AirportBusiness Blogs

Gail and I have just gone through the most disjointed Christmas of our 39-year marriage. We have just moved from Huntsville, AL, where we had lived for 28 years, to Asheville, NC, where we know nobody. It has been chaotic.

Funny, but what we miss most—after the many good friends we left in Huntsville—are the suppliers who provided us with goods and services.

I have always been a salesman, so have tended to think that the seller benefits most from a transaction. I was wrong. The purchaser benefits most.

We miss Terry, who sold us several computers and serviced every one of them exceptionally well. Now we have computer problems and no Terry to call. We have no doctors, no dentists, no church, and no “favorite” grocery store. (We do have a veterinarian. Gail saw to that first thing.) We have no plumber, no handyman, and no drug store. (We do have an electrician. I lucked onto him and he has already been a big help.) We have no insurance agency. Those jokes about the insurance man aren’t so funny when you need one and don’t know, as they movie put it, “who ya gonna call.”

There’s a lesson in here for all suppliers of goods and services. No matter what you’re trying to sell at the moment, chances are the transaction is more important to the buyer than to you. I well remember the first airplane I sold retail. The buyer was Riley Brothers’ Poultry. I was excited about that sale. It was important to me. I needed the commission.

Funny, we spent that commission almost immediately. They kept that airplane for something like 12 years. To whom was that transaction more important? Me, or the buyer? (By the way, one of the Riley brothers is the current governor of Alabama.)

A truly great value is provided by the seller/supplier that delivers reliable, ethical, consistent service. Gail and I are quickly realizing that we can find all the suppliers we need. What we don’t know is how to find suppliers with all of the qualities we desire.

So take pride in what you do and Happy New Year to you and yours! 

Don Langford, FedEx Captain, will fly his last flight on Christmas Day. After that, he turns 60, and will be deemed unfit to fly as an airline pilot in this country.

I have known Don since he was fighting to become an airline pilot. He is the only person I know who has flown for eight different airlines. They kept going bankrupt and/or downsizing out from under him until he got on with FedEx, and he’s been there since. He is or has been an A&P, engineer, cropduster, aircraft builder, distributer of LSA, and master of everything from a J-3 to a 747.

You can read all the arguments pro and con about the age sixty rule but it seems real only when a friend becomes suddenly and officially “too old.” Even the media got excited when the legendary Hoot Gibson - first an astronaut, then an airline pilot - made his last flight a few weeks ago. But, I don’t know Hoot. I do know Don.

Actually, Don is one of the lucky ones. FedEx still has some airplanes with three in the cockpit, and Don can legally fly as the third man - the flight engineer. I wonder how it will feel, going from top dog in the cockpit to number three, overnight?

I asked Don if he had any last-flight rituals planned, and he said probably not. However, his son, Captain James (Jay) Langford (Embraer 170), is going to fly jumpseat on Don’s flight tonight (December 18). That’s gotta be a thrill for both men.

I hope they have a great flight, and that Don settles into this latest step in his aviation career.

… or, what keeps airport directors awake at night.
 

Just a few short months ago, U.S. airline industry analysts were confident that mergers were not in the immediate offing. In fact, it seemed the only airline exec talking mergers was United’s Glenn Tilton. Now, there’s a hostile bid by US Airways for Delta; United and Continental appear to be courting; and, AirTran has its eye on Midwest.
 

Generally lost in these discussions in the media is the potential impact on local communities and their airports. One scenario is that such mergers open up opportunities for low-fare carriers – bringing the ‘Southwest effect’ is an attractive lure for communities. Or, route duplications by merged carriers can mean less access for a community. And, in the worst-case scenario, a community can lose service altogether as the merged carriers restructure their routes.
 

Airports, most notably through the Airports Council International – North America, have been lobbying Washington for more financial freedom in how they operate their facilities. They would like to be able to react to local market forces, and to get a better handle on how their airports are built and maintained with more freedom with passenger facility charges, which have served as a catalyst for so many airport developments in the last 15 years.
 

In the December 18 Wall Street Journal, former American CEO Robert Crandall and Clifford Winston, both senior fellows with the Brookings Institution, suggest that a primary reason airlines merge is to tap international routes. They call for Congress to free up foreign investment in U.S. airlines and to allow foreign carriers to serve domestic U.S. markets, thereby encouraging competition. Instead, Congress appears poised to interfere with any merger discussions. Crandall and Winston also call for the privatization of U.S. airports “thereby allowing them to compete aggressively for air carrier service.” Most U.S. airport directors would agree with the concept of freeing up their ability to compete, but not with the proposal of outright privatization.
 

There are reasons that airports have moved aggressively in the past two decades to have greater control over their facilities. The number one reason is the uncertainty of the airline business. It’s why common use systems and short-term airline/airport agreements are in vogue.
 

Thanks for reading. jfi

I spoke on Tuesday, December 5, for the fourth annual continuity conference of State Street Corporation in Quincy, MA. I first met these people when speaking for New England Disaster Recovery Exchange (NEDRIX) in past years.

Continuity—in this sense—involves taking steps to be sure the corporation or govmint body survives any disaster or emergency. It has become a very hot topic since 9/11/2001 and also after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. How do you make sure that you can communicate with your people after a disaster? How do you protect your information technology? These are important questions that must be answered before the disaster strikes.

So, why was I there? Aviation has done a terrific job of planning for emergencies and other contingencies, and my job was to explain how some—many—aviation standards are applicable in other industries. It was somewhat of a humbling experience to be in front of these pioneering experts, but they were quite receptive.

To give you some idea of the importance of this subject and this meeting, a FEMA manager preceded me. He had been involved in 9/11 in New York, and in New Orleans post Katrina. When he spoke of being at ground zero in New York and of sleeping on the floor of the Super Dome in New Orleans, it carried a lot of weight.

Reuters sponsored—paid for—my presentation and I appreciate it. As a person who lives on publicity, I am now trying to figure out how to word that. Maybe something like “Reuters pays fee for Ralph Hood’s presentation to major disaster recovery conference.” 

… and three examples of airports that are experiencing significant growth. 

At Dulles International Airport in Washington, the Dulles Jet Center held a grand opening last week of the third fixed based operation at IAD, joining Signature Flight Support and Landmark Aviation on the airfield. The opening of the new FBO is reflective of the D.C. business aviation market, which has seen significant growth and which has been altered by the almost nonexistent access at Reagan National. An interesting aspect of the Dulles FBO deal is that next door neighbor Signature will provide its refueling services. This bizav growth comes in the midst of massive construction at IAD that includes an underground rail system connecting the terminals. 

At Richmond International Airport some 100 miles south of the nation’s capital, the city is putting a heavy emphasis on the role of the airport in its economic development efforts. This has included a focus on air service development. The airport has made progress regarding the latter, attracting Air Tran and JetBlue, and nearly snatching Southwest (a goal the airport has not given up on). Richmond is nearing completion of a totally transformed modern terminal/parking complex, as well as an integrated, in-line baggage screening system. 

And, at Manassas Regional Airport west of Washington, another transformation is taking place. Prior to 9/11, Manassas Regional was a quiet general aviation facility. It is rapidly turning into a major business aviation reliever for the region, spurred by the exodus of aircraft from Reagan National.    At the very least, it seems that the business of aviation and airports is robust in the Washington, D.C. region. Thanks for reading.  jfi