Approaches

APPROACHING OUR DESTINATION
Message from the Chair
Frank Matheson
For Atlantic Canada’s gateway airport, 2007 can
best be described as a foundation-building year.
A year where we consolidated the gains from our
most recent phase of development and laid the
groundwork for the next.
Those following our progress will know that
over the past few years we dramatically transformed
the inside of our terminal and significantly
upgraded our airside facilities. Much of that work
was completed in 2006.
In 2007, we geared up for our next stage of
development. Our focus turned to the outside
of the terminal, or “groundside”, as we finalized
plans for an $82 million development that will
include a large, new parking structure; enhancements
to the roadway system; services for a new
hotel; and other improvements that will complement
the significant expansion of facilities and
services in our terminal building.
During the past 12 months, we also finalized
plans for two other major projects that will take
shape in 2008: a state-of-the-art, multi-tenant
cargo facility and a much-needed combined services
complex, housing our maintenance facility as
well as our fire and emergency response services.
As anyone who’s worked on a major project knows,
the front-end part of the process – the planning,
analyses, consultations, and approvals – is critical
to project success. Getting it right at this stage paves
the way for a smooth construction phase.
And that’s why “Approaches” makes so much
sense as the theme for this year’s annual report.
2007 was all about getting the approach right: doing
the thinking and planning to take us to the next
stage of customer service excellence. You could
think of it as a year of steady, focused progress.
Fittingly, in February 2007, we renamed our
airport to recognize the Right Honourable Robert
L. Stanfield, one of our province’s and our country’s
finest leaders and staunchest advocates, and
a much-loved Canadian. Our Halifax Stanfield
International Airport (HSIA) stands as an enduring
tribute to his far-reaching vision.
In August, our President & CEO, Eleanor
Humphries, resigned. I want to express our thanks for
what was accomplished during her two-year tenure.
Halifax International Airport Authority’s Vice
President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer,
Joyce Carter, ably took the helm as Interim President
& CEO for the remainder of the year. Her
experience as a member of our executive management
team served our partners, our customers
and our organization well during this period, and
I want to sincerely thank Joyce for her hard work,
leadership and dedication.
In January 2008, we welcomed Tom Ruth as our
new President & CEO. Tom brings an outstanding
record of achievement with two airlines, Canadian
North and Northwest Airlines; a container ship
firm, Oceanex; and an international logistics
company, Livingston International. Tom’s the right
person with the right skills and experience to take
HIAA through the next stage of our development –
and beyond. We are honoured he’s come on board.
We also welcomed two new members to the
HIAA Board of Directors in 2007: Michele A. Wood-
Tweel, CEO and Executive Director of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia, and Jeffrey
R. Hunt, a Partner with the Truro office of Patterson
Law. I also want to thank all my Board colleagues for
their contributions this past year and their continuing
commitment to the airport, our employees, partners,
customers, volunteers and, of course, our community.
Representatives from airports all over the
world visit HSIA, wanting to learn what it is we’re
doing that sets us apart.
Our answer? It’s all in the approach. We believe
in the power of partnership. After all, everything to
do with air travel, whether access, security, safety,
or service, starts on the ground – with cooperative
partnerships among people dedicated to the
common goal of making the passenger and visitor
experience as positive as possible.
We see ourselves at the hub of a network of key
partnerships. People are at the core of how we do
what we do. Our role is to support our partners and
to enhance these relationships so that together we
can best serve the millions of visitors we greet each
year. When 5,500 people in the airport community
work together and share responsibility, as we do,
the results are outstanding.
As you read through this annual report, you’ll see
we met or exceeded every one of the goals set for
ourselves in 2007. In a rapidly changing and competitive
industry, HIAA is emerging as the standard-setter
within our industry. A strategic economic asset to
the community. An enabler of economic development
in the region. That’s our approach, and one that will
carry us through 2008 – and onwards.
Frank Matheson
Chair of the Board of Directors
HALIFAX INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY 2007 ANNUAL REPORT 1