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September 27 - October 3, 2010

Newport Beach City study: Particulate at low levels
- Daily Pilot

Planes flying out of John Wayne Airport emit potentially harmful particles, but at levels lower than federal clean-air standards, according to a study released Monday.

Commissioned by the city, the $60,000 study looked at air quality in six locations and identified certain emissions that come from aircraft.

City officials hoped the report would provide some evidence of the airport's impacts on Newport Beach residents. They are gearing up for negotiations over the airport's operations; an agreement will expire in 2015 that limits when planes can fly and how many can depart, among other controls.

"It seems things are within standards for now," Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said after the presentation to the Citizens Aviation Committee. "Our concern is that an airport expansion would exceed the standards."

The state and federal government set the limits for fine particulate matter, the most harmful type of matter to human health, at 35 micrograms per cubic meter. The study found that the highest concentration was at 20 micrograms, and that was to the north of the airport — downwind of the runway and next to the San Diego (405) Freeway, which is also a source of these pollutants.

The highest levels found south of the runway were at the Santa Ana Heights Fire Station, which saw 16 micrograms. However, while the study distinguished auto emissions from aircraft emissions, it did not draw a distinction between emissions from commercial aviation and general aviation flights.



Alaska Airlines celebrates launch of service between San Diego and Maui

Alaska Airlines is launching service between Maui, Hawaii, and San Diego.  Beginning Friday, October 1, Alaska will offer daily roundtrip service between San Diego International Airport and Kahului Airport (OGG) on Maui.



Updates on three Southern California airports - OC Register Travel

John Wayne and other airports around the country are expanding at a time when the airline industry seems to be in a flurry of contraction and consolidations.

A few years ago, all the slots at the airport were filled and the waiting list was truly a list of those eager to break into the Orange County market. It's unlikely that AirTran [No. 1 on the JWA waiting list] will exercise its option, leaving only Canadian discount carrier WestJet and Alaska Airlines subsidiary Horizon Air on the waiting list.

There are open slots, but because of the recession, none of the airlines on the list has stepped up to start up new service.

The Southwest-AirTran merger comes after United and Continental hitched up earlier this year and Delta and Northwest tied the knot the year before. True, Air Canada added a single flight this year, but it didn't make up for the flights lost when Virgin America left. The number of airlines listed on the direction boards on the off-ramp leading to the airport is getting smaller and smaller.

There is still a year to go until the new third terminal opens at John Wayne Airport, but an economic rebound is going to be the real development that the airport will need to fill up those new gates. One silver lining: Southwest is likely to retain AirTran's routes to Mexico and perhaps even expand its transborder service. Southwest already has been named as the main tenant of the new terminal, which will include the airport's first customs and immigration screening areas.



S.B. airport looks to serve 2 million by 2030  - Press-Enterprise

San Bernardino International Airport doesn't have an airline yet but officials estimate 2 million passengers could depart from its terminal by 2030, according to a forecast.

The airport's leaders also want to expand the finished, but so far traveler-free, terminal in the next 20 years, potentially tripling the number of gates for parked airlines.

It has cost $94.4 million to make the terminal ready for commercial airlines. The airport has offered incentives to the first two airlines that agree to land there, but so far none have signed on.

The forecast estimates that 500,000 passengers would use the airport this year. That's not going to happen.



September 20 - September 26, 2010

City To Seek First Flight Designation
- Gazettes.com

On Sept. 14, City Council unanimously approved having Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez contact the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the U.S. Postal Service Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee to assist the city in commemorating the 100th anniversary of the flight of Calbraith Perry “Cal” Rodgers from Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., to Long Beach.

Part of the committee’s plan is requesting the Smithsonian to allow Long Beach to display the replica of Rodgers’s plane, the “Vin Fiz,” at a venue in the city. Another component is requesting the U.S. Postal Service to design and issue a commemorative stamp that includes Long Beach as the final destination of the historic event.

Rodgers’s Wright Model EX-1 plane was built by the Wright Brothers, who had flown the first aircraft eight years earlier at Kitty Hawk. In response to William Randolph Hearst’s $50,000 prize offer to the first aviator to complete a flight coast-to-coast within 30 days, Rodgers started his journey in Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., and made 70 stops before he reached the West Coast.

The journey of mishaps and crashes resulted in Rodgers missing the 30-day deadline, but he welcomed a payment of $1,000 (some stories say $5,000) from the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce to end his flight in this city instead of Pasadena, where he was recovering from injuries.

More than 50,000 people lined up to watch Rodgers drop into the surf, and Rodgers used crutches to debark from the “Vin Fiz” because of his numerous injuries.

Rodgers died off the waters of Pine Avenue pier one year after his famous flight, when he was flying and hit a seagull.




Six South Bay cities oppose FAA airspace exansion proposal
- Daily Breeze

The city councils of six South Bay municipalities have voted to oppose a proposal from the Federal Aviation Administration that could increase local air traffic.

The FAA is considering whether to expand the restricted air space around Long Beach Airport, a move that critics say would push small aircraft into routes over the southern part of the South Bay.

General aviation pilots would likely avoid Long Beach Airport's expanded airspace because entering it would require communicating with air traffic controllers in San Diego.

FAA officials say the plan is motivated by a desire to reduce the risk of midair collisions between jets and small aircraft.

At the urging of Rancho Palos Verdes officials, the four cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, along with Torrance and Redondo Beach, have all sent letters to the federal agency opposing the change.



September 13 - September 19, 2010

Ontario wants control of airport - OC Register

Unrest over the future of Ontario's airport has local officials calling for its removal from a regional airport agency.

Ontario International Airport is currently operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), which also controls Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Local officials say the dual role is a conflict of interest in which LAX is favored

Ontario officials hoped the new terminal that opened in 1995 would herald an expansive era for the airport. City officials want to wrest control of the airport from an agency that also runs LAX, citing a drop in service and conflict of interest with the larger airport

Ontario officials recently released a 25-page report citing shrinking revenue and a reversal of two decades worth of growth in just two years.

Ontario officials say an independently run local airport agency would allow Ontario to compete with John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Burbank Airport and Long Beach Airport. All are operated independently, CNS said.


Website Editor:  Palmdale officials accused LAWA of failing to support their airport and considered trying for local control after it was closed.

During the debate over El Toro reuse, Los Angeles sought to gain control over El Toro so as to move traffic from LAX. 




Number of airline passengers soars to 65 million in June
- AP

According to the DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics figures for June, domestic flights were fuller than any June on record as the number of passengers climbed to 65 million. Analysts note that while the total number of fliers is 2.3% higher than June 2009, it's still lower than
 levels.




Push for control - Ontario report slams operation
- Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

Ontario officials on Tuesday issued a report saying the city should be given control of L.A./Ontario International Airport because excessive charges and personnel costs by the city of Los Angeles are burdening its progress.

Los Angeles assumed management of the Ontario airport in 1967, but did not purchase the facility until 1985, so that it could complete a massive $270 million overhaul that led to the construction of two new terminals capable of handling 10 million passengers annually.

The report calls for amending the agreement to allow Ontario to regain management of the airport while it's still owned by Los Angeles.

Ontario's report focuses on a variety of problems it sees in LAWA's operation of the airport:

LAWA has burdened ONT with the highest costs in the region and among the highest in the nation.

ONT's cost per enplaned passenger was double that of the U.S. median cost and almost seven times higher than Burbank Airport. CPE is the cost airlines pay to each airport per passenger.

ONT's operating costs are at $29 per passenger, compared with $16 for Long Beach, $14 for Orange County's John Wayne Airport or $12 for San Diego.

ONT pays LAWA an $8.7 million annual administrative fee.

ONT's 387 employees are more than double the staff at John Wayne Airport and three times that of Long Beach.

Officials said specifics of how the Ontario airport might be managed will be provided soon. Some have speculated that Ontario might create an operating authority with neighboring Inland Empire cities or San Bernardino County.



JWA August traffic continues to slide


Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport decreased in August 2010 as compared to August 2009. In August 2010, the Airport served 802,065 passengers, a decrease of 3.8% when compared to the August 2009 passenger traffic count of 833,962.

It was the airport's slowest August since 2002. Volume increased thereafter in the recovery from 9-11 and reached a peak in August 2007 when JWA served 946,426 passengers.  Traffic has declined by 15.3% since then.

Commercial aircraft operations decreased 4.1%, while Commuter aircraft operations decreased 70.6% when compared to the levels recorded in August 2009.

General aviation activity, which accounted for 58% of the total aircraft operations during August 2010, decreased 5.3% when compared to August 2009.




September 6 - September 12, 2010

John Wayne Airport celebrates 20 years with 20 non-stop destinations
- JWA media release

As John Wayne Airport (JWA) prepares to celebrate a milestone anniversary – 20 years in the Thomas F. Riley Terminal – the Airport also announced this week its newest non-stop destination: New York City. Delta Airlines has begun daily non-stop service from Orange County to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Delta will operate the year-round service with a Boeing 737-300.

Commercial and regional air carriers at JWA offer non-stop service to 20 destinations in the U.S. and Canada. In March, Continental began service to Maui and Honolulu and in April, Air Canada began service to Toronto – the first regularly scheduled international service from JWA.

"New destinations mean more options and more convenience for those who travel to and from Orange County," said Alan L. Murphy, Airport Director. "The introduction of service to three new cities this year is very welcome news to our customers."

Website Editor:  In 2005, John Wayne served 25 nonstop destinations.




FAA plan to change [LGB] air traffic patterns hits turbulence
- Press-Telegram

For months, local aviators have been in an uproar over a proposed change to air traffic patterns around Long Beach Airport that could seriously affect where and how they fly, especially in the South Bay.

Many pilots in the region believe the Federal Aviation Administration's proposal - intended to reduce the risk of midair collisions between small aircraft and jetliners over densely populated areas - will instead put private aviators at risk.

And they say that local communities, particularly on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, could be faced with increased noise and pollution from small planes that will avoid a dramatically enlarged restricted area around Long Beach Airport.



August 30 - September 5, 2010

True air-rail travel has a future
- Daily News

The Bob Hope Airport in Burbank has an opportunity to become what LAX never has - the first true rail-accessible airport in the Los Angeles region.

True, the airport is actually reachable now via a nearby heavy-rail Metrolink and Amtrak connection, located just one long block away from the terminal. But very few air travelers actually take the train to Bob Hope Airport.

The tracks and the potential, however, are there. And now that the Burbank City Council has given approval for a $120 million regional transportation center based around the Metrolink stop area just southwest of the airport, it seems there's hope for a true air-travel hub in Los Angeles. All the better that it's in the Valley.

The transportation center will bring together rail, bus and rental-car users at one central point. The three-level, solar-powered facility will be connected to the airport by a covered moving walkway, making it an easy connection for those carrying bags. There will also be a compressed natural gas fueling station for those with the relatively green CNG-powered cars.

Congratulations to Burbank for having the foresight the city of Los Angeles, which runs the Los Angeles World Airports, lacks. Southern Californians are still annoyed at the failure of LAWA and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to connect the Green Line light rail directly to LAX. The Burbank regional transportation center, if done right, could be everything LAX is not.




San Diego Airport Authority hosts open houses for Regional Aviation Strategic Plan

The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority invites the public to a series of open houses to learn more about the Regional Aviation Strategic Plan.

The Airport Authority is developing the Regional Aviation Strategic Plan (RASP) as a result of Senate Bill 10, authored by Senator Christine Kehoe, and has been working closely with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and the City and County of San Diego Airports.

The goal of the RASP is to identify potential opportunities to improve the performance of the regional airport system in San Diego County to ensure maximum efficiency and utilization. The decision whether or not to implement the findings of the RASP is the responsibility of each airport owner/operator, primarily the City and County of San Diego.




Sounding Off: How about Camp Pendleton for an airport? -
Daily Pilot letters

If nothing more than that is done, JWA is going to eat up parts of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach and make life even more miserable and dangerous for those living under the flight paths.

What is needed is an alternative location for an airport that makes sense.

Consider now that the Secretary of Defense is cutting back on our military and also consider that the Marines will be relying less on sea-borne assaults in the future (they're already fighting in deserts far from oceans), so the need for miles of shoreline for landing exercises is now not as important as it once was.


Website Editor:  Talk about an airport at Camp Pendleton cooled down after the fate of El Toro was decided. Follow this link to a collection of articles on the subject that has not been updated but remains archived.



Burbank green-lights transit center for Bob Hope Airport
- LA Times

After two public hearings and long discussions over the course of a month, the Burbank City Council has approved a $120-million transit center for Bob Hope Airport.

The original proposal had been postponed to allow city officials to clarify the city's role in approving landscaping and so-called green street features for the project.

The transportation hub will consolidate rental car facilities and bus transit on current airport property, a covered moving walkway to the airport terminal and the second compressed natural gas fueling station in Burbank.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority has already entered into contracts with two firms to draw up design and construction documents.



August 23 - August 29, 2010

Mexicana Airlines Halts Flights Indefinitely

Mexicanan Airlines, which is the biggest foreign carrier at Los Angeles International Airport, canceled all flights Saturday, and passengers were being being accommodated by American Airlines on a standby basis, the airport reported today.

Grupo Mexicana, the parent of Mexicana Airlines, filed for bankruptcy Aug. 3 after being unable to win union concessions, and the company's future is uncertain.

The last Mexicana flight departed LAX at 6:45 a.m., according to a statement from Los Angeles World Airports, which operates LAX.

Six other flights, which had reservations for a total of about 300 passengers, were canceled.



JWA eyes $24 million modernization
- OC Register
 
In the latest example of John Wayne Airport's modernization, officials are set to approve a nearly $24 million project to install new ticket counters, speed up passenger check-in and give airlines flexibility to move quickly among gates and ticket counters.

Some of the more conspicuous elements of the plan would create a uniform appearance at ticket counters, which now vary significantly by airline, and swap out airline-specific self-serve kiosks for ones standardized for all carriers.




LAWA posts July results at LAX and ONT

Los Angeles International Airport saw a 1.6 percent increase in passengers in July 2010 compared to the same month last year.   For the seven months ending July, traffic was up 4.5 percent.

At LA/Ontario, there was a 1.4 percent pickup for the month versus last year.  For the seven months, traffic lagged 2009 by 1.2 percent.



August 16 - August 22, 2010

New feather in JWA's cap
- Daily Pilot

Construction crews from McCarthy Building Cos. on Aug. 2 laid down the last piece of structural steel on JWA's Terminal C, a new 280,000-square foot, three-level facility with six more gates for commercial airliners.

Crews began constructing the walkway connecting the terminal to Terminal B in May. Dubbed an airport "improvement" instead of expansion, the airport's remodeling costs about $540 million and includes more than just the new terminal. Construction crews are upgrading and renovating the airport's existing terminals to the tune of $102.3 million.

Terminal C's construction costs $195.9 million. There will also be three more baggage carousels, concession stands and additional security checkpoints for domestic and international flights.

About $180 million of the airport's upgrades are paid for by revenue from a $4.50 federal Passenger Facility Charge.



Roof added to new John Wayne Airport terminal
- OC Register

The latest milestone in the half-billion-dollar expansion is an addition of a roof on the 280,000-square-foot terminal addition. Once complete, it will be a "mirror image" of the existing terminal, said Khatchig Tchapadarian of general contractor McCarthy Building Cos.  (Newspaper article includes photos.)

The interior of the new terminal will be almost identical to the existing one, although the roof is higher.

The new terminal and a 2,000-space parking structure will open in late 2011.

Website Editor:  The huge new terminal will include only six passenger loading gates. In our opinion, the decision to include only six gates was an attempt to limit the capacity of the airport.



Long Beach Airport to get $2.2 million to upgrade jet ramp


Federal authorities have approved a $2.2 million grant to help upgrade Long Beach Airport's passenger jet ramp, which is being electrified to power waiting planes.
The grant goes toward a $136 million, four-year modernization plan encompassing the airport's main terminal, parking areas, passenger concourse and ramps.



August 9 - August 15, 2010

New concourse will bring updated look to Long Beach Airport -
Signal Tribune

Without sacrificing the classic, Art Deco-style terminal, the airport is continuing to move forward with its long-awaited modernization plan, which includes: restoration of the existing terminal; a new passenger concourse; a 2,236-space parking garage; and air-carrier ramp improvements.

Currently, the parking structure is the only project in progress, and it has added 450 jobs to the market– the groundbreaking for the new passenger concourse is set for this December.




Chamber efforts to oppose airport curfew successful
- LA Business

Curfews at local airports would cost jobs, hurt businesses and increase congestion at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is why the Chamber recently joined other stakeholders to oppose an attempt to ban — for the second time — all overnight flights at Van Nuys and Bob Hope Airports.

This latest attempt to insert language for a ban in the upcoming Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill failed. Commercial airlines already observe a voluntary curfew at Bob Hope Airport. Any new curfew would directly impact cargo carriers and business aircraft, forcing them to reroute operations to LAX. The FAA denied an earlier administrative request by Bob Hope Airport.



Losing Virgin hurts JWA numbers - Daily Pilot

Since Virgin America pulled its four-times-a-day service from John Wayne Airport to San Francisco International Airport in May, the overall number of passengers has declined, particularly in July, which saw a 3.6% drop in passenger volume compared with July 2009, Jenny Wedge, a spokeswoman for the airport, said Wednesday.

"Passengers still have access to the San Francisco Bay area," Wedge said, "but it's not as busy as it's once been ever since they pulled out. But it was to be expected."

So far, since January, the airport has served 5 million passengers and looks to be on track to serve more than 8 million customers in 2010, if the fall and winter months are good to Orange County, Wedge said.

In 2009, the airport saw 8.7 million passengers land and take off from the airport, Wedge said.

The busiest year for the airport ever, Wedge said, was in 2007, when 9.9 million passengers passed through its gates.


Wedge told the OC Metro, "We continue to work with our existing air carriers and reach out to other interested airlines to let them know we do have additional operational capacity if they are interested."



JWA traffic decreased in July

 
Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport decreased in July 2010 as compared to July 2009. In July 2010, the Airport served 792,532 passengers, a decrease of 3.6% when compared to the July 2009 passenger traffic count of 821,905.

Commercial aircraft operations decreased 6.3%, while Commuter aircraft operations decreased 71.8% when compared to the levels recorded in July 2009.



How did L.A. come to own ONT? Slowly
- Inland Valley Daily Bulletin


Manhattan won't be returned to the Indians and L.A./Ontario International Airport won't be returned to Ontario. Not because Ontario lost the receipt but because Los Angeles wants to keep the airport.

However, L.A. officials last week said they're willing to consider letting Ontario, or a consortium of agencies, or a private company, run the L.A.-owned airport in an attempt to turn it around.

Traffic dropped from 7.2 million passengers per year to 4.9 million.

All of which raises a question: How did L.A. come to own Ontario's airport, anyway?

Bulletin staff writer David Allen provides a report, archived here, on how Los Angeles slowly obtained control over the Inland Empire airport that some now want to shake free of LA.



August 2 - August 8, 2010

John Wayne makes list of 10 "scariest" airports
- USA Today

JWA approach from inlandStrict noise reduction requirements may not seem scary at first, but if you're not expecting engine cutbacks during takeoff you might be spooked. According to Jenny Wedge, public relations manager at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, "Due to its close proximity to nearby communities, JWA has one of the most stringent aircraft access and noise monitoring programs in the United States, if not the world." Pilots begin their takeoffs at close to full power, then incline quickly and steeply before reducing engine power. "It's like a space shuttle liftoff," says Facebook follower Elizabeth Conrad. Smith notes that passengers contact him about this airport all the time, some even claiming the pilots turn off the engines after take off. But although the procedure seems unusual, he says "there's nothing that the plane does that is not within its capabilities."

Website Editor:  Once upon a time there was a plan put forward to extend the runway into the grassy area in the foreground of this photo so that departing flights would take off further back from the Newport Beach end of the runway. The county did not pursue it. The county also gave Newport Beach a veto over any extension of the runway at the far (south) end.



[BUR] Passenger numbers keep dropping
- Glendale News Press

Passenger traffic at Bob Hope Airport was down 2.4% in June compared with the previous year, dragging the year-to-date figure down by more than 3%, airport records show.

Last year, the number of passengers fell to 4.6 million, the lowest in eight years, and down 13% from 5.3 million in 2008. Passenger volume peaked at more than 5.9 million in 2007.

The latest figures indicate continued drops in passenger traffic, a trend that is in line with what airport officials say they have planned for.

Passenger traffic forecasting is mostly a financial planning tool, and the airport has expected lower numbers since the peak in 2007, spokesman Victor Gill said.





Burbank Airport turns to Congress in noise restriction fight
- LA Times

After years of painstaking studies, millions of dollars and one failed federal application for nighttime flight restrictions, Bob Hope Airport officials are turning to Congress.

Three representatives whose districts are most affected by curfews signed a letter seeking legislation to bar flights from arriving or departing between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. at Bob Hope and Van Nuys airports.

The effort comes one year after the Federal Aviation Administration rejected the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority's request to impose a ban in what has become a decades-long effort to dampen aircraft noise.

Commercial airlines have agreed to a voluntary curfew at Bob Hope Airport, but freight carriers and others oppose a curfew they say would hurt business.



July 26 - August 1, 2010

Airport deal at crossroads 25 years later -
OC Register

Twenty five years ago this month, Newport Beach residents became the envy of anyone who's ever lived near an airport, winning one-of-a-kind noise protections and flight caps that remain the nation’s strongest.

“Nobody – no population, no community – has a more restrictive regimen than we have here,” said Barbara Lichman, a key participant in securing landmark limits on John Wayne Airport in August 1985.

The so-called settlement agreement was unprecedented, and it had remarkable timing, coming just before federal legislation largely eliminated the legality of such local control.

Residents were “very fortuitous,” said Dave Kiff, Newport Beach city manager. A quarter-century later, they are counting on more than luck to keep the deal in place. With the pact to be renegotiated in coming years, the city spends no small amount of time and money to head off adversaries who say its rules went too far.  

Website Editor:  The article quotes this website editor's position that the million annual passenger MAP cap leads to higher ticket prices and that airplanes make noise, people do not, so forcing airlines to fly empty seats makes no sense.

Yet to be discussed is the reasoning behind Orange County spending a half billion dollars on an expansion - including a huge new third terminal - when powerful forces, including at least one county supervisor, oppose expanding passenger service.  The current caps expire in 2015, soon after the new terminal is completed.



JWA ought to look at San Jose's new terminal
- OC Register Travel

San Jose's Terminal B opened June 30, and I had a chance to stop by on the way home late last month. It's the kind of place that we can only hope the new Terminal C at (deep breath) Thomas F. Riley Terminal of John Wayne Airport will resemble, even just a little bit.

Website Editor:  Register Travel Editor Gary Warner lists a lot of wonderful architectural features and amenities in San Jose's new Terminal B that he would like to see in John Wayne Airport's new Terminal C.

I would add one more: - gates.  In an attempt to minimize the utilization of JWA, county officials decided in 2001 to limit the passenger gates in its new terminal. JWA is adding a 282,000 square foot terminal with only 6 gates.  San Jose's new terminal measures 380,000 square feet and hosts 12 passenger gates.  It has one-third more space but twice the number of boarding locations where passengers can access flights to more locations..

We previously noted that 
LA/Ontario Airport's Terminal 2 has 265,000 square feet and 12 gates. Ontario Terminal 4 has 265,000 square feet and 14 gates.



Delta to launch OC-JFK service
- OC Register
 
Delta Air Lines will begin flying non-stop between Orange County's John Wayne Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sept. 7.

Initial fares are as low as $259 round trip, including tax. The airline will use a single-aisle Boeing 737-700 aircraft in both directions.

The airline announced the service Wednesday as part of a large-scale reshuffling and expansion of routes throughout the world.

Jenny Wedge, spokeswoman for John Wayne Airport,said service to New York's largest airport has been a top request of Orange County customers.

Delta also announced it will end service from Orange County to Detroit.

Currently, Orange County residents can fly non-stop on Continental Airlines from John Wayne Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport. Another option is to fly out of Long Beach to JFK on JetBlue.




Irvine Councilwoman Christina Shea Speaks Out on Environmental Mess at El Toro
- Salem-News.com

The old Marine Corps air base in Orange County, El Toro, is a huge political liability, that isn't necessarily a big secret, but new attention is being drawn to this fact by one of Irvine's city leaders, Councilwoman Christina Shea. She is coming out swinging with allegations of cover ups, wasted taxpayer funds and major concerns about the health of people who once lived on the base, or today live near it.

This means a lot to those of us who were once Marines at this place. MCAS El Toro was for half a century, a vibrant base that was a strong defensive point for all of Southern California.

It is a complicated and twisted tale that begins with this military base's listing by BRAC, the Base Realignment and Closure Committee, back in 90's.

Then came a years long fight between two ideas: turning El Toro into an airport to relieve stress on Orange County's John Wayne Airport, or transform the base into a park and housing community. The park idea won, now it is losing fast.

We have been bringing the story of El Toro forward for three years now; Salem-News.com crews have spent a good deal of time on the base documenting the different sites, and continually learning more and more from hundreds of former and current Marines who write to us, telling us about their service at the base and often, all too often, details on the illnesses they suffer from.

There really are no secrets about El Toro, the base has been an EPA 'Superfund' site since the contamination was first studied by the Dept. of the Navy several years ago. As we have revealed in our reports, all of the damning evidence is available for the Public to see in the Woodbridge Irvine Public Library in the at Heritage Park.



California Fare Sale 
- Lifestyle.com

Southwest Airlines is offering $59* one-way airfares for travel within California. These southwest.com-only airfares are available with a 21-day advance purchase for Customers in Burbank, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento, Ontario, and San Diego. Fares are available seven days a week. Orange County's John Wayne Airport is not included in this sale. To book these fares available only at southwest.com, go to: http://www.southwest.com/jp/luvhome.shtml?src=PR_interCal_120205

Website Editor:  How many times have we seen "John Wayne Airport not included" in fare sales?  There must be something about the airport or the way that it is managed that produces this result.  Send us your thoughts.



Repairs to Los Alamitos airfield to start in fall
- Long Beach Press-Telegram

A recent influx of military aircraft using Long Beach Airport is expected to subside by late fall after repairs are completed to the battered main runway at nearby Los Alamitos Army Airfield.

The repairs, scheduled to begin in the fall, will fix a heavily used 8,000-foot runway that was closed to most large aircraft and fighter jets - including Air Force One - in January 2009, when significant deterioration was discovered.

The runway is suffering from cracking and loose debris along vast stretches of the asphalt portions of its runway, creating serious hazards during landings and takeoffs.

Since the closure, military and cargo pilots have been diverting en masse to Long Beach Airport, which sits just several miles northwest of Los Alamitos.

Even Air Force One, which for decades used the closely guarded base for presidential visits, was forced to divert to Long Beach in March 2009.



Airport hub moves forward
- Burbank Leader

A large $120-million transit center that would combine bus, train and rental car traffic into one hub at Bob Hope Airport took a step closer to reality Tuesday after the Burbank City Council voted 4 to 1 to settle a number of land-use issues.

One of the key selling points for the transit center was to cut down on traffic generated by airport operations. Rental car companies must make 700,000 yearly trips to an off-site facility to service their fleets because there is no room at Bob Hope Airport, officials said.

The so-called Regional Intermodal Transportation Center would solve the space issue, as well as provide enough room for 14 buses with a transit lounge and a new parking structure for airport patrons.

Bob Hope Airport train station passengers would have access to an elevated pedestrian bridge over Empire Avenue to connect to the parking lot. An elevated pedestrian walkway with a moving sidewalk is planned to connect the parking structure to the air passenger terminal.




Ontario International Airport reports June decline
- The Press-Enterprise


Traffic at Ontario International Airport dropped by 5.2 percent in June compared to the same month in 2009 and a 37.4 percent decrease since June 2007.

LAX has had 28.3 million travelers in the first six months of the year, a 4.9 percent increase compared to the same period a year prior. Last month, traffic increased 4 percent compared to the same month a year prior.

Since 2008, Ontario airport lost service from JetBlue, Aeromexico and startup airline ExpressJet as well as suffered cuts in capacity at remaining airlines including the airport's largest, Southwest Airlines.

Upset with steep passenger declines at the airport, officials with the city of Ontario have recently begun lobbying Los Angeles City Council members and agency leaders to consider giving control of the airport back to the Inland city.



Ontario continues in slump

In June, LA/Ontario International Airport served 408,800 passengers, none of them on international flights.  That was 5.24 percent fewer than in June 2009.

Year-to-date, ONT saw 2,337,880 passengers or 2.61 percent fewer than last year. 54 percent of all passengers flew on SouthWest Airlines.

If the six-month trend continues, the airport will see fewer than 5 million passengers this year.

That is a sad position for an airport built to handle at least 10 million passengers and planned to expand and serve 30 million by 2025.

LA/Ontario International Airport has three terminals including a small international terminal. The terminal numbering scheme is designed to accommodate future growth. The airport's master plan calls for five terminals to be spaced adjacent to and in between the existing Terminals 2 and 4.  Terminal 2 has 265,000 square feet and 12 gates. Terminal 4 has 265,000 square feet and 14 gates.

By comparison, Orange County supervisors chose to limit John Wayne Airport's capacity and opted to build a third terminal that will have approximately 282,000 square feet but only 6 gates.



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