Bringing Joy & Passion to the City

Many people see an airport as a reflection of a city’s character and identity. Many instances of past, present, and projected airports have a strong regional character. An intelligent approach to the city often makes a successful result in the terminal architecture and other parts of the groundwork, such as using landscapes, informative artwork, and locally sourced materials. Karen W. Ellis serves as the City of San Antonio’s Chief Customer Experience Officer for the San Antonio Airport System (SAAS), which includes San Antonio International Airport (SAT) and Stinson Municipal Airport (SSF), the second oldest continually operating general aviation airport in the United States. Ellis has profoundly helped shape the organizational culture. She is keen on listening to and responding to her customers' voices internally and externally. As a result, initiatives are introduced and implemented based on their wants, needs, and desires – which ultimately leads to high satisfaction levels. “There is an old saying, ‘If you’ve seen one airport, you’ve seen one airport.’ That means every airport is different. Hence, my number one priority is listening to the customer before implementing new initiatives and unique offerings,” Ellis says.

The pioneering leader’s daily goal is to enhance travelers’ experiences personally and professionally. “Working for the City of San Antonio is a wonderful experience because of the Core Values: Teamwork, Integrity, Innovation, and Professionalism. In addition, the Department of Aviation’s Core Values are: Our People, Excellence, Growth, and Engagement,” explains Ellis. “As a result, the City of San Antonio/SAAS is often selected to host conferences like Routes America, SMART Airports, and the Airport Minority Advisory Council’s upcoming 38th Annual AMAC Airport Business Diversity Conference in June 2023.”

Some of SAAS’s most significant achievements include its continued high ranking in customer satisfaction by J.D. Powers and for Best Hygiene Measures in North America (an Airport Service Quality Award in 2021) by Airports Council International (ACI) World. In addition, Ellis and her team are relentlessly focused on ensuring that travelers experience a sense of place when they arrive at the airport through art, music, and culture.

Ellis believes her team’s productivity and creativity are at the core of its success. Hence, she is constantly nurturing her staff in various ways. “Development and empowerment of my team are of most importance to me. Why? Because building future leaders is the lifeblood of any organization,” she states. “When I started my career several years ago, I had a General Manager, who is my forever mentor, challenge and empower me to move out of my comfort zone. While it was not an easy road to travel, I believe that shaped me into the leader I am today. It is important for me to do my part in trying to grow future leaders of tomorrow.”

With this mindset, Ellis has become a successful. passionate leader: “Fortunately, I realized very early in my career and life that I experience great joy when making someone’s day – so, being able to do that daily is what I strive for,” she says. “My advice would be to search for what brings you joy and what you are passionate about. If you can do that, you will never work a day in your life.”

Ellis and her team have been working towards not only developing the airport, but also the City of San Antonio as a whole because we all know that it starts with the first experience, which one gets landing from a flight or entering the city. Currently, a major expansion of the airport is underway with SAT’s Terminal Development Program to add a third state-of-the-art terminal. The San Antonio metro area’s population is growing and is projected to top 4 million by 2050. Today, more than 10 million passengers – an average of 27,000 per day – fly in and out of SAT yearly. In the next 20 years, that number could reach more than 15 million passengers annually. “To accommodate this growth and continue to generate prosperity for our region, the airport must keep up with the air travel needs of the community and region. Work on the new terminal will begin in 2023, with a scheduled completion date in 2028,” Ellis said.