Mexico flights pump up John Wayne Airport's June growth - OC Register
John Wayne Airport saw year-over-year June passenger traffic increase for the first time in five years, with the total number of travelers jumping 4.7%.
Jenny Wedge, airport spokeswoman, said much of the increase can be attributed to AirTran, which initiated JWA's first service to Mexico June 3. It includes for the first time customs clearance for passengers in Orange County.
About 16,400 passengers of the additional passengers in June were on AirTran's daily flights to Mexico City and Cabo San Lucas as well as on the airline's new service between JWA and Las Vegas and San Francisco.
While AirTran gave JWA a boost, more than half of the increase in June passenger traffic was just more people flying to the destinations the airport already served, Wedge said.
JWA hasn't had June-to-June growth in passenger travel since 2007, when it increased 6.3%.
John Wayne traffic increased in June
Airline
passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in June 2012 as
compared to
June 2011. In June 2012, the Airport served 784,849 passengers, an
increase of
4.7% when compared to the June 2011 passenger traffic count of 749,815.
ONT traffic drops again; decline expected to continue for rest of 2012 - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Passenger traffic at LA/Ontario International Airport continued its downward trend in June, falling 4.3 percent compared to the same month in 2011.
Overall, numbers of passengers flying in and out of ONT have dropped 6.3 percent for the first six months of 2012 compared to the previous year, according to figures released Monday by Los Angeles World Airports.
A look at the schedules of flights released by airlines indicate things will not turn around anytime soon.
For the remainder of year, airlines plan to operate 9.6 percent fewer flights compared to the same months in 2011.
With the current downward trend, Ontario officials say they expect passenger traffic for the year to reach 4.2 million, a figure lower than any seen since 1983. Decline at the airport began after 2007, when travel peaked at 7.2 million annual passenger traffic.
Passenger
traffic at Los Angeles International Airport
slightly increased in June as compared to the same month in 2011.
Traffic was
up 1.96 percent in June and remains 3.58 percent ahead of last year for
the
first half of the year.
9 proposals offered to increase safety, efficiency at LAX's north airfield - Daily Breeze
Nine proposals aimed at increasing safety and efficiency on Los Angeles International Airport's north airfield were released Friday, including an option that calls for shifting the northernmost runway 350 feet toward the communities of Westchester and Playa del Rey.
LAX officials have not yet signaled which reconfiguration they prefer, but one of the options will be selected when the final environmental impact report is released next year, airport officials said.
In each case, airport officials said they expect LAX's traffic to reach 78.9 million travelers by 2025.
A change in operations is required when supersized jetliners - such as the Airbus A380 - come in for a landing on LAX's northern runways, which are separated by 700 feet.
The Federal Aviation Administration has long stated that the runways need more separation and the addition of a centerline taxiway to reduce the risk of collisions between arriving and departing aircraft.
Earlier this week, an alliance of business and labor leaders dubbed Coalition to Fix LAX preliminarily threw their support behind the airport's plan to separate the northern runways.
However, those living immediately north of LAX have raised concerns that homes and the nearby Westchester business district would be impacted - and potentially wiped out - if the runways are shifted toward their community.
July 23 - July 29, 2012
Metro Chair Wants All Kinds of Rail Connection to SoCal Airports - TheSource.com
At this week's Metro board meeting, the new board chairman, County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, proposed a Regional Airport Connectivity Plan to finally
get Metro rail and Metrolink commuter rail connected to the region's airports.
Ideally, Antonovich wants the Gold Line and the Orange Line busway extended to Burbank's Bob Hope Airport; Metrolink, Amtrak, and Gold Line stations at Ontario Airport; Metrolink connections to Palmdale airport; and quicker existing Metrolink service from Palmdale to Union Station.
Finally,he wants an expedited timeline on the rail connector for the planned LAX-adjacent Green and Crenshaw Line stations, and he also wants the Green
Line extended to the Norwalk Metrolink, so people from the OC can hop a train to LAX. When discussing the rail connector to LAX, which many envision
as a people mover into the terminals, Antonovich included this ominous update: "Development of the LAX Airport Connector has been stymied by Los Angeles WorId Airports, despite voters approving $200 million for that connector through Measure R."
July 16 - July 22, 2012
Steep takeoffs land JWA on 'scariest airports' list - OC Register
The runway is short, the climb is steep and the whole takeoff experience at John Wayne Airport is just different enough that pilots often warn their passengers to hang on.
A travel website recently named John Wayne among the nation's "scariest airports," comparing those takeoffs to a missile launch or a space-shuttle liftoff. The airport has landed on such lists before, and even pilots occasionally grouse about what one described as an absurd takeoff.
Website Editor: A 1995 FAA Airport Capacity Enhancement Plan for JWA showed a runway extension to the north in the large open space towards the 405 Freeway as "under consideration". Apparently the idea died amidst concerns that it would allow airlines to add weight to their flights rather than reduce noise.
Lengthening of the runway to the south, towards the 73 Freeway, is technically possible but likely would be blocked by the City of Newport Beach which was granted a veto over any such extension by the Board of Supervisors.
Orange County groups favor releasing ONT from Los Angeles control - SetOntarioFree
The Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG) has endorsed the transfer of Ontario International Airport (ONT) to local control.
The OCCOG Board, representing 39 governments and agencies in the County, unanimously approved a resolution "supporting the City of Ontario's efforts to gain local control of Ontario Airport."
Website Editor: Some members of the group once supported Los Angeles control of an El Toro airport but times have changed. Today, the Southern California Regional Airport Authority concept is dead and sentiment is strongly in favor of local control of all of the region's airports.
July 9 - July 15, 2012
Catalina airport on list of 10 'scariest'- presstelegram.com
In releasing its top ten scariest airports — which included three in California: Catalina, Lindbergh Field in San Diego and John Wayne in Santa Ana — the consumer group Airfare Watchdog notes that flying is still one of the safest ways to travel.
Catalina's airport in Avalon has been nicknamed the "airport in the sky" due to high elevation. It is known to be drafty and turbulent on approach, and it's runway drops so steeply on both ends that pilots can't see from one end to the other. Heavy rains also cause frequent litter, debris, potholes and soft spots.
John Wayne airport was tagged due to strict noise reduction regulations that require pilots to ascend at full throttle and then abruptly cut back their engine power.
San Diego's airport is often described as the most dangerous in the country due its downtown location, mountains to the north and east, Mexican air space to the south and tailwinds blowing in from the west.
San Diego initiates daily flights to Washington Reagan National Airport
The new US Airway service offers a new direct gateway for government, military and business officials, as well as tourists, to visit the nation's capital. According to the airport, prior to the commencement of service, San Diego was the largest market in the nation without nonstop service to Washington National.
July 2 - July 8, 2012
Ground officially breaks on massive transit center at Bob Hope Airport - Burbank Leader
At 520,000 square feet, it’s going to be big. And at $112.6 million, it will be expensive.
On Friday, a cadre of officials celebrated breaking ground on the massive center that is expected to transform how passengers use Burbank Bob Hope Airport.
The long-planned complex will bring bus, rail and car-rental services under one roof when it opens in the summer of 2014. The project, officials say, will not only make using the airport easier for commuters, but is an example of how regional public transit can connect to make the system more relevant to the public.
During the ground-breaking ceremony, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich — who also serves as chairman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority — said it makes sense to extend train and bus service to better connect with the Bob Hope Airport and other airfields in the county.
“L.A County is the only major region in the United States that does not have rail connections to our airports,” he noted.
Why the County and Newport Beach are negotiating in secret over JWA extension?
The question has been asked why the County and Newport Beach have been meeting secretly to negotiate an extension of John Wayne Airport limitations with a blanket of confidentiality thrown over this important process.
Previously, Airport Manager Alan Murphy told the Airport Working Group that the airlines were "the enemy" in Newport's efforts to contain utilization of the airport. Our presumption is that local officials are trying to keep the airlines - and numerous other interested parties - out of the discussion for as long as possible.
At the June 26, 2012 meeting of the Newport Beach City Council, Council member Daigle provided the following thin legal justification for the secrecy. She reported that the City has been negotiating a settlement agreement with John Wayne Airport which is due to expire in 2015 and reported that "the reason it is not being negotiated in public is because it is a settlement to litigation."
In other words, the 1985 settlement agreement is being invoked as a justification for keeping secrets.
Hilarious Anti-Newport Beach Statement of the Day!- OC Weekly blog post
"Shh!!! Be very quiet--we're flying over rich people."
--Whispered over the intercom of a Southwest Airlines flight this morning by a flight attendant as the plane left John Wayne Airport. John Wayne, of course, is notorious among pilots and passengers for its wild, nearly vertical liftoff, designed to make as little noise as possible as to not annoy Newport Beach residents.
