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2023 IN REVIEW

Presented by Bonnie Boretsky, Chair of the Board of the Ottawa International Airport Authority

Good afternoon. It’s my great pleasure to be here in my capacity as the new Chair of the Board to share some of the highlights of 2023.

The terminal celebrated a milestone 20th anniversary last year. In October 2003, the new terminal opened to great community fanfare. It was an award-winning model of accessibility, featured leading-edge common-use technology, and passengers loved its intuitive flow and welcoming feel. The décor was a nod to the vital role the region’s waterways played in the formation of Ottawa-Gatineau, and overall, it was a welcome change from the old, outdated terminal. I’m pleased to say it continues to evolve as passenger demographics and needs change, and it continues to delight.

20 years later, it was another award-winning year as the Authority received several prestigious honours in 2023.

In May, Karen Cole, the Authority’s Facilities Standards Coordinator, was honoured by Ottawa Tourism in the Exceptional Service: Heart of House category. Karen worked on-site for the duration of the pandemic ensuring that new enhanced cleaning and physical distancing protocols were implemented, that the on-site team had the supplies they needed, and that passengers and staff alike felt confident in the safety of the environment.

In September, Canine Handler Danielle Fox and her seven-year-old German Shepherd partner, Eevi, won first place in the Explosive Search Category in the Canadian Police Canine Association’s National Championship Trial. Eevi excelled at speed, obedience and accuracy when searching for the target odour. I had the opportunity to see Eevi in action during a demonstration at a Board Meeting last year, and can attest to her skill.

In November, our host today, Krista Kealey, was recognized by Airports Council International – North America with the Ted Bushelman Legacy Award for Creativity and Excellence. Krista was selected for this peer-nominated award for her many contributions to airport communications, marketing and customer experience since joining aviation. Her involvement encompassed mentoring newcomers to the industry, chairing the group’s Steering Committee and participating in an industry-wide recovery task force.

Later in November, we were honoured twice at the Best Ottawa Business Awards. For the first award, Mark was joined by Julian Low, Vice President of Corporate Development at Porter Airlines, to accept the Deal of the Year – Tourism award recognizing the partnership and significant investment Porter is making in our community with their hangars, crew base and expanded network.

The Authority was also recognized in the Best Performance Marketing Award for the Purpose Statement digital campaign which ran last summer and fall. 

On behalf of the entire Board, congratulations for these awards, and for keeping YOW in the spotlight for all the right reasons.

Another piece of great news we received two weeks ago was the return of our credit rating to A+. S&P Global recognized our passenger growth (which is expected to continue), higher earnings related to more passengers, and strong debt service track record. These, and other factors, prompted S&P Global to restore our rating to its pre-pandemic state.I was a member of the committee that was tasked with developing the Airport’s Purpose Statement. If you recall, it was introduced at last year’s annual meeting.

“Building on teamwork and sustainability, YOW safely connects people, moves goods and creates economic prosperity for our community”.

It was wonderful to see efforts to share it resonate with the business community. It’s also rewarding to see that it is becoming more ingrained in everyday working life within the team. The Purpose Statement was developed collaboratively with the Board and employees and reflects our core values.

During the consultation process, safety emerged as a key priority and provided the organization with the opportunity to explore employee culture. With the tagline “we put safety first”, the Human Resources department began to track initiatives across the organization that focused on our commitment to safety.

Accessibility was another key value, and will be an area of focus in 2024. To ensure YOW’s compliance with Canadian Transportation Agency regulations such as Accessible Travel for Persons with Disabilities, and to ensure barrier-free travel, the Authority has enhanced its accessibility strategy for the built environment and the passenger journey. Additional efforts include the development of an Accessibility Plan along with website modifications and updates to meet the requirements.

Another related initiative I want to mention is diversity, equity and inclusion. I was pleased to join the rest of the Board and the management team in a very educational and insightful afternoon with a trainer who shared lived experience in the most compassionate and understanding way. The training has been rolled out to the entire organization, and has received excellent feedback. I commend the HR team for introducing this important topic and for continuing the conversation internally.

These values are central to the Authority’s ESG efforts which are included in our second report which was published today. It builds on the work we did in 2022 to establish material topics, goals and key performance indicators that align with established sustainability frameworks. I encourage you to have a look at the report on our website to learn more about our ESG journey.

As Canada’s Capital Airport, YOW regularly receives heads of state and other important visitors. In 2023, we welcomed visits from the President of the United States, the President of Ukraine, the President of the Republic of Korea, the Prime Minister of Japan and the King of Jordan. While these visits arrive at the Canada Reception Centre not the terminal proper, Authority teams are heavily involved in coordination, security, communications and operational support.

I’m merely scratching the surface of the highlights of 2023, and Mark will elaborate on the larger projects. Trust that it was a highly productive and successful year across the organization, led by Mark Laroche.

Code Cubitt was the Chair when I joined the Board in 2019. Chairing any organization requires tremendous commitment, but doing so for an airport during a global pandemic required another level of devotion. Throughout his term on the Board, Code demonstrated genuine care and concern for the business, the people and the community, and he deftly navigated the Board through the challenges of COVID. For these and so many more reasons, we commend and thank him. Code’s business has him travelling regularly so we know he will still be checking on operations and we look forward to seeing him in the Airport during his travels.

On behalf of Code, I would also like to thank the rest of my Board colleagues for their time and attention as we discussed and debated some challenging topics during 2023. We have some exciting years ahead of us, and I look forward to continued collaboration with all of you as we advance the projects with the leadership team.

I would like to recognize and thank Carole Presseault whose time on the Board came to an end during 2023. Her communications and public relations expertise were invaluable and we miss her thoughtful input at the Board table.

We extended a warm welcome to Vanessa Pilotte as the new nominee from the Chambre de commerce de Gatineau. Vanessa’s experience in public affairs with a sustainability focus is appreciated as we move forward on our ESG journey.

To quote Code’s remarks in the Annual Report, “I want to thank  Mark and his team for never losing sight of their purpose, powering through the tough times, celebrating the wins, and making our community better, more connected and more prosperous.” Mark has assembled a very strong team, and he puts his trust in them to make sound decisions, move projects forward, and to advance the strategic directions we’ve determined together.

The entire Authority team works hard to make YOW better every day, and they make the Board very proud. The next few years will be exciting to watch as the projects Mark will discuss come to life. We are confident in the team’s ability to achieve success.

Final thanks to our stakeholders, partners and the community for their unwavering support. I encourage you to keep including YOW in your travel plans for the entire community’s benefit.

Thank you. Merci.

Presented by Mark Laroche, President and CEO of the Ottawa International Airport Authority

It’s my pleasure to be here to give you a brief review of 2023 and to talk about the outlook for 2024-2025.

You’ve heard the financial results from Rob, so you already know that we had a solid year and are back in the black after a few challenging years. The return to better financial health afforded us the opportunity to resume some projects after being on hold indefinitely.

We’ve talked about recovery for several years, and it’s a word I’m loathe to continue using. We are recovered. Our business, however, has changed. Whereas YOW has been a largely origin and destination Airport with a greater emphasis on business travel, our passenger profile is different. We are welcoming more connecting passengers, thanks to Porter’s significant expansion. YOW is now positioned as a connection point in their network between the Atlantic and Western Canada, as well as parts of the U.S. And, with the systemic changes to the workplace with more remote work and the reliance on virtual in place of face-to-face meetings, the scales will continue to tip in favour of leisure travel.

This change in passenger profile calls for different amenities, as well as changes to our infrastructure to facilitate smooth and efficient travel and connections. Travel patterns have changed with a higher daily peaks causing our Airport to struggle with capacity issues during both the morning and evening high demand periods.  Because we feel this change is permanent, we will have to adapt our infrastructure in order to accommodate the shift and overall growth.

The Alt Hotel Ottawa Airport is a perfect example. Connected to the terminal, the Alt will offer modern rooms, a fitness facility, and a full-service restaurant, among other sought-after features. We’re excited to see the project coming to life, and appreciate Germain Hotel Group’s perseverance to move the project forward. Construction is going very well, and the grand opening is currently slated for Summer 2025.

Our YOW+ terminal enhancement project pressed on with several activations. The much anticipated Big Rig Kitchen and Brewery sit-down restaurant opened. The Canal Market Hall food court also opened, featuring beloved local brands like La Bottega Nicastro and Bridgehead Coffee, among other options. We continue to hear great reviews. These establishments are doing well and exceeding projections, which I’m sure is welcome news to SSP Canada, our master concessionaire.

Light Rail Transit is another vital amenity for travellers and staff alike. We fought hard to ensure YOW had a place in the City’s LRT system and invested heavily in a station to solidify the opportunity. I’m pleased to say that our portion of the project is complete, and we are ready for integration to the City’s network. The trains are being tested regularly, and we’re talking to OC Transpo teams about the official opening in the months to come.

The Porter Airlines maintenance hangar progressed with exceptional speed. Just last June, we gathered with the constructors to celebrate the end of the steel structure portion of the project. All attendees signed the last beam from the ceiling configuration and cheered as it was hoisted and secured in place. Now we’re working with the Porter team to officially open the facilities and look forward to the regular rotation of jets that come in for scheduled maintenance.

Porter Airlines stands out as our fastest-growing carrier, expanding its presence across North America while utilizing YOW as a central operational and maintenance hub. In August, for instance, Porter serves the highest number of nonstop destinations, totaling 15. The two largest carriers serving YOW are now Porter Airlines and Air Canada, collectively representing 77% of our total seat capacity. This highlights their considerable impact on our Airport operations.

Last summer, we celebrated the inauguration of Air France’s nonstop service to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. The feedback we’ve received is nothing short of phenomenal. From the on-board service to the comfort and the quality of their food and beverage offering, passengers are delighted. The route, which launched with service five times per week, will change to daily service on June 17. Just a few weeks ago, Air France upgauged the aircraft that serves this route for the second time, this time going from a Boeing 787-9 with 298 seats to a A350-900 with 324 seats. These decisions by Air France are a reflection of the success of the route, the demand from Ottawa-Gatineau, and recapturing local passengers who sometimes drive to Montreal for air service.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank our partners from Ottawa Tourism, Tourisme Outaouais and Destination Canada for putting their marketing support behind our efforts with Air France to ensure the route’s success and growth.

As we grow, efficiency becomes even more vital. We advocated to Transport Canada and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority to be included to the Verified Traveller initiative that was implemented to help ease congestion at airports screening lines. It is now a permanent feature at YOW.

I’ve highlighted the major projects, but they are but a subset of a very long list of accomplishments across the organization. Every department had a substantial project list to accomplish during a very busy year and I commend them all for advancing every file. You can read about them in the Annual Report posted on yow.ca.

So what’s on the radar for 2024?

A top priority will always be to maintain and grow our air service by providing additional destinations and flights for our community. We will continue to be diligent about sharing data and key marketing information with airline partners when we determine a new route is viable. Airlines determine where and when to deploy their expensive assets and it’s vital to have the right aircraft size for our market size. Data plays a key role in those discussions and decisions.

We are focusing on developing some select lands, including the area north of Taxiway Romeo, the area west of the Uplands LRT station, and those along Hunt Club Road. We are engaging with industry partners and developers to identify the best opportunities that align with our economic development mandate.

Our Information Technology modernization program will continue through to completion in 2024. Primary objectives include mitigating operational risk, enhancing our cybersecurity program, elevating the stakeholder experience and aligning more closely with IT industry best practices. For the travelling public, this project is not apparent. However, as technology is a required component for our ability to serve our customers in an efficient manner, having a modern IT infrastructure is essential.

Canadian North will be embarking on an ambitious project to double the size of its cargo facility to meet the rapidly growing needs of the northern communities it serves. The airline and the federal government are both committing $11 million towards the project which is scheduled for completion in 2026. I’m pleased to see our only Ottawa head quartered airline doing so well and expanding at YOW.

We redoubled our commitment to safe operations with the creation of a new Safety and Accountability Management department. The Airport Authority developed the concept of an Accountability Management System in partnership with the Edmonton Airport Authority team. The program’s structured approach to monitoring and reporting incorporates incident classification, performance review and collaborative improvement of all third-party activities performed on the ramp when servicing arriving and departing aircrafts.

Customer experience excellence remains a priority for our team. Last year, we independently audited all our operations with Skytrax and received some excellent feedback. The report highlighted the need for permanent Airport staff to provide customer service, and service points before and after security screening. Both measures have been implemented.

Another was the need for a seated eating area in Arrivals, which we are addressing with a new Bridgehead Coffee which is currently being built. There are other areas that we are tackling as we work to rebuild the award-winning service we were recognized before the pandemic.

Another phase of YOW+ revitalization is already underway. Along with the new Bridgehead Coffee shop and Relay store in Arrivals, a new Starbucks and Relay store in the South end of the Canada/International gate area will open later this year. Future improvements will include the restaurant in the U.S. gate area, and the conversion of D’Arcy McGee’s to a Zak’s Diner in 2025.

We continue to take a long-term view of infrastructure development. In light of the new traffic profiles that put greater emphasis on leisure travel and connecting passengers, as I mentioned earlier, we have launched a comprehensive series of studies aimed at assessing and forecasting growth over the next decade and beyond. We are exploring everything from optimizing existing space and new technology, to the need for additional capacity and a significant expansion program.

To steward these complex analyses forward, we welcomed a new Vice President of Major Capital and Strategic Planning to strengthen our senior leadership team. She is already well-immersed in these critical exercises and planning the Ottawa Airport of the future.

Our environmental initiatives continue to be a priority as we work towards net-zero by 2040 or earlier. We will be introducing more electric vehicles to our fleet and will roll out additional charging stations across the Airport campus. These and other initiatives and goals are outlined in our ESG Report, which, as the Chair mentioned, is available on our website. We are currently working with Hydro Ottawa on numerous projects to decarbonise energy for our buildings and laying the groundwork for providing charging stations to our ground transportation providers.

I am really excited by the prospect of this next project not only for YOW but for the City of Ottawa and the Province of Ontario. As we know, reaching net-zero will require imagination and collaboration. This project has tremendous potential by assisting Ontario to further decarbonise its electricity. We have over 500 acres of high-potential land that is unsuitable for many forms of development. The land is flat and clear, with minimal shading. Its proximity to existing power lines makes the land even more attractive for a solar farm development. 

Based on similar sized projects, our preliminary estimates is that approximately 250 000 solar panels could be installed on different parcels of land and generate 150 MWh annually by building a 100 MW capacity solar arrays. The energy produced by this large solar generation plant would provide the equivalent electricity required by more than 20 000 households.

We’re at the beginning of a competitive process. I am confident that with the right partners and the support of the community, we can table a very attractive proposal in our effort to secure a Power Purchase Agreement from the Province of Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). We’ll have more to share as the project progresses.

There’s one more major project on the radar that I want to share with you. It involves another video. Please watch the monitors, and I’ll be back to conclude my remarks.

Roll the video, please.

As I mentioned, it was a difficult decision, but I felt the timing was right as we are on the cusp of pursuing another major terminal expansion. I will leave the Authority in very capable hands and the team will ensure a smooth transition when the time comes.

Before closing, I would like to thank the Directors, past and current, who serve on YOW’s Board for their ardent support since I took the helm in 2013. A special thanks to our departing Chair, Code Cubitt, who joined the Board not long after I joined the Authority. He was instrumental in leading the Board through the pandemic, and in planning for post-COVID growth.

All Board Directors have always been collaborative with my team, and I enjoyed working with them to develop and deploy a sound strategic plan to keep YOW on a path of growth, sustainability and good governance.

I would also like to thank my leadership team for their perseverance, support and hard work over the years. They made it easy to rely and trust in their decision-making and care for the success of the Airport.

And I can’t say enough about the entire staff who I appreciate for their creativity, dedication and tremendous work ethic. They are YOW’s heartbeat.

Thanks to our federal, provincial and local government partners and our community, many of whom are represented here today. You’ve supported our projects, stood by us when we’ve had challenges, and you’ve cheered our wins. I encourage you to keep doing all of it. YOW is OUR airport, and YOW’s wins are the community’s wins.

And a final thanks to my dear wife Marie-Hélène and my dad who are likely wathching on social media. I have always been able to count on their support to realize my professional ambitions.

Thank you, and I will turn the program back to Krista.