Good Ideas to Pass Along

We’ve been getting a lot of press releases lately reporting individual airports’ annual passenger counts. And the news is good! As an industry, it looks like 2015 could be the best year ever for passenger traffic here in North America. Not to be outdone, it’s a great time to be one of the major airlines, too. Their profits may top $30 billion, roughly double what they earned in 2014.

Given the market conditions, you’d think it would be easy for airports to tap into funds necessary to build for the future, right? Not necessarily. The PFC has been stuck at the same cap for years, and there aren’t enough AIP dollars for everyone. This leaves airports behind when it comes to funding projects needed to accommodate the passenger growth we’ve been experiencing. 

So what’s an airport to do? Not surprisingly, there isn’t one easy answer. It all depends on each airport’s particular circumstances. And that’s why we bring you issue after issue filled with articles about how airports throughout North America are funding and executing successful projects.

In this edition, learn how Lafayette Regional Airport in Lafayette, LA, used a project-specific, short-term sales tax to fund a new terminal. The story details how airport and local leaders worked together to solve the project’s funding shortfall. Just as important, airport officials were able to effectively communicate their vision to the key influencers and voters of Lafayette Parish. While this may not work for your airport, we’re hoping the article inspires you to tap unique funding sources that will.  

On another topic, I want to send a shout out to ACI-NA for a highly successful CEO Forum. Attendance was greater than in 2015, and the content was spot on. 

Cheers,