BUILDING A FUTURE TOGETHER: DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT STRATEGIC PLAN

The 21st century has already shown to be one of tremendous change. We live in a rapidly evolving society that imposes itself not only on our everyday personal routines, but also in the way DFW Airport conducts business.

Spotlight

Aerospace Industry Development Association of Tamil Nadu

This is the page dedicated to the growing ecosystem of Aerospace and Defence Sector in Tamil Nadu, the largest industrialised state of India with a huge manufacturing base - also known as Detroit of South Asia. AIDAT, a young association representing companies in the Aerospace and Defence Sector in Tamil Nadu with specific goals for growth and expansion

OTHER ARTICLES
Air Transport

Will Flights Like Project Sunrise Be The Future Of Air Travel?

Article | July 26, 2022

With rescue flights crisscrossing the globe and passengers keen to get where they are going as soon as possible, will we see the end of hub to hub travel? Has this current aviation crisis signaled the decline of the current model of aviation we know today? One reporter at Simple Flying gives his opinion.

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Business Aviation

How AI can save airline customer service teams in times of crisis

Article | January 28, 2022

The coronavirus outbreak has put airline customer care teams on the front lines. Airlines that have adopted artificial intelligence are alleviating some of the stress that their customer care teams are under.

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Design and Engineering

Three Aviation Content Marketing Successful Stories

Article | January 7, 2022

Let’s be honest! Customers support advertising. But they seek out information. In a marketing world where advertising reigns, aviation customers want well-researched, proficiently crafted informative content that tells stories, explains products, and helps them make smart decisions. Content: Builds Credibility and Influence with Information When you make a decision, you seek out the most credible sources of information available on the internet or off the net. However, for many aviation consumers, content types like publications, blogs, whitepapers, and other high-quality are the most preferred to read. A consistent flow of information maintains the credibility of your publication and communication with your clients, customers, or stakeholders. This can only be possible when you have a good content marketing strategy. Good content marketing, as marketers say, is an all-hands-on-deck affair. Strategizing, content production, analysis, audits, and reviews play a vital role in creating great content marketing ideas. In addition, you need to coordinate with different departments to meticulously create a plan of action that hits the right audience at the right time with an accurate message. But remember, even if you plan it in the right way, things can go wrong. And you might feel that nothing more can be done, even having perfect airline marketing strategies. So, in such a moment of disparity, for your aviation marketing, it’s helpful to revisit some of the most amazing content marketing strategies successful stories out on the internet to get inspired and give a new perspective to your next content marketing ideas. Content Marketing: Stories Let us have a look at the excellent content marketing success stories. The following examples showcase the suitable approaches you can have for your next content marketing campaigns. So, take a look and learn to craft a better strategy. JetBlue’s Campaign Towards Passenger Concerns The airline industry has had its share of ups and downs in executing airline marketing strategies and airline advertisement plans since the pandemic outbreak in 2020. Under such conditions, low-cost airline JetBlue showcased its brand stand above all these struggles. Their content marketing strategy that creates compelling, engaging, and informative content consistently helped convey the brand message to the audience and build brand image. The Strategy JetBlue’s content marketing ideas focus on humanizes its approaches. For example, the company launched a campaign that awarded passengers with rewards points. The airline’s digital marketing strategy, at every level, has a unique way of providing information to its audience and offering solutions. This way, it offered the clients more reasons to engage with its brand. The brand used blogs and media coverage to engage with its clients. Here are the following content strategies it used: Timely published airline articles attracted instant attention of visitors to the website. The information provided in the article was about the usage of technology and successful collaborations to ease the operations. Filled the website with timeless articles that served information to overcome the pandemic challenges and provide value in real-time. Always tried to go with the trends, latest news, and updates. As updates were in time, it maximized clicks and engagements. The Outcome Content published and strategies implemented successfully enabled JetBlue to acknowledge their audiences’ concerns. The information provided solved the persistent problems of the audience. This approach resulted in a significant hike in the percentage of website visitors, which eventually grew traffic. Copa Airlines’ DotDigital Copa Airlines, like other airlines, also wanted to streamline the operational processes allied with content marketing campaigns, emails to target the most of audiences, and stabilizing its market position. It was all because the manual process took up a long time and contributed to accuracy errors. As part of its recovery plan, it also wanted to become more agile in its email and content marketing by synchronizing the gap between website visits and email triggers to focus actively on capitalizing on the demand. The Strategy Copa Airlines’ partnering with dotdigital, a marketing and engagement platform, successfully implemented the campaigns. It focused only on active audiences and accurately understand the purpose. By employing powerful content creatives to create and automate email copies with variations, it was able to restructure the process and added personalization that subjected audiences’ demands and preferences. The Outcome Copa enhanced its brand visibility, which boosted conversions by 2%. This result led to a 14% hike in revenue, thus improved its ROI. With the addition of automation and personalization, Copa also experienced an 11% drop in unsubscribe numbers. This pointed towards the increased engagement of audiences with the new content marketing strategy. AirAsia’s Media Business Expansion AirAsia’s topmost concern towards its business expansion was content marketing, media, data, and adtech. The brand wants these functionalities to perform on the top in revenue growth and lift its performance in 2021 & beyond. To grow its business, it focuses more on engagement and providing value to its audience. It seeks to build a more substantial base of audiences than before. Since early 2020, the brand accelerated its digital business by demonstrating product offerings through blogs, video, and chats. The content information provided through the content marketing strategy was more authentic, relevant, and delivered significant value to customers. The Strategy The brand runs campaigns using self-service adtech and content platforms. The company has a deal with Universal Music Group (UMG), through which it created RedCarpet that focuses on smart campaigns with the help of content creation capabilities. The Outcome The critical part of the RedCarpet initiative is it created multiple partnerships signed for the upcoming quarter of 2021. It also introduced flexibility in tech offerings to the customer through various content generation on its website and social media channels. But, most importantly, the brand took a step ahead to enhance content services as a publisher. This is a new investment straightaway to become the pandemic warrior in the airline industry. The brand envisions surged engagement among customers and potential audiences once travel restrictions are lifted. Thus, AirAsia’s database will have more users in the coming years. Frequently Asked Questions Why is the need to educate audiences in the airline industry becoming necessary? Today consumers are becoming smart. They are saturated with businesses offering the same repeated product or service. So, being educated help them to make informed decisions. And creates loyalty towards the brand along with a long-term relationship. How can content marketing help to address target audiences in the airline industry? Content marketing can help in addressing the queries of the client at various levels of the process. This strengthens a positive outlook towards the brand and probably motivates them to become part of the brand. How to use content marketing to increase brand image in the airline industry? Follow these steps to increase your brand image using content marketing: Create a brand that tells a story about offerings to the audience Research on the unexplored side of your industry which is still untouched and thus attract eyeballs to drive your brand Think of expanding content created out of your research Create evergreen content pieces Create a live website and include the easiest ways for visitors to approach { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [{ "@type": "Question", "name": "Why is the need to educate audiences in the airline industry becoming necessary?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Today consumers are becoming smart. They are saturated with businesses offering the same repeated product or service. So, being educated help them to make informed decisions. And creates loyalty towards the brand along with a long-term relationship." } },{ "@type": "Question", "name": "How can content marketing help to address target audiences in the airline industry?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Content marketing can help in addressing the queries of the client at various levels of the process. This strengthens a positive outlook towards the brand and probably motivates them to become part of the brand." } },{ "@type": "Question", "name": "How to use content marketing to increase brand image in the airline industry?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Follow these steps to increase your brand image using content marketing: Create a brand that tells a story about offerings to the audience Research on the unexplored side of your industry which is still untouched and thus attract eyeballs to drive your brand Think of expanding content created out of your research Create evergreen content pieces Create a live website and include the easiest ways for visitors to approach" } }] }

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Business Aviation

Travel Testing May Be Ending, But Airline Health Safety Measures Are Here To Stay

Article | January 28, 2022

The UK government has announced that from 11th February, fully vaccinated passengers arriving into the country will no longer have to take COVID-19 tests on arrival. The news follows the removal of pre-departure testing for fully vaccinated UK-bound passengers this month. The relaxation of testing measures is something the aviation industry has been actively campaigning for, as it removes barriers to travel. Just today, IATA distributed a press release advocating for similar moves to be made by further governments. It cited a study focused on the UK carried out by Oxera and Edge Health which found that because Omicron is now highly prevalent in the UK, “if all travel testing requirements were removed there would be no impact on Omicron case numbers or hospitalizations.”

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Spotlight

Aerospace Industry Development Association of Tamil Nadu

This is the page dedicated to the growing ecosystem of Aerospace and Defence Sector in Tamil Nadu, the largest industrialised state of India with a huge manufacturing base - also known as Detroit of South Asia. AIDAT, a young association representing companies in the Aerospace and Defence Sector in Tamil Nadu with specific goals for growth and expansion

Related News

Airport Management

BURRELL AVIATION ANNOUNCES NEW NATIONWIDE MASTER SERVICE AGREEMENT TO MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE AT MULTIPLE U.S. AIRPORTS

Burrell Aviation | November 10, 2022

Burrell Aviation has formalized a national design-build master service agreement with Lemartec, a MasTec Company. Together, the companies will work on developing regional municipal airport projects that will increase access to air cargo services and allow smaller airports to expand their economic potential and spur growth in their local communities.MasTec companies have been involved in some of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects across the country. This partnership brings together businesses that have vast experience, can focus on innovation, and provide the best solutions needed for the businesses and communities served by these projects. Manny García-Tuñón, President of Lemartec, commented, "We're thrilled to be partnered with Burrell Aviation to help turn their vision of expanding aviation cargo capabilities across the country into a reality. A program such as this is about economic empowerment because it targets smaller, strategic airports in communities that are critical to meeting the ever-expanding cargo and logistical needs of an ever-growing e-commerce platform. MasTec is all about empowerment and creating opportunities for all in a spirit of diversity and inclusion, so this national program in partnership with The Burrell Group is exactly the type of effort we are proud to be a part of." "The U.S. airport system is in dire need of new investment and focused attention on non-passenger infrastructure. The partnership with Lemartec will allow us to accelerate delivery of next-generation facilities and satisfy the growing desire of airports of all sizes to generate new and meaningful jobs and to help drive the regional economies which they serve." John Carver, Burrell Aviation CEO About Lemartec: Lemartec Corporation is a national design-build construction management firm and serves as MasTec's vertical construction arm with a unique focus in Aviation & Transportation, Mission Critical, Sports & Entertainment, and Commercial market sectors. Forged by a safety-first and relationship-driven mindset, the Lemartec culture fosters trust and creates value for all stakeholders - our clients, employees, business partners, the community, and the environment. About MasTec: MasTec, Inc. a Fortune 500 company, is a leading infrastructure construction company operating mainly throughout North America across a range of industries. The Company's primary activities include the engineering, building, installation, maintenance and upgrade of communications, energy and utility and other infrastructure, such as: power delivery services, including transmission and distribution, wireless, wireline/fiber and customer fulfillment activities; power generation, primarily from clean energy and renewable sources; pipeline infrastructure, including natural gas pipeline and distribution infrastructure; heavy civil; and industrial infrastructure. MasTec's customers are primarily in these industries. About Burrell Aviation: Burrell Aviation, LLC is a division of The Burrell Group. The Burrell Group was founded in 2007 by Founder and Executive Chairman Daniel C. Burrell. It serves as the holding company for a consortium of individual business interests in a wide range of sectors. Burrell Aviation, LLC is a capital investor in next-generation supply chain infrastructure. The company is focused on providing airports and aviation customers with needed infrastructure within an accelerated timeframe. Burrell Aviation works with airports of all sizes, helping reposition regional and municipal airports that have been historically underutilized and operate outside North America's core supply chain. Burrell Aviation is also actively investing in major hub and gateway airports, helping preserve its market position. Burrell Aviation is dedicated to delivering modernized facilities for air cargo operations, MRO, integrated logistics, cold supply chain, corporate hangars, aerospace/defense, and emerging technologies.

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Airport Management

United Applies to Launch Historic, First-Ever Nonstop Service between Washington, D.C. and Cape Town

United | May 21, 2022

United Airlines announced today it has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for three weekly nonstop flights between Washington, D.C. and Cape Town, South Africa. If approved, United's flights will become the first nonstop service ever between Washington D.C. and South Africa's legislative capital, Cape Town. This long-overdue route will benefit important government-to-government connections and increase communication and commerce with a region that has strong cultural ties to South Africa. United's proposed service would begin Nov. 17, 2022, and operate on 787-9 aircraft, maximized to meet consumer demand and benefit both U.S. and South African travelers. If approved, the flights between Dulles and Cape Town will connect 55 cities across the United States to Cape Town, representing more than 90 percent of the entire U.S. travel demand to Cape Town. United's Washington Dulles hub is a gateway to the nation's capital and elsewhere, operating more than 230 daily flights to nearly 100 destinations around the world – including more than 10 world capitals and new service to Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria. From creating new jobs, to supporting key civic and aid organizations, United has taken tremendous pride in growing our family and operations in South Africa, and across the African continent, If awarded by the DOT, this historic nonstop service will significantly enhance travel options for consumers, strengthen ties between our countries legislative and diplomatic epicenters, and benefit thriving travel and tourism industries serving our respective countries." Patrick Quayle, United's Senior Vice President of International Network and Alliances. United has worked diligently to develop an African network to promote competition and provide affordable and consistent service options for U.S. travelers. The service will supplement United's existing flights to four cities in three countries in Africa. It will also allow customers to connect in Cape Town to other points in South Africa, and to other countries in the southern region of the African continent with its South African based partner Airlink and their Cape Town hub. The Washington D.C. to Cape Town route is the largest between the U.S. and South Africa without nonstop service. D.C. is the second largest point in the U.S. for Cape Town demand and holds the fifth largest South-African-born population. United's proposed weekly flights will address this gap and complement United's existing South Africa service between New York/Newark and Cape Town and Johannesburg, providing nearly daily service to Cape Town offered by a single carrier. United also maintains a close relationship with the Mandela Foundation and BPESA (Business Processing Enabling South Africa) a not-for-profit company that serves as the industry body and trade association for Global Business Services in South Africa. United recently announced a collaboration with travel company Certified Africa. Certified Africa's mission is to make travel to African countries easy, immersive, and life changing for millions of the African Diaspora across the United States. About United United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." From our U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers. United is bringing back our customers' favorite destinations and adding new ones on its way to becoming the world's best airline.

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Airport Management

StratX Delivers Analytics and Strategy Solutions for Tackling Complex Workforce Challenges

StratX | March 14, 2022

Making the firm’s first-ever appearance at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading Americas conference, Strategy X Partners (“StratX”) detailed the accelerating growth trajectory for its workforce analytics and strategy advisory business, which assists aviation clients in transforming their operations and ensuring their employees are productive, innovative, and engaged. “The most important asset across all sizes of organizations is their people,” contended Gil Jones, StratX’s Co-Founder and Managing Director, elaborating that “the COVID-19 pandemic has propelled labor to become a front-and-center matter and businesses require creative solutions to their labor-related challenges as the mechanisms used in historical downturns are no longer effective.” As seen across all industries, including in the highly cyclical and competitive aviation sector, the importance of workforce has been elevated to new levels during the pandemic, resulting in labor becoming a partner in solution development. The employment landscape has also changed due to persisting labor shortages, reinforcing the urgent need for constructive labor relations centered around employee attraction and retention as a key measure of success. Moreover, impending technology advancements are poised to further evolve the ways in which companies maximize the value of people and ensure that they are working smarter, not harder. “Embracing this mentality shift is essential to achieving long-term sustainability and flexibility as companies rebuild and remerge from the pandemic, while preparing their organizations for the future. Business leaders require seasoned and experienced partners who are able to engage with all levels of the management team, deliver innovative enhancements, and bring creative thinking to the decision-making process.” Ben Kraszyk, StratX’s Co-Founder and Managing Director Since its launch in late 2020, StratX has been at the forefront of workforce analytics and strategy, delivering highly customized, evidence-based insights to industry-leading organizations, counting among its first customers such aviation businesses as Sun Country Airlines, CommutAir, JSX, and Voyager Aviation Holdings. Combining a data-driven approach with in-depth knowledge and a proven track record in strategy, cost reduction, operations, contract negotiations, organizational effectiveness, and process improvement, the firm has provided advisory services in the areas of: Labor Diagnostic & Insights: Unlocking insights into labor cost and productivity, and benchmarking workforce metrics against industry leading practice and solutions; Negotiation Strategy & Labor Relations: Providing guidance on aligning the entire labor negotiations team – from finance to operations – with the broader strategic goals of the business; Operations Processes & Methods: Enhancing business processes and operations, ensuring efficiency, stability, and safety as market expectations evolve; M&A + Due Diligence Support: Providing the expertise required to gain an in-depth understanding of organizational dynamics, in addition to its cost and productivity, throughout the entire life cycle of a successful transaction; Executive Compensation & Rewards: Delivering strategically designed compensation programs that drive the desired behaviors and outcomes that enhance organizational performance and ensure a strong leadership team; and Organizational Size & Shape: Positioning organizations for long-term sustainability by understanding not only the current state of the business, but the strategic and operational nuances of the business, as well. Gil Jones, Ben Kraszyk, and Rob Kuehne, the founding team behind StratX, are deeply versed in all aspects of maximizing the potential of people, business processes, and workforces, having consulted to Fortune 500 companies and as part of engagement teams at industry-leading firms. Gil Jones has deep roots in organizational design, right-sizing, labor forecasting, executive compensation, and operational improvement. Prior to StratX, Jones was a project leader at Seabury Consulting and worked within United Airlines’ Flight Operations division, providing analysis and support to initiatives targeted at improving flight safety, compliance, efficiency, and reliability. Ben Kraszyk brings expertise in airport operations, labor finance, and strategy, supporting clients through negotiations, restructurings, privatizations, and initiatives targeted at enhancing costs and productivity. Prior to StratX, Kraszyk was a project leader at Seabury Consulting and worked at United Airlines, where he was focused on resource planning, as well as cost and operational enhancement projects in airport operations and cargo. In addition to being a co-founding member of StratX, Rob Kuehne works at a boutique private equity firm, Sentient Partners International, where he supports transactions within the aviation and travel industries. Kuehne also holds securities licenses with Seabury Securities, a leading investment banking and specialty finance firm. Previously, he served as a broker at a leading wealth management and advisory firm. As part of its aggressive growth trajectory, StratX plans to continue the build-out of its team with seasoned consultants and analysts as well as to forge industry alliances and partnerships to expand its core offerings to meet existing and prospective clients’ needs in the rapidly changing market environment. “Business leaders are seeking out work with boutique advisors, who are committed to being a trusted, long-term partner,” asserted Rob Kuehne, StratX’s Co-Founder and Managing Director. “We built StratX with the mindset of being more of an ‘in the room with the customer’ partner in solving challenges, while being pragmatic and courageous enough to recommend dramatically new ways of doing things.” About StratX Strategy X Partners (“StratX”) is a boutique consultancy that balances the right combination of insights & analytics and design & strategy to transform clients’ business operations and ensure their workforces are productive, innovative, and engaged. Operating from offices in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York, the StratX team works with a broad spectrum of companies across the globe, including clients in the cyclical and highly competitive travel industry.

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Airport Management

BURRELL AVIATION ANNOUNCES NEW NATIONWIDE MASTER SERVICE AGREEMENT TO MODERNIZE INFRASTRUCTURE AT MULTIPLE U.S. AIRPORTS

Burrell Aviation | November 10, 2022

Burrell Aviation has formalized a national design-build master service agreement with Lemartec, a MasTec Company. Together, the companies will work on developing regional municipal airport projects that will increase access to air cargo services and allow smaller airports to expand their economic potential and spur growth in their local communities.MasTec companies have been involved in some of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects across the country. This partnership brings together businesses that have vast experience, can focus on innovation, and provide the best solutions needed for the businesses and communities served by these projects. Manny García-Tuñón, President of Lemartec, commented, "We're thrilled to be partnered with Burrell Aviation to help turn their vision of expanding aviation cargo capabilities across the country into a reality. A program such as this is about economic empowerment because it targets smaller, strategic airports in communities that are critical to meeting the ever-expanding cargo and logistical needs of an ever-growing e-commerce platform. MasTec is all about empowerment and creating opportunities for all in a spirit of diversity and inclusion, so this national program in partnership with The Burrell Group is exactly the type of effort we are proud to be a part of." "The U.S. airport system is in dire need of new investment and focused attention on non-passenger infrastructure. The partnership with Lemartec will allow us to accelerate delivery of next-generation facilities and satisfy the growing desire of airports of all sizes to generate new and meaningful jobs and to help drive the regional economies which they serve." John Carver, Burrell Aviation CEO About Lemartec: Lemartec Corporation is a national design-build construction management firm and serves as MasTec's vertical construction arm with a unique focus in Aviation & Transportation, Mission Critical, Sports & Entertainment, and Commercial market sectors. Forged by a safety-first and relationship-driven mindset, the Lemartec culture fosters trust and creates value for all stakeholders - our clients, employees, business partners, the community, and the environment. About MasTec: MasTec, Inc. a Fortune 500 company, is a leading infrastructure construction company operating mainly throughout North America across a range of industries. The Company's primary activities include the engineering, building, installation, maintenance and upgrade of communications, energy and utility and other infrastructure, such as: power delivery services, including transmission and distribution, wireless, wireline/fiber and customer fulfillment activities; power generation, primarily from clean energy and renewable sources; pipeline infrastructure, including natural gas pipeline and distribution infrastructure; heavy civil; and industrial infrastructure. MasTec's customers are primarily in these industries. About Burrell Aviation: Burrell Aviation, LLC is a division of The Burrell Group. The Burrell Group was founded in 2007 by Founder and Executive Chairman Daniel C. Burrell. It serves as the holding company for a consortium of individual business interests in a wide range of sectors. Burrell Aviation, LLC is a capital investor in next-generation supply chain infrastructure. The company is focused on providing airports and aviation customers with needed infrastructure within an accelerated timeframe. Burrell Aviation works with airports of all sizes, helping reposition regional and municipal airports that have been historically underutilized and operate outside North America's core supply chain. Burrell Aviation is also actively investing in major hub and gateway airports, helping preserve its market position. Burrell Aviation is dedicated to delivering modernized facilities for air cargo operations, MRO, integrated logistics, cold supply chain, corporate hangars, aerospace/defense, and emerging technologies.

Read More

Airport Management

United Applies to Launch Historic, First-Ever Nonstop Service between Washington, D.C. and Cape Town

United | May 21, 2022

United Airlines announced today it has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for three weekly nonstop flights between Washington, D.C. and Cape Town, South Africa. If approved, United's flights will become the first nonstop service ever between Washington D.C. and South Africa's legislative capital, Cape Town. This long-overdue route will benefit important government-to-government connections and increase communication and commerce with a region that has strong cultural ties to South Africa. United's proposed service would begin Nov. 17, 2022, and operate on 787-9 aircraft, maximized to meet consumer demand and benefit both U.S. and South African travelers. If approved, the flights between Dulles and Cape Town will connect 55 cities across the United States to Cape Town, representing more than 90 percent of the entire U.S. travel demand to Cape Town. United's Washington Dulles hub is a gateway to the nation's capital and elsewhere, operating more than 230 daily flights to nearly 100 destinations around the world – including more than 10 world capitals and new service to Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria. From creating new jobs, to supporting key civic and aid organizations, United has taken tremendous pride in growing our family and operations in South Africa, and across the African continent, If awarded by the DOT, this historic nonstop service will significantly enhance travel options for consumers, strengthen ties between our countries legislative and diplomatic epicenters, and benefit thriving travel and tourism industries serving our respective countries." Patrick Quayle, United's Senior Vice President of International Network and Alliances. United has worked diligently to develop an African network to promote competition and provide affordable and consistent service options for U.S. travelers. The service will supplement United's existing flights to four cities in three countries in Africa. It will also allow customers to connect in Cape Town to other points in South Africa, and to other countries in the southern region of the African continent with its South African based partner Airlink and their Cape Town hub. The Washington D.C. to Cape Town route is the largest between the U.S. and South Africa without nonstop service. D.C. is the second largest point in the U.S. for Cape Town demand and holds the fifth largest South-African-born population. United's proposed weekly flights will address this gap and complement United's existing South Africa service between New York/Newark and Cape Town and Johannesburg, providing nearly daily service to Cape Town offered by a single carrier. United also maintains a close relationship with the Mandela Foundation and BPESA (Business Processing Enabling South Africa) a not-for-profit company that serves as the industry body and trade association for Global Business Services in South Africa. United recently announced a collaboration with travel company Certified Africa. Certified Africa's mission is to make travel to African countries easy, immersive, and life changing for millions of the African Diaspora across the United States. About United United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." From our U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers. United is bringing back our customers' favorite destinations and adding new ones on its way to becoming the world's best airline.

Read More

Airport Management

StratX Delivers Analytics and Strategy Solutions for Tackling Complex Workforce Challenges

StratX | March 14, 2022

Making the firm’s first-ever appearance at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading Americas conference, Strategy X Partners (“StratX”) detailed the accelerating growth trajectory for its workforce analytics and strategy advisory business, which assists aviation clients in transforming their operations and ensuring their employees are productive, innovative, and engaged. “The most important asset across all sizes of organizations is their people,” contended Gil Jones, StratX’s Co-Founder and Managing Director, elaborating that “the COVID-19 pandemic has propelled labor to become a front-and-center matter and businesses require creative solutions to their labor-related challenges as the mechanisms used in historical downturns are no longer effective.” As seen across all industries, including in the highly cyclical and competitive aviation sector, the importance of workforce has been elevated to new levels during the pandemic, resulting in labor becoming a partner in solution development. The employment landscape has also changed due to persisting labor shortages, reinforcing the urgent need for constructive labor relations centered around employee attraction and retention as a key measure of success. Moreover, impending technology advancements are poised to further evolve the ways in which companies maximize the value of people and ensure that they are working smarter, not harder. “Embracing this mentality shift is essential to achieving long-term sustainability and flexibility as companies rebuild and remerge from the pandemic, while preparing their organizations for the future. Business leaders require seasoned and experienced partners who are able to engage with all levels of the management team, deliver innovative enhancements, and bring creative thinking to the decision-making process.” Ben Kraszyk, StratX’s Co-Founder and Managing Director Since its launch in late 2020, StratX has been at the forefront of workforce analytics and strategy, delivering highly customized, evidence-based insights to industry-leading organizations, counting among its first customers such aviation businesses as Sun Country Airlines, CommutAir, JSX, and Voyager Aviation Holdings. Combining a data-driven approach with in-depth knowledge and a proven track record in strategy, cost reduction, operations, contract negotiations, organizational effectiveness, and process improvement, the firm has provided advisory services in the areas of: Labor Diagnostic & Insights: Unlocking insights into labor cost and productivity, and benchmarking workforce metrics against industry leading practice and solutions; Negotiation Strategy & Labor Relations: Providing guidance on aligning the entire labor negotiations team – from finance to operations – with the broader strategic goals of the business; Operations Processes & Methods: Enhancing business processes and operations, ensuring efficiency, stability, and safety as market expectations evolve; M&A + Due Diligence Support: Providing the expertise required to gain an in-depth understanding of organizational dynamics, in addition to its cost and productivity, throughout the entire life cycle of a successful transaction; Executive Compensation & Rewards: Delivering strategically designed compensation programs that drive the desired behaviors and outcomes that enhance organizational performance and ensure a strong leadership team; and Organizational Size & Shape: Positioning organizations for long-term sustainability by understanding not only the current state of the business, but the strategic and operational nuances of the business, as well. Gil Jones, Ben Kraszyk, and Rob Kuehne, the founding team behind StratX, are deeply versed in all aspects of maximizing the potential of people, business processes, and workforces, having consulted to Fortune 500 companies and as part of engagement teams at industry-leading firms. Gil Jones has deep roots in organizational design, right-sizing, labor forecasting, executive compensation, and operational improvement. Prior to StratX, Jones was a project leader at Seabury Consulting and worked within United Airlines’ Flight Operations division, providing analysis and support to initiatives targeted at improving flight safety, compliance, efficiency, and reliability. Ben Kraszyk brings expertise in airport operations, labor finance, and strategy, supporting clients through negotiations, restructurings, privatizations, and initiatives targeted at enhancing costs and productivity. Prior to StratX, Kraszyk was a project leader at Seabury Consulting and worked at United Airlines, where he was focused on resource planning, as well as cost and operational enhancement projects in airport operations and cargo. In addition to being a co-founding member of StratX, Rob Kuehne works at a boutique private equity firm, Sentient Partners International, where he supports transactions within the aviation and travel industries. Kuehne also holds securities licenses with Seabury Securities, a leading investment banking and specialty finance firm. Previously, he served as a broker at a leading wealth management and advisory firm. As part of its aggressive growth trajectory, StratX plans to continue the build-out of its team with seasoned consultants and analysts as well as to forge industry alliances and partnerships to expand its core offerings to meet existing and prospective clients’ needs in the rapidly changing market environment. “Business leaders are seeking out work with boutique advisors, who are committed to being a trusted, long-term partner,” asserted Rob Kuehne, StratX’s Co-Founder and Managing Director. “We built StratX with the mindset of being more of an ‘in the room with the customer’ partner in solving challenges, while being pragmatic and courageous enough to recommend dramatically new ways of doing things.” About StratX Strategy X Partners (“StratX”) is a boutique consultancy that balances the right combination of insights & analytics and design & strategy to transform clients’ business operations and ensure their workforces are productive, innovative, and engaged. Operating from offices in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York, the StratX team works with a broad spectrum of companies across the globe, including clients in the cyclical and highly competitive travel industry.

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