As the holiday travel season begins its build up to the year end crescendo, the refrain for the Houston Airport System (HAS) is business is strong, planning and preparation are paying huge dividends and the future is looking very bright. That’s the main message delivered by Rick Vacar, director of the Houston Airport System, during his recent State of the Airport address. Some among the distinguished crowd of business people, civic leaders, VIP’s and politicos are still talking about the impressive new array of air carriers, scheduled to begin service from Houston’s airports during the next several months. They include the third Asian carrier to join the force at George Bush Intercontinental (IAH), EVA Air Cargo, which now offers all-cargo service twice a week from Houston to Taipei.

© Houston Airport System Message Delivery. HAS Director Rick Vacar delivered a lot of good news about Houston's airports and promised an even grander future for the city at the annual State of the Airports Address, earlier this year.

Air Bridge Cargo will begin offering service to Russia from IAH in a matter of weeks.

City Star Airlines is scheduled to offer transatlantic non-stop all business class passenger service from Houston to Aberdeen beginning in January.

And the crowning achievement is new non-stop direct passenger service from Houston to Dubai beginning in December. The three weekly flights by Emirates will make Houston only the second airport in the nation offering the world renowned service to the region.

The growth in service was buttressed by several other stellar accomplishments for Houston’s airports including impressive growth in air freight, national recognition for IAH which ranked number one in on time performance among all U.S. airports in August and September, at the height of the intense summer travel season.

William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) was rated number one in its class for Customer Satisfaction in a J.D. Power and Associates survey, for the second consecutive year.

Hobby also opened an expansive new central concourse offering unique upgraded concessions and several other improvements which are part of a $250 million dollar capital improvement package.

Ellington Field which is Houston’s joint civil/military use airport, completed construction of the new Taxi lane Kilo, which is spurring new business interest and development in and around the airport complex.

From new hybrid vehicles to thousands of newly planted tree’s, to jogging and walking trails, plans for environmental and quality of life improvements are underway.

The multi-million dollar airport art collection is being supplemented by a series of temporary art and cultural exhibits that have already proven popular with travelers and attracted increasing community involvement.

There were a number of accolades to mention during the address, including the designation of the Federal Services Inspection Facility as the first “Model Port” in the nation, by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State. It serves as a prototype for airports around the nation when it comes to providing service to international passengers.

Another first included the introduction of Threat Containment Units, security tools that allow the airport to remove suspicious items safely and quickly from public areas rather than shutting the terminal down.

As Vacar explained the work is not finished yet. HAS is working hard to achieve the goals established under the systems “Destination 2020,” plan, which call for the “Houston Airport System to become the center of a regional transportation system, by 2020, grow the Houston Airport System infrastructure to efficiently, conveniently, and safely support 80 million passengers. Provide seamless passenger and cargo services that are free of obstacles and employ the best technology in the most environmentally conscious manner.”

With aviation experts and insiders predicting that more than 1-billion passengers will travel aboard U.S. air carriers by the year 2012 the Houston Airport System is positioning itself as a greater economic engine for Houston and the surrounding metropolitan areas.

Some say achieving success in the aviation industry involves a real time game of strategy, planning and implementation. The Houston Airport System has its game face on and as baseball legend Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

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