Daily Business Report-June 10, 2016

A Boeing 767-300ER aircraft flown by Condor airlines. (Jakkrit Prasertwit)

Condor to Offer New Seasonal Nonstop

Flights Between San Diego and Germany

Condor airlines will begin seasonal nonstop flights from San Diego International Airport and Frankfurt, Germany in May 2017 — the only nonstop connection between San Diego and continental Europe.

“Germany is San Diego’s largest destination country in Europe without nonstop service, so we’re excited to add this seasonal destination to our growing list of nonstop international flight options,” said Thella F. Bowens, president/CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

Condor will begin service with up to three weekly flights on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The route will operate on a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and offer three classes of service: Business Class, Premium Class and Economy Class.

“We are very pleased to introduce this new link between San Diego and Frankfurt, giving Southern California a unique choice for their travels to Germany,” said Jens Boyd, group head of long-haul at Condor. “And with our numerous partner airlines we offer flights beyond Frankfurt to over 120 destinations across Europe at very competitive prices. San Diego is a very attractive destination for European tourists and we also will stimulate traffic from this direction.”

Besides Frankfurt, travelers will also have convenient one-stop access to European destinations such as Paris, Vienna, Prague, Venice, Berlin, Rome, Zagreb and many more.

The Airport Authority worked with regional partners in securing the new route with Condor, including the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and the San Diego Tourism Authority.

“As one of San Diego’s top partners for exports and foreign investment, Germany is fast becoming one of our economy’s most important international markets,” said Mark Cafferty, president and CEO of San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. “Condor’s new direct flight will now link San Diego to one of Europe’s most important economic and cultural hubs.”

“The addition of approximately 14,000 new seats to San Diego on Condor, Germany’s most popular leisure airline, will support our efforts to increase the share of international travelers to our region. We look forward to working with Condor and our local community to ensure the success of this very important service,” said Joe Terzi, president and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority.

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Report: San Diego Becoming North

America’s Bicycling Capital

San Diego is becoming North America’s bicycling capital, where annual revenues from wholesale and retail sectors of the bicycling industry top $547 million, according to a report by San Diego Sport Innovators.

In the wholesale cycling and related manufacturing, there are currently more than 50 companies with annual revenues of $97.4 million, according to the report. The retail sector — bikes and related cycling gear — total $220 million per year generated by 227 independent bicycle dealers, with those IBDs employing an estimated 1,226 workers. Other bike-related retail activity totals $230 million with $56 million in retail salaries and wages.

The report also focused on San Diego’s Cycling Consumer. One-third of San Diego County residents or 1.1 million people currently participate in cycling. That’s a cycling population that exceeds the entire population of top cycling cities like Austin, Texas (885,400), Portland, Ore. (609,500) and Boulder, Colo. (102,200). Additionally, 37 percent of San Diego cyclists or 470,000 identify themselves as “frequent/avid” cyclists; San Diego cyclists are 29 percent more likely to purchase a new bike in the next year than U.S. cyclists overall; and San Diego has experienced an 84 percent increase in the number of bicycle commuters since 2000.

The report pointed to San Diego demographics that support both cycling participation and industry growth. San Diego’s median household and per capita income is $63,996 and $31,043, respectively, versus the U.S. totals of $53,482 and $28,555. An important statistic to cycling growth is that San Diego’s 18-34 age group totals 27.4 percent of the population or No. 1 in the country.

San Diego continues to be a pioneering leader nationally with an emphasis on high-performance fitness; leading engineering of high performance machines; the birthplace and hotbed of Triathlon training; and a political will to get the population out of cars and onto bicycles, the report states. As of 2015, it said, San Diego County has approximately 1,340 miles of bikeway facilities, with the city of San Diego planning to more than double that number by 2030.

Human Resources Executives to Head

Tech San Diego’s University Talent Initiative

Human resources executives Michael Yates and Thomas Leet have been selected to helm Tech San Diego’s new University Talent Initiative, an outreach program designed to strengthen partnerships between tech sector employees and colleges and universities in San Diego.

Currently, Yates serves as the director of talent acquisition and community outreach services and Leet is assistant vice chancellor for human resources, both at UC San Diego.

With their ties to the local higher education and tech communities, the two will aim to facilitate a more robust pipeline of science and engineering graduates remaining in San Diego to launch careers in the area’s vibrant, diverse high tech community. Tech San Diego projects that with Yates and Leet at the lead, the University Talent Initiative will create unique, proprietary access points to connect regional technology companies to students and leadership at area post-secondary institutions.

“San Diego is home to multiple world-class learning and research institutions with superior programs in science, engineering and management, as well as a plethora of cutting-edge companies innovating tomorrow’s leading scientific and technology breakthroughs,” said Kevin Carroll, executive director of Tech San Diego. “Our aim is to strengthen the ties between the academic and professional sectors locally to ensure local graduates and tech companies mutually benefit from the very tangible synergies that exist.”

 

Medical Society Foundation Changes Name

The name of the San Diego County Medical Society Foundation has been changed to Champions for Health.

“The name was changed to Champions for Health to reduce confusion and misconceptions,” said Barbara Mandel, Champions for Health CEO. “Some people thought we existed in order to give money to doctors, which is incorrect. Rather, the new name was selected to reinforce the selfless contributions of doctors and many others in medicine who are involved in addressing the unmet health care needs of low-income and uninsured people in San Diego County.”

The charitable foundation was formed 11 years ago by the San Diego County Medical Society.

 

Analysis Shows Sufficient Water

Supplies for San Diego Region

The San Diego County Water Authority and its member agencies have sufficient water supplies to meet demands even during three additional dry years and won’t be subject to state-mandated water-use reductions through January 2017, according to initial calculations shared with the Board of Directors on Thursday.

Regional supply sufficiency results from 25 years of strategic investments, including Colorado River water conservation-and-transfer agreements, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant and local water development projects such as water recycling facilities.

Based on the projections, the board voted unanimously duringThursday’s special meeting to take a regional approach to the state’s recently approved process for certifying supply sufficiency for the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies and establishing a new long-term drought awareness initiative.

 

Thella Bowens Appointed to Travel

and Tourism Advisory Board

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the appointment of Thella Bowens, president and CEO of the San Diego County Airport Authority, to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

First chartered in 2003, the Advisory Board serves as the advisory body to the Secretary of Commerce on matters relating to the travel and tourism industry in the United States. The board members represent a broad spectrum of the travel industry, including hotels and restaurants, financial services, transportation services, as well as a variety of small and large firms spanning across the country.

 

Community College District Budget

Adds 1,200 Students in 2016-17

A tentative 2016-17 budget of $742 million calling for more workforce preparation programs, additional course sections, and increased initiatives aimed at ensuring student success was adopted by the San Diego Community College District’s governing board at its Thursday meeting

The  district will add an estimated 1,200 students at City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges and Continuing Education during the coming academic year.  This represents a 1 percent growth rate for the SDCCD, which is already California’s second-largest community college district. The growth rate may increase to 2 percent if the state includes this higher level in the final adopted budget for community colleges.

In all, the budget includes general fund spending of more than $420 million, plus nearly $175 million for the SDCCD’s continuing bond construction program under Propositions S and N.   The rest of the budget comes from federal and state financial aid and grants.

 

ion theatre Partners with Museum of Art

ion theatre is partnering with the San Diego Museum of Art to stage the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Sunday in the Park with George” – with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine – at the museum’s Copley Auditorium July 1-16. Co-directed by Producing Artistic Director Glenn Paris and Associate Artistic Director Kim Strassburger, the production features some of San Diego’s top musical theater talents led by Melissa Fernandes as Dot and Jon Lorenz as George. Mark Danisovszky is musical director and ion theatre Founder/Executive Artistic Director Claudio Raygoza as producer.