Airport Management
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 | 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 | 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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