Turnaround Deemed Success

By ANN Editor Pete Combs

About 15 years ago, when I was a nervous junior birdman vying for his IFR ticket, I flew from Addison Airport in Dallas (TX) to Redbird Airport on the south side of town. I made every single mistake I could possibly make, until the grizzled old flight examiner sitting in the right seat said, "Either you're too lost or I'm too scared. Let's turn this thing around."

My memories of what is now Dallas Executive Airport weren't terribly fond -- not that the airport was at fault. Still, it was a little... well, seedy.

Not any more.

Last month, the Texas Department of Transportation named Dallas Executive its reliever airport of the year. That's an amazing turnaround.

"This award validates the commitment the city of Dallas and the tenants at Dallas Executive have made to the airport," said James Fantroy, city council representative for District 8, which includes Dallas Executive. He spoke in an interview with the Dallas Business Journal.

"Over the last couple of years, millions of dollars have been invested into turning Dallas Executive around," Fantroy said in accepting the award at a statewide TxDOT aviation conference in Austin last month.

The airport has benefited from a public-private partnership that's seen private companies invest about $8 million in the airport. Of that, Fantroy says, about $4.5 million has been spent so far.

FMI: www.dallascityhall.com/dallas/eng/html/dallas_executive_airport.html