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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-06-15 Airport Committee Minutes Meeting Agenda City of Bangor Airport Committee Meeting City Council Chambers rd 3 Floor June 15, 2011 5:00 The following City Councilors were in attendance: Gerry Palmer; Nelson Durgin; Richard Bronson; Cary Weston; Geoffrey Gatwick; and Pat Blanchette. The following City staff were also in attendance, Airport Director, Rebecca Hupp; Assistant Airport Director, Tony Caruso; and Marketing Manager, Risteen Bahr. Gene Richardson, President of Maine Aero was also in attendance. Councilor Palmer opened the meeting. Agenda: 1. Proposal for Additional hangar Rental from Maine Aero. Airport Director Rebecca Hupp notified the Committee members that Maine Aero Services submitted a proposal to the Airport for the lease of some additional hangar space. Councilor Gatwick moved the Committee go into Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Councilor Durgin. Information regarding the proposal was presented to the Committee as part of the Executive Session. Following the Executive Session, the Airport requested the Committee authorize the Airport to negotiate a lease for in a form reviewed and approved by the City Solicitor. Councilor Gatwick made the motion to approve. Councilor Durgin seconded the motion. 2. BanAir Management Contract Director Rebecca Hupp introduced the agenda item by explaining the BanAir Corporation handles the lease management and marketing of the Airport’s non-aeronautical property. As required by their contract, BanAir has notified the Airport of its desire to extend the agreement for an additional five years. City Solicitor Norman Heitmann indicated that since this item involved contract negotiations, the item should be discussed in executive session. Councilor Gatwick moved the Committee go into Executive Session. The motion was seconded by Councilor Bronson. Following the Executive Session, staff requested the Committee recommend to full Council for approval authorization for the Airport to enter into a two year contact with BanAir Corporation. Councilor Bronson made the motion. The motion was seconded by Councilor Weston. Industry Update/Overview and Passenger Statistics for April and May Marketing Director Risteen Bahr indicated that passenger travel at BGR was up for the months of both April and May. Airline seat capacity also increased. In the upcoming summer months the airlines do have additional flights and larger aircraft scheduled. 3. Business Development Activities A. European Customer Visits- Assistant Airport Director, Tony Caruso, attended the Air Cargo Europe (ACE) conference. This show is an excellent meeting point for customers, shippers, freight forwarders and service providers from many key markets and provides a place to discuss air cargo operations and products. At this year’s ACE event there were over 200 exhibitors representing 35 different countries. During this event Tony met with Atlas Air, Ruslan/Volga Dnepr, Cargoitalia, UPS, Southern Air, Polet Cargo, Global Aviation Holdings, Air Charter Services, Cargolux and National Air Cargo. All of the meetings proved to be productive as our customers continue to recognize Bangor Aviation Services as the Leader in the tech stop business and will continue to rely on our airport for diversion purposes. At this event, Tony had the opportunity to review options with Cargoitalia, which will be operating scheduled Chicago and New York cargo routes from Milan. This cargo carrier plans to utilize BGR for technical stops or diversions. Tony also traveled to London for customer meetings. He met with Ruslan at their headquarters in Stansted. At this meeting, we were able to sign a new Standard Ground Handling Agreement for three years. Tony also had the opportunity to visit with Tomsonfly Airlines and Monarch Airlines, both based in Luton. Overall the trip was very productive and solidified relationships with existing customers and identified a couple of potential new opportunities. B. European Business Aviation Conference and Exposition- the Bangor International Airport exhibited with a tradeshow booth at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exposition. It is important for Bangor to maintain a presence at this venue, given the Airport’s position as the leader in Tech-stop excellence and our European customer base. With 12, 751 attendees from 108 countries (an increase from last year’s 11, 186) and a record 511 exhibitors, this shows’ success is becoming a barometer for the industry’s global support. This trade show continues to be an effective way for BGR to meet with several customers in one location and network with many of our industry partners. C. Update on meetings with Delta, World Airways and North American - Airport Director Hupp, indicated that she met with all of these carriers during her visit to Atlanta. Delta will be increasing capacity this summer with upgrading aircrafts serving the market from 50seats to 65 seats. World and North American are both operated by parent company Global Aviation Logistics. These are the carriers that operate military charter flights via BGR. We anticipate BGR’s military flights will decrease over the next year due to the draw-down of military in the Middle East. Global confirmed that they are also forecasting a decrease in this traffic segment. The Airport continues to explore other opportunities in the future for charter flights. D. Airports Council International Airport Air Service Development Conference – Next week, Risteen Bahr will be attending the conference and has several airline meetings scheduled. We will present more detailed information at the next meeting. E. Airport Customer Forum- The Airport has been hosting this event for three years. The forum brings our customers to Bangor to tour our facilities, meet with vendors and see our State. The Airport obtains sponsorships for the event from area hotels, airport concessionaires and the Airport’s fuel supplier in order to defray the cost of hosting the event. There will be 15-20 people attending. F. Brunswick Fly In - Bangor International Airport exhibited at the 1st annual Brunswick Fly-In. This event targeted the General Aviation and private pilot market in Maine. Bangor offered a one- time fuel discount for pilots who showed their “passport” prior to fueling. This is one component in developing relationships with this customer segment. Some of the questions that were asked concerned our FBO operating hours, what type of commercial traffic operated out of Bangor, and the price of fuel (Avgas & Jet A). Overall, the show went well and we intend to exhibit again next year. 4. Review of Airport Advertising Campaign Airport Marketing Director Risteen Bahr discussed the campaign for this year. Each June, the Airport implements a new advertising campaign. This year’s theme was “send yourself”. The strategy highlights that you need to get on an airplane and “send yourself” in person rather than simply using instant messaging, text messaging, twitter, facebook, ect. The commercial is thirty seconds. Councilor Bronson and Gratwick both commented that they liked the advertisement. 5. Progress Report on Improvements to Checked Baggage Security Screening Airport Director, Rebecca Hupp indicated that the Airport has $100,000 planning grant from TSA for this project. The Transportation Security Administration has provided a grant to the Airport to design an improved checked baggage screening system. The council approved a contractor with Fennick McCredie Architecture for this project as they are doing related work as part of the Airport’s Passenger Facility Charge Program. Rebecca will discuss more of this in greater detail at another meeting when the Airport is further along in the planning process. 6. Airport Improvement Program Project Update and Committee Approval Airport Director, Rebecca Hupp discussed the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). This particular AIP project is for the reconstruction of the trench drain by the Gate 2 Area. This AIP project is funded through the FAA and requires committee to authorization to accept the grant funds. Councilor Blanchette made the motion. The motion was seconded by Councilor Durgin. There were no Questions or Comments. Meeting adjourned.