Orange County Register, Business Section, April 24, 1998
From the Register web site at http://www.ocregister.com  

International El Toro routes might not fly
Jonathan Lansner
 

When county supervisors voted this week for a true international flavor to the proposed El Toro airport, they obviously overlooked global political reality.

You see, if somebody wanted to start domestic air service from, say, El Toro, all they’d basically need is a few planes, a few million to lose and landing and takeoff slots at other U.S. airports.

But if somebody wanted to fly from El Toro to , say, Tokyo or London or other foreign ports, get Madeline Albright on board.  International air travel is burdened with protectionist, anti-consumer regulations that literally take the State Department to navigate.

Air-travel treaties are negotiated over years, almost like peace pacts, with threats of trade retaliation in the background.  Any airport courting a global presence better be ready for a long line.

Take San Jose International .  On Monday, American Airline said it’s applying to start service from London’s Gatwick Airport to the heart of Silicon Valley.  If American gains that route, and that might take a year, San Jose International Airport will then have two overseas flights.  Yes, just two.

“The value of having even one international flight to a community cannot be overlooked,” says spokeswoman Marily Mora, putting San Jose’s spin on the situation.

Back in 1990, with much hoopla, American made an expanded San Jose International its West coast hub and started service from San Jose to Tokyo.  Now with Silicon Valley’s deep business ties to Asia, one figures San Jose would be a burgeoning Pacific Rim air center.

Well, surprise.  American totally bumbled the West Coast and all but gave up on San Jose, minus that nonstop to Tokyo.  San Jose’s only other international flights go to Mexico.

But San Jose’s overseas air drought isn’t really about American.  Or a regional economy that’s the nation’s top exporter.  It’s largely about arcane international air-travel regulations.

And if you think San Jose’s a bad example for Orange County, look at Denver’s new airport.  It has just seven overseas flights a week.  And unlike with San Jose or El Toro, there’s no nearby competition.

These international air politics can get ugly.  Denver hopes to get a daily British Air flight to Gatwick on June 1, but that’s now on hold thanks to a U.S. - U.K. squabble involving unrelated US Airways flights.  “We’re being held hostage,” says Denver International spokesman Chuck Cannon.

this complexity in gaining overseas routes makes airlines skittish about untested, secondary markets.  Why? Air treaties routinely specify the exact route to be flown. So while an airline can smoothly switch domestic business, overseas routes are often locked in.  So if El Toro-Tokyo or El Toro-London is a money loser, there’s no easy out.

“A Korean Air executive may be sophisticated enough to understand Silicon Valley, but most passengers want to go to the Golden Gate Bridge,” says Paul Dempsey, an airline executive and author of a new book on Denver’s airport building boondoggle.  “Orange County would have a difficult time competing with LAX.”

The deck is stacked in favor of big airports keeping and gaining overseas flights.

So global - not local - politics will largely set the international flight plan for Orange County.