Eddie's Pie In The Skies Idea

It's just too funny! A real pie in the skies idea from our Mayor. Not just like the Canal which will be coming soon to a theatre (or a Council chambers) near you.

I wonder if Eddie had to go recently to Germany to make sure that the Report was done well. For $220,000, a foreign consultant whose business is more than 4-500 Kms away from here has determined:

• "They’ve basically said this is the pie and does YQG have an opportunity to get a slice of this pie?” said Francis.
  
  “The answer is yes. What is the level of the slice? Here it is."

Of course we heard that from Eddie because the public and media were excluded from the meeting. (See previous BLOG)

We need to spend another quarter of a million of taxpayer dollars on foreign consultants to spend months on another study so that Eddie can flog this concept early in election year 2010 even though he has told us on CKLW that he has more important things to do than worry about some municipal election campaign.

Oh, Eddie's plan depends on having this:

• "The study suggests Windsor could work to increase that market share by aggressively promoting the merits of the airport — a relative unknown in the competitive air freight industry — and by consolidating U.S. and Canadian customs and security agencies on site...
  
  City documents detailed in The Star in March discussed a strategy of consolidating U.S. and Canadian inspection and security agencies on site, including “the Canada Border Service Agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, Transport Canada,” and other bodies from both sides of the border."

Uh-huh....shared border management between Canada and the US is dead and we are going to have US Customs here! Get real.

Oh dear, what has Ms. Nazzani been doing for all of this time as the head of the airport. I thought she had been out visiting people and making presentations about YQG. Wasn't she supposed to get our airport's story out there to the trade? Obviously whatever she was doing was a complete failure. Will the Board reconsider her role as this moves forward given what Eddie has said:

• "Key to Windsor’s success at grabbing a slice of the action will be what Francis called a “multi-pronged” approach that includes more marketing efforts...
  
  Authors of the Lufthansa study met with freight forwarders and logistics providers who were unaware of what Windsor Airport had to offer, which underscores the need for increased marketing, said Francis.
  
  A lot of people don’t even know Windsor Airport exists,” said Francis.
  
  “But when they’re told about Windsor Airport and where Windsor Airport is and its proximity to Detroit and the advantages here, they determine that there’s value here."

What a vote of non-confidence in her and publicly too. If this is what the Mayor thinks of her, then she ought to submit her resignation immediately!

I wonder if the lady from Air America Logisitics is still around! Here is what I Blogged well over a year ago. She could be a real winner for the airport even though the drop in the freight market killed her business:

• "Remember the story about Air America Logistics and its general manager Vicky Kyriaco-Wilson:
  
  "Air America has also been instrumental in spinoff work at the airport -- for fuel sales, ground handling equipment, local trucking services and maintenance work.
  
  More than 800 aircraft movements associated with Air America occurred last year involving DC-8 jets, Boeing 727s, Boeing 737s, DC-9s and numerous other small jets.
  
  The company handled more than 5.4 million pounds of freight last year.
  
  "We're the lynchpin that keeps the cargo aspect humming over here," Kyriaco-Wilson said."
  
  Perhaps airport general manager Federica Nazzani might want to pick up the phone and give her a call. I am sure that she has probably done so. However, Federica's response concerning her lack of experience in the airline business was rather smarmy
  
  "She dismissed criticism of her lack of aviation experience: "It's true I don't have that experience. But I would point to the prior manager (Serco) who did -- and that didn't work out very well."

I do not want to be rude but is Eddie still studying how to charter a plane to send Windsorites out West to find jobs and to bring them back on weekends? If he cannot do that simple scheme after all of this time, how can he possibly be involved in the cargo business.

All talk, talk, talk and consultant reports....never any action. Well of course not, then you cannot be blamed for failure!