April 2025 | Michael Fechter
I was born in the Hudson Valley in a very small village — 12,000 people — that was called North Tarrytown. It’s a very historical village. It’s where Benedict Arnold’s co-conspirator was captured.
I was the sixth of eight, so I’m at the bottom of the litter. I think it made me more outgoing, more trying to get attention.
We had to be careful because my father was the mayor. We always were looking over our shoulders. … I’d wake up on a Sunday morning, and my father would know what I did last night because he’d get calls from the police department.
I’m a very curious person. Always asking questions and wondering why not.
(Driving a taxi) was a great job. I love talking to people. Sometimes people say to you ‘I don’t want to talk.’ OK, I won’t say anything. But if you can start up a conversation, you’re driving some of the most interesting people around in the back of your car. Guy could be a millionaire, it doesn’t matter. He just needs a ride, and you can talk about anything, and that’s the part I loved the most.
I didn’t want to be behind a desk, I wanted to be out seeing stuff. The taxi job fit into that very well.
(My older brother) said why don’t you try accounting? So I tried the accounting. I loved it. Debits on the left, credits on the right. There’s rules for stuff. Even though I might be a rebellious person, I love accounting and the rules of it.
After high school, I went to work in a camera store because you know I like photography. It was across the street from an Italian restaurant called Arduino’s, and that’s her maiden name. … She was home from college, and she was waitressing at the restaurant. … I was sitting at the bar having a quick little nip — Budweiser or whatever — and I said to the bartender, ‘Who’s that?’ He said, ‘That’s Johnny’s daughter, Janet.’ So I put it in my head. … And then we had a date, and then … 50 years together.
I got fired … (by) Continental Airlines. That really hurt. I was probably a bit too ambitious, a bit too young, a bit too immature. It was very painful. But at the end of the day, I’m a better man because it happened. It taught me how to not focus on myself, but to focus on others. I would always worry that this has to be about me because I have to get the next promotion. Now I’ve evolved to, this is not about me unless they make it about me.
The thing that’s amazing and I feel so grateful for is, I was given this chance. They gave me the keys to the car, and (Tampa International) is a really cool car. … We did everything that we said we would do.
(My predecessor) didn’t believe that we could get international flights. And that was the key thing they asked me when I came in, ‘Can you do this?’ And I said ‘Of course we can do this.’ That’s led to the growth that we’ve seen.
We redid all our concessions, and we redid the main terminal. First big project we did, and it worked out really well. You probably would have gotten away with the old way for another five years or so, but it really did need to change and there was no need to wait. In fact, in my tenure here, waiting has normally been a bad idea because of inflation and because of things that change. If you have the money and the capital and the will, you should probably go ahead.
The only reason we exist is to bring business and commerce to the people of our region. We are required to be a fiscally stable aeronautical asset for the good of the people of Florida. ... So we’re sort of like an EDC. The more success we have, the more success the hotels, the businesses and everybody else has.
Travel’s all about curiosity, isn’t it? Otherwise, you could just go on YouTube and see it. I want to go there. I want to smell it, see it. That curiosity also drove the taxi because I got to meet new people, I got to ask questions. And this job is a tremendous opportunity for curiosity.
I have a certain way I like the airport to look. When you get on an escalator, the grates should be clean. It shouldn’t be black and dirty underneath the grate you’re standing on. We have cleaners that can do that. So, when I go to another airport and I see dust bunnies, or I go into the men’s room and there’s two utilities out of service … you’re not running it right.
We’re actually going to live in Italy (Lucca in Tuscany) for a month. We’re going to try to be like the locals and try to speak Italian. This all feeds into the curiosity thing. I might drive an Uber. You don’t know where you’re going to find me, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be in the C-suite.