{"id":22643,"date":"2022-07-04T14:48:32","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T14:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=22643"},"modified":"2022-07-04T14:50:44","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T14:50:44","slug":"punta-gorda-airports-james-parish-named-2021-air-carrier-airport-manager-of-the-year-by-the-faa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/florida\/punta-gorda-airports-james-parish-named-2021-air-carrier-airport-manager-of-the-year-by-the-faa\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Punta Gorda Airport\u2019s James Parish Named 2021 Air Carrier Airport Manager of the Year by the FAA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s (FAA) Southern Region Airports Division named James W. Parish, P.E., CEO of the Charlotte County Airport Authority (CCAA) and Punta Gorda Airport<\/a> (PGD), the 2021 Air Carrier Airport Manager of the Year. This award is given to an airport professional who exemplifies excellence in airport management, demonstrates exceptional leadership, tirelessly works to promote the aviation industry and has achieved efficiencies and improved productivity in their organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
James Parish<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Parish was honored for his exceptional strategic leadership\nin growing air service while also making PGD key to the future of aviation\nworkforce development. Through master planning and development efforts, James\nhas been instrumental in growing the number of commercial airline pilots and\nA&P certified aircraft mechanics that are trained here at PGD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is definitely a team award, as our airport\nstakeholders are working together to increase airline destinations amidst the\ngrowing shortage of aviation professionals,\u201d said PGD\u2019s CEO James W. Parish,\nP.E. \u201cThanks to our small but resilient staff, and our forward-thinking CCAA\nBoard, we can close the gap by welcoming new airport partners and strengthening\nthe fabric of the entire southwest Florida region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parish and his team thoughtfully mapped out continued growth\nin commercial air service by relocating existing general aviation and FBO\nactivities to the new PGD Air Center in the airport\u2019s Aviation Expansion Area\n(PGD AviEx) on the north side. This will relieve congestion in the Bailey\nTerminal area and allow more room for airline aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With designs for new box hangars and T-Hangars are already\nin place, Parish envisioned the PGD AviEx to become an economic development\nhub, and a home to new flight schools and aviation maintenance facilities.\nLeveraging the success of onsite commercial flight schools Flight Fast Track\nand AeroGuard Flight Training Center, PGD attracted new commercial flight\nschools Jet Access Flight Training and Paragon Flight Training to become tenants\nof the PGD Air Center opening this Fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlotte Technical College (CTC) opened its FAA-approved\nAviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) School at PGD in August 2021. Parish was\nnot only integral in helping CTC secure its initial space at PGD, he and the\nCCAA Board advocated for and were notified of $3 million approved in the\nFlorida State Budget for a larger facility. The AMT School\u2019s new location in\nthe PGD AviEx is intended to facilitate on-the-job training, accommodate\ngrowing enrollment and keep tuition affordable for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Parish\u2019s leadership, and with the CARES Act Airport\nGrants, the CCAA retained a strong financial position despite the most\nunpredictable circumstances. The CCAA achieved a 27% operating margin and\nmaintained cash reserves of $30+ million in Fiscal 2020-21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parish is dedicated to continuing PGD\u2019s low-cost airport\nmodel that is attractive to airlines like Sun Country and Allegiant that serve\n50+ destinations, while also retaining a strong general aviation and on-airport\nbusiness community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CCAA\u2019s ongoing $200-million+ Capital Improvement Program\nalso includes completion of the new PGD Air Center, Runway 4-22 reconstruction,\nRunway 9-27 rehabilitation, new hangars, taxiway and taxilane improvements, and\nroad network improvements along with planned expansion of the Bailey Terminal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parish was named the \u201cAviation Professional of the Year\u201d in\n2017 by the Florida Department of Transportation and serves on the boards of\nthe Florida Airports Council, Charlotte County Economic Development\nPartnership, Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce and Punta Gorda Chamber of\nCommerce.  He is a Leadership Charlotte\nClass of 2019 Alumni and a member of Leadership Florida\u2019s Cornerstone Class of\n2020-21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other significant accomplishments in the 2020-21 Fiscal Year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Parish and his team led passenger-centric\nimprovements to enhance airline customers\u2019 experiences, including:<\/li>
  • Negotiated an agreement to become the third\nairport in Florida where Turo customers can drop off and pick up cars in a way\nthat\u2019s efficient, safe, and airport-approved.<\/li>
  • Completed construction of 1,000 new long-term\nparking spaces with color-coded gate canopies, color-coded directional signage\nand animated LED airport entrance sign to improve wayfinding.<\/li>
  • Partnered with a local artist and the Visitor\n& Convention Bureau to create three new tropical, eco-tourism-themed photo\nop spots at the Bailey Terminal.<\/li>
  • Partnered with the Bailey Terminal\nconcessionaire to add a new 40-seat bar with runway views for post-security\npassengers waiting to depart.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The FAA Southern Region Airports Division oversees airport\nplanning, environmental, compliance, design and safety programs for airports\nlocated in the southeastern United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s (FAA) Southern Region Airports Division named James W. Parish, P.E., CEO of the Charlotte County Airport Authority (CCAA) and Punta Gorda Airport (PGD), the 2021 Air Carrier Airport Manager of the Year. This award is given to an airport professional who exemplifies excellence in airport management, demonstrates exceptional leadership, tirelessly works […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-florida"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22643"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22647,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22643\/revisions\/22647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}