The Food & Shops at LaGuardia Airport announced the winners of their second annual ‘Quest for the Best’ employee recognition and incentive program. Winners of the 2008 program were: The Body Shop, First Place; Airport Wireless, Second Place; and Sam Adams, Third Place. Au Bon Pain was presented with the Most Improved award; a new category announced this year. The winners were announced at a special awards brunch held by MarketPlace Development, the retail development company that manages the food and shops program in the Central Terminal, on February 24 at LaGuardia’s Central Terminal Building. As recipient of the fi rst place ‘Quest for the Best’ award, The Body Shop received a $1,000.00 grand prize and a 2008 ‘Quest for the Best’ trophy. Speakers at the brunch included Warren Kroeppel, general manager of LaGuardia Airport; Paul McGinn, president of MarketPlace Development and Lillian Tan, vice president and general manager of Market- Place Development.

Who said we are in a recession? Not the JFK Cargo community. The JFK Air Cargo Association celebrated its 10th Annual Air Cargo Exposition held at the Ramada Hotel at JFK. The two highlights of the event was the large number of tables reserved for the airport community to sell their wares; and, a lively discussion panel which spoke to a wide range of important matters that may shape the future direction of Air Cargo in New York and consequently around the World. Topics such as “Transportation and the Economy”, “Security” (TSA screening), “Alliances” (to include Mergers and Acquisitions), and “How will the Freight Forwarders adjust to the same?” were discussed at the session. Over 240 members of the JFK Cargo Community attended the event. Kudos go to the Air Cargo Community for demonstrating confi dence in their industry.

The JFK Chamber of Commerce started last year to give an “unrestricted” scholarship to two employees of JFK Airport or its’ adjacent industry partners. The method of earning the scholarship remains the same; it is to write an essay, written by the scholarship candidate about their quest for a higher education degree. It does not have to be in the pursuit of an aviation degree or career. Last year, the Chamber awarded two students $500 each. This year they are looking to increase the dollar amount for each scholarship. This will be based on the success at their monthly

luncheons. This month Ed Bastion of Delta/Northwest airline will speak at the Chamber Luncheon on April 28th. Check out the Chamber web site www.jfk-airport.org for more details.

Excuse us at Airport Press if we share in the pride about the honoring of Dolores Hofman of the Queens Development Offi ce as Top Woman in Business. She is not only a friend but a neighbor in Building 141. Dolores is being recognized at the Terrace on the Park Restaurant on April 2nd at their Networking Awards Dinner.

Modernizing the outdated U.S. air traffi c control system should be a top priority for industry regulators and members, lawmakers said at a hearing Wednesday on the Federal Aviation Administration’s longrunning modernization project known as “NextGen.” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., expressed frustration with the lack of progress on NextGen, which some estimate could cost $20 billion before wrapping up in 2025. “I’m just losing patience,” said Rockefeller. “I’m sick of it.” Industry executives who testifi ed at the hearing urged Congress to accelerate the pace of the project, saying the nation’s air traffi c control system is outdated and ineffi cient, producing delays that frustrate travelers and impose hefty costs on airlines and the environment. Waiting until 2025 to wrap up the transition to NextGen “is simply unacceptable,” said T.K. Kallenbach, vice president of marketing at Honeywell Aerospace, a unit of Honeywell International (HON). “Improvements are needed today.” Airline offi cials echoed that view. United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp. (UAUA), loses up to $600 million a year because of air traffi c delays, and the cost to the nation probably exceeds $41 billion annually, said United Airlines Senior Vice President Joe Kolshak.
It is cost sustainable say advocates
NextGen advocates say it should pay for itself quickly by reducing fl ight delays and cutting fuel consumption and emissions. The next-generation system will replace radar-based air traffi c control systems with satellite-based technology, allowing planes to fl y more closely together and use more direct routes. The concept is similar to the GPS technology used in some automobiles, relying on transponder-equipped aircraft to communicate the aircraft’s position to controllers in real time, and to give weather and other information to pilots.