John Wayne international traffic tops 100,000 - OC Register
International passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport more than quadrupled in the first four months of this year as travel to and from Mexico continued to gain traction, airport officials reported.
Nearly 112,000 international travelers went through John Wayne's gates from January through April, up from under 25,000 in the first four months of 2012.
Canadian airline Westjet provides one flight a day from Orange County to Vancouver, Canada, but John Wayne's major international growth has been to Mexico. The airport launched Mexico service last June and now has four flights a day, two each by AirTran and Interjet. AirTran will add a second daily flight to Cabo San Lucas in June.
Foreign travel only accounts for 3.9 percent of John Wayne's total passenger traffic. But, when combined with improving domestic travel, it is helping the airport post its first solid growth since the recession. April was John Wayne's 13th consecutive month of year-over-year passenger growth.
Website Editor: In November 2011, the County approved a total of $900,000 in incentives to attract Mexico bound flights.
Under the terms of the incentive agreements, a new or existing JWA air carrier will be required to fly non-stop from JWA to a Mexican city at least five times a week for a year. Three such $300,000 incentives are available.
Lawsuits once again challenge LAX runway and construction work - LA Times
Los Angeles International Airport landed in court again Thursday when a labor union, four local governments and a neighborhood coalition filed lawsuits challenging the latest round of construction work being performed at the aging facility, including a controversial plan to relocate the northernmost runway closer to homes.
The cases allege that Los Angeles World Airports, the operator of LAX, violated state laws that require thorough evaluations of the environmental effects of projects as well as measures to reduce adverse impacts.
Bringing suits are some of the same cities and community groups that went to court and stalled an ambitious plan by former Mayor James Hahn to remake the nation's third-largest airport.
That legal battle ended in a 2006 settlement scaling back the number of projects, setting an unofficial cap of 78.9 million passengers a year and requiring that the growth of air traffic at LAX be spread to other airports in the region.
Gary Toebben, president of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and head of the Coalition to Fix LAX Now, said the lawsuits could delay airport improvements yet again.
"There's a reason why LAX looks the way it does today," Toebben said. "Lawsuits have delayed the modernization and kept important investment away from the airport."
Ontario and San Bernardino join suit against LAX expansion
The City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino have joined with the cities of Inglewood and Culver City in a suit against Los Angeles and Los Angeles World Airports seeking to derail the planned expansion of LAX. The suit argues that an environmental impact report for the project is inadequate.
The Inland Empire forces want flights "regionalized" away from LAX to Ontario airport. Therefore they are participating with LAX neighbors in trying to block the proposed expansion, modernization and safety improvements at the region's premier airport.
The action is a case of Los Angeles Not in My Back Yard NIMBY's joining forces with Ontario Please in My Back Yard PIMBY boosters.
One of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs is Barbara Lichman, an aviation expert best known in Orange County for representing Newport Beach NIMBY's in their efforts to move air traffic from John Wayne Airport into the back yards of El Toro's neighbors. At the time, her Newport Beach clients were all in favor of airport regionalization, to El Toro. Once El Toro airport was dead, they feared the prospects that regionalization might push traffic from LA to John Wayne. Orange County leaders pulled out of the Southern California Regional Airport Authority giving a death blow to that failed organization.
Business and political leaders from remote airport communities, like Ontario and Palmdale, want flights but travelers seem to prefer airports out of earshot but as close as possible to home.
John Wayne expansion targets D.C. - OC Register
As the John Wayne Airport Air Service Task Force, a new group of local tourism and business leaders are working with the airport to attract additional service to Orange County.
John Wayne once had a waiting list of airlines that wanted to provide service. Over the past decade, fewer airlines are serving secondary airport's such as Orange County's. The airport is now actively courting airlines to provide service to new destinations.
Although leisure travelers often say they would like to see direct flights to Hawaii, Orange County cities would like to see service that will bring more groups and businesses to their hotels and attractions, said Gary Sherwin, chairman of the Orange County Visitors Association and a member of the task force.
Sherwin said direct service from the metro Washington area to John Wayne could attract many of the business groups based in that area. It also would have the advantage of giving Orange County travelers nonstop access to the nation's capital.
JWA continues to increase utilization
Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in April 2013 as compared to April 2012.
In April 2013, the Airport served 764,308 passengers, an increase of 5.1% when compared to the 727,523 passenger traffic count of April 2012.
Commercial aircraft operations increased 3.8%, while Commuter aircraft operations increased 5.9% when compared to the levels recorded in April 2012.
Total aircraft operations decreased in April 2013 as compared to the same month in 2012. In April 2013, there were 21,058 total aircraft operations (take-offs and landings), a decrease of 3.7% when compared to 21,861 total aircraft operations in April 2012.
May 20 - May 26, 2013
MTA raises plane-train ante for Bob Hope Airport - Burbank Leader
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted Thursday to pony up $1.7 million to reach the local match for a decades-old $4.3 million federal grant that will be used to enhance Bob Hope Airport's efforts to foster a "plane-to-train connection" to local transit.
The money will help accelerate construction of a Metrolink station along the Antelope Valley line, among other improvement projects, airport officials said.
The funds will come from Measure R, a half-cent sales tax that was approved by county voters in 2008 to pay for transportation projects.
Airport spokesman Victor Gill said the MTA's vote will help the airfield achieve its goal of becoming easier to reach by means other than a car.
Nighttime Curfew Bill Aims to Cut Valley Jet Noise - NBC
A bill re-introduced this week aims to cut down on a problem that has vexed residents living under the path of two San Fernando Valley airports for years -- jet noise.
The Valley-Wide Noise Relief Act would allow Van Nuys Airport and Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport to put into place nighttime curfews for all flights from 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The airports have had partial and voluntary curfews in effect for years, but this bill aims to tighten those restrictions, said Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, the bill’s sponsor.
In 2011, Schiff and Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, pushed for federal money for nighttime curfews, but the measure failed to get the votes.
May 13 - May 19, 2013
Mid-size airports suffer biggest cuts in airline service - LA Times
Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, LA/Ontario International Airport and other mid-size airports lost an average of 26.2% of their flights from 2007 to 2012, according to a new study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology's International Center for Air Transportation.
The cuts are a result of airlines eliminating less-profitable routes and focusing on more popular, high-profit routes, the report said. Many airlines have also replaced multiple flights of small, 50-seat planes with one or two flights using larger, 76-seat planes, the report noted.
Large airports such as Los Angeles International Airport have lost 8.8% of their flights, while small airports such as Long Beach and Santa Barbara municipal airports lost 18.2% in the six-year period, the study found.
The biggest drop has been at mid-size airports such as Bob Hope Airport, where airline departures dropped 24.8% in the six-year period.
Website Editor: JWA statistics show 20.9% fewer flights in the air carrier, commuter and air taxi categories in 2012 compared to 2007.
May 6 - May 12, 2013
L.A. board seeks to halt decline at Ontario airport - LA Times
Los Angeles airport commissioners took additional steps Tuesday to halt a dramatic decline in passengers at LA/Ontario International Airport, including potential cost reductions for airlines and incentives that might encourage them to add service.
Inland Empire officials, who are trying to wrest control of Ontario from Los Angeles, immediately criticized the measures, saying that they were too little and too late to lure flights back to what used to be one of the fastest-growing regional airports in the nation.
The commission unanimously approved a marketing program to reimburse carriers for half of what they spend to advertise and promote new and existing flights that serve Ontario.
Commissioners also passed measures designed to lower expenses for carriers to operate at Ontario, which has some of the highest costs for airlines in the nation for a mid-sized airport.
Passenger count changes direction at Bob Hope Airport - Burbank Leader
But predictions for future business remain flat, officials say.
For the first time in more than three years, the number of passengers at Bob Hope Airport increased in March — even if it was by only a slight uptick.
A total of 333,647 passengers passed through the airport in March, a 0.27% increase from 332,740 from the same time last year.
The bump is due to a strong performance by Southwest Airlines, which has the lion's share of the flights at the airport.
During the first three months of 2013, the airport handled 909,364 passengers, a 6.8% decline from 975,529 passengers reported during the same period last year.
Meanwhile, other local airports reported varying passenger tallies in March. Los Angeles International Airport and John Wayne Airport saw 5.5% and 6% passenger growth, respectively. However, Ontario Airport reported a 5.4% decline, and Long Beach Airport saw a 12.6% slide.
What's wrong with Los Angeles International Airport? - LA Times
President Obama recently groused that no U.S. airport ranked among the world’s top 25 airports.
If you’re a regular traveler to or from Los Angeles, you may be even more disappointed to learn that Los Angeles International Airport didn’t even make the top 100.
Obama was referring to a ranking released in April — the Skytrax World Airport Awards — that is based on a survey of 12.1 million travelers around the world. Out of 395 airports worldwide, LAX ranked 109th. It came in at 24th among 50 airports in North America.
Passengers surveyed for Skytrax gave LAX low scores for the long time it takes to get through security and immigration and customs, said Peter Miller, a spokesman for the aviation research group.
The airport’s check-in and screening process, baggage handling, staff communication and terminal cleanliness were cited as lacking last year by Travel & Leisure Magazine, which rated LAX the nation’s second-worst airport.
Seating at the airport is limited, security staff are rude, signage is poor, bathrooms are in poor condition and travel between terminals is difficult and confusing, according to Donna McSherry, who operates The Budget Travelers' Guide to Sleeping in Airports website, which rates LAX among the world’s 10 worst.
LAX could climb the ranking by improving its signage, cleanliness, ambience and connections to mass transit.
The Los Angeles City Council last week approved $4.76 billion in improvements to LAX passenger facilities and a transportation center, as well as light rail links, new parking areas and a consolidated car rental facility.
April 29 - May 5, 2013
Change in tack for battling JWA noise - Daily Pilot
Newport residents hoping technological advances will do what politics and a ballot measure failed to accomplish.
When voters chose to turn the Marine El Toro base into parkland instead of an airport, Newport's leadership turned away from politics and toward technology in its quest for quieter skies.
"The airport is the No. 1 quality-of-life issue in Newport Beach," said Mayor Keith Curry. "We'll do anything we can to reduce the impact and noise to our residents."
The city's latest effort, the result of a $75,000 report by GE Aviation Systems division Naverus, would have John Wayne as the site of a pilot program for the regular use of a departure procedure now reserved stateside for especially difficult take-offs surrounded by tough terrain.
Pilots departing from Juneau, Alaska, for example, have special permission to use the more-precise form of GPS navigation to help departing aircraft avoid mountains.
In Orange County, the procedure known as a Required Navigation Performance (RNP) departure, would guide airplanes through an extra curve to stay along the middle of the bay as it snakes toward the sea. That way, neither the west nor the east side of Newport's Back Bay, which is home to wildlife and lined by homes and on both sides, would bear the brunt of direct flyovers.
Of course, officials warn, this is all subject to Federal Aviation Administration approval.
Town Hall Meeting Planned in Opposition of LAX Expansion - Marinadelrey.patch.com
Local residents plan to meet this weekend to express their disapproval with plans to expand LAX.
The Los Angeles City Council voted on Tuesday in favor of a $4.8 billion plan to expand the airport and also modernize it. The project would move the airport’s north runway 260 feet closer to Westchester and Playa del Rey.
Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who described himself as "very disappointed" with Tuesday's vote, said the focus should be on “regionalism” and employing the use of the LA/Ontario International Airport.
“It’s better for everybody if we spread out where planes land,” Rosendahl said. “It’s insane to clog up LAX and clog up Westchester and Playa del Rey when, in fact, the jumbo jets belong in Ontario. So it’s not over yet.”
Denny Schneider, president of the Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion, or ARSAC, agreed. ARSAC, who is joining forces with the SEIU and other organizations at this weekend’s town hall meeting, now plans to file a lawsuit, according to Schneider. He said they have no choice.
Website Editor: Prior to the Navy selling the former Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro to private developers, opponents of LAX expansion tried to take over the Orange County property in order to regionalize air traffic to "LAX South".
Los Angeles Approves $5 Billion Airport Modernization - Wall Street Journal.
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a politically divisive modernization and safety-enhancement plan for Los Angeles International Airport that is expected to cost nearly $5 billion.
Following a rowdy meeting punctuated by a split among council members and emotional opposition from some neighborhood groups that were worried about increased noise and pollution, the vote provided the green light to revamp and expand LAX's often cramped, 1960s-era facilities.
The plan, which is still subject to environmental studies and could face court challenges, seeks to comply with repeated demands by the Federal Aviation Administration to relocate the northernmost runway as a safety enhancement. One major goal is to make room to construct a taxiway between that runway and a parallel landing strip. Safety advocates have long argued that having such a taxiway—running the entire length of both runways—is essential to prevent pilots from mistakenly blundering into the path of other aircraft while landing or taking off.
Aviation experts and regulators for many years have highlighted LAX as a prime example of collision hazards posed by parallel runways located too close to each other.
The council's vote capped years of debate over how to make the airport more competitive with hubs in San Francisco and elsewhere, particularly in attracting the largest planes serving fast-growing trans-Pacific traffic.
Knabe says LAX has not done enough for airport regionalization - LA Times
A county report released Monday added fuel to the debate over whether the operator of Los Angeles International Airport is adequately trying to spread the growth of commercial flights to other airports in the area.
Requested by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in February, the study reviewed the efforts of Los Angeles World Airports to regionalize air traffic, a key requirement of a 2006 court settlement that ended a legal challenge to modernization plans at LAX.
"I'm somewhat disappointed. The report needs a more in-depth analysis of the regionalization issue," said Supervisor Don Knabe, who requested the review. "But in its own little way, it shows that there has not been a good faith effort by LAWA or any visible results at this point."
Knabe cited the severe decline of LA/Ontario International Airport while under the control of Los Angeles. On Tuesday, the supervisors are scheduled to vote on an endorsement of the effort -- a move Knabe says he supports.
Researchers added that Los Angeles officials have considered various management alternatives at Ontario and tried unsuccessfully to bring service to LA/Palmdale Regional Airport, the control of which is being transferred to the city of Palmdale.
