Document Type: Presentation (Industry).

Purpose: Informational.

Authority: Author Expertise.

Scope: 41st Wings Club General Harold R. Harris "Sight" Lecture, presented on May 19, 2010 at The Wings Club, New York City Tom Ridge, former Governor of Pennsylvania and First Secretary of the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security.

Contents (from the Introduction): "I've had a great public service career, lasting more than 25 years. It was within that career that I had the opportunity to be exposed to the aviation industry - from an official perspective, dealing with security issues. And outside my public career, I've witnessed the industry from a consumer's perspective.

After 9/11, it became clear, in a very powerful way that our security and our economy intersect at our borders. Both rely on the free flow of goods and people that cross our borders every day - by land, the by sea and through the skies overhead.

We often talk about the world shrinking and the fading of boundaries. Certainly, the Internet has brought us closer, and so has your industry. It is in that context that I share some thoughts with you today. I can tell you that working in common effort for the common good is the way of homeland security. And when I say homeland security, I'm not speaking of a federal strategy; rather, the mission and the mandate of a nation.

Whether you are a public servant or a private citizen, you want your airline industry to be safe, secure and profitable. But we can all agree that you've had a difficult time over the past decade or two sustaining that profitability.

Part of the risk attendant to that profitability is the fact that there are many influences on your industry that you don't directly control. Fuel prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and labor costs are just some of the challenges you deal with every day.

So, as an industry, one of the first things I believe you must ask yourselves is this: What can we do in the 21st century that elevates our industry among the decision-makers, the political class, the regulatory community and the broader global community so that they demonstrate a greater sensitivity to our economic impact and challenges?"