NEWS BLOG - LATEST HEADLINES

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Week of August 24 - August 30, 2009

LAX decline slows, ONT traffic still way down

Los Angeles World Airports reports that LAX served 5,604,410 passengers in July. The number is 3.2 percent fewer than in July 2008.

Year-to-date, LAX traffic is off by 9.6 percent.

LA/Ontario airport saw 431,939 passengers or 24.8 percent fewer than last July.

ONT year-to-date traffic is down 28.1 percent from the same 7 months in 2008.

Week of August 17 - August 23, 2009

LAX makes birds unwelcome - LA Times

Flocks of European starlings brought down a Lockheed Electra during takeoff in Boston in 1960 and a Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo plane in the Netherlands in 1996. Combined, the crashes killed more than 100 people.

Starlings also fly in the crowded skies above Los Angeles International Airport, a major concern of biologist Todd Pitlik, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His job is to control the wildlife populations at LAX, where more than 940 animal strikes involving commercial aircraft were reported between 1990 and 2008. About 4% of the collisions caused substantial damage to engines, wings and fuselages.

Pitlik's work isn't easy. LAX's 3,500 acres just east of the Pacific Ocean contain a menagerie of birds and small mammals that inhabit the drainage ditches, trees, dunes and grassy flats that surround the four runways of the nation's third-busiest airport.

New flight path at John Wayne Airport could affect noise - OCRegister.com

A new departure pattern for planes leaving John Wayne Airport will soon debut, federal officials said Thursday, and it could be good news for Newport Beach residents living under the flight path.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration didn't say they expect quieter conditions in neighborhoods impacted by jet engine noise, but the changes "will result in aircraft flying even more consistent tracks down the middle of the Back Bay," according to a written announcement.

While planes already chart a course along the bay, they sometimes veer slightly off the precise, down-the-middle track.

Also, under the changes, instead of turning once they reach the shoreline, planes will first fly a half-mile to three-quarters of a mile offshore. That will mean the aircraft are at least a bit farther from ground when they do come back over dry land, officials said.

The new path, which could start being used by mid-September, results from a switch to satellite-based guidance as opposed to radar-based ground control. Similar changes have taken place across the country, officials said.

Eight carriers to use synthetic diesel for LAX ground vehicles - ATW.com

Eight US airlines operating at Los Angeles International have signed a multiyear deal for the supply of a renewable synthetic diesel fuel for use in ground service equipment, an arrangement that Rentech, the Los Angeles-based fuel manufacturer, called "the first of its kind."

The contract calls for supply of 1.5 million gal. per year beginning in late 2012, when the Rialto Renewable Energy Center that will produce the RenDiesel fuel is scheduled to enter service. The participating carriers are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, UPS Airlines and US Airways. Rentech said addition of other airlines is possible.

Rentech said the fuel will be produced from "green waste" and has a "near zero" carbon footprint. [It] is compatible with existing engines and pipelines, providing an immediate solution to the transportation sector's requirements to meet targets established by California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard," the company said.

San Bernardino International's terminal almost ready; airlines are not - The Press-Enterprise

Counters and kiosks are in place, ready to sell tickets and check in travelers at San Bernardino International Airport's newly refurbished passenger terminal.

High-definition TV monitors display place-holder arrivals and departures, escalators and decorative water sculptures are in motion, and a high-tech security room monitors for suspicious activity. A booming recorded voice tells visitors not to leave bags unattended.

One thing is missing from this picture: The airport has yet to land a commercial airline to bring revenue-generating passenger service to the terminal.

Fifteen years after the 1994 closing of Norton Air Force Base, local authorities are close -- yet in many ways still very far away -- from turning the abandoned military airfield into a productive enterprise that generates jobs and tax revenues.

More than $180 million has been spent on aviation-related base renovations -- $80 million of which has been spent or committed to the nearly completed passenger terminal, whose cost has more than doubled from original estimates.

Website Editor: The story contains reminders of Los Angeles' failure after spending millions on subsidizing service at Palmdale, and what could have been the situation had Orange County built its multi-billion dollar international airport at El Toro.

Week of August 10- August 16, 2009

American Airlines to end all O.C.-Bay Area flights - OC Register

American Airlines, which had been planning to cut five flights a day from John Wayne Airport to the Bay Area , now says it will end all service to San Francisco and San Jose on Nov 19.

Tim Smith, an American spokesman, said the decision is part of a system-wide reduction in capacity that will take place in two phases.

On Aug. 25, three American Eagle flights from John Wayne to San Francisco and two to San Jose will be discontinued.

American will cancel its remaining service — five flights to San Jose and two to San Francisco — on Nov. 19, Smith said.

Jenny Wedge, a John Wayne spokeswoman, said the airport was notified last week about American’s plans to eliminate service to the Bay Area. She noted the airport currently has 46 flights a day to Bay Area airports, including Oakland Airport, which American doesn’t serve. The American cuts will leave John Wayne with 34 [Bay area] flights a day.

Air Canada was supposed to start John Wayne’s first international service this summer, but has yet to follow through. Wedge said one or two other airlines have expressed interest.

Embattled county planning director falls on sword and retires - OCRegister.com

Announcing the retirement of Brian Speegle, the embattled head of the County Planning Department, county officials had this to say of his tenure with Orange County.

Speegle became the department's director in January 2004 after previously serving as Planning and Development Director. “During his career, he developed the first comprehensive Land Use Element of the General Plan in 1973 and oversaw the comprehensive update of the plan in 1983,” the county press release says. “He also coordinated the completion of Environmental Impact Reports for the San Joaquin Hills, Foothill and Eastern Transportation Corridors, as well as establishing requirements for many planned communities in Orange County.

Website Editor: Completely missing from this capsule resume were Speegle's years as Director of the El Toro Airport project. While his bosses probably made him do it, Speegle continued to oversee the spending of tens of millions of dollars on planning and promoting the airport project, even after the need was discredited and public opinion turned against the airport.

It is amazing how quickly this chapter of county government history is being erased from memory.

American Airlines drops flights from San Jose to Orange County - San Jose Mercury News

American Airlines said today it plans to drop all seven of its daily American Eagle flights from Mineta San Jose International Airport to Orange County by Nov. 19.

The airline previously had announced it would be dropping two of the flights to Orange County's John Wayne Airport on Aug. 25. It has now decided to eliminate the other five flights in November, because they "have not been financially successful," said American spokesman Tim Smith.

Mineta spokesman David Vossbrink, who said airport officials were informed of the change last week, noted that Southwest Airlines also flies seven times a day to Orange County from San Jose and that Southwest's planes carry about three times as many passengers as American Eagle's.

Website Editor: How about filling that empty JWA gate space with flights to someplace new? How will we utilize the new third terminal and six new gates being built?

JWA - July down slightly from last year.

John Wayne Airport served 821,905 passengers in July. The number was 0.2 percent fewer than in July 2008.

For the first seven months of the year, passenger traffic was down by 8.1 percent.

Threat of mid-air collision sparks concern - LA Daily News

The deaths of nine people in the mid-air collision of a small plane and a sight-seeing helicopter over the Hudson River on Saturday got helicopter pilot Al Sousa's attention as much as anybody's.

Sousa is among the pilots, aviation authorities and citizen activists who say heavy air traffic over Southern California makes the threat of collisions more serious here than in most regions.

Pilots and officials said tighter airspace restrictions and advances in technology in the past decade make collisions above Southern California extremely unlikely, and they cautioned against overreaction to the crash near New York City.

But some pointed to the deaths of three people in a collision of two small planes off the coast of Long Beach in May, the five deaths in a collision of two small planes over Corona in January 2008, and the three deaths when a collision forced a plane into a May Co. store in Sherman Oaks in 1981 as reminders that the worst can happen here.

Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council, which cites safety and noise concerns in advocating the reduction or elimination of sight-seeing helicopter flights.

The L.A. area is home to about 30 airports.

Airport Officials Continue Flying (and Dining) In the Lap of Luxury - Voice of San Diego

When two airport authority board members traveled with regional leaders last October on a trade mission to London, the flying public paid their way.

Though they had the option to pay $950 to fly economy, authority Chairman Bob Watkins and board member Bruce Boland upgraded to business-class fares. So the public paid $11,000 for the tickets instead of $1,900.

If you flew out of Lindbergh Field last year, fees you paid went toward Watkins' hotel room because he chose to arrive early in London. Your money was used for him to attend a $350 reception for the San Diego Chargers, who were playing an exhibition game against the New Orleans Saints at Wembley Stadium. More . . .

Week of August 3 - August 9, 2009

Fitch Affirms Long Beach Airport, California Implied Sr Lien Rtg at 'A-'; Outlook Stable - Business Wire

Fitch Ratings affirms the 'A-' implied senior lien revenue bond rating to the City of Long Beach Airport, California (LGB or the airport). The revenue bond lien, of which there are no bonds outstanding at this time and none anticipated until late 2009 are secured by a senior lien on net revenues of the Long Beach Airport. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The 'A-' implied rating reflects the airport's location and the underlying demand within the greater Los Angeles air trade service area, favorable enplanement trends even in the current economic downturn, and very efficient and generally low cost facilities for passenger airlines. The airport's passenger base is 98% origination and destination (O&D), exhibits a solid and growing demand for air passenger service to over 25 markets, an adequate balance sheet and good financial operation. Credit concerns include the very high single carrier concentration levels (79% by JetBlue Airways), the potential for additional leverage and its impact on airport finances, competitive region served by multiple airports, and the overall current state of the airline industry and regional economy.

The Stable Outlook reflects LGB's strong and positive enplanement performance contrasted by other airports within the region that are reporting double digit declines. The Outlook also reflects LGB's ability to maintain a low cost per enplanement over the next three- to five-year period, ensuring its low cost position in the Los Angeles air basin.

Long Beach Airport has nation's lowest fares - Long Beach Press-Telegram

The city-owned airport offered the lowest fares of the top 100 airports in the nation, according to a federal transportation study that examined changes from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009.

Long Beach's average fare landed at $207 compared with $315 nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez said Long Beach's fares are lower in part because the cost of doing business here for airlines is the second lowest in the state.

Rodriguez said it runs airlines about $5.30 cents a passenger to fly out of Long Beach - about half of the cost at Los Angeles International Airport.

Website Editor: The government data does not compare cost per seat mile nor compare flights of the same length at various airports.

Week of July 27 - August 2, 2009

Study: Is air traffic bad for health? - Daily Pilot

Many Newport Beach residents have long wondered if the fine black grit that seems constantly to end up on their windows and patio furniture has anything to do with the jets taking off and landing at nearby John Wayne Airport.

Until recently, technology that could gauge the amount of jet fuel emissions that come from the airport has not existed, said Newport Beach City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle.

Now city officials believe it’s possible to measure pollution from John Wayne Airport and determine whether it is harmful to residents. The city recently commissioned an air quality study to do just that.

The study will involve taking air samples from six different locations around the city to determine whether aircraft emissions from John Wayne Airport pose any health risk to Newport Beach residents.

Preliminary estimates put the cost of the study at about $58,900.

City officials hope the results will be available by early 2010.

Website Editor: Newport Beach apparently did not know about airport pollution when the city led the fight to build a huge commercial airport at El Toro. Or did they know and were they trying to move the noise and soot to someone else's back yard?

Minutes of the May 12 City Council meeting show that the study will be used to oppose utilization of the airport when the new third terminal is ready in 2011 and the current flight limitations are up for renegotiation.

JWA improvements bring gridlock - OC Register
Expect traffic near new terminal, parking structure amid construction.

If you’re headed to John Wayne Airport, expect heavier than usual traffic in the area of the new terminal and Parking Structure C.

Trucks carrying construction materials will also move on and off the construction site, just south of Terminal B. Construction vehicles will access airport roads at Airport Way from Campus Drive.

The construction is part of planned improvements at the airport that include construction of multi-level, 282,000-square-foot Terminal C and the new Parking Structure C.

The terminal is set to open as early as 2011, said spokeswoman Jenny Wedge. The parking structure should be completed by late 2010 but might open at the same time as the terminal.

Funding approved for Valley transportation projects - My Daily Find

Congressman Brad Sherman (Sherman Oaks) announced July 23 that the House of Representatives approved $550,000 for the construction of the Bob Hope Airport Regional Transportation Center.

The funding was included as part of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act for the fiscal year 2010, H.R. 3288. The legislation, which passed the House yesterday evening, requires approval by the U.S. Senate before being sent to the President for his signature.

The Bob Hope Airport Regional Transportation Center connects the Bob Hope Airport passenger terminals and the adjacent Amtrak/Metrolink Bob Hope Airport Train Station. The center will provide a hub for local and regional buses, as well as Amtrak bus service.