SECRETARY`S ROLE - Ottawa International Airport

2015
Ottawa International Airport Authority
Annual Public Meeting
May 5th, 2016
Hilton Garden Inn, Ottawa
Remarks by Mark Laroche
President & CEO
Administration de l’aéroport international d’Ottawa
Assemblée publique annuelle
le 5 mai 2016
Hilton Garden Inn, Ottawa
Allocution de Mark Laroche
Président et chef de la direction
Ottawa International Airport Authority
Annual Public Meeting - May 5, 2016
President’s Remarks
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Good afternoon, bon après midi.
As I reflect back on the activities of 2015, I am proud of the leadership that the Airport Authority
demonstrated on many fronts. Whether exploring new and innovative partnerships and programs, or
enhancing airport safety and security, the Ottawa Airport team stepped up.
A few areas stand out. Our emergency exercise scenario in late 2015 featured a drone strike on an
arriving aircraft, causing it to crash and resulting in mass casualties. The exercise tested the ability for
various first responder organizations, the airline and Airport Authority to work together during a crisis.
Drones are an increasingly menacing threat to airports, and I am pleased that Ottawa was the first
airport to focus on the potential for a devastating accident caused by one invading our airspace. We
will continue to work with the regulator, Transport Canada to increase awareness of this threat and to
explore solutions to mitigate.
We have told you about our multi-year, multi-phased Runway Rehabilitation Project. I am pleased to
announce that with the grooving of Runway 14/32 last summer, the project is complete. Our
commercial runways now meet international safety standards with ICAO-rated Runway End Safety
Areas. Again, regarding leadership, we are the only commercial airport in Canada to have grooved
runways and to have adopted these RESA standards. Nous croyons que ces améliorations étaient la
chose à faire et nous croyons que cet investissement dans la sécurité est une bonne décision.
Inside the terminal, the team was hard at work on the massive sixty million dollar Baggage Handling
System installation project. Le nouveau système aura une capacité deux fois plus grande que l’ancien
système et, au lieu de 1 000 bagages à l’heure, il pourra en traiter 2 000 et comportera des dépôts de
bagages libre-service et un nouvel équipement d’inspection. We worked closely with the Canadian Air
Transport Security Authority and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as the airlines, to ensure
that the system meets their stringent requirements.
Durant l’année, nous avons franchi une autre étape importante avec la conclusion d’un contrat à long
terme avec Astral Affichage, une division de Bell Media, pour les besoins d’affichage publicitaire à
l’intérieur de l’aérogare. Les gens d’Astral sont en train de remplacer les anciens accessoires
d’affichage par des installations permanentes en format numérique qui porteront notre présence
publicitaire à un autre niveau. We are eagerly awaiting the installation of what Astral is calling “the
iconic wall,” which will replace the large video wall in arrivals with what promises to be a spectacular
welcome for our visitors.
On the commercial front, we have also undertaken a critical review of all contracts and licence
agreements to ensure that our tenants and commercial operators are contributing in a fair and
equitable way. Many of our ground transportation and commercial development contracts were
renewed in 2015, so we took the opportunity to update them accordingly. The non-aeronautical
revenues these contracts generate are critical to continued investment and growth in the airport.
Without them, we would have to rely on aeronautical fees to sustain our operation, which would make
the cost of flying from our airport less competitive and would contribute to the erosion of our air
Ottawa International Airport Authority
Annual Public Meeting - May 5, 2016
President’s Remarks
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service offering. All who benefit from this world-class asset must contribute to its operation and
maintenance.
The projects we undertake and the contracts we negotiate are all for the purpose of facilitating
passenger travel. In 2015, 4,656,360 passengers travelled through our facility, which represents an
increase of 0.9% over 2014 figures. By many standards, this growth rate is modest. However, I am
confident that as the local economy gains strength, so will our figures.
Pour 2016 et les années qui suivront, l’Administration continuera à se concentrer sur la réalisation de
son Plan stratégique, élaboré en 2014. Ce plan repose sur nos cinq orientations stratégiques, identifie
nos priorités pour la période de 2016 à 2020, ainsi que les principaux projets qui se grefferont à ces
priorités.
Air service development is one such priority. I am often asked why we do not have service to a
particular destination. Attracting air service to a new market is a complex process; however, the simple
explanation is supply and demand. Supply is aircraft and its number of seats. Demand is the number of
passengers flying to or from Ottawa to that particular destination. If we can only fill 30 seats of a 250
seat aircraft to a destination, then the airline will fly that plane elsewhere. Located between two hub
airports, the challenges are even greater as we cannot benefit from connecting passengers.
Pour un marché de la taille d’Ottawa, nous sommes bien desservis et avons un service stable
comparativement à d’autres aéroports canadiens de taille comparable. En tant que capitale nationale,
pour les vols domestiques, nous sommes bien couverts. We also have multiple U.S. carriers connecting
to key American hubs such as Newark, Chicago O’Hare, Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
Internationally speaking, we have Air Canada’s daily service to London Heathrow, and seasonal daily
service to Frankfurt, which we are working hard to grow. Warm weather leisure destinations for winter
escapes are plentiful.
From a demand generation point of view, this summer we are partnering with Ottawa Tourism, the
Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership, and Destination Canada to grow traffic from the U.S., with our
focus being on New York where we have service offered by Air Canada and United to LaGuardia and
JFK. We are also very motivated to grow our business routes. To that end, we surveyed the OttawaGatineau corporate community to learn more about where they need to travel to and how they
currently get there. The information collected is being analyzed, but a quick review revealed growing
technology business linkages to the U.S. West Coast. Dans nos efforts pour obtenir une nouvelle
desserte, notre sondage aidera à quantifier la demande, et fournira aux planificateurs des lignes
aériennes de l’information qu’il leur est autrement difficile d’obtenir. Au bout du compte, un nouveau
service ne sera viable que si le marché le soutient.
Ensuring that these passengers have efficient access to the airport as our volumes grow is critical, and
as such you will continue to hear me emphasize the importance of multi-modal airport access that
includes light rail. An airport link is part of the City of Ottawa staff recommended plan, however, the
funding for this vital piece of infrastructure remains in doubt. While we recognize that the link will
Ottawa International Airport Authority
Annual Public Meeting - May 5, 2016
President’s Remarks
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provide no direct financial benefit to the Authority, it would make the Region a more attractive
destination for tourism and business, which is what motivates us to continue to promote it. Nous
allons continuer à travailler avec la Ville à l’obtention du financement auprès des gouvernements
provincial et fédéral et nous espérons que l’importance de ce tronçon sera confirmée par l’annonce de
son financement.
While we have many active and important files, I feel that an emerging issue that is worthy of our focus
is the Canada Transportation Act Review report. The report entitled Pathways: Connecting Canada’s
Transportation System to the World, is the result of an 18-month examination of Canada’s
transportation system, which was led by the Honourable David Emerson. The study included
submissions by stakeholder groups, including airports, through the Canadian Airports Council. The
report includes a long list of recommendations for the aviation system, but at this stage, they are just
that - recommendations to the federal government. We anticipate a lot of consultation and research
will be done before the government is in a position to endorse or implement any.
Selon notre perspective, certaines recommandations seraient bien accueillies tandis que d’autres
entraîneraient des modifications majeures au mode de gouvernance des aéroports et nécessiteraient
un examen plus exhaustif. Nous allons être très prudents par rapport à toute recommandation qui
pourrait avoir des répercussions négatives sur le coût du transport aérien. As the Chair mentioned,
senior management has already engaged in consultation with the Board. We will also be meeting with
other Tier 1 airports, the CAC, and the federal government to ensure that our position on any given
recommendation is based on solid research and understanding, and is clearly communicated to our
stakeholders. And, as Susan said, our position on each recommendation will be clearly articulated. This
file is too critical to simply sit on the sidelines and watch, so expect us to be in the game and vocal.
Other areas that will have our attention in 2016 include our Safety Management System and ensuring
its effectiveness, increasing airport throughput through the use of Automated Passport Control
technology for U.S. pre-clearance, and mapping the carbon footprint of the airport’s operations
through Carbon Accreditation, among many other projects that we have identified.
To achieve strategic planning success takes a talented and committed team. I am proud to say that the
Airport Authority’s team embodies both attributes. Every member has helped shape the organization
and contributed to us having achieved Top Employer status in the National Capital Region for three
consecutive years. I would like to thank them for their hard work, consistent attention to detail, and for
making the airport the great place it is to work at and travel from.
I would also like to thank our Chair, Susan St. Amand, and the rest of the Board of Directors for their
support, engagement, input and oversight in the decisions and actions we take each day as we move
the Strategic Plan forward. Together, we are ensuring that the Ottawa International Airport meets the
needs of our community now and in the future.
Thank you for your attention. Je vous remercie de votre écoute.
Ottawa International Airport Authority
Annual Public Meeting - May 5, 2016
President’s Remarks
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