New CEO Sartor vows to put customer needs first
Industry outsider brings fresh outlook to gauging needs, demand of public
The new CEO of the Calgary Airport Authority is vowing that under his tenure, customers will come first.
Bob Sartor — the former head of Big Rock Brewery — assumed the helm at the airport Jan. 1, replacing the outgoing Garth Atkinson, who retired in December after filling the role for the past 15 years.
Unlike his predecessor, Sartor — who was CEO of the Forzani Group before joining Big Rock — had no previous experience with airports or airlines when he was offered YYC’s top job. He views himself as a “brand guy” whose strength is in consumer-facing industries, and said he was initially shocked when contacted by the board’s search committee.
“I said, ‘You’re talking to the wrong guy,’ ” Sartor said in an interview. “But the board’s point of view was, ‘No, we want someone who is really consumer-centric. Someone who’s going to be focused on the experience of the passenger, the experience of the airlines who use this airport — we think we need that.’ ”
While the Calgary International Airport has had many victories in recent years — including consistent growth in passenger volumes as well as improved international service with the addition of new non-stop destinations such as Beijing, China — it has struggled at times on the public-relations front. The opening of a new, $2-billion international terminal in October was marred by customer complaints about long walking distances in the building and a lack of seating by the gates.
Sartor said that when it comes to the new terminal, the Calgary Airport Authority was somewhat “tone deaf.” While he said the facility was well-designed and wellconstructed, some of the decisions made — such as to not include water fountains — showed a basic failure to gauge the needs and demands of the public.
“Do I think that terminal is, in and of itself, a jewel? Yes. It’s a beautiful terminal,” Sartor said. “But there were some obvious hiccups. ... The much-ballyhooed lack of water and lack of seating, had they run it through my type of filter, it would have been, ‘No, we’re not going to do that.’ ”
Sartor added he also doesn’t believe the airport authority did a good enough job of preparing people for the changes at YYC, or explaining the reason for the changes. He said Calgarians will benefit hugely from new flights to more destinations but, in order to get that, a bigger airport with longer distances between gates is required.
“Otherwise these airlines can’t come here,” he said. “So part of the process of building the new airport should have been to acclimatize Calgarians and people that use this airport to the idea that, ‘Yeah, we’ll get bigger, but that means distances will be farther.’ ”
Sartor is also pledging to improve relations with WestJet and Air Canada, the two carriers that together account for 84 per cent of flights out of YYC. In December, WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky publicly complained about the layout and connections procedures within the new terminal, and blasted the airport authority for failing to address concerns raised by his company during the terminal’s planning stages.
Sartor said he has already met with Saretsky “over a beer” and assured him he will do whatever he can to ensure WestJet’s relationship with Calgary International Airport is productive and costeffective. “We have probably spent a couple of hundred man hours looking over his (Saretsky’s) concerns and frustrations, and I believe we will be able to very satisfactorily address them,” he said.
While the airport will be installing more moving sidewalks and improving connectivity between the baggage systems in the domestic and international terminals over the next two years, Sartor said there are no plans for major capital projects under his tenure. He plans to focus on “low capital, high value” things he believes will enhance the customer experience within the terminal — such as improved signage and better use of technology to welcome travellers and help them navigate the building.
He will also focus on driving down operational costs, something that matters to air carriers as they decide which airports to operate from.
“We perennially had the lowest costs per passenger for a major airport, we’re now around midpack. I want to get those costs back down again,” Sartor said. “I want our major carriers to understand we’re serious about not only running an efficient airport, but a costeffective airport.”
Above all, Sartor said he is determined to make YYC a “fun and inviting place” for travellers, and one where the public comes first.
“We need to be much more outward-looking. ... We need to spend way more time asking Calgarians and passengers in general what their needs are,” he said. “And we need to cater to those needs, like any good retail or consumerfocused company would.”