Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2024

Right: Memphis International Airport’s modernized concourse opened in February 2022, bringing an open, airy feel and modern conveniences to travelers.

Left: HMSHost Added Corky’s Ribs & BBQ to its Grizz Grill offerings, responding to passenger demands for local barbeque.

Below: Paradies Lagardère offers self-checkout in select MEM locations, which Blue says is popular with travelers.

Bottom: Memphis Made Brewing has become a traveler favorite since it opened in the new Concourse B two years ago.

other members of the executive team engaged. Of course, he was the one making decisions but there were no surprises. I feel like I’ve just been handed the baton and I’m not making the left or right turn. I’ve got the next leg of the race. The goal and the vision have been established. We just finished a master plan that charts the next 20 years of what we need and what those timelines are. Now it’s my job to work with the team to deliver on that pitch. With this organization, Scott handed me the keys to a Ferrari. I just got to keep it performing at a high rate, and if I can squeeze a few more RPMs out of it, I’ll do my best to do so. WARD: I know your passenger traffic grew substantially last year. How are things going this year, in terms of both traffic and routes? BLUE: We did have a significant increase year over year last year - we grew 10% over 2022, which put us 3% above our previous origin-and-destination high water market of 2019. Of course, Memphis was a northwest hub 10-plus years ago, but that doesn’t figure into today’s calculations. We have a new, modern-era record of 4.8 million passengers, and we are extremely optimistic about what 2024 is going to bring us.

Scott was never one to throttle back. That’s not in his DNA, so he was going to be 100% full steam ahead until his last day. And to his credit, and that’s exactly what he did, but instead of being the COO, I was COO and CEO-in-waiting. Working with him on everything, he wanted to make sure that I was on board with what he was about to do. Then came process of trying to find my successor. Scott’s timeline that he had always envisioned was that when he walked out the door, that the organization was set from a leadership standpoint. That began the process of finding our next COO. We went through a recruitment process and found Marshall Stevens from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who joined us in October. I was given the president’s role November 16 , and then CEO role was added at the first of the year. WARD: Does your vision or your style differ from what Scott Brockman had? BLUE: Scott is just larger than life - he’s a big, loud voice. He’s so well known in industry and has accomplished so much. I have the utmost respect for Scott, and it was a privilege and pleasure to work for him. My style is a bit different, not right, wrong or otherwise. Regarding the vision, Scott was outstanding about having me and the

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2024