Speaker: Deborah Ostreicher, Deputy Aviation Director. Sky Harbor Airport

Subject: Update on the many changes at Sky Harbor Airport

I would like to tell you what is going on at the airport and if you have any questions, just ask them. Q=question

I want to talk about the three "S's"

Let's start off with Security and what you can and can not bring. Q Knitting needles? Knitting needles are generally allowed if they don't have a really sharp edge as are pens and pencils. It is always better to check as it might change tomorrow. Sharp objects like scissors that have longer than a 4 inch blade on them. We have a saying "If you have seen one airport you have seen one airport". Sometimes something is not caught at one airport, but will be at another. If you are ever curious as to what to bring, you can go to TSA.gov. It will give you a whole list of what is and what isn't allowed. If you forget that, skyharbor.com has the information. Q Since restrictions as a result of 9/11, my husband, who travels about 50 times a year, has carried a small pocket knife in his pocket and until last week it wasn't caught. Why? Depending on how big it is it may not set it off. It is not a federal crime if was not intentionally trying to conceal it. If you really try to bury it or hide it on purpose, it is a federal crime. Q Does the City of Phoenix have anything to do with the TSA? We give them space and we allow them to do their federal business on the airport property. We are responsible for making a space for the TSA, the airlines and other businesses. Q Are metal detectors calibrated differently for every single airport?

The detectors are not supposed to be different at every airport. Judgment at what they see at every airport may be different. Whether or not they read something on you that is curious to them or not, the calibration is supposed to be the same. I think we have all probably had experiences where a belt buckle sets it off in one place and not another.

Does this big pile of bags (a picture) look familiar to you as you go to check into your flight? You try to give your bags to the ticket agent and you are told no no, wheel you bag over to that big pile. People leave it at the pile and then they kind of start walking away and then wonder is my bag ever going to make it to where I am going. I am proud to tell you that those machines you are piling your bags up in front of will go through detection. After 9/11 we put into place screening bags that go into the belly of the plane. We never used to do that. You only had your bags checked that you were talking with you. Because of the age of detonators and other things you could detonate on the aircraft you can do a lot of things with your checked bags as well. We had everything set up in the airport to do that. A lot of the construction that you are seeing is to build a system behind the scenes so that bags that are getting checked can be screened just like the bags that you go through the security checkpoint. They will be screening with the same type of equipment. In the 70's, 80's and 90's if you had explosives nobody seemed to check if you had explosives in your checked baggage. Things have changed.

Services

Please note that in every garage area there are these blue lights. You can hit the black button for just getting information-somebody help me and they will drive a vehicle right up to you-flashing lights come up to you and you can hope right into an air conditioned vehicle and they will drive you around to find your car. Give you a jump start, help you get your keys out. If you have a problem, please know that we don't want you wondering around the garages for ever and ever. Pushing the red button is like calling 911. We also learned from 9/11 that people can get stuck in the stair well and are unable to get down. So we need to know where they are. When you are in the stair well, you can press that button so the fire department will know you are there and need rescuing. Family assisted restrooms-we are very proud to have them throughout the airport. Not only for children, but in this day and age there are adults who need them. These are full changing areas which will support a full sized adult.

For your travel convenience we have not only our information counter, but also 350 volunteers at the airport. So those people in purple jackets are not soliciting or trying to get anything from you. They are literally smiling that back because they are there to help. If you know anybody who is interested in volunteering, please let us know. If you encounter a purple person at the airport, I would appreciate you thanking them for their service, because it is 100% volunteer. We have pet parks at all three terminals. If you are travelling with your pet, they do not have to do their business on the sidewalk. We have a comfortable place complete with water, little fire hydrants and they service the police dogs as well. They are located on the baggage claim level. Look for the sign that says Pet Park, it will say Bone Yard, Paw Park-we like to get cleaver

The official USO will be coming to the airport July 6. We have had a wonderful military hospitality room that has been supported by the local community. On July 6, we will have the actual official USO taking over that area. It is currently in Terminal 2. So we are looking for a larger space. We have free Wi-Fi so you don't have to pay anything to use the Wi-Fi at the airport.

I always get a lot of questions on signs and I want you to know that and if anyone is very passionate about something regarding signage at the airport, please let me know.

I am excited to share with you news about the new Sky Train, which we really need. Our road ways can not sustain the traffic we have. Everyday it is getting more and more. Despite the economy and slowdown we see right now, we know that people will continue to fly and they are going to continue to come to Sky Harbor. We can't wait until 2025 to say "Our roadways are blocked you can't drive to the airport anymore". So we are working on it.

We had 39 million passengers in 2008, 37.6 in 2009 and estimated 36.6 in 2010, but it should increase to 41 million by 2014 and up to 49 million in 2025. Q Why the loss - loss of airlines? Given what is happening with the airlines right now-the big picture is you hear every flight I fly on is full. The reason for that is that there are fewer planes. Where we might have had 16 flights to Las Vegas in a day, we now have 12. So they are a lot fuller. There are less people flying. Luckily at Sky Harbor not as few as were around the country. But slowly and surely it is getting back. Q What is the transit rate compared to destination rate? It is about 60 to 40. 60% the passengers who come and go and 40% who are just changing and don't leave the airport.

Back to the Sky Train (showed a rendering). We have light rail at 44th St. and Washington. You get off light rail and get onto the free Phoenix Sky Train. You go up an escalator, cross over a bridge that is already there and was built a while ago so we wouldn't have to interrupt light rail to build it. Then you will get onto the Sky Train. It will take you to the East economy parking lot and then into Terminal 4. That will be done in 2013. Then we will start building part B and that will take you all the way out to the rental car center. All those buses that carried people to and from the rental car center now will be gone. Local roadways will open up a lot. Q Regarding the rental care center, how much for thought went into it? We were planning it for quite a few years and finding a location large enough as we are believe it or not, the 2nd largest rental car market in the country (LA is the first). It is hard if you have lived here a long time and remember Phoenix as a much smaller place. How can we be one of the busiest airports in the world, how can we be one of the biggest rental car markets in the country? To build a space that is consistent with that and in a location that can handle it isn't always consistent with what people think. With the growth, we needed that space and the only place to put it was where it is now. Since we were used to having the rental car centers in the terminal it is going to take a little getting used to. Q Will there be a luggage check near Sky Train? We are looking into having a transit center once you cross over the Washington Street Bridge. We hope one day, if the TSA approves and federal regulations, when this happens we will be allowed remote baggage check ins. This will also be a place to pick up and drop off. So instead of driving people up to Terminal 4, you could drop them by the entrance to the Sky Train (44th St & Washington) and they can get on a fast, easy and free Sky Train and they are in their terminal. We hope to have services for check in and kiosks for boarding passes. Q We always seem to be doing things after the fact-not having Light Rail going to the Airport. Why? Light rail does not go the airport now, and it is a joint venture between all of the cities, and the reason for that is the majority of the people who use light rail don't want to make 7 extra stops going east and west. So in order for them to get from Tempe to Downtown they would have to go through the airport with the 7 additional stops. So that is why light rail does not go through Sky Harbor. The Sky Train provides a seamless and easy connection; where you walk across the street and for free, you can ride throughout the airport. While it is not called light rail it is essentially a free transfer. If we were starting to plan the airport from scratch we might be able to do things differently; but given the space we have, the restraints we have in the center of the city we are doing the best we can.

Statement: I want to congratulate you as the airport is not a cash cow of the city. As far as cash cow of the city, the FAA Regulations require that not a single penny that comes into the airport leaves the airport. Every penny we make we are not allowed to give any where. So, when people say with all that money you make on parking, why don't you give it to the Library or create a tree planting partnership or some thing like that-we are not allowed. The FAA audits us every year and we would be fined if we did. Everything we bring in has to go back in to provide services or safety for airport related issues. Even though I am a city employee, I am not paid out of your tax dollars and not a single tax dollar goes into the airport. If you park, buy a stick of gum, or the extra fees added onto every plane ticket across the country helps to fund those projects at the airport where you fly to.

Q If you live in North Scottsdale, where there is no light rail, where can you park if you don't want to park at the airport? There is a Park and Ride facility on the north side of Washington St. and you can just walk across the street to get to the Sky Train.

Q Is the phase 2 of the Sky Train going to the car rental center? In 2012 you will start seeing this connection and in 2013 you will be able to ride it as the public. You will be able to role right onto the train with your bags and go to your terminal.

Q Are they going to reduce the cost of some of the meals at the airport? We are going through a complete food and beverage overhaul in, Terminal 4, which is where 80% of our passengers are. We are going to what we call street pricing, so when you see the restaurants and drinking establishments in the airport, they will be the same price as they are on the street. In the new contracts that are coming up over the next two years, they will have to offer the same price at the airport that they do on the street. These are going to be new bids and you may see some new places come in place of others and we also want local flavor as well. There bid has to show us they are the best mix for our demographics and the best moneymakers so we can keep bringing services to the airport. If you have ready recently about minorities and women not getting an advantage, that is true. We are moving toward getting small business, what ever you are-women, minority -small business will have an advantage in these biddings-not because you are minority owned or a woman. We have done this for a long time and have gone so far in this direction that we have a shortage of white males having any opportunity at the airport. So now what we are looking at is you must be a small business and those criteria will get you extra points.