Day two of the Airport’s Conference in Cranbrook has rung in a success! Delegates experienced a full day with a packed schedule of a variety of speakers. BCAC would like to thank all the speakers who gave their time to come and share with the airports community and attendees today.
Chief Joe Pierre welcomed guests to the land of the Ktunaxa (pronounced ‘k-too-nah-ha’) people before Kathy Cooper, CEO of Kootenay Rockies Tourism took to the stage to provide an update on Destination BC and local tourism strategies.
With the beautiful province we live in, it’s no surprise to hear Kathy provide an update that revenues have reached 15.7 Billion, a 37.3% increase since 2015. Kathy reminded us all that great marketing comes from remarkable experiences being shared or recommended by visitors.
Next up was Sean Carter of Carter Hales Design Lab. Likely you have heard of Carter Hales Design Lab if you’re familiar with BCAC as they developed our beautiful new website and brand that was launched in 2015. The Airports conference was lucky to have Sean Carter of Carter Hales Design Lab speak at the airports conference this year about Branding Airports.
When doing a re-branding or refresh of a brand, Carter Hales considers the sense of place, the culture of the organization, is designed to last, and is distinctive and memorable.
The rest of the afternoon was packed with presentations from:
- Dave Miller of JetPro Consultants spoke on instrument procedure design including WAAS, GPS, GNSS approaches as well as RNAV departures.
- Steve Mckeown, President/ CEO of Team Eagle covered what’s coming next in airfield technologies and equipment
- Paul England – Nav Canada Site Manager, Kelowna & Penticton, Cranbrook & Castlegar provided information to delegates on the hot topic of UAVs. As we know, the UAV industry is growing drastically. As we know people are using UAVs for all types of projects and personal use, including farming, policing, and emergency response.
- Garnett Miller – ATC and Team Supervisor, Nav Canada – Edmonton Terminal gave a Performance Based Navigation (PNB) overview. PNB redefines the aircrafts required navigation capability from sensor based to performance based.
- We had an update from Transport Canada, four Transport representatives spoke on SMS, quality assurance, and their advisory circulars.
Photo: David Savage addressing delegates at BCAC 2017 Airports Conference
Our keynote speaker for the afternoon was David Savage: Savage Management Ltd. who spoke on Negotiations and collaboration. David has published a book called Break Through to Yes that is a tool for success through leadership, negotiation, conflict management and, most importantly, collaboration.
The final workshop session of the day was focused on revenue streams. We heard from Alex Welch, Vice President – Route Network & Planning with InterVISTAS who spoke on Non-Aeronautical revenue; some of his thoughts included charging passengers for parking – even if you don’t necessarily enforce it, and advertising within your airport. Jim Meyer, Sr. Director with SNC-Lavalin spoke on air service development and how to market your airport to retain, expand, and attract new air service. Dan Huang, Senior Planner/ Principal with Urban Systems spoke on working with your community and how to get to a yes when working with the community. Follow the rules, share services where possible, provide amenities from development, provide regular updates, and be a good neighbor.
After a full day of learning, guests were excited to head to the Cranbrook History Centre for an evening reception that featured a tour of the collection of 1929 “Trans-Canada Limited” (a classic “Jazz Era Art Deco” design) train cars, live music, and networking.
