: I think that, uh, the former chairman’s concept of moving the airport closer to downtown and the majority of the business travelers, uh, we already know that we’re starting to attract more passengers, uh, from Mississippi. Huh. Up to Dulles. That’s part of the ridership that’s gone up on that route. [00:15:00] Uh, we’re also picking up, uh, occasionally travelers now from Baldwin County who are making an an early phase effort to support the airport as we move forward.

So once we move the airport and the terminal down closer to their home, I think that, uh, we’ll see a definite uptick.

Bradley Byrne: Well, a hundred percent of the people I’ve talked to from the Eastern shore have told me that they would much rather fly at a downtown mobile than what they’re doing right now, which is they’re driving over to Pensacola, which is a, you know, a longer trip, a more difficult trip.

Uh, and, and not great parking service, by the way. So glad to hear that Baldwin County people see the value to them of having an airport downtown Mobile. Alright, looking ahead five to 10 years. What’s your vision for the Mobile Airport authority? How do you see it shaping the future of travel and commerce in our area?

Andy Wilson: Well, I think it’ll continue to play an important role in the, in the economy here, and I think [00:16:00] that role will only increase in its importance over time.

Bradley Byrne: Yeah.

Andy Wilson: Uh, I think that as the local business community thrives, uh, with the improvements at the port, the New River Bridge. Uh, the new industry that yourself and the rest of your team have been successful in recruiting?

Uh, we’ll only see increased demand. Uh, I think the real objective here is to start to get, uh, longer haul aircraft in. By that I mean seven 30 sevens a three twenties. Right now, the equipment that we have is suitable for the, for the stage length that they wanna fly. Dallas, Houston, Atlanta. Those, those airplanes can’t fly from mobile to Seattle.

They just don’t have the, the range, right? So moving up to a larger aircraft will not only give us increased range, but also give us increased seats. So to get back out to the West Coast or get up to [00:17:00] New York, uh, you know, we’re gonna need to really pursue airlines that are gonna be willing to come in here and put some bigger airplanes on the,

Bradley Byrne: so with the new airport.

How many gates will you have? Initially?

Andy Wilson: We’ll have five initially. Uh, we’re already doing some preliminary planning to see if we could potentially add another gate.

Bradley Byrne: Mm-hmm.

Andy Wilson: Uh, I’ve got enough apron space. It’s just a little bit of planning work. We’ve got certainly have enough room in the terminal, uh, on the departure side to accommodate an additional gate.

Uh, we may even be able to accommodate two. Uh, the problem would just be getting a jet bridge out that far to another aircraft.

Bradley Byrne: Well, the reason I ask that is, is that you, you are in a position where if we generate enough demand, you can expand.

Andy Wilson: Yes. Actually, the, uh, terminal building itself was programmed to accommodate, uh, 12 gates, which we’re building effectively less than half of ’em.

Now, [00:18:00] you know, there will be subsequent improvements to other elements of the terminal building to accommodate that additional growth. Uh. Probably landside improvements to the roadway. There’ll be definitely need a need for some improvements for, uh, baggage claim area. We’ve got some improvements that’ll need to be made to, uh, accommodate the volume of out outbound bags.

Uh, TSA does not see us as a large enough airport to kind of play with the big boys from that, from a baggage screening so that the system that they’ve chosen to deploy at the airport. Uh, will definitely need to be improved going forward. So I think that that would be, those would just be some of the areas, but yet most definitely the building would be, is capable.

Bradley Byrne: Well, that sounds great. I mean, uh, uh, if you haven’t looked at it, folks, you’ll be able to get to the airport by simply hopping off I 10 at Michigan Avenue, and then you’re there. So for people that have had the long drive to [00:19:00] regional and for the people that are making the long drive to Pensacola, it’s gonna be a much faster trip for you to get to the airport.

Okay, now where can people go to follow construction updates and future flight announcements?

Andy Wilson: Uh, we have two websites, uh, for updates related to the terminal building, construction and ongoing work there. Uh, build bfm.com. So B-U-I-L-D bfm.com. We’ll get you to, uh, a link to live webcams that, uh, actively track the, the project site all day long.

The, uh, there’s also additional photographic logs there and things that people can take a look at if you’re so inclined. And then, uh, the ma dot, you know, our m uh, MOB air, air mob airport.com. Excuse me. Uh, is the website that can be used to get regular updates on future [00:20:00] announcements, recent news and publications associated with the airport on a, on a day-to-day basis.

So

Bradley Byrne: we at the Chamber really want you, we really need you to be successful. And so we want to encourage everybody, including everybody who’s listening to this podcast, to don’t wait until we move the airport, start getting in the. Uh, regular use of the mobile airport now and then when it moves in about a year.

Maybe a little bit more than a year, then you’re gonna have an incredible experience. This is a real step forward for mobile. So Andy, thank you for joining us today. We can’t wait to celebrate the ribbon cutting on the new terminal in 2026. We have the biggest scissors in western civilization. I mean, ribbon cuttings are us, so we look forward to that.

From the heart of the mobile business community, this is The Matters Podcast powered by the mobile Chamber with a special thank you. Visit [00:21:00] Mobile.