Hong Kong based Dragonair Airlines, a new member of JFK’s family, has ambitious plans to become a presence in the freight carrier business in the United States. While the U.S. start-up venture is beginning modestly, it would be foolish for competitors to ignore this airline; a growing competitive presence in Asia and in Europe, both in the freight as well as the passenger sector. And after meeting their management team at a Manhattan lunch last month which was the kick-off of their US venture, I am now doubly convinced that Dragonair will achieve their mission. At the Manhattan event, I was fortunate enough to spend several hours with Stanley H.C. Hui, the CEO of Dragonair, as well as Albert Yau, the General Manager of Cargo, Liza Ng, Assistant General Manager of Cargo, Ken To, of Public Relations and Simon Chan who is the Manager of Operations for Dragonair on the East Coast and therefore, the key guy at JFK. Dragonair has a blueprint for serving shippers in our area. This blueprint has been followed world-wide with much success. In Mr. Hui’s luncheon presentation, he was espe-cially proud of the 22% cargo growth yearto- year and expects to continue this strong growth in the future. Dragonairs financial accomplishments are impressive. To summarize, this is an airline started in 1985 with a Boeing 737. It is a now a company with over 2,500 employees, a passenger fleet of 35 aircraft. Dragonair’s cargo fleet now boasts of three 747’s and four Airbus freighters. Since dedicating a Cargo mission in 1997, the airline now serves cargo clients in Asia, Europe and now the United States. Dragonair’s confidence is underlined by it’s purchase of five new 747-400’s with deliveries starting in 2006. The JFK operation will have departures from JFK to Hong Kong on Monday, Thursday and Saturday with a technical stop in Anchorage. The new service will operate with a wet-leased 747-400 freighter aircraft. Perhaps my age is showing but the Dragonair executive team is very young and dynamic. The team is led by Mr. Hui, a formidable figure in Hong Kong, a member of several industry advisory boards and a Director of the government owned Hong Kong Education City network. Mr. Hui, an active community member, is married and the father of two children. All members of Mr. Hui’s team have extensive freight experience. Dragonair faces strong challenges in a tough New York market and has to begin developing their network of contacts and agents. This will take time and will not be without some turbulence. There are no secret ingredients to success; it is composed of solid leadership, hard work and good planning; with a little bit of luck thrown in. Dragonair has the track record of success and this writer sees no reason why it will not continue to do so in the future. We wish all at Dragonair good luck, especially Simon Chan and his JFK staff. For further information on Dragonair, the website address is www.dragonair.com.

JetBlue Airways announced it will serve Ponce, Puerto Rico, offering the first and only nonstop service from New York to the Puerto Rican airport. Beginning June 17, JetBlue plans one daily nonstop flight between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Ponce's Mercedita Airport. JetBlue, New York's hometown airline, will offer six daily nonstop flights between JFK and San Juan, and two daily nonstop flights to Aguadilla this summer and JetBlue Unveils New 140,000-Square-Foot Hangar and Maintenance Facility at JFK JetBlue Airways celebrates the opening of the carrier's 140,000-square-foot hangar at JFK. The new hangar and

International Airport at the beginning of this month and plans to open a JetBlue University Support Campus also at Orlando International Airport in early June. The new JetBlue facility at JFK, the construction for which originally broke ground on August 8, 2003, covers approximately 140,000-square-feet and includes a long-span hangar, various workshops and a state-of-the-art automated parts retrieval and storage system. An office facility attached to the hangar provides offices, break rooms and additional crewmember support space. Additionally, a warehouse for aircraft provisions with loading docks for deliveries completes the campus.

Council on Historic Preservation for the rehabilitation, restoration and adaptive reuse of the terminal. A new passenger terminal will be built behind Terminal 5. Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, “We appreciate the U.S. Postal Service recognizing our historic terminal with this honor. We look forward to reopening this building to the public as we move forward on our adaptive reuse process, and expect grand results, just as we experienced with the National Historic Landmark Building One at Newark Liberty International Airport.” Port Authority Vice Chairman Charles A. Gargano said, “Although Terminal 5 no longer operates as a passenger terminal, its place as a New York architectural icon and centerpiece of Kennedy Airport is secure, and that’s why we’re committed to the building’s preservation.

Jewish Hospital and at Winthrop University Hospital. Please call the Airport Medical Offices at 1-718-244-1644 for more information or to schedule an appointment.