Goodwill Ambassablog

Happy 4th!

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:54:00 +0000

As a special treat for the 4th of July, the Goodwill Ambassablog presents this YouTube video showing 4th of July fireworks over San Diego from the point of view of a passenger landing at Lindbergh Field in 2006.

[Home Treat Alert! The multimedia feature above may not be accessible at work. But you can log on at home and check it out there!]

A day in the life of the Quieter Home Program

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:08:00 +0000

It is so refreshing to have a job where every single day is a new adventure. In the Quieter Home Program at San Diego International Airport, we are guaranteed to be surprised, entertained and educated on a daily basis. We have the pleasure of working with people in the communities surrounding San Diego International Airport. Click this link to find out all about the program and to see if you live close enough to the airport to take part in it.

You would be amazed at the people we meet. The other day, a lady stopped in our office to sign her Avigation Easement and was telling us stories of when she was a “Rosie the Riveter” working on aircraft here in San Diego during World War II.

We hear stories from people who are retired from the Navy, with the most amazing memorabilia from their travels. We hear about so many aspects of people’s lives.

We also experience some challenging times, too, especially when homeowners’ expectations aren’t in line with the reality of what the Quieter Home Program offers. We hear some interesting language that sometimes makes us blush!

Each day is something new. Some days are challenging, but when we meet happy homeowners, we’re grateful to have such rewarding jobs.

Over the next several months, I’ll be sharing some of these rewarding experiences with you, such as:

• Video interviews with homeowners
• Construction tour of a home (like the one pictured) undergoing sound attenuation
• The 1000th Home Party!
• Sound Insulation 101
• What is a Historic Home?
• and more

So stay tuned!

Two new Ambassabloggers join the team

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:51:00 +0000

The Goodwill Ambassablog is proud to introduce two new Ambassabloggers to the team: Ed in the Airport Planning Department and Sjohnna in the Quieter Home Program (pictured here). They join the three existing Ambassabloggers and the Ambassablogmaster to give us six members of the Airport Authority's employee blogging team.

You'll be hearing from Ed an Sjohnna in future postings, as they bring new places, stories and faces to the Ambassablog.

Video report: Zoom Airlines arrives in San Diego from London

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:25:00 +0000

Here's a special video report from Ambassablogger Mary of the maiden flight of Zoom Airlines to San Diego from London last Friday. Thanks to another Mary (in Customer Service) for shooting the video of this Mary!

[Home Treat Alert! The multimedia feature above may not be accessible at work. But you can log on at home and check it out there!]

Zoom Airlines reacquaints San Diego with London

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:13:00 +0000

It's been a long five years since San Diegans could fly nonstop between America's Finest City and London. But that came to an end today in resounding fashion, as San Diego International Airport welcomed this Zoom Airlines Boeing 767-300ER (above) with a special salute. The flight marked the resumption of twice-weekly service between San Diego and London (You might remember that British Airways used to fly this route nonstop.)

The Zoom service, along with each new international flight at SDIA, brings obvious convenience to business and leisure travelers, as well as big benefits to the region's tourism and other industries. Our thanks to Aaron in Facilities Development for snapping the awesome shots of the Zoom airplane.

[Home Treat Alert! The multimedia feature above may not be accessible at work. But you can log on at home and check it out there!]

The thrill of elevation

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:15:00 +0000

I just got back from my first trip since becoming an Ambassablogger! I was so excited to travel through the Airport again and see it from the passenger perspective. My destination? Denver, the Mile High City!

It’s so fascinating to sit in the waiting area by the gate and watch everything going on. Inside the terminal here at San Diego International Airport, there were kids running around, exploring the area. There were families sharing a quick bite to eat before their journey. There was an enormous amount of cell phone chatter. There were folks trying to figure out the new Southwest Airlines boarding procedures. And my favorite sight was a father pointing out the airplanes on the airfield to his son of about five years, who was utterly fascinated.

There are numerous activities that occur on our airfield at any given time. Here’s a snapshot I took of my departing plane at Gate 8, with a taxiing airplane going by, an airplane taking off in the background and all kinds of ground crews prepping our plane for its flight.

We had a nice flight to Denver with only a little turbulence. That turbulence still makes my stomach turn sometimes! It’s always a nice feeling to land safely. I couldn’t believe how much open space and land surrounds Denver International Airport (pictured here). It’s quite a contrast to our airport, which is bounded on all sides by San Diego Bay, Interstate 5, the hills of Point Loma and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Not to mention all the homes and businesses that surround us!

While I was in Denver, I went to the top of Pike’s Peak, the most-visited mountain in our nation. Pike’s Peak is 14,110 feet above sea level. My friend Stacy was impressed that we were higher than the clouds. It got me thinking about just how high we were compared to how high airplanes fly. According to the American Airlines Web site, the typical cruising altitude for one of their commercial Boeing 777 flights is 37,000 feet. In contrast, by checking out the website for local City of San Diego airport Montgomery Field, I found that Federal Air Regulations state airplanes must maintain a cruising altitude of at least 1,000 feet over residential areas.

I guess we were somewhere in between, but it sure makes you think about all of the air space out there that we take for granted. It also gets one of my favorite songs stuck in my head – Elevation by U2: “… you make me feel like I can fly … so high .. elevation!”

661 acres

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:31:00 +0000

Many Airport Authority employees can tell you that San Diego International Airport is just 661 acres in size. From various vantage points, you can see almost all of our airport. Through the Destination Lindbergh project, the Airport Authority has teamed up with the City of San Diego, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and other partner agencies to explore the long-term build out of the airport. They are asking the question: How can we optimize what we have?

What is difficult for me to understand is what 661 acres actually means. So I embarked on a mission ... 661 acres =

1/2 of Balboa Park
661 football fields (they are each one acre)
37 Petco Parks
28,793,160 square feet
24 Ellis Islands
1/5 of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
1/27 of Denver International Airport
1/4 the base of Mount Everest
2/3 of Central Park in New York City
and my favorite: 49,988 times larger than my condo!

If you see me out in front of the Commuter Terminal with a tape measure, you can be sure that I am just double-checking my measurements!

New additions to the Ambassablog family

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 22:38:00 +0000

The Airport Authority recently held a So you think you can BLOG competition to find two employees to join Ryan, Mary and Dennise in the ranks of Goodwill Ambassabloggers. The auditions are over, and you will meet the two winners next week (as soon as we get their portraits to put up on the blog). We think you'll enjoy the unique perspectives they will be bringing to the blog.

New media in the old media

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:50:00 +0000

The Goodwill Ambassablog (new media) has been the subject of several newspaper articles (old media) over the last few weeks:

The San Diego Business Journal covered it in a May 16 story headlined Blog Represents New Departure for Lindbergh Field Staff.

Also on May 16, an article about the Ambassablog appeared in the Land, Sea, Air & Transit News section of the Daily Business Report of San Diego Metoropolitan magazine.

San Diego's Daily Transcript published Airport authority launches employee blog on May 15 (you'll need an online subscription to the paper in order to read the full article).

And the May issue of the Web Content Report, put out by Ragan Communications, featured the Ambassablog in an article titled Blogs: Even a government communicator can do it.

The stories appeared in both print and online versions. Since these publications have directed a fair amount of traffic our way, we thought it'd be nice to provide the links and return the favor by directing some of our visitors their way.

Introducing Ambassa-Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:57:00 +0000

Close watchers of the Goodwill Ambassablog have noticed a new feature located at the very bottom of the blog: Ambassa-Shots. This section will feature spectacular photographs of life at San Diego International Airport sent in by airport employees and other Ambassablog readers.

We were inspired to start this new component of the Ambassablog by Joan-Marie, a member of the public whose home happens to command a bird's-eye view of Lindbergh Field. A self-described fan of the airport and of the Goodwill Ambassablog, she sent us an e-mail a few days back with some shots she took of the airport from her home, like the one above. She asked if we might feature them in the blog. They were such beautiful shots, we couldn't resist!

The Ambassa-Shots section will be updated intermittently with other shots sent in by our readers. Joan-Marie, thanks for motivating us to start a great new tradition at the Goodwill Ambassablog.

Making waves in employee communications

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:35:00 +0000

The Airport Authority's Goodwill Ambassador Program and Goodwill Ambassablog are making waves in the world of public agency employee communications. This week, Ambassablogmaster Steve presented a case study of the Ambassablog at the 6th National Forum on Strategic Internal Communications for federal, state and local government communicators. Part of the Advanced Learning Institute's Executive Training Series, the forum was held at the Loews Coronado Resort June 2-5.

The title of his presentation was
Attendees included communicators from the U.S. Air Force; Environmental Protection Agency; Washington State Attorney General's Office; Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon; Child Care Resource Center in Los Angeles; the City of Henderson, Nevada; and others. They were impressed with the success of the Goodwill Ambassador Program and the variety of posts from the Ambassabloggers and other features of the blog.

After hearing the Ambassablog case study, one forum attendee said she would be going back to her agency to start up an employee learning program modeled after our Goodwill Ambassador Program ... complete with a supporting employee blog.

And representatives from the Bonneville Power Administration (which is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Energy) went a step further. They were so motivated by the story of the Ambassablog that they began devising plans to launch an employee blog of their own ... and they already have a name for it: the Bonne-Blog! We look forward to the day when the Bonne-Blog enters the blogosphere.

Employee blogging is still a new endeavor in the world of employee communications for many organizations. But examples like the Goodwill Ambassablog are leading the way in showing others just how easy, low-cost and effective it can be.

On the Border (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:50:00 +0000

I am writing this on Friday, May 23 from Gate 5 (Puerta 5) at Tijuana International Airport (TIJ), getting ready to board Aero México flight 190 (vuelo 190) to Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico). Check out the photo of me in front of the AeroMexico 737-800 and some other shots I took at TIJ .

I thought this would be an ideal time to talk about the results of the Airport Authority's Cross-Border Terminal Market Demand Study. This was a study launched by the Airport Authority to analyze the amount of usage a cross-border terminal concept at the San Diego/Tijuana border might receive.

Here is a summary of findings and projections based on the results of that study:

The number of passengers using Tijuana Internatioinal Airport (TIJ) from the United States will continue to grow significantly over the next 20 years, regardless of whether a cross-border terminal is developed.

If an easy cross-border connection is not built, it is estimated that 2.1 million annual passengers (MAP) to and from the United States will use TIJ in 2020 and 3.7 MAP in 2030.

Therefore, with an easy cross-border terminal, a TOTAL of 3.2 MAP to and from the United States would use TIJ in 2020; and in 2030 that number could rise to 6.4 MAP.

I have recently given presentations on the Cross Border Terminal Market Demand Study to the following groups:

The entire study is now posted on the Airport Authority's Web site here (aqui). After clicking the link, be sure to scroll down to where it says, "Cross Border Terminal Market Demand Study."

And guess what? The study is being formally presented the Airport Authority Board TODAY (Cinco de Junio, 2005) at its public meeting.

Un Salud! – Ryan (aka Pedro!)

Transportation blogs take off

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:04:00 +0000

From time to time, we let Ambassablog readers know of cool new aviation- and transportation-related blogs appearing in the ... blogosphere. Two newcomers of note are:

Fast Lane, the official blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Mary Peters, pictured to the right.

Airport Check-In, a blog about airports by the president of Airports Council Internation-North America (ACI-NA), Greg Principato.

Fast Lane covers aviation issues, as well as the other facets of transportation under the domain of the U.S. Department of Transportation, such as shipping, rail and highways. It's a great resource to keep abreast of major transportation issues across the nation and across many industries.

Airport Check-In, on the other hand, is all about airports. It just kicked off this month, and we look forward to more great posts like the first one about how airports have become the new "town halls" of the 21st Century. We're thrilled that Airport Check-In chose to list the Goodwill Ambassablog as one of its first examples of airport employee blogs.

These blogs and several others related to aviation are conveniently listed in the "Brother Blogs" and "Other Aviaton-Related Blogs" sections over in the right-hand sidebar of the Goodwill Ambassablog. "Brother Blogs" are ones most similar to the Ambassablog, in that they are blogs by rank-and-file employees. These include employee blogs at other airports, airlines and the Transportation Security Administration. They feature continually updated live feeds showing their most recent postings.

The blogs listed in the right-hand sidebar can be a convenient way to stay informed about what's going on in our industry and gain a deeper understanding of what employees at other agencies and companies are doing and thinking.

So it seems that transportation blogs have been cleared for takeoff ... and are already flying high!

Benchmarking Portland International Airport

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:26:00 +0000

In Airport Planning, we commonly compare San Diego International Airport to other airports to see how we are doing. Airport Planning typically looks at the following airports for benchmarking purposes:

Benchmark airports are selected for a variety of similarities and/or instructional differences between them and our airport, such as: markets served, number of passengers, number of operations, leisure/business passenger split and geography. You can probably think of both similarities and differences between SAN and each airport above.

I recently attended a meeting with the Port of Portland (which operates Portland International Airport, or PDX, in Portland, Oregon) in support of the Destination Lindbergh project (look for more on this topic in an upcoming post.) Aside from taking all the photos you see above, I was also able to take a behind-the-scenes tour and gather some good information. Look at the comparison between PDX and SAN:

Portland International Airport (PDX)

14.6 million - passengers in 2007
265,000 - operations in 2007
3 - runways (longest is 11,000 feet)
37 - gates
55 - nonstop destinations
largest airline - Alaska/Horizon

San Diego International Airport (SAN)

18.3 million - passengers in 2007
227,000 - operations in 2007
1 - runway (9,400 feet)
41 - gates
55 - nonstop destinations
largest airline - Southwest

I want to extend a big thank-you to my host for the day, Jason at PDX. He walked me through the entire airport and showed off some of the unique things that PDX is doing, like:

solar panels on the roof of their parking structure
construction of a second parking structure and new Port of Portland offices
TriMet MAX light rail line that goes directly to the terminal
attracting a second daily flight to Europe
local brand-name concessions
being named TSA’s Western Area Airport of the Year
and, perhaps most impressive, their commitment to sustainability

You can find out more about PDX’s long-term planning efforts on their PDX Airport Futures website.

The next time you travel to The Rose City through PDX (hopefully on one of San Diego International Airport's four-times-a-day nonstop flights) - or to any other airport - think of the comparisons to SDIA.

Going green with the blue bins

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:33:00 +0000

While talking with Airport Authority colleagues the other day, I found that some folks are confused about exactly what types of waste can go in the blue recycling bins located at every workstation. I thought I would look up the information and post it on the Ambassablog. After all, as Goodwill Ambassadors, we should know about the great recycling program we have here at San Diego International Airport and take advantage of it, in the spirit of sustainability, to be good stewards of our resources. Besides, we should be proud of our award-winning recycling program!

(Speaking of recycling, it’s just one component of the Airport Authority’s sustainability efforts I mentioned in my previous Earth Day blog post.)

We all have access to the blue recycling bins, whether we’re in the Authority offices or out in the airport terminals. According to Amiel in Landside Operations, there are about 75 recycling bins available throughout the airport (pictured here) for our 18.3 million annual passengers, their meeters and greeters, and the thousands of people who work at the airport. That’s in addition to the smaller blue recycling bins (pictured at top) in all Airport Authority office spaces.

Our recycling program is a “single-stream” program, which means that all recyclable materials can go in the same blue containers. So, what materials are eligible? Here’s an overview:

Paper (including phone books, magazines, newspapers, etc.)
Glass, aluminum and steel food and beverage containers
Plastic bottles and jars – only if they have a #1 or #2 recycling symbol on the bottom. This number often appears inside a triangle.

This and more good information about the recycling program can be found in the handy Recycling Guide on the airport’s Web page. A list of some non-recyclable items is also conveniently listed in the guide. If you’re even more interested in going green, refer to the Recycling Guide for some useful “precycling” and re-use tips.

And, listen up Airport Authority employees: you can look forward to getting more sustainability tips at the Airport Authority’s upcoming internal Division Open House on June 12. But here’s an easy one to keep in mind right now: whether you’re an employee who works here every day, or a less-frequent visitor to San Diego International Airport, be sure to utilize those blue recycling bins!

SAN is so ... BLUE

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:57:00 +0000

Jet Blue first started serving San Diego in June, 2003 with nonstop service to New York's JFK Airport. Since then, they have added service to three more destinations. And guess what? Their fifth once-daily service, to Seattle, starts ... TODAY! To celebrate this milestone, I decided to get the inside scoop directly from some of the BLUEst people around: some of the 23 JetBlue staff at San Diego International Airport.

1. Some of you may know that JetBlue names all of their aircraft based on employee suggestions. The winner gets to help take delivery of either the Airbus A320 from the Toulouse, France factory, or the Embraer E190 from the factory in Brazil. What are some of your favorite aircraft names?

I Only Have Eyes for Blue (Tina)
Tale of Blue Cities (Brian)
The Name is Blue ... Jet Blue (Brian and Mark)
Blue is So You (Matt)
100% Blue (Elsa)
Blue Sapphire (Maria)
Blue is the New Black (Dean)

2. Onboard the aircraft, JetBlue has Direct TV in every seat. What are your favorite channels?

Food Network (Tina and J.R.)
CNN (Brian and Dean)
Comedy Central (Elvira)
History Channel (Royal)

3. Cutting to the chase, why are you excited about the new service between San Diego and Seattle service starting today?

“It’s one of our most-requested city pairs ... Can’t wait!” (Brian)
“Seattle has consistently been the number-one-requested destination on the West Coast.” (Matt)
“It’s a new destination -- we’re growing!” (Elvira)
"I can visit for a while before it rains.” (Dean)
(And my favorite:) "Pike Place Market and a good cup of coffee.” (Royal)

4. Lastly, what is the best thing is about working for JetBlue?

“All the great people we get to meet coming in and out of San Diego.” (Mark)
“It doesn’t seem like a job, but more like a family.” (Matt)
(And my personal favorite:) “It’s all about the BLUE.” (J.R.)

There you have it, straight from the source. What do ya’ll think -- any JetBlue favorites you want to share? Until next time, Here's looking at Blue, Kid.

Cyclists step forward

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:11:00 +0000

OK, we promised to give some recognition to the Airport Authority employees who let us know they rode their bikes to work on -- you guessed it -- Bike to Work Day 2008, which took place last Friday, May 23. And here they are:

Amiel - Landside Operations Department

Brett - Airport Planning Department (pictured above with the green bike)

Diann – Training & Organization Development

Gary - Facilities Development Department

John - Facilities Maintenance Department

Marion - Environmental Department

Paul - Airport Planning Department (pictured above with the red bike)

Paul - Environmental Department

Ray - Facilities Maintenance Department

Richard - Environmental Department

Randy - Quieter Home Program

Scott - Office of the Chief Auditor

Sjohnna - Quieter Home Program

Check the comments section in the earlier post about Bike to Work Day for some great stories of employees' two-wheeled journeys to and from work that day, like this one:

"My bike is the blue recumbent parked next to Scott's in the picture. I also rode from Lemon Grove, but unlike Scott, this was my first attempt. The ride into work took one hour, five minutes and was pleasant in the cool morning air. The ride back home was not so pleasant. The climb back up to Lemon Grove's elevation in 85-degree heat made the ride quite challenging, although it only took 10 minutes longer. I arrived home fully spent, but I made it! I am planning on doing this more often!" -- Gary (Facilities Development Department)

Children are the future (part 2of 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Well, I know how much fun I had when I got to interact with the kids at the Airport Authority’s Take Your Kids to Work Day this year. I shared that experience with all of you on this blog in part one of Children Are the Future!

Now you’ll get to hear what the kids themselves thought of their day here, on their way to becoming “junior” Goodwill Ambassadors for San Diego International Airport. Any of the parents reading this post are invited to submit a comment of your impression and/or those of your kids once they were home and told you about their day. Have fun, and enjoy the post!

Colleen: Today’s scavenger hunt was really fun. We ran around all morning, picture-taking and learning cool things about where our parents work and our local airport. It’s amazing the things you get to see around the airport when you don’t actually have to get on a flight. San Diego International Airport is a nice break from school. No, seriously, I’m not even joking. J

Courtney: I had a fantabulous time today. Going throughout San Diego’s airport, taking pictures, learning exciting facts and completing a scavenger hunt was a swell time.J Not to forget that it was a whole day away from school.;) I also met some new things: Sallie the Duck and Jorge the Plane.

Evan: Today was the Take your Kid to Work Day at the San Diego International Airport, which was fun because us kids did not have to go to school. While participating at this event, the kids separated into groups with separate leaders. We participated in an airport scavenger hunt, looking for answers all throughout the airport. I was the photographer for my group, which was a lot of fun because I learned many new things about the airport that I did not know before.

David: Had a great day and it was so much fun. I got to take pictures. I got go up and down the escalator so many times. There was something weird to see: these waved panes of glass on the wall. When I looked more closely, I saw that there were words on them. There where lights that made shadows with the word so you could read the wording. I also got to skip school for a day. I learned a lot about the airport … and a bit about loons. It was so much fun.

Matthew: We got separated into four groups. I got separated into a group with my brother, and we didn’t know anyone. But after we started walking around, I started getting along with everyone. I had a great time with my group and learned a lot of stuff. Another thing that I liked about today is that the lunch was cool, because we had booths and other fun stuff we could do. A personal favorite of mine was that I got to miss school for a day! Today was a great day to me, and I had a lot of fun.

Nick and Nick: We learned not a lot, but we saw a bunch of art things … It was alright today. Not fun and not boring. But it kept us out of school today, so that was cool. The lunch was better than last year’s, and that was cool too.

Arielle: Hi! My name is Arielle, and I had a lot of fun at Take Your Child to Work Day. There is so much history at the airport, and about planes. A scavenger hunt was held and we toured the airport. Kids of many ages where roaming the airport, learning and playing. I hope to come back to the next Take Your Child to Work Day and have another great experience.

Jasmin: I love Take Your Child to Work Day! My favorite part was when we made the Web page. The thing I liked about it was when I got to click F5 on the keyboard and make the webpage appear. Another thing I liked about it was when we went scavenger hunting and I got to ask people for the answer. Another part I liked about going on the scavenger hunt was meeting new people and having fun, and my team leader was soooooooo AWESOME!

Pedro: I had thee best time at the airport for take your kids to work day. We had food, things to take home, and we were allowed to make a Web site for the airport and travel in the airport. I had the best time here.

Josh: Throughout the day we traveled through the three terminals, learning about how they operate. Then, to conclude the day, we were given the opportunity to create a Web page that will be displayed on the airport’s Web site.

Shyla and Sydney: Take Your Kid to Work Day was lots of fun. Today I met new people that share the same hobbies as I have. Isn’t that cool!? We got to skip school and tests! Isn’t that cool again!? Anyways, another fun activity was when I went down the slide with my new friends repeatedly. I also had fun playing with the items I got from the activity stands. I enjoyed making the paper hats as well.

Jesus and Francisco: Thursday, April 24, 2008 was Take Your Child to Work Day at the San Diego International Airport. One of the many things that we got to do was wander around the airport and photograph fascinating art work that many people bypass without noticing. One of the most memorable things we got to do was help young children build their own bird houses, which they got to take home and keep for memories. After lunch, we were taken to a conference room and taught how to create our own Web pages. Our web pages have now been added to the San Diego International Airport Web site, to show our friends and family the incredible things we experienced at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. During the day we all had a great time and learned many incredible facts about the city we live in and the opportunity it holds for our generation.

Sean and Jack: Today at the airport we did a scavenger hunt at Take Your Kids to Work Day. It was a fun scavenger hunt, searching for the things we needed a picture of, and to answer the questions on the paper. We thought the best part was the free food and prizes. We had fun walking around the fair and collecting all the prizes, pizza, cookies and salads. Yeah it was yummy!

Again, as I read these comments I am once again assured that, as Goodwill Ambassadors for San Diego International Airport, we definitely met our goal to help educate the most important future resource we have … our children! I hope that everyone gets that goofy smile on their face like I do when I read the above comments from this awesome group of kids!

Bikes Ahoy!

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:12:00 +0000

Today is Bike to Work Day 2008, and Airport Authority employees responded in greater numbers than ever before, as evidenced by this photo montage of bikes parked at the West Wing next to the Commuter Terminal (where many Airport Authority employees work) and the former Teledyne Ryan -- or TDY -- property (where the Airport Authority's Environmental Department is located). Our thanks to Marion in the Environmental Department for providing such a cool photo. If one of the bikes above belongs to YOU, you're invited to submit a comment below and let the Ambassablog's readers know what your bike ride to and from work was like today.

Canine Comforts

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:22:00 +0000

From today's San Diego Union-Tribune:

For more on this story, click here.

Now BOARDing!

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:35:00 +0000

Driving around town the last several weeks you may have seen the Airport Authority’s billboards promoting San Diego International Airport’s economic benefit to the region. As was covered in last year’s Goodwill Ambassador Program session, the airport contributes nearly $10 billion to the local economy every year. Seeing the billboards is always like a little surprise- on Hwy 94, I-5 South, El Cajon Blvd, etc.

Once I opened my eyes I started to see the billboards everywhere. And not just the Authority’s, but from our airline partners, as well:

Alaska Airlines: The West Most Schedule. The advertising focuses on the frequent service to the Pacific Northwest (Seattle 7x daily and Portland 4x daily… By the way- Alaska also serves Los Cabos once daily from SDIA).

ExpressJet: The simple design promotes their service to Omaha and Oklahoma City (In all, ExpressJet serves 10 nonstop destinations from San Diego).

Virgin America: Promoting a new style of air travel, focusing on the passenger experience. Remember my post on the Virgin America inaugural flight from SFO to SAN? Since then, Virgin America has ramped up its classy, hip service to five daily flights between San Diego and San Francisco.

The reach of the airport goes well beyond our 661 acres. When driving around the region, just look up: you can see the impact of the Airport Authority everywhere.

A two-hour tour ...

noreply@blogger.com (Goodwill Ambassablog) — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:03:00 +0000

Free behind-the-scenes tours of San Diego International Airport offered by the Airport Authority have educated and entertained nearly 1,000 visitors since they started up last November. To those in the know, they are referred to as the Terminals to Tarmac Tours. It's easy to sign up for one: just click her e.

And now, thanks to one tour-taker with an excellent photographic eye, you can see some of the many highlights of the tour over at www.airliners.net. Here's just one of his shots to whet your appetite.