Logo  NEWS - January 2007

January 31, 2007

Traffic at airport goes up slightly - Burbank Leader

The convenience of the Bob Hope facility is cited as a factor in a 3.2% increase in the number of passengers in 2006.

Since 911, numbers in Burbank have steadily increased, due in part to the convenience of travel in the midst of tightened security screening, Airport Authority Commissioner Charlie Lombardo said.

"You always hear about the hassle factor at LAX that you just don't get at Burbank," he said. "That's just a fact of life. It's just not as busy and our relationship with the [Transportation Security Administration] works very well with the airport and they try to make your air travel not as much of a hassle as LAX."
Senator proposes leaner [San Diego] airport authority, axing salaries - The San Diego (CA) North County Times

A leaner San Diego County Regional Airport Authority could emerge from the ashes of November's crushing defeat of the Miramar ballot measure, thanks to new legislation by state Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego.

Among many changes The legislation would mandate writing a long-range plan for accommodating the region's aviation needs but sets no deadline. The authority would be required to do that in concert with other Southern California counties, rather than focus exclusively on the San Diego County market.
Developer hangs hat on Tustin project - OC Register

Shea Properties of Aliso Viejo sees redevelopment of former Marine base as ticket to becoming big commercial player.

Indeed, proposed commercial development at the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Facility surpasses plans for the county's other former air base, El Toro. There, Lennar Corp. wants to reduce its allotted 5.3 million square feet of such space to 3.7 million, if Irvine will allow more homes.
Tesco plots U.S. move - OC Register from Bloomberg News

In the shadow of a military air base [March AFB] 60 miles east of Los Angeles, backhoes clear an area the size of 80 soccer fields. Behind a wire-mesh fence, Britain's largest retailer is building the command center for an invasion of the world's biggest consumer market.

To ensure a steady supply of food for its stores, Tesco - "Britain's Walmart" - is building an 820,400 square-foot distribution center in Riverside, California, says Dan Fairbanks, planning manager of the March Joint Powers Authority, which represents the municipalities that own the land.


Airport Food Improves: Most Restaurants Now Offering Healthful Low-Fat, Vegetarian Choices
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

We thought you would want to know that of 13 major airports rated, Los Angeles breaks into the top 10 this year with a 15-point increase and a tie for 8th place.. Wholesome choices include the roasted vegetable wrap at Eaturna, the mixed green salad or pasta marinara at Daily Grill, and the udon noodles or vegetable roll at Sushi Boy.

January 30, 2007

Man gets probation in hoax over bomb on jet - LA Times

Federal judge scolds the Florida resident for his 'incredibly stupid' 911 call about a JetBlue airliner at the Long Beach Airport.
JetBlue posts $17 million profit on passenger gain - Tribune Wire Services

JetBlue Airways Corp. reported a fourth-quarter profit of $17 million as it flew more passengers.
   
Sales for the year rose 42 percent to $633 million.

JetBlue serves Burbank, Ontario, Long Beach and San Diego airports in Southern California but not LAX or JWA.
New Airline to Link Small, Midsize Cities  - Wall St. Journal

A new airline will try to solve a frustrating conundrum for thousands of travelers: how to fly nonstop between two small or medium-size cities.

Within the next week, ExpressJet Holdings Inc., a regional airline once wholly owned by Continental Airlines Inc., is expected to launch a new carrier under its own name that will focus on point-to-point service -- direct flights without herding planes and passengers through hub airports -- using 50-seat jets.

Ontario, Calif., near Los Angeles, will be the new airline's busiest city, with nonstop flights to 14 cities.

   
January 29, 2007

Body found in wheel well of jet at Los Angeles airport - LA Times

A dead body's been discovered in the wheel well of a jet at Los Angeles International Airport. Officials at the airport say the body of a young man was found during a routine inspection of the British Airways 747 about an hour after it landed Sunday afternoon.

The Times tells all about other such incidents.

FAA: No shops or homes at the Oceanside airport  - North [SD] County Times

The Federal Aviation Administration told the Oceanside City Council in a letter Monday that it can't allow a commercial development on 14.7 acres at the city's airport, saying a federal grant the city used to purchase the site locks it in as an airport.

"Deep down inside, I don't want to go to war with the FAA," [council member Jerry] Kern said. "Talk about deep pockets. When you're talking about the federal government, they print the money."

January 28, 2007

New York’s air travel is recovering but L.A.’s is not. - El Toro Info Site report

Before the terrorists struck on September 11, 2001, Greater New York was generating nearly the same volume of air travel as the Los Angeles area. That is no surprise given the similarities in population, commerce and locations as jumping-off points to overseas.

Both regions experienced a drop of 12 percent in air passenger traffic from pre-911 year 2000 to 2002.

The similarities end there. New York air travel recovered, regained the lost 12 percent and continued to grow. By 2005, airport passenger traffic was 8 percent greater than it was in 2000.  For 2006, airport passenger estimates through November are about 12 percent greater than in  2000.

On the other hand, the LA region has yet to get back to its 2000 level. 2006 traffic lagged behind 2005. LAX is in a serious slump, down more than 6 million annual passengers.

Why passengers are going back to the New York airports and not to L.A.'s is an important economic question for our regional planners and airport operators.

January 27, 2007

Getting El Toro spick-and-span - OC Register

Groundwater cleanup begins at the old military base and future Great Park. 

The last major pollution cleanup at the old El Toro base has begun. Thirty-five pumps are now drawing up 390 gallons of polluted groundwater per minute, around the clock. The remediation will cost the federal government $42 million and could take 30 years.

San Diego’s Top News and Commentary of 2006 - Voice of San Diego

Voice of San Diego highlights its 20 top news and commentary pieces of 2006. We link to two about the failed effort to site a new airport at MCAS Miramar that remind us of the fight over El Toro.

Ghost writing the airport’s story relates how FAA money was used by public relations consultants to ghost write pro-airport pieces for everyone - up to Marion Blakey, the Federal Aviation Administration's chief - in the failed effort to sell the public on an airport at Miramar. 

Miramar: What went wrong? chronicles the major blunders on the pro-airport side. "The history is just against building an international airport anywhere within an existing urban area." Proponents suffered an eroding of their credibility. The story parallels our own on The Grounding of El Toro.


January 26, 2007

[SD] Airport operations flatten - San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego International Airport just barely eked out a record passenger tally in 2006, after two years of above-average growth. The 17.5 million passengers flying in and out of Lindbergh Field last year was up 109,000, or 0.6 percent from the previous year.

National and California air travel trends up: L.A. is down – El Toro Info Site

While the volume of air travel in the Los Angeles region is down from 2000, (see January 25 report) the national and California trends are up. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics data shows that the number of passenger enplanements in the nation rose by 10 percent between 2000 and 2005.

The number of passengers beginning or ending their trips in California increased by almost 4 percent over the period. This includes the Los Angeles region which experienced a small decline.

DOT has not yet compiled data for all of 2006.

N.Y. Port Authority to buy Stewart Airport - Washington Times

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to buy the lease on the former Stewart military airbase for $78.5 million. The Port Authority earlier set aside $150 million to develop a fourth passenger airport to serve the New York metropolitan region, and singled out Stewart -- 55 miles north of New York City in Newburgh, N.Y.-as the most likely site.

The Port Authority - which operates Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports - expects to close on the lease purchase by October.

Website Editor: The New York metropolitan area has roughly the same population and volume of air travel as the Greater Los Angeles area. Both are busy destinations for tourists and business. Both serve as major international gateways.

New York/New Jersey has three major airports and is considering a fourth while the geographically larger Los Angeles area has six and plans for ten.

January 25, 2007

Regional air travel remained soft in 2006 – El Toro Info Site Report

More than 5 years after the 911 attacks, air travel in Southern California has failed to fully recover or live up to growth forecasts.

From 2000, the peak year for air travel, through last year, there was a small decline in total air traffic at the region’s six major airports. Excluding Palm Springs International Airport, LA Basin air travel declined by a million annual passengers.

Travelers played musical chairs, switching from LAX to other airports in search of greater convenience. LAX has lost over six million annual passengers. (See LAX report below) 

Five of the six million passengers migrated into other local airports. Only a small fraction of them chose LA/Ontario. Regional planners expect LA/Ontario and LA/Palmdale to absorb traffic which LAX will not accommodate.

      Passengers using airports in the Southern California Association of Governments region

 

Airport

2006 passengers

2005 passengers

Percent Change 2005-6

2000 passengers

Percent Change 2000-6

Passengers  change 2000-2006

Los Angeles

61,041,066

61,489,398

-0.7

67,303,182

- 9.3

- 6,262,116

Orange County

9,613,480

9,627,032

- 0.1

7,772,801

+ 23.7

+1,840,679

Ontario

7,049,904

7,213,528

- 2.3

6,739,329

+ 4.6

+310,575

Burbank

5,689,291

5,512,619

+3.2

4,748,742

+ 19.8

+940,549

Long Beach

2,758,362

3,034,032

- 9.1

637,853

+ 432.4

+2,120,509

Palm Springs

1,529,005

1,419,087

+ 7.7

1,281,073

+19.4

+247,932

Regional Total

87,681,108

88,295,696

- 0.7

88,482,980

- 0.9

- 801,872







  

















 Source: Data collected by the El Toro Info Site from the airports



January 24, 2007

LAX slump continues - El Toro Info Site report

Los Angeles International Airport ended 2006 serving 61,041,006 passengers, a 0.7 percent decline from 2005. The airport traffic was 9.3 percent below its 2000 record level of 67,303,182 passengers, set pre-911.

International travel from LAX was down 3.3 percent from 2005. Click for detailed statistics.

LAX volume has declined by over 6 million annual passengers - from 67 MAP to 61 MAP - since 2000, most of whom have switched to more accessible and user-friendly airports.

Airport officials were unprepared for the extended slump. A May 26, 2005 Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) press release predicted:

For all of 2005, LAX expects to serve approximately 64 million passengers.
Full recovery to pre-9/11 passenger traffic levels [67.3 MAP] is expected in 2006.

LAWA was wrong on both counts.

The reason for the airport’s inability to retain customers deserves greater study and more action.

The desertion from LAX is not the result of conscious regionalization of traffic through the enhancement of other airports. Instead, it results from years of political wrangling and inaction that allowed the region’s principal airport and its access system to become user-unfriendly.
Great plans for the park - Irvine World News

Ken Smith takes his proposal to build the Great Park over time to the board today. 

The phasing decisions largely come down to money. The suggested plan is loosely based on available money – the development will cost approximately $419 million, so far $333 million is available for design and construction.  Click for the latest timeline.

Air Fare Index Reaches Highest Third-Quarter Level in Index’s 11 Years - Bureau of Transportation Statistics

The Air Travel Price Index (ATPI) for the third quarter of 2006 reached the highest third- quarter level recorded in the 11-year period measured by the index, 7.5 percent higher than the previous third quarter high in 2005, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. 

While reaching a third-quarter high, the ATPI declined 2.6 percent from the record high set in the second quarter of 2006. Quarter-to-quarter changes may be affected by seasonal factors.

The report ranks the top 85 air travel markets in order of price index percentage changes from 1995 to 2006. Long Beach airport had the highest percent increase in the nation. Burbank was third. Ontario, Santa Ana and LAX all posted increases greater than the national average.

The BTS data shows percentage changes at each airport compared to its own base year 1995 prices which might have been high or low (like Long Beach) to begin with.

BTS does not provide data for comparing dollar prices between airports – e.g. Long Beach vs. LAX  - for flights to the same destination.

Actual average dollar fares paid for domestic tickets aggregated at each airport are reported without regard for destination. Not surprisingly, the highest average ticket prices in the nation are at airports where most passengers are flying long distances. Honolulu tops the list with an average ticket price of $519.59 and Anchorage is second. Los Angeles is #12 with an average ticket price of $434.70.

John Wayne Airport is #15 with an average ticket of $418.49 despite the relatively short distances for many of its flights. All other airports in the L.A. region reported average fares that are less than the national average of $389.08.

Website Editor: The data shows that passengers at the capacity-limited JWA pay more for tickets than at other airports in the region though direct comparison for the same service and destinations is not possible.
LAX easily shifts to new passport policy - LA Times

A smooth transition is reported on the first day papers are a must for air travel to certain nations.
Great Park - Orange County Business Journal Insider

Insider reports - The Great Park board is expected to hear this week from backers of a plan to use part of the park for a Native American tourist attraction similar to the Polynesian Cultural Center in Oahu.

Dr. Gentry, Co-Chair, National Cultural Center of the Native Americans is on the January 25 meeting agenda. The concept of a cultural center at El Toro has been part of the discussion for years.

Olympic Airports - Orange County Business Journal letters

Website Editor Len Kranser's letter revisits whether Los Angeles airports convenient to the olympic venues will be ready for the proposed 2016 games. Chicago leaders, competing with LA for the selection, are pressing a $6 billion expansion to increase O'Hare International Airport's capacity by 60 percent.

January 23, 2007

Airlines fighting higher LAX fees - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The board of Los Angeles World Airports, which oversees LAX and three other airports in the region, voted last month to increase rent in the terminal occupied by Dallas-based Southwest by nearly 300 percent, or about $36 million annually.

Airline officials say it is the largest such increase in industry history.

Last week, American responded with a federal lawsuit, joined by United and Continental airlines. Southwest, meanwhile, is considering filing its own litigation through the U.S. Transportation Department.

Officials with both airlines said they have attempted to negotiate with the airport board with little success.

"If all of our airports were as difficult to deal with as LAX, I think we'd have gone into the steamship business," said Ron Ricks, senior vice president of law, airports and public affairs at Southwest.

Ricks suspects that the airport board is using higher fees at LAX to force airlines into moving some flights to other airports, particularly Palmdale Regional Airport, which lacks regularly scheduled passenger service.

Anti-airport agency votes to end its operations - OC Register

The El Toro Reuse Planning Authority on Monday met for the final time to cease operations after battling the proposed international airport at the former El Toro Marine base for more than a decade.

"Hallelujah, we did it," said Chairman Allan Songstad.

Members of the joint powers authority that led the anti-airport fight shared praise with their grass-roots community allies. ETRPA will return about $140,000 remaining in its treasury to the cities that supported its efforts. See more below:

Bob Hope Airport posts record year

Bob Hope Airport (aka Burbank) saw a 3.2 percent gain in passenger traffic for 2006 over 2005. The airport served 5,689,291 passengers compared to 5,512,619 last year. It was the fourth consecutive up year for the airport which has surpassed its pre-911 volume of traffic.

The airports #1 carrier, Southwest served 3,549,616 passengers, a small increase over 2006. JetBlue more than doubled its service to 471,992 passengers and moved up to be the #2 airline at BUR.

Airport Commissioners Adopt "Green" Building Policy Standards - LAWA press release

The Board of Airport Commissioners adopted a sustainable, "green" building policy that commits Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) to incorporate the highest possible Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in all future construction projects at LAWA's four airports -- Los Angeles International (LAX), LA/Ontario International (ONT), LA/Palmdale Regional (PMD) and Van Nuys (VNY).

Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes LAX and who was recently elected chairman of the Southern California Regional Airport Authority [said] "Transforming LAX into the greenest airport in the world is a huge step in this direction; one that will not only benefit the citizens of Los Angeles, but help in the global fight against climate change."

January 22, 2007

ONT beats LAX in concession revenue - Daily Bulletin

LA/Ontario International Airport might be dwarfed by its bigger neighbor to the west in most ways, but there's one category in which ONT tops LAX: concession revenue per passenger. 

L.A. airports fly high with film shoots - LA Times

TV and movie action at area facilities keeps hundreds of jobs in place and fills city coffers with sales tax revenue, study says.

January 21, 2007

Chino airportChino considers developing airport land - Dailybulletin.com

The City Council voted on Tuesday to hire a consulting firm to study how to best develop land at Chino Airport. San Bernardino County owns the land, which was annexed into the city in 1992. County officials said, any future development must pertain to aviation use.

Chino was one of 24 sites studied in 1989 for a possible second Orange County Airport.

At 800 acres it is larger than John Wayne and two of its three runways are longer than JWA's. It is home to two aircraft museums.

Registered traveler plan on hold at LAX - Daily Breeze

Director Lydia Kennard cites questions about the value of setting up security express lanes here for pre-screened passengers.  

January 20, 2007

ETRPA wraps up its affairs - El Toro Info Site report

The El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, ETRPA, will officially conclude its affairs with a final public meeting on Monday night at 6 PM at the Lake Forest City Hall. The joint powers authority of South County cities and allied officials that led the fight against El Toro airport for 13 years will wrap up in its usual "take the high road" style, sharing much of the credit with others. The board will approve the following resolution.
Well done!

Rosendahl Selected to Chair Airport Panel - Santa Monica Mirror

Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl has been elected as chairman of the Southern California Regional Airport Authority (SCRAA), a joint powers agency designed to regionalize air traffic throughout Southern California. The panel, established in 1984, became inactive in 2003, but a lawsuit settlement agreement last year ending LAX expansion caused the City of Los Angeles to lead efforts to revive SCRAA.

Rosendahl pledged to revive the dormant organization and build consensus.

Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom welcomed Rosendahl's selection [saying] "Bill's focus on maximizing the use of all regional airport facilities is sensible and I'm sure he'll make an effective chair of the airport authority." 

Website Editor: Orange County conditioned its rejoining of SCRAA on maintaining local control over utilization of John Wayne Airport.

Airlines sue LAX over fee hike - LA Times

Three airlines sued the city of Los Angeles in federal court this week, alleging that a move by airport commissioners to double terminal maintenance fees at LAX violates long-term leases they signed with the city in the 1980s.  See also the Daily Breeze

Long Beach Airport slumps on loss of American Airlines - El Toro Info Site report

Long Beach Airport finished the year with an 9.1 percent drop in passengers handled, from 3,034,032 in 2005 to 2,758,362 in 2006. The decline was accompanied by a 10.7 percent decrease in the number of air carrier operations.

JetBlue carried 79 percent of all LGB passengers. The carrier experienced a small year-to-year decline.

The big impact on Long Beach came as a result of American Airlines' pullout in April.  American's departure left the airport without any non-stop service to Dallas-Ft. Worth. Roughly 300,000 passengers had to make connections on other airlines or switch to using alternative airports - principally JWA and LAX.

January 19, 2007

Palm Springs International has a record year - El Toro Info Site report

Palm Springs served 1,529,005 passengers in 2006 to set another record. This was a 7.75 percent increase over the previous year.

The airport bills itself as America's Resortport and aggressively seeks more carriers and service to more destinations. The airport gets its international designation by offering flights to Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, enabling Canadian snowbirds to bypass LAX.

Errant airliner on LA runway forces Delta pilot to abort landing - North County Times
 
A Delta Air Lines jet on final approach to Los Angeles International Airport was forced to veer away a half-mile before touchdown because an Aeromexico aircraft pulled onto the runway, authorities said Thursday. "The system worked exactly as it should. "
Alaska Airlines upset with LAX fee-hike plan - Los Angeles Business Journal

Officials at Alaska Airlines say they're upset that terminal fees at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) could triple from $4 million to $12 million per year

January 18, 2007

Let's talk about it (the $4.5 million dollar orange balloon).  Irvine World News letters

The Irvine newpaper asked readers for their opinions on the Great Park's orange balloon. All 5 published letters branded it a "lame idea" or similar, and suggested better uses for the money than a sightseeing platform for a park that doesn't yet exist.

We see it as just another expensive piece of Great Park PR.

The L.A.-Chicago rivalry goes athletic as the two cities compete for the U.S. bid to host the 2016 Olympics. Patt Morrison opinions in the Times that
Palmdale International Airport will welcome tourists with jet-lag aromatherapy booths.

See our January 15 report - Will local airports be ready for the olympics?.

January 17, 2007

BUR Airport project funds sought; Bob Hope plan to be discussed  Daily News.com:

Bob Hope Airport officials are seeking about $750,000 to design a taxiway extension and prepare a plan to consolidate rental-car lots now scattered throughout the area.

Though critics believe the project will open the airport to more flights, it was among those allowed under the 2005 pact between the Airport Authority and the city of Burbank, which restricts development at the airport for up to a decade.
City approves plans for five high-rises near airport  Daily Pilot:

The [Costa Mesa city] council's decision overrode the county Airport Land Use Commission's rejection of the plans in December. City Manager Allan Roeder noted that Federal Aviation Administration and John Wayne Airport officials have signed off on the projects.

January 16, 2007

LAX leading DFW for third busiest  El Toro Info Site report:

At the end of November, Los Angeles International is leading Dallas-Ft. Worth for the title of the third busiest airport in the nation this year, measured in total passengers served.

Two federal government reports have it the other way around. The FAA shows Dallas leading in the number of flight operations. The Department of Transportation shows Dallas ahead in the number of passengers, counting only those flying on U.S. carriers.

This website counts all passengers on all airlines. Through the end of November, LAX handled 55,967,715 passengers to DFW’s 55,301,507.

DFW once was the nation’s third busiest airport behind Atlanta and Chicago but LAX took over third place in 1998 and has held it each year since.

For eleven months of 2006, LAX traffic lagged 2005’s by about 1 percent. While the Los Angeles airport remains in a slump, Dallas-Ft. Worth’s traffic is ahead of the previous year's by 2 percent and is closing the gap between the two airports.

January 15, 2007

"Two small airports going Hollywood" pokes fun at the renaming of two area airports  USA Today:

Los Angeles is adding "LA" to the names of underused airports it owns in two distant cities in a marketing ploy to relieve passenger strains at aging Los Angeles International Airport.

The Southern California cities of Ontario and Palmdale, swallowing their civic pride, are endorsing the name changes. Ontario International Airport, 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, is now LA/Ontario International. And the airport in Palmdale, 60 miles northeast of the city, is LA/Palmdale Regional Airport.

The Ontario airport is 'one of the best places if you want to go to Disneyland' but frequently gets confused with the Canadian province, says Harold Johnson, a spokesman for Los Angeles World Airports, operator of giant LAX and the outlying airports. Website Editor: But Ontario lacks economical ground access to the Magic Kingdom.

[Aviation consultant Michael] Boyd says lending the big city's name to sister airports won't entice business travelers to switch routes or persuade airlines to abandon LAX as a hub.

"The passenger going to downtown L.A. ain't going into Ontario, unless you like a two-hour drive in the smog," Boyd says. "People are going to go where they want to go. The whole L.A. basin has huge challenges in terms of transportation. But changing airport names is not going to do it alone."
Will local airports be ready for the 2016 Olympics?  El Toro Info Site report:

The last major expansion of LAX took place when the Bradley International terminal opened in preparation for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Once again, L.A. is bidding to host the summer games, in 2016. Will the airports be ready?

Will the next ten years provide accessible airport capacity? Or will regional planners, seemingly yet to get over their “loss of El Toro”, continue to resist utilizing available airports?

Will travelers to the hub of events - at the Los Angeles Coliseum - appreciate arriving at LA/Palmdale and LA/Ontario airports to find that they are a long way from LA?

Several popular events will be held in Orange County - basketball games are planned at Honda Center and Anaheim Arena, badminton at UCI and some of the equestrian events in San Juan Capistrano. But many visitors will be shut out of nearby John Wayne Airport’s (by then) newly expanded terminal by the county’s negotiated limit on flights and passengers.

Burbank Airport has an agreement blocking any expansion planning before 2015 – even for parking - and may be clogged.

Or will the U.S. Olympic Committee, which on April 14 is set to select either L.A. or Chicago as the nation’s entry in a two-year international competition for the games, go with Chicago where airport expansion is a high priority?

Click for more on the Olympics from the OC Business Journal.

January 14, 2007

Message Board changes  El Toro Info Site report updated:

Spamming bots have attacked our website message board with growing frequency, trying to post links to commercial websites for which they seek to increase traffic. We block their messages but our software leaves "Authorization Denied" posts that litter the page.

We believe that the message board has outlived its usefullness as a place for viewers to post legitimate information and comments. Consequently, we have removed the message board link on our home page. We have replaced it with a link to the message board keyword search feature. This will allow serious viewers to still research our extensive archive of newspaper stories for articles of interest to them.

We may continue to post relevant newspaper stories on the board and incorporate them by links in our news page reports. The news page will receive a makeover for the new year. Those who still want to see what has been posted on the message board during the most recent week - the good and the spammers' trash - can bookmark and follow the old link to http://www.eltoroairport.org/discus/board.html

January 12, 2007

SCAG peers at 2035  El Toro Info Site report:

The Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG Aviation Technical Advisory Committee received a consultant's report Thursday on future regional air travel supply and demand. The planning report attempts to peer almost 29 years into the future.

Results of 2035 Unconstrained Forecast and Airport Facility Capacity Analyses predicts regional air travel to grow from 88.3 MAP (million annual passengers) in 2005 to 192.4 MAP in 2035. That translates to a 3.93 percent annual rate of increase.

The report notes that in 2004 the comparable demand forecast produced for 2030 was 190 MAP. The regional planning body projected the supply of aviation service at 170 MAP with, and 155 MAP without a Maglev system connecting the region's airports.

In another report presented at the meeting, the consultants list these supply components of a "Preferred Aviation Plan" for 2035.

*    LAX - 78 MAP. The region's principal airport is assumed to stay permanently frozen at today's politically-established limit. The report describes 78 MAP as the airport's "existing physical (runway) capacity" although the same SCAG committee heard four years ago that the runway capacity was 89 MAP.

*    BUR - 9.4 MAP. The limit is identified as the terminal's gate capacity. Burbank is currently two years into an agreement to block expansion for 10 years.

*    LGB - 4.2 MAP. This assumes the use of larger aircraft with no change to the current limit of 41 flights per day.

*    JWA - 10.8 MAP. The report assumes that the Orange County - Newport Beach negotiated MAP cap that expires in 2015 will be extended without change for twenty more years.

*   ONT - 31.6 MAP. This is the assumed capacity of the airport's two runways.
 
Given the above total of 134 MAP at the region's five major airports, there will need to be a lot of commuting to outlying airports like Palmdale and to Riverside and San Bernardino airports to make up for the shortfall. 

Alternatively, a future round of military base closures might provide airport advocates with another chance to do what they tried and failed to accomplish at El Toro and Miramar.
 
That, or future leaders will rethink the utilization limits that have been established for the popular close-in airports.

January 11, 2007

Air traffic glitch delays Ontario flights  LA Times:

"New telecommunications equipment designed to deliver information to controllers in a San Diego facility that handles air traffic across Southern California malfunctioned early Wednesday, delaying 14 flights out of Ontario International Airport."

"Controllers in the giant San Diego air traffic control facility handle flights between airports in Southern California, from the ground to 15,000 feet. The outage was the first to occur in the region since a string of air traffic control equipment malfunctions repeatedly disrupted air service in the Southland last summer."

DOT October 2006 Airline Traffic Data: Ten-Month System Traffic Up 0.3 Percent From 2005

U.S. airlines carried 623.4 million scheduled domestic and international passengers on their systems during the first 10 months of 2006, 0.5 percent more than they did during the same period in 2005, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported in a release of preliminary data.

DOT reported that the U.S. airlines carried 0.2 percent fewer domestic passengers and 5.7 percent more international passengers during the 10-month period in 2006 than during the same period in 2005

LAX continues to be the nation's 4th busiest airport this year behind Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas-Ft. Worth according to the Department of Transportation ranking which excludes passengers on foreign air carriers. It was the 5th busiest after Denver for the month of October.

See the report below about aircraft takeoffs and landings and this website's report on local airports for October that includes passengers on foreign air carriers.
FAA names Top 50 Busiest Commercial U.S. Airports for 2006

The FAA released its list of the top 50 busiest airports in the nation for 2006 ranked by their number of commercial flight operations. Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport was the nation's and world's busiest by this measure. The FAA does not count passengers. Its focus is on operations as a measure of flight control workload.

Atlanta, Chicago's O'Hare, DFW and LAX topped the list in that order.  Long Beach and John Wayne were numbers 21 and 22.

Ranking  Number of Ops          Airport
1                 976313                     Atlanta
2                 958643                     Chicago O’Hare
3                 702713                     Dallas-Fort Worth
4                 656842                     Los Angeles
5                 619474                     Las Vegas
6                 609522                     Denver
7                 603246                     Houston Intercontinental
8                 546510                     Phoenix

January 10, 2007

JWA posts final results for 2006  El Toro Info Site report:

John Wayne Airport continues its practice of being the promptest regional airport to report its operating results. The airport had its busiest December ever, serving 5.6 percent more passengers than in December 2006.

For calendar year 2006 the airport served 9,613,480 passengers which was 0.1 percent fewer than the record set in 2005.

Under a settlement agreement with Newport Beach, the airport is allowed to handle 10,300,000 passengers but airport management has been reluctant to open the gates to additional flights requested by airlines. The number of air carrier flights were up in December compared to the previous December, accounting for the one month's increase in traffic.
Irvine funds Great Park balloon  OC Register:

"The Irvine City Council on a 4-1 vote Tuesday night approved spending $3.6 million to launch the Great Park's orange balloon this summer."

"The Great Park Corp. will spend $3.6 million on the passenger-carrying helium balloon. The Lennar Corp., developer for lands around the park, will pay the other $1 million in start-up costs."

"The council also approved a $4.3 million increase for the Great Park budget to pay for the balloon, a sports fields study and higher park design costs, and to compensate for the loss of farming leases."

"And the council allocated $500,000 for staff time that will be spent in the next months on studying and preparing the first plans for the Great Park and surrounding development."

Website Editor: Boosters for the publicity grabbing balloon originally envisioned it to be installed last year around the time of the city elections. It now is scheduled to go up in mid-2007.  We had not seen published information on the balloon's huge cost - much of which already has been spent - prior to it being added to the budget this week.

January 9, 2007

LAX May Buy Back Terminals to Increase Flights  LA Times:

"Hoping to increase capacity and lower fares, the city's Airport Commission will consider as early as today spending up to $154 million to take over several terminals at Los Angeles International Airport so it can offer more airplane parking spots to low-cost carriers."

"For years, airlines such as Southwest have vied for more gates at LAX. But five carriers, under long-term leases, control a majority of airplane parking places at the aging facility, leaving the city's airport agency unable to accommodate multiple requests by other airlines to add flights."

"In what it now calls an outdated arrangement, the agency controls only 3 1/2 of the nine terminals at LAX."

"The terminal takeover proposal also comes as officials continue to debate a long-term plan -- already 12 years and $150 million in the making -- for modernizing LAX."

"Taking control of its terminals also would allow the agency to prevent airlines from hoarding aircraft parking spots. Several airlines don't use some of the gates they lease at LAX efficiently, analysts said, adding that those spots would be better operated by carriers that want to offer more flights."

"Operating Terminal 2 would also give the city the ability to upgrade gates there to serve the huge Airbus A380 and other new large aircraft that will be entering service in the coming years."

"The terminal takeover plan is just one thorny issue likely to face Executive Director Lydia Kennard's successor at Los Angeles World Airports. Kennard announced last week that she is leaving at the end of the month, and officials are searching for a successor."

Website Editor: The move to make more gates available is interesting in the light of Los Angeles' agreement with neighboring cities to reduce (at least temporarily until 2015) the number of passenger gates at the airport. If aviation demand grows, this writer doubts that the gate reduction agreement will be extended or that LAX will be capped at the 78 million annual passenger level that is the politically motivated basis that shapes all SCAG regional air transportation plans.
November 2006 passenger data shows region’s air travel still off  El Toro Info Site report:

Data for the six commercial airports comprising the Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG region shows a total of 80,385,210 passengers served in the first 11 months of 2006. This is a drop of 0.9 percent from the same period in 2005.

At LAX, domestic traffic for the year was off 0.02 percent and international travel was off by 3.23 percent. The combined total was 0.93 percent behind the previous year’s.

Ontario, Long Beach and John Wayne also are trailing their previous year's volume. Burbank and Palm Springs were the only local airports showing a pickup in traffic in 2006.

The regional total lags the record volume set six years ago in 2000 by 1.2 percent.

In contrast with recent actual experience, consultants for SCAG will present forecasts this week assuming a 3.93 percent average annual growth in unconstrained air travel demand projected out to 2035. The forecast assumes that 29 percent of the demand will be international, up from about 20 percent this year.

January 8, 2007

Burbank stats for November show Jet Blue impact  El Toro Info Site report:

Bob Hope Airport (BUR) released data for November, shows the airport serving 5,223,654 passengers, a 3.4 percent increase in the first 11 months of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005.

Jet Blue's BUR service more than doubled in 2006 - adding a quarter-million passengers - and more than made up for a slide in business at several legacy carriers.

A recent report from Palm Springs shows that airport seeking to add Jet Blue service.
Delta, United propose adding service from Palmdale airport  Associated Press:

"Delta and United airlines are vying to add Palmdale to their flight schedules."

"The companies submitted proposals late Friday for new air service from Palmdale, most likely to one of their West Coast hubs."

"Delta operates a hub in Salt Lake City, and United has hubs in San Francisco and Denver."

"Delta and United have previously flown into Palmdale, located about 60 miles north of Los Angeles, but both canceled their service in the late 1980s."

"An evaluation committee will begin going through the two proposals next week and should make its selection by February, said Paul Haney, deputy executive director of airports and security for Los Angeles World Airports."

"It's hoped that Palmdale airport could significantly reduce air traffic in the congested terminals of LAX. Regional planners believe it could handle at least 12.8 million travelers a year, making it about the size of Oakland International Airport."

Click for a report from the Antelope Valley Press with more details.

January 2, 2007

Costa Mesa preparing to override airport commission on JWA area high rises  El Toro Info Site report:

The Costa Mesa City Council is preparing to vote, this month, to permit a group of high rise towers near the South Coast Plaza and Performing Arts Center despite an adverse finding by the Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, ALUC.  The ALUC found the project to be inconsistent with its Airport Environs Land Use Plan for John Wayne Airport because the proposed towers are in an area traversed by low flying general aviation aircraft.

If the city overrides the ALUC, state law says “the operator of the airport [Orange County] shall be immune from liability for damages to property or personal injury caused by [the] decision to overrule the commission’s action or recommendation.” In other words, the city takes the rap under any lawsuit instead of the county. Encroachment on the airport proceeds.

January 1, 2007

Deadline looms for [LGB] airport report  Long Beach Press-Telegram:

"A Friday deadline is looming for the city of Long Beach and Long Beach Airport area residents to reach a settlement over differences in an environmental report on terminal improvements."

"And while those two groups have made progress and likely will reach a compromise, separate negotiations with the Long Beach Unified School District have reached an impasse and likely will result in a court battle, city officials said."

"The district wants the city to provide noise soundproofing for a number of schools if proposed terminal improvements are built, officials said."

"Last summer, the council certified the EIR over the objections of residents and advocacy groups upset with the breadth of the environmental document on key issues of health, noise and the potential for more daily commercial flights."

"A certified EIR is needed before the council can decide whether to build the terminal project, which calls for expanded terminal space, ticketing counters, hold rooms and concession areas. Total improvements would increase the terminal size [from its existing 56,320 square feet] to a maximum of 97,545 square feet."

Click here for last month's news reports

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