Along the Way I Gave a Speech

I just returned from a three city, 11 day trip; starting in Las Vegas, continuing to Pasadena/Burbank and then to Denver.  Along the way I saw some beautiful things.  The Pasadena City Hall, which I saw from my hotel room there, is as beautiful a public building as you’ll ever see and the Rocky Mountains, which I could see from my room in Denver, are…well…the Rockies.  I saw some creepy things, in my room at the Planet Hollywood Hotel in Las Vegas was a kimono worn by Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs (it was in my sleeping room!).  I saw some things I’d always wanted to see, such as Dodger Stadium (the 35th Major League ballpark I’ve visited).  And, I saw one of my oldest friends and a former college roommate (talented fellow named Julius Thompson, he actually won the Gong Show!)

Delivering the opening address at Global Airport Cities last week in Denver.

I also saw, through the three venues, roughly 1,300 folks, most of them ACI-NA members.  In Las Vegas I saw our Environment and Ops committee members, in Pasadena I saw our Airport Board Members and Commissioners, and in Denver I attended the Global Airport Cities conference, where I saw a number of airport directors and leading executives of key companies that supply airports and their passengers with goods and services.

Whenever I take a trip like that, I am always amazed at the energy, vision and intelligence of the airport community.  And, I am thankful to work for an industry that does so much to connect us to the world and to each other.  And, I must say, it is great to work for an industry where we don’t have to spin our good intentions, they are at the core of what we do every day.

But our ability to invest in our future, and that of our communities, is endangered.

In Denver, I gave a speech answering those in the airline community, in government and elsewhere, who say we do not need to invest in our aviation future.  Who say that our market is mature; that there will be no more growth.  Who say it does not matter that our competitors are investing in newer, more modern, efficient, facilities; they are just trying to build what we already have, not to worry.

I think these folks are wrong, and a quick look at demographics, economics and history shows they are.  The U.S. will add the equivalent of the population of Japan in the next few decades; we are, as Fareed Zakaria said, the only demographically dynamic country in the industrialized world.  New businesses and new industries are being invented and created all the time.  Our economy is incredibly dynamic, even now.  According to the World Trade Organization, 50 percent of U.S. exports, by value, travel by air.  Do none of these things matter?

What some are saying right now reminds me of what steel and auto executives said after World War II.  We know how that turned out.  By the 1970’s and 80’s Capitol Hill was crawling with people representing both industries begging for protection.  I worked there back then, I saw them.  Airlines are already doing that, working against Export-Import Bank support for sales of U.S. aircraft to non-U.S. airlines (to be clear, I am not taking sides in this one; not something we are involved in.  But it IS an example of the aviation industry feeding on itself).

I pointed out that by not investing and by concluding that the future will be devoid of growth we can guarantee that we will be right.

Afterwards, I got a lot of nice comments.  That’s to be expected, most people are polite.  But the most interesting comments I got were from those who are either from some of the parts of the world that want to supplant the US as a global aviation hub, or from many who have worked in those parts of the world.  They agree that I am right.  You see, some in the U.S. may be complacent about keeping our dominance, or perhaps figure that it is assured till the end of their own careers.  But there are a lot of folks out there who have us in their sights.

I invite you to read the speech and share your thoughts.

We Spoke, They Listened

Sometimes you can’t tell if they are listening.  And, then, you get indisputable evidence that they are – and that what you’ve said has had an effect.

I had one such moment recently.

For years now, ACI-NA has been arguing for a number of initiatives to make travel easier across the U.S.-Canada border; and by extension all foreign travel into the United States.  We have pushed for the elimination of the redundant re-screening of bags when a traveler – American or Canadian – leaves from a Canadian airport and transfers at a US hub.  We have pushed for greater reliance on known traveler programs and use of information to speed the facilitation of travel from those who we know pose no threat.  We have pushed for visa reform and all sorts of other common sense initiatives to facilitate travel.

We know that international travel is a proven economic generator.  And, we want more of that.  We also know we live in difficult times, and have to best focus our security resources on known threats or travelers about whom we know very little.  And we need to find ways to do that.

A couple of weeks ago, President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed an agreement that includes a robust travel facilitation component.  Most of the ideas were identical to proposals we had made over the years.

During a trip to Ottawa I made last week, this was pointed out to US officials and it was confirmed to us that our proposals, and the arguments for them, were used to form the core of this initiative.  Someone, it seems, was listening.  And travelers from both countries, the economies of both countries, and the security of our transportation system will all be the better for it.

Speaking of people who have been dedicated to security and facilitation, I want to note, with great sadness, the passing of TSA Chief of Staff Art Macias.  Art was totally dedicated to TSA and its mission.  More importantly, he was one of those people who always “said what he meant and meant what he said” and made things happen.  Usually, if I was calling him, it was because we either needed something to happen or there was some problem we were hoping to solve/de-fuse before it became something that might be too hot to handle.  Every time, without fail, he either made things happen or he found a solution to whatever problem there was.  He never, in my experience with him, kicked a can down the road.  And he was always, it seemed, in a good mood.  And good moods can be tough to come by in jobs like his.

A couple of years ago, Art became a father.  My kids are grown, so I always enjoyed talking to Art about his child, watching him light up, and sharing stories.  It always took me back.  I don’t think I ever knew anyone who was more excited about being a parent than Art.  Though he never smoked, Art somehow developed lung cancer.  I am told that at the end, he was able to hang on for his child’s second birthday, dying four days later.  I also saw in an article about him that his last words to his wife were simply, “thank you.”

Art was a classy guy in a town and time with too few of them.  A great man.  Art Macias.  RIP.

We have a Good ‘Green’ Story to Tell, So Let’s Tell It

Greetings from Geneva. I’m writing this sitting by Lake Geneva during a break from the Aviation and Environment Summit, which includes representatives from every sector the aviation, from governments all over the world, and non-governmental organizations who advocate for pro-environment policies. Prior to this meeting, I attended two days of ACI World board meetings. So this is my first time outside during the daylight hours since Monday and I’m enjoying it.

World aviation leaders after signing Declaration Towards Sustainable Aviation in Geneva.

One of the greatest untold environmental success stories in human history has to be aviation’s success in mitigating its impact on the environment. It now, for example, takes 70 percent less fuel to fly from point A to point B than it did 40 years ago. Aircraft noise levels have been reduced to levels that were once hard to imagine. And airports, on the ground, have put into place numerous initiatives designed to reduce environmental footprint. Airports are, have been, and will be, excellent stewards of the community’s resources.

A lot of this has been accomplished outside government mandates. Fuel efficiency, for example, is driven by economic imperatives we can all understand. And as I said, airport initiatives are undertaken by airport managers who want to operate their facilities in an effective manner and as good members of the community. A number of those initiatives were profiled in two editions of ACI-NA’s publication, Going Green and Going Greener.

And, I haven’t even gotten to the fact that aviation is the most efficient (and safest) method of traveling long distances ever invented; nor to the fact that (as shown in ACI-NA’s Economic Impact Study) aviation is a powerful economic engine which not only improves standards of living but also helps generate resources to pay for environmental protection.

Picture from top of Cathedral St. Pierre in Geneva with the iconic fountain in Lake Geneva in the background.

But few seem to know this story. Someone yesterday said perhaps it is because when we talk about these things we are either defensive or technical. And that is right and we need to stop. We need to proactively tell the positive story and we need to do so in ways that appeal to, and are understood by, mass audiences.

At the end of the meeting, the leaders of the global organizations representing the world’s major aviation sectors signed a declaration describing goals and achievements and calling on government to work with us. Angela Gittens, Director General of ACI World, signed for airports.

We have a great story to tell and a great future to build. Let’s get started!

And now I have to leave the lakeside, go back inside, and lead a workshop on airport sustainability. More to come.

My Mother-In-Law and Alec Baldwin?

My blog’s headline today sounds like the title of a weird short story, or an even weirder dream, but allow me to tell you how my mother-in-law made me think of the stunt Alec Baldwin pulled on that recent flight.

Because of the wonders of aviation, my wife, sons and I are all out here in Champaign, Ill., to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday. Those are the kinds of events that don’t happen very often and due to our various schedules, we had a narrow window within which to travel out here together. Our flight was uneventful, as was the drive in from Indianapolis, and we are lucky enough to be here. And you see in the picture, she is happy we are here.

My mother-in-law at 90.

Why does this make me think of Alec Baldwin?

As you know, he forced a delay in his flight recently because he wouldn’t stop playing a game on his cell phone.

How many of the people on that flight were going to something like a 90th birthday party and maybe missed it because they missed a connection because of what he did?  What about people who were flying later in the day on that same plane which, by the time he was done, may have spent the rest of the day trying to catch up. Did anyone miss a once in a lifetime moment because of his rude, arrogant, selfish behavior?

And, his comments about the flight attendants reminding him of Catholic school teachers from the 50′s?  What’s that all about?  What an awful thing to say on so many levels.  Maybe one of those flight attendants will save your life someday.

And let’s face it, Mr B., if you weren’t rich and famous no one would turn a head to look at a middle-aged man with anger management issues and without, let’s say, matinee idol looks.

Now I’m not a big fan of all the rules about turning off electronics. I’ve forgotten once or twice and found when I landed my Blackberry was still on. But it is a rule and a very easy to follow rule. And 10 minutes or so later you can continue your game.

I often notice the rare mis-behaving passenger acts as if either he or she thinks they are the only person on the flight, or they act as if they are somehow standing up for the rest of us. Both dynamics seem to have been the case here. What a dope. I just hope no on missed an important, once in a lifetime memory.

A Great Deal of Optimism Found in Marrakech

I’ve spent the last week attending and participating in the ACI World annual conference. This meeting was originally scheduled for Cairo, but for obvious reasons needed to be moved.  As a result, the meeting was held in the beautiful city of Marrakech, Morocco.  The annual meeting of ACI Africa was also held there.

Normally, these meetings are scheduled years in advance. I recall at last year’s conference in Bermuda, the folks from Egypt were happily looking forward to hosting us. By spring, it became obvious the meeting would need to be moved. The people in Marrakech stepped up in a big way and have delivered an event that has benefitted the membership, while also providing an enjoyable experience and a glimpse into Moroccan culture and history.

Marrakech, Morocco

Winston Churchill spent a great deal of time here and did a lot of painting here. One time he brought Franklin Roosevelt here and told him it was the most beautiful place on earth.

Although the global airport industry has faced great economic challenges, not to mention the continuing threat of terrorist attack, I found a great deal of optimism in Marrakech. I have always felt that airport CEOs are among the best business people I have ever met and everything I have seen here confirms that. The industry is recovering from the body blows it has absorbed these past few years and it’s leaders are now determined to move forward.

One of the nice things about this conference is that ACI World raises funds from a number of it’s members in the developed world and uses those funds to make it possible for airport managers from some developing countries to be here.  For example, I spoke the other night with the airport manager from Eritrea. He is a very smart and determined fellow, and clearly felt he was able to benefit by his exposure to colleagues around the world, and to their best ideas.

One of the most interesting conversations I had was one of the shorter ones. I had the opportunity to meet the new chair of the airport authority in Libya. I congratulated him on what his people have accomplished and offered whatever assistance we could provide.  He looked at me and said, “We are now free.” Quite something.

This conference marked the last meeting as ACI World chair for Max Moore-Wilton. Max is the chair of the Sydney airport. He is smart, determined and full of enthusiasm and passion for the industry. He has made a real difference as chair. He will be succeeded by Yiannis Paraschis of Athens, who has been vice chair the past two years and has also contributed a great deal to the organization and industry.  Rick Piccolo, a past chair of ACI-NA, will be World Vice Chair the next two years.  Rick has done so much for the world organization these past several years and will do a great job in the leadership.

My friend and colleague, Maggie Kwok, the regional director from ACI Asia-Pacific, announced her retirement. Maggie has one of the toughest jobs in the ACI family, with a territory that extends from the Arab Middle East across Asia and the Pacific all the way to Hawaii.  She has done a terrific job and I will miss her. She is being succeeded by Patti Chau, who has worked for ACI Asia-Pacific for many years and will be great in that role. I look forward to working with her for many years to come.

I have attended every ACI regional conference this year except for the Asia-Pacific meeting. I have found, uniformly, a renewed sense of energy and optimism. I am personally upbeat about the future, and I know that when the airport world convenes again next year in the wonderful city of Calgary (together with the ACI-NA meeting) this feeling will only be enhanced and a great many new achievements will be celebrated there.

Lessons From Law Rock

Leif Erikson Statue and Me

Greetings from Iceland.  I’ve hung out with my new friend Lief Erikson, visited a lagoon full of hot blue water and hundreds of semi-clad people (I was not one of them), seen enormous glaciers, volcanoes and waterfalls and, twice, stood astride the European and North American tectonic plates. The people are friendly, the food (especially the lamb stew) is terrific and it hasn’t been too cold. Some call it a Nordic Hawaii.  I see it as a cross between Hawaii and Yellowstone. And it is as close to the east coast as California. I highly recommend it.

Thingvellir National Park

Today we visited Thingvellir National Park.  This is one of those places the tectonic plates meet. It is also a location of great significance to the Icelandic nation.

It was here that the newly independent nation of Iceland was proclaimed in 1944.  It is here that major national celebrations are held. It is also here that, at the end of the first millennium, the people and their leaders met to decide important matters of law and government.

They met at a spot called Law Rock (if you stand there you can imagine why they met there, the back drop is amazing and the vista spectacular).  The met for two weeks and disposed of all their business in that time.

Gullfoss Waterfall

For some reason (perhaps that I’m a dork), it made me think of the fact that we have not been able to pass a basic law like FAA reauthorization for four years.  Yes, things were very different back in those days and politics in contemporary America is a messy business – for good reason.  But still.  FAA Reauthorization.  The basic business of government.  A shutdown and 21 extensions?  I’m not saying we need to pass everything in two weeks every time.  But how about we aim for that when Congress comes back – a two year extension of current law passed in less than two weeks.

The Shutdown Viewed from the Heartland

Sometimes when things are really intense in Washington it is good to spend time outside the Beltway to see and feel what’s going on in the country.  That’s what I’ve been doing this week.

I began the week in Lexington, Ky., visiting with their excellent airport director Eric Frankl and having a chance to see their beautiful airport. Tuning in to both the national and local media it was plain that the FAA shutdown is an important story outside the Beltway. People are concerned about the jobs and the implications for our national transportation system. They have many questions, many about safety. (I always assure them that the safety of the system is being maintained, while also pointing out that many of the cancelled projects would have safety benefits  It is also a good chance to point out that these projects are paid for from dedicated revenue and that shutting down the FAA does not cut the deficit.)

Wes Hargis, Inside Tucson Business

I was in Lexington when my blog about the airlines raising fares to include the amount that would have been covered by the temporarily suspended ticket tax was posted. It generated a lot of comment, especially when on Monday night, the Los Angeles Times did a piece on it.

So, on Tuesday morning when I was touring the Louisville airport with their veteran airport director, Skip Miller, the blog came up in several conversations, including during a tour the great folks at UPS gave me of their operations center. The subject came up not just during the tour, and not just because of the blog.  It is clear that the FAA is a concern of a number of people; it is also clear that no one “out here” understands why or how we could have come to this point. The FAA should be the basic business of government and to not have it authorized seems hard to understand.

I am in Champaign, Ill., now, visiting my wife’s family (they are a four-generation University of Illinois family).  Yesterday, I was on a local station here, WDWS 1400, as part of a daily talk show, Penny for Your Thoughts, with a local broadcast legend, Jim Turpin.  Jim was the broadcaster for Illinois sports teams for more than three decades and still does a daily, two-hour talk show. We had a wide-ranging discussion and a number of callers. We talked about the FAA shutdown, also about security and a number of other important topics. The shutdown has been covered here in the local press.

To be honest, many people wonder if we can’t even keep the FAA open, what hope do we have for a solution on the debt crisis (by the way, I recommend a piece written on the CNN web site by Fareed Zakaria about the debt limit and how it is a crisis of our own making). After 20 extensions, I was pretty sure we’d seen everything. Turns out, that was just the pre-game show.

We at ACI-NA have been very active these past several days working with our members to collect stories about the impact of the shutdown and getting that message to the Hill and to the press. We also use the opportunity to talk about the wonders performed by airports on a daily basis and what could be possible if we remove the Nixon-era economic shackles placed on airports by federal law. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is famous for saying never let a good crisis go to waste.  The FAA shutdown never should have happened, but we are using the “opportunity” to tell the airport story and set the stage for better days to come.

ACI Regional Reunion in Montreal

Greg and ACI World Staff and Regional Directors

Earlier this week I traveled to Montreal to beat the heat, to escape the increasingly frustrating atmosphere in Washington and to visit the new ACI World offices. The ACI World organization moved to Montreal this past year; an important move as ACI World is the official airport representative at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and ICAO is based in Montreal.

Why is this important, you might ask? Well, ICAO sets aviation standards on a wide variety of important issues such as safety, security and environment. Increasingly, ICAO is delving into economic issues as well, so it is critical that airports be represented there and ACI World’s activities play an increasingly critical role in protecting and advancing airport interests. Angela Gittens, a true airport professional, leads ACI’s world efforts and has built an impressive team.

One of her initiatives has been to get the five of us who run the ACI regional offices together twice a year. In this way, our efforts are well coordinated and have benefitted airports and travelers everywhere. For example, ACI Europe and North America worked together with World on the matter of the European Commission’s poorly considered effort to lift restrictions on the carriage of liquids and gels. The Commission’s plan would have been unworkable and impacted travelers everywhere, and the work we did together helped stop this from happening.

While I was up in Montreal I also met with the U.S.  Ambassador to ICAO Duane Woerth. I first met Duane when he was President of the Air Line Pilots Association and he has been an important part of the aviation community for a number of years. He does an excellent job representing the U.S.  in Montreal. The big issues now are a push to impose an unworkable, impractical and counter-productive mandate for airport employee screening; as well as what to do about the European Commission’s effort to impose an emissions trading scheme that would impact airlines and travelers everywhere in a punitive way. These are issues that would affect all travelers and interests in aviation in a negative way and it is important that the country and airports are as well represented there as airports are represented by Angela Gittens and her team at ACI World.

Small Airports and Environment Conference

Earlier this week I was in Cincinnati, Ohio attending our joint Small Airports and Environment conferences.

The men and women who run North America’s smaller airports are a diverse lot. Some are on their way to senior management at large airports, but increasingly many of them make their careers at smaller facilities. There are many reasons for this; a big reason being that running a smaller facility, with much smaller staff, is a way for these airport professionals to remain directly engaged in all aspects of airport operations. Indeed, we ran sessions on issues such as environment, security, safety, concessions management and social media. These topics are all covered at some of our specialty conferences but often the smaller airports can’t send (or don’t have) staff to all these other events. That is why we provide this program specially geared to smaller airports.

During my first several years in this job, I spent a lot of time dealing with environmental issues. For various reasons, including a change in the national political climate (not the climate change pun), I spend much less time on them now (in contrast to my counterpart at ACI Europe, where environmental concerns including climate change, remain at the top of the list).  But that does not mean they are less important. Indeed, nothing can slow airport development faster than environmental concerns, which is a reason our industry has been so proactive on environmental issues. It is also worth noting that the U.S. EPA is considering several initiatives that could drastically increase the cost of airport development and operations with no real environmental impact. We have worked, and are working hard to shape the outcome of that work and I will have more to say in the months ahead.

I did hear a very interesting anecdote yesterday; there have actually been emergency calls placed by people who have seen planes flying overhead but couldn’t hear them and assumed the engines were out. Aircraft noise remains a tough political issue, in many ways made tougher by the advances in technology that have reduced real noise but not perceived noise.

Tomb of William Henry Harrison

Before leaving Cincinnati, I joined my brother (who lives in the area) for a trip to the grave site of William Henry Harrison, our 9th president and the 28th presidential grave site I’ve visited. He was president for only one month, having caught pneumonia while delivering the longest inaugural speech in history (2 1/2 hours). Yes, he almost literally talked himself to death!

Cleveland: Marketing & Communications Conference

I spent much of the week in Cleveland attending our annual Marketing and Communications conference and our Jump Start air service development event.

View from my seat- Indians game, Progressive Field

First a couple of words about Cleveland:  A more gracious host would be impossible to find. Ricky Smith, the airport director, and Todd Payne, the Marketing honcho for the airport and their people couldn’t do enough. They were just great. We had a wonderful event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (recommended) and Todd took me to see a game at Progressive Field, the 34th major league park I’ve visited (21st current park.) The Indians won and the ballpark was fantastic. We even got on the Jumbotron. If that wasn’t enough, Cleveland contains the gravesite of James Garfield, our 20th president (and the 27th gravesite I’ve visited.) His monument is the most ornate and nicest of all I  have visited so far.

President Garfield Monument and Burial Site

I’d only been to Cleveland once before, 20 years ago for a Democratic Leadership Council event where Bill Clinton delivered a speech that helped propel him to the nomination.  I’ve seen such change since the last time I was here; there is a lot of energy in this underrated city.

I’ve always believed marketing is one of the undervalued skills in any organization. Our Marketing and Communications Committee is among our most active and they put on a great conference. We are in a time when airports, individually and as a group, need to re-assess how we market our message and this meeting was full of great ideas. As you might expect, customer service and social media were two major elements of the discussion.

At lunch on Wednesday we presented our highest individual award for marketing excellence, the Ted Bushelman Award, to Tara Hamilton who does such a great job for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. I’ve known Tara since my days in Virginia state government and she does a great job.

We also had a presentation by wine expert Leslie Sbrocco. Leslie was wetting our appetites for the 2012 version of this meeting which will be held in Sacramento, right near California wine country. Leslie has two wine and food shows on PBS,  is a contributor on the Today Show and she really entertained us while educating us on wines.

The Jump Start event is sort of like speed dating between airports and airlines and this year we had more than a thousand meetings scheduled over a day and a half.  These meetings do sometimes lead to service, in case you were wondering; Oakland announced new Spirit Airlines service that grew directly out of discussions at last year’s Jump Start. Airports take their air service development responsibilities most seriously and this event offers a prime opportunity for airports and airlines to get together. Indeed, some of the most productive conversations happen in the hallway or the surrounding food and beverage establishments. This year a record number of meetings were scheduled.

A final unrelated note:  Clarence Clemons died earlier this week. He played the saxophone in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street band and his sound can be heard through much of Springsteen’s music. That music has formed the sound track for many key parts of my life. One of my great college memories is being on the quad on a nice day with Springsteen blaring out someone’s window. Clarence’s sax was a big part of that. Clarence Clemons, for playing so memorably on the sound track of my life, RIP.