Private Jet Service Happy To Leave Long Beach For John Wayne Airport - OC Weekly
Unhappy management of a successful private jet service left Long Beach Airport in 2011, relocated to Orange County and couldn't be more elated operating in "a pro-business community."
"We never got any respect from the [Long Beach] airport," said Alex Wilcox, JetSuite's Founder and CEO. "We never got any respect from the city."
That's part of the JetSuite story journalist Brian Sumers told in his interesting Aug. 25 Press-Telegram column, "JetSuite 'never got any respect' from Long Beach, now thrives in Irvine."
Wilcox told Sumers,"[Irvine's] a pro-business community . . . In Long Beach, they almost made us feel ashamed for serving rich people."
August 19 - August 25, 2013
John Wayne traffic continues to improve
Airline
passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in July 2013 as
compared to
July 2012. In July 2013, the Airport served 834,328 passengers,
an
increase of 2.2% when compared to the July 2012 passenger traffic count.
Commercial
aircraft operations increased 1.4%, while Commuter aircraft operations
decreased 32.7% when compared to the levels recorded in July 2012.
The increase in
passenges served this year fortunately has not produced any measurable
impact on airport neighbors. According to the airport's noise
reports,
there were fewer complaints recorded, no community attendees at the
Noise Committee meetings and a slight decrease in monitored CNEL noise
levels.
August 12 - August 18, 2013
JetBlue cuts reduce Long Beach passenger volume - Long Beach Register
The airport has hit a little turbulence with JetBlue, its biggest carrier, which accounts for three out of four flights. The airline has cut some of its seasonal service in Long Beach to Las Vegas; Anchorage, Alaska; Oakland; Seattle; and Portland, Ore., to redirect aircraft to other markets where it's expanding. As a result, passenger traffic at Long Beach declined this year by nearly 173,000, or 9 percent, through July.
JetBlue flew 2.6 percent fewer Long Beach passengers in July, but flights were 88 percent full, the airport reported.
Over the past few years, other Southern California airports have launched new terminals and facility upgrades.
In November 2011, John Wayne Airport in Orange County completed a $543 million project, which included the new Terminal C, an adjacent parking structure and new restaurants.
Los Angeles International Airport is in the middle of a multiyear $4 billion program that included the completion in June of a $737 million upgrade and expansion of the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
John Wayne to expand Terminal C parking - OC Register
John Wayne Airport will begin work this year on a $3.8 million expansion of the Terminal C parking structure, which will add 1,500 close-in spaces by 2016.
Airport officials initially planned to delay the Phase 2 parking expansion until demand warranted it. The initial phase provided 2,040 spaces.
Airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said management decided to go ahead with the expansion now because several rental-car companies have asked for additional space for vehicles, which currently are limited to the lower levels of structures A2 and B2 across the street from the terminal.
JetBlue Airways interested in international flights from Long Beach Airport - LA Airspace
JetBlue Airways wants to add international flights – perhaps to Mexico or South America – from Long Beach Airport.
But for now, there’s a problem. Long Beach lacks an international arrivals facility staffed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Until one is built, no major international expansion can occur.
Long Beach airport executive director Mario Rodriguez said JetBlue would almost certainly have to pay the cost, which he estimated at more than $10 million. He pointed to Houston Hobby Airport, where Southwest is paying for costs related to the construction of a new customs facility.
“We’re looking into it,” Rodriguez said. “We are going to be studying it pretty soon. It’s a question of whether a (customs facility) is financially viable in an airport of this size.
Website Editor: In Orange County, the airport built the Customs facility and provides a temporary subsidy to attractive airlines to fly from John Wayne to Mexico.
Report warns of steep traffic decline at Ontario airport - LA Times
A persistent decline in passengers at L.A./Ontario International Airport has become so severe that the once-popular facility could reach a point where recovery would be almost impossible, Inland Empire officials warned Monday in a new report.
Touted by Forbes magazine several years ago as one of the best alternative metropolitan airports in the nation, Ontario lost almost 40% of its 7.2 million annual passengers from 2007 to 2012. A further 8% decline is expected this year, which would bring the volume of travelers to just under 4 million, the lowest in a generation.
If the trend continues, the number of annual passengers could fall below 2 million as early as 2020, say Inland Empire officials who are seeking to gain control of Ontario from Los Angeles. Such a decline would make the airport increasingly unattractive for airlines, reduce service for travelers and cost the region tens of millions of dollars in economic activity, the report says.
The grim predictions were prepared by Oliver Wyman, an international management consulting firm.
The company prepared the report for the Ontario International Airport Authority, a body made up of Inland Empire officials that was formed in anticipation of taking control of the facility from Los Angeles World Airports, which also operates Los Angeles International Airport.
The report contends that as the exodus of passengers continues, costs for airlines to operate at the airport could rise, increasing pressure to trim more service.
Website Editor: During the debate over El Toro reuse, opponents of the proposed second Orange County airport expressed similar concerns that the the exodus of passengers to El Toro would lead to the closing of John Wayne Airport.
August 5 - August 11, 2013
Passenger numbers dip at Bob Hope Airport - Burbank Leader
The number of passengers traveling through Bob Hope Airport slid again in June after slight increases in May and March, and the airfield is facing additional challenges as Southwest — its largest carrier — plans to cut five Saturday flights.
The airport handled 331,115 passengers in June, a 3.45% decrease compared to 342,944 in June 2012, according to statistics released by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday.
Dan Feger, the airport's executive director, said the decline was disappointing after two slight increases, but it was somewhat expected.
Meanwhile, other airports in the region reported varying passenger totals in June. LAX and John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana saw 6.5% and 3.4% increases, respectively. However, Ontario Airport reported an 8.5% decline, and Long Beach Airport saw a 9% drop.
The Airlines' Battle for Los Angeles - Bloomberg Business Week
There are more than 50 flights each day between Los Angeles and San Francisco, enough for one every 20 minutes from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Nonetheless, Delta Air Lines (DAL) sees room for more.
The airline announced a new hourly shuttle between LA and San Francisco, modeled on the service it operates between New York and Boston, Chicago and Washington. The shuttle expansion is part of a push by Delta to boost its share of the market at Los Angeles International, where it’s investing in a new terminal 5 and new clubs, a project that’s expected to be finished in 2015.
Los Angeles, a United (UAL) hub, is the site of a modest skirmish this summer between Delta and American (AAMRQ), both of which are planning new domestic flights. American, which is on the cusp of merging with US Airways Group (LCC), sees Los Angeles as a key market that can help it rebuild its corporate travel business. The airline’s new LA non-stops are geared to medium-sized markets that are home to large companies: Pittsburgh; Columbus, Ohio; Hartford. Conn.; and Bentonville, Ark.
In July, Atlanta-based Delta announced new flights from LA to Portland, Ore., as well as expanded service to Oakland, Calif.; San Jose; New Orleans; Kansas City, Mo.; Indianapolis; Columbus; Tampa; Raleigh, N.C.; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and limited service to three cities in Montana.
Website Editor: Ontario looks more and more like the airport no airline is fighting to serve.
Video of near-vacant L.A./Ontario airport paints grim picture - LA Times
Trash lines the perimeter fences. Millions of square feet of commercial and hangar space are vacant. The arrival area for international passengers has fallen into disuse, and no jetliners stand at the terminal gates.
That is the bleak picture of L.A./Ontario International Airport presented in a new video prepared for Inland Empire officials seeking to obtain the recession-battered facility from Los Angeles.
The film received a screening Monday at a meeting of the Ontario International Airport Authority, which was formed in anticipation of operating the once popular aviation hub that has lost about 40% of its passengers since 2007.
Website Editor: A flyover of the shuttered Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro would reveal much in common with the Ontario scene as the Great Park moves very slowly forward. Its alternative, a multi-billion dollar commercial airport at El Toro would sit similarly underutilized with few if any flights but a heavy bond debt to service.
Total air traffic in Southern California has yet to recover to its pre 9-11 levels. An El Toro International Airport would have problems similar to Ontario's with most overseas airlines remaining at LAX and domestic flights spread thin between LAX, Long Beach, John Wayne, Bob Hope and Ontario. Palmdale Airport and the former military air bases in San Bernardino and Victorville - once predicted to be thriving commercial airports - are still waiting for air service.
July 29 - August 4, 2013
Newport Beach seeks new John Wayne takeoff path to lessen jet noise - LA Times
At John Wayne Airport, planes already take off at a steeper angle. If the city has its way, they'll also travel in an S-curve above Upper Newport Bay, away from homes.
Departing from one of America's most restricted airports — over a city where residents have used their money and political might to fight for peace and quiet — is no simple task. Pilots must take off in what feels like a rocket-ship ascent, then throttle back as their jets rumble over the Orange County beach city, leaving passengers with the stomach-dropping sensation of a Disneyland ride.
But now city leaders are asking regulators and pilots to employ even more stringent measures to make life quieter in the neighborhoods below: They want jets departing John Wayne to follow a satellite-guided slalom course that will keep them over the bay and away from the homes that line its shores.
While airports elsewhere have instituted complex takeoff patterns and other maneuvers — such as the airfield in Juneau, Alaska, where pilots risk smacking into nearby mountains — such steps almost always have been in the interest of safety.
By contrast, the pitched takeoff at John Wayne is designed to reduce the level of jet noise raining down on the pricey real estate below.
Thanks to lobbying by top-dollar consultants and lengthy legal battles, John Wayne — the third-busiest commercial airfield in Southern California — is considered the most tightly controlled airport in the nation when it comes to noise.
Jets head skyward at up to a 25-degree angle, about 10 degrees steeper than normal, quickly gaining altitude before throttling back and gliding over Newport Beach.
Adding an S-curve to the already complex takeoff pattern could add a challenge for the 12 airlines that operate out of John Wayne. But it would give Newport Beach officials another toehold in their fight to spare residents the auditory assault that plagues neighborhoods and communities across the country.
A similar departure procedure developed for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the world, is set to be tested in the fall. There, some departing Delta Air Lines jets will be guided over a golf course.
The Orange County proposal is subject to approval by the Federal Aviation Administration — which has indicated that, depending on the results of Atlanta's experiment, Newport's request would be considered by mid- to late 2014.
Click here for previous news reports
