Page 36 - STAT November 2022 for Magzter

interview

Because the airport is self-funded, it is
Landside really important for private developers like
NorthLink to step in and provide that infra-
structure solution, which is a little unique.
But it is something that we are thrilled to
have the opportunity to do.
What is the kind of investment
going into the construction of this
facility?
Airside 1 We are honoured to be working with Tiger
infrastructure, which is the equity sponsor
for the project. We are also working with a
leading project finance bank for the funding
of the project. Given the scale of this it is
not cheap. In terms of being able to serve
the air cargo community and really kind
of unlock the commercial opportunity we
actually think it is a pretty modest amount of
capital invested to be able to connect more
Airside 2 cargo to more destinations. One of the tricky
things about the sector right now is that a
lot of cargo comes into key gateway hubs
like Los Angeles (LAX) Chicago (ORD) and
New York (JFK), which are fantastic airports.
But there are obviously some physical
constraints in terms of runway capacity, real
estate, etc. And so our opportunity is to be
able to use ANC as a hub to be able to con-
Source: northlinkaviation.com
nect cargo more efficiently to end destina-
We are designing the warehouse to meet a handling — Pegasus (Pegasus Aviation tions. We are never going to disintermediate
number of different needs. The reality is that Services) and Swissport. Most people are those hubs; but what can do is for a certain
there is a real need for airside warehouse ca- familiar with Swissport, but Pegasus is a amount of cargo, provide it with a quicker
pacity at the airport. We are designing it to local company that is very well regarded route to market.
be flexible and meet as many needs as pos- by a number of international carriers. Our
sible. So first and foremost, a lot of our air objective is to build partnerships with Did you look at any other airports
carrier customers just need a place to store Pegasus and Swissport and others to within the US for NorthLink
spare parts when they have an AOG (aircraft ensure that our customers are receiving Aviation’s investment?
on ground) and they want to have the parts excellent service. No. I am actually new to the air cargo
close to the aircraft. But we are also building sector and this idea was presented to
a cold storage capacity to be able to meet What is the timeline for the entire me and as I was studying. Anchorage is
a number of different needs, particularly, project to be completed and what is truly unique. One of the things about this
the needs of the Alaskan seafood industry its long term vision? opportunity and ANC itself is there is a
to be able to better access export markets. The long term vision is to build this as tremendous amount of things in this world
But I want to also have a substantial portion a cargo hub. We want to have a self- that are going to change — whether how
of the warehouse capacity served as a tool contained facility that allows our custom- aircraft are fuelled by SAF or hydrogen
to basically download and upload cargo so ers the ability to efficiently do tech stops; or whatever. There are a lot of ways to
that we can help air carriers and forwarders but also make money by being able to connect things but geography does not
connect more cargo to more destinations optimize their payloads to better meet the change. And Anchorage is one of a kind
faster and inexpensively. needs of their shipping customers. But in because of its unique spot in terms of
the near term, this is about a desperate being midway between East Asia and the
Who will operate the warehouses? need for infrastructure. The airport has Lower 48. And also, just having really fa-
We are not going to be the operator. We seen significant cargo growth over the last vourable weather; it is undoubtedly snow.
are talking to all candidates to operate couple of years with two integrators — But the airport is never closed. So it is really
that warehouse as well as do the ground FedEx and UPS — expand their operations. one of a kind in terms of being able to
handling. There are two leading compa- That's fantastic. But it is also creating the serve as a link between Asia and the Lower
nies at ANC that currently provide ground need for new infrastructure at the airport. 48 and the rest of North America. 
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