LA/Palmdale Regional Airport to Showcase Remodeled Terminal on May 8 - LAWA media release
The City of Palmdale and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) will host a community open house at LA/Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) Tuesday, May 8, to showcase the newly remodeled passenger terminal and a United Express regional jet. The outreach event is intended to familiarize residents with the airport and introduce residents to United's new service to San Francisco that begins June 7.
PMD is located on a 60-acre site at U.S. Air Force Plant 42. It is approximately 60 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles off State Highway 14. LAWA owns 17,750 acres of land adjacent to Plant 42, most of which is available for development.
April 29, 2007
High-speed rail system may be derailed - LA Times
Schwarzenegger moves to slash funding for the system, citing other transportation needs.
For more than a decade, policymakers have debated, studied and scoped out a high-speed rail line that would whisk travelers between downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2 1/2 hours.
But, this year, the $40-billion dream of building a Japanese- or European-style bullet train through the Central Valley may find itself stopped in its tracks.
Even as state lawmakers visited France earlier this month for a glimpse of a passenger train as it set a world rail speed record of 357 mph, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was applying the brakes to California's plan for a high-speed system.
Back 9 is for golf; park JWA cars elsewhere - Daily Pilot editorial
Golf courses and golfing venues are not exactly in short supply in Orange County. And the Newport-Mesa area boasts some of the best private and public courses around.
While the Newport Beach Municipal Golf Course is not near the caliber of Pelican Hill or Santa Ana Heights, it is nonetheless a community treasure to many.
And so it was with some distress that we and other community members learned of the possibility of the elimination of the back nine portion of the 18-hole course in favor of a parking lot.
Even worse is the reason for the parking lot — to divert the extra parking that comes with the expansion of John Wayne Airport. More . . .
April 28, 2007
Huge Airbus jet may hinder airports - LA Times from Reuters
U.S. airports planning to accommodate the Airbus A380 expect restrictions for other aircraft operating near the super-jumbo jet that could increase ground delays for some flights, congressional researchers said Friday.
The General Accountability Office study shows that policymakers, airport operators and airlines are unsure about the effect the European-made jetliner will have on operations at New York's John F. Kennedy International, Los Angeles International and 16 other airports.
Climate-Change Divide:
Air travel will soon become limited to the ultra wealthy without alternative jet fuels - Pasadena Weekly
This article first appeared in the Christian Science Monitor.
Just a few decades from now, people may look back at the early 21st century with both fondness and horror as the Era of the Cheap Airline Flight.
They may wax nostalgic for the days when visiting distant relatives and taking vacations in exotic locales were easily affordable for the masses. But they also may be alarmed at how long it took the world to realize the havoc that unfettered air travel was wreaking on the world's climate. More . . .
Business Delegation Finds Support for Cross-Border Airport Terminal - The San Diego Business Journal
Momentum for a cross-border airport terminal in Otay Mesa may have gained a bit after a recent mission by officials from both sides of the border to Mexico City.
One primary reason behind the mission held April 16 to 19 was to elicit top-level support for key infrastructure border improvements, including the airport terminal and second border crossing at Otay Mesa.
First quarter airport results are mixed - El Toro Infosite report
Air travel in the region is slowly recovering with ups and downs in a narrow range. See report below. If the most recent trend continues through the remainder of the year, 2007 will finally see traffic back above its pre-911 level.
John Wayne, Burbank and Palm Springs airports all had their busiest first quarters ever.
Long Beach and Ontario exceeded their pre-2001 levels but were down a little from the same periods in 2005 and 2006.
LAX continues to operate below its pre-911 first quarter level by more than a million passengers for the three months.
April 27, 2007
Regional air travel recovery is soft - El Toro Info Site report updated
Air travel statistics are normally reported as "this year vs. last year", a statistic that misses turning points in long term trends. An alternative analytical tool, the 12 month moving average, continuously adjusts for seasonality and shows movement over longer periods of time.
Air travel at the six airports that comprise the Southern California Association of Governments' planning region hit a 12 month high of 88,730,946 passengers in August 2001 just before the 911 attacks.
The statistic took a dive and then gradually recovered to 88,366,640 by April of 2006 - almost, but not quite back to where it had been.
The trend in air passenger traffic then began to soften until October at which point it resumed its very slow recovery. For the 12 months ending March 2007, the total regional airport traffic was 88,112,685 - about 0.7 percent less than it was nearly six years ago.
April 26, 2007
Long Beach Airport terminal to be expanded - LA Times
Long Beach Airport's cramped 1940s-era terminal would be modernized and expanded by about 60% under a plan approved by the City Council.
The overhaul, which would include adding three gates and two aircraft parking positions, would help the airport accommodate about 4.2 million passengers annually after its anticipated completion in 2011, officials said, up from the 3 million it handles now.
JetBlue Airways, the dominant carrier at Long Beach Airport, has long wanted more comfortable and efficient facilities for its hub. But it is commuter airlines that are expected to increase their flights the most.
Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster said "If you oversize this airport, the question is this: Do you invite Congress or the FAA or a combination of the two to invalidate our noise ordinance and then have no way of limiting the growth?"
The city ordinance is grandfathered by federal statute, Foster said, but could be undone by an act of Congress.
Great Park at El Toro news - Irvine World News
Today's Irivine paper devotes its front page to three park stories: - Great Park Board today will lay out the balloon plan, Sale of city land would add $136 million to Great Park coffers., and Budget determines park’s progress for 2007-08.
April 25, 2007
Average Air Fares Reach Highest Fourth-Quarter Level Since 2000 - Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Average air fares in the fourth quarter of 2006 reached the highest fourth-quarter level since 2000, rising 3.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005 the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today.
The largest year-to-year fare index increase for the fourth quarter among the 85 largest airline markets, ranked by passengers, was 16.1 percent in Long Beach, CA .
Nestande sentenced for DUI - OC Register
Former Orange County Supervisor and state Assemblyman Bruce Nestande was sentenced to six months in jail and three years probation Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a drunken-driving accident.
Website Editor: Nestande is known to readers of this website as a leading pro-El Toro advocate who later turned consultant for the City of Irvine.
[Long Beach] Airport plan OK'd for 89,995 sq. ft. - LB Press-Telegram
After nearly two hours of discussion that elicited tears and passionate testimony, the City Council on Tuesday voted 5-3 to increase the airport terminal to 89,995 square feet against the wishes of several residents who asked for the smallest expansion or none at all.
The council . . . approved city staff's recommendation of what is considered a compromise version of a proposal to expand the terminal area to 97,545 square feet. The terminal now is 56,320 square feet.
The approved version would increase airplane parking spaces to 12 from 10 and the number of gates to 11 from eight.
Fighter Jets Escort Cargo Plane into San Bernardino - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
SAN BERNARDINO - U.S. fighter jets were scrambled to escort a Boeing 727 on Monday afternoon after the commercial aircraft failed to maintain proper
communication, authorities said.
April 24, 2007
California's Big-City Airports Near Limit - The Sacramento (CA) Bee
California sorely neglected infrastructure investment decade after decade - with congested highways, deteriorating and overcrowded schools, and overused parks among the consequences - but the state's locally operated airports were a shining exception.
With revenues generated from ever-increasing airline flights, local airport authorities busily added runways and terminals during the 1980s and 1990s. Traffic soared past 150 million passengers a year in the early 1990s and was nearing 180 million when the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks put a damper on Americans' willingness to fly.
The dot-com meltdown contributed to the decline. Between 2001 and 2003, California air travel plummeted . . . [but] every transportation planning agency expects that demand for air service also will expand.
However, even as the state finally begins making multibillion-dollar investments in new highways and other critical infrastructure, its big-city airports face a looming crisis of capacity. Airport expansion plans have fallen by the wayside in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles and San Francisco, felled by local opposition, environmental restrictions and other factors.
Once-ambitious plans for expanding Los Angeles International have been scaled back to near-zero, due to local opposition, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants to concentrate international flights at LAX and depend on satellites, particularly Ontario International and an underused airport at Palmdale, to shoulder the domestic load.
If, for instance, LAX concentrates on international service, how do international travelers, both incoming and outgoing, connect with domestic flights at Ontario or Palmdale?
Golf course supporters rally, hire consultant - Daily Pilot
How do you save a golf course in Newport Beach? Step 1: Hire political consultant Dave Ellis.
Ellis — who helped elect most of the Newport Beach City Council — will be working with Newport Beach Golf Course operators Steve and Donna Lane in their quest to persuade county officials to extend their lease on the back nine holes of the course. Reports surfaced last week that John Wayne Airport officials were considering other uses for the golf course parcel because the lease ends July 31.
No recommendation for the county parcel has been made to Orange County Supervisors, who have the final say on the property’s use. [Airport Director Alan] Murphy said it could take at least a couple of months to analyze the options.
Website Editor: Newport Beach frequently gets its way with the airport because - except during the El Toro airport fight - there has been little organized opposition to its efforts to constrain John Wayne Airport.
April 23, 2007
Aging airport aims for traveler appeal - LA Daily News
LAX risks losing its high profile if it can't get modernization off the ground
Nothing may be more symbolic of the challenges facing LAX than the half-ton chunk of plaster that fell recently from its iconic theme restaurant, revealing layers of rust damage caused by years of neglect.
Most of the existing structures were built in the 1960s and have been modernized only once - when the Bradley International Terminal was erected for the 1984 Olympics. But city officials have spent $115 million developing grandiose renovation plans that have gone nowhere.
In recent months, however, Los Angeles International Airport has gotten a bit more attention. . .
L.B. could OK plans for airport expansion - Long Beach Press-Telegram
The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday will consider authorizing the city to prepare a final design, along with a financing plan and space allocation details, for the airport terminal improvement project.
The final plan should be completed in about 20 months and would return to the council for approval. If it is approved, a three-month bidding period will follow for a construction company that would complete the project around April 2011.
April 22, 2007
A right-sized airport - LB Press-Telegram Editorial
When it comes to an airport, how small is small enough? Long Beach will decide Tuesday.
At a study session last week, City Council members and others, no matter which side they were on, all spoke the truth.
The No. 1 issue is to protect the residents, said Lillian Kawasaki, a member of the region's Water Replenishment District who opposes expansion.
What opponents . . . worry about is that if the airport ends up looking too roomy, some airline mogul is going to come along and file suit to overturn the city's noise ordinance, which limits the number of flights. But it seems like that could happen anyway, even if the facilities are cramped, in which case the mogul would sue for bigger facilities, too.
Protesters at Santa Monica Airport say larger craft are a health and safety hazard. - LA Times
A few hundred local residents and several politicians held a midday rally in front of the dark glass of the Santa Monica airport's administrative offices (closed on weekends) to decry the environmental and safety hazards of the increasingly busy airfield.
"The fact that the jets came in so dramatically in the last 10 to 15 years and there's no buffer zone is a serious issue," said Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes the parts of L.A. that border the airport and who, like some of the other speakers, stood before the crowd with a gas mask around his neck.
Rosendahl believes that bigger jets should not be allowed at Santa Monica Airport and should be funneled instead to Van Nuys or Los Angeles International airports.
April 21, 2007
Reaction to possible use of Newport Beach golf course land for JWA parking - Daily Pilot
The Newport-Costa Mesa Daily Pilot's blog picked up a flurry of comments on reports that county-owned land at the golf course might be used for additional airport parking.
April 20, 2007
Airport trumps 5 others on top 100 list with traffic jump - Desert Sun
The Palm Springs International Airport posted another significant [9 percent] gain in air traffic in the first quarter of 2007 - jumping five spots on the Top 100 airports ranking.
The Palm Springs airport, already operating 22 percent above its pre-Sept. 11, 2001, passenger levels, now is considered to be the nation's 90th largest airport.
Higher fares boost Continental, Southwest profits - Reuters
Continental Airlines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. on Thursday posted first-quarter profits on broadly higher fares, but the results showed early signs that domestic air travel demand might be waning.
Both airlines managed to overcome a unusually stormy quarter -- which is seasonally their weakest -- but their shares fell on fears that the nascent airline recovery might falter.
"There is a growing body of evidence that domestic demand is deteriorating, further calling into question the likelihood of 2008 results anywhere near the level implied by consensus," JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker wrote in a research note.
Great Park Conservancy announces Jewel of Orange County fundraiser
I just received a very elaborate invitation to the Great Park Conservancy's second annual gala Jewel of Orange County fundraising event at the former El Toro base on May 18. Attire for the $350 per ticket event is "casual chic". Call 949-653-1775 for details.
The purpose of the fundraiser is to "further the Conservancy's mission of establishing a fundraising base for public facilities and programs at the Great Park such as a model garden as the first phase of the Botanical Garden at the Orange County Great Park."
Recent estimates place the cost of the Botanical Garden including its Conservatory entry bridge at $29 million for the first phase and $78 million to complete.
Financial statements for the Conservancy are posted on this website. During the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006 the non-profit showed net income after expenses of $433,399 from special events.
April 19, 2007
Golf course near O.C. airport might lose 9 holes - LA Times
Orange County is considering ripping out the back nine of a popular Newport Beach executive golf course for overflow parking at John Wayne Airport, unsettling golfers hooked on the club's convenience and inexpensive greens fees.
As word quickly spread, golfers began signing petitions urging county and airport officials to keep all 18 holes of Newport Beach Golf Course in play.
"More parking is a waste of space," said Doug McCready, 61, an Orange resident who has played there for decades. "And there's enough traffic around here. This place is cheap, easy to get on, and you can play a full round in 3 1/2 hours."
Meanwhile, the OC Register reports today that Spring Break and business travelers are taxing the parking lots at John Wayne Airport.
Website Editor: The golf course forms part of the airport's restricted-use "crash zone". Airport EIR 573 included use of the golf course in a project to extend the airport's runway length to 8,000 feet. However, the Board of Supervisors recently gave Newport Beach a veto in perpetuity over such a runway extension and there is little likelihood that this would ever occur.
April 18, 2007
[LB] Council to vote on airport expansion size - Press Telegram
Even as the architecture firm designing an airport expansion plan for Long Beach proposed a scaled back version, its opponents continued to challenge the environmental impact report, citing a potential for increased noise and pollution that a larger airport with more flights may bring.
Airport-Railroad conference coming to L.A. - IARO media release
The International Air-Rail Organization (IARO) is sponsoring its first U.S. west coast conference at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel on June 14-16. Featuring speakers from existing and proposed air-rail systems throughout the world, presentations will focus on all aspects of airport-rail connections including planning, financing, design, construction, and operations. Important techniques in overcoming roadblocks will be detailed.
"A preview trip on a possible Union Station to Ontario Airport express rail service is part of the conference."
Website Editor: SCAG regional planners envision travelers connecting 40 miles from Union Station to ONT rather than 19 miles from the downtown train station to the greater choice of flights at LAX.
Construction firm sues over FlyAway center cost - LA Times
Tutor-Saliba Corp. has sued the city airports agency, seeking $9.86 million it says is owed for the construction firm's work on the Van Nuys FlyAway center.
The firm . . . alleged in the lawsuit, filed Friday, that the city mishandled the $33.8-million airport facility project, causing costly delays, and that the city failed to pay for extra work and materials.
April 17, 2007
New airport bag-screening process endorsed for LAX - The Los Angeles Daily News
The truck-size bag-screening machines that clutter the lobbies of Los Angeles International Airport would disappear into the background of some terminals under a project approved Monday worth nearly $225 million.
Officials also want the machines out to open up more space. Their plans call for new screening rooms - in some cases, new buildings - that would get the big machines out of sight and out of the way.
Cal-Pac Engineering wins Great Park balloon project - OC Register
The tethered helium balloon will be operated by a licensed pilot who will take about 25 people at a time up 500 feet in the air. The company will build a landing pad, parking lot and temporary visitor's center, among other things, for the balloon at a cost of $2.67 million.
Designers and officials say launching the balloon before the park is built will allow the public to watch the park's construction from a bird's eye perspective. Critics say the balloon should not launch before the park – to save money and to ensure there are enough balloon riders.
April 16, 2007
Chicago Selected As U.S. Candidate To Host 2016 Olympics - KNBC-4
USOC Picks Chicago Over L.A. As U.S. Candidate City
Chicago was selected Saturday as the U.S. candidate to host the 2016 Olympics.
Representatives from Chicago gave the city's final pitch for being a candidate to host the 2016 Summer Games, then waited Saturday while their Los Angeles counterparts had a turn before the U.S. Olympic Committee was to vote.
The Illinois State Journal Register reports an economist as saying the Games will help Chicago because they could be the prod that spurs on public improvement projects such as more quickly finishing the expansion of O'Hare International Airport and improving city infrastructure.
This website has noted the marked difference between Chicago's aggressive and L.A.'s reluctant approach to expanding their airports.
April 13, 2007
Contracts Okayed for Residential Soundproofing Work Near LAX - LAWA Press release
Two low-bid contracts have been approved by the Board of Airport Commissioners for work being undertaken in the Los Angeles International Airport's (LAX) Residential Soundproofing Program.
The contracts total $1.9 million and provide for soundproofing modification work on 96 dwelling units.
April 12, 2007
Fast ride: High-speed train backers seek public support - OC Register
The second of three public information sessions to introduce an ambitious commuter rail project spanning the state – using the kind of electric-powered trains that reach speeds above 300 mph in Japan and France - took place Wednesday in Anaheim. The system includes a spur between Anaheim and Los Angeles that would translate into a 20-minute commute
Airline to add surcharge for flights out of LAX - LA Times
United Airlines announced Wednesday that it has added a $10 surcharge to tickets for flights originating in Los Angeles. The increase will offset a $10-million annual increase in fees to maintain the company's leaseholds at Los Angeles International Airport, the airline said.
Jet Blue adds Boston service to/from Southern California - JetBlue press release
JetBlue Airways announces the continuing expansion of destination choices for its Boston customers with the launch of new low-fare service to San Diego, CA and the Caribbean island of Aruba, bringing to 27 the number of nonstop destinations served nonstop by Logan's fastest-growing airline. Beginning June 28, 2007, JetBlue will operate the only daily nonstop low-fare service between Boston and San Diego, with fares from $159 each way.
Website Editor: The San Diego arrivals and departures will be in the late evening, a time when several area airports, such as John Wayne, are uncrowded and have the space to physically accommodate such flights. JetBlue also operates two daily non-stops from Long Beach to Boston.
April 11, 2007
JWA completes "plan year" in March below MAP Cap - El Toro Info Site report
John Wayne airport reported a strong 6.9 % increase in passengers served during the January-March quarter on a 7.9 % increase in the number of air carrier flights when compared to the same period in 2006.
The total number of flights overhead was little changed, up 0.2 % as a result in a decrease in air taxi and general aviation operations.
The airport's utilization is managed on a "plan year" basis. The 2006-7 plan year ended on March 31. For this most recent plan year the airport served 9,765,238 passengers, or 9.76 MAP. Under the settlement agreement between the county and the City of Newport Beach, the airport is allowed to server 10.3 MAP.
In February 2006, airport management recommended, and the Board of Supervisors approved a seat allocation amongst airlines intended to keep the service level below the 10.3 MAP Cap. A request from Southwest Airlines to add an additional half-million seats was denied. At the time, the airport overestimated that it would serve approximately 10.0 MAP in 2006-7 without the additional SWA flights.
The actual result - 9.78 MAP - shows by hindsight that most if not all of the additional service for Orange County could have been accomodated, bringing the airport close to but not up to the 10.3 MAP negotiated passenger limit. While forecasting is difficult, less cushion in the assumptions would benefit the flying public.
A request from SWA to provide additional service in the new 2007-8 plan year similarly was denied.
April 10, 2007
Airlines filling more seats - USA Today
Most of the USA's biggest airlines operated their planes fuller last month than in any previous March, virtually snuffing out hope among passengers for an empty middle seat to sprawl across.
American, Delta, Continental and United last week each reported their highest-ever percentages of filled seats for March.
US Airways filled a higher percentage of seats last month than in March 2006. Northwest was close to a record March. Each airline ran more than 80% full on average, meaning that many flights on the most popular routes at the most popular times ran full.
Packed planes in March may signal a continuation of uncomfortably full planes during the summer, when they're typically most crowded.
LAX, Mexicana Airlines to Unveil New Ticketing Lobby During Tom Bradley International Terminal Renovation - LAWA Press release
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and airline officials will mark the second milestone in the $723.5 million world-class makeover of the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at LAX.
A new temporary ticketing lobby for Mexicana Airlines -- LAX's top foreign flag carrier -- will be opened as renovations to the terminal continue moving forward. This is first major upgrade to LAX terminals since 1984 when the one million square foot TBIT was originally built.
April 9, 2007
SCAG forecasts for 2035 vs. previous plans
Consultants and staff for the Southern California Association of Governments have presented their preliminary forecasts for 2035. The computer projections show "unconstrained demand" of 192.4 MAP - a demand growth rate of 3.93 % per year.
Actual demand in 2006 was 87.7 MAP down 0.7 % from 2005.
SCAG also predicts that the "constrained" demand will be 144.8 MAP. This is the forecast for a regional system consisting of a mix of constrained and unconstrained airports. SCAG treats LAX, SNA and LGB as permanently constrained at their current negotiated passenger caps. In the case of LAX and SNA the caps can be raised in 2015 but SCAG is not projecting that possibility.
The planning agency goes on to propose three "preferred alternatives" for increasing the supply of passenger service. Two of these include MAGLEV service linking airports throughout the region with one alternative connecting to March Inland Port and another to Palm Springs International Airport.
We publish these preliminary plans along with previous SCAG regional plans for comparison.
In the 1998 plan, LAX was forecast to reach 94.2 MAP in 2020 but now is treated as constrained to 78.0 MAP indefinitely. To make up for the shortfall, there are large swings in the expectations for PMD Palmdale and SBD San Bernardino airports.
April 8, 2007
Have Lennar and Irvine Co. made up?
The Irvine World News asks the question, reporting that in January, the Lennar Corp. planned to present the first maps for the Great Park's public and private development to the Irvine Planning Commission. The commission is tasked with reviewing those maps that include roads, utilities and sewer plans for the park and surrounding development.
At a study session before the actual commission review, Irvine Co. officials demanded that Lennar thoroughly study possible traffic impacts before the map is approved by the commission. The officials said without proper traffic studies, the development could gridlock streets in north Irvine and Lake Forest.
Talks between the two companies and city staff continue. The maps were scheduled to be heard at Thursday's Planning Commission meeting, but the item was continued to May 3.
The delays in the map’s approval also push back development of the Great Park and surrounding Lennar development. Once the first maps are approved, Lennar will be applying for grading permits – which precede development.
Various forecasts had work on the grading, roads and utilities scheduled in either late 2005 or 2006.
April 7, 2007
Rebuilding Credibility? - Voice of San Diego
Alan Bersin returned late last year to San Diego from Sacramento, where he'd been serving as the state education secretary. He joined the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, which was reeling from the November wallop it received from county voters, who rejected a plan to close Lindbergh Field and move the airport to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
In an extensive interview, Bersin concludes: The vote has gotten everybody back focused on improving Lindbergh. I'm coming into it from the perspective that people have made a decision that another site is off, that we should focus on the task at hand, which is getting Lindbergh built right and Lindbergh coordinated correctly. And that's a very doable job. Not easy, but doable.
Website Editor: While Bersin said a lot more, this final comment also addresses the task facing Los Angeles and Orange County airport management after the people made the decision not to build El Toro Airport.
Villaraigosa plans 2-nation trade mission - LA Times
L.A. mayor will travel to El Salvador and Mexico to promote investment opportunities and combat transnational gangs.
In both countries, Villaraigosa is expected to urge air carriers to use Ontario International Airport as part of his effort to reduce congestion at Los Angeles International Airport.
April 6, 2007
High-speed train studied - OC Register
A state rail agency this week began moving forward on an extensive study for a high-speed train route that would whisk commuters between Anaheim and Los Angeles.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority is leading the charge for the $21 million analysis to examine the Orange County-to-Los Angeles segment of a $40 billion, 700-mile system that would eventually stretch from the Bay Area to San Diego.
Last September, transportation officials in Orange County agreed to contribute $7 million to the study that would include considering right-of-way requirements and noise issues. The rail authority is funding the rest.
The city of Anaheim is already preparing to be a pit stop for the high-speed train and hopes to integrate the service into a full-scale transit hub that would be built by 2010.
Website Editor: The route will eventually connect LA Basin travelers to Oakland and Sacramento, two of their five most visited flight destinations.
Officials disagree on firing range on old El Toro base - OC Register
Environmentalists are worried that the FBI wants to expand a firing range on land at the old El Toro base that was slated to become wildlife preserve.
April 5, 2007
FAA: Yield, Load Factor Growth Defy Predictions - Aviation Daily
Commercial carriers in the US will carry a billion passengers each year by 2015, according to a new report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Several of the country's key hubs will also grow by as much as 68 percent in the next seven years, the investigation concludes. Washington Dulles will experience the greatest growth (68 percent), followed by New York JFK (59 percent), Los Angeles International (54 percent), and Atlanta-Hartsfield (38 percent).
Website Editor: See our report of March 21 and the complete FAA report.
Today, the SCAG Aviation Technical Advisory Committee will discuss managing of "existing capacity in Southern California which is the long-range planning challenge for SCAG and SCRAA" the recently reactivated Southern California Regional Airport Authority with which SCAG hopes to team.
SCAG has a forecast of 192.4 million annual passengers of unconstrained demand in 2035 - a 119 percent increase over last year's actual air travel.
April 4, 2007
ExpressJet Service Begins at LA/Ontario International Airport - LAWA media release
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) announces the beginning of ExpressJet Airlines nonstop service to 14 new destinations from LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT).
The rollout of ExpressJet flights starts today at Terminal 2. The new flights will result in a 25 percent increase in daily departures at ONT, a 50 percent increase in total destinations and a 63 percent increase in the number of nonstop destinations available from ONT.
"The introduction of ExpressJet flights marks the largest expansion of air service in the airport's 84-year history and is a major step toward realizing our vision for a regional approach to air travel," said Alan Rothenberg, president of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners.
Website Editor: If the 29 daily round trips for the 50-seat aircraft are filled with new passengers, ONT could pick up about 1 million annual passengers. That would represent approximately one percent of the 87 MAP that used the region's airports in 2006. More likely, there would be a smaller shift of passengers from other flights that require a stop enroute to the ExpressJet destinations.
April 3, 2007
Why airports? - El Toro Info Site report
CNN.com reports that a French train set a world's record this week hitting 357.2 mph.
Hours before the run, Transport Minister Dominique Perben received a delegation from California, which is studying prospects for a high speed line from Sacramento to San Diego, via San Francisco and Los Angeles.
With a third of the LA Basin's air travellers headed towards destinations that are less than 400 miles away, intercity rail looks like a potential alternative to building more airports.
Why 2035? - El Toro Info Site report
Thursday, the SCAG Aviation Technical Advisory Committee will meet and be presented with SCAG consultants' forecasts of regional air travel demand for 2035. SCAG seeks to estimate how many Southern Californians will fly 28 years from now, and which airports will serve them. The forecast will then we sent up the line to the SCAG Aviation Task Force and eventually become part of the next Regional Transportation Plan.
In this opinion piece we ask "Why 2035?" Long range planning is useful only when it leads to action that would not otherwise be taken. In the case of airports and their ground access, that means committing billions of dollars. Such action is not taken lightly.
Meanwhile, what can be done tomorrow to get ready for 2015 when the agreement to reduce gates at LAX expires, the passenger cap on John Wayne expires, and the expansion moratorium on Burbank is past?
Eight years from now, will the folks moving into Ontario and Riverside be any more accepting of airport noise, pollution and traffic than those who live near urban airports today? Will air travelers, who have shown a marked preference for easily accessed airports, be any more willing to use remote airports than they are today? If not, what needs to be done?
Will LAX be left holding bag? - Daily Breeze
The Transportation Security Administration had promised to pay the lion's share of the cost of a new baggage handling facility. That was in 2003 and times have changed.
An unresolved dispute with the federal government has left Los Angeles airports staring at potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of unexpected costs, congressional investigators indicated in a report issued Monday.
At issue is a project worth nearly $900 million that will overhaul the baggage-screening systems at Los Angeles International and LA/Ontario International airports. The main question is how much of the money will come from the Transportation Security Administration, and how much will come from the airports themselves.
April 2, 2007
As one LAX project ends, another begins
The southernmost runway reopens as more-risky construction starts on a taxiway between two airstrips. - LA Times
Even as they reopen the southernmost runway at Los Angeles International Airport today, officials are looking ahead to a more dangerous project: building a parallel taxiway between two runways while jets traveling more than 100 mph take off and land just yards away on each side.
Dozens of excavators, oversized dump trucks and other machines will toil 20 hours a day to build a 1.8-mile-long concrete taxiway on the airport's south side, even as controllers work to wedge in hundreds of flights around them.
The city's airport agency spent years trying to convince residents and the City Council that it needed to rework the south airfield at LAX to prevent close calls between aircraft on the ground.
By moving the southernmost runway and installing a center taxiway, officials hope to cut down on [runway] incursions.
And the winner is . . . Recycled Materials Company of California
The contractor recycling El Toro runways and buildings launched an internet contest in February seeking a name for the pieces of reusable runway rubble being created by the demolition. 65 contest entries came in from five states. And the winner is . . . Mark McKeehan who came up with "El Toro Stone".
We are told that the judges looked at how the suggested entry related to the history of the base, the use of the material and the tie to sustainability or reuse on-site.
April 1, 2007
Regional data from SCAG - El Toro Info Site report
Anyone who has followed this website knows that we love to collect and publish data. So here is some gathered by BACK Aviation Solutions for the Southern California Association of Governments. Some of the most notable findings are:
Mexico is the most visited foreign destination, measured by the number of flights between the LA Basin and our next door neighbor. Twice as many flights go to Mexico as to the runner up destination - Asia. Canada is a very close third place. We are reminded of the Global Gateway PR for the El Toro International Airport; with its spotlight hyping the Pacific Rim, not Mexico as a destination.
The top domestic destinations from the basin are in order: Oakland, Las Vegas, New York- JFK, Sacramento and Phoenix. Click for a previous report on domestic destinations.
It seems to add up to a good case for high speed intercity rail service.
