Houston's Perfect Position
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Houston’s Perfect Position Genaro Peña, Director of Marketing airports during a time when candi- flights with the carrier cur- for Houston Intercontinental Airport dates like JFK and MIA and others rently now offering daily in the USA State of Texas dubbed are fading. nonstop service to Dubai. “Lone Star,” likes to describe what Genaro Peña however knows that Emirates is handling ap- is happening at IAH right now as the run up to getting the attention of proximately 16 tons of air “the perfect position” as carriers of Emirates and Cathay Pacific, Korean cargo out of Houston and every size ramp up service to the Air, EVA, China Airlines and some bringing in roughly 10 tons, gateway. players to be named later actually on each flight. He is also one airport execu- is the result of some best-laid plans “During 2007 Houston tive that is unafraid to address and to see this prairie gateway take its Airport System (HAS) moved seek solutions for some of the most rightful place amongst the greatest 52 million passengers and pressing issues confronting air cargo airports in the world. over 387,000 metric tons of today. Genaro Peña is an understated air cargo. Earlier this year at the Cargo Net- guy of specific goals who radiates “But as 2008 took off, work Services (CNS) Conference in class and distinction. HAS kept the pace up with Florida he added his voice and opin- No matter what the situation, he even more increases as ion to a panel discussion dealing with is ever deferential, pleasant and total freight tonnage grew airport and air cargo security noting: decent. by more than 6.3 percent, G“I am concerned that ever escalat- He also knows how to read the year-over-year with international offer access to more than 115 domes- ing costs will create even more down- tea leaves. passenger traffic up as well by 5.1 tic and 73 international destinations ward pressure on airport operators If it is raining elsewhere it’s also percent during January.” from Bush and Hobby airports,” Mr. just a short time away from a sunny The Houston Airport System (HAS) Peña confirms. day is the feeling you get when he is (William H. Hobby Airport, Ellington “Many air carriers consider Hous- explains what draws carriers to the Field and George Bush International ton as primary gateway into the Unit- bright star in the Lone Star State. Airport. ed States and the rest of the world. Mr. Peña describes IAH as being “IAH is one of the few airports “IAH, for example, offers the high- in perfect position as evidenced by in the nation primed for significant est number of weekly flights and the accelerated run up of new airline growth. serves the most Mexican destinations services unmatched by any other “Our 10,000 plus acre complex than any other airport in the United gateway in America right now and means we have room to grow. States. few others in history. “We have been anticipating the “What we are finding now is that It seems that the world’s airlines needs of our growing cargo and pas- many Asian and Latin American busi- have discovered this place all at senger base and that led to construc- nesses are looking for better ways once. tion of a fifth runway,” he said. to converge their markets,” Mr. Peña For Video Interview “In the first place it is certainly a “We have been very fortunate in explains. huge plus to be home base and ma- benefiting from such positive traffic “Literally, since China Airlines and Click Here jor hub for Continental Airlines, one increases over the years, but we can’t Korean Air Cargo inaugurated their of the most respected carriers in the deny that a large part of our growth services to Houston we have been during a time when everyone is trying world right now.” has been due, in part to the central getting more inquiries about new to balance doing what is needed and Continental will launch nonstop location of our city. routes.” right against pressures to increase thrice-weekly service Houston-Rio “The fact that our neighbors to the Singapore Airlines arrived this margins,” he said. de Janeiro on December 17. north and south are just a direct or past March connecting Houston to Houston Intercontinental Airport Barely two months after launch- nonstop flight away makes Houston Moscow, Russia and Singapore with has moved itself into some kind of ing new services into IAH, Emirates a destination not to be ignored. four weekly flights. upper star status amongst all USA Airlines added four additional weekly “Today several dozen air carriers Just last month Cathay Pacific Airways launched three weekly, Coming Attractions At LAX all-cargo flights to Hong Kong from Total weekly departures at LAX ity to Toledo (freighter service only Houston. The new service marks the first are expected to fall nearly 20% in in northwestern Ohio}, and upped scheduled all cargo flights to Hong November compared with a year our Houston flights in February from Kong from Houston and will become earlier. Deepest cuts have come thrice weekly to daily.” the fourth scheduled Asian, all cargo from U.S. carriers such as United Leading the LAX EK Cargo team connection from IAH. Airlines and Delta Air Lines that is Cargo Manager Siegfried Meyer, a Qatar Airways is scheduled to be- once again seem to be look- known and respected cargo execu- gin service IAH-DOH March 2009. ing in other directions, as Emir- tive at the gateway. Senior Cargo But Mr. Peña admits that there are ates launches first ever non-stop Agents are Anna Brown and Shalonn some challenges as well. flights via a B777-200LR, offering Bland. Cargo Supervisor is Alfredo “We have a 60,000 square foot up to 10 tons of cargo capacity in Limon, who also has many years of facility that is just ideal for operating each direction from Los Angeles Southern California air cargo experi- a perishables center and we have to Dubai on October 26. ence. been searching for the right opera- Speaking about Tinseltown “Response anticipating the new tor,” he says. services Emirates Divisional Se- service has been great from custom- “We know that our gateway is nior Vice President Cargo Ram ers, who have wanted a direct link ready as a viable addition for the Menen told ACN/FT: from the U.S. west coast to Dubai,” perishables trade to and from Mexico “Emirates SkyCargo is very Mr. Meyer said. as well as Central and parts of Latin committed to the U.S., which has In December Emirates adds a fifth America.” proved a very successful market USA destination as San Francisco/ Mr. Peña notes that his Houston odyssey has been some 14 years in for us. Dubai flights are scheduled to com- The Emirates SkyCargo LAX the development and making, so that “New York, among other things, is mence. the recent addition of new carriers can team has the experience and the the launch route for our A380 super From the Americas, Emirates also chops to get the job done. Pic- be expected to be followed with other jumbo aircraft that now calls at JFK. serves Toronto, Canada and São exciting and otherwise well thought tured (l to r) are Siegfried Meyer, “In June of this year we dou- Paulo, Brazil with scheduled servic- out and planned ground-breaking Shalonn Bland and Anna Brown. bled our weekly all-cargo capac- es into Dubai. developments as well. GDA The Original Volume 33 An American Family-Owned Air Cargo Publication Since 1975 Number 10 Where Do We Go From Here? Perfect Bull Perfectly Ingo View The Perfect Letter “I am a bull on air If romance is your thing, Don’t bet against Mau- freight,” say’s U.S.-based there is one last romantic rice Flanagan, the found- Julian Keeling, whose place left in busy Cargo ing chief executive and wholesaling air freight City South at Frankfurt current vice chairman company, Consolida- Airport. of Emirates Airline not tors International (CII), A company called seeing “the airline” and deals with hundreds of “Cargo Immobilien” Gateway Dubai emerge forwarders of every size that has been construct- as absolute tops in the and type. ing cargo facilities here world. Keeping his fingers Ialmost as fast as Rhe- DSeldom has the airline firmly on the pulse of in-Main Airbase was business delivered an the industry, Keeling returned to Germany executive with the clout, says that “while the heady in 1994, created a real class, heart and longevity growth of air cargo in the beauty a couple years of Maurice Flanagan. eight to ten percent range predicted“ at the beginning of ago in 2006. He also manages to put into a few eloquent words the year now is seen as much too optimistic, I expect a Building 641 in Cargo City South is all offices, no what most of the rest of us struggle to mangle into modest rise in volume of about two to three percent. warehouse. paragraphs. “Much of our freight consists of high value industrial Ingo Zimmer, top executive of GSSA ATC landed The words are poetic and worth reading over and items and hi-tech components and finished products. in the catbird seat as ATC occupies the entire top over. “These are continuing to sell reasonably well in U.S. floor of 641. For those keeping track, handler par Dear Geoffrey, and world markets,” he stated. excellence ATC Germany serves some 30 carriers from Any useful thoughts I might have on “Where Do We He contrasted the comparative strength of air all continents with a team of 20 sales and customer Go From here?, could be written on the back of a very freight with ocean shipping, particularly on the im- professionals.