Airport deal at crossroads 25 years later - OC Register
Twenty five years ago this month, Newport Beach residents became the envy of anyone who's ever lived near an airport, winning one-of-a-kind noise protections and flight caps that remain the nation’s strongest.
“Nobody – no population, no community – has a more restrictive regimen than we have here,” said Barbara Lichman, a key participant in securing landmark limits on John Wayne Airport in August 1985.
The so-called settlement agreement was unprecedented, and it had remarkable timing, coming just before federal legislation largely eliminated the legality of such local control.
Residents were “very fortuitous,” said Dave Kiff, Newport Beach city manager. A quarter-century later, they are counting on more than luck to keep the deal in place. With the pact to be renegotiated in coming years, the city spends no small amount of time and money to head off adversaries who say its rules went too far.
Website Editor: The article quotes this website editor's position that the million annual passenger MAP cap leads to higher ticket prices and that airplanes make noise, people do not, so forcing airlines to fly empty seats makes no sense.
Yet to be discussed is the reasoning behind Orange County spending a half billion dollars on an expansion - including a huge new third terminal - when powerful forces, including at least one county supervisor, oppose expanding passenger service. The current caps expire in 2015, soon after the new terminal is completed.
JWA ought to look at San Jose's new terminal - OC Register Travel
San Jose's Terminal B opened June 30, and I had a chance to stop by on the way home late last month. It's the kind of place that we can only hope the new Terminal C at (deep breath) Thomas F. Riley Terminal of John Wayne Airport will resemble, even just a little bit.
Website Editor: Register Travel Editor Gary Warner lists a lot of wonderful architectural features and amenities in San Jose's new Terminal B that he would like to see in John Wayne Airport's new Terminal C.
I would add one more: - gates. In an attempt to minimize the utilization of JWA, county officials decided in 2001 to limit the passenger gates in its new terminal. JWA is adding a 282,000 square foot terminal with only 6 gates. San Jose's new terminal measures 380,000 square feet and hosts 12 passenger gates. It has one-third more space but twice the number of boarding locations where passengers can access flights to more locations..
We previously noted that LA/Ontario Airport's Terminal 2 has 265,000 square feet and 12 gates. Ontario Terminal 4 has 265,000 square feet and 14 gates.
Delta to launch OC-JFK service - OC Register
Delta Air Lines will begin flying non-stop between Orange County's John Wayne Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sept. 7.
Initial fares are as low as $259 round trip, including tax. The airline will use a single-aisle Boeing 737-700 aircraft in both directions.
The airline announced the service Wednesday as part of a large-scale reshuffling and expansion of routes throughout the world.
Jenny Wedge, spokeswoman for John Wayne Airport,said service to New York's largest airport has been a top request of Orange County customers.
Delta also announced it will end service from Orange County to Detroit.
Currently, Orange County residents can fly non-stop on Continental Airlines from John Wayne Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport. Another option is to fly out of Long Beach to JFK on JetBlue.
Irvine Councilwoman Christina Shea Speaks Out on Environmental Mess at El Toro - Salem-News.com
The old Marine Corps air base in Orange County, El Toro, is a huge political liability, that isn't necessarily a big secret, but new attention is being drawn to this fact by one of Irvine's city leaders, Councilwoman Christina Shea. She is coming out swinging with allegations of cover ups, wasted taxpayer funds and major concerns about the health of people who once lived on the base, or today live near it.
This means a lot to those of us who were once Marines at this place. MCAS El Toro was for half a century, a vibrant base that was a strong defensive point for all of Southern California.
It is a complicated and twisted tale that begins with this military base's listing by BRAC, the Base Realignment and Closure Committee, back in 90's.
Then came a years long fight between two ideas: turning El Toro into an airport to relieve stress on Orange County's John Wayne Airport, or transform the base into a park and housing community. The park idea won, now it is losing fast.
We have been bringing the story of El Toro forward for three years now; Salem-News.com crews have spent a good deal of time on the base documenting the different sites, and continually learning more and more from hundreds of former and current Marines who write to us, telling us about their service at the base and often, all too often, details on the illnesses they suffer from.
There really are no secrets about El Toro, the base has been an EPA 'Superfund' site since the contamination was first studied by the Dept. of the Navy several years ago. As we have revealed in our reports, all of the damning evidence is available for the Public to see in the Woodbridge Irvine Public Library in the at Heritage Park.
California Fare Sale - Lifestyle.com
Southwest Airlines is offering $59* one-way airfares for travel within California. These southwest.com-only airfares are available with a 21-day advance purchase for Customers in Burbank, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento, Ontario, and San Diego. Fares are available seven days a week. Orange County's John Wayne Airport is not included in this sale. To book these fares available only at southwest.com, go to: http://www.southwest.com/jp/luvhome.shtml?src=PR_interCal_120205
Website Editor: How many times have we seen "John Wayne Airport not included" in fare sales? There must be something about the airport or the way that it is managed that produces this result. Send us your thoughts.
Repairs to Los Alamitos airfield to start in fall - Long Beach Press-Telegram
A recent influx of military aircraft using Long Beach Airport is expected to subside by late fall after repairs are completed to the battered main runway at nearby Los Alamitos Army Airfield.
The repairs, scheduled to begin in the fall, will fix a heavily used 8,000-foot runway that was closed to most large aircraft and fighter jets - including Air Force One - in January 2009, when significant deterioration was discovered.
The runway is suffering from cracking and loose debris along vast stretches of the asphalt portions of its runway, creating serious hazards during landings and takeoffs.
Since the closure, military and cargo pilots have been diverting en masse to Long Beach Airport, which sits just several miles northwest of Los Alamitos.
Even Air Force One, which for decades used the closely guarded base for presidential visits, was forced to divert to Long Beach in March 2009.
Airport hub moves forward - Burbank Leader
A large $120-million transit center that would combine bus, train and rental car traffic into one hub at Bob Hope Airport took a step closer to reality Tuesday after the Burbank City Council voted 4 to 1 to settle a number of land-use issues.
One of the key selling points for the transit center was to cut down on traffic generated by airport operations. Rental car companies must make 700,000 yearly trips to an off-site facility to service their fleets because there is no room at Bob Hope Airport, officials said.
The so-called Regional Intermodal Transportation Center would solve the space issue, as well as provide enough room for 14 buses with a transit lounge and a new parking structure for airport patrons.
Bob Hope Airport train station passengers would have access to an elevated pedestrian bridge over Empire Avenue to connect to the parking lot. An elevated pedestrian walkway with a moving sidewalk is planned to connect the parking structure to the air passenger terminal.
Ontario International Airport reports June decline - The Press-Enterprise
Traffic at Ontario International Airport dropped by 5.2 percent in June compared to the same month in 2009 and a 37.4 percent decrease since June 2007.
LAX has had 28.3 million travelers in the first six months of the year, a 4.9 percent increase compared to the same period a year prior. Last month, traffic increased 4 percent compared to the same month a year prior.
Since 2008, Ontario airport lost service from JetBlue, Aeromexico and startup airline ExpressJet as well as suffered cuts in capacity at remaining airlines including the airport's largest, Southwest Airlines.
Upset with steep passenger declines at the airport, officials with the city of Ontario have recently begun lobbying Los Angeles City Council members and agency leaders to consider giving control of the airport back to the Inland city.
Ontario continues in slump
In June, LA/Ontario International Airport served 408,800 passengers, none of them on international flights. That was 5.24 percent fewer than in June 2009.
Year-to-date, ONT saw 2,337,880 passengers or 2.61 percent fewer than last year. 54 percent of all passengers flew on SouthWest Airlines.
If the six-month trend continues, the airport will see fewer than 5 million passengers this year.
That is a sad position for an airport built to handle at least 10 million passengers and planned to expand and serve 30 million by 2025.
LA/Ontario International Airport has three terminals including a small international terminal. The terminal numbering scheme is designed to accommodate future growth. The airport's master plan calls for five terminals to be spaced adjacent to and in between the existing Terminals 2 and 4. Terminal 2 has 265,000 square feet and 12 gates. Terminal 4 has 265,000 square feet and 14 gates.
By comparison, Orange County supervisors chose to limit John Wayne Airport's capacity and opted to build a third terminal that will have approximately 282,000 square feet but only 6 gates.
July 19 - 25, 2010
'Ghostly' zeppelin - Daily Breeze
That "ghostly white airship" is Eureka, a zeppelin operated by the San Francisco company Airship Ventures.
The hull of the airship is made of multilayer laminate material, and it is filled with nonflammable helium, allowing for a smooth ride.
Eureka makes regular visits to Southern California, where it flies out of the Long Beach airport.
Eureka will be based in Long Beach until early August for "exposure" or advertising flights, said Anthony Dizon, a reservationist at Airship Ventures.
The zeppelin is regularly used for advertising, scientific weather research and passenger flights. For information about booking the zeppelin for charter service or a passenger flight, visit www.airshipventures.com or call 650-969-8100.
Ontario Airport owner to reconsider spreading air traffic around Southern California - The Press-Enterprise
The city of Los Angeles agency that owns and operates LAX and Ontario International Airport is reconsidering its efforts to spread air traffic throughout Southern California, considering the loss in passenger traffic at LAX.
"Here we sit on the incredible shrinking airport," said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports during her monthly report at a July 14 board of airport commissioner's meeting. "Continuing to pursue a strategy that actively pushes traffic away from the city of Los Angeles and into other jurisdictions could be viewed as a little self-destructive."
Between 2000 and 2007, LAX lost 11 million passengers while other Southern California airports grew, Lindsey said.
LAX's effort to regionalize air traffic in Southern California by spreading passengers out at other airports was born from a 2005 legal settlement made with neighborhoods around Los Angeles International Airport that opposed expansion.
LAWA's staff and airport commissioners plan to meet with the plaintiffs of the settlement and also form a committee to redefine regionalization.
"We're talking about regionalization. I guess it's heresy to say that what we should be thinking about is how to get more traffic at LAX," Rothenberg said.
A report from Los Angeles city staff looking at the feasibility of transferring Ontario airport back to the Inland city is due at the Los Angeles City Council by Sept. 1. City officials have recently lobbied to regain control of Ontario airport, which had 2.3 million fewer passengers between 2007 and 2009, a 32.2 percent drop in passengers.
Website Editor: In 2005, the Los Angeles City Council sought to take control of El Toro by "any and all means" in order to build LAX-South in the heart of Orange County. The ill-conceived effort to regionalize air traffic away from Los Angeles was met by opposition from Orange County citizens. Fortunately, for all concerned, the LA attempt failed.
Had El Toro International Airport been built, there would have been so much excess capacity in Southern California aviation that one or two other airports - probably John Wayne and Ontario - would have to be shut down. El Toro would be unable to pay the debt service required to build the multi-billion dollar project.
July 12 - July 18, 2010
Allegiant Adds Flights from LGB to Colorado Springs and Idaho Falls - Everything Long Beach
Just this month Long Beach Airport welcomed Allegiant Air’s inaugural flight, and already the airline is announcing two new travel offerings for passengers.
Allegiant will offer service between Long Beach and Colorado Springs (COS), Colorado, beginning September 15, 2010. Additionally, effective October 8, 2010, Allegiant will offer Idaho Falls (IDA), Idaho, service to LGB. All Allegiant flights leaving LGB will utilize 150-seat MD-80 series jet aircraft.
Bob Hope Airport fights EPA order - Glendale News Press
Bob Hope Airport officials are scoffing at an U.S. EPA order to share in the $108-million tab to clean up contaminated groundwater by former aerospace manufacturing at the site.
Airport officials have asked a federal judge to order Lockheed Corp., also listed in the order, to cover the airport's portion of the clean-up costs. The legal maneuver came after a July 6 letter in which the EPA named the Burbank airport as a "potentially responsible party" for the decades old ground contamination.
Airport officials say the contamination occurred when Lockheed manufactured planes and equipment on the site acquired by the airport authority in 1978.
May passenger totals for SoCal show recovery; still lag pre 9-11 levels
For the six airports comprising the SCAG region - LAX, SNA, BUR, ONT, LGB and PSP - traffic in May totaled 6,858,672 passengers. This was a 4.7 percent increase over the month of May 2009.
For the calendar year to date, the total passengers numbered 32,058,158. That was a 3.2 percent increase over the same five month period in 2009.
The volume this year to date was still 9.6 percent lower than in the same period ending May 2001, prior to the terrorist attacks of 9-11.
John Wayne Airport posts a small decline in June
Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport decreased in June 2010 as compared to June 2009. In June 2010, the Airport served 772,155 passengers, a decrease of 1.7% when compared to the June 2009 passenger traffic count of 785,878.
Commercial aircraft operations decreased 5.4%, while Commuter aircraft operations decreased 72.2% when compared to the levels recorded in June 2009.
The significant decrease in commuter air operations comes at a time when the airport is expanding the number of loading positions devoted to regional aircraft.
July 5 - July 11, 2010
Growing the Park at the former MCAS El Toro
This weekend, the OC Register ran several interesting editorial and news articles on the Great Park in Irvine which celebrated its 5th anniversary since the takeover of the land by the city. The newspaper's coverage ranged from a historical timeline to a breakdown of the money spent to date, sprinkled with comments on what many see as a lack of progress on building the park.
Clearly, Great Park officials, led by Chairman Larry Agran, are focused on only these last 5 years. The Great Park public relations consultants have kept it that way, downplaying the dramatic history of the years before Irvine and Agran took center stage.
This website has taken a longer and broader view of the matter. The park was born out of the death of the El Toro Airport project. Almost daily since 1996, we chronicled the struggle over what would become of this huge piece of land.
The Register's timeline, prepared with the help of Irvine, overlooks Measure F, the countywide measure that preceded Measure W and broke the back of the pro-airport momentum. Measure F required that any airport expansion - whether at El Toro or John Wayne - must win the support of 2/3 of the voters. Measure F was the work of thousands of South County volunteers, most of whom lived in proposed flight paths communities south of Irvine. For over a year, until it was ruled unconstitutional, Measure F grounded the work on the airport and led to its demise.
The Register, and Irvine officials also forget the herculean efforts of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, a joint powers coalition of South County cities that - in cooperation with volunteer citizens' groups - funded much of the fight against the airport. In 1998, ETRPA proposed that the base property be developed as the Millennium Plan, a mixture of homes, schools, parkland and employment opportunities.
Nearly 10 years ago, in a crucial agreement between the leaders of ETRPA and the City of Irvine, the job of reshaping El Toro's future was split into two parts. ETRPA would kill the airport and Irvine would control its future land use. While Irvine citizens had been thinking for years of uses such as a public library, the concept of a Great Park began to gather steam after the 2002 passage of Measure W.
LA/Ontario Airport is on Facebook
For history and facts, see http://www.facebook.com/pages/LAOntario-Airport/108876935813782?v=wiki
June 28 - July 4, 2010
Southwest will anchor new John Wayne terminal - OC Register
Southwest Airlines will anchor the new Terminal C at John Wayne Airport when it opens next year. Any new airlines would likely move into the facility – though airport officials say new carriers aren’t currently in the airport’s short-range plans.
The airport released it’s planned line-up for airlines after it $543 million expansion from two to three terminals is completed in 2011.
The expansion will allow the airport to handle a maximum of 10.8 million passengers when completed, the number capped under an agreement with surrounding communities that will be in effect [until] 2015.
The airport is currently has openings for new airlines, especially since the departure of Virgin America in May. There is a “waiting list” of airlines that have expressed interest in serving Orange County, said airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge.
The list includes discount carrier Air Tran, regional carrier Horizon Air, and Canadian discount carrier WestJet.
The new terminal will include facilities for future international flights. Currently the airport cannot handle immigrations and customs at the airport. The lone international arrival, a daily flight operated by Air Canada from Toronto, has passengers clear the required paperwork to enter the country with U.S. agents based at the Canadian airport. Passengers can deplane in Orange County as it if were a domestic flight.
Allegiant Air begins service to Long Beach -Press-Telegram
Allegiant Airlines made its debut flight Thursday into Long Beach Airport, joining recent arrival Frontier as the latest carrier at Daugherty Field.
Allegiant will operate five non-stop flights weekly to Stockton and three to northern Washington, just across the border from Vancouver, Canada.
May traffic stats mixed
The Wall Street Journal reports that North American air travel was up 11 percent in May. Passenger traffic statistics show a mixed rate of recovery at Southern California airports.
LAX passengers were up 6.6 percent for the month of May and 5.1 percent for 2010 year-to-date.
John Wayne traffic was flat in May but up 2.1 percent for the year.
Ontario posted a 0.7 percent improvement for May but is still down 2.1 percent for the year.
Palm Springs was up 10.7 percent in May and 4.9 percent year-to-date.
Long Beach and Bob Hope have yet to post May statistics but were both trailing 2009 results at the end of April.
New airport routes may still be noise nuisance - Daily Pilot
The Federal Aviation Administration has completely re-named the take-off procedure at John Wayne Airport. Now called STREL, the proposed route could be better received than its predecessors, DUUKE 1 and DUUKE 2. Newport Beach residents complained that those routes resulted in more noisy flights over their homes. Administrators are now back to the drawing board with their satellite-based flight navigation system.
But the proposed changes are already causing consternation among a new set of residents: those on the west side of the Back Bay, especially in the Dover Shores community. But their (anticipated) noise complaints, the latest in the history of John Wayne Airport, may fall on deaf ears. FAA and airport officials say that flights are within legal limits and they've already been extremely accommodating.
"We're modifying the procedure because we want to be responsive to the community," said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman. "We've really gone the extra mile in this case."
The FAA's goal is to direct flights down the center of the Back Bay, Gregor said. In April the agency shifted planes onto a course about 100 feet west of the previous route, but residents in eastside neighborhoods of The Bluffs and Irvine Terrace said flights were a big nuisance.
Now, Gregor said, they want to shift planes another 250 feet to the west, straight down the center line.
That's where the west side residents come in.
As long as the new route is within the range of the pre-satellite routes, then the FAA doesn't have to perform an in-depth environmental impact analysis, said Gregor.
That doesn't satisfy residents of either side of the bay, though.
"We're trying to balance a very, very tight situation," said Don Webb, the councilman representing Dover Shores and other neighborhoods on the west side, who spoke at last week's City Council meeting.
Website Editor: None of these folks had any sympathy for South County residents when Newport Beach was pushing for a major international airport at El Toro with flights low over thousands of homes.
FAA seeks tighter control at Long Beach Airport - LA Times
Concerned about a growing potential for midair collisions, especially over neighborhoods, the federal government is considering significant air traffic control changes at Long Beach Airport — a move opposed by some private pilots who say the proposals might create more problems than they solve.
The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed establishing so-called Class C airspace at Long Beach, which requires more communication with pilots and a higher level of monitoring by air traffic controllers than now exists. In addition, the proposal would increase by at least a third the area under air traffic control around the airport.
FAA officials say they are weighing the changes because of reports by airlines that collision warning systems in the cockpits of their planes — so-called TCAS devices — are being triggered more often during Long Beach flight operations.
If a midair collision occurred involving an airliner, scores of passengers could be killed and casualties could mount if the wreckage rains down on homes, office buildings, shopping centers or schools along flight paths.
