ONT passenger traffic decline to enter sixth year - Contra Costa Times
With no signs of turning the corner, L.A./Ontario International Airport will see a decline in air service for the sixth year in a row, according to a recent report to the Ontario International Airport Authority.
Aviation consultant Nick Johnson told the authority ONT is on track to handle fewer than 4 million passengers, 25 percent of its capability, this year.
Between 2000 and the end of this year, Ontario airport will experience a 41 percent decline in passenger growth.
Overall, John Wayne and Palm Springs and Los Angeles International airports are likely to see increases in terms of passenger traffic for the year. The increases at the three regional airports: John Wayne, 3.3 percent; Palm Springs, 0.2 percent and LAX, 4.4 percent.
On the other end, also seeing declines will be Long Beach with a 6.4 percent drop and Burbank airport with a 4.7 percent drop in passengers.
In the case of Burbank the issue comes from the fact that the airport draws passengers from the same general geographical area as LAX, Johnson said.
Burbank has been working hard to improve its situation. "They are working with their air carriers to discuss their cost advantages over LAX . . . to get their piece back from LAX."
LAX which had 76 percent of the market share in 2000, saw its share decline to 69 percent. Since 2007 when LAX, in response to the changes in economy, shifted its focus, has almost recovered its loss. It is expected to finish this year with 75 percent of the market share.
Daily Pilot Mailbag: Newport should avoid marketing JWA
In the June 6 article, "JWA director says flights to D.C. in the works," we at AirFair were surprised to learn the city of Newport Beach's visitor's bureau head, Gary Sherwin, was one of those leading marketing efforts for the John Wayne Airport.
Mr. Sherwin's participation is surprising, because the visitor's bureau, Visit Newport Beach, or as it is now known Newport Beach Inc., is funded solely through transit occupancy tax imposed by the city. According to its website, "Visit Newport Beach Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)6 marketing organization under contract with the city to position Newport Beach as a visitor and conference destination."
At AirFair, we support the marketing of Newport Beach. However, that support does not include marketing JWA. As we have said, "The mission of AirFair is to establish a strong political base of regional support focused on maintaining the current curfew, flight and passenger caps at John Wayne Airport."
It is hard to understand how Mr. Sherwin can serve two masters: marketing JWA and serving Newport Beach.
The City Council should consider long and hard how it can resolve this conflict.
Melinda Seely
President, AirFair
June 10 - June 16, 2013
San Diego celebrates
return of Miami service
American Airlines and the San
Diego County
Regional Airport Authority will celebrate the start of daily nonstop
service
between San Diego and Miami.
Prior to commencement of the new service, the
Miami area was the largest market without direct service from San
Diego.
Website Editor: I am with OC
Register Travel Editor Gary Warner - see story below - that it would be
nice to be able to fly nonstop to Miami for Caribbean connections.
June 2 - June 9, 2013
JWA debate. Next stop D.C.? - OC Register Travel
Travel Editor Gary Warner wrote, "A committee has targeted Washington, D.C. as the top choice for the next non-stop destination out of Orange County's airport. It makes business sense, but I'd rather have a destination that's more fun."
Warner echoes the desires of many county residents, "I want to fly from Orange County to Oahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kauai. I'd like to be able to fly to the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area for a cruise without heading up to LAX. If I want to go to Lake Tahoe, I have to fly into Sacramento - let's bring back Reno. Or an option for New York other than flying into Newark Liberty International Airport."
Website Editor: Why not fill some of this travel wish list? JWA operates below its physical capacity, and below the limitations that our county leaders have negotiated with Newport Beach. Are there no airlines wanting to provide the service?
JWA director says flights to D.C. in the works - Daily Pilot
John Wayne Airport passengers could soon say "Aloha" to reinstated service to Hawaii, Airport Director Alan Murphy told members of the Newport Beach business community at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday morning.
He said he gets asked a lot about service to Hawaii, and airport operators hope to work with an appropriate carrier to provide flights to the islands.
But first, airport officials are aiming for Washington, D.C. "It's our No. 1 current unserved market," Murphy said.
Murphy toed a fine line between appealing to the audience's business savvy and addressing the Newport Beach community's at-times fraught relationship with the airport and the noise it generates.
Asked whether the airport planned to expand its footprint in terms of acreage, he stressed that cities surrounding the airfield would have to sign on.
"I see the mayor [Keith Curry] is shaking his head no," he quipped.
He discussed the path forward for a new settlement agreement setting caps on traffic through the airport. That renegotiated settlement is in the environmental review process through the county, which will look at several different options for new passenger and flight limits.
After bump, passenger numbers slide back at Bob Hope Airport - Burbank Leader
A month after a surprising uptick in the number of passengers traveling through Bob Hope Airport, the tally in April dipped by roughly 2.4%.
Although March saw the airport’s first rise in passenger numbers in three years, April’s total came in at 330,772 passengers, down from 338,821 during the same period last year, according to statistics released to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.
Dan Feger, the airport’s executive director, said that the drop could be attributed primarily to JetBlue’s decision last December to stop all daytime flights out of Burbank.
During the first four months of 2013, the airport handled 1.24 million passengers, a 5.6% decline from 1.31 million passengers reported during the same period last year.
Meanwhile, other local airports reported varying passenger totals in April. Los Angeles International Airport and John Wayne Airport saw 3.7% and 5.1% increases in passengers, respectively. However, Ontario Airport reported an 8.4% decline, and Long Beach Airport saw a 13.7% drop.
Inland Empire officials sue to regain LA/Ontario airport - LA Times
Alleging mismanagement, conflicts of interest and violations of a key agreement, Inland Empire officials Monday sued the city of Los Angeles in their effort to regain ownership of LA/Ontario International Airport, where the number of passengers has declined 40% since 2007.
The lawsuit seeks a return of the struggling airport to the city of Ontario and cancellation of a 1967 agreement that transferred the facility's operation to Los Angeles on the condition that it do its best to attract airline service.
May 27 - June 2, 2013
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.
Click here for previous news reports
