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Having the longest runway on the East Coast means you never know who might drop in.
“We’ve had every kind of aircraft in here, from the Concorde to Air Force One,” says Rebecca Hupp, who’s been director of Bangor International Airport (BGR) since 2001. Because Bangor lies on the edge of the continent and can accommodate any plane that flies, unscheduled stops happen frequently, sometimes making national news.
But for Hupp, the best news from the Bangor International Airport is when she’s able to announce an expansion in service. Several have occurred over the years she’s been on the job.
“The introduction of the regional jet has made it possible to fly what people in the industry call the ‘long, thin routes’ that wouldn’t otherwise be profitable,” she explains. These smaller jets, developed over the last 10 years, carry 50 to 70 passengers, enabling the airport to begin offering nonstop service to Atlanta and seasonal service to Minneapolis last year. Bangor International Airport also offers nonstop flights to Boston, Philadelphia, Newark, Cincinnati, Detroit, and LaGuardia Airport in New York. It’s a far cry from the bad old days when larger jets connected only to Boston, and many travelers from the Bangor area opted to spend most of a day driving to another airport.
While acknowledging that lower fares are sometimes more readily available from Portland and Manchester, New Hampshire, Hupp maintains that when consumers add up the costs, “flying Bangor” is competitive. “We’re never going to get Southwest Airlines in here, because they require high volume to be able to offer those low fares. But when you think about the total cost of travel, we’re usually the best option.”
Originally from Massachusetts, Rebecca Hupp studied aviation management at Florida Institute of Technology and earned her MBA from Webster University in Missouri. She then was employed by the Kansas City Aviation Department in a management training program at Kansas City International Airport, where more than 11 million passengers per year pass through, compared to about half a million in Bangor. Hupp later served as director of a regional airport in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Both were “good training for this job.”
No amount of training prepared anyone in the industry for the shock of September 11, 2001. Hupp was in the middle of a meeting with car rental agencies when she received word of the World Trade Center attacks. “I immediately got on the phone to all the hotels,” she recalls, “because I expected to have a lot of flights diverted here.” A few did divert, but most landed in Canada instead.
Most of the time, Hupp’s role is proactive rather than reactive, such as supervising the runway resurfacing in 2002–2003. “We only have one runway, and there’s never a good time to close it,” Hupp says. “We did it in thirds. Because it’s so long (11,439 feet), we only had to close the airport when we paved the middle section.”
In her mid-30s, Hupp supervises a staff of 80 full-time and 80 part-time airport employees. She has a hand in everything from negotiating leases with airport shops to supervising plans for inside-security restrooms to working with the troop greeters.
The spirit expressed by the troop greeters’ program, which has put Bangor International Airport on the map for meeting every incoming military plane since the Gulf War, is part of the reason Hupp and her husband have chosen to raise their two young sons in Maine.
“One thing you notice is that people are still polite here,” she says.
“People know you and greet you by name. We always wanted to live in Maine.”
Unlike the occasional diverted flight touching down at BGR, Rebecca Hupp’s landing here was planned.
“We’ve had every kind of aircraft in here, from the Concorde to Air Force One,” says Rebecca Hupp, who’s been director of Bangor International Airport (BGR) since 2001. Because Bangor lies on the edge of the continent and can accommodate any plane that flies, unscheduled stops happen frequently, sometimes making national news.
But for Hupp, the best news from the Bangor International Airport is when she’s able to announce an expansion in service. Several have occurred over the years she’s been on the job.
“The introduction of the regional jet has made it possible to fly what people in the industry call the ‘long, thin routes’ that wouldn’t otherwise be profitable,” she explains. These smaller jets, developed over the last 10 years, carry 50 to 70 passengers, enabling the airport to begin offering nonstop service to Atlanta and seasonal service to Minneapolis last year
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While acknowledging that lower fares are sometimes more readily available from Portland and Manchester, New Hampshire, Hupp maintains that when consumers add up the costs, “flying Bangor” is competitive. “We’re never going to get Southwest Airlines in here, because they require high volume to be able to offer those low fares. But when you think about the total cost of travel, we’re usually the best option.”
Originally from Massachusetts, Rebecca Hupp studied aviation management at Florida Institute of Technology and earned her MBA from Webster University in Missouri. She then was employed by the Kansas City Aviation Department in a management training program at Kansas City International Airport, where more than 11 million passengers per year pass through, compared to about half a million in Bangor. Hupp later served as director of a regional airport in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Both were “good training for this job.”
No amount of training prepared anyone in the industry for the shock of September 11, 2001. Hupp was in the middle of a meeting with car rental agencies when she received word of the World Trade Center attacks. “I immediately got on the phone to all the hotels,” she recalls, “because I expected to have a lot of flights diverted here.” A few did divert, but most landed in Canada instead.
Most of the time, Hupp’s role is proactive rather than reactive, such as supervising the runway resurfacing in 2002–2003. “We only have one runway, and there’s never a good time to close it,” Hupp says. “We did it in thirds. Because it’s so long (11,439 feet), we only had to close the airport when we paved the middle section.”
In her mid-30s, Hupp supervises a staff of 80 full-time and 80 part-time airport employees. She has a hand in everything from negotiating leases with airport shops to supervising plans for inside-security restrooms to working with the troop greeters.
The spirit expressed by the troop greeters’ program, which has put Bangor International Airport on the map for meeting every incoming military plane since the Gulf War, is part of the reason Hupp and her husband have chosen to raise their two young sons in Maine.
“One thing you notice is that people are still polite here,” she says.
“People know you and greet you by name. We always wanted to live in Maine.”
Unlike the occasional diverted flight touching down at BGR, Rebecca Hupp’s landing here was planned.
