Michael Latzel
Age: 33
Business Technology Partner
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
- Alma Mater: Tarleton State University
- Something people may not know about me: Growing up on farm, my next door neighbor was 8 miles away
- Favorite book: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
- Favorite TV show: Battlestar Galactica
- Favorite movie: The 13th Warrior
- Favorite hobby(s): Woodworking
Watching his grandparent’s Cessna take off from a dirt runway as a kid didn’t seem real to Michael Latzel. “I had the same feeling when my family took me to my first air show, the fact that something that large can lift off the ground,” he said. “It’s always amazing to see planes take off. To hear the roar of aircraft engines is music to my ears.”
That amazement is still there whenever Latzel sees a Boeing 757 or Airbus A380 take off at his place of employment, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). “I remember when the Solar Impulse airplane landed here a few years ago. It was yet another step in aviation innovation, that all of that has led me here,” he said.
Latzel says that airports are helping to shape the future of travel. “What we do affects people all over the world and as the aviation industry grows, so shall we,” he said. “I love helping people connect and I get to interact with cultures from around the world.”
The top issue Latzel wants to see in the future for airports is more of a focus on the individual passenger experience. “Right now, there are a lot of stressful moments for travelers from the time they get to the airport until the time they board the plane,” he said. “My goal would be to make airports more than just a place to board a plane. I want to make it a destination and make it place that alleviates stress.”
People should come to the airport early, said Latzel. “They can see what an airport has to offer and actually experience it before boarding their flights,” he said. “We’re already going on that route, but when we can further tailor travelers’ experience, that will be a major shift.”
Every day at an airport is different, said Latzel. “I can always go to the international terminal and be surrounded by people who are arriving and departing from all over the world,” he said. “It reminds me to get out of your bubble, because if you expose yourself to other cultures, it widens your perspective.”
