Three ACRP reports will be highlighted during the discussion. The first is ACRP Synthesis 58: Airport Industry Familiarization and Training for Part-Time Airport Policymakers, presented by Rusty Chapman of Delta Airport Consultants, Inc.  The second is an ACRP synthesis project on airport organization, presented by Kim Kenville of Kim Kenville Consulting.  The third is ACRP Synthesis 18: Aviation Workforce Development Practices, presented by Seth B. Young of International Aviation Management Group, Inc.

Topics discussed will include training programs and industry familiarization for part-time policy makers; tools to help airport managers help keep up with current tools and practices; and various skill sets, training resources and educational opportunities for airport-operating entity jobs.

This webinar is sponsored by the ACRP and there is no fee; however participants must register in advance to join in on this learning opportunity. Interested parties should check out the event page on the Transportation Research Board website for more information.

For airport managers reading this information, please note that due to sample size and the inclusion of only domestic data, you may find that enplanements reported do not match your records. The primary value of the information is that it provides a benchmarking tool for you to compare general industry trends.

If you are new to these reports, we’re happy to share them with you. Mead & Hunt sends this data to our clients and contacts quarterly at no cost.

Reports are e-mailed to those who are on our contact list; however, the reports will also be included on this blog each quarter. Please contact me, Trina Froehlich, if you would like to be added to the e-mail list or for any questions about the air service reports.

Click the links below to access the December 31, 2012 regional reports.

Central Region (Airports in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska) Relative to the year ended December 31, 2011, passenger traffic in the Central region decreased less than 1  percent, while airline revenue, average fare and yield increased 4, 5 and 5 percent, respectively.

East Region (Airports in Washington DC, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia) Relative to the year ended December 31, 2011, passengers decreased less than 1 percent while revenue, average fare and average yield improved 3, 3 and 2 percent, respectively.

Great Lakes Region (Airports in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin) Relative to the year ended December 31, 2011, passenger traffic in the Great Lakes region decreased less than 1 percent, airline revenue increased 5 percent, average fares increased 6 percent and average yield increased 6 percent.

Northwest Region (Airports in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming) Relative to the year ended December 31, 2011, passenger traffic in the Northwest region increased 1 percent, airline revenue increased 4 percent, average fares improved 3 percent and average yields increased 3 percent.

Southeast Region (Airports in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina and Tennessee) Relative to the year ended December 31, 2011, passenger traffic in the Southeast region increased 1 percent, airline revenue increased 4 percent, average fares improved 4 percent and yield improved 4 percent.

Southwest Region (Airports in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) Relative to the year ended December 31, 2011, passenger traffic in the Southwest region increased less than 1 percent, while airline revenue, average fares, and average yields increased 4, 5 and 4 percent, respectively.

West Region (Airports in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada) Relative to the year ended December 31, 2011, passenger traffic in the West region increased 2 percent, while airline revenue, average fares, and average yields improved 3, 2 and 2 percent, respectively.

The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) will be hosting its 85th annual conference & exposition from May 19th-22nd. Thousands of airport and aviation individuals are expected to attend, including several members of our own Mead & Hunt team.

The 2013 AAAE Annual Conference will be hosted in Reno, Nevada, and will include keynote speakers such as Congressman Mark Amodei from Nevada, Bob Montgomery from Southwest Airlines, Andy Wirth from Squaw Valley USA and Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. from Allegiant Airlines.

The conference will be packed with exciting events and topics including financial advising for declining airport infrastructure resources, discussions about medium and large hub airports, using alternative energy to reduce operating costs, the newest airport security technologies and more.

Come visit the Mead & Hunt team at booth 712 to find out what is new with us in sustainability and GIS, or just to say hello and enjoy a piece of candy. Joining me at the conference will be Ron Engel, Andy Platz, Joseph Pickering, Ryk Dunkelberg, Peter Van Pelt, Matt Dubbe, Damon Smith, Kevin Mulcaster and Victoria Garmy.

Don’t miss this excellent chance to learn the latest on what is going on in today’s aviation industry from some of the best and brightest. Visit the AAAE Conference website to read the full agenda or to register.

Hope to see you in Reno!

Airport managers throughout the state met with assembly members and discussed aviation’s economic benefits to California, including the 1.7 million aviation jobs that make up 9% of total state employment.  A big tent on the north steps of the capitol brought together aviation organizations, including the American Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA),  Northern California Business Aviation Association (NCBAA), California Department of Transportation (CalTrans), as well as airport managers.

Mead & Hunt is a proud supporter of the aviation industry, and we were happy to attend this event to bring increased awareness on such an important topic.

The newly created airport manager position will oversee airport management and operations after the transfer of the Palo Alto Airport from the County of Santa Clara to the City later this year.

Swanson has ten years of experience in airport administration and facilities management as well as a Bachelors of Science Degree in Flight Technology with a specialization in Aviation and Airport Management from Central Washington University.

L-R: Jay Hietpas, Acting Director of MnDOT Office of Aeronautics; Chris Hugunin, Manager, FAA ADO in Minneapolis; Bill Towle, St. Cloud Airport Director.

At the 2013 Minnesota Council of Airports Conference, two Mead & Hunt clients were honored in Alexandria, Minnesota.

St. Cloud Regional Airport Director Bill Towle accepted the 2013 Governors Award this week on behalf of the airport, which has accomplished several large milestones in the past couple of years.

Several difficult projects have been completed, thanks to the combined effort of a great team: the Federal Aviation Administration, Minnesota Department of Transportation – Office of Aeronautics, the City of St. Cloud, the Airport Advisory Board, airport staff and the Greater  St. Cloud Development Corporation, and Mead & Hunt.

Albert Lea Municipal Airport was also presented with a MCOA Project of the Year award. The award honored a five-year improvement project that included the construction of a new 5,000-foot primary runway. A master plan update conducted by Mead & Hunt showed that the previous primary runway could not support current and future aircraft landing at and departing Albert Lea.

L-R: Silas Parmar, Mead & Hunt project engineer; Steve Jahnke, Director of Public Works from the City of Albert Lea; Jim Hanson, Airport Manager; Matt Wagner, Mead & Hunt project manager

Matt Wagner and Silas Parmar accepted the award on behalf of Mead & Hunt. After accepting the award, Matt spoke for a minute about the project, saying, “This project has been one of the highlights of my career, having been involved with it from the planning stages and design, all the way through final construction.”

This project helps the airport accommodate its users and has greatly enhanced its safety.

We’re proud to have helped both Albert Lea Municipal Airport and St. Cloud Regional Airport achieve their goals.

Dean is part of a panel that will  discuss environmental planning as it pertains to managing storm water management systems and deicing. Dean will be joined by Mark Ervin of Gresham, Smith & Partners, and Steven Corsi of the US Geological Survey. Moderated by Kevin Gurchak of the Pittsburgh International Airport, this webinar will run for 90 minutes and educate attendees on:

• Monitoring methods
• Reducing the environmental impacts of deicing materials
• Decision-making processes for appropriately sizing runoff management systems

The event, which is sponsored by the ACRP (Airport Cooperative Research Program), is free. The first hour will be designated for presentations, and the final 30 minutes will be reserved for questions and answers.

Mead & Hunt staff will be very busy over the next couple of weeks attending five different conferences ranging from Minnesota to North Carolina. If you catch up with any of our staff members at these venues, be sure to share your thoughts on Through-the-Fence (TTF) operations with them so we can consider your comments as we begin our development of the Airports Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) project on managing TTF.

The Minnesota Airports Conference will be held April 17th through the 19th in Alexandria. Bryan Page, Matt Wagner, Matt Dubbe, Tim Callister, Michelle Baird, Silas Parmar, and Paul Strege will all be in attendance, catching the latest updates on Minnesota aviation topics. Stop by our booth to visit with our staff to discuss the latest happenings in Minnesota.  An important topic that our staff want to dicuss is Through-the-Fence (TTF) operations  which is a hot topic that Mead & Hunt is working on for the Airports Cooperative Research Program (ACRP).

At the same time, Dennis Wiehl will be headed to Raleigh, North Carolina from April 17th through the 19th for the North Carolina Airports Association Conference. Catch up with Dennis if you see him at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Dennis Wiehl will head to the Southeast AAAE Annual Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, with Gary Siegfried to find out what’s new and important in the southeast region from April 21st through the 23rd.

Bryan Page and Evan Barrett will head south on April 24th and 25th to attend the Iowa Aviation Conference in West Des Moines. This conference is always packed full with great sessions that I’m sure will be very informative. Be sure to check in with Bryan and Evan at our booth.

And finally, rounding out the busy month, Mead & Hunt staff members from our Madison, Green Bay and Minneapolis offices will be attending the Wisconsin Aviation Conference April 29th through May 1st. Be sure to stop by and see who’s staffing the booth. Just like Iowa, there are usually great topics at the sessions and even better conversations to be had between our clients and staff members.

If you happen to be attending any of these conferences, be sure to catch up with our staff and let them know how 2013 is going for you so far and catch up on the specific happenings in your specific region.

Mead & Hunt welcomes Dean Mericas to its Austin, TX office.

It’s been a long winter and everyone I know is looking forward to real spring weather –

especially our airport clients who deal with snow removal and deicing. And although hopefully the snow will soon be only a memory, storm water management and the permitting issues associated with it pose year-round challenges.

In a continuing effort to meet our clients’ needs, we’re pleased to announce that Dean Mericas has joined Mead & Hunt to lead our aviation environmental compliance efforts. I’ve known Dean for years and am excited about him joining Mead & Hunt; I know he’ll be a great addition to our team. His leadership in deicing management is recognized nationally, as is his approach to innovative problem solving.

The experience and skills that Dean brings to Mead & Hunt are diverse, including coastal oceanography and marine fisheries work with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), lake and watershed restoration projects, and more than 20 years helping airports deal with the environmental impacts of deicing runoff. He’s widely published on the topic of airport storm water and deicing impacts and control, and is active in leadership positions with industry environmental committees, including ACI-NA’s Environmental Affairs Committee Steering Group and Water Quality Work Group; TRB’s AV030(3) Water Resources Subcommittee; and AAAE’s Environmental Services Committee and Water Quality Subcommittee. Having worked with Dean on ACI-NA’s Environmental Affairs Committee Steering Group, I’ve seen first-hand his approach to issues.

Rather than being a “cookie-cutter approach” type of guy, Dean’s respected for his skill as an integrator – understanding the connections between airport operations and environmental compliance requirements to develop sound conceptual solutions, and then working with technical specialists, planners and designers to implement those solutions.

As a self-described “gearhead,” he describes it as “evaluating what’s in the toolbox and knowing the best combination of tools for the job.” So while I sit and wait for the real spring weather to arrive, I’m also looking forward to Dean’s contribution to Mead & Hunt’s continued growth as a national leader in the aviation industry.

Are there specific deicing or environmental compliance topics you’d be interested in hearing about from Dean? Post your suggestions as comments and perhaps Dean can share some insights on this blog from time to time.

• Michael Harma has taken the helm in Ironwood, MI as the new manager at the Gogebic-Iron County Airport.  Michael comes to IWD with airport management experience in Wisconsin.

• Charlevoix Municipal Airport has a new manager: Scott Woody. Scott is the former manager at Gaylord Regional Airport in Gaylord, Michigan.

Congratulations to Michael and Scott on their new positions, and to IWD and CVX on bringing two experienced professionals to the helm of your airports!