Ears to the Runway

You're a commercial carrier airport and your dominant airline asks to add more flights. What do you say? Or, you're a GA airport and your FBO wants to add an avionics shop to its robust maintenance business. Or say you're a consulting firm and an airport client wants to add another project onto an existing job.

Good news, right? As long as the logistics get worked out, this is good news.

Not all new business just drops onto our laps, however. More often, we need to recognize the signs of growth and react accordingly.

Nobody knows your business/airport better than you do. If you ask anyone outside your business, or business niche, specifically what you should do to expand, you probably wouldn't get an answer. Or, if you do, the response probably won't be useful or practical. Why is that? It's because you live it every day. You know the signs of what drives your operation, and outsiders don't. The signs may not be overt, but experience gives you an innate sense of what to do.

Continually asking questions about what's next and how to grow is the starting point. The industry, coupled with your experience, will usually supply the rest.

Where am I going with this? Ever since Airport Improvement was launched, interest in information about runways and ramps has been remarkable. There have been hundreds of editorial nominations in this category - more than we can possibly cover. Even running two to three stories per issue hasn't put a dent in the backlog of great topics on hand. Advertising in this sector has been equally remarkable.

Hmmm. Perhaps the market is telling us something?

While no one has come out and said we need a runway and ramp issue, the writing is on the wall. There's been sufficient interest and advertising support to bring you an issue of Airport Improvement dedicated exclusively to runways and ramps - a special issue with great feature articles, not just a collection of worn-out press releases.

I hope you enjoy this issue and find it useful for managing your airport or business. There are so many great stories to tell here. Thank you for bringing them to our attention so we can share them with the rest of the industry.

Cheers! Paul