@irports update -- Nov. 10, 2009

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	Nov. 10, 2009



			This Week In Summary JFK Terminal 5, Atlanta's Cugasi Win ACI-NA's Top Concession Honors» Appeals Court Refuses to Rehear Tinicum Township Case» Babbitt addresses the International Aviation Club» ACI-NA Discusses NextGen's Impact on Airport Planning at UC Berkeley» Airports Looking for Ways to Reduce Energy Costs» FAA's Airport Pavement Draft Circulating for Comment» FAA Updates DBE Stakeholders» ACI-NA Participates in National Council on Disabilities Meeting» @irports Update Back on Schedule Next Week» ACI Training Opportunities:» In The News ACI-NA Chief Urges Airports To Implement Environmental Management Systems» Travelers Spending More at the Airport» Porter Loses its Airport Monopoly » Southwest CEO: Airline to Alter Airport Landscape»


			Hot Topics
			JFK Terminal 5, Atlanta's Cugasi Win ACI-NA's Top Concession Honors ACI-NA today recognized John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 5 – JetBlue Airways as the Richard A. Griesbach Award of Excellence winner in the 2009 Airport Concessions Contest. John Cugasi, Director of Concessions and Retail, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, was also recognized as ACI-NA’s Concessions Person of the Year. The award presentations were made earlier today in Indianapolis at the ACI-NA Airport Concessions Conference, at which roughly 200 representatives of the North American airport concessions industry are in attendance. Inaugurated in September 2008, JFK's JetBlue Terminal 5 offers 22 restaurants and food outlets, 25 retail stores, and a large children's area. The 635,000-square-foot terminal was designed to handle up to 20 million passengers per year. Under Cugasi’s leadership for the last three years, the concessions program at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport exceeded $720 million in gross revenues in 2008, including car rental, food and beverage, retail and business services. The concessions program was recently awarded the 2008 Best in Atlanta Real Estate Award from the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and received the 2009 ARN Best Concessions Management Team Award. This year’s contest received more than 160 nominations from airports of all sizes throughout the U.S. and Canada. In addition to the Greisbach award, 19 other awards were presented. View JFK’s winning entry» View the full awards’ list» More coverage of the ACI-NA Concession Conference available on the Centerlines Blog» Appeals Court Refuses to Rehear Tinicum Township Case Pennsylvania’s Tinicum Township lost its latest – and perhaps final – court case in its attempts to impose a landing tax at Philadelphia International Airport. On Nov. 9, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Tinicum motion to rehear the case. The original three-judge panel that heard the case and a majority of the full court voted against the rehearing, according to the one-sentence opinion. Using a novel taxation theory, Tinicum had been seeking the right to impose a tax on commercial aircraft landing at the Philadelphia airport since part of the runways are in the township. The court has upheld that only the airport operator can levy landing fees on commercial aircraft. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is the last option available to the township. ACI-NA had joined in the legal proceedings in support of both the airport and the position of the Department of Transportation. Contact ACI-NA’s Monica Hargrove Kemp for more information» Babbitt addresses the International Aviation Club Posted Nov. 4 on Centerlines Blog by Jane Calderwood Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt spoke at today’s International Aviation Club Luncheon and opened his speech by announcing his topic was ‘dirt’. An interesting enough opening to get the room’s attention, especially when he explained it wasn’t Washington “dirt”, i.e. the latest gossip; he would be discussed but the “wipe your feet on the mat” dirt. He went on to use dirt as a metaphor for the proverbial bumps in the road that the aviation industry faces. Read Jane Calderwood’s complete blog entry» Read Babbitt remarks to the Regional Airline Association concerning safety» ACI-NA Discusses NextGen's Impact on Airport Planning at UC Berkeley Last week, Chris Oswald, ACI-NA Vice President of Safety & Technical Operations, gave a lecture, “NextGen and ATM Modernization: An Airport Perspective,” at the Nextor Airport Systems Planning & Design Course. Nextor, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) National Center for Excellence for Operations Research, sponsored the course at the University of California, Berkeley. Oswald’s lecture provided an overview of ongoing NextGen planning and implementation efforts and how they affect airport planning and design. As in other presentations ACI-NA has given on the topic, the lecture focused on how NextGen begins and ends at airports. The lecture also described the roles of major NextGen players, including the FAA, the Joint Planning and Development Office, and the RTCA and concluded with a discussion of key challenges associated with incorporating NextGen concepts into airport facility planning efforts in the near and mid-term future. View Oswald’s presentation» Contact ACI-NA’s Chris Oswald for more information» Airports Looking for Ways to Reduce Energy Costs The ACI-NA Finance Committee established an airport/airline collaboration working group in conjunction with Air Transport Association (ATA), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and their airline members. To date, this collaboration working group has had one face-to-face meeting and three conference calls in an effort to develop a process so airports and airlines can work together to increase airport operating efficiencies and thus reduce airline costs. Among an array of initiatives, one area discussed was efforts to reduce facility energy costs. The Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, the operator of Reagan National and Dulles International Airports, anticipates saving about $3 million next year on its electric bill. The authority recently joined the Virginia Energy Purchasing Governmental Association which will permit it to purchase electricity from Dominion Virginia Power at about a 20 percent discounted rate. The special rate was negotiated by the purchasing association. The Reagan National maintenance and engineering staff researched the issue for the authority. The working group is also referring airports to an Airports Cooperative Research Program digest issued last year, Model for Improving Energy Use in US Airports. Contact ACI-NA’s Liying Gu for more information» FAA's Airport Pavement Draft Circulating for Comment The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Oct. 30 released a revised draft of Advisory Circular 150/5335-5B, Standardized Method of Reporting Airport Pavement Strength – PCN, to the industry for review and comment. The draft makes substantive changes to the way the pavement classification number is determined and incorporates the improvements to the COMFAA program, which is used to calculate the PCN. The draft also includes a series of revised appendices that introduce a cumulative damage factor method for computing PCN based on equivalent traffic, facilitate converting existing pavement cross-section information to a standard cross-section required for PCN calculations, and update PCN calculation examples. The FAA has asked the industry to submit comments regarding the draft no later than Dec. 28. Contact ACI-NA’s Chris Oswald for more information» FAA Updates DBE Stakeholders A Disadvantaged Business Enterprise stakeholder meeting was held on Nov. 5 at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Office of Civil Rights in Washington. ACI-NA staff attended the meeting and several airport representatives participated by telephone. In an update, the FAA said that an interim final rule is expected by year’s end on the expiration or new term for DBE requirements for airport concessions (Part 23 programs) and that a final rule for certification reciprocity will not be issued until next spring. There was a discussion of mandating DBE objectives in projects funded by passenger facility charges. The Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC) is pressing for the inclusion. ACI-NA objects to the inclusion since that these are local funds and should be governed by local DBE regulations. While the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) does not have an official position, its representative stated that it supports the ACI-NA position. It was noted that several large airports, including Tampa and Atlanta, have supported the AMAC position and that several small businesses, non-profits and associations are reviewing the issue and may take official positions with Congressional committees. Contact ACI-NA’s Monica Hargrove Kemp for more information» ACI-NA Participates in National Council on Disabilities Meeting On Oct. 26-28, James Briggs represented ACI-NA at the quarterly meeting of the National Council on Disability. The council spent quite a bit of time discussing the National Summit on Disability Policy scheduled for July 2010 in Washington, D.C. The National Summit is an invitation-only working meeting to develop recommendations for guiding improvements in disability policy and programs for the next decade. The council also discussed its recently completed 514-page report “Effective Emergency Management: Making Improvements for Communities and People with Disabilities.” Relevant legislative and rulemaking matters discussed included the council’s work with Congress regarding disaster response, ADA rulemaking, the Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization (accessibility design, training, local governance), the Developmental Disabilities and Civil Rights Act, and the Assistive Technology Act (universal design, assistive devices). At the next quarterly meeting, Jan. 19-20 in Houston, Continental Airlines will make a presentation on airline accessibility for passengers. The National Council on Disability is a federal agency that provides advice to the president, Congress, and executive agencies regarding policies and programs for individuals with disabilities. Contact ACI-NA’s James Briggs for more information» @irports Update Back on Schedule Next Week ACI-NA offices will be closed on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veteran’s Day. @irports update will be published next week on its regular schedule, Nov. 18. ACI Training Opportunities: Concession Course Now Available Online The Online Learning Centre of ACI's Global Training Hub is now offering a Certificate in Concession Management course designed for staff engaged in managing concessions such as retail, food/beverage, duty free, services, parking and ground transportation and rental cars. Several ACI-NA members, including Atlanta and San Diego, have already used the course. Enrol online» Contact the OLC Manager Eddie Ragauskas for more information» Training Website Re-launched ACI has re-launched its training and staff development website. The Global Training Hub website has been re-written and streamlined for easier navigation. The new link: www.aci.aero/training The Global Training Hub remains a direct link from the ACI-NA home page. View the course catalog for all ACI classes» Next AMPAP's Management Training to be in Houston The next Air Transport System course -- the mandatory first-step in the ACI/ICAO Airport Management Professional Accreditation Program (AMPAP -- will be offered in Houston the week of Dec. 7-11. This class must be completed before students can progress to the rest of the six-course curriculum. Visit the AMPAP website to register on-line» Contact ACI's Paul Behnke for registration or more information» ^ Back to top



			Industry News Briefs
			ACI-NA Chief Urges Airports To Implement Environmental Management Systems Airports, Nov. 10, By James Ott Greg Principato, president of ACI-North America, is encouraging U.S. and Canadian airports to implement environmental management systems and consult the Sustainable Aviation Guideline Alliance database, a depository of information. (paid subscription required) View the complete article» Travelers Spending More at the Airport Indianapolis Star, Nov. 10, By Tom Spalding Concession sales per passenger are up at airports across the nation, according to the Airports Council International, which is holding its convention in Indianapolis this week. View the complete article» Porter Loses its Airport Monopoly The Globe and Mail, Nov. 10, By Brent Jang Downtown Toronto facility will open to competitors, but new tenants will have to go through Porter CEO, who is the chief landlord. View the complete article» Southwest CEO: Airline to Alter Airport Landscape The Business Journal of Milwaukee, Nov. 9, By Rich Rovito Southwest Airlines' entry into the Milwaukee market makes General Mitchell International Airport one of the nation's most competitive airports, with several airlines locked in an intense battle for customers, leading to cheaper airfares. View the complete article» ^ Back to top



			Events On Approach
			International Aviation Issues Seminar Dec. 3-4 The Fairfax Embassy Row, Washington Hotel Cut-off: Nov. 20 Airport Planning Redefined Course Dec. 7-9 and NEPA Practitioners Workshop Dec. 9-10 Westin Crown Center, Kansas City Hotel Cut-off: Nov. 25 International Aviation Issues Seminar: Hotel Cut-off Now Nov. 20 Join ACI-NA at the annual International Aviation Issues Seminar Dec. 3-4 at The Fairfax Embassy Row in Washington, DC. This annual seminar brings together top airport and airline management, government officials and consultants, to explore the latest developments in international air travel and trade, government air transport policies and negotiations and facilitation policies/procedures which impact airports' ability to retain and secure new international air service The ACI-NA Holiday Reception will be Dec. 3 at the Fairfax. All of the seminar sessions will be held at The Fairfax at Embassy Row. The cut-off date to receive the special group rate of $234 is Nov. 20. In order to make your room reservation, please call the hotel directly at (202) 293-2100. More details: Housing, sponsorships, and more» ACI-NA/ACC/FAA Airport Planning Redefined Course and ACI-NA/ACC/FAA NEPA Practitioners Workshop: Cut-off Date Extended ACI-NA, ACC, and the FAA will host this first Airport Planning Redefined Course at The Westin Crown Center in Kansas City from Dec. 7-9. The course will go beyond the Master Plan advisory circular to provide insights that will enable professionals involved in planning airport improvements to be more effective and better prepared in today’s environment. On the final day of the Planning Course there will be a half day joint session with attendees of the annual NEPA Practitioners Workshop scheduled for Dec. 9-10. This workshop will use detailed presentations along with interactive and collegial activities to educate you on key tenants of the NEPA process. Expect interactive discussion and workshop projects. All of the seminar sessions will be held at The Westin Crown Center. The cut-off date to receive the special ACI-NA group rate of $125 is Nov. 25. In order to make your room reservation, please call the hotel directly at (888) 627-8538. More details: Airport Planning Course: Housing, sponsorships, and more» More details: NEPA Workshop: Housing, sponsorships, and more» 2010 Insurance & Risk Management Conference The 2010 Insurance and Risk Management Conference will be held Jan. 13-15 at the Omni San Diego in San Diego. Join airport risk managers and insurance professionals for an in-depth program focused on critical risk management, insurance, and employee safety issues facing the industry. All of the seminar sessions will be held at Omni San Diego Hotel. The cut-off date to receive the special ACI-NA group rate of $219 is Dec. 21. In order to make your room reservation, please call the hotel directly at (800) THE-OMNI. View the agenda. Register online and save $35 More details: Housing, sponsorships, and more» See upcoming ACI-NA Events» ^ Back to top



			Committee Update
			NEPA Working Group The NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Working Group of the ACI-NA Environmental Affairs Committee is actively engaged in improving the environmental review process for airport projects. Over the last few years, the working group has organized NEPA-related training workshops jointly with the Airport Consultants Council and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This year’s “NEPA Practitioners Workshop” will be held Dec. 9-10, in Kansas City, Mo. and will immediately follow a new Airport Planning Redefined Course. A joint session of the two events will focus on integrating the planning and environmental review processes. The NEPA Workshop will focus on cumulative effects, air quality and conformity, indirect effects, and emerging environmental issues. The working group is also engaged with FAA in efforts to help improve the NEPA implementation process. Earlier this year, the working group provided FAA with justification and supporting documentation for eight federal actions to be considered eligible for categorical exclusions under NEPA. Adding actions that are rarely found to have significant environmental impacts will help streamline and expedite the environmental review process, as well as reduce airports’ costs for new projects. FAA is now reviewing that information. The working group has also sought additional FAA guidance in areas such as conformity with air quality standards. Participation in the working group is open to any airport or associate member interested in the NEPA process. Contact ACI-NA’s Jessica Steinhilber for more information» Learn more about ACI-NA Committees and Programs» ^ Back to top



			aci-na.org
			Our Blogs ACI-NA President Greg Principato continues to post from his travels in the Far East to attend the ACI World Assembly. See Airport Check-in» ACI-NA Research Analyst Miranda Horan reports that ACI World recently released its traffic statistics for September 2009, a report compiled from data provided by 168 worldwide member airports. See Centerlines Blog» Concession sales on the rise according to a review by ACI-NA of DOT data collected from U.S. airports. Sheila Owens, vice president of communications and marketing, reviewed these finding in a blog posted from Indianapolis. See Centerlines Blog» New Research Posted Enhanced Modeling of Aircraft Taxiway Noise: Airport Cooperative Research Program explores ways to model airport noise from aircraft taxi operations and examines a plan for implementation of a taxi noise prediction capability into the Federal Aviation Administration's integrated noise model in the short term and into its aviation environmental design tool in the longer term. Posted: 11/10/09. An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service: The Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board has released a report that explores the use of a survey administered to pilots in order to track safety-related incidents during air travel. According to the committee that produced the report, the survey should not be used to measure rates or trends in safety in the National Airspace System because deficiencies in several aspects of the survey design make the data gathered unreliable. Posted: 11/10/09. ^ Back to top



			Info Desk
			Airline On-Time Performance Improves in September Flights operated by the nation’s largest airlines arrived on time at a higher rate this past September than in either September of last year or in August 2009, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released Nov. 9 by the U.S. Department of Transportation. According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 86.2 percent in September, higher than both September 2008’s 84.9 percent and August 2009’s 79.7 percent. The monthly report also includes data on lengthy tarmac delays, flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays by the reporting carriers, as well as information on reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers, airline bumping and consumer service, disability and discrimination complaints. This report also includes reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers. View the complete press release and data tables» ^ Back to top



	In This Issue • Hot Topics» • Industry News Briefs» • Events On Approach» • Committee Update» • aci-na.org» • Info Desk»


	ACI-NA International Aviation Issues Dec. 3-4 Washington Airport Planning Redefined Dec. 7-9 Kansas City NEPA Practioniers Workshop Dec. 9-11 Kansas City



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	About ACI-NA Airports Council International-North America is the "Voice of Airports" representing local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. ACI-NA Associate members represent a wide variety of businesses that provide products and services to the aviation and airport industry.



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	ACI-NA 2009-10 Board of Directors Executive Committee G. Hardy Acree Chairman Director of Airports Sacramento County Airport System Sacramento, Calif. Frank R. Miller First Vice Chair Aviation Director San Antonio Aviation Department San Antonio, Texas Thella Bowens Second Vice Chair President/CEO San Diego County Regional Airport Authority San Diego, Calif. Thomas J. Kinton, Jr. Secretary-Treasurer CEO & Executive Director Massachusetts Port Authority Boston, Mass. John D. Clark, III Immediate Past Chairman CEO Indianapolis Airport Authority Indianapolis, Ind. Barry Rempel Ex-Officio President & CEO Winnipeg Airports Authority Winnipeg, Manitoba Directors Iftikar Ahmad Director of Aviation Dayton Department of Aviation Dayton, Ohio David. N. Edwards, Jr. Executive Director Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport Greer, S.C. Robert A. Hazel Partner Oliver Wyman Reston, Va. David Jennings Commissioner Charleston County Aviation Authority Charleston, S.C. Bradley S. Livingston Airport Director Dane County Regional Airport Madison, Wis. Richard McConnell Airport Director Boise Airport Boise, Idaho Reginald K. Milley President and CEO Edmonton Regional Airports Authority Edmonton, Alberta Brad Penrod Executive Director/CEO Allegheny County Airport Authority Pittsburgh, Pa.. Raul Regalado President & CEO Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority Nashville, Tenn. Mark Reis Managing Director Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Seattle, Wash. William Restall President & CEO Saskatoon Airport Authority Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Maureen Riley Executive Director Salt Lake City Department of Airports Salt Lake City, Utah Brian Searles Director of Aviation Burlington International Airport Burlington, Vt. Elsie Rast-Stuart Commissioner Columbia Metropolitan Airport Columbia, S.C.. William Vanecek Director of Aviation Buffalo Niagara International Airport Buffalo, N.Y. Mark VanLoh Director of Aviation Kansas City Aviation Department Kansas City, Mo. ACI-NA President Greg Principato 2009 World Business Partners/ Associates Board of Directors Executive Committee Robert A. Hazel Chair Partner Oliver Wyman Reston, Va. Laddie E. Irion Vice Chair Vice President/Director, Air Transportation URS Tampa, Fla. Immediate Past Chair Vacant Randall H. Walker ACI-NA Board Liaison Director of Aviation Clark County Department of Aviation Las Vegas, Nev. Directors Donald G. Andrews Vice President – Aviation Reynolds, Smith and Hills Houston, Texas Steven T. Baldwin Senior Vice President The Louis Berger Group Albany, N.Y. Leslie K. Cappetta President and CEO SSP America Lansdowne, Va. Armen DerHohannesian General Manager Armen DerHohannesian & Associates Hampton, N.H. Bruce Feuer Vice President, Business Development The Paradies Shops Atlanta, Ga. Kurt Krummenacker Assistant Vice President/Analyst Moody's Investors Service New York, N.Y. Deborah T. Meehan Chief Operating Officer SH&E Cambridge, Mass. David Naleway National Sales Manager, Aviation Jacobs Cypress, Calif. Mark A. Perryman President Landrum & Brown, Inc. Cincinnati, Ohio Randy D. Pope Associate Vice President, Aviation & Facilities Group Burns & McDonnell Kansas City, Mo.



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