January 24, 2024 • 8 mins
Interview with: Alisa D. Sisic, Sr. Manager of Marketing, Air Service Development and Communications at Connecticut Airport Authority/Bradley International Airport
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
iHeart communities. Thank you so muchfor listening as we have in studio.
(00:03):
One of our friends from the ConnecticutAirport Authority spokesperson, Alyssa Sissek, thank
you for being here. Melissa.It's good to be here. Thanks for
having me. It's wonderful to seeyou in person. And I know we've
got a lot going on at BradleyInternational Airport, some new updates and fun
things to share. And before weeven get to that, I want to
say thank you to you and yourentire team for all you do for our
(00:25):
military, veterans and first responders.As you know, I do the honor
flights, and it's just wonderful tosee what you do for our military,
our heroes, our veterans, andhow you really roll out the red carpet
for us all. And we'll beback in May again, so thank you
for all you do. You're welcome. Really, it's a great team effort,
(00:45):
and we're really proud to host theseevents, as you know, since
you're closely involved with it. Wehost them twice a year and they have
just grown, you know, witheach event we learn more and we get
more veterans to participate, and it'sreally humbling or our team to just play
a small role, if you will, in moving you know, people to
where they need to be for theevent. Well. And also one thing
(01:07):
I wanted to point out too isthat you don't all have to be there,
but we get there at six thirtyin the morning and you personally,
your whole team, you're all there. It's a very moving event. It's
a very important event, and theleast you know, we can do is
just to be there early and helpensure that everything runs smoothly. As you
(01:29):
know, we have over like Ithink thirty or so individuals that travel on
the on a flight, and youknow, it's really a moving event to
see it all. Right. Well, now that we got our official thanks
out, I also want to talkabout some upcoming new plants for the airport.
So what do you want to sharewith our listeners today. Yeah,
(01:49):
so we're actually kicking off the yearon a really high note, if you
will. We have some new nonstopsthat will be launching later this year.
Our partners at Frontier Airlines, forexample, they announce a new flight to
Tampa starting in March, and thenBreeze Airways also announced NonStop service to Orlando
and Cincinnati which will be starting inMay, so it's really good news for
(02:14):
passengers. Those are both low costcarriers, which I think passengers will find
appealing. And it's even better newsthat the airport now has more non stops
than we've had prior to the COVIDpandemic. So all in all, we
have eleven airlines who operate out ofthe airport, so there's a really nice
variety of options for passengers to choosefrom. And I'm excited about aer Linguis
(02:38):
because I personally use that because youknow, I have family that lives in
the UK, so that's really helpfulto be able to just go to Bradley
right, you know, basically inmy stay not too far from my house,
be able to leave my car there, take aer Lingus to Dublin and
then get over to heat Throw.They make it super easy, and they're
coming back in March. Yes,you're correct. So they have been accents
(03:00):
last year after taking a little bitof a break during COVID and so they're
currently not operating during January and February, but they will be back in March
on a reduced schedule, and thenlater in March they will go to daily
through the summer and the fall right. I usually use them through October,
so and it's just super helpful.If no one's ever done that, it
(03:23):
couldn't be any easier. But inan even all of the airlines are wonderful.
I don't want a single nding,you know, they're all wonderful naturally.
Airlingis is really a great addition toour menu of nonstops. As you
just mentioned, they offer connectivity tomore than twenty destinations in the UK and
Europe. And I think one ofthe things that we highlight to people,
(03:46):
you know, as much as weare about convenience here at Bradley. The
nice thing about the air linkage services, and I'm sure you've experienced it on
the return flight. If you're flyingback through Dublin Airport, you clear customs
at Dublin Airport. So that meanswhen you arrive at Bradley, you just
get off your gate, you pickup your luggage and you go home and
you go home and it you know, it takes only minutes, you know,
(04:09):
versus having to spend you know,potentially a longer amount of time clearing
customs and so forth. Absolutely,and one of the things I'm getting to
love and maybe even become accustomed towhen I go to the airport. Is
the fine dining and the fun littleperks and the things that you have for
people who are, you know,waiting for a flight or waiting to pick
someone up for a flight. There'sa little something for everybody in all parts
(04:31):
of the airport. What are thenew additions, especially with dining. Yeah,
so we're really excited for this yearbecause passengers will really start to see
some changes inside a terminal. Oneof our consensionnaires called Parodies, is really
revamping some of their shops that theyhave at the airport, So you'll see
over the coming months, you know, those shops come back, you know,
(04:55):
renovated. And on top of that, we will be opening up a
new restaurant called Beer Code, andthat will be located in the Gates twenty
to thirty concourse, which currently doesnot have us sit down restaurant. So
I think that will be a reallynice audition for the concourse for individuals who
will be waiting for flights there.So I think, you know, improving
(05:17):
the dining and shopping experience is alwaysimportant to us. We want to be
able to meet our passengers needs.And we're also trying to create like a
sense of place with some of theseadditions, so that you know, when
people are there, they can seethat they're in Connecticut, they can get
a better feel for the location.So for example, two of the shops
(05:38):
will be called Charter Oak Emporium andConnecticut River Landing, you know, just
again to remind people of where theyhave landed, and then naturally also offer
some Connecticut themed you know, giftsand items within the stores. And you're
also continuing with your advancements in technologyand last year you I understand you launched
(06:03):
the Clears identity verification technology. Tellme about that and where it's going this
year. So you're correct. Ithink that's something that's been much in demand
by our passenger base. Clear isnow accepted and known nationally and now we
have it at the airport. Sowhat that means is when passengers sign up
(06:24):
for their service, it is apaid service they can clear. They can
clear their identity by using their eyesor their fingers, and then that means
that they can move up in theline faster, if you will, when
they're approaching tsa screening. So alot of yeah, so a lot of
(06:44):
people and uh, you know wouldwant to take advantage of that because it
just makes things faster, but itdoes not compromise the security that's in place.
And tell me about what's going onwith your your parking system. Yes,
really excited on that front because weknow that, you know, parking
is really important to the passenger journey. You know, that's one of the
(07:06):
key things before you even get insidethe terminal that you have to take care
of. And we did a bigundertaking last year. We rolled out a
new brand for a parking system.It's called BdL Spark. So certainly if
you are traveling through Bradley Airport weencourage you to keep an eye on it
because it does look a little bitdifferent. But you know, the signage
(07:28):
has been updated, the shuttles havethe new look. You know, everything
that's passenger facing is now brand atBdL Spark and it should be most importantly
easily to identify which lots and parkingelements belong to the airport. And we
can also follow along on social media. You guys do a great job with
kind of promoting with what's happening andso so how do we do that?
(07:53):
Really good question. So yes,Bradley Airport is on social media. We're
on Facebook, we're on Twitter,we're on Instagram. So certainly doing courage
individuals to stay up to date onall these projects and all these announcements,
that is probably the fastest way tostay up to date with the airport.
And certainly also we welcome feedback andoftentimes passengers do lead feedback, so it's
(08:13):
a good way for us to stayengaged with our passenger base. Well,
thank you for stopping by. iHeartCommunities. It's always good to talk to
our friends from Bradley International Airport.One of their Airport authority spokespersons, Melissa
sisk and iHeart Communities, thank youfor being here. Thank you so much
for having me
iHeart communities. Thank you so muchfor listening as we have in studio.
(00:03):
One of our friends from the ConnecticutAirport Authority spokesperson, Alyssa Sissek, thank
you for being here. Melissa.It's good to be here. Thanks for
having me. It's wonderful to seeyou in person. And I know we've
got a lot going on at BradleyInternational Airport, some new updates and fun
things to share. And before weeven get to that, I want to
say thank you to you and yourentire team for all you do for our
(00:25):
military, veterans and first responders.As you know, I do the honor
flights, and it's just wonderful tosee what you do for our military,
our heroes, our veterans, andhow you really roll out the red carpet
for us all. And we'll beback in May again, so thank you
for all you do. You're welcome. Really, it's a great team effort,
(00:45):
and we're really proud to host theseevents, as you know, since
you're closely involved with it. Wehost them twice a year and they have
just grown, you know, witheach event we learn more and we get
more veterans to participate, and it'sreally humbling or our team to just play
a small role, if you will, in moving you know, people to
where they need to be for theevent. Well. And also one thing
(01:07):
I wanted to point out too isthat you don't all have to be there,
but we get there at six thirtyin the morning and you personally,
your whole team, you're all there. It's a very moving event. It's
a very important event, and theleast you know, we can do is
just to be there early and helpensure that everything runs smoothly. As you
(01:29):
know, we have over like Ithink thirty or so individuals that travel on
the on a flight, and youknow, it's really a moving event to
see it all. Right. Well, now that we got our official thanks
out, I also want to talkabout some upcoming new plants for the airport.
So what do you want to sharewith our listeners today. Yeah,
(01:49):
so we're actually kicking off the yearon a really high note, if you
will. We have some new nonstopsthat will be launching later this year.
Our partners at Frontier Airlines, forexample, they announce a new flight to
Tampa starting in March, and thenBreeze Airways also announced NonStop service to Orlando
and Cincinnati which will be starting inMay, so it's really good news for
(02:14):
passengers. Those are both low costcarriers, which I think passengers will find
appealing. And it's even better newsthat the airport now has more non stops
than we've had prior to the COVIDpandemic. So all in all, we
have eleven airlines who operate out ofthe airport, so there's a really nice
variety of options for passengers to choosefrom. And I'm excited about aer Linguis
(02:38):
because I personally use that because youknow, I have family that lives in
the UK, so that's really helpfulto be able to just go to Bradley
right, you know, basically inmy stay not too far from my house,
be able to leave my car there, take aer Lingus to Dublin and
then get over to heat Throw.They make it super easy, and they're
coming back in March. Yes,you're correct. So they have been accents
(03:00):
last year after taking a little bitof a break during COVID and so they're
currently not operating during January and February, but they will be back in March
on a reduced schedule, and thenlater in March they will go to daily
through the summer and the fall right. I usually use them through October,
so and it's just super helpful.If no one's ever done that, it
(03:23):
couldn't be any easier. But inan even all of the airlines are wonderful.
I don't want a single nding,you know, they're all wonderful naturally.
Airlingis is really a great addition toour menu of nonstops. As you
just mentioned, they offer connectivity tomore than twenty destinations in the UK and
Europe. And I think one ofthe things that we highlight to people,
(03:46):
you know, as much as weare about convenience here at Bradley. The
nice thing about the air linkage services, and I'm sure you've experienced it on
the return flight. If you're flyingback through Dublin Airport, you clear customs
at Dublin Airport. So that meanswhen you arrive at Bradley, you just
get off your gate, you pickup your luggage and you go home and
you go home and it you know, it takes only minutes, you know,
(04:09):
versus having to spend you know,potentially a longer amount of time clearing
customs and so forth. Absolutely,and one of the things I'm getting to
love and maybe even become accustomed towhen I go to the airport. Is
the fine dining and the fun littleperks and the things that you have for
people who are, you know,waiting for a flight or waiting to pick
someone up for a flight. There'sa little something for everybody in all parts
(04:31):
of the airport. What are thenew additions, especially with dining. Yeah,
so we're really excited for this yearbecause passengers will really start to see
some changes inside a terminal. Oneof our consensionnaires called Parodies, is really
revamping some of their shops that theyhave at the airport, So you'll see
over the coming months, you know, those shops come back, you know,
(04:55):
renovated. And on top of that, we will be opening up a
new restaurant called Beer Code, andthat will be located in the Gates twenty
to thirty concourse, which currently doesnot have us sit down restaurant. So
I think that will be a reallynice audition for the concourse for individuals who
will be waiting for flights there.So I think, you know, improving
(05:17):
the dining and shopping experience is alwaysimportant to us. We want to be
able to meet our passengers needs.And we're also trying to create like a
sense of place with some of theseadditions, so that you know, when
people are there, they can seethat they're in Connecticut, they can get
a better feel for the location.So for example, two of the shops
(05:38):
will be called Charter Oak Emporium andConnecticut River Landing, you know, just
again to remind people of where theyhave landed, and then naturally also offer
some Connecticut themed you know, giftsand items within the stores. And you're
also continuing with your advancements in technologyand last year you I understand you launched
(06:03):
the Clears identity verification technology. Tellme about that and where it's going this
year. So you're correct. Ithink that's something that's been much in demand
by our passenger base. Clear isnow accepted and known nationally and now we
have it at the airport. Sowhat that means is when passengers sign up
(06:24):
for their service, it is apaid service they can clear. They can
clear their identity by using their eyesor their fingers, and then that means
that they can move up in theline faster, if you will, when
they're approaching tsa screening. So alot of yeah, so a lot of
(06:44):
people and uh, you know wouldwant to take advantage of that because it
just makes things faster, but itdoes not compromise the security that's in place.
And tell me about what's going onwith your your parking system. Yes,
really excited on that front because weknow that, you know, parking
is really important to the passenger journey. You know, that's one of the
(07:06):
key things before you even get insidethe terminal that you have to take care
of. And we did a bigundertaking last year. We rolled out a
new brand for a parking system.It's called BdL Spark. So certainly if
you are traveling through Bradley Airport weencourage you to keep an eye on it
because it does look a little bitdifferent. But you know, the signage
(07:28):
has been updated, the shuttles havethe new look. You know, everything
that's passenger facing is now brand atBdL Spark and it should be most importantly
easily to identify which lots and parkingelements belong to the airport. And we
can also follow along on social media. You guys do a great job with
kind of promoting with what's happening andso so how do we do that?
(07:53):
Really good question. So yes,Bradley Airport is on social media. We're
on Facebook, we're on Twitter,we're on Instagram. So certainly doing courage
individuals to stay up to date onall these projects and all these announcements,
that is probably the fastest way tostay up to date with the airport.
And certainly also we welcome feedback andoftentimes passengers do lead feedback, so it's
(08:13):
a good way for us to stayengaged with our passenger base. Well,
thank you for stopping by. iHeartCommunities. It's always good to talk to
our friends from Bradley International Airport.One of their Airport authority spokespersons, Melissa
sisk and iHeart Communities, thank youfor being here. Thank you so much
for having me
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