Business View Magazine l October 2022

198 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 within the next 8 to 10 months. In terms of major infrastructure projects, Corpus Christi International is preparing to completely rehabilitate their secondary runway. This will mean a complete mill and fill, resealing all the taxiways, as well as new paint and striping – a repeat of what was just completed on the primary runway. “A couple of other little things we’re doing,” Smith adds, “is that we are about to reconfigure the way people return their rental cars here. It is currently a very complicated return process, and one of our biggest complaints – that and electric charging for phones, which we’re addressing. But, how the car rental works now, when the customers drop off their family or their bags at the ticket counter, that same curbside roadway will now turn right into the rental return lot. Previously, they were having to drive almost off airport property through a security gate and back down this old road – it’s just not a very pleasant experience. We are changing that, and as part of that project, we will add an outdoor dog park with some water features, shade structures, and benches.” Another item, and a big game changer, is that they signed an agreement with a company called Vector to administer landing fees for the airport. According to Smith. “About three years ago, the FAA mandated that every aircraft over 6000 pounds had to have a specialized antenna on the aircraft and software associated with it that will communicate the type of airplane that landed – including the weight, pilot name, and who the aircraft is registered to. So, Vector will monitor that information and bill landing fees accordingly. They keep 20% and they remit 80% of those payments to us – and they are successful at about 96% of collecting all the fees. This is going to be a whole new revenue stream for us, which we anticipate to bring