Kevin Dolliole
Director of Aviation | Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Profiled: November 2018 and January 2020
⏮ REWIND
Kevin Dolliole has graced the cover of Biz New Orleans magazine twice. In November 2018, the airport’s aviation director shared the latest details on the construction of the region’s much-anticipated new terminal, and in January 2020 he was named our CEO of 2019 following the terminal’s official opening on Nov. 6, 2019.
⏭ FAST-FORWARD
Next month the airport terminal will celebrate five years in operation, and it’s been a busy one, packed with accolades.
In March, Airports Council International World announced that MSY had been named Best Airport in North America (5 to 15 million passengers per year) in its 2023 Airport Service Quality program. The ASQ awards highlight the world’s best airports as judged by their customers, who are surveyed while they are in the airport.
In 2021, J.D. Power honored MSY as the No. 1 Large Airport in North America; That same year it was also named the Most Efficient Airport in North America by the Air Transportation Research Society, and it received its second consecutive win for Best Hygiene Measures in North America during the pandemic from Airports Council International.
Other national awards have honored the airport’s service quality and concessions and the work of MSY’s public relations team — all while dealing with a global pandemic.
“Four months after opening, we had this big, brand-new sparkling diamond, and all of a sudden, no traffic,” said Dolliole. “We went from servicing on average about 40,00 users a day to several hundred when it initially struck.”
Dolliole said the airport did its best to work with its tenants.
“We were very mindful in how we utilized the federal assistance,” he said. “Where we could use it to help our tenants, we did, and I’m proud to say we got through it whole. Nobody left.
As of June of this year, the airport was back to 98% of its pre-pandemic numbers. By the end of the year, Dolliole said he anticipates reaching 2019’s travel numbers, meaning about 13.6 million passengers traveling through the airport.
MSY has also seen a lot of expansion in carriers and flights. Breeze Airways now has an operations base at the airport and is flying to 12 destinations. Air Canada started offering nonstop service to Toronto before the pandemic and has since added Montreal, while another pandemic-era addition, Spirit Airlines, began nonstop to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and has since added Cancun, Mexico, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Upcoming additions will include nonstop service to New Haven, Connecticut, via Avelo Airlines starting in November; Portland, Oregon, in January via Alaska Airlines; and New York-La Guardia via Spirit starting Feb. 12, 2025.
Dolliole also reported that the airport’s new master plan — which will look at the next 20 years of growth — is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
On a more individual level, Dolliole has racked up some big wins himself, including the fact that on Jan. 1, 2024, he became chair of the board for Airports Council International — North America. ACI is one of the world’s largest airport trade organizations, representing 270 airport operators in the U.S. and Canada.
Looking toward the future of not only his airport, but the entire industry, among Dolliole’s current projects has been pairing with his friend and colleague, Perry Miller, president and CEO of Richmond International Airport, to create a program called Soaring Scholars, whose intent is to increase minority leadership in the aviation industry.
“We’re already working with 900 airports on a pilot program,” noted Dolliole. “They will all be accepting students into internship programs. We’re looking at doing a good year of the pilot program before growing the ranks. Other airports have expressed interest already, which is exciting because it’s something I’m very passionate about.”
