Boyd: Aerial options to grow

Cargo increase key, CEO says

DENVER — The aviation industry is growing — and cargo, not tourists, may be driving it.

Mike Boyd, CEO of Evergreen, Colorado-based Boyd Group International, said Monday that no major appliance, automobile or industrial equipment is made entirely in one country and that shipping components will drive some route decisions for air carriers.

Increased cargo routes should, in turn, drive passenger growth, Boyd said.

At the opening of his 23rd annual International Aviation Forecast Summit in Denver, Boyd spoke about the metrics and dynamics of the industry. But historic dynamics to forecast where and how the industry will grow no longer apply, he said, because there are many new variables affecting it.

As the shipping of goods becomes more important, speed has become the new imperative, Boyd said, with companies like Amazon guaranteeing overnight delivery of products.

“The economics of air logistics will be increasingly critical and need to be lightning-fast to respond to changes,” Boyd said.

The new airline economics will lower the cost of travel, he said, particularly for long-haul flights. Leisure travel and travel to visit friends and relatives are major segments in the expansion of passenger growth. Ultra-low-cost carriers are taking advantage.

BOYD

On the 40th anniversary of airline deregulation, more people than ever before are flying, with projected growth at every major U.S. airport, including Mccarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

Boyd said trends in the evolution of communication and globalization and airline disrupters like Spirit Airlines and Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air are changing commercial aviation.

The top ultra-low-fare carriers — Allegiant, Spirit, Frontier and Sun Country — are fixtures at Mccarran.

Boyd said about 99.3 percent of seats to markets were flown by traditional mainline air carriers in 2000, with the rest flown by ultra-low-cost carriers. Today, mainline carriers provide 92.1 percent of the seats and ultra-low-fare carriers fly 6.9 percent.

Advancements in communication technology have reduced some travel