Blog Archives




 

  • The Florida Panhandle's New Airport Marks The End Of Year Two ...
    By Brad McAllister - Wednesday June 6, 2012
    With more than 27 miles of hotels, sugar-white sand beaches, and emerald waters along the Gulf of Mexico, Panama City Beach is considered by many to be an ultimate vacation destination. Thus far, the market and its new airport have fared very well.  When the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport opened in May of 2010, there was a tremendous amount of excitement for the brand new facility serving the Panama City/Bay County area. Officials had secured Southwest Airlines to come in and serve the airport with a combination of rent incentives, marketing assistance, and perhaps most importantly, an agreement with the St. Joe Company that guranteed a profit for a three-year period. Expectations were very high with regard to...

  • General Aviation Airports: A National Asset
    By Brad McAllister - Wednesday May 16, 2012
    The 18-month study breaks down GA airports into four primary categories based on the current aviation activity at a particular airport, such as the number and type of based aircraft, number of passenger boardings, and the type of flights: National airports give communities access to national and international markets. Regional airports connect communities to statewide and interstate markets. Local airports provide access to intrastate and interstate markets. Basic airports link communities with the national airport system and support general aviation activities. "We have a good handle on how we classify commercial airports … we can plan and invest dollars based on the classification system," say FAA officials. "We don’t...

  • At The Annual AAAE Conference In Phoenix, US Airways Presents
    By Brad McAllister - Wednesday May 2, 2012
    At the 84th Annual AAAE (American Association for Airport Executives) Conference & Exposition, US Airways president Scott Kirby points to a number of trends that have shaped the airline industry during the last decade.  He says bankruptcies have forced airlines to restructure, and the industry is on the threshold of completing the vision that it would consolidate into three large network carriers, and that they would be part of three global alliances. Consolidation has helped rationalize the industry, and ancillary revenues have been an important part of the changing business model, says Kirby. He explains that US Airways generated some $500 million last year, and made a profit a little more than $100 million. “In 2011, fuel prices...

  • In preparing for an upcoming annual airport event in Denver ...
    By Brad McAllister - Wednesday April 18, 2012
    airport business Magazine developed a cover story on the concept focus of the Airport Cities Conference held in Memphis last year. This year we travel to Denver for the world conference and exhibition.  Some elements of the program I look forward to include:  1. An opening address by conference chairman John D. Kosarda, the man who coined the term “aerotropolis”. In last year's cover story, 'Airports Becoming Cities' , airport business interviewed Kosarda, who says the aerotropolis concept brings with it a change in thinking on the role of the airport. “Airport master planning itself must change,” he says. “Basically, airports must do business the way business does business.” 2. The 'Airport Cities Rising...

  • ACI-NA Releases A Study On The Collective Economic Impact Of Commercial Airports ...
    By Brad McAllister - Wednesday April 4, 2012
    The association conducted a similar study in 2001 (Visit  www.airportsforthefuture.org to view the 2012 study). Comments assocation president Greg Principato, "In a decade with 9/11, and the worst economic downturn since the depression, you still see growth. Transportation is a driver of economic activity, and economic activity drives transportation. "This kind of study really hits you where you live; it really tells the story in a vivid way." Around the world where communities are building and modernizing airport infrastructure, the mechanism that’s used is a passenger-based user fee, which is essentially what the passenger facility charge (PFC) is here in America. In most of those places, you don’t have a lot of tax money...

  • Commercial Airports In Texas Form An Association ...
    By Brad McAllister - Wednesday March 28, 2012
    In an effort to share information more efficiently and to take common issues to Washington with a single voice, commercial airports in Texas have developed a statewide association: the Texas Commercial Airports Association, or TCAA. In a recent press release, Mario Diaz, director of the Houston Airport System and TCAA chairman states, "By coming together as an organization, the passenger airports in Texas can speak through one clear, strong voice. Collectively, we believe we have greater influence than any one of our airports can have individually." According to the news report, Texas airports with commercial flights serve more than 135 million passengers annually. A news conference held in San Antonio brought a key audience together as...

  • Cygnus Aviation Expo 2012 Was Bigger and Better ...
    By Brad McAllister - Wednesday March 14, 2012
    The aviation services sector met in Las Vegas last week for the 15th annual Cygnus Aviation Expo (CAE). We promised a bigger and better event this year, and we delivered. Apart from the positive commentary I received from many of the exhibitors I visited, the educational and training offerings drew several interested attendees. Following are some highlights from CAE 2012: - Some 200 exhibitors from various airport and aviation service sectors, primarily those from the ground support equipment and aircraft maintenance side of the industry, took to the trade show floor last week as Cygnus Aviation partnered with SAE International's Aerospace and Defense Ground Support Equipment Conference and the National Air Transportation...

  • NATA Hosts a Webinar on FAA Reauthorization ...
    By Brad McAllister - Wednesday February 22, 2012
    The webinar presentation, conducted on Tuesday, February 21, states, "NATA is pleased that Congress was able to reach agreement on a number of differences, enabling a final agreement on legislation to reauthorize the FAA." Public Law 112-95 (H.R. 658) contains several provistions sponsored by the association including consistency of regulatory interpretations and the study of Part 135 operations. Comments National Air Transportation Association (NATA) VP Eric Byer, "One of the biggest issues that we have had is dealing with regulatory consistency. One of the things we see at the local level are FSDOs that repeatedly have differing interpretations on a variety of different rules and regulations.  "Another area we continue to struggle...

  • Four-Year Funding for FAA and the Aviation System Is Close to Reality …
    By John F. Infanger - Wednesday February 8, 2012
    Back in the 1990s during a similar aviation funding impasse, the man who led the effort was Rep. Bud Shuster (R-PA) who essentially led the charge to unleash monies from the Aviation Trust Fund and actually put them back into the system, as intended. Back then it had become the norm for Administrations to keep trust funds hostage to make the federal budget balance look better. Thus, the tax dollars that came in to support the system weren’t redistributed as originally intended.   It’s been a different battle this time around. Slots into DCA; how unions organize; Essential Air Service continuation into small communities – still political, but brutally moreso.   At center stage this time around has been Rep. John L. Mica...

  • The 'Do Nothing' Congress Finally Does Something …
    By John F. Infanger - Wednesday February 1, 2012
    … the House and Senate on Tuesday in a conference committee approved a four-year reauthorization for FAA/system funding after five years of wrangling and 23 continuing funding extensions. The industry can now collectively exhale.   According to a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee release, the bill provides some $13.4 billion for the Airport Improvement Program, $38.3 billion for FAA Operations, $672 million for Research, Engineering & Development, and $10.9 billion for FAA’s Facilities & Equipment account. The bill still needs to be passed by the House and Senate respectively, and then signed by the President. One has to assume that it never would have gotten out of conference if Mr. Obama wasn’t going to sign it...

 

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