Paul Benoit

2010
Ottawa International Airport Authority
Annual Public Meeting
May 10th, 2011
Hilton Garden Inn, Ottawa
Remarks by Paul Benoit
President & CEO
Administration de l’aéroport international d’Ottawa
Assemblée publique annuelle
le 10 mai 2011
Hilton Garden Inn, Ottawa
Allocution de Paul Benoit
Président et chef de la direction
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Bonjour à tous. Merci de vous êtes joints à nous pour ce bilan de 2010, une année qui s’est
avérée très stimulante pour nous tous.
First, and most importantly, the economy returned to better health.
Setting the stage were passenger volumes that grew by 5.7% for a total of 4,473,894 – A
Record Year!
Nos résultats constituent un baromètre, si vous me permettez cette comparaison, de la
vigueur de notre économie locale.
Bien que notre région n’ait pas été épargnée par la récession, elle a été moins touchée
que le restant du pays et les États-Unis.
Business decisions made by our airline partners support that opinion. Their confidence
in the local travel market was backed up with added capacity and new services for our
community.
Durant l’année, trois nouvelles destinations se sont ajoutées à partir d’Ottawa :
Air Canada dessert dorénavant Regina; US Airways, Charlotte, en Caroline du Nord, et
WestJet, Las Vegas.
Plusieurs lignes aériennes, notamment Continental, WestJet et Porter, ont aussi
rehaussé leur capacité.
Nous sommes honorés de la confiance des transporteurs aériens envers la région de la
capitale nationale et notre aéroport, et nous nous réjouissons à la perspective d’un
dialogue continu en ce qui a trait au développement de nouveaux services aériens.
Au bout du compte, nous sommes tous avantagés par l’amélioration des niveaux de
service et une compétition accrue sur le marché.
Serving more passengers means added stress on facilities.
As transborder and international passenger volumes grow, so does the need for more
efficient processing in areas such as the Canada Border Services Agency space.
To ease congestion, the Authority worked with CBSA on a project to improve
processing time and ease congestion in Canada Customs.
Early work was completed in 2010, just prior to the seasonal rush, including the addition
of inspection booths to the primary inspection line – an increase from 8 to 10 positions,
improved queuing, revised access to Citizenship and Immigration Canada and improved
circulation for connecting passengers – and this fully paid for by the Airport Authority.
To further assist in this area, we urge CBSA to move rapidly forward with the full
implementation of automated passport readers at airports.
This is essential and urgent, if we are to maintain our level of service.
President’s Remarks, Annual Public Meeting
Ottawa International Airport Authority
th
May 10 , 2011
An area that has been increasingly stressed and operating at near capacity levels is the
Parkade.
To address the issues, a $35 million expansion project was launched in May.
The expanded space, which has been opening in phases, will ultimately add 850 new
spaces, a new entry and exit plazas and a roof over the entire structure.
Finis les jours où il en coûtait autant de stationner en plein air sur le toit qu’à l’abri au
rez-de-chaussée, et fini l’époque où les voyageurs se demandaient si leurs véhicules
seraient enfouis sous la neige au retour de leurs vacances au soleil.
D’autres projets viendront agrémenter l’expérience de notre clientèle dans notre
aéroport et ajouteront à son confort, et ce sera le cas des rénovations majeures
apportées au restaurant et bar Senate Chambers situé dans la salle d’embarquement
des vols transfrontaliers.
There was also activity elsewhere on airport lands, including more development at the
corner of Hunt Club and Riverside.
The transformation at that corner has been happening for a few years now.
First, we watched the opening of the T&T Supermarket, followed by several stores in
the attached mall.
In 2010, Second Cup, Harvey’s, Bambu, Moxie’s Classic Grill and a few other fast food
restaurants opened for business.
Watch for more development this year as an Irish pub and a bank are added to the mix.
We also leased a large parcel of land at the corner of Uplands and the Airport Parkway
to Shenkman Corporation for the construction of a 21,000 square metre trade show and
exhibition centre.
Work commenced on the land in November and is expected to be completed this year.
L’ensemble de ces développements et de cette croissance a contribué à notre meilleure
situation financière, ce qui nous a permis de faire des investissements majeurs dans
d’autres volets de nos activités.
En octobre, l’Administration a présenté les nouvelles acquisitions de son parc de
véhicules, soit trois nouveaux véhicules camions d’incendie pour le Service de
sauvetage d’urgence de l’aéroport et sept nouveaux véhicules de déneigement
multifonctionnels.
Ces nouveaux véhicules représentent un investissement de 11 millions de dollars dans
l’amélioration de la sécurité et de l’efficacité de nos installations aéroportuaires.
President’s Remarks, Annual Public Meeting
Ottawa International Airport Authority
th
May 10 , 2011
The ERS fleet renewal began in 2009 with the purchase of a new Command Vehicle,
and was completed last fall with the arrival of three new Rosenbauer Panther 6 by 6
vehicles.
Each features greater water and foam capacity, representing an increase in firefighting
capacity of more than 30%.
Each snow removal unit includes a snow tractor, sweeper and cradling broom and
features a 24 foot plow and 22 foot sweeper that together, can clean 120 to 140 foot
runway widths in one pass.
What this means in practical terms is that the total time to clean a runway is reduced
from 40 minutes to approximately 15 minutes.
So on to our exciting news from 2010.
Apparently many of our passengers were pleased last year!
So many, in fact, that as I’m sure by now you’ve heard, the Ottawa International Airport
was named first in the world among airports that serve between two and five million
customers per year!
Je dis bien “Première Place dans le Monde!”
This award was determined by the Airport Service Quality customer satisfaction
benchmarking program that surveys customers 4 times a year, regarding 34 aspects of
the airport experience including areas such as check-in, security processing, service at
concessions, airport cleanliness, availability of baggage carts and airport ambience, to
name just a few.
Nous participons à ce programme depuis six ans et au fil des années, nous avons tenu
compte des commentaires reçus et avons essayé d’apporter des changements quand
cela était possible.
Mais surtout, nous avons partagé les résultats de ces sondages avec nos partenaires
de l’aéroport afin qu’ils sachent ce que pensent et disent nos clients de leurs services.
Cela peut sembler anodin comme initiative, mais nous avons ainsi démontré à nos
clients que nous étions vraiment à leur écoute.
Ces six années d’effort concerté en vue d’offrir à nos clients une expérience de voyage
conforme à leurs attentes ont porté fruits et nous en sommes très fiers.
The pride includes the contribution of our airport partners and their employees, our
volunteers, and of course our Airport Authority employees.
And our gratitude extends to everyone involved, including our customers who took the
time to express their pleasure and confidence in our airport by filling out the surveys.
President’s Remarks, Annual Public Meeting
Ottawa International Airport Authority
th
May 10 , 2011
We were honoured last year with several other awards as well.
The airport’s concession program was lauded by international publishing group “Airport
Revenue News” at their annual conference in the small airport category with the
following:
Best Concession Program Design
Best Overall Concession Program and
Best Concessions Management Team.
Ottawa Tourism recognized our partnership with Air Canada to market our Frankfurt
flight with the Tourism Partnership of the Year.
And finally, the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce bestowed the honour of 2010 Company
of the Year to the Airport Authority.
So where do we go from here?
There are a couple of areas that have our attention for 2011 and beyond.
The most important is security.
World events dictate that we constantly evaluate and revaluate our security programs.
Our ongoing security programs are developed with a holistic approach, using valid
intelligence, proven technology and specialized resources with a view to “hardening” the
airport where possible.
As we move forward, we are particularly concerned by the direction the federal
government is taking vis-à-vis security.
Malgré ce contexte, nous allons continuer à nous concentrer sur l’avenir afin de nous
assurer de bien nous y préparer.
Comment nous y prenons-nous?
Tout d’abord, en demeurant à l’écoute de nos clients.
Nous avons apporté certains changements à nos techniques d’écoute.
Nous sommes activement présents dans les médias sociaux et en contact avec nos
clients quasiment en temps réel grâce à des outils comme Twitter.
Nous avons désamorcé des situations, diffusé avec efficacité des informations
d’urgence et des renseignements sur des opérations irrégulières.
Raymond mentioned the efforts that went into the Plane Pull and Project Clear Skies.
What he did not mention was how after participating in the relief flights, some of our
employees felt the need to do more.
President’s Remarks, Annual Public Meeting
Ottawa International Airport Authority
th
May 10 , 2011
So, they banded together with airline personnel and others to organize their own
fundraiser for the people of devastated Haiti.
The group, which called itself “Ottawa Airport Community for Haiti” went out to their own
support systems and friends to solicit items and gifts that were used at an auction that
surpassed everyone’s expectations.
They set a fundraising target of $15,000, but in the end they raised more than $30,000.
These funds were used to purchase three HouseAll shelters, with the excess being
donated to Partners in Health to help their good works in Haiti.
Air Canada coordinated the logistics and transported the shelters free of charge. We
could not have done it without their help.
Before I close, I would like to say thank you to a few groups.
First, my sincere thanks to Raymond and the Board of Directors for their continued
confidence and support.
I appreciate that each member cares about the airport, our employees and the future,
and that each one brings their unique perspective and set of talents to the boardroom
table.
It is that kind of commitment that ensures that we have a bright future.
I would also like to add my thanks to Joan Sun McGarry and Pamela Sweet (past
Directors) and my thoughts to Pat Murray’s family.
I also have to say a huge thank you to my team.
2010 was a special year.
I have said it before, and I will say it again.
We have the best airport team in Canada.
Point final.
With that, I thank you for being here to share in the highlights of 2010.
Merci
President’s Remarks, Annual Public Meeting
Ottawa International Airport Authority
th
May 10 , 2011