Meet Nancy Knipp of Airport Lounge Development (ALD) in Plano

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Knipp.

Nancy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I guess you could say, I have been involved in delivering hospitality experience since I was 15! I grew up in a small farming community in Minnesota. My father’s farm provided the necessary vegetables and meats to ensure balanced and plentiful meals for the five children and my grandfather who lived with us. This left my parents with limited funds, so I took my first job at 15 years old as a waitress in the local diner. Working in the Copper Kettle restaurant taught me at an early age the importance of delivering a hospitality experience to the regular customer audience, most of which lived on farms near my family.

As much as I wanted to secure a degree in hospitality after high school, without sufficient funds for college and an overwhelming need to begin to earn a living as soon as I graduated, I took a job as a live-in childcare provider while I attended a vocational school to become a travel agent.

After working as a travel agent for about two years, I jumped on the opportunity to join American Airlines as a part-time ticket agent at the Minneapolis airport. I furthered my hospitality experience by supplementing my American Airlines part-time income with a bartender job at a local ski resort.

Without a college degree and with limited financial resources, I had luckily grown up in a community that puts a high value on the benefits of a hard work and diligence. With a strong work ethic and personal commitment to always going the extra mile engrained in my DNA, I was able to advance from a part-time ticket agent at Minneapolis airport to management positions in sales, operations, and marketing at seven cities in the US and Asia/Japan.

A turning point in my life and my career was when American Airlines took a chance on me by promoting me to the Managing Director Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong. For a girl from a small farming community with a population of 500, living in a city that often had more than 500 individuals waiting for the bus, this was a culture shock from a personal and career perspective! At the time, I had limited experience with international travel. Living, working, traveling and having responsibility for 10 countries in Asia and the South Pacific presented a crash course in business, cultural awareness and the value of respecting diverse expectations regarding hospitality and customer service.

Little did I know, that my assignment as Managing Director Asia/Pacific for American Airlines in Hong Kong was only the beginning of my international journey. After two years, I was promoted to Managing Director of American Airlines Japan based in Tokyo. I was not only the first woman to assume this role, but I was also following my predecessor who had been in this position for over 40 years. My assignment was the first senior leader change in the history of American Airlines Japan! I took on this new opportunity and challenge in May 2002, shortly after American Airlines, the aviation industry, and the entire world were reeling from the horrific events and the aftermath of the attacks on 9/11. Needless to say, difficult business decisions and changes were required in a market that was against change — especially when that change was being led by a western female.

While I learned countless lessons while leading American Airlines in Japan and Asia, the value of delivering excellent service, respect and a differentiating hospitality experience has been invaluable in my personal life and work.

In many ways, I believe that my career has come full circle from the days of riding my bike 5 miles from my family’s farm to the Copper Kettle restaurant.

I returned to the United States in June 2014 to take on the role of President of American Airlines Admirals Clubs and Managing Director of Premium Services. I was back in a true hospitality environment and guided a team of over 800 staff towards delivering a hospitality experience to a customer audience. The lessons I learned at age 15 and throughout the journey that took me from the small café in Lyle, Minnesota, to Hong Kong and Tokyo, were now an integral part of my focus on differentiating the airport experience for American Airlines’ most valuable travelers.

After 8 years of leading American Airlines Admirals Club and Premium Services, I retired from American in 2012. I originally thought that this would be the beginning of a new journey where I would enjoy hospitality provided by others, but I missed being actively involved in hospitality and joined Airport Lounge Development (ALD) as the Sr. Vice President Americas in 2014.

Our small team expanded the company from five airport shared-use lounges to 15 US lounges with more than 25 airline partners. I manage all aspects of the company’s strategic growth, marketing, sales and financial performance.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A smooth road generally results in limited lessons learned in both life and business. Advancing from a part-time ticket agent from a small farm in Minnesota to senior leadership roles at American Airlines, particularly the leadership roles in the emerging Asia/Pacific and Japan market, without a college degree, certainly raised a few eyebrows and required that I deliver above and beyond expectations and prove that I was capable of positively impacting the business.

A foreign woman running a business in Japan created struggles and life lessons. Despite these challenges, I was fortunate to have the influence and guidance of strong mentors, especially female mentors, throughout my career.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Airport Lounge Development (ALD) – what should we know?
Airport Lounge Development (ALD) designs, constructs and operates independent shared-use lounges at airports in the U.S. and U.K. We are the nation’s largest shared-use lounge operator with 15 lounges in the U.S. We also partner with more than 25 major international carriers. ALD has been recognized as the best shared-use lounge operator by USA Today’s Reader 10Best awards and the world’s largest lounge access membership program, Priority Pass.

Our lounges are branded, “The Club,” and are open to all travelers regardless of airline or class of service. Visitors do not need to be frequent fliers or a member of an airline lounge program to enjoy the hospitality that The Club lounges provide. We design our airport lounges to capture the spirit and culture of the city where the airport is located through our unique offerings such as locally-inspired food, beverages, and regional artwork. We believe that in addition to offering a lounge that is open to all travelers, the food and beverage options provided within the lounge should be all-inclusive. Guests do not incur any additional charges to enjoy full access to our premium food and beverage selection. Travelers can access The Club lounges with any of the Priority Pass lounge access programs. Priority Pass lounge access is offered as a benefit by all of the major credit cards and many banks and financial institutions. I often tell friends to check their wallet because it is very likely that they have a credit card that provides the Priority Pass benefits!

What is exciting about the ALD leadership team is that every member of the team comes from a hospitality background. Each of the leadership team brings more than 25 years of travel and hospitality experience. ALD implements our own unique brand standards and service values that are evident in all aspects of lounge operation. These values have been developed by drawing on each of the leadership team’s expertise and commitment to delivering a differentiating hospitality experience. We instill these values in every team member and measure our delivery on these value through numerous customer engagement surveys.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My first mentor and the person who inspired my passion to deliver a hospitality experience and ensure every guest feels like they are a guest at my home was a woman named Millie. She arrived at the Copper Kettle at 3:30 a.m. every day and baked cinnamon rolls for the café customers who began to arrive at 6 a.m. While her expertise in making cinnamon rolls didn’t help my struggle to keep extra weight off, her insight and genuine desire to deliver a warm and hospitable experience became part of my DNA.

Many others supported and inspired me, but the other individual I will always be grateful to for her guidance, support, and exceptional leadership is Bella Goren. Bella was the Sr. Officer at American Airlines who took a chance on a woman from a small farm in Minnesota without a college degree, but with a commitment to an unwavering work ethic. Bella not only appointed me to the role as Managing Director in Hong Kong, but she also gave me the opportunity to lead an incredible organization in Japan for American Airlines.

Pricing:

• You can enjoy the all-inclusive benefits of The Club lounges for $40.

Contact Info:

• Address: 5217 Tennyson Parkway
  Suite 100
  Plano, TX 75024, USA
• Website: www.theclubairportlounges.com
• Phone: 972-535-0285
• Email: [email protected]

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