Cargo Chat: Burrell Aviation CEO John Carver on US airports’ cargo ops

U.S. regional airports have recently seen cargo growth as congestion shifted volumes from major airfreight hubs. Economic growth fueled by e-commerce development and own-controlled freighter networks have also pushed for formerly passenger-only airports to invest in their cargo facilities. Colorado-based airport developer Burrell Aviation is a division of the Burrell Group, which was founded in 2007. The company is taking cargo’s advancement one step further, establishing its own portfolio of airport facilities to attract cargo ops across the U.S. To date, Burrell Aviation is developing around 25 airports in 17 states across the country. [caption id="attachment_57133723" align="alignright" width="294"] Burrell Aviation CEO John Carver[/caption] The company also holds strategic partnerships with real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield, Alliance Ground International (AGI), design and construction company Lemartec and architecture firm Perez & Perez Architects Planners. Air Cargo Next spoke with Burrell Aviation Chief Executive John Carver about the company’s mission, its partnership with the public sector to expand airport facilities and sustainability in aviation. Air Cargo Next: Te ll us about Burrell Aviation and its mission . John Carver: We are a privately owned firm that's focused on capital investment in modernizing supply chain infrastructure at select airports across the U.S. We are responding to a couple of things: We’re responding to shifting dynamics in the supply chain right now which is creating opportunity for airports in the cargo space that didn’t exist, or airports didn’t think they had before and we’re providing the capital needed to advance initiatives to be able to capture that trend. The second part has expanded beyond cargo to other areas of what I classify as “non-passenger infrastructure at U.S. airports,” which could include maintenance, repair and overhaul [MRO] facilities, corporate hangars, cold storage or other forms of logistics including air cargo, where a lot of airports either don’t have or are struggling to find capital to do any initiatives like that. ACN: H ow have you seen airports respond to the cargo boom since the onset of the pandemic? JC : I think cargo specifically has not gotten the attention that it deserved over the past 20 years or so and much of the airport focus seems to have been on passenger activity … and the passenger experience. Cargo campuses were more or less running on their own and viewed as real estate projects for the airport, without a lot of real management focus and attention. As airports came out of this pandemic, I think they began to realize that resiliency was an important component … and cargo is now a topic that’s on everybody’s mind but, in many cases, without the funds to do much about it, and that’s what we’re responding to. ACN: Local government bodies have been involved in some of Burrell’s development projects. How have you seen the public sector jump on this opportunity for new jobs and infrastructure? JC: The airports that we’re working with have a recognition of their place in the bigger picture and so they have been really rallying around our type of program because they know it’s a job generator. It’s going to improve the sustainability metrics for the region, and they know the ripple effect it can have throughout the economy in terms of logistics and supply chain jobs. The mayors, governors and business leaders in the states where we have airports have all been encouraged to help champion that bigger story, and it’s been helpful to us and raising awareness of what’s going on. ACN: How does Burrell Aviation select its airports, and what factors are considered in development? JC: We started with a view of the 5,200 airports across the country, and we began culling that list down based on geography, population base, freeway or highway connectivity, seaport connection, airport administration, a lot of different factors. That got us down to a list of about 50 that were on our prime target list for activity. We’re about halfway there, toward being able to develop the full platform we’re looking for, which is pretty widespread as it is now. But what’s been happening of late is that airports, surprisingly to us, are starting to reach out. ACN: How has a focus on sustainability affected regional airport development, whether it’s for airports aiming to be more green or government entities requiring sustainability measures? JC: It pops up a lot; different states are further ahead in their initiatives than others. A lot of airports haven’t quantified what [sustainability] means or how to translate their ambitions into requirements … figuring how to really capture the right metrics. But what we’re doing, just by the fact that we’re building new cargo-handling facilities, is improving sustainability throughout the system. Most cargo buildings … were built a long time ago; they’re very antiquated … and because of that, they’re very inefficient. The biggest polluter in the system is trucks idling because the buildings are inefficient and can’t accommodate them, so any new building that we build is going to be far more sustainable than anything it replaces, and we’re really proud of that.

Cargo Chat: Burrell Aviation CEO John Carver on US airports’ cargo ops

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