Toto, we're not in Fort Wayne, IN anymore...

I hope you made it to our Aviation Luncheon today with national air service expert Michael Boyd... not only was it informative and at times entertaining, the food was excellent if I may say so myself!

First a little background. Michael Boyd is known throughout the U.S. as an expert on air service and is highly sought to provide insight into national and local trends impacting airlines, airports, and aircraft manufacturers. About 25 years ago he co-founded Boyd Group International, and ever since then he's dedicated himself to integrity, research and cutting-edge expertise. He calls it like he sees it, and that's the way we like it.

His to-the-point assessment is of great value to us for, as you know, one of the divisions of the Chamber is Air Service Development, with one of our VP's, Dave Young, entirely devoted to developing and marketing air service at Fort Wayne International Airport.

If you missed today's luncheon, I hope you can catch us next time, and for now, here's a key thought to walk away with. One point Boyd stresses over and over again is this - it's not about the number of passengers. The number of tickets sold is not an accurate measure of success - what matters is whether we can bring people from all over the world to us, and whether we can get to them. It's important to think in terms of inbound traffic, not just outbound (i.e. it's more than whether we can get to a nice vacation spot from Fort Wayne). As Boyd would say, it's all about access. I had the opportunity to sit down with Boyd for a few minutes today, and here is what he said:

"Access is everything. If you don’t have access to and from the rest of the world, you don’t get investment, you don’t get expansion. Can that business man from Shanghai get here? Yes, he's good. Can that auto supplier in Munich get here? Can that small manufacturer in upstate New York get here? Too many people think air service is about low prices to Orlando. This is not Fort Wayne, Indiana anymore. It's Fort Wayne, globe."

All in all, measuring what is important (global access), we're doing just fine. When I asked Boyd if FWA is poised for success, he said:

"No. It already is successful."

If you would like more information on our local air service industry, contact Dave Young at (260) 747-4146. For more pictures from today's event, visit www.facebook.com/ftwaynechamber.