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September 23 - September 29, 2013

JWA passenger traffic continues its recovery

August passenger traffic continued its recovery in August.  Year to date volume is up by 5 percent.  A continuation of the trend will put the airport at about 9.3 million passengers for the full 2013 year.

The airport's best year was 2007 when 9,979,699 passengers were served.  This preceeded the opening of the new third terminal.
      
The 850,988 passengers in August included 38,141 on international flights.         



September 16 - September 22, 2013

Bob Hope Airport officials present plans for new terminal
- Burbank Leader
Resident asks for more details on the proposed upgrades to 83-year-old facility.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority revealed its plan for a new 14-gate terminal this week, meant to replace the airport’s current 83-year-old building.

Airport officials say a new terminal is needed because the current building is too close to the runways — 250 feet instead of the required 750 feet — to meet Federal Aviation Administration safety standards.

The proposed terminal would keep the same number of gates, but would lose the “L” shape of the current building in favor of a symmetrically configured rectangularly shaped terminal.

The new terminal would be placed to the east of the airport’s north-south runway, and the old terminal would be demolished, with that space being used to expand the runway taxi areas.

Due to provisions in Measure B, which was approved by Burbank voters in 2000, finalized plans for a new terminal must be approved by residents at the polls.



LAX Targets Asian Travelers With $1.9 Billion Terminal Makeover
- Forbes Asia
 
Commenting on Skytrax’s annual survey of the world’s best airports, President Barack Obama lamented,“Not one–not one U.S. airport was considered by the experts and consumers who use these airports to be in the top 25 in the world,” in May. “I think Cincinnati airport [the top-ranked U.S. airport] came in around 30th.”

One U.S. airport that is trying to change this is the Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX. It is nearing the end of an eight-year, $4.1-billion makeover that aims to transform what former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called “the worst passenger experience of any airport in a modern city” into his vision of a “first-class airport experience.” The centerpiece of this mammoth project–now the largest public works project in the country–is the $1.9 billion renovation of Tom Bradley International Terminal, which handles more than 30 airlines and serves half of LAX’s 17 million international passengers. It opens Sept. 18.

One of the biggest challenges of the project was to express the city’s identity through the terminal’s architecture. Inspired by Los Angeles’ beaches, the terminal is designed to resemble a cascading set of waves, with a 60-foot-tall roof arching over an open, spacious concourse. The generous use of glass structures also allows natural sunshine to flood the terminal floor, reminding passengers of California’s pleasant climate. (This also lowers operating costs and improves energy efficiency, making Tom Bradley Terminal one of the few airport buildings in the country to earn LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.)



September 9 - September 15, 2013

Community is invited to help shape the future of Bob Hope Airport

As part of the ongoing program to obtain community input and comments, the Bob Hope Airport will host a public workshop focusing on the current terminal and the initial vision for a replacement terminal at the Airport beginning at 6 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2013.
 
The 83-year-old terminal:
*   Is too close to the runways to meet current safety regulations, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
*    Does not meet current earthquake standards
*    Lacks many of the amenities available in more modern terminals
 
The workshop will held in the Airport Skyroom (Terminal A, second floor); validated parking in the Parking Structure will be provided.
 
If you are unable to attend this workshop but would like to express your questions, comments, or concerns on the future of Burbank Bob Hope Airport, please visit the
Airport Visioning Process page on the airport's website.



September 2 - September 8, 2013

Companies chosen to do [John Wayne] airport EIR reports
- Daily Pilot

In anticipation of finalizing an extension to the John Wayne Airport settlement agreement next year, the Orange County Airport Commission has approved the selection of five companies to conduct environmental impact reports.

The cost of the studies will be $955,810.

Three settlement agreement alternatives will also be analyzed by the five companies. The alternatives are based on input from the Federal Aviation Administration, the air carriers that currently operate at the airport and information regarding the airfield and runway limitations as they are now. At most, the alternatives allow for up 16.9 million annual passengers passing through JWA by 2030.

The proposed agreement and all but one alternative would keep the curfews in place until 2035. One alternative extends the curfews to 2020.

The original settlement agreement dates back to 1985 and was intended to last through 2005. That settlement was amended in 2003 to provide guidelines for airport growth through 2015.

Website Editor:  If the past is any indicator, after completing the study, the Board of Supervisors will choose the "proposed project" alternative that has already been pre-selected in negotiations between the County and Newport Beach.



Numbers at Bob Hope Airport slide again
- Burbank Leader

Bob Hope Airport officials are dealing with a double dose of bad news this week as the number of passengers using the airport slid by more than 8% in July and the airport's largest carrier announced that it will cut more than 40 flights at the Burbank airfield.

The airport handled 318,859 passengers in July, an 8.24% decrease compared to 347,501 in July 2012, according to statistics released by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Tuesday.

The drop continues a summertime slump, with a decline of roughly 3.5% in June. That was preceded by slight increases in May and March.

As the passenger numbers take a dive, the airport's largest carrier — Southwest Airlines — recently told airfield officials it will discontinue 42 round-trip flights from Burbank at the end of the month.

During the first seven months of 2013, roughly 2.2 million passengers traveled through Bob Hope Airport, a 4.8% drop from roughly 2.35 million passengers during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, other airports in the region reported a mixed bag of passenger totals in June. Los Angeles International Airport and John Wayne Airport saw 4.5% and 2.2% increases, respectively. However, Ontario Airport reported a 12% decline and Long Beach Airport saw a 3% drop.




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