Winning on the Hills
Posted on 06/15/2006
On Friday I was one of the three speakers at an aviation forum at Cuyahoga County Airport. The other two speakers were James Coyne, President of NATA (National Air Transportation Association), and John Mok, Director of Cleveland Hopkins Airport. John will be leaving the area shortly, but he will be missed. He has done an excellent job during his four years at the helm of Hopkins.
All three of us discussed the challenges that aviation, both commercial and general, face in the future, with the onslaught of higher fuel prices. While higher fuel costs do represent a challenge, they also represent some great opportunities. First of all, both the domestic airline industry and the general aviation industry can not go to China. Its here and its substantial! We need and want to go places and the aviation industry has a demand for its product. At the Akron-Canton Airport we see this as a great time to grow! As a cross country runner in high school I learned that the best time to pass your opponent was on the hills, the hardest part of the course.If I’m not mistaken, that is where Lance Armstrong wins his race, in the mountains!
So we are using this opportunity to pedal harder, to get ahead. This year you are going to see us come out with several more exciting initiatives on all fronts; from air service, to facilities, to marketing. Look for exciting announcements to continue as we pedal to the hills!
