DIA Plans $1 Billion In Improvements - The Associated Press
After its opening 12 years ago, Denver International Airport is bursting at the seams and planning more than $1 billion in improvements to handle the business that has made it one of the fast-growing airports in the country.
The airport's passenger traffic jumped 9.1 percent last year, tying it for the third-fastest growing airport in the world.
If it doesn't grow quickly enough, DIA could become crowded, congested and inefficient, which could deter businesses from setting up shop or expanding here.
Website Editor: That would put it in the same boat as LAX.
How do you cope with flight delays at U.S. airports? - LA Times
As passenger wait times grow,spas, shops and other diversions are sprouting up at U.S. airports to serve and profit from captive consumers.
In this year of record-setting air travel delays, many passengers are resigned to getting stuck at the gate longer and more often. And they're getting a little desperate to find different ways to whittle away their time.
The average passenger now spends 108 minutes at the airport, more than double the amount of so-called "dwell time" passengers in 2000 spent waiting, according to Airport Interviewing & Research Inc., a market research firm.
Some airports are better than others at offering passengers an array of stores, restaurants and other amenities.
Los Angeles International is considered one of the worst, mainly because of its design: several separate terminals.
A needed airport - The Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram, Opinion
San Bernardino International doesn't live up to its name, but let's hope it gets some business.
For those who worry that Long Beach Airport will someday succumb to pressures to greatly expand commercial airline activity, there is welcome news from officials at San Bernardino International Airport. They want a piece of the business.
Let's hope they get it, even if takes awhile to make it happen.
Probably you've never heard of San Bernardino International. That's because,despite its lofty name, San Bernardino has no international flights. In fact it has no commercial flights at all.
Website Editor: Nothing has been heard either of the expansion plan for Long Beach airport's terminal that received city council approval in April.
Aloha Airlines to launch O.C.-Kauai service - OC Register
Aloha Airlines will begin nonstop service between Orange County and the Hawaiian island of Kauai on Jan. 8, culminating an expansion that began with the launch of the airline’s first flights to Honolulu in 2001.
The move means the airline will offer nonstop service from John Wayne Airport to Lihue Airport on Kauai to go along with nonstop service to Honolulu, Kahului on Maui, and Kona on the Big Island.
Aloha will fly nonstop to Kauai three times a week, with direct (no plane change) service the other four days. The change will mean a reduction in the frequency of nonstop flights between Orange County and Kona.
September 29, 2007
The Element of Surprise - Newsweek
To help combat the terrorism threat, officials at Los Angeles International Airport are introducing a bold new idea into their arsenal: random placement of security checkpoints. Can game theory help keep us safe?
Security officials at Los Angeles International Airport now have a new weapon in their fight against terrorism: complete, baffling randomness.
Anxious to thwart future terror attacks in the early stages while plotters are casing the airport, LAX security patrols have begun using a new software program called ARMOR, NEWSWEEK has learned, to make the placement of security checkpoints completely unpredictable.
Developed by computer scientists at the University of Southern California and believed to be the first program of its kind to be used at an airport, ARMOR aims to thwart terror plots during the early, surveillance phase. Typical plots start when would-be attackers begin watching their target "18 months to four years prior to an attack" to look for security weaknesses, says James Butts, deputy executive director of law enforcement at Los Angeles World Airports, which runs LAX and other city-owned airports. "Part of it is to look for patterns in the deployment of assets. We're trying to block the surveillance cycle" by making the security patrols appear in unpredictable places at unpredictable times.
September 28, 2007
San Diego airport gets good rating from business travelers - Conde Nast Traveler
Conde Nast readers -"who know a thing or two about business travel—zero in on the world's best hotels, airlines, and airports." San Diego's airport makes it into the top group of U.S. airports, with very high scores for Location/Access and respectable ratings on Ease of Connections.
Underwriting the cost of Palmdale - El Toro Info Site report
Government subsidies to reactivate air service at Palmdale have been estimated at $300 or more per passenger. The money is for marketing the airport and covering the airline's losses on its fledgling service. Los Angeles is the major contributor.
This week's LA Airport Commission agenda includes an authorization for LA to pay LA/Palmdale Regional Airport's annual property tax bill of $780,000. Based on Palmdale's August traffic of 1,875 passengers, that computes to $35 of property tax for every ride.
With LAX operating at several million passengers per month below its pre-911 peak, there is no current need for Palmdale. Resurrecting Palmdale at this time, like raising the Southern California Regional Airport Authority from its slumber, seems to this writer to be mostly political theater - acting like something is being done about diverting traffic from LAX.
September 27, 2007
Mayor Backs Plan To Extend Light Rail To Ontario Airport - KNBC.com
As part of a plan to reduce congestion at LAX while increasing regional air-traffic capacity, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced his support Tuesday for extending a proposed light rail line to city-operated Ontario International Airport.
Ontario Mayor Paul Leon and San Bernardino County Supervisor Gary Ovitt met with the mayor to discuss the possibility of extending the Metro Gold Line east to Ontario, even though the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has yet to approve any extension of the downtown-to-Pasadena line.
LAWA posts August stats
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) posted August results for Los Angeles International, Ontario and Palmdale airports.
Total LAX passengers were up by 2.9% for the month and 1.7% for the first eight months of the year when compared with 2006. International travel, which has been hit heavily by competition from airports outside of the region, was down 0.4% year-to-date compared to last year. See story below about transpacific flights from other cities..
Ontario was up 7.9% for the month of August and 2.1% year-to-date.
Palmdale recorded 1,875 passengers in August as it attempts to resume commercial service.
September 26, 2007
Nonstop LAX-China flight plan stalled - LA Times
United Airlines' bid to start a nonstop service from Los Angeles International Airport to Shanghai hit major turbulence Tuesday after the U.S. Department of Transportation said it would recommend other U.S.-China routes proposed by competing airlines.
Delta Air Lines Inc., which currently has no nonstop flights to China, was approved to offer flights from Atlanta to Shanghai in 2008, and United won the right to start direct flights between San Francisco and Guangzhou next spring.
The federal agency proposed Chicago-Beijing service by American Airlines, Newark, N.J.-Shanghai service by Continental Airlines, Detroit-Shanghai flights by Northwest Airlines and a Philadelphia-Beijing route by US Airways.
After Miramar Failure, Authority Putting Lipstick on Lindbergh - Voice of San Diego
Nearly a year has passed since voters delivered a major rebuke to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, rejecting a proposal to move the region's international airport to Miramar.
As the vote approached, the airport authority preached doom and gloom about Lindbergh Field's future. A capacity crunch was near. Traffic would get worse. Flights would get more expensive and delays would be more frequent.
But in the months since voters rejected the ballot initiative, the authority is in an unusual place politically. The agency must convince the public that it is sincere about staying at Lindbergh Field -- the same airport that it was trying to escape less than 12 months ago.
"It's disingenuous, but it's politically necessary," said Steve Erie, a University of California, San Diego political science professor. "They've got to put lipstick on the pig. They don't have any options."
The authority needs to focus its attention 15 or 20 years in the future, said Richard Carson, a UCSD economist who was a leading critic of the authority's Miramar measure. "They need to sit back and really carefully think about what Lindbergh needs to look like in the more distant future, because there's no immediate crisis at Lindbergh."
September 25, 2007
New terminal opens at Palm Springs airport - Riverside Press-Enterprise
A $17 million terminal opening today at Palm Springs International Airport won't increase the number of gates for parked airplanes, but the much larger concourse will make it easier to add new gates, airport officials say.
The 18,000-square-foot terminal replaces a 1,500-square-foot facility that was meant to be only temporary when it was built 11 years ago.
The terminal has eight gates where passengers can board and disembark airplanes but the number of gates in the new terminal can be tripled to keep pace with growth, officials said.
San Diego airport posts higher August results - El Toro Info Site report
The San Diego Regional Airport Authority reports that Lindbergh Field served 1.79 million passengers in August 2007, a 9.4% increase over the same month last year.
The busy single runway airport appears headed toward an 18 million annual passenger (MAP) year. Unlike airports in Los Angles and Orange Counties, Lindbergh Field is operated to maximize flight options for its customers. San Diego is embarking on a new master plan for expanding the airport's capacity.
JetBlue leads LGB recovery - El Toro Info Site report
Month of August traffic at Long Beach's Daugherty Field was up by 7.4% from last year. Year-to-date, passenger numbers were up by 5.2%.
The 2,002,670 passengers using the airport so far this year bring total traffic close to it's peak year of 2005.
JetBlue accounted for nearly 80% of all the travelers.
BTW: Daugherty Field is named for Earl Daugherty, a local aviation pioneer.
September 24, 2007
San Bernardino airport may see flights next year - LA Times
The facility at the former Norton Air Force Base has languished since the base closed in '94. But it's being upgraded, and the city says air service is coming soon.
Officials at the airport, the former Norton Air Force Base, now say they are negotiating with four airlines for regular passenger service to begin next year.
They won't reveal the firms they are talking with, but so far they have spent $34 million to refurbish the runway, $38 million for a new passenger terminal and $8 million to widen roads leading to the airport in eastern San Bernardino.
Scot Spencer, manager of SBD Aircraft Services, believes the economics of flying into San Bernardino will prove irresistible to cash-strapped carriers.
September 23, 2007
O.C. project delays may be tied to housing slump - LA Times
The housing market slump appears to be taking a toll on two signature Orange County projects -- the efforts to create a vibrant downtown near Anaheim's sports venues and the much-anticipated plan to build a mammoth urban park on the old Marine base in Irvine.
In Irvine, Lennar's plans to build thousands of homes around the planned Orange County Great Park have been pushed back, and the city has not received an updated timeline from the developer since 2005.
Residential and commercial development is critical for the creation of the park. City officials are counting on property taxes to turn the El Toro Marine base into a 1,347-acre municipal park that designers compare to Manhattan's Central Park or Balboa Park in San Diego.
Although Great Park officials and designers said their funding was safe for now -- they have $160 million in the bank from $200 million in development fees paid by Lennar -- prolonged delays in home construction could slow construction of the park itself.
Website Editor: Despite expensive PR, claiming that the park "has taken flight" with the money-losing launch of the Orange Balloon, serious park infrastructure elements - the sports facilities and meadow park - are a year or more behind schedule. Our view is that the Great Park Corp. should focus all of its limited resources on building needed park amenities.
September 22, 2007
Audit says thousands of dollars unaccounted for because of lax FlyAway oversight - LA Daily News
Thousands of dollars in ticket receipts cannot be accounted for because of lax oversight at the popular Van Nuys FlyAway terminal, said an audit released Friday by City Controller Laura Chick.
The audit of the Internal Control Certification Program, which allows Los Angeles World Airports to monitor its own activities, detected nearly $13,000 in unreconciled payments.
September 21, 2007
Thursday,
the
Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) of Orange County found a 23 story
high-rise residential tower in
The tower was the sixth high-rise residential development in the North Costa Mesa Specific Plan area to come before the commission. In November 2006, the ALUC found the first five projects, comprised of eight towers, to be inconsistent with the JWA AELUP. In January 2007 the Costa Mesa City Council overrode the ALUC decision and adopted master plans for the projects.
The
Airport Land Use Commission is charged with protecting
the airport's airspace from the development of incompatable uses and
the public from aircraft noise and
hazards. City councils can override the ALUC by a supermajority vote.
The FAA and airport manager expressed no opposition to the Costa Mesa
projects but several
commissioner voiced concern with the continued encroachment at JWA.
Traffic Delays Announced for Film Production Near Los Angeles International Airport
As if it isn't bad enough getting there, airline passengers and airport workers are advised that they again should expect delays and allot extra time driving to and from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturday, Sept. 22, due to commercial film production on Interstate 105 (I-105 Century Freeway) near the airport.
Los Angeles City traffic officers and signage will provide directions to motorists for detours.
September 20, 2007
Palm Springs is hot - El Toro Info Site report
Palm Springs may be a warm place in the summer but its airport is hot. August traffic was up by 10.1 percent over August 2006. Year to date traffic of 1,114,906 passengers was 7.1 percent ahead of the same period last year.
September 19, 2007
Southwest about to alter its course - LA Times
The low-cost carrier may grow by forming alliances with airlines flying overseas routes.
Next year, Southwest will begin providing connecting domestic flights to passengers arriving in the U.S. on international airlines.
Eventually, the airline might even fly its own international routes, perhaps first to Mexico and Canada before taking on Asia and Europe.
The initial plan would be for a passenger to be able to book an international flight with Southwest, starting in Corpus Christi, Texas, for instance, and connecting to another carrier at Los Angeles International Airport to reach a foreign city.
Kelly said LAX could play a key role in its international expansion plans. But the airline right now can't claim any more LAX gates -- other carriers already have dibs on them -- and that could force it to look elsewhere, such as San Francisco International Airport.
Website Editor: In an agreement with neighboring cities, Los Angeles agreed to reduce its number of gates so as to artificially restrict the number of passengers using LAX.
City officials will now review improvement plan costing $10 million to see whether it fits the development agreement. - Burbank Leader
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority is moving forward with a multimillion-dollar project that will improve security, airport officials said.
The $10-million security improvement project will now move from the airport authority to the city, where officials will review the airport’s application for development review, ensuring that it is consistent with the development agreement between the airport and Burbank.
It could eventually be challenged by the City Council or residents, bringing the issue to the council floor.
The development agreement was established in 2005 to guard against airport expansion for a 10-year period. However, airport officials have said this security improvement is necessary construction stemming from a federal mandate.
September 18, 2007
Panel suggests Bay Area airports work together - The San Francisco (CA) Business Times
The Bay Area's three biggest airports should consider cooperating rather than competing to handle future growth demands, according to recommendations going before a panel of airport officials and politicians this week.
With travel expected to rise steadily at San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose airports, the facilities might benefit from a new authority, a joint powers agreement or memorandum of understanding to address planning, soliciting federal funding and other issues, the panel's staff will report Sept. 19.
The suggestion is a sharp departure from the airports' current governance. Each is run by a separate bureaucracy: San Francisco supervisors and an airport commission oversee SFO; a port district oversees Oakland's airport; and San Jose's City Council runs the airport there.
Airport officials from each city meet informally to discuss issues such as noise abatement. But each facility operates on its own when it comes to traffic management, applying for federal funds and other big issues. They compete with each other for airlines and flights.
Greater regional cooperation -- under a formal structure -- might help the airports better cope with capacity problems and other issues like long-range facilities planning, airspace issues and faster deployment of traffic control technologies.
Local airport officials stopped short of endorsing a change in governance, but said it was worth studying.
Website Editor: The proposed Bay area approach contrasts with Southern California where efforts are underway to reduce the powers of the Southern California Regional Aiport Authority and each airport operator seeks to protect their own turf from unwanted traffic.
September 17, 2007
O.C.'s regional airport wrestles with success - LA Times
The number of passengers pouring into John Wayne is setting records, and a half-billion-dollar expansion project to handle more travelers with a third terminal, added parking and a customs office to inaugurate international flights has begun. The work is expected to be completed in four years.
High passenger numbers have helped Airport Manager Alan Murphy answer critics who questioned the economic value of adding a 300,000-square-foot terminal with six additional gates when the airport is limited by a court agreement as to how many passengers can fly out of the airport in a given year.
The county, which operates the airport, agreed to a formula that limits the number of passengers to 10.3 million a year. That figure can gradually grow to 10.8 million through 2015. The agreement is the result of a 1985 settlement to a lawsuit filed by Newport Beach, which is under the airport's takeoff pattern and has been militant about limiting departures. The settlement limits hours of operation, noise and passengers.
"The airport's infrastructure can't take it anymore," Murphy said, explaining the pressing need for the expansion, which will be mostly funded by airport revenue and bonds. Website Editor: A major source of funds is a passenger facility charge paid by ticket buyers.
Murphy said. "Right now, we're the only airport in the region that is expanding its facilities." Website Editor: Long Beach approved an expansion of its airport terminal in April but work has not begun.
International flights to Canada and Mexico would give the airport a higher profile in the region. Alaska Airlines and a Canadian airline have expressed interest for flights to Toronto and Mexico and other Latin American countries once the new terminal is completed, Murphy said.
"In addition, Southwest has requested additional passengers that we haven't been able to grant because of the agreement not to exceed the passenger caps," Murphy said.
Website Editor's note: The Times article attributes certain statements to me, Len Kranser, that I did not make. The reporter did not speak with me and inferred my views from information on this website. My position is that I question the value of investing in the current costly physical expansion of JWA unless the county has plans to utilize it to provide more air service. If the expansion proceeds as authorized by the county, I estimate that the airport should be able to serve over 12 million annual passengers - if allowed to do so.
Airport study raises residents' ire - San Diego North County Times
A new county-funded report that looks at ways McClellan-Palomar Airport could boost its revenue has upset several nearby homeowners who say its recommendations will increase the airplane noise that's already driving them nuts.
Officials have said they'd like to have more commercial flights at the Carlsbad airport to better compete with busy Lindbergh Field, and the study says there are opportunities to do that - if the county makes some improvements at Palomar Airport.
Among the recommendations: extend the airport's runway and expand its safety zones on the ground; create a task force to recruit new commercial airlines and promote the two that already use the airport.
September 16, 2007
LAX Facelift Uncovers Problems - The Los Angeles Business Journal
What started earlier this year as a simple patch job on the Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport has turned into a long and costly struggle to rebuild one of L.A.'s most recognized landmarks.
After toiling for months on the peculiar structure, the airport is ready to reopen Encounter, the restaurant housed within, in the next few weeks. However, the scaffolding will likely remain in place through much of next year and possibly beyond as workers rebuild the structure's exterior and upgrade the building to withstand earthquakes and high winds.
September 15, 2007
The spin on JWA record traffic - El Toro Info Site
One wouldn't know that it was the airport's biggest month ever, or that the airport has been serving over 900,000 passenger for the past three months, or that the rate of traffic could hit JWA's passenger caps, from the airport's low key media release. Information like that, and any discussion of its significance, often originates with this website.
These stories appeared in the press after we published our report and analysis:
JWA has record monthly passenger traffic in August - OC Register
John
Wayne Airport passenger traffic hit 946,426 in August, the highest
number of passengers the airport has seen in one month, and the third
month in a row the airport has seen at least 900,000 travelers go
through its gates.
JWA passengers in August up 7.2% from last year - Daily Pilot
The
number of passengers using John Wayne Airport in August was up 7.2%
compared with the same month in 2006, according to airport officials.
It was the 11th consecutive month of increased passenger levels,
airport statistics show.
While the passenger count for August 2007 hit 946,426, the number of takeoffs and landings for all types of aircraft last month went down 10.3% compared with the previous year. Airport operations are governed by a legal settlement that caps passengers at 10.3 million a year through 2010. In 2006, a total of 9.6 million people used John Wayne Airport.
While the passenger count for August 2007 hit 946,426, the number of takeoffs and landings for all types of aircraft last month went down 10.3% compared with the previous year. Airport operations are governed by a legal settlement that caps passengers at 10.3 million a year through 2010. In 2006, a total of 9.6 million people used John Wayne Airport.
September 14, 2007
Six-Month 2007 System Passenger Traffic Up 2.7 Percent From 2006 nationally - Bureau of Transportation Statistics
U.S. airlines carried 379.5 million scheduled domestic and international passengers on their systems during the first six months of 2007, 2.7 percent more than they did during the same period in 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported Thursday in a release of preliminary data.
LAX fell to 5th place from 4th last year in the BTS ranking of the nation's busiest airports. The statistic is misleading in that it counts domestic and international travel but only on U.S. "system" airlines. Foreign carrier data is not included.
The BTS data puts LAX in 8th position for international travel on U.S. carriers.
The BTS report prompted the Denver Rocky Mountain News to write DIA edges LAX as 4th busiest in US
Denver International Airport edged past its counterpart in Los Angeles to rank as the nation's fourth-busiest airport during the first sixth months of the year, a testament to its continuing growth.
LAEDC Study of International Flights at LAX Finds $82.1B in Economic Output to Southern California Region - LAEDC Media report
Overseas international flights at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) make a substantial contribution to the economy of Southern California, adding $82.1 billion in total economic output, according to a study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), HR&A and SH&E. Additionally, the LAEDC study revealed that the LAX flights created 363,700 direct and indirect jobs with annual wages of $19.3 billion in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura Counties in 2006.
The total economic impact could have been higher. The LAEDC study reported that LAX lost market share relative to competitor airports.
Click here for the full story and study results.
September 13, 2007
JWA record traffic rate exceeding agreement cap – El Toro Info Site report
John Wayne passenger traffic in August hit 946,426, a new monthly record.
This comes on the heels of 900,969 passengers in June and 913,172 in July. While airport traffic is busiest in the summer and probably will not continue at these rates all year long - unless the county were to allow more flights - the results demonstrate how many passengers physically can be served, even without the planned third terminal.
The county and Newport Beach agreed to limit John Wayne Airport to 10.3 million annual passengers (an average of 858 thousand per month) through 2011 and then increase the caps to 10.8 million annual passengers (an average of 900,000 per month) through 2015.
The airport is achieving those monthly rates now without its $652 million capital improvement program.
We can only guess at how many passengers the airport can serve once it adds 300,000 more square feet of space, six new loading bridges and 2,500 more parking spaces. We estimate well over 12 MAP if the county were to decide to allow airlines and passengers to fully utilize the airport. We can't be certain because no one at the county or the airport is saying how much capacity they really can get as the return on their planned big investment.
Stopping passenger growth at JWA - El Toro Info Site report
Passengers are flocking to John Wayne Airport because it is convenient, user-friendly, and much preferred to LAX. JWA traffic this “plan year” is running almost 6 percent ahead of last year.
Unless something dramatic happens, the airport is likely to bump up against the 10.3 million annual passenger ceiling set by the county and Newport Beach in 2003. That is not John Wayne’s physical limit but an artificial cap established through negotiation.
It is the airport manager’s job to see to it that the 10.3 MAP cap is not exceeded. To stay under the limit he can withdraw some of the seat allocations made to the air carriers, thereby forcing them to serve fewer passengers. The airlines may reduce their passengers by cutting flights, raising fares or selling fewer seats on their planned flights.
Airport management doles out the seat allocations each year based on best estimates of how full the planes will fly. It is conceivable that the airport may allocate fewer seats next year so as maintain a safety cushion under the caps. This is why, for the past three years, the county has turned down requests from Southwest Airlines to add service.
The 10.3 MAP cap is scheduled to remain in effect through 2011 when it inches up to 10.8 MAP. Since traffic is already at this about level, John Wayne is effectively locked into zero growth, or even a slight decrease in traffic to stay comfortably under the MAP cap, for at least the next four years. This effectively precludes additional nonstop destinations, significant additions in air carriers, and price competition.
As Orange County’s population gradually expands, thousands of travelers who physically could be accomodated at JWA, will be forced to go elsewhere for flights.
El Toro not the answer - El Toro Info Site report
Whenever utilization of John Wayne airport comes up, we invariably hear comments about El Toro airport as the alternative. El Toro was not the answer.
El Toro airport was a multi-billion dollar, up to 38 million annual passenger, overkill for the needs of Orange County. Located just 7 miles from JWA it was part of an impractical two-airport system that airlines, commercial pilots and air traffic controllers said would not work.
Growth in Southern California commercial aviation demand has been very small, measured in hundreds of thousands of passengers per year. Do the math and you will find that It can be accomodated by only a couple of additional flights per hour. Most of the growth experienced recently at JWA has come, not from a real increase in demand, but from travelers giving up on a neglected and very user-unfriendly airport at LAX that has no Flyaway (park and ride service) or other convenient access from Orange County.
September 12, 2007
Airlines urged to reduce schedules - LA Times
Dogged by record flight delays, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that airlines needed to shrink their schedules or potentially face government action.
"The airlines need to take a step back on scheduling practices that are at times out of line with reality," FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said at an industry luncheon.
Blakey said the agency was particularly concerned about overcrowded skies and airports along the East Coast, saying, "If the airlines don't address this voluntarily, don't be surprised when the government steps in."
SCRAA meets – El Toro Info Site
The Southern California Regional Airport Authority, SCRAA meets today for the first time in over 6 months. Click for minutes of the March 8 meeting.
The organization will continue efforts to reshape its governing rules to relinquish its original authority to build and operate airports.
The agenda includes a status report on changes to SCRAA’s Joint Powers Agreement, a report from SCAG, and consideration of hiring a consultant.
September 11, 2007
Regional air travel through July finally tops record set 7 years ago - El Toro Info Site report
Air travel for the first seven months of 2007, ending July 31, was up by 2.3% from last year.
The total for the six airports in the region is now at a record level - 52,522,994 passengers for the 7 month period. It took 7 years to finally top the previous July record of 51,600,855 set in 2000.
In the course of setting the new record, LAX traffic was down nearly 3 million passengers from its 2000 level and the other airports in the region had to make up for the shortfall.
In our view, this "regionalization" was not the result of any constructive action planned by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the Southern California Regional Airport Authority (SCRAA) or any other governmental entity to incentivize passengers to use smaller airports - for example by improving ground access. It was largely the result of Los Angeles political leaders passively allowing LAX to become less user friendly.
The dramatic increase in traffic at Long Beach came about as a result of JetBlue selecting the underutilized airport for its west coast hub. There have been no major improvements to the airport.
The growth in travel at John Wayne largely resulted from the loosening of artificial caps negotiated between the county and Newport Beach that limit passenger utilization. Temporary modular structures with ground level gates were added in 2004 to help accommodate passengers.
| Airport |
7
Mos. 2000 |
7
mos. 2007 |
Change
2000-2007 |
| LAX |
39,220,016 |
36,314,358 |
-2,905,658 |
| Orange
County |
4,554,738 |
5,900,191 |
+1,345,453 |
| Ontario |
3,873,085 |
4,150,327 |
+277,242 |
| Burbank |
2,720,494 |
3,399,798 |
+679,304 |
| Long
Beach |
380,657 |
1,716,766 |
+1,336,109 |
| Palm
Springs |
851,865 |
1,041,675 |
+189,810 |
| SCAG Region Total | 51,600,855 | 52,522,994 |
+922,139 |
September 10, 2007
Easing air traffic at LAX is no easy task - LA Times
Other Southern California airports have little room for expansion, and one that does, the L.A./Palmdale Regional Airport, is geographically undesirable.
"Regionalization." It's one of those government buzzwords you may have heard public officials utter -- their peculiar way of saying they want to diminish air traffic at Los Angeles International Airport and spread it out to other area airports.
Of course, there are a couple of problems with that goal. More . . .
September 9, 2007
Youtube video records DHL flights from March - CAREE
Remember the Project 99 CD of airport takeoff noise that played a role in the fight against El Toro? Now activists in the Community Alliance for Riverside's Economy & Environment (CAREE) have posted a Youtube video of night departures of DHL cargo jets from March Inland Port. Click here.
DHL planes awaken families in the greater Riverside area six nights a week with most of the flights departing between 2:30 and 4:00 AM.
Monorail to Ontario Airport?PRT Strategies is a Fountain Valley firm promoting the development of PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) driverless electric elevated cars, including for connections to Ontario Airport. The system is seen as less expensive than high speed rail or Maglev magnetic levitation trains. See article below.
Click for a PowerPoint presenting the company's concept.
We view lack of good ground connections to Ontario as the principal barrier to the airport's utilization by O.C. travelers.
September 8, 2007
Los Angeles mayor's plan may be relief to LAX - Daily Breeze
A plan that lays out Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's campaign promise to divert air traffic from Los Angeles International Airport will be unveiled in piecemeal fashion beginning in late 2008, with a call for sending up to 42 million passengers annually to LA/Ontario International and Palmdale airports within 25 years.
The fate of the much-disputed northern runways at LAX, however, will not be decided until the close of Villaraigosa's first term in 2009, prompting some critics to question what could be done in the meantime to curb the rate of runway incursions at the airport.
Tentative plans call for extending the Metro Gold Line to Ontario and building a high-speed rail line between the airport and Anaheim, according to Ontario Mayor Paul Leon.
"We want Ontario to be the official airport for Disneyland while also helping the rest of Southern California meet its transportation needs," Leon said. "Ontario is prepared to move into the next generation, growing with the coming population."
SFO plans more gates as low-cost and international carriers add flights - The San Jose (CA) Mercury News
San Francisco International Airport officials plan to renovate an unused section of the airport to add up to 14 gates as part of a redevelopment plan that is expected to cost as much as $250 million.
The Airport Commission requested proposals earlier this week to renovate part of the old international terminal known as Terminal 2 Boarding Area D. The renovation is intended to ensure that SFO has enough terminal and gate space to meet domestic airlines' needs in the future, an airport staff report states.
Website Editor: SFO international travel is up this year, possibly at LAX's expense.
FAA cites collision risk in LAX runway incident - LA Times
Aviation officials said Friday there was a significant chance of collision last month when two airplanes came within 37 feet of each other on the north runway of Los Angeles International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration categorized the incident as the second-most serious kind of runway incursion.
September 7, 2007
Calfornia’s Inland Empire attracts new shipper - Logistics Management
Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid, maker of Sharpie pens and Rolodex office products, announced that it will lease a custom-built bulk distribution center at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.
With land running out in Los Angeles, SCLA is strategically positioned to serve companies’ diverse logistical needs by offering air, ground and rail connections and the ability to move business into national and international markets.
Jim Stone, president of the Los Angeles Air Cargo Association, told Logistics Management that his constituents continue to search for alternatives to Los Angeles International Airport.
“All the smaller regional airports offer becoming more attractive to us, including Palmdale and Ontario,” he said. “Victorville has the room to grow.”
Airport Expansion Plans Soon Ready For Public Comment - KPBS
The San Diego Airport Authority will start a public outreach campaign this month to inform the public on future plans for expanding the airport at Lindbergh Field.
The Airport Authority is making plans, after an initiative campaign failed last year to persuade voters the airport should move from Lindbergh to Miramar.
An environmental impact report is close to finalized on plans to build 10 new gates at Terminal 2. However, there is still debate over a multi-million dollar parking structure on Harbor Drive to handle traffic growth over the next 15 years. Critics say it is more important to start developing new terminals and a transit center on the north side of the airport, next to Interstate 5. More . . .
September 6, 2007
Regional airport board stalled - LA Times
Panel head says other counties won't take part unless they are sure L.A. won't force new air traffic on other areas.
When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa scaled back an $11-billion plan for modernizing Los Angeles International Airport two years ago, he promised neighborhoods near LAX that he would embrace a different aviation strategy: sending air traffic to other airports across the region.
To reach that goal, Villaraigosa resurrected an obscure five-county panel on air travel that had disbanded in 2003 because of lack of interest.
But even as the mayor's appointees prepare a new plan for LAX, the Southern California Regional Airport Authority [SCRAA] is once again having trouble getting off the ground.
Orange County officials want a "pledge of non-interference" guaranteeing that the authority won't try to increase the number of flights out of John Wayne Airport, said Mario Mainero, chief of staff to Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach.
The county also wants a guarantee that the authority won't lobby the federal government to secure increases in air travel out of Orange County.
Under the Stairs, a Potential Flight Hazard Exists - Voice of San Diego
Pull into Jaalin Cheng's driveway, walk down two flights of stairs and peer to your right underneath the patio of his Mission Hills home. By Christmastime, Cheng hopes the shady, open-air area there will become a home study.
But to encapsulate the space beneath his Douglas fir deck and to erect a small retaining wall under the home's stairs, Cheng had to first gain approval from an unlikely agency -- the Federal Aviation Administration.
Under new city of San Diego rules, the FAA will have to affirm that Cheng's nearly subterranean project will not pose a potential threat to the 737s, charter jets and cargo planes that take off and land at Lindbergh Field more than a mile away. More . . .
September 5, 2007
Eurostar sets Paris-London train speed record - Reuters
Eurostar set a new Paris to London rail speed record on Tuesday with the first train to use Britain's long-awaited high speed track at around 199 miles per hour.
Shaving minutes off the journey is vital to Eurostar as it competes with airlines for passengers across the channel. The 306 mile journey's time was 2 hours, 3 minutes and 39 seconds. Eurostar's faster service arrives at a time of booming demand for rail travel in Britain after a series of foiled terrorist attacks have led to tighter security and delays at UK airports.
Website Editor: HIgh speed rail connecting Southern California to the Bay area and Las Vegas would eliminate a significant fraction of air carrier operations and alleviate much of the future demand for more airport capacity.
Authority OKs extension - Burbank Leader
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority unanimously approved plans Tuesday for a $14.8-million extension of Taxiway D.
By extending the main artery of Bob Hope Airport, officials say they are addressing one of the airport’s main safety concerns.
September 4, 2007
Customs puts systems upgrade into high gear - LA Times
LAX officials say they are encouraged by the response to the Aug. 11 computer failure that stranded thousands of international travelers.
Scrambling to avoid a repeat of a systems meltdown last month that snarled travel for tens of thousands of international passengers at LAX, U.S. customs officials have fast-tracked an overhaul of their operations here and around the nation.
Los Angeles International Airport officials say they are encouraged by the response of customs officials, who were put in a hot seat after their widely publicized system failure Aug. 11.
September 3, 2007
Westchester residents keep wary eye on LAX deliberations - LA Times
In 2001 and 2002, then-Mayor James K. Hahn offered a plan to modernize the airport and add facilities. The proposal was viewed by the communities near the airport as an effort to expand LAX, and a lawsuit was filed to stop it. The suit was settled last year by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who, when he was a city councilman, had come out against the Hahn plan and later promised not to expand the airport. Problem is, not every issue was resolved by the settlement, one of the foremost being safety issues involving the north runways.
Many airport activists and neighbors question everything airport officials say to them. And they raise some interesting points. Among them: Why not install the latest ground radar technologies at LAX? And what about the runway safety light system being tested at the Dallas airport, thus far with good results? Might that work at LAX and reduce the need to move runways?
Neighbors also would like to know whether making LAX more efficient and more receptive to bigger aircraft is undermining the city's efforts to steer air traffic to other regional airports.
September 2, 2007
Agency proposes new goals for airport - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diegans have debated the fate of Lindbergh Field for decades, with many arguing it should be moved. Airport officials say the debate ended when voters last fall rejected a measure to try to move the commercial airfield to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
What's changing: The region's airport agency is poised this week to jump-start efforts to improve Lindbergh and possibly radically revamp its layout.
The future: Airport officials want to add more terminal gates, parking and improve the taxiway by 2015. Many passenger services, including links to ground transportation, may be moved to the airport's northeast side.
Assembly member Lieu Calls on FAA to IMMEDIATELY Reduce Flights to LAX - Lieu media release
Citing safety crisis, local lawmaker asks Federal Agency to immediately move flights to other regional airports and to increase the spacing between flights.
Lieu, who is Chair of the Aerospace Select Committee and whose district encompasses LAX, said, "The FAA needs to order the airlines to shift flights out of LAX to the other airports in Los Angeles and Orange County. It's long past time for there to be a true regional airport system."
Website Editor: Torrance Democrat Lieu succeeded George Nakano as 53rd district rep. Nakano sought to have the state legislature push more air travel onto Orange County with his so called "fair share " bill AB2333. Nakano's bill passed in the legislature but was vetoed by Governor Gray Davis .
During the fight over El Toro, the then pro-airport Board of Supervisors did not oppose such pressure from Los Angeles. Today, Orange County leaders are united in resisting any efforts to impose outside control over the utilization of John Wayne Airport.
September 1, 2007
International air traffic from LA basis slips - El Toro Info Site report
For the first seven months of the year through July, international travel from LAX totaled 9,995,327 passengers. This was down from 10,061,115 in 2006, down even more from 10,223,896 in 2005 and below pre September 11, 2001 levels.
LA/Ontario airport - the basin's only other local international airport - reported a 48% drop in international travel from last year to only 95,795 passengers.
The downtrend in international travel is not apparent elsewhere in the west. Through July, San Diego reports a 0.8% improvement over last year. Through June, international travel is up 4.9% at San Francisco International and up 6.0% at Las Vegas' McCarran International.
Most recent Bureau of Transportation Statistics data, available through May, shows U.S. airlines carried 36.2 million scheduled international passengers during the first five months of 2007, up 3.8 percent from the same period in 2006
