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Week of May 25 - May 31, 2009

Riding the rails between downtown and the airport is becoming a reality for more U.S. travelers.
- USA Today

With their roadways jammed with cars and shuttles, a growing number of domestic airports are building or have plans for a rail link that will connect passengers from the terminals to regional metro-rail systems, allowing road warriors and vacationers to ditch their cars.

"There is a consensus building that this is a desirable piece of overall strategy to deal with ground transportation challenges," says Matthew Coogan, director of New England Transportation Institute who has written extensively about the subject.

Direct rail connections to Seattle-Tacoma and Dallas Love Field are expected to open later this year. Other large airports with an approved rail project that will be completed in the next few years: Salt Lake City, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth and Oakland.

Several other airports, including Denver, Washington Dulles and Los Angeles, have similar plans, but their projects are years from completion.


Like most large construction projects, airport rail proposals face stiff headwinds. Opponents challenge funding sources and new taxes and cite preferences for cars and buses. But the central argument in most debates has centered around ridership, specifically whether airports have enough demand to justify millions in cost.

BART's connection to SFO, completed in 2003, has yet to reach BART's initial ridership forecast and is still not profitable.

These are appropriate debates. Some cities are better off sticking to buses, [an opponent] says. For example, LAX's FlyAway Bus, which provides non-stop rides to various neighborhoods in Southern California, is more convenient for many travelers than the metro.




Calming words for the airport
- LB Press-Telegram editorial

When JetBlue says it is committed to Long Beach Airport, it is reassuring to both sides in the debates about airport expansion. The alternatives would be worse for everyone.

The airline's Long Beach general manager, Thomas Berg, last week reassured the Airport Advisory Commission that JetBlue intends to stay and, equally important, said it backs the city's long-delayed plan to rebuild the airport's terminal and add new parking facilities.

Berg's intent obviously was to ease local worries provoked by JetBlue's decision to add more flights at L.A. International and by a recent interview in which the company's CEO, Dave Barger, said the airline might leave Long Beach because it was taking so long (nine years) to make terminal improvements.

Barger wasn't just jesting, but the context of his remark was that after all the waiting, the company's patience was not unlimited. What he and others since have made clear is that the airline has no problem with the city's present plan, which is to start building the first phase of a parking garage later this year, and a second phase if necessary.



Week of May 18 - May 24, 2009

Still waiting: Air Canada unsure about OC service
- OC Register

Air Canada still has not made a decision on whether to begin service to and from John Wayne Airport.

The airline has been approved to start service since April 1 and noise tests on its aircraft at John Wayne Airport were performed in early spring. Airport officials said they expected Air Canada to start operations for the busy summer travel season. But the airline has not made a move.

“A final decision on starting up the route had not been made,” said Isabelle Arthur, manager of media relations for the airline. “If and when we make a decision to proceed, we would make that announcement in due course.”

Air Canada remains at the top of the official John Wayne waiting list for open slots. The next step would be for the airline to sign a lease or inform the airport it did not plan on starting service.

Air Canada is followed on the list by discount carrier AirTran, Canadian-based carrier WestJet and regional carrier Horizon Air.

Website Editor: Air Canada has been on the JWA waiting list for over seven years. It is unfortunate that the airline was not welcomed to serve Orange County during good travel times
years ago, instead of being held off until the current difficult economic climate.



Ontario Airport loses passengers; among top 10 in nation with highest fare hike
- Press-Enterprise

Among the 100 largest airports nationwide, Ontario International Airport is ranked eighth when it comes to the percent its fares increased during the last three months of 2008 compared to the year prior.

The airport's average one-way domestic fare, including free or discounted frequent-flyer flights, rose 11.8 percent to $142, the highest percent increase among all Southern California commercial airports, according to research by APG Dat, an aviation data supplier.

The news wasn't suprising for the airport considering it lost two airlines last year - ExpressJet and JetBlue - and remaining airlines have cut back flights, said airport spokeswoman Maria Tesoro-Fermin. The fewer airlines, the larger amount each must pay toward operating at the airport.  A companion story notes:
The fewer airlines there are, the less price competition among them.



JetBlue reaffirms commitment to Long Beach, backs new terminal improvement plan - Press-Telegram

JetBlue Airways reiterated its commitment to Long Beach Airport, announced steps to reduce nighttime noise and put its support behind a newly detailed terminal improvement plan that was outlined Thursday afternoon.

During the Airport Advisory Commission meeting at the Skylinks Golf Course, Thomas Berg, JetBlue's general manager in Long Beach, said the airline is "100 percent committed" to Long Beach and backs a phased plan to improve the terminal and build a new parking garage.

The comments came after JetBlue CEO Dave Barger sparked concerns among city officials and the community earlier this year when he indicated that the airline, which is Long Beach's largest, might consider leaving because of the terminal improvement delays.

Berg also tried to alleviate concerns by some commissioners Thursday about what JetBlue's decision to add flights out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will mean for Long Beach.

"Although we're opening up LAX, we're not running away (from Long Beach)," Berg said.

On the contrary, the two flights to Boston and two flights to New York from LAX that will begin June 17 may actually reduce airplane noise in Long Beach, he said. JetBlue hopes to change its flight schedule to shift late flights to the East Coast from Long Beach Airport to LAX, Berg said.




Ontario still suffering

LA/Ontario airport served 424,154 passengers in April, a decrease of 23.5 percent from April 2008.

Year to date, the airport's volume is off by 29.9 percent.




LAX results less grim in April

Passenger traffic at LAX was down by 6.2 percent in April compared to the same month in the prior year. 

The decline was less than the 12.9 drop experienced in the first quarter. For the first 4 months of the calendar year, traffic was off by 11.2 percent.



Bob Hope Airport Proposes Transit Center -
San Fernando Business Journal


The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority will study creating a $75 million regional transit center at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

Under the proposal bus, car rental and train service would converge in a single point to link with air service at the airport.




Palm Springs decline slowed in April

After experiencing a first quarter drop in passenger service similar to other Southern California airports, Palm Springs passenger traffic for April was nearly flat.

The airport served 171,520 passengers, 0.5 percent fewer than in the same month in 2008.



ATA predicts 7% decline in summer passengers -
USA Today

Despite an anticipated 14 million fewer passengers this summer, a 7% decline, planes will remain full as airlines respond by reducing flights and routes and utilizing smaller aircraft. "The main driver behind the anticipated drop in passengers traveling this summer is the ongoing global recession, which continues to crimp demand," said ATA President and CEO James May, who warned delays may be inevitable.



Ownership Shift in Works for El Toro
- OC Business Journal

Lennar Corp. is seeking to turn over redevelopment of the former El Toro Marine base in Irvine to a key executive going out on his own.

Emile Haddad, the Aliso Viejo-based chief investment officer of Miami’s Lennar, is nearing a deal that would give him an ownership stake and control of redevelopment at El Toro and two other projects.

Under the plan, Haddad would leave his position at Lennar and start a new company—tentatively named 5 Point Communities—that would run the three projects.

Plans for El Toro call for thousands of homes, commercial buildings as well as park space, museums and other public uses at the former Marine base that closed more than a decade ago.

Lennar now heads up a venture that paid $1 billion for the El Toro land in 2005. The homebuilder has invested about $83 million into the 3,700-acre property, according to company filings.

Moving to the new company is expected to free up more time for Haddad and his team to push the redevelopment of El Toro, once the market begins to show signs of recovery.



Week of May 11 - May 17, 2009

LAX 'worst airport' ranking doesn't surprise officials
- LA Times

Going through Los Angeles International Airport can be a tough experience. But is LAX really the worst airport in the United States?

Dwell magazine thinks so, saying the airport fails both in design and ease of use. And LAX officials said they are not surprised by the criticism.

"It is best described as a collection of drab terminals connected by a traffic jam, which starts out on I-405 and coagulates on a circular drive that loops around the Landmark Theme Building," the magazine says, adding that the Theme Building, "looking like something a 1950s sci-fi set designer dreamed up, is LAX’s only architectural positive."

Dwell says there are not enough seats and not enough to do during layovers. "The crying shame of it all is this is a primary gateway to Asia and the Middle East, with an international cast of characters strolling through its portals. The scene ought to be inspired and dynamic, rather than stressful and depressing." 

LAX officials note that after numerous delays, they are embarking on several large modernization projects, including reworking the Bradley terminal.

"We are not surprised by the low ratings that we consistently receive for facilities that are nearing 50 years [old]. For this reason, it is important that we proceed with our multibillion-dollar modernization program that aims to restore LAX's competitiveness and restores LAX's reputation as a customer- oriented airport,'' LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles told City News Service. 



JWA’s April passenger traffic down — again
- OC Register

John Wayne Airport passenger traffic declined 6.8% in April over the same month last year as the recession continues to take its toll on business and leisure travel.

JWA officials, however, hope to see a pickup in the passenger numbers after Virgin America launched five daily flights from Orange County to San Francisco April 30 and Southwest countered with its own competing service May 9.

The year-over-year comparisons also may be helped this year by a large dropoff in passengers last year after Aloha Airlines filed for bankruptcy and cancelled its six average daily departures from JWA as of March 31, 2008. Alaska Airlines ended its daily service to Oakland the following month.

Airport officials also continue to talk with Air Canada which has been approved for service at JWA, but has not signed a lease or operating agreement. The airline had been expected to begin service to Canada  — the first international service out of Orange County — this summer.

“We continue to worth through the process with them,” said airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge.

Still, it’s been a tough couple of years for JWA, which has seen a consistent decline in passengers since late 2007. See this website's earlier report below.



John Wayne Airport continues to slide

John Wayne airport continued its slide with April passenger traffic down 6.8 percent from April 2008. It was JWA's slowest April in six years.

The airport completed its most recent 2008-09 plan year on March 31, 2009 with volume down 12.2 percent from the previous year.

April's poor volume bodes ill for the new 2009-10 year. It remains to be seen whether the start of Virgin America's flights to San Francisco (on April 29), and Southwest Airlines' competing flights to the same airport, will add many travelers or just cause passengers to switch amongst the airport's several carriers to get better fares.

We have long held that JWA needs to attract service to new destinations in order to keep local customers from defecting to other airports in the region.  Four years ago, JWA provided non-stop service to 25 airports. That number now is down to 17.

Air Canada, after sitting on John Wayne's waiting list since January 2001, was finally allocated a spot at the airport this year but has yet to announce a flight schedule. Air Canada is experiencing major financial difficulties and is currently retrenching its operations.



Week of May 4 - May 10, 2009

Work begins on final leg of 405 Freeway's northbound carpool lane
- LA Times
The $1-billion project is designed to ease congestion between the 10 and the 101, one of the busiest traffic corridors in the nation.

Construction began Friday on the last leg of a carpool lane for the northbound San Diego Freeway through western Los Angeles, a $1-billion project designed to ease congestion on one of the busiest traffic corridors in the nation.

Officials say the additional lane will reduce delays on the north side of the 405 Freeway and allow motorists to travel continuously in a carpool lane from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley.

Every day, motorists make about 300,000 trips on the 405 Freeway through the Westside, while more than 500,000 drivers converge daily on the 405-101 interchange, one of the most heavily used in the country.

The 405 is a principal route for those traveling from the San Fernando Valley to the Westside, Los Angeles International Airport, the South Bay and Orange County.

Website Editor: All forms of improved ground access to the region's airports is needed to enable travelers to utilize the runways that exist throughout the area.



JetBlue CEO says relations with Long Beach are improved, doesn't rule out reducing flights - Press-Telegram

JetBlue Airways CEO David Barger said in a Wednesday USA Today interview that his company's relationship with Long Beach is greatly improved but that he could not rule out reducing the number of flights at Long Beach Airport as his company evaluates its Southern California strategy.

Barger told a blogger for the nation's largest newspaper that the LGB improvements should have been made years ago but that he is hopeful that recent talks with the city lead to the parking and terminal improvements the New York-based airline has wanted since 2000. JetBlue uses a temporary terminal for passengers arriving and departing from planes at Long Beach, its West Coast hub.

"I think we are hopeful with activity out of the city of Long Beach," Barger said. "At the same time, we wouldn't hesitate to move airplanes throughout the region or across our network."

Long Beach Airport spokeswoman Sharon Diggs-Jackson said Wednesday that the city plans to break ground on a new parking lot before the end of the year and the terminal improvements could begin as early as 2010.



U.S. Airlines Pare Traffic Decline in Sign of Rebound in Demand
- Bloomberg.com

Delta Air Lines Inc., American Airlines and other major U.S. carriers reported their smallest traffic declines in eight months for April, indicating that travel demand may be starting to revive after reaching a bottom.

Combined passenger traffic on the six biggest U.S. carriers slid 5.1 percent from a year earlier, following 11 percent drops in February and March. Continental Airlines Inc. also said unit revenue was down 12 percent or less in April, after tumbling 20 percent in March, suggesting that fares and travel may be stabilizing.



JetBlue CEO: Long Beach brouhaha was not inadvertent
- USA Today

Today in the Sky editor Ben Mutzabaugh sat down recently with JetBlue CEO David Barger. The interview covered a wide range of topics, but one of the more interesting exchanges involved JetBlue's plans for its Long Beach base – and how some of his comments about that airport ignited a local controversy when they were picked up in an aviation blog. 

Barger: I think we've been very patient. And I think we've been very good citizens about it (at Long Beach). But with the mayor and the city council and the airport management team, I'm pleased that it's on everybody's radar screen in a positive way.

We're sitting in a recession. In good times, I think it's relatively easy to take businesses that are in your community for granted. But, in a recession, when you look at an airline that is profitable ... an airline that is successful (with) an award-winning brand, and – oh, by the way – the trickle down every time 150 passengers come off an airplane, let alone the 600-plus crewmembers that live in that base that are paying taxes into the community ... boy, don't take that for granted.

Mutzabaugh: Is there a timeline that you have in mind for when you need to see something happen at Long Beach?

Barger: Years ago.

Website Editor: Reread the report below in the context of JetBlue CEO Barger's comments on the need to not take airlines for granted.


John Wayne: Handicapped
- Orange County Business Journal

John Wayne Airport’s “plan year” did not go according to plan.

In a worsening economic slowdown, why would any business plan to turn away customers? John Wayne Airport did just that this past year, in the process of applying elaborate regulations intended to limit utilization of the airport.

Here’s what happened in the most recent plan year [ending March 31]. On Jan. 15, 2008, the Orange County Board of Supervisors, on the airport manager’s recommendation, allocated 600,000 fewer seats to air carriers in plan year 2008-09 than the carriers requested.

None of the airlines on the airport’s waiting list were approved to begin service, with Air Canada and Virgin America forced to wait for yet another plan year, 2009-10. The reason given was to avoid hitting the 10.3 million yearly passenger cap, though that cap was not in danger of being reached.

Things did not go according to plan. The slide in passengers worsened. The economy and airline woes took a toll. Contrary to last January’s optimistic projections for plan year 2008-09, the year ended this March with traffic slumping to 8.6 million passengers.

Such results were not a one-time occurrence. To maintain a safety cushion under the agreed upon passenger cap, county officials have repeatedly turned down airline requests to add capacity and denied access to new airlines on the waiting list.  More . . .



Week of April 27 - May 3, 2009

World's biggest Zeppelin to fly over O.C.
- OC Register

The Zeppelin Eureka — which is billed as the world’s largest commercial airship at 246 feet in length — will fly over north Orange County and other parts of Southern California in late May when the airship makes its first visit to region.

Eureka’s owner, Airship Ventures of Mountain View in Northern California, says in an advisory that it will land the Zeppelin at Long Beach Airport on May 20 and will offer sightseeing flights May 22-25, some of which will track over Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.



Airport expansion may be $100 million cheaper
- OC Register

Skyrocketing costs for expanding John Wayne Airport are plummeting back to earth because of a weak construction sector, potentially saving more than $100 million, officials report.

The top source of savings comes from a contract to enlarge and modernize the terminal. Originally estimated to cost $178 million, the project attracted a low bid of less than $100 million.

"When they read the numbers to me over the phone … I had a difficult time believing it," said Alan Murphy, airport director.

Airport projects, including a maintenance warehouse and commuter-flight holding rooms, that once faced delays will be built sooner, and officials will not need to finance as much of the nine-figure bill for expanding Orange County's aviation hub, avoiding millions in debt-service payments.

Work has been under way for more than two years, and future milestones include a new parking structure in 2010 and an enlarged terminal in 2012.




Say hello to Virgin - Daily Pilot
Flashy runway party, including ‘Housewives’ stars and founder, is par for the course, company spokesman says.

It must have been an odd sight for the airline passengers looking out their oval windows Wednesday afternoon as they landed on the runway of John Wayne Airport.

British billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson was standing in red swim trunks and carrying a boogie board, flanked by the cast of “Real Housewives of Orange County” dressed in short skirts and stilettos, and Orange County Supervisors John Moorlach and Janet Nguyen wore business suits, all sharing the same small makeshift stage set up on the tarmac.

Red carpets were taped to the pavement, guests (mostly people who worked for the airline and its suppliers — who else can go to a party at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday?) walked around with cocktails and champagne, and loud bass pumped from the speakers.

John Wayne doesn’t get new airlines very often. The last time was in 2003, according to airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge.




Virgin finally gets to serve Orange County

On Wednesday April 29 Virgin America launches its new service between San Francisco International Airport and Irvine's John Wayne Airport (SNA). Fares start at $49 each way. 

Virgin has been waiting to serve Orange County residents since early 2008.



FAA urged to do more to bolster California air traffic controller ranks - LA Times

Though hiring is underway to offset a dramatic loss of air traffic controllers to retirement, the Federal Aviation Administration must concentrate on training new workers and retaining veteran controllers at busy Los Angeles International Airport and two key radar facilities in California that guide planes between airports, a new audit shows.

Released Monday, the 27-page report by the U.S. Department of Transportation's inspector general recommended a variety of improvements to bolster air traffic control staffing at the nation's fourth-busiest airport and the Southern and Northern California Terminal Radar Approach Control facilities. TRACON operations guide aircraft through some of the most crowded and complex airspace in the nation.



Long Beach Airport expansion debated in appeals court
- Press-Telegram


Attorneys for the city of Long Beach and the Long Beach Parent-Teacher Association faced off in appeals court Monday in what could be the final legal battle blocking proposed improvements at Long Beach Airport.

Since 2006, the city's efforts to expand the airport terminal and build a new parking garage have been stymied by legal challenges over the findings of a required environmental impact report. City officials say the project won't increase the number of flights - and legally can't because of Long Beach's strict airport noise ordinance - but is simply necessary to meet the needs of the current volume of flights and passengers.

The Long Beach Unified School District, later joined by the PTA, sued the city, claiming that the environmental report didn't take into account the noise and pollution impacts of a possible increase in the number of flights that they said could arise as a result of the airport expansion. An Orange County judge ruled in favor of the city in February 2008, but the PTA alone appealed the decision.

The delays have also frustrated JetBlue, the largest airline at the airport, which recently contemplated leaving Long Beach as a result.

A ruling is expected within 90 days.



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