Jjj jjj Arianna Bennett welcome to face the state, im Arianna Bennett thank you for being with us. Well the Renotahoe International Airport saw nearly 3. 5 million passengers last year a big increase from the year before. That also saw some new offerings in terms of flights and a big jump in cargo as well. So whats on the horizon now . Well marily mora, the president and ceo of the airport authority, is here now to talk about that. Marily, thank you so much for coming on the show. Marily mora thank you its my pleasure. But i took about a 2 year break and went back. I was here 12 and a half years and i went back to oakland and worked there for two years and then had the good fortune to come back here as a ceo in july of 2014. Bennett and a really good time to come back to the airport too mora perfect time community. I was really blessed. Bennett yeah tell me about every really the growth and changes the airport has seen just in the last few years. Mora well we were just talking this is the first time in 10 years that weve had an increase in passengers. About a 4 increase in passengers last year in 2015. So thats a big thing for us because we had many years that we were seeing the passengers drop. We had passenger drop of about 30 . Same time we had cargo increase almost 7 , the amount of pounds that we carry out of the airport. So just a really great time. And you know thankfully in the last year, year and a half, weve had a number of new flights have been introduced to this Community New york, jfk airport now being served by jet blue. The First Time Since in about 15 years that weve had scheduled International Air service and now we have three flights a week to guadalajara on Volaris Airlines. Bennett yeah definitely a lot of new stuff for sure. Now its interesting i think. Was it recession based, the kind of slow recovery of the airport where we you know are finally seeing passengers pick back up again . Because really i mean its been years. Mora yeah we were hit hard by the recession. I think people you know were not travelling for business, they were not travelling for leisure. We saw a drop in people coming into the community. So i mean i think were just really really thankful that now things have totally turned around in this community in terms of you know 50 thousand new jobs projected here in the next 5 years. Thats going to mean great things for the airport as well. Bennett absolutely. And its you know projected higher income people too. Do you think that the growth were seeing at the airport isis sustainable . I know its a concern a lot of the time when we talk about populations growing and everything here that everyone worries, oh were going to see a tightening of the economy again but i mean has it been slow and steady . Mora you know i think this growth is going to continue and the fact that weve had all of now its time to make sure our local community is supporting those flights. Because again it took us 15 years to get jet blue to jfk. That flight is doing you know exactly probably what they expected but we really need support from that. Alaska airlines has brought in a lot of new air service to our community. They serve san jose, have a flight thats really really great to san jose. They added service to boise last fall. And on march 16th theyre starting service to Orange County so how cool is that . So much easier to take your kids to disneyland if you fly into Orange County. And Southwest Airlines which was an airline that dropped about 6 destinations out of our community the last couple of years, now is now adding a flight back in. And theyre going to Start Service to oakland 3 times a day in june on june 5th this year. So thats tremendous because there is you know really really good connectivity to other places out of oakland. Bennett how much easier now is it to convince these airlines to add Flight Service in and out of reno compared to how it used to be . Story. Were on the map now because of you know the tesla de deal being one of the you know the biggest deals in our country in 2014. So people know aboutknow about us and you know reno they know about the resurgence here and Economic Activity so now were able to talk about all the other companies that are coming here that maybe were sitting on the fence. So we have a great business story to tell. We have a great story to talk about the investment in our hotel, hotels here. Both here in reno and sparks and certainly up at lake tahoe. And i think that we have got a stronger message than we ever had before about really being the gateway to lake tahoe. Bennett absolutely. Yeah, definitely not something you can minimize. Lake tahoe is a pretty big draw. Mora well you know the beauty of it all is that we now have a consortium that we call the Regional Air Service corporation that is helping us market new flights or helping us in what we call Risk Mitigation for that first year of service with a new flight and a new airline. So now we have more community partners, companies to be part of this consortium. We have nv energy thats joined. We have switch. We have edawn. So its a great, great time. Bennett yeah, now speaking of how is the jet blue flight doing . Is it doing well . Mora its doing well for you know the company is really looking, jet blue is looking saying its right where we thought it would be with a flight that just started last may. But theres been a whole lot of promotion for it. So we want that to continue to go forward. And you know the timing of that flight is just perfect if you want to have a long weekend in new york. You can go on that flight just before midnight, and kind of get there in the morning and just you know go about your business and have a fun weekend and then you can come back like at 8 oclock and have almost had a full day in new york and get back here again. You know . And be able to go to work the next day. So its the Perfect Timing of a flight to have a long be enough to keep the flight around or or is it is there a concern that we could lose it . Mora you know right now i dont were really inin dialogue with the airline but again were concerned that this pace keep up and grow. So we want to continue to make sure that people are aware of that, that they use that flight, because even if theyre going to europe or some other international destination, how perfect is that to fly into jfk because youve got about 60 countries that you can get to from jfk. Bennett absolutely, yeah. Ive taken that flight and it definitely waswas the easiest way ive seen to get to the east coast so its a good service for our community. What aboutwhat about the new flight to oakland . That was a big loss when we lost it several years back mora yes and thats why were so excited to get it back. I think were excited too that Southwest Airlines is reinvesting in this community. And we were like many airports of our size across the country when they dropped the 6 flights here it was really because they needed that aircraft for new opportunities that they had on the east coast where they could make more money. And they stopped doing what they call short haul flying. So and were really only one of two communities that theyre putting a short flightshort haul flight back into. So i think that theyre seeing whats happening in reno and saying were going reinvest in this community. So its another flight we need to really support again supporting the new flights. Alaska airlines is really growing their presence here in reno. You know starting in Orange County theyve got boise, theyve got the san jose flight, theyve got seattle and portland and i think a lot of people dont know alaska airlines. Its a Wonderful Airline with Good Customer Service so were hopeful that that message gets out as well. Bennett yeah now how is the boise flight doing . Mora its it needs help. It needs a little remedial help i would say in the community. Because that was one that was a destination that we heard a lot about that people you know was served by Southwest Airlines and then it got dropped so we worked really hard to get that back in but we really need people to fly that route. Bennett okay, are there any new ones headed our way . Anything thats you know gonna be . Mora know again we had our First International scheduled Service Going with volaris coming in to guadalajara so we now have 3 flights there so again thats something we want to see people support. So really our focus on the future will be we want canaservice to canada. Wed like to see more destinations certainly to mexico. Theres other place in the u. S. Like atlanta that wed like to see serviced. But you know right now were really focused on telling people we need your help. Use it or lose it is what we say about these flights. Its great to go out there and convince an airline to come to our community but if we dont support the flight were gonna lose it. Bennett now what about the airport building itself . Had this huge remodel a few years back, anything else going to be changing or is itis it pretty much done . Mora well 3 years ago we did a you know we consolidated our checkpoints so that we have one checkpoint and i guess since then the only otherand so weve all grown up. Thats what we say now. The other major renovation that we did was a little over a year ago into our Customs Building to accommodate the flight on volaris to guadalajara so theres in the major things that weve done. Were always working on the runways and taxi ways because they need you know maintenance all the time. And weve always got things going on in the building but you know those are the pretty much the things that were doing at renotahoe but renostead airport is another subject all together. Theres some exciting things happening out there. Bennett right mora you know that in late 2013 the state of nevada was designated one of the locations, six locations in the country to test the drones, the Unmanned Aircraft systems. Bennett right, yeah. Mora so weve been waiting for really that whole activity to take off and some significant things have been happening more recently on that. Were in partnership with unr, the Governors Office of economic development, and we now have a nasa project that is coming this spring to renostead airport where they will actually simulate that activity that could be in complex airspace another airport throughout the country. So theyre really testing kind of how are these drones going to operate in our airspace . How are they going to operate near airports . Bennett right. Mora so to have you know a connection with nasa is really something very exciting. The same time we recently had our board of trustees adopt a strategy really that is going to be great for renostead for the future and theyve selected a master developer for the land out at stead. We have 5 thousand acres out there and much of that land is developable for a really you know an office parks, distribution centers, or aviation related activities. So Dermody Properties which is a company that is well known in this community partnered with hillwood which has Alliance Airport projects around the country and they will be our master developer going forward. Youre going to see a whole new gateway, a beautiful entrance to that airport and it will change really the future of whats going to happen at renostead. Bennett wow. Because i mean its mostly known for the reno air races but mora it is absolutely bennett its a tiny little airport that i think doesnt get a ton of attention from the community other than that one mora during the air races bennett right yes. Mora and all of this development you know is to be compatible with the air races. Theres lots of land, theres lots of development we can do to be compatible with the air races. So you know lots of fun things happening out there, lots of exciting things with the Drone Development at stead. And certainly now having a Master Development with Dermody Properties and hillwood investments so we canwe can look to the future and say were going to make some money off of all that land that we have out there. Bennett okay so big changes coming to coming to our area in that department. I think its a good time to take a quick break but we will be right back. And coming up on face the state we will be back with marily mora to talk more about some of the might not have heard about. Stay jjj Arianna Bennett welcome back to face the state, im Arianna Bennett thank you for staying with us. We are back with marily mora the president and ceo of the reno airport authority. Thank you once again for taking the time to be with us today. Marily mora thank you. Bennett okay so you touched on this a little bit in the last segment, all the drone testing and everything happening out at renostead airport. I think its really interesting, especially because nevada is just one of a handful of states that gets to participate in Something Like this. But i know there are some implications where drones are concerned when it comes to safety regulations, that sort of thing right . Mora yes, and active role because there are a number of things that you have iflots of people got drones bennett for christmas. Mora at the holidays right . Bennett yeah. Mora and you have to register those. And so weve partnered with the federal Aviation Administration and weve actually were out before the holidays and we have some more sessions that were going to do some Public Session to really tell people that how you safely fly those drones because so many people have you known gotten into this as a hobby. So part of being one of the six test sites with the federal aviation and administration is were going to help them develop the rules of engagement for drones how do they operate in the air space . And so we you know it was great to get that designation because we had just in 2013 opened a new terminal at stead and so that was great to have that as a backdrop and a place where we can really Host Companies to come in and be involved in the Unmanned Aircraft system so were partnering with nasa, were partnering with unr, and the development to really have a lot of simulation that happens in a lab that well be opening this spring out at stead. So its an exciting time but also time if youre inin as a hobbyist to be mindful of the rules of the air so to speak. Bennett rightright. I know one of those is not flying your drone near the airport. Mora absolutely. Bennett is there concern that this could become a danger . Mora you know i think really what were saying in terms of lets get out in the community, lets talk about how you do it effectively and safely. So thats really the role that were taking with the federal Aviation Administration with this because really drones and the Unmanned Aircraft offer so many Different Things to improve i mean our daily life. And so its a wonderful you know development and i think really what were looking at in stead is really being a place that you have the testing and you have you know a Lab Environment for this activity is a we really Want Companies to bring those jobs and bring those headquarters here. Bring that business to nevada. And being a test site we felt is kind of like an early opportunity to bring those companies in and tell them you know show them whats happening in our region. And similar to switch and tesla coming into this is another industry that really can expand in our in our very own backyard. Bennett absolutely, yeah. Itsits a neat thing about watching northern nevadas economy grow because it really is such a team effort between all of these big entities coming together trying to attract new businesses. And thats ultimately why its been successful because everyone is participating in this. Mora yeah and theres so many different types of companies that are coming here. I think you know what weve seen at Renotahoe International Airport is also the cargo development. I mean if you look at ups alone has the amazon contract and look at that distribution happening here in this community and so many other companies that have you know located here to the tahoe regional industrial center. All those companies are shipping you know cargo out of the airport so bennett right, yeah mora we were up 7 last year so great bennett i wanted to ask you about that because theythey shopping just seen this huge growth mora yes, right bennett understandably and i was wondering if most of that goes through the airport. Mora yes a good part of it. You know some goes you know by truck but a whole lot goes by air and im going to think you know so thats being shipped out of the airport so thats one of the reasons that were seeing a lot of cargo development. Bennett very cool. Yeah and is that a decent moneymaker for the airport . Mora you know it is i think one things you see, each time, you know we actually were a big economic generator for the community ill say as a whole. We b bng in 2 Million Dollars a year. We have 25hundred jobs. But the value of really cargo brings is we make money off every time an aircraft lands and so you know that helps keep, cargo helps keep the cargo opportunities and landings help keep the cost of the Passenger Airlines down because thats how we make our money and you know renting space and each time an aircraft lands we make money off of that. So but the one thing that i always need to tell people is that we do not use any generate our own revenue. Bennett okay. Well switching gears a little bit, we mentioned in the last segment the new flight to guadalajara. Its been wellreceived right . Mora it absolutely has. Bennett but weve had some issues with customs and Border Patrol. I know, have heard of very long waits because of a lack of Border Patrol agents. Can you talk about that a little bit . Mora well we have 3 people that are assigned to our facility and weve gotten to the point a long time ago, over a year ago that we said well go ahead and pay for additional staff, we are a port of entry. But they the u. S. Customs and Border Protection does not have a mechanism for us to pay for additional staffing. And frankly they do have staffing issues across the country so its not just here in reno. So our waits have been about two to two and a half hours. More recently theyve improved that scenario just the last month the wait times have been diminished by about 15 minutes so thats a good start. But our wait times are more significant than other airports. So were weve been involved with the congressional political leaders, and really to get our u. S. Customs and Border Protection to do more of a puyou know Publicprivate Partnership so that we whether from the airport or the community can pay for that additional staffing. Bennett whats it take to make that change . I know that it has to go pretty far up the chain. Mora it has to take legislative change. So thats what our delegation, our congressional delegation is involved in. But meantime bennett so it takes a vote of congress . Mora well it takes bennett oh no. Mora it takes some language change in appropriations bills. A changeit takes a pilot project. I can tell you this is something that we at the airport work on every day but meantime weve done a lot to try to make the Customer Experience better for each International Flight that comes in. We have 3 Police Officers there to assist. We have 3 Customer Service representatives. We hand out water and snacks to theto the people that have been on the flight because we know its a wait for them. Bennett right. Mora but it is something that we are you know diligently that there is some turnaround at sometime in the in the very near term. Bennett whats the likelihood you think that this is going to change . Mora i think at some point here hopefully hopefully 2016 will be the year that were gonna able to you know even getting one additional staff person in our facility wouldwould be really really wonderful to have you know speed up that processing time. Bennett hopefully you have the ear of our congressional representatives. Mora we do but you know the flight has been profitable, is doing well for Volaris Airlines because they told us were not going to add a third flight until you know the primary processing is at 90 minutes. Well its at 2 hours or over 2 hours. And they went ahead in november and added a third flight. So that tells you that it is doing well despite it is certainly not the Customer Experience that we wouldve liked. Bennett right right. Its unfortunate to see any kind of bottleneck when it comes to an expansion of services. I know that this was a big issue with the flight to london that was supposed to happen and then got cancelled . Hoped that we were going to Start Service to london last december but the landing rights were never approved by the u. S. Customs and Border Protection and at that point they told the airline, Thomas Cook Airlines and there were going to be two flights a week, that the wait wouldve been over three hours. Based on our experience, so far wouldve been far more than 3 hours. So you know really thats not the kind of Customer Experience that wed like to see. So thomas cook cancelled the flight early on so people could that had already booked it could make other arrangements. So right now that was an aircraft that had over 300 people. Right now we are really stepping back a bit and saying we want the staffing. Its no sense in us because we wouldve had to increase the footprint of the facility. Theres no sense in doing that if youre not going to staff, if the cbp, u. S. Customs is not going to staff for a larger group. Were not meeting the mark right now for what we say is 200 people an hour. Bennett so say we could get our cbp staff up enough to accommodate these in this region to get a london flight and keep it . Mora well i think this year the demand, that flight was selling fairly well early on when it got announced. It got announced you know back in november. You know for over a year ahead of the flights starting and it was right on track in terms of you know bookings. And weve had a phenomenal year for snoyou know snow and it was time to really to be operating during the ski season. So i think that you know it wouldve been a successful flight had we been able to get there with customs staffing. Bennett well, maybe in the future. Fingers crossed. Mora yes well you know we continue to work on things like that. Bennett well the good news is now uber and lyft can operate out of the airport, correct . Before there was a little bit of an issue with pickups at the airport. Mora well they could drop off but they had to really sign our agreements and we had to you know get our operating agreements in place and so you know last month we were able to get that up and running and i think really you know quite frankly uber and lyft were airport in our state first. And were just really happy because this is such a convenience for people that are coming to our area, renosparks, or going up to ski. So were really really happy to have uber and lyft operating now. Bennett now from the logistical standpoint is it a different pickup or dropoff area . Mora its all on our grand transportation area. So if you walk out of the baggage claim area at the airport you just walk a little bit aways and theres a lot of signage now that says rideshare. Bennett okay, very cool. And now finally weve just got a couple of minutes left so well have to keep it short but tsa precheck is a thing now. Mora yes, actually last december tsa pre check was a location where it was being pre check applications were being processed in our community was going away and tsa was not talking about having a new location until spring so we said, no, bring it to the airport. So late december we had the facility, we had tsa precheck where you have to actually come in and do your fingerprints so you can enroll online, you can sign up for an appointment if you go to tsa. Gov. Really really easy. 85 worth it. Bennett yeah it does save you a lot of time at the airport. Get to keep your shoes on. Mora it does. Bennett its a nice thing. So straight to the airport, get it all done there . Mora yes. Bennett good news. Okay we have about a minute left is there anything else you wanted to tell the public, any other message you had . Mora well again just really hope that people will support our new flights out of the airport and you know our new airlines that have come to the to Renotahoe International Airport and were just excited about everything also happening at our general aviation airport at renostead airport with drone activity and development in the future. Bennett yeah boy its sure nice to talk about about growth and positive news instead of always the how are you surviving through the recession kind of news. Its nice. Mora were doing well. Bennett yeah. Mora thank you. Bennett absolutely. Okay merily thank you so much for your time mora thank you. Bennett i really do appreciate it. Well that is it for this episode of face the state but for more information on all of this or to see past episodes just head to our website ktvn. Com. Thank you so much for captioning made possible by johnson johnson, where quality products for a tradition for generations osgood good morning. Im Charles Osgood this is sunday morning. Despite all the advances in medical science not every disease has a cure. Facing a term nail illness some patients say they wish to die at a time and in a manner of their own choosing. Its a wish that triggers an agonizing personal and legal debate, as rita braver will explain in our sunday morning cover story. Brain cancer patient Brittany Maynard drew National Attention when she moved to oregon where she could legally end her life. But that is not allowed in new york where eve eliots husband was in agony with als, an incurable disease. Did he say, i need you to help me figure out some way that i can end it . Yes, he did. Ahead on sunday morning. A dying wish and a heated