Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International (YWG) achieved a record number of passengers last year, 3.68 million, and is on pace to exceed that number in 2015. The airport, located in the province of Manitoba, is heavily focused on non-aeronautical revenue development as it seeks competitive advantage against airports in both Canada and the U.S.
Barry Rempel has served as president and CEO of Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc. since April 2002. ARN’s Carol Ward spoke with him about his airport’s strategies for expansion and revenue growth.
Ward: YWG had strong passenger growth in 2014. What is happening in 2015, and what sort of growth are you anticipating next year?
Rempel: In 2014, we had a record 3.68 million passengers, which was about 5.3 percent growth over the previous year. The good news for us is that we’re actually continuing that trend for 2015. We’ve had some good announcements, like WestJet starting Winnipeg to London Gatwick (LGW) in May next year. We’ve had some really interesting small wins as we look forward to charter season this winter. Celebrity Cruises, for example, is running a program from Winnipeg that is all inclusive right onto their boat in Florida. Little things like that are helping. There’s been talk in the media about the potential of one of the ultra-low-cost carriers starting up. For a place like Winnipeg, as we look to 2016, that would clearly be good news. The reality is that, as in many smaller markets in the United States, our market is significantly capacity constrained. Particularly, one downside for us this year is that United Airlines dropped two of the five frequencies between Winnipeg and Chicago, primarily blaming pilot shortages.
Ward: I know your airport terminal has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification. Was that important to you and to your community?
Rempel: We opened a new terminal at the end of 2011. Getting the certification takes a few years. We had set the bar at certification and ended up at LEED Silver, so we were really pleased. Our whole province very much has an ethos of wanting and trying to be as environmentally responsible as possible. We could have done virtually the same things for operating efficiencies and not told anybody, but having this external validation is something that is important for our community.
The complete article appears in the November print issue of Airport Revenue News. Click Here to subscribe.
