Genaro Peña, Director of Marketing for Houston Intercontinental Airport in the USA State of Texas dubbed “Lone Star,” is sitting in the “bull pen,” a large, high ceiling reception area that serves as a lounge and bar area at the PGA Hotel in Palm Beach where the 2008 CNS Partnership Conference is being held.
     The place is all overstuffed couches and chairs and niche spaces and out of the way places that open to a front porch overlooking the golf courses and swimming pool.
     This is the place where the deals get done, or at least created, and by 08:30 each day as this CNS Partnership continues no less than a dozen individual groups of executives are meeting in twos threes and fours all over the place.
     The PGA is quite attractive with fairways that have been manicured to the texture of an expensive living room carpet, but the pace inside the bullpen, while laid back and quite genteel, belies the calm with an ever-increasing frenetic even radioactive pace as the day wears on.
     Mr. Peña, who likes to describe what is happening at IAH right now as “the perfect storm” as carriers of every size ramp up service to the gateway, has been asked by CNS to add his voice to a panel discussion about security although he is not quite sure why.
     “I am concerned that ever escalating costs will create even more downward pressure on airport operators during a time when everyone is trying to balance doing what is needed and right against pressures to increase margins,” he says letting the thought drift off for a moment.
     Houston Intercontinental Airport has moved itself into some kind of upper star status amongst all USA airports during a time when candidates like JFK and MIA and others are fading.
     Genaro Peña however knows that the run up to getting the attention of Emirates and Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, EVA, China Airlines and some players to be named later actually is the result of some best-laid plans to see this prairie gateway take its rightful place amongst the greatest airports in the world.
     Genaro Peña is an understated guy of specific goals who radiates class and distinction.
     No matter what the situation, he is ever deferential, pleasant and decent.
     If it is raining elsewhere it’s also just a short time away from a sunny day is the feeling you get when he explains what draws carriers to the bright star in the Lone Star State.

Genaro Peña pictured here at CNS with Air Cargo News FlyingTypers Publisher Geoffrey Arend.

    Mr. Peña describes IAH his “Perfect Storm,” but unlike the movie of that name, the storm over Houston is an accelerated run up of new airline services unmatched by any other gateway in America right now and few others in history.
     It seems that the world’s airlines have discovered this place all at once.
     “In the first place it is certainly a major plus to be home base and major hub for Continental Airlines, one of the most respected carriers in the world right now.
     “Barely two months after launching new services into IAH, Emirates Airlines added four additional weekly flights with the carrier currently now offering daily nonstop service to Dubai.
     Emirates is handling approximately 16 tons of air cargo out of Houston and bringing in roughly 10 tons, on each flight.
     “During 2007 Houston Airport System (HAS) moved 52 million passengers and over 387,000 metric tons of air cargo.
     “But as 2008 took off HAS kept the pace up with even more increases as total freight tonnage grew by more than 6.3 percent, year-over-year with international passenger traffic up as well by 5.1 percent during January.”
     The Houston Airport System (HAS) is (William H. Hobby Airport, Ellington Field and George Bush International Airport.
     “IAH is one of the few airports in the nation primed for significant growth.
     “Our 10,000 plus acre complex means we have room to grow.
     “We have been anticipating the needs of our growing cargo and passenger base and that led to construction of a fifth runway,” he said.
     “We have been very fortunate in benefiting from such positive traffic increases over the years, but we can’t deny that a large part of our growth has been due, in part to the central location of our city.”
     “The fact that our neighbors to the north and south are just a direct or nonstop flight away makes Houston a destination not to be ignored.
     “Today several dozen air carriers offer access to more than 115 domestic and 73 international destinations from Bush and Hobby airports,” Mr. Peña confirms.
     “Many air carriers consider Houston as primary gateway into the United States and the rest of the world.
     “IAH, for example, offers the highest number of weekly flights and serves the most Mexican destinations than any other airport in the United States.
     “What we are finding now is that many Asian and Latin American businesses are looking for better ways to converge their markets,” Mr. Peña explains.
     “Literally, since China Airlines and Korean Air Cargo inaugurated their services to Houston we have been getting a lot more inquiries about new routes.”
     Singapore Airlines arrived this past March connecting Houston to Moscow, Russia and Singapore with four weekly flights.
     Beginning on Tuesday, September 2, 2008, Cathay Pacific Airways will launch three weekly, all-cargo flights to Hong Kong from Houston.
     The new service will mark the first scheduled all cargo flights to Hong Kong from Houston and will become the fourth scheduled Asian, all cargo connection from IAH.
     Qatar Airways will begin operating three weekly nonstop flights between IAH and DOH starting on Monday, November 10, 2008 – with plans for daily service in December of 2008.
     But Mr. Peña admits that there are some challenges as well.
     “We have a 60,000 square foot facility that is just ideal for operating a perishables center and we have been searching for the right operator,” he says.
     “We know that our gateway is ready as a viable addition for the perishables trade to and from Mexico as well as Central and parts of Latin America.”
     Mr. Peña notes that his Houston odyssey has been some 14 years in the development and making so that the recent addition of new carriers can be expected to be followed with other exciting and otherwise well thought out and planned ground-breaking developments as well.
Geoffrey

leisure Cargo Expands Markets

     Now that Air Berlin has taken over German carrier LTU and with the acquisition, fast-rising leisure cargo based in Düsseldorf, Germany, China beckons, as AB service to a giant new market commencing June 2 into Beijing and Shanghai will dramatically impact the virtual air cargo carrier’s 2008 activity.
     In China, responsibility for marketing and sales lies with leisure cargo Asia.
     Ground handling agreements have been signed with BGS in Beijing and PACTL in Shanghai.
     Officials from the companies are pictured above after signing the handling agreement last month.
     leisure cargo says that it will closely supervise all transfers and continue building upon its close cooperation with Hainan, one of leisure’s prime partner carriers in China.
     Competition is tough, of course but leisure aims to serve a growing China cargo business employing a niche market strategy that serves small to medium sized, high-yield consignments while offering total service and reliability to shippers.
     With the excellently functioning connectivity inside the Air Berlin Group and the established flight, as well as road feeder services and cooperation among the members of leisure cargo, good things are expected all around.

    Mexican GSA “Caribe Cargo” in cooperation with OMA Carga, a branch of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. established export, and import services connecting the cities served by Aladia with Cancun and the leisure cargo network serving more than 200 destinations worldwide.
     OMA is managing 13 airports in northern and central Mexico combining the new airfreight routes with an existing road feeder service.
     The 19th carrier under the umbrella of leisure cargo, Aladia is presently operating three B757s offering between three and five tons of belly cargo capacity per flight.
     “We have added interconnectivity in the northern states of Mexico to the benefit of shippers and consignees involved in global foreign trade and their cargo agents.
     “The results are encouraging because the payload utilization is close to 100%,” confirms Eric Ginebra, President of Caribe Cargo.
     For Aladia, this new cargo product connection with leisure cargo offers a win-win situation as the additional revenues from the carriage of freight on holiday flights are welcomed by the young airline cutting its teeth in the market.
     Aladia offers domestic connections to and from Cancun, Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara.