Rickenbacker Revival: How an all-cargo airport found a new spark

Turning point

In the last year or so, fortunes for the airport have begun to turn around. Part of this success can be attributed to the U.S. West Coast port slowdown in early 2015. But two of the greatest catalysts were the arrival of regular Cathay Pacific flights and the recent regulatory approval to handle exports. Export capability did not really exist until fall 2014, noted Whitaker; “this really gives forwarders a new option to think about.”

Within a few months of initiating service, Sutch says Cathay began receiving inquires “coming from all sorts of forwarders.” After a year of operation, Cathay began working with a variety of forwarders, and its freighters began leaving Rickenbacker with export cargo aboard. Sutch believes that investments into warehousing operations for exports will soon take Rickenbacker to “the next stage.”

Similar to Cathay Pacific’s experience in Rickenbacker, Emirates launched infrequent service with the support of a few key freight-forwarders in May 2015. Expolanka Holdings (EFL), a Sri Lanka-based forwarder, was instrumental in bringing Emirates to LCK, “firstly with one flight a week in May 2015,” said Chandana Rodrigo, managing director of EFL’s U.S. division.

From its Dubai hub, Emirates flies its 100-tonne capacity 777Fs to Columbus via Copenhagen. The return routing includes an additional stop in Chicago before returning to Dubai via Copenhagen. It is clear that Emirates’ joint goal with the Columbus Airport Authority to “position Rickenbacker as a critical global air cargo gateway for all commodities,” as Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ senior vice president, cargo, said at a launch celebration.

Just four months after launching the initial service, the carrier added a second frequency. Then, shortly before this issue went to press, Emirates launched a third-weekly flight into Rickenbacker. “On each of these flights, EFL has contracted space commitments, with service exclusively for L Brands,” added Rodrigo. Looking ahead, he added, “this operation has worked very well, and we anticipate more growth soon. We are also looking to introduce our other customers in the mix to LCK very soon.”

The airport’s 2015 year-end balance sheet reveals a recovery from red ink with, a surplus of $1.67 million. But is this new trajectory durable or a mere one-off from the year’s West Coast port disruptions?

Many forwarders in the area say a robust road feeder network is far more important than flight connectivity to international destinations. Rob Gareau, air export supervisor for Cleveland-based Midwest Transatlantic (MTA) Lines, said that less-than-container-load (LCL) trucking does the trick for domestic movements. “We’re sending two full trucks per week from Cleveland downto Columbus. Lately we’ve been loading more freight to Columbus than we have to Chicago, it’s absolutely great for us,” said Gareau. “We handle anything from filters, to auto parts and heavy hydraulics.”