David Edwards clearly remembers the evening he found out Southwest Airlines was committing to service at Greenville-Spartanburg International (GSP).
It was spring 2010 and Edwards, president and CEO of GSP, was having dinner with some consultants who were helping the airport plan its renovations when the call came through.
“I kind of sank in my chair because it was about 8 p.m. and usually you don’t get a good-news call at that time,” Edwards recalls.
The Greenville-Spartanburg Airport Commission had tasked Edwards with closing a service deal with Southwest when he was hired the previous summer, so success was crucial.
The news, however, was positive.
“We went back to the table and popped a bottle of Champagne, even though we had to keep it quiet technically,” Edwards says.
“It was a huge win for us,” he adds. “We were on a freefall on passenger traffic, going from a high of just barely over 900,000 enplanements back in the mid-2000 time frame, to around 600,000 enplanements in 2009/2010. Southwest started in 2011. That first full year of service from Southwest we grew 43 percent in one year.”
The Southwest commitment is one of a few achievements Edwards points to as pivotal points during his career. He also is overseeing a massive overhaul of the GSP terminal and has served in key positions at various state and national industry organizations, including a stint on the board of Airports Council International-North America.
Edwards’ performance at GSP and his long-standing commitment to the broader aviation industry over several years prompted Airport Revenue News to name Edwards its Director of the Year in the small airports division for 2015.
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