as its 2007 Best Director of the Year in the Large/Medium Airports
Category. For the purposes of this competition medium airports are
those with total passengers between five and 10 million while large
airports are those with passengers over 10 million. The ARN editorial
staff chose Mr. DeCosta for this award due to his successes in the
areas of leadership, innovation, revenue generation, marketing,
customer service, and charity.
ARN sought out nominations from airport staff by asking specific
questions pertaining to the above mentioned leadership qualities. After
reviewing and scoring the submissions, the ARN staff established that
Mr. DeCosta excelled in this competition.
“We are proud to bestow our prestigious Best Director award to Ben
DeCosta,” says Pauline Armbrust, president & CEO Armbrust Aviation
Group, the company which publishes ARN. “He has excelled in all areas
of leadership and has been very successful at driving non-aviation
revenue at ATL during his nine-year tenure as director. We also
appreciate the good work he has done in his community, especially his
commitment to educating young students about the airport.”
Regarded as a ‘hands on’ leader, Mr. DeCosta has been at the helm of
the world’s busiest airport since 1998. During his tenure as director
much has been accomplished. ATL completed the much-anticipated fifth
runway, a project that had been in negotiation, planning and design for
decades. From day one, Mr. DeCosta has grown non-aviation revenue by
more than 35% from traditional sources such as parking and emerging
sources such as WiFi. During all these successes, Mr. DeCosta has not
lost sight of his ultimate goal–providing travelers with an exceptional
airport experience. Aviation think tank Air Transport Research Society
recognized ATL as one of the most efficient in the world, an honor
awarded only four times since 2002. To ensure that the entire airport
was coordinated in its customer service focus, Mr. DeCosta introduced a
customer service training program for airport employees and maintains
open communication with tenants, vendors and airlines. The airport
also relies on internal and external feedback from surveys, comment
cards and focus groups. He has also implemented an airport-wide
project titled “Operation Clean Sweep” to focus on airport cleanliness
and facility upgrades. Mr. DeCosta’s work extends beyond the airport.
A participant in the community outreach initiative “Partners in
Education”, Mr. DeCosta supports area schools, personally speaking to
groups of students during events such as “Job Shadow Day”.
Details of Mr. DeCosta’s accomplishments will be highlighted in ARN’s
year-end December/January double issue. Additionally he will be
featured on the front cover, become a member of ARN’s Advisory Board
and receive a special hand-engraved crystal trophy at ARN’s 2008
Revenue Conference & Exhibition on February 24-26, 2008 in Dallas,
Texas during the publication’s much-anticipated Awards Show. Click Here for more details on the conference.
