AirportBusiness Blogs

My monthly column for Airport Business magazine arrived a week or so ago. The column was about globalization and I thought it was great job of explaining a few simple facts about world trade.

Hoo, boy.

One fellow emailed, lashing at me for hating America and trying to ruin the middle class, along with a few other sins. This guy was mad. We hashed back and forth for a couple of emails, then decided to give up on each other. Neither of us had changed the other’s mind at all.

Just for the record, I am neither Democrat nor Republican. I am for the free market. I sincerely believe that the free market delivers more good to more people than any guvmint can. I learned this from Adam Smith, who wrote the book on which our economy was based way back in about 1776. We have strayed far from that book’s teachings many times, and it seems to me that it was a mistake each time.

Adam Smith taught that our economy—when left alone—is guided by the invisible hand of the marketplace. When we each set out to make a living by serving other people, everybody comes out ahead. The best modern follower of Adam Smith may be an economist named Milton Friedman, who won the Nobel prize for his teachings and writing on the subject.

Frankly, I have never seen so many people around the globe lining up behind and with the free market as they do today. Even China is lined up and marching. So is Russia. Eclipse is even now working like heck to get an airplane factory going in Russia.

The free market is not perfect, of course. China, in particular, has pulled some monumental blunders. But they are also trying their best to correct them and to please our marketplace. I can’t remember China working that hard to please us before business intervened. Can you? It does seem to be a truism that countries that trade together get along together.

The free market is and always has been more efficient and more desirable for the most people than any guvmint. I rest my case.

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Cometh to my e-mail this morning a tidbit from the Wall Street Journal News Alert advising me that, “A missile launched from a U.S. Navy ship in the Pacific struck a decaying U.S. spy satellite 130 miles above Earth’s surface.” In other words, we shot it down.

Lawd, y’all that does bring back a memory and a story.

On July 11, 1979 (I got most of these facts from my friend, Norm Schlemmer, a retired NASA rocket engineer), the 2^nd stage of our Skylab reentered the atmosphere and (mostly) burned up. A piece of a charred fuel tank survived and can be seen in Huntsville’s Space and Rocket Center today.

There was much hullabaloo before this return to earth and much panic among the populace lest the Skylab hit a highly populated area and kill a bunch of people. One morning, a Tennessee sheriff announced that part of the Skylab had landed in his town (the name of which will not be herein revealed).

Now this was big news. At the time I was sales manager (that’s what you call the salesman when their ain’t but one salesman) for Huntsville (AL) Aviation. A local TV station owned an Aztec that we maintained and sometimes piloted. The TV station had a reporter then known as Jamie Cooper, The Country Rover.

Jamie decided that this story could put him in the bigtime, up there with Cronkite (he didn’t tell me that, I’m just guessing). He rushed straight to Huntsville Aviation and got us to take him in the Aztec to the Tennessee crash site. We did.

Well it did turn into a helluva story. Shortly after his arrival, Jamie—a pushy sort then and now—ran afoul of the sheriff, who arrested him and threw him in jail. The camera crew filmed Jamie through the bars of the jail window.

The story came to naught, of course, when it was proved untrue. There was, indeed, some sort of junk in that Tennessee town, but it was not any part of an object from space. I have always wondered if it was some part of an old whiskey still, but there is no evidence of that, either.

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… is a growing target for many U.S. airports. More and more, the concept of a new era of international travel is taking root. Two central factors for the movement: Open Skies agreements and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, now under development.

The Bush Administration has been very active in pursuing Open Skies agreements worldwide, evidenced most notably with the agreement set to kick in this spring between the U.S. and the European Union. At the same time, business is becoming more globally integrated, thereby connecting international point-to-point destinations due to a local need to connect.

Enter the 787, which Boeing expects to being flight-testing this summer. According to the OEM, the company has amassed 857 firm orders valued at $144 billion from 56 airlines for the Dreamliner. Deliveries are expected to begin in early 2009.

The upcoming March issue of AIRPORT BUSINESS magazine will feature a look at two airport initiatives targeting international service, at DFW and Boston Logan. DFW, which has labeled 2008 as the Year of the International Traveler, has teamed up with Convention & Visitor Bureaus in the Metroplex to promote the airport as a destination and through-put hub entering the U.S. The program could even include offering marketing assistance to a carrier in its home country. At Logan, officials are preparing to launch a first-ever incentive package to lure international carriers.

Consider a few quotes …

Massport CEO and executive director Thomas J. Kinton, Jr.: “The 787 can easily handle the 10,000-foot runway, and you don’t have to try to fill 435 seats – this market couldn’t support that; but we can certainly fill 220 seats. And it’s got the range capability to do something off the East Coast into Asia very easily.

“So, I think it is going to change the dynamic where airlines go in the future. It fits many markets that presently don’t have non-stop service.”

Joseph W. Lopano, executive vice president, Marketing & Terminal Management for DFW International Airport: “The Year of the International Traveler is a moniker that was assigned by our public affairs guys. What we’re really doing is celebrating a fairly substantial increase in international flying this year versus the past. What we’ve seen, just on the part of American Airlines, is that it’s added four international destinations in one year – Panama City, Panama; San Salvador, El Salvador; Tampico, Mexico; and also London Heathrow, which we’ve been trying to get for a long time. We also have KLM starting a flight to Amsterdam.”

Adding to this new dynamic is that fact that U.S. carriers are focusing more and more on international traffic — much of Delta’s turnaround is credited to its renewed emphasis on offshore destinations. And, one of the key reasons for the merger mania now underway with the airlines is a desire to grow internationally.

Thanks for reading. jfi

I just ran into the dangdest example of customer service.

We have all heard of the “trip” from hell, but this was the “ticket” from hell. I was trying to buy an airline ticket from either Tri-Cities, TN, or Asheville, NC (depending on schedule and price), to Boston (to see my new grandson), to Reading or Allentown, or Harrisburg, Pa (depending on schedule and price again, for a speech in Hershey, PA), to DFW, then, finally, back to Tri-Cities or Asheville.

If I were a rich man (sounds like a good title for a song), this would be no problem. I’d fly first class on the best schedule (or, depending on how rich, I’d fly jet charter). But I ain’t rich, and this was my money. So I set out to find the cheapest ticket that would meet my schedule.

Delta told me they could not get me from Boston to Harrisburg. They offered no alternative, just said they couldn’t do it. On other airlines it was either the wrong schedule or the wrong price (as high as $1,400 plus).

Then I found the aforementioned example of customer service. Continental sold me a ticket that met all requirements for a grand total of $662. I was amazed.

How did Continental do it? They don’t have a flight into any of the three PA cities on my schedule either, but they do have a solution. They put me on a bus—repeat, bus—for one leg. It is their bus. It leaves from and arrives at the respective airports, and it takes no more time than waiting on and riding an airplane for that leg. Amazing. And look at the price.

They say that the railroads, when they were king in this country, made a tragic mistake—they thought they were in the railroad business when they were actually in the transportation business. Continental seems to realize that they are in the transportation business, and they did what it takes to get me where I want to go. More power to them.

… on Capitol Hill. The U.S. House this week passed a continuing resolution to continue to fund FAA and the aviation system through June 30. The Senate is expected to follow suit. Meanwhile, the leaders in the House are urging the Senate to pass a four-year authorization bill to operate the system long-term. And last week, the Bush Administration unveiled its proposed FY2009 budget that basically is a repeat of the FY2008 version, as far as aviation is concerned.

In essence, we are precisely where we were in this funding debate one year ago.

There appear to be two central issues that are holding things up – the system of fees, and the ongoing battle between FAA and the air traffic controllers.

Regarding fees, the FAA (the Bush Administration) and the Air Transport Association (the airlines) want to restructure how users pay for the system. Just about everybody else in aviation – and most in Congress, it seems – pretty much like things the way they are. General/business aviation groups are even willing to swallow the bitter pill of higher fuel taxes. Volumes have been written on this topic already.

The controllers are another matter. FAA shut the door on the controller community in its last round of “negotiations”, under direction from the Administration. The bitterness between the two groups has also been the subject of volumes of news copy. Congress wants the two parties to sit down at the bargaining table and resolve the dispute; the Administration appears adamant to not do so.

It’s not healthy to have the regulator of the system and those responsible for the safe movement of the system to be at such odds. Congress is right on this one – the time has come for this issue to be resolved. Sitting down in the same room with an olive branch would be a start.

Meanwhile, infrastructure development of the airport system is being held back because of continuing resolutions. Alas.

Thanks for reading. jfi

When writing for the public one has a responsibility to stick to the subject, write about things of interest to the audience, and otherwise behave in a dignified fashion.

But every now and then one must shout, “To hell with all that. I got something to tell the world, and I’m gonna write about it.”

Today is such a day.

As of today, for the very first time, I am, at almost 67 years old, a grandfather!

We had just about given up. Seemed like none of our three kids was even trying. That changed nine months ago when son Kevin announced to us that he and wife Shirley were expecting a baby. Today they called to tell us of the birth of Rowan Adam Hood.

This is going to be an interesting grandson. Both of Shirley’s parents were born in China. Kevin is the red-headed son of two dyed-in-the-wool, grits-eating southerners.

Obviously, this kid will be a genius with great prospects. Kevin is a computer wizard, Shirley is a physician’s assistant. Besides—how could any grandchild of mine and Gail’s not be a genius?

Thanks for reading, and please be patient with my literary transgressions.

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… but all was hot on the trade show floor and in assorted conference rooms at this year’s NBAA 19^th Annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. As a steady stream of freighters and tankers meandered through downtown up the Savannah River – the city on one side, the convention center on the other – some 2,618 delegates touched base; sold their services, their locations; and learned about the business.

Schedulers and dispatchers from Part 91 corporates and Part 135 charters are the core audience, and the target of FBOs and airports who seek their business. But first they have to have you on their radar screen – the reason so many airports and FBOs exhibit. Many say this is their number one marketing effort to the corporate arena each year.

Every year bigger, larger; yet they’re still able to maintain the intimacy of a conference — not ‘NBAA II’. It works, via the likes of staffer Sandy Wirtz and an always-energetic NBAA team. This is also a conference steeped in volunteerism; it is argued that in the early years it was the effort of volunteers that kept it off life support. This year’s effort was led by committee chair Jenny Showalter (the pride you feel is like that with one of your own as you hear Bob and Kim talk about their daughter’s active role).

Virgin Charter made a splash … no Sir Richard. They gave away a safari. Cool idea; not sure, however, where in the world I would feel safe on safari in 2008. Popular, quite.

Despite the economic news of late, the mood at Schedulers was upbeat. The fuel folks and FBOs, for the most part, say January was static. There’s uncertainty in the air, but no quantifiable justification for it. Apparently, the question to ask is: Is the business world tentative, awaiting more bad news; or are we just experiencing the election year blues?

Finally, a planning calendar item: 20^th Annual NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers; January 13-16; Long Beach, CA. If you operate an airport-based business or airport that wants to be top of mind with business aviation, joining the 391 exhibitors from Savannah is a good start.

Thanks for reading. jfi

I saw a most disturbing video this week on AVSIG.

The video camera was focused on two girls in the back seat of a four-place general aviation aircraft in flight. One was throwing up into a bag. The other didn’t look much happier.

The pilot was—as we say down south—doing didos as this was going on. He pulled a negative G maneuver that had both girls rising from their seats. The girl with the bag kicked wildly with her feet during this, but, bless her heart, she kept the bag firmly in place. It was sad. I felt sorry for the girl, mad at the pilot.

The video drew many comments making it evident that the pilot has no friends on AVSIG. The nicest description of the pilot (we all assumed the pilot was male) was “Jerk!”

Much of the anger toward the pilot was because this type of thing is awful for the GA reputation. Those two girls will tell dozens of people each, and those dozens will tell more. Besides, we just hated it for the girls.

Later this week, in AOPA ePILOT, I read a plea from Phil Boyer that we all work together to improve the reputation of GA security. Seems there was a video on TV showing a Phoenix reporter opening the doors of not one, not two, but three unlocked GA aircraft on a ramp. With a blue jillion people worried about Cubs knocking down skyscrapers, this can really hurt. As Phil Boyer said, it is hard for AOPA to defend us unless we do our share. I have spoken for the City of Phoenix, Department of Aviation, and know that this must upset those hardworking people.

C’mon folks, let’s help ourselves a bit here. Anytime you see a pilot acting like a jerk, point out to him/her that this hurts us all.

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