Planned new terminal would give Burbank Bob Hope Airport a boost - San Bernardino Sun
From its faded carpeting to its harsh lighting to its cramped gates, Burbank Bob Hope Airport appears caught in a time warp, stuck in a bygone era. It’s a tired building lacking in amenities and familiar brands.
But there is potentially some great news for travelers. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which runs Bob Hope, is finally serious about constructing a new terminal with all the goodies passengers expect — spacious gate areas, an efficient security screening area, better food options, plenty of natural sunlight, more restrooms and additional power outlets. The new building would still have 14 gates, like the current one, but would be nearly 150,000 square feet larger. It’s early, but airport officials guess it might cost $300 million to $400 million.
An environmental review likely will not be completed until next year, and it could be a decade or perhaps even longer before construction is completed. A new building would seemingly provide a nice boost to an airport that is no longer thriving. In 2013, Bob Hope Airport served 3.88 million passengers, a decline of 5.2 percent from the previous year. At the airport’s peak, in 2007, more than 5.9 million passengers flew through Burbank.
But a new building is not a panacea. In the past five years, airlines have moved away from serving secondary airports like Burbank, preferring instead to invest at massive hubs like Los Angeles International where they can harness economies of scale and add more flights to more destinations.
The building will be more passenger friendly, yes. But it will also be safer.
One improvement: The new building will be up to current seismic code. Another concerns the terminal’s location. At one point, the current terminal building is located just 250 feet from a runway, a distance that may have seemed OK in 1930 but it is now 500 feet shorter than the Federal Aviation Administration prefers. Burbank is still considered safe by the FAA, but the issue has nonetheless concerned airport executives for decades.
Dan Feger, who runs Burbank airport is aware that the same trends that have reduced passenger traffic at L.A./Ontario International — the Inland Empire airport has lost more than 40 percent of its annual passenger traffic since 2007 — are hurting Burbank. Feger believes the major airport trend will eventually reverse and that Burbank will again grow.
Feger and his team will continue to meet with airlines and persuade them of the airport’s strengths. But airlines, including Southwest, which gave Burbank a huge boost by adding flights 25 years ago, appear more interested in LAX, where they can attract more high-fare-paying business travelers — the kind of passengers that help an airline’s bottom line. Two years ago, American Airlines even pulled out of Burbank to focus on its LAX operation. (American has since merged with US Airways, which still flies to Burbank.)
For several years in the early 2000s, L.A.-area politicians floated the idea that facilities like Burbank and Ontario (Website Editor - and El Toro) would serve as reliever airports for LAX. That has not happened because, in spite of what some politicians wanted, airlines could not be persuaded through incentives to leave LAX.
This year, LAX likely will break its all-time record, set in 2000, of 67.3 million passengers. It will not be able to grow forever, and Feger thinks Burbank will eventually capitalize.
March 3 - March 9, 2014
JWA’s Cabo Service Set for Switch to Southwest - OCBJ
AirTran Airways' service from John Wayne Airport to Cabo San Lucas will switch carriers in August. AirTran parent Southwest Airlines will take over the daily, non-stop service previously offered from JWA through AirTran beginning Aug. 10.
It's offering an introductory, one-way fare of $143.
The switch to Southwest is part of a planned integration of AirTran’s operations under the parent company’s banner.
Bob Hope Airport sees more passenger traffic - Burbank Leader
The number of passengers making their way through Bob Hope Airport in January climbed 3% from the same time a year ago, marking the second straight month of increases following a six-month string of declines.
The airfield handled 302,389 travelers during the first month of 2014, up from 293,644 during January 2013.
Airport Executive Director Dan Feger said the improvement from last year may be partially influenced by ongoing cost-cutting efforts by airlines in 2013, which included reducing the number of flights going in and out of Burbank.
The number of passengers rose in January by 3%, the number of available seats declined by 6.8% across all airlines.
Most regional airports also reported a boost in passengers for January. At Los Angeles International Airport, the number of travelers grew by 7.2% compared to January 2013, while Ontario International Airport saw a 2% uptick.
John Wayne Airport reported a 2.9% boost in passengers, while Long Beach Airport’s figures slid by 8.7%.
February 24 - March 2, 2014
JWA Posts 2.9% Gain in Traffic - OCBJ
Passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport was up 2.9% in January from a year earlier to 718,549, according to the latest numbers from the airport.
Southwest Airlines and its subsidiary AirTran Airways served a combined 301,776 passengers, the most for the month.
United Airlines served the second highest (104,162) followed by American Airlines (90,159).
International traffic, which comes from the airport's service to Canada and Mexico, was off about 7.4% for the month to 27,845.
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