70 The QUEE NS Courier • business • MAY 16, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com business s Chamber expo highlights a growing aviation industry BY LIAM LA GUERE The Queens aviation industry is flying high. At the annual Queens Chamber of Commerce Business Expo & Breakfast at Resorts World Casino on May 8, guest speakers Richard Smyth, jetBlue VP for corporate real estate and Susan Baer, director of Aviation at The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, highlighted the modernization of local airports, which have long been the economic lifeblood of the borough, and the improvements of Long Island City-based airline jetBlue. The expo also saw scores of business owners exchange cards and meet with dozens of vendors from local companies and organizations. The event was in tune with the 94th anniversary of the first successful transatlantic flight that took off from the old U.S. Naval Air station in Rockaway. That flight eventually landed in Portugal and has since been followed by millions of flights from Queens. “The people of Queens make our airports go, and in return the airports make Queens go,” said Susan Baer, director of Aviation at The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. “Making sure our airports remain a powerful engine that drives jobs, commerce and activity here in Queens and through this region is one of the Port Authority’s most important priorities.” LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport recorded a combined 75 million passengers, and directly employed 46,000 workers last year. LaGuardia’s ridership improved 6.5 percent to 25.7 million, while the 49.3 million travelers that moved through JFK broke the airport’s record. The airports also supported more than 287,000 related jobs and garnered about $42 billion in economic activity. To further improve the airports’ capacity to accommodate more passengers and larger airlines, the Port Authority is aiming to invest billions of dollars to expand and modernize. Baer stressed that LaGuardia especially needs a new central terminal building and the agency will issue a Request for Proposals later this spring. The Port Authority expects to begin working on the new central terminal building late next year after choosing a developer. LaGuardia was built for only 8 million passengers when it was constructed in 1964. “That’s almost 50 years ago and the lifespan is probably long past,” said Jack Friedman, executive director of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. “We have to start investing in our airports and it’s good to hear were doing things like building in a new central terminal.” The Port Authority has already invested billions in the last decade to build new terminals, roadways and parking garages, according to Baer. A plan to build a $32 million aviation animal handling facility was already approved and later this year the agency will introduce a trucking center with space for 50 tractor trailers at JFK. The Port Authority is also updating its air traffic control systems from radar based, which has been used since World War II, to the more accurate GPS based tracking systems. Upgrades to the airports will increase the economic impact on Queens with more jobs, and some in attendance were excited about the new projects. “I work with 17- to 24-year-olds in the GED program so I am always looking for companies where they can get opportunities,” said Lesly Douyon, career & college developer at the Flushing YMCA. “My ears kind of perked up with they mentioned all the construction projects that are going on. I would love to get my students some opportunities.” Not only are the local airports improving but the airlines are too. One that is expanding is homegrown jetBlue, which decided to stay in Queens last year after considering moving to Orlando. “Very much to the credit of the Queens community… they really enticed us and convinced us and this is where we want to be and they were right, this is where we want to be,” said Richard Smyth, jetBlue’s vice president for corporate real estate. The airline, which started in 2000 with a handful of flights to Buffalo and Fort Lauderdale, now boasts it’s the largest airline at JFK with about 150 flights a day to 60 destinations. The airline is focused on improving its international service, which travels to the Caribbean and Latin America and is about a third of its flights. Currently, jetBlue’s international flights arrive in Terminal 4 and the planes have to be towed to the company’s facility in Terminal 5. This takes time and forces passengers to move around. But the airline is planning a facility for international arrivals at Terminal 5, which should be operational by early 2015. “That is really going to foster our international growth and partnerships,” Smyth said. Smyth also urged local business owners to visit jetBlue’s website to learn how to connect and create partnerships. Vendors and local business owners at the expo got a chance to generate business, gain exposure, market new products and services, build relationships with government agencies and learn how better to improve their companies from stage presentations. “It’s good because you meet a lot of new people in the business community,” Greta Mohan, sales associate at Awards Signs & Etching, said about the expo. Carol Conslato, Con Ed; Jack Friedman, Chamber executive VP; Susan Baer, dir. of aviation, Port Authority of NY & NJ; guest speaker Richard Smyth, VP, corporate real estate, jetBlue.
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