Airport’s new boss open to all solutions for CAK’s challenges
Cleveland port chief takes over regional air hub in October.
The new head of GREEN — the Akron-Canton Airport wants to know what businesses and residents want from their regional airport.
“It takes a village” to grow an airport, Renato “Ren” Camacho said Wednesday in an interview the day after the airport’s board of trustees revealed his hiring.
“Engaging the community (is critical). I can’t say that enough,” he said.
Camacho arrives as the airport faces challenges, including the loss of carriers and flights.
Allegiant left the airport in 2016 and Southwest Airlines departed in 2017 after dramatically reducing flights. The passenger count peaked in 2012 at 1.84 million and has declined each year since. Last year, passengers totaled 1.27 million, down 9.48 percent from the prior year.
Camacho, who has worked since 2007 for Cleveland’s Department of Port Control, will take over as CEO and president Oct. 1.
He will replace longtime CAK chief Rick McQueen, who is retiring at the end of this year.
“There are many, many airports throughout the country facing our same dilemma, especially the regional airports,” said Camacho, who since 2011 has been chief of planning and engineering at Cleveland Port Control, which oversees Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Burke Lakefront Airport and Lakefront Harbors.
The challenge for the regionals is to provide nonstop service to desired destinations while nearby hub airports have established nonstop routes, he said.
And low-cost carriers are increasingly flying out of hubs, he said.
Camacho said he will explore all options to add flights. Those include travel banks in which businesses pay an airline in advance, giving the airline an incentive to fly a route desired by a community.
“Nothing is off the table,” Camacho said, noting that the Pittsburgh International Airport is offering financial incentives to land carriers.
The Pittsburgh airport authority last month said it is awarding $1.5 million a year for two years to British Airways to begin year-round flights to London starting April 2.
Ready for dialogue
Camacho, 48, said that a primary task will be to “engage the community” to both promote the airport’s assets and learn what businesses say they need in terms of flight frequency and routes.
That information is vital when courting airlines, he said.
“Are there opportunities for American, Delta, United and Spirit to add service?” he asked, ticking off the names of the carriers serving the airport.
CAK offers nonstop flights to 12 destinations.
In meeting with business leaders, he’ll be continuing McQueen’s efforts, he said.
The airport’s work paid off in June when United began daily nonstop service to Houston from CAK.
“We’re working to increase frequency to Houston,” CAK’s director of marketing Lisa Dalpiaz said Wednesday.
Camacho said he’s still learning about the area and didn’t know details of Akron Fulton International’s rebranding as Akron Executive Airport.
Officials with Akron city and the airport said last week they want to attract more corporate and business small airplanes and jets.
Camacho noted that CAK has room to grow corporate travel as well as commercial travel.
Looking ahead
Camacho will oversee a $240 million, 20-year plan guiding capital improvements at CAK that was unveiled two years ago.
On Aug. 28, the airport will break ground on a gate replacement and modernization project. Camacho said he won’t be making any changes to this $32 million endeavor.
Earlier improvements overseen by McQueen include the extension of a runway and renovations to the ticket wing. McQueen has been at the airport for 36 years, the last 10 as its president and CEO.
McQueen said Camacho’s engineering background “is going to help that project go very smoothly.”
Camacho’s annual salary at CAK will be $175,000.
Camacho, a native of New York City, received a master’s degree in transportation and planning and engineering from New York University-Polytechnic School of Engineering. He attended the Brooklyn campus. He received a bachelor’s of science in civil engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.