How do airlines and airports connect? Conferences like the ACI Jumpstart Conference! Think of it like speed-dating for airlines and airports. In this episode, we attended the 2024 Jumpstart Conference hosted here in Washington, DC, and sat down with several airports, airlines, and other key figures in the travel industry to hear their thoughts on this important step of the process!
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Staff:
Tanisha Lewis, VP of DISI
Jaimini Erskine, VP of Marketing & Concessions
Charles Wilson, Co-host/Co-producer
Amanda Ohbayashi, Co-host/Co-producer/Social media producer
Ryan Burdick, Editor/Co-producer
Bong Lee, Graphics
Brian McCoy, Digital Strategy/Co-producer
Sagia Depty, Marketing Lead/Co-producer
[music]
[00:00:04] Amanda: I'm Amanda.
[00:00:05] Charles: I'm Charles.
[00:00:06] Amanda: This is the Capital Runway Podcast.
[music]
Today we are joined by Paul Bobson, who is the VP of air service development here for the Airports Authority. Welcome, Paul.
[00:00:21] Paul Bobson: Welcome, Amanda and Charles. It's great to be with you.
[00:00:23] Amanda: Today we're going to talk a little bit about JumpStart, which is an upcoming ACI conference. Why don't you tell us a little bit about that?
[00:00:31] Paul: An air service development conference is where airports and airline decision makers come together to really discuss new routes. Have you ever been on the plane or been in the gate area and, why are all these people going to the same city I am? It's always--
[00:00:47] Amanda: On a Tuesday.
[00:00:48] Paul: On a Tuesday, right? It's always that strange thing. How could you possibly be going there? That's what we do in air service development is we tell that story. These conferences allow us to connect with those airlines and help build air service and economic growth for our communities.
[00:01:04] Charles: Great. Why is JumpStart important to the aviation industry?
[00:01:08] Paul: JumpStart's incredibly important, and really other air service development around the world, because although you have global airlines that might have hundreds of thousands of employees, there's a very small group who actually determine where those aircraft are going. We always like to say that you can move airlines, but you can't move airports. You can move those planes. Our job in these conferences, we take all of this information and, from route planning and all that finance, and we boil it down to a story for these airlines, because they have so many different options to send their flights around the world.
We use these conferences to really get our unique information in front of them. Not only does Washington and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority use these conferences, but airports all around the world use this to connect with airlines, especially if you can't go to Ho Chi Minh City, for example, to meet with someone. These conferences allow us to bring these people together.
[00:02:07] Charles: Great.
[00:02:08] Amanda: What kind of impact can we expect for the airport specifically from a conference like JumpStart?
[00:02:13] Paul: Airports typically that host in the months and years immediately preceding see a higher than average uptick in new capacity and new service. We would definitely anticipate on the other side of JumpStart to announce a new airline or new service. These events are a great catalyst with the industry focus to help announce all of that new service.
[00:02:37] Charles: What is it like attending JumpStart?
[00:02:39] Paul: It is a whirlwind couple of days, whether it's JumpStart or another air service conference. Picture this, if you can. You're in a giant conference ballroom that's filled with maybe 100 tables. There's two seats on either side. On one side sits the airline rep, and on the other side sits the airport. A bell goes off and you've got 20 minutes.
[00:03:04] Amanda: It's like speed dating.
[00:03:05] Paul: It is speed dating, corporate style, exactly. You have 20 minutes to do your intros, to go through the deck that might have 50 or 60 pages in it, and then talk to the airline about their opportunities before you have 5 minutes remaining. Then the meeting is up. That happens all day from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, multiple days in a row. Airlines and airports going from table to table to table. It's these opportunities, it can be a tiring day, but it can also be very rewarding, because we like to say air service development is a marathon, not a sprint.
It takes years to develop these routes. Sometimes you're lucky and things might happen a little bit sooner. When an airline's deciding where to send their $300 million asset, there's a lot of analysis. There's a lot of planning with that because gone are the days when airlines try a new route for a couple years and let it lose money. If it's not making money on day one, they don't want to send your aircraft to your destination or airport. That's what we really try to work and make sure that the airline has full confidence in us before the service even starts.
[00:04:16] Amanda: Cool. Thanks so much for joining us.
[00:04:18] Paul: Oh, thank you. I appreciate it. Have a great JumpStart Conference.
[00:04:21] Charles: Thank you.
[music]
[00:04:24] Amanda: Next, we have a very special guest. Joining us is Scott from ACI. You are the VP of communications for ACI.
[00:04:33] Scott: That's correct.
[00:04:34] Amanda: You run this conference, correct?
[00:04:37] Scott: I am one of many ACIs now that are here to support the company. This is one of our special events that we do every year. It's one that the industry really looks forward to having because it's a really good chance for airports to connect with their airline partners and talk about future service options.
[00:04:53] Amanda: If you had to describe JumpStart in one sentence, what would it be?
[00:04:58] Scott: JumpStart is speed dating for airports and airlines. It's a chance for them to connect and to plan for the future.
[00:05:05] Charles: What kind of feedback have you gotten so far this week?
[00:05:07] Scott: There's been lots of really good energy and good discussions that are happening. I think coming out of the pandemic, we're now seeing passenger traffic back to nearly pre-pandemic levels. People are really optimistic about travel. There's a lot of demand out there. Everyone is making a good case for why more airlines should be servicing more airports. There's been a lot of high energy at this conference.
[00:05:29] Amanda: We heard that this is the most attended one of the year.
[00:05:32] Scott: This is a record-breaking event for us. Over the last couple days that we've been here, there have been almost 1,600 meetings between airports and airlines. There's more than 200 airports here. There's 33 airlines here. Highest attendance we've ever had at this conference. We're very excited for it.
[00:05:52] Amanda: What do you see is the future of aviation moving forward?
[00:05:57] Scott: The big trend that we're seeing on the airport side of the business right now is the emphasis that airports are putting on improving the passenger experience. While people are traveling through airports, they want a seamless, efficient process. That includes improving technology, hiring more staff, and making really important investments in infrastructure. We see it at Dulles. We see it at Reagan. Construction has been the name of the game for the last few years. We're expecting to see a lot more of that into the future. I think next time you travel through your airport, it might look a little different than it did the last time you were through it, just because of all of the improvements that we're making.
[00:06:32] Amanda: Absolutely. What's next for ACI?
[00:06:34] Scott: What's next for us? We do about 20 different professional development and educational conferences every year. The next really big one that we have is our annual conference for the whole industry. It's the world's largest gathering of airport professionals. We'll have about 2,500 people descend on Grand Rapids, Michigan for a look at innovation, safety, security, all those fun topics that we like to deal with on the airport side of the business.
[00:07:00] Amanda: One question we ask all of our local guests, and one we haven't asked other airports, but where are you flying to next?
[00:07:07] Scott: Where am I flying to next? That's a really great question. Oh, I'm flying to Miami next. I'll be there for our Business of Airports Conference, which is a look at the concessions, human resources, finance side of the business. We'll be meeting with concessionaires, bringing people together to talk about what's new in food and what's new in passenger amenities.
[00:07:31] Amanda: Awesome. Any last thoughts before you sign off?
[00:07:35] Scott: No, I think that's it.
[laughter]
Covered it all. Covered the waterfront.
[00:07:39] Amanda: Thanks so much for being here.
[00:07:40] Scott: I just want to say thanks to the MWAA team for hosting this year's conference. It's been really exciting to partner with our hometown airport. ACI-NA is based here in Washington, DC. This conference happens all over North America, either in the US or Canada, and we're really excited to have it here in our hometown.
[00:07:55] Amanda: Awesome. Thank you.
[00:07:57] Scott: Thank you.
[00:07:58] Amanda: Next we have Cheryl joining us from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Welcome.
[00:08:05] Cheryl: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.
[00:08:08] Amanda: We have talked to a few airports, a few airlines. You're joining us from the LVCVA. Why is it important for a destination marketing authority to be at a conference like JumpStart?
[00:08:22] Cheryl: Certainly this provides us with a great opportunity to interact with our domestic airline partners, but also some international partners as well that attend. We like to take advantage of every opportunity that we have to be in front of them, to talk to them about what's new and changing. In Las Vegas, we are a destination that tends to recreate itself and reinvent itself on a very frequent basis, so there's always new information and new news that we can share with them.
[00:08:48] Charles: You guys have a new football team too, right?
[00:08:50] Cheryl: We do.
[00:08:52] Charles: I'm a big Raiders fan.
[00:08:55] Cheryl: As am I.
[laughter]
[00:08:59] Charles: If you could describe JumpStart in one sentence, what would that be?
[00:09:03] Cheryl: Opportunity. It's certainly a great opportunity. Just the event itself, from a meetings and convention type of perspective, certainly coming from Las Vegas, we recognize the importance of supporting industry shows, conferences, trade shows, meetings, are important to any destination that hosts them. Then secondly, because this is an industry-related show and not just, say, a corporate event, for example, it presents another layer of opportunity for us from an air service development perspective, again, to meet and talk with all of our partners.
[00:09:37] Amanda: Is this your first time visiting DC? It is not.
[00:09:39] Cheryl: It is not. No. This is a city that is near and dear to our hearts. We actually have staff in an office here in Washington, DC for many, many years. They are integrated into the community. They work with many of our clients that are based here in Washington, DC. I like to think of DC as maybe a little piece of Las Vegas on the East Coast, minus some hotels.
[00:10:03] Amanda: What happens here does not always stay here.
[laughter]
[00:10:08] Charles: What's next for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority?
[00:10:13] Cheryl: Overall, our task and our purpose, reason for existing, is to brand market Las Vegas. What's new for us is really always what's new for the destination. Most recently we've had some very big headlines. You mentioned the Raiders. Certainly they are very much a part of our city now, as are the Las Vegas Golden Knights, Stanley Cup Championship winners last year. They're going to work on it again. We also have the WNBA as well.
[00:10:44] Charles: The Aces, right?
[00:10:45] Cheryl: Yes, the Las Vegas Aces.
[00:10:47] Amanda: I love the theme.
[00:10:48] Cheryl: You're sensing the sports theme, right?
[00:10:51] Amanda: Yes.
[00:10:51] Charles: Yes.
[00:10:51] Cheryl: There's plenty more activities that are happening. When we look at WrestleMania coming to Las Vegas, we look at UFC, and that's going to be a big thing. There was a time when sports in Las Vegas was only about boxing. Now when you look at the array and the palette of opportunities that exist, it allows us the opportunity to talk to a new consumer, which is that sports enthusiast who loves to follow their sports teams. We are all about marketing Las Vegas as not only the entertainment capital of the world and all those things that you recognize us for, but also of sports and entertainment.
[00:11:24] Charles: Great.
[00:11:24] Amanda: Awesome. Was there anything else that you'd like to add?
[00:11:27] Cheryl: I very much appreciate the opportunity and the invitation to come and be here with you all. I think this is an exciting opportunity for DC as well. We do have some new announcements that-- do you mind if I share?
[00:11:41] Charles: Let's hear it.
[00:11:41] Amanda: Absolutely. Let's hear it.
[00:11:43] Cheryl: I want to give, I guess, credit to some of our airline partners on June 2nd. We have new service starting on Virgin Atlantic from Manchester to Las Vegas. Norse Airways will also launch service from London Gatwick in September, to Las Vegas. Then most recently, as of today, we have a new announcement. Aer Lingus will begin flying from Dublin to Las Vegas in October. Some very big international announcements. We're very appreciative of all of our airline partners on the domestic side as well as international. It's an exciting time for Las Vegas. It's an exciting time for travel just to the US. That certainly means a lot of opportunities to be talked about here at JumpStart.
[00:12:29] Charles: Congratulations.
[00:12:31] Amanda: Thank you so much for joining us.
[00:12:31] Cheryl: Thank you very much. Thanks for having me.
[00:12:34] Amanda: Next, we are being joined by Quinn Annelin from Ontario International Airport in California, not Canada.
[00:12:41] Quinn Annelin: Correct.
[00:12:43] Amanda: Welcome, Quinn.
[00:12:44] Quinn: Thank you. Good to be here.
[00:12:47] Amanda: Let's start with why is it important for your airport to attend conferences like JumpStart?
[00:12:53] Quinn: The Los Angeles Basin, where we're located, has six airports that have commercial service. It's a very competitive environment for airports to operate in. It's the second biggest air service market in the country, but it's one that multiple airports operate from. We are always seeking to grow our service. We do have capacity to grow at our airport. We want to be able to provide those nonstop links to all over the country and just better access to travelers from our region, which is about 4.5 half million people that live on our immediate vicinity.
[00:13:30] Amanda: Wow.
[00:13:31] Charles: If you could describe JumpStart in one sentence, what would that be?
[00:13:37] Quinn: I think it's a great networking opportunity and great chance to meet with multiple airlines in a more relaxed environment than maybe some of the other forums.
[00:13:49] Amanda: Is this your first time in DC?
[00:13:50] Quinn: It's not, actually. I've been here many, many times. I have a lot of family in this area, so I'm actually going to be seeing some of them after the conference is over for the Thursday, Friday, and through the weekend. Great city. I love DC. It's a beautiful city.
[00:14:06] Charles: What's your favorite part about it, other than family?
[00:14:09] Quinn: I think it just has a really cool feel to it. It has that East Coast feel, but maybe not as crowded as a place like New York or Chicago. It still feels big city, but small town feel to it. I love all the green space in DC. Sometimes you're driving through the city and there's hills and green everywhere. You forget that you're in a major city in the nation's capital. It's just, I think, aesthetically a very nice city as well. The weather, the winter. I'm still going to take Southern California for the winter months.
[laughter]
It's a great city.
[00:14:48] Amanda: It's a beautiful day here in DC today.
[00:14:50] Quinn: It is.
[00:14:50] Charles: Wait till August.
[00:14:52] Amanda: Yes, wait till August.
[laughter]
What's next for Ontario as an airport?
[00:14:57] Quinn: We're still growing. We're up about 15%. Last year, we were up about 15% compared to the 2019 level. Fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic, which was awesome. We're trending up about another 10% this year on top of last year. Just lots of growth. We're really excited about that. We think that that'll continue. We're seeing a lot of inward migration from the coastal areas. As you guys know, it's very expensive along both coasts. We're seeing people moving inland a little bit to take advantage of a little bit lower cost of living and just better lifestyle. That's really benefited our airport. Our region continues to grow. That continues to be one of our big selling points when we speak to airlines about growing our air service out in Ontario.
[00:15:47] Amanda: That's awesome.
[00:15:49] Charles: Thank you for joining us. Do you want to leave us, our listeners, with anything?
[00:15:53] Quinn: If you're coming to Southern California or coming to the Los Angeles area, definitely consider Ontario for your travel plans. Easy to get anywhere in the region. Disneyland, Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs. We have good access to all of Southern California. Always keep that in your travel plans if you're heading to Southern California.
[00:16:19] Amanda: Awesome. Thanks so much.
[00:16:20] Quinn: Thank you.
[00:16:22] Amanda: We are back and we have Nathaniel Wong from Vancouver International Airport. Welcome.
[00:16:29] Nathaniel Wong: Thanks. Good to be here.
[00:16:31] Amanda: Tell us, why is it important for Vancouver to attend conferences like JumpStart?
[00:16:36] Nathaniel: Part of it's the networking. The other part is getting an update on industry and then presenting the business case. It's almost like speed date or a parent-teacher meeting, as we like to say,-
[00:16:48] Amanda: That's a new one.
[00:16:48] Nathaniel: -for airlines and trying to find out performance and where we can do better. Also presenting business cases and trying to get new opportunities, added capacity at Vancouver.
[00:17:00] Amanda: United just recently launched the Vancouver route connecting Washington Dulles to Vancouver.
[00:17:06] Nathaniel: Canada as well.
[00:17:07] Amanda: Yes. We're super excited for that. Tell us a little bit about Vancouver. What is there to do there?
[00:17:13] Nathaniel: The service is actually happening at the peak of our cruise season. This year, there's been some added capacity from all the cruise lines, from the major cruise lines. Vancouver's not-- I grew up there. I spent most of my life there. I did attend schooling on the East Coast, but for the most part, Vancouver's been my home. Food and the cruise season during the winter. Whistler is a big part of our traffic and our tourism.
People just come to Vancouver just because of the beauty of the West Coast. Weather-wise, it's mild. It's not super hot. It's not super cold. It's just perfect, just right. We like where we're located. We like the city. Whistler's not just a ski resort. It's also a summer playground as well. We have a lot of mountain bikers who come in to do the mountain biking, that kind of thing. It's like a all-four-seasons destination.
[00:18:24] Charles: Is this your first time in DC?
[00:18:27] Nathaniel: Second time.
[00:18:28] Charles: What do you think?
[00:18:30] Nathaniel: Awesome. The first time I came was summer. I was a youngster and it was hot.
[00:18:38] Charles: Summers in DC are hot.
[00:18:39] Nathaniel: We couldn't do some of the things. A colleague of mine, we walked from White House to the Washington Monument. Then over to the Lincoln Memorial. That was a treat. I never got to do that when I was a child. It was just too hot for us.
[00:18:52] Amanda: For sure.
[00:18:53] Nathaniel: Able to do that. Then yesterday, we had some time in the afternoon and we got to see one of the museums, the Natural History Museum.
[00:19:02] Amanda: That's my favorite.
[00:19:03] Nathaniel: Amazing. It's free. Free museum. That was awesome.
[laughter]
[00:19:09] Amanda: It's not entirely free. Our tax dollars paid for it.
[laughter]
Oh, I recommend actually going to the monuments at night if you get a chance.
[00:19:21] Nathaniel: We did.
[00:19:21] Amanda: Oh, you've been at night? Great. It's-
[00:19:23] Nathaniel: It was all lit up.
[00:19:24] Amanda: -a much different experience.
[00:19:25] Nathaniel: It was awesome. We got in on Sunday afternoon. We had dinner and then went for a walk. We were just like, oh, it's... We sat in a plane for five hours. Let's get some steps in. We got, I don't know, we got 15,000 steps. It was awesome. It was great.
[00:19:43] Amanda: What's next for Vancouver, for your airport?
[00:19:46] Nathaniel: Still some work to be done with regards to recovery. We still like to look at 2019 numbers. We're starting to use 23 as sort of the baseline for recovery. There's still some work to be done in our international sector with Asia. There's limited capacity due to our relationship with China. Some work to be done there and then some work to be done on our European. In terms of our domestics, Canadian domestic and then our trans-border, our network's close to pre-pandemic, if not over capacity. Maybe even 110% of our pre-pandemic levels in terms of the trans-border network. Looking pretty good, but still some work to be done obviously.
[00:20:36] Charles: Do you want to leave our audience with any parting thoughts?
[00:20:40] Nathaniel: It's been an awesome experience to come here once again to DC. It was a nice treat to explore your city and just check it out at. This is the perfect time of the year to be here.
[00:20:54] Amanda: Really is.
[00:20:55] Nathaniel: Great place, great spot for a conference of this nature. We've had good meetings today and we look forward to the good meetings tomorrow, and hopefully get some people from this region out to the West Coast.
[00:21:11] Amanda: Thanks so much.
[00:21:12] Nathaniel: No problem.
[00:21:14] Charles: We're excited that we have Edgar Vesga. He's the director of air service development and cargo services at the Philadelphia International Airport. Welcome.
[00:21:23] Amanda: Welcome.
[00:21:24] Edgar Vesga: Thank you so much. Very happy to be here.
[00:21:26] Amanda: Tell us a little bit about why it's important for Philadelphia to participate in a conference like JumpStart.
[00:21:34] Edgar: When I first heard about JumpStart, one of the things that came to mind was network opportunities. I'm new to the industry, but yet there's so many things that are different from the industry. Being able to understand what VFR is, because when you Google VFR, it's different to what the term VFR is on air service development. Things like that. Then you also get the know-how and the wonderful people that wants to make sure that you're successful.
I can tell you, I have not met anyone that says no, and everyone is willing and able to help. From the industry standards, having a forum like this, where you can meet different people and can talk about, how do you do this? Hey, what do you think about what's going on with the trends? The industry is a wonderful way to invest time for the benefit of the community that you represent.
[00:22:23] Charles: If you could describe JumpStart to someone who hasn't been, how would you describe it?
[00:22:30] Edgar: Bring a lot of business cards.
[laughter]
You are going to meet quite a lot of good talent. I can tell you, we have different types of airlines. Airlines that are really making a difference in the industry. We also have so many of the airports, small, medium, large. I can tell you, when you compare notes, this is what you come to do. Learn, share your experiences, get some guidance. That's the reason why anyone should come to JumpStart.
Don't be threatened or feel afraid. Not only you take care of business, but then you learn in the process. Not many conferences will afford you to do that. Having the first day where you just pay attention to what's going on in the industry, that sets you up to be successful. Is this your first time in DC? No, in DC, but in JumpStart, it's my first time. Yes, wonderful city.
[00:23:20] Amanda: What do you like about DC?
[00:23:22] Edgar: The diversity, the different communities, the food. I love food. Being able to experience Lebanese food from all over the world, is a plus. People are very welcoming. When you walk around the different neighborhoods, the diversity. I think that's so important. We connect communities. We need to understand what the communities are about. Coming to Philadelphia and walking different neighborhoods does help you to understand, how can I connect the community that I represent in Philadelphia with Washington,?Whichever place you are at.
[00:23:58] Charles: What's next for your airport?
[00:24:00] Edgar: We have a humongous cargo expansion. That's going to be a big win for the community and for us. We know that we are setting up the proper infrastructure for that. Air services, we are already, this month, pre-COVID-19 numbers. That's a great thing for us. Last year we increased about 12.6% on the number of passengers that went there. That's huge. I think we're getting so much traction with the different airlines. New international routes that we are launching, we launched Nice about three weeks ago, France. We are in the process of launching, in two weeks, Copenhagen.
Also, yes, very exciting. As well as Naples. We are also very excited that Barbados is coming to our airport. Also we have Costa Rica now. All those are very good, exciting routes. We launched Santo Domingo also in December. That's a big plus. We are providing more seats to the airlines. Our up-gauging has been substantial as well. It's a win-win for everyone. We look at the economic impact that all these routes bring to the table. We are creating over 600 jobs, equivalent full-time jobs, with these new routes. The economic impact is close to $160 million. That's really good for the community.
[00:25:32] Amanda: That's fantastic. Thank you so much for being here. It's been great.
[00:25:36] Edgar: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
[00:25:37] Charles: Thank you.
[00:25:37] Amanda: Thank you. Next we have Nacim Yala from Arajet. Welcome. He is the chief commercial and strategy officer. Welcome.
[00:25:50] Nacim Yala: Thanks for having me.
[00:25:51] Charles: If you could start off by just telling us a little bit about your airline.
[00:25:56] Nacim: We're a new carrier based in the Dominican Republic. Our hub is Santo Domingo Airport, SDQ. We started operating in September 2022. Arajet started in a bit of a unique way. Our founder, Victor Pacheco, who is also our CEO, was the president of a charter airline in the Dominican Republic. He saw that, how is it that a country with such a big population, 11 million, such a huge tourism sector, doesn't really have a domestic airline or a flight carrier? Through his experience, he also found that the charter business is really not it.
He wanted to build a scheduled airline. He really believed in the low-cost model. He spent eight years raising funds to try to form Arajet. Then in came Bain Capital, from the US, who saw the opportunity and really believed in the whole business model and the whole idea, and funded the company to make a purchase of 20 aircraft from Boeing. Then fund the company to start up. That's how Arajet came to be.
Really our idea is to be a connecting hub carrier based in the DR, connecting North and South America, and to serve the major Dominican markets, which are most places that bring inbound tourism, but also the major centers of the Dominican diaspora, which are around the East Coast of the United States. That gives us plenty of sources of traffic to tap into. The rest is for us to make it happen.
[00:27:32] Amanda: Tell us a little bit about why it's important for Arajet to attend conferences like JumpStart and other conferences in general.
[00:27:41] Nacim: I think it's really important, especially for a company like us, because we're new, relatively unknown. A lot of times we have to explain where we came from, just like how I did just now. It helps us get known, and it helps us also get to know different airports, different markets. We can look at our data and do a little bit of research on, let's call it a scan over many markets.
When you meet an airport that really knows their market, their catchment area, the pros and cons, who else flies here, who has tried things before, what worked and what didn't, it really changes your perspective on a market, and it really opens your mind to opportunities that we had not thought of before. For us, it's really important. In the case of the United States, we can't fly here yet, and that's something that we're working on. We think of this as sort of preparing everything and frontloading everything that we can frontload ahead of the gun going off and us starting to sprint.
[00:28:47] Charles: Got it. Speaking of the sprint, what is the process like when deciding which new routes to add to your network?
[00:28:55] Nacim: For us, at our scale, it's really easy. We fly to the largest markets. We don't want to create new ones. We know where the Dominican diaspora is centered. We know where most of tourists are coming from. At least initially, we'll try to capture a small share of large markets. As we grow and our hub becomes more and more solid, we'll then turn to more secondary markets where, for example, there may not be sufficient traffic between the DR and that specific market. Then when we add up all the onward traffic that we can also carry, then it starts to make sense.
Then we'll start to evaluate those. Then the business case for any market is really the same for us. There's a traffic element, which is really important. Then on the other side, we have all the cost and operational considerations. As long as we can operate safely, cheaply, and we can have, for example, slots, are a big concern for us because we're operating a hub. If the flight doesn't land at the time that we need it to, it's difficult to make onward connections. These are the things that we consider when we look at new routes.
[00:30:10] Amanda: This is your first time attending JumpStart?
[00:30:12] Nacim: It is.
[00:30:13] Amanda: What are your first impressions?
[00:30:14] Nacim: I'm very impressed. This is my second such conference, my first time at JumpStart. Extremely well organized. I've been impressed by the quality of the events and simply the fact that, for example, somebody printed out the schedule, put it on our table. that was impressive. Usually I have to dig through my emails and try to find the link. Far everything has been really good and everybody that we've spoken to has been really well prepared, so it's been fantastic.
[00:30:44] Charles: This your first time in DC?
[00:30:47] Nacim: Not the first time, no. I like DC.
[00:30:49] Charles: How many times have you been here? What's your favorite spot, what do you like most about it?
[00:30:55] Amanda: Personal highlights.
[00:30:57] Nacim: Two or three times. I like the museums. I think the museums are, to me, like some of the best things about D.C. because, there's just so much. Yes. I like the Lincoln Memorial.
[00:31:14] Amanda Me too. My favorite.
[00:31:15] Nacim: I just go there and it's just impressive. You're reading what's on the walls, even though you've read it before, but it's always nice.
[00:31:24] Amanda: Do you have anything else to add before we sign off?
[00:31:28] Nacim: No. Just fingers crossed. Hopefully we'll be able to fly here very soon and people will get to know us and have one more option.
[00:31:36] Amanda: Thank you so much for being here.
[00:31:37] Charles: Thank you.
[00:31:37] Nacim: Thank you.
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[00:31:40] Amanda: Wow. That was a really interesting conversation, wasn't it?
[00:31:43] Charles: Interesting is an understatement. Those were really great conversations, talking to the airline partners and airports around the country, just getting their perspective on the event and what they really enjoy about it. It was a great conversation all around.
[00:31:58] Amanda: It was just really fascinating to see how it all works and how airlines and airports come together and talking. It really does give you a speed dating feel.
[00:32:08] Charles: Yes. It's great that they're all learning from each other and sharing tricks of the trade, I would say.
[00:32:16] Amanda: I'm super excited for all the new routes that are coming. We've already talked about previously, but the Anchorage and Palm Springs, and then of course, Avelo, which debuted already recently.
[00:32:29] Charles: I can't wait to make that nonstop trip to Anchorage.
[00:32:32] Amanda: Absolutely. If you have any questions for us, then feel free to send us an email at info@thecapitalrunway.com.
[00:32:42] Charles: We hope to hear from you soon.
[00:32:44] Amanda: Absolutely. That's all we have today. Hope everyone enjoyed. We'll talk to you later.
[00:32:49] Charles: Thank you.
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