Newsletter Graphic

January-February 2008

Canadian Airport Leaders Participating in the Canadian Aviation Security Conference

Several Canadian airport executives and CAC President and CEO Jim Facette will be among the speakers participating in the second Canadian Aviation Security Conference in Ottawa-Gatineau this March.

The tentative agenda includes Greater Toronto Airports Authority Director, Public Safety Jim Bertram, who will speak in a panel about the Canadian context of crime and terrorism at airports.

Also participating are Antoine Rostworowski,from Aéroports de Montréal and Jennifer Kooren from Vancouver Airport Authority, who will be speaking on self-service in aviation security and security surrounding the 2010 Olympics, respectively.

Jim Facette will join Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) President and CEO Sam Barone and another panelist on a plenary entitled "Sharing Skies, Sharing Risk."

Also scheduled to attend the event are Homeland Security Secretary Kip Hawley, former Australian aviation security csar Sir John Wheeler, Mexican Director General of Civil Aviation Captain Gilberto Lopez Meyer, CATSA President and CEO Jacques Duchesneau and former Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli. The Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Lawrence Cannon, also has been invited.

The CASC event is hosted by the Canadian Advance Technology Alliance and will be held March 5-6, 2008 at the Hilton Lac Leamy in Gatineau. More information about the conference is available on the CASC Web site.

PEOPLE
New President and CEO Announced in Halifax

The Halifax International Airport Authority has announced that Tom Ruth will be the company's president and CEO, a position that also includes a seat on the CAC board of directors.

Mr. Ruth has experience with two air carriers, Canadian North and Northwest Airlines; a container ship firm - Oceanex; and an international logistics company - Livingston International.

Mr. Ruth's appointment is effective Jan. 21. He succeeds Joyce Carter, who has been acting president since August. Joyce resumes her role as vice president, finance and chief financial officer.

Change of Chairs in Charlottetown

The CAC recently said good-by to an old friend and hello to a new one with the announcement that a new chair has been appointed to the board of the Charlottetown Airport Authority.

Cliff Campbell, outgoing chair in Charlottetown, announced mid-December that Gordon MacInnis, had agreed to become the new chairman (effective December 13, 2007).

The CAC thanks Cliff for his years of dedication to the CAC and wishes him an enjoyable retirement!

Gordon MacInnis

Mr. MacInnis brings a wide professional background to the position. He was born, raised and educated in Prince Edward Island, obtaining a degree in education. His career includes time as first an educator and later principal of Eliot River Elementary School.

At the same time, Mr. MacInnis started and managed Cavendish Maples Cottages, a four star resort located in the resort center of Cavendish. The couple still operates the business today.

Mr. MacInnis was elected to three terms as a member of the provincial legislature and served in provincial cabinet as Minister of Education, Minister of Tourism and Minister of Transportation and Public Works.

Over the years, Mr. MacInnis' passion for the travel and tourism industry has seen him assume committee and leadership positions in the Cavendish Area Tourism Association, the PEI Gasoline Dealers Association, the Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island, the new Tourism Advisory Council, and the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership. He also has served with several arts and community organizations.

The CAC welcomes Mr. MacInnis to his new position!

John Terpstra Joins YVRAS

John Terpstra has been appointed to the position of senior director, operations at YVRAS. In addition to portfolio responsibilities for Hamilton, Moncton and Nassau airports, Mr. Terpstra will provide leadership and guidance in the areas of aecurity and airline customer strategies.

Over the last 16 years at Calgary International Airport, Mr. Terpstra served in several senior management roles - senior director terminal operations, senior director airside operations, and manager security, safety and operational response.

He's also familiar with smaller airports, having been manager operations, maintenance and commercial development at Prince George Airport, and airport manager at Prince Rupert and at Watson Lake.

Mr. Terpstra is active in the airports community, recently chairing the Canadian Airports Council (CAC) Security Committee and participating in the CAC Air Policy & Facilitation Committee.

Mr. Terpstra joined YVRAS in Vancouver on Jan. 14.

MONTHLY NUMBERS

YOUR COUNCIL:
CAC Strategic Planning Underway

Strategic planning for the CAC for 2008-2011 is well underway, with a first edition of the plan going to the CEO Advisory Council in a meeting in Toronto scheduled for February 1st.

The plan is organized around three themes: Corporate Affairs, Public Affairs and Industry Affairs and 11 key results areas. One of elements contained in the plan included the continued use of technology as a way for the association to conduct its work more efficiently and effectively.

One of the initiatives in the plan is already underway. The Airport Link, launched to members in the fall, is already well-used by most active CAC committees and CEOs. Key goals for 2008 include maximising the effectiveness of The Link by increasing interactivity. The CAC also will begin work to broaden use of The Link beyond CAC members to the greater Airports Council International regional and world communities.

The CAC strategic plan goes to the board of directors in our April 2008 board meeting in Montréal.

Sector Council Studying Airport Role

The Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council, a sector council representing aviation technical workers, is preparing to launch a study on whether or not it can play a valuable role in the recruitment and training of technical workers in the airports sector.

As a sector council, the CAMC has developed standards for more than 20 specific technical occupations. In concert with accredited colleges, CAMC training programs have been developed for workers interested in a technical aviation profession. The CAMC also offers certification for workers, so that potential employers can know that they have a particular level of experience in the field.

In concert with a grant anticipated from Human Resources and Social Development Canada, the CAMC will initially conduct a study of the airports sector to evaluate whether or not there are certain professions that could benefit from the development of national occupational standards. The CAC has committeed to supporting the study.

Transport Canada Initiates Aviation Security Regulatory Review

Over the last few months, Transport Canada has been staffing a project team that will be responsible for reviewing all aviation security regulatory instruments under the Aeronautics Act and CATSA Act.

The project, which is anticipated to take between three to four years, is to renew Transport Canada's aviation security regulatory framework and instruments to be more risk and performance-based. The intent also is to have a comprehensive framework sufficiently broad in scope and flexible enough to address the evolving security situation over the longer term.

The CAC has participated in initial discussions with Transport Canada on this review and will participate on the Aviation Security Regulatory Review technical committee.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Some Work to Do Down Under

A recently released market report from the Canadian Tourism Commission reveals a significant amount of work is to be done if Canada is to increase its share of the Australian outbound tourism market. And poor air links are cited as one of the key competitive disadvantages Canada faces against its two big overseas competitors -- the U.S. and Europe.

While the number of travellers to Canada from Australia has continued to grow, Canada's marketshare has been dwindling.

According to the report, Canada has weaker air links with Australia than either Europe or the EU. Other factors impacting Canadian competitiveness were a perception of having relatively fewer important historical sites.

The Australia report, and other CTC market reports, can be found on the CTC Web site.

WHTI Spurring Americans to Explore Abroad

According to a recent poll conducted by Travelocity gauging consumers' travel plans for 2008, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) has actually inspired many to visit regions outside of the U.S.. Of respondents who obtained their passport for the first time in 2007, 66% traveled internationally, and 30% traveled beyond the regions included in the WHTI.

With 10.3 million passports issued in the first eight months of 2007 - a 37% increase over the same period in 2006 - travelers who may have otherwise chosen to stay stateside instead traveled overseas. 90% of survey respondents said they plan to travel internationally in 2008.

The majority of travelers (64%) are willing to sacrifice more flight choices if it means fewer delays. Almost half of travelers also said will try and avoid connecting flights at all costs; one in six said they would alter the times of day they typically fly; and 15% would consider booking through smaller airports to try to minimize problems.

Canada's Airports:
Working Together, Moving Forward

The Canadian Airports Council (CAC) is the voice for Canada's airports. Formed in 1991, as the devolution of airports to local control was beginning, the CAC has established itself as the reliable and credible federal representative for airports on a wide range of significant issues and concerns.

Canada's airports are engines for economic development in the communities they serve and one of their most important elements of local infrastructure: Our communities' vital links to intra-provincial, national and international trade and commerce. Our 43 members represent 150 Canadian airports, including all of the National Airports System (NAS) airports and most passenger service airports in every province and territory.

Together, CAC members handle virtually all of the nation's air cargo and international passenger traffic and 95% of domestic passenger traffic. The economic impact of CAC member airports is staggering. They create well in excess of $30 billion in economic activity in the communities they serve. And more than 150,000 jobs are directly associated with CAC member airports, generating a payroll of more than $8 billion annually.