From runways to the tweet deck, take a look Inside CAK by following four star bloggers- David, Todd, Ryan and Barry.
Barry Irwin
Operations Supervisor
Aviator and CAK fanatic, ride along with Barry as he flies through cool CAK airspace and beyond.Flying solo
Posted on 07/29/2010Most people look forward to the times when their boss is out of the office. As the saying goes, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play.” Often during these times, employees will use the time being unsupervised to catch up on their fantasy sports teams, post updates to social networking websites, and/or find any other excuse to do anything besides actual work. However, what would happen if it was just you and your boss in your entire department, and you found out that your boss was unexpectedly forced to be off-work for over a month? I bet your reaction would be a little bit different.
That exact situation happened to me about three weeks ago. I came into work one day to find out that my boss had to have unexpected surgery and that he would have to spend over a month recovering. All of this was during a particularly busy time of the year for the Operations Department at CAK. A lot went through my mind at that point; everything from “I hope my boss will be alright” to “what responsibilities will I have to temporarily take over” to “what are the dates and times of all the meetings he had planned?” After almost three weeks, all I have to say now is, “so far so good.” My boss’s surgery was a success; he is recovering and should be back sometime in late August. As for running the Operations Department solo, things are going extremely well. I am getting help from my fellow co-workers in other departments and we are ensuring that the behind-the-scenes operations of CAK remain uninterrupted.
This situation reminded me of my first airplane solo during my time at Kent State University. One day, my flight instructor and I were flying around when he told me to land and taxi back to the parking area at the airport. I shut off the plane, he said that I was ready, and he hopped out. Next thing I knew, I was flying the airplane around the airport by myself practicing touch-and-go’s. The emotions I felt during this experience ran the gamut: initial nervousness and anxiety later became confidence and contentment. I learned from that experience that my flight instructor would never have let me fly solo unless he had complete confidence in me. Just as now, the fact that I am running Operations solo is a testament to the way airport management views my position in the organization. Flying solo isn’t so bad when you have the support of those around you.
David Regula
Cusomer Service Manager
Are you a CAK passenger? Then follow David for exclusive customer tips and aviation issues that can make your travel experience better.Congratulations Team CAK!
Posted on 06/15/2010CAK was honored last week at the Smart Business World Customer Service Awards at the lovely Executive Caterers facility in Landerhaven. CAK was one of 31 organizations that were honorees at this event out of approximately 65 nominations from
It was my honor to accept this award on behalf of all the wonderful terminal employees of the
Ryan Hollingsworth
Communications Coordinator
Get the inside story on all the big news from CAK as Ryan uncovers what’s new, hip and just plain fun at the airport.New social media tools to help your travel experience
Posted on 06/04/2010We have had success using both Facebook and Twitter for CAK. But there are dozens of other social media sites that have been around just as long but have only recently caught my eye. What I like about them is how it helps your travel experience.
1.Yelp - Take a look at CAK on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/akron-canton-airport-canton.
It’s filled with reviews from people who are not are afraid to say how they really feel about your business. I was recently in Boston and looked up most of the attractions and restaurants I went to on Yelp. I ordered the clam chowder at Legal Sea Foods because several people on Yelp said it was delicious and they were right. Yelp has also a great app for mobile devices that finds all the restaurants, shops and any other businesses that are nearby. And business owners can also claim and customize their business page on Yelp and add their own special. Leave a review of CAK on Yelp and check out our special.2. Foursquare - Check out CAK on Foursquare: http://foursquare.com/venue/238319. This is a location-based game where you “check in” to places with your mobile device. Foursquare gives you badges for doing something special. For example, if you check into five airports, you are awarded the Jetsetter badge. And if you check into a place more than anyone else, you become the mayor of that place. What does this mean in real life? Absolutely nothing! Businesses can claim their business and offer a reward but Foursquare has only gotten back to a few of them. Starbucks is one of those and they offer a discount to the mayor of each Starbucks. In my opinion, Foursquare needs to develop themselves more. The feature that helps travelers are the tips. Each venue has tips left by users similar to Yelp. The tips are very short and easily accessible through your phone so it’s easy to read all of them at once. Foursquare hasn’t become mainstream yet but reports say it is growing faster than Twitter did when it was first starting out. CAK had about 200 check-ins last week so it is becoming more popular.
3. Gate Guru - http://gateguruapp.com/ This is only an iPhone app at this point but if you are frequent airport traveler, this app is amazing. It tells the traveler every restaurant, bar and shop in the airport by gate. Again, in Boston, I used Gate Guru at Boston Logan Airport to find the nearest Dunkin Donuts so I could get my morning coffee. I found through Gate Guru that one was just around the corner from me. It also includes where the nearest internet kiosks and ATM’s are located. The only downside is it doesn’t cover every U.S. airport yet although it recently added some international airports. I have contacted Gate Guru and asked them to include us. I hope they eventually include all airports.
Todd Laps
Public Safety and Operations Manager
Heading up all things snow, safety and security, Todd is undeniably CAK. If you want a real inside scoop of what really happens on an airfield, follow Todd.Security is highest priority at CAK
Posted on 05/13/2010Anyone that is involved in the aviation world has had their lives drastically changed in the nine years since 9/11. We have seen more security changes in the last nine years than what occurred in the previous twenty.
I think the most dramatic change was the creation of the TSA and the security threat levels blue, green, yellow, orange, and red (red meaning an attack is imminent). The various security levels give airport security folks like me the tools, restrictions and directions needed to comply with national standards. You may not know this but the aviation world will never go below yellow! And in my opinion, we won’t see yellow for a very long time. Terrorists are still trying to disrupt our national air transportation system, so we cannot let our guard down.
So what does all this mean for you, CAK's customer? Anyone who has traveled in the last decade can pretty much feel the difference. Before every flight, TSA agents ask you if you packed your bags nice and neat; if you have any liquids, gels, or paste; and to please take your shoes off so they can x-ray them. Although these procedures seem annoying, these are just a few of the things that we in the security business need to do in an attempt to prevent people, who hate our way of life, from doing harm to you and your family.
What you also may not know is that a lot of our security directives are invisible to air travelers. Security is very serious business. We don’t talk about what we are doing behind the scenes to protect security, but let me assure you, I am devoted to making CAK as secure and safe as it can possibly be. We our constantly changing and adapting to new threats, installing new technology, and putting new methods in place to help protect the flying public. Rest assured that safety and security is our highest priority.
