Southwest adds O.C. service to Dallas
Southwest Airlines began booking its first nonstop flights between John Wayne Airport and Dallas, Love Field, on Monday and plans to boost its Orange County departures to their highest level ever over the next six months.
The Dallas flights, which begin Nov. 2, were made possible by the end of 35-year-old restrictions on flights from Dallas Love Field, Southwest’s home base.
Presently, the only non-stop service from Orange County to Texas is on American Airlines to Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport. The Southwest fares offered in November are lower than those on American for similar dates and times.
JWA passenger traffic improves with fewer large aircraft flown
Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in July 2014 as compared to July 2013. In July 2014, the Airport served 837,702 passengers, an increase of 0.4% when compared to the July 2013 passenger traffic count of 834,328.
Commercial aircraft operations decreased 5.3%, while commuter aircraft operations, utilizing smaller and quieter passenger aircraft, increased 131.9% when compared to July 2013 levels.
August 18 - August 24, 2014
Travelers decline at Bob Hope Airport - Burbank Leader
The number of passengers at Bob Hope Airport dipped by almost 1% in June compared to a year ago, according to the latest report.
That followed a 3.43% decrease in passengers in May.
For the first six months of this year, the airport has handled roughly 1.89 million passengers, a 1.45% decrease from about 1.91 million passengers during the same time period last year.
Passenger tallies were on the rise at other airports in the region in June, except Long Beach Airport, which reported a 2.8% decline.
The number of passengers at Los Angeles International Airport rose by 6.7%, while there was a 5.8% hike at Ontario International Airport and a 1.2% uptick at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
August 11 - August 17, 2014
Freeing Ontario Airport won't be cheap, fast or easy - OC Register
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s willingness to transfer control of Ontario International Airport from the city of L.A. to a local airport authority gave Inland residents reason to cheer.
The airport has lost nearly 50 percent of its passenger volume since 2007 under the oversight of Los Angeles World Airports, a division of Los Angeles city government.
Ontario officials believe that with local control, they can begin to revive the airport through cost-cutting, airline incentives, better marketing and other measures.
But even with Garcetti backing local-control, transferring the airport from L.A. to the fledgling Ontario International Airport Authority is no simple matter.
He will have to convince the L.A. City Council, and perhaps the L.A. Board of Airport Commissioners, to go along. Even with talks under way, reaching an agreement is likely to take time and consummate diplomacy. L.A. officials need to be assured the city will be made whole on its investment.
Even before Garcetti went public with his support for local control of ONT, Los Angeles and Ontario officials were trying to negotiate an agreement on how such a transfer could take place.
At the same time, Ontario’s lawsuit against L.A. for alleged mismanagement and failure to attract more airlines and flights to Ontario continues in Riverside County Superior Court. More . . .
August 4 - August 10, 2014
John Wayne Airport can do more, grand jury finds - OC Register
The Orange County Board of Supervisors would usually have 90 days, which would be late September in this case, to either agree or disagree with grand jury's recommendations. The county executive officer, however, has requested a six-month extension, which would give them until the end of the year. (See yesterday's website article below)
John Wayne Airport’s flights and parking are expensive, and if it wasn’t hampered by decades-old [regulatory] structures, it could make the county’s economy move and work faster.
The grand jury recommended extending one runway to accommodate heavier planes, lowering long-term parking fees, instituting policies to woo more business and leisure travelers, and building a special lot for motorists waiting to pick up passengers.
Supervisor John Moorloch, whose district includes neighboring Newport Beach, said he found the grand jury recommendations baffling. “It doesn’t reflect what the community is pursuing,” he said. “Increasing use of Ontario Airport has been the focus, and that’s where it should be.”
Website Editor: We agreed with utilizing Ontario airport first when Newport Beach pushed for a commercial airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station and we still support greater utilization of Ontario. However, the inland airport is not readily accessible from much of Orange County and little has been done to improve the access.
The report comes at a critical juncture. Late next month, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve an environmental study of a proposed amendment to the landmark Settlement Agreement that has capped flights and passenger levels since 1985. The amendment, considered crucial to those who live under the flight path, also reinforces nighttime flight curfews at the regional airport.
The report took aim at the pending Settlement Agreement in several areas. In one, they referenced an airfare study that concluded, “Orange County passengers can expect little or no airfare relief in the future if the Settlement Agreement continues to limit the number of flights and passengers in the face of growing demand for air travel.”
The grand jury didn’t explain why its report coincided with the pending Settlement Agreement. The panel also doesn’t, as a rule, make itself available for interviews.
Melinda Seely, who heads a group working to curb airport expansion, was interviewed. The Newport Beach resident said she was surprised and puzzled by the grand jury’s recommendations. “We have been working so hard to contain the airport at its current levels,” said Seely, the president of AirFair. When she read the report, she said, “it was like what planet are they on?”
County puts off dealing with Grand Jury recommendations for John Wayne Airport
On June 27, the Orange County Grand Jury released a report entitled Maximizing the Benefits of John Wayne Airport to Better Serve Orange County.
On July 7, Supervisor John Moorlach, whose district includes Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, posted this message on his Internet blog:
"Regretfully,
it appears that our current Orange County Grand Jury missed the point
of finding an appropriate balance, did not consider the recent impact
of the economy on air travel, and underestimated the tremendous amount
of work done by local community groups, the city of Newport Beach and
the County, including my office. I guess that’s what happens when
nineteen people get to be experts for twelve months."
On July 17, Michael Giancola, County Executive Officer, requested that the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court grant a 6 month extension for the County's response to the Grand Jury without providing reasons for the delay. Presumably this will excuse the County, Airport Manager and Board of Supervisors from dealing with the Grand Jury recommendations until after the County - Newport Beach negotiated limits on the utilization of JWA have moved forward towards adoption.
Traffic soars 6.5% at Los Angeles International - Airport World
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has reported that total passenger traffic during the first six months of 2014 rose 6.5% to 34,336,315 passengers from 32,217,517 during the same period last year.
While there was a 5.6% growth in domestic passengers to 25,062,714 from 23,715,708 last year, international traffic grew by 9% to 9,273,601 passengers from 8,501,809 in 2014.
Air cargo tonnage levels stayed about the same with 951,772 during the first six months of this year compared to 950,783 during the same period last year, while air mail tonnage decreased 1.3% to 35,613 tonnes from 36,115 tonnes in 2014, and freight was slightly up 0.16% to 916,159 tonnes this year from 914,668 tons in 2013.
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