NEWS - October 2006
El Toro Info Site
report, October 31, 2006
Summer forecasts
fall flat
El Toro Info Site report,
October 27, 2006
Air fare index up:
Long Beach, Burbank show large increases by one yardstick.
El Toro Info Site
report, October 26, 2006
How Newport Beach
viewed Tuesday’s Board action
OC Register, October 25,
2006
“Newport wins veto
power”
El Toro Info Site
report, October 24, 2006
Newport gets its
runway veto on a split 3-2 vote
LA Times, October 23,
2006
"Proposed rail line
would go to LAX"
El Toro Info Site
report, October 22, 2006
Fast tracking the
Newport Beach runway deal
OC Register,
October 21, 2006
"Newport's airport
deal gets amended"
El Toro Info Site
report, October 20, 2006
Smoke screen
clearing from John Wayne deal
LA Times, October 20,
2006
"Israeli Airport
Experts Advise on LAX Security"
Voice of San Diego, October 19, 2006
"Congressional
[Miramar] Airport Opposition"
Irvine World News,
October 19, 2006
"Public gets a
close-up look at Great Park plan."
Daily Pilot, October 18,
2006
"Decision on pact
delayed"
"Agenda concern
leads supervisors to postpone vote on agreement with Newport Beach."
El Toro Info Site report,
October 17, 2006
Regional Airport
Authority is back
El Toro Info Site
report, October 17, 2006
Board won't vote
today on Newport airport veto
OC Register, October 16,
2006 - updated
“Showdown tomorrow
over Newport Beach trail”
El Toro Info Site
Report, October 15, 2006
Website marks ten
years reporting airport news
El Toro Info Site
Report, October 14, 2006
Supervisors appear
poised to hand NPB a veto over JWA runways
LA Times, October 14, 2006
"First El
Toro Insignia Was Too Correct"
U.S. Department of
Transportation, October 13, 2006
"July 2006 Airline
Traffic Data: Seven-Month System Traffic Up 0.5 Percent From 2005"
El Toro Info Site
report, October 12, 2006
Foreign travel
reported
El Toro Info Site
report, October 11, 2006
JWA has fifth
straight down month
LA Times, October 11,
2006
"Newport
Beach, Airport Sign Deal to Block a 2nd Runway"
"That irks L.A.
officials seeking ways to cushion soaring passenger demand."
El Toro Info Site
report, October 11, 2006
Newport Beach
Council backs JWA limits in surprising meeting
OC Register, October 10,
2006
"Dodging a bullet
on El Toro"
El Toro Info Site report,
October 10, 2006
Southern California
to New York’s Kennedy Airport
El Toro Info Site report,
October 9, 2006
Where do all those
planes fly?
OC Register, October 8,
2006
"Flyaway planned
for Great Park"
OC Register, October 7, 2006
"Deal lets city
veto JWA growth"
El Toro Info Site
report, October 6, 2006 - updated
Newport Beach
continues effort to gain control of JWA’s future
Voice of San Diego,
October 5, 2006
"Airport Mailer
Raises Questions"
OC Register, October 4,
2006
"Getting around to
transit"
LA Times, October 3, 2006
"Outages Highlight
Internal FAA Rift"
El Toro Info Site
report, October 3, 2006
“Congress declares
Miramar a no-fly zone for commercial aircraft”
El Toro Info Site
report, October 2, 2006
Future air travel
capacity
El Toro
Info Site report, October 1, 2006
Burbank Airport soars while
region slips
Click here for previous news stories
Summer forecasts fall flat
Forecasts of a summer pickup in regional air travel fell flat.
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) predicted that LAX would see 200,000 more passengers this year than last during the summer season from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend. While the results have not been broken out and published for that exact time period, statistics for June 1 through September 30, 2006 show an actual drop of over 400,000 passengers.
LAWA also predicted a summer increase of 50,000 passengers at Ontario. Instead, the airport reports 100,000 fewer passengers for May through September.
John Wayne Airport – where a predicted 10 percent "surge" this year was used as the excuse for rejecting an airline request to add more service – traffic is running 1 percent behind its 2005 rate.
In ten years of reporting on regional air travel, we can not recall an air traffic forecast that was made or exceeded.
El Toro Info Site report, October 27, 2006
Air fare index up: Long Beach, Burbank show large increases by one yardstick.
The Air Travel Price Index (ATPI) rose in the second quarter of 2006 to the highest level recorded in the 11-year period measured by the index, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported.
The ATPI has risen for all airports in the nation by 19.27 percent since 1995. For the Los Angeles region the increase was 24.21 percent. Long Beach (84.23%) and Burbank (63.16%) had the largest percentage increases in the LA region over the period from 1995, followed by Ontario (25.38%), Santa Ana (20.58%) and LAX (20.40%).
The DOT notes:
While the ATPI has now risen above the historical high reached in early 2001, average fares and yields are still well below their pre-9/11 peak. The increasing competitive influence of Lower Cost Carriers on the entire industry and the increasing use of the internet for comparison shopping and booking have been major forces in keeping average fares from rising.
Data showing lower “average fares” . . . published by other government agencies and industry organizations show that passengers are increasingly using lower fares by switching from the traditional, full service options that have existed since deregulation to more limited service on newer, low-cost carriers. The ATPI demonstrates that at present even the lower fares are rising, and the index values are a measure of how much they are rising.
The ATPI methodology may mask changes in actual fares paid at Long Beach and Burbank since the arrival of JetBlue.
El Toro Info Site report, October 26, 2006
How Newport Beach viewed Tuesday’s Board action
Tuesday night, the Newport Beach City Council met to quickly ratify the modified agreement, reached earlier in the day with the county, granting the city a permanent veto over JWA runway expansion. Listening to the city meeting online provided a somewhat different view of the outcome than one got at the Board of Supervisors meeting.
Mayor Don Webb called it “a great event for the city.” No one had called it a great event for the county.
Councilman Tod Ridgeway provided insight into the negotiations which he said were “frustrating.” He called the outcome “a huge arrow in our quiver.”
Ridgeway hailed the agreement as a “document that will survive [after 2015 and] the settlement agreement.” He made a point of a question [from Supervisor Tom Wilson] as to whether “this binds the county in perpetuity?” Ridgeway said that “after much hemming and hawing” County Counsel said “it will bind the county.”
Unfortunately, County Counsel’s statement that this was “an agreement without a termination” did not cause Wilson – who initially seemed to think otherwise about the contractual nature of the agreement - to withdraw his admittedly skeptical support.
Councilmember Nichols asked about the city’s part of the agreement to not annex John Wayne Airport property. Some at the county saw this as a quid pro quo for granting the veto. City Manager Bludau explained that state law requires the city to get county permission for such an annexation. Bludau was emphatic. “We are not giving up anything.”
At least three supervisors had asked in various ways, “What does the county get out of this?” Is it too late for a motion to reconsider?
OC Register, October 25, 2006
“Newport wins veto power”
“Some hailed it as a historic victory. Others called it a huge mistake. And then there are those who say it doesn't really change anything.”
“But the fact is, Newport Beach can now decide the future of Orange County's aviation hub.”
The Register takes a look at what the agreement reached yesterday does. See our first hand coverage of the meeting below.
“Newport Beach gains the right to veto construction of a second commercial runway at John Wayne Airport, and also the power to reject extension of the existing runway southward.”
Website Editor: The runway can be extended to the north to add takeoff length, but for aircraft to takeoff they must first be able to land, a situation not helped greatly by a north extension that would move touch down close to cars on the 405 Freeway. The airports’ eventual limitation is its inability to consistently land fully loaded aircraft, especially in wet weather. Airport management is not considering lengthening the runway.
Click for coverage in the Register, Daily Pilot and a brief mention of the agreement in the L.A. Times.
El Toro Info Site report, October 24, 2006
Newport gets its runway veto on a split 3-2 vote
Newport Beach got its runway veto today from the Board of Supervisors with Supervisors Silva, Campbell and Wilson voting for and Norby and Correa against.
Opinions on the impact of the deal were as divided as the vote. City officials had called the agreement a “big, big deal” and achievement of the city’s No. 1 priority. Some of the supervisors said it protected airport neighbors’ “quality of life.” Others said it did nothing more than restate agreements and regulations that already exist – which leaves one wondering “Why do it?”
Don Webb, Mayor and Homer Bludau, City Manager of Newport Beach, Tom Naughton, President of the AWG and two residents spoke for the deal. Len Kranser, Editor of this website spoke against, presenting a list of Reasons for opposing the runway veto.
The limited circle of those involved in the negotiations was most apparent when Supervisor Tom Wilson asked Airport Manager Alan Murphy “Has the FAA received this proposal and what is their take on it?” Murphy, who supported the deal, responded “The FAA does not have a say in land use. County Counsel concluded that this is not a matter that needs FAA approval.”
Supervisor Chris Norby asked repeatedly, “What does the county get out of this?” He voted “no” saying he did not have “a comfort level with what we are getting in return” for signing “an agreement between the county and one city – in perpetuity.”
LA Times, October 23, 2006
"Proposed rail line would go to LAX"
"Los Angeles officials are drawing a new route aimed at finally closing perhaps the biggest gap in the region's mass transit system: A lack of a rail line flowing directly into Los Angeles International Airport."
"Planners envision a new light rail line that would run along Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue between Exposition Boulevard and the airport. Although still in the early planning stages, officials believe that the line could be opened by 2015 if they can secure the $1 billion needed to build it."
"Until a rail line is built, more than 1 million travelers a year are boarding FlyAway shuttles from downtown Los Angeles and Van Nuys to the Los Angeles airport. . . . To further reduce car traffic, airport officials plan to open a total of eight FlyAway locations around the county by 2010."
Click for the full article.
El Toro Info Site report, October 22, 2006
Fast tracking the Newport Beach runway deal
On October 10th, the Newport Beach City Council approved a “cooperative agreement” with the county that sought to cloak a city veto over extending the John Wayne commercial runway, or adding a second one, in a package of diverse “spheres issues”. A much revised deal is bouncing back to the council on Tuesday night on a fast track to enactment.
The county intended to approve the city’s deal at its earliest possible meeting on October 17 but the agreement foundered when several of the elements of the package didn’t pass muster with the supervisors. It was pulled from the Board of Supervisors’ agenda for the 17th and put back on in a much reduced version for next Tuesday, the 24th. See article below.
Anxious to sew up the runway deal before anything else could go wrong - or opposition to the city veto could gain force - the Newport Beach City Manager re-agendized the deal for Tuesday night at his council, in expectation of having supervisorial approval. The city agenda says:
The cornerstone of this proposed agreement has always been the County’s sharing of decision making with the Newport Beach City Council for a second commercial runway, if ever contemplated for JWA. That provision remains intact.
OC Register, October 21, 2006
"Newport's airport deal gets amended"
"Controversial provisions related to construction of a park and trail in Santa Ana Heights have been stripped from a major agreement between Newport Beach and the county."
"The pact's centerpiece would give Newport veto power over construction of a second commercial runway at John Wayne Airport." Website Editor: And also a veto over lengthening of the existing commercial runway.
"Late Friday, Newport City Manager Homer Bludau said the provisions [giving NPB $500,000 for a park and allowing the city to ditch plans for a horse trail] were scrapped at the county's request. Newport agreed to abandon the plans, he said, because 'the airport agreement is what's most important to us, and we didn't want to lose that.'"
Click for Register and Daily Pilot articles. See also our report below.
Website Editor: Apparently the deal to constrain the airport forever is not considered "controversial."
County leadership and their transportation planners have switched - in less than 5 years - from insisting 1) that Orange County needed El Toro and 4 more runways to 2) we can serve our growing needs by utilizing JWA to 3) a new position that we never ever will need more runway capability than what we have right now.
El Toro Info Site report, October 20, 2006 - updated
Smoke screen clearing from John Wayne deal
Newport Beach started the “spheres issues” discussion with the county to cloak its No. 1 priority – control over the future of JWA. The city’s real goal was buried in a package of diverse topics which once included the Coyote Canyon Landfill, the Sheriff's Harbor Patrol and economic incentives for the county.
Bit by bit, the non-airport components of the package have been pruned away. In the latest change to the agenda item for next Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, a controversial horse trail element in Santa Ana Heights, introduced by Supervisor Silva, is in trouble. The draft "cooperative agreement" approved by the Newport Beach City Council has been stripped of its paragraphs regarding the Santa Ana Heights Redevelopment Area, Mesa-Birch Park and Proposed Mesa Drive Trail Connection. Studies of the Back Bay remain as the only non-airport part of the agreement.
The smoke screen is clearing and relatively little remains of the "spheres issues" besides the NPB veto over acquisition of land for the John Wayne Airport runways. The only true purpose of the "cooperative agreement" is becoming more apparent as a new Agenda Staff Report presented a pruned down agreement and the agenda item changed today as follows:
LA Times, October 20, 2006
"Israeli Airport Experts Advise on LAX Security"
"Israeli security experts provided local aviation officials with recommendations Thursday for further fortifying Los Angeles International Airport against terrorist attacks."
"A trio of security officials from the authority that operates Ben-Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv, gave a preliminary assessment of vulnerabilities at LAX to local experts after a 3 1/2 -day tour, during which they examined terminals, the airfield and the perimeter."
"'They had a half-dozen suggestions; some of them are very low tech, some of them are very high tech,' said Airport Commission President Alan Rothenberg. Ben-Gurion International Airport serves as many passengers annually as the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, he said."
Click for the Times story.
Voice of San Diego, October 19, 2006
"Congressional [Miramar] Airport Opposition"
"The region's congressional delegation reaffirmed their bipartisan opposition to the Miramar ballot initiative earlier today, criticizing the airport authority's site-selection process, while touting a prohibition on commercial use at Miramar signed into law Tuesday."
"Five elected officials -- U.S. Reps. Duncan Hunter, Darrell Issa, Susan Davis, Brian Bilbray, R-Carlsbad, and Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista -- lashed out at the authority for targeting a military base while the nation is at war."
"Hunter, R-El Cajon, said the authority had 'no focus of creativity or dedicated analysis to alternatives.'"
"Filner, D-Chula Vista, who has supported an Imperial County airport, said the leaders were unified in their opposition to the Miramar ballot initiative -- but suggested the unity doesn't extend to plans about what will follow it."
"Hunter suggested making satellite airport improvements. Davis suggested maximizing Lindbergh Field. Issa, R-Vista, suggested extending the runway at Palomar-McClellan Airport in Carlsbad. Bilbray suggested a high-speed train to Los Angeles."
A companion article in the North County Times quotes the leader of the anti-airport movement as saying that polling data on Measure A show "it was close."
Click for more . . .
Irvine World News, October 19, 2006
"Public gets a close-up look at Great Park plan."
"One year ago, residents knew a Great Park was envisioned for the old El Toro Marine Corps air base. In the past week, people were able to see the vision."
"Ken Smith’s design team has worked since being hired in January on refining the park vision – their closest idea of that was presented at last week’s Great Park Board meeting and at a Saturday display on an 80-foot by 80-foot floor map."
Daily Pilot, October 18, 2006
"Decision on pact delayed"
"Agenda concern leads supervisors to postpone vote on agreement with Newport Beach."
"Newport Beach will have to wait a week to see if Orange County supervisors approve a city-county pact that would give Newport the power to block future expansion at John Wayne Airport."
"Supervisors on Tuesday postponed a vote on the agreement until their Oct. 24 meeting. The delay came after an airport activist complained that the public may not have been properly notified about what is in the agreement, said Don Hughes, a spokesman for Supervisor Jim Silva."
"The pact includes provisions that would give the city veto power if the county tries to acquire land for a second commercial runway at the airport or to extend the existing one."
Click for the Daily Pilot article.
Frank Mickadeit, writing in the Register, names the activist as this website's editor Len Kranser. Kranser had written to Board Chairman Bill Campbell and County Counsel that the agenda item title and staff report did not meet the public disclosure requirements of the California Brown Act. There was no mention of the runway veto in the agenda report.
Website Editor: It is time for other concerned citizens to weigh in with the supervisors against this premature, permanent and one-sided granting, by the county to the city, of a major gift - without any substantive concessions being obtained in return.
El Toro Info Site report, October 17, 2006
The Southern California Regional Airport
Authority, SCRAA,
is back. The authority board met at Metropolitan Transit Authority
headquarters
in
A
report was presented to the SCRAA board, discussing the past
failure of the organization, the perceived threat inherent in its power
to
build and operate airports, and its vulnerability to members’ vetoes.
The
report suggests approaches to make the authority more acceptable to
airport
operators.
El Toro Info Site report, October 17, 2006
Board won't vote today on Newport airport veto
The agenda item granting Newport Beach a veto over acquisition of land for the John Wayne runways has been continued to next week. We hear unofficially that the delay was the result of Supervisor Silva's last minute introduction of a provision dealing with a Mesa Drive trail into the package of assorted sphere issues. See article below.
This relatively minor trail item has generated more discussion than the far reaching decision to limit the utility of the county's only airport.
So we will have to wait to see if Orange County government, which is responsible for transportation planning, will execute a complete about face in less than 5 years – from insisting that we need El Toro airport and 4 more runways to permanently limiting the county to one short runway at John Wayne.
OC Register, October 16, 2006 - updated
“Showdown tomorrow over Newport Beach trail”
Columnist Frank Mickadeit demonstrates how successfully negotiators from Newport Beach and the county have buried city control over John Wayne Airport’s runways in a smoke screen of “spheres issues”. Mickadeit has devoted almost all of two day's columns to one of the spheres issues - an “unfinished public trail that for almost 20 years has been on county maps [and] might never be completed because some wealthy homeowners on Mesa Drive are calling on politicians to delete it.”
In only one sentence, Mickadeit notes about the agreement, “Most importantly, it would give Newport veto power over John Wayne runway expansion.”
“But at Supervisor Jim Silva's request . . . the county staff at the last minute inserted an amendment. This states the county wouldn't object if the city cut the trail from the Santa Ana Heights Specific Plan.” Then Mickadeit goes on and on about the trail . . .
Website Editor: If the purpose of California’s Brown Act - the open meeting law - is to insure that interested members of the public know about the subject matter under consideration so that they can determine whether to monitor or participate in the Board meeting, then the action item intended to grant the city's airport veto doesn’t seen to us to pass the test.
Update - On Monday, after we posted this, the county added the agreement to its staff report and changed the title of the agenda item to include mention of the airport:
El Toro Info Site Report, October 15, 2006
Website marks ten years reporting airport news
Ten years ago today, the El Toro Info Site posted its first article.
"Pilots Wave Off Easterly Departures from El Toro"
"The nation's 44,000 major-airline pilots will steadfastly oppose commercial flights at El Toro if the county insists on easterly takeoffs, because the pilots contend such takeoffs would be unsafe." The pilots’ position, which conflicts with the County Reuse Plan, would put more planes over central and north county.
With the demise of plans for El Toro, the website’s team of volunteers has broadened the site’s coverage to all of Southern California’s commercial airports. Ten years of reports - that chronicle the debate over what to do about regional airports - are available in the News Archives.
The entire website is available and indexed for keyword search through a built in Google link.
El Toro Info Site Report, October 14, 2006
Supervisors appear poised to hand NPB a veto over JWA runways
A day after the Newport Beach City Council unanimously signed off on “a huge victory” agreement, giving the city “another layer of control” over John Wayne Airport’s future, the county scheduled the deal for speedy Board of Supervisors approval. The “cooperative agreement” gives the city a permanent veto over JWA runway extensions, including the power to block the airport from acquiring land for the purpose in the neighboring city of Costa Mesa.
The public would hardly guess that control over airport runways was the key element of this coming Tuesday’s (October 17) published Board agenda item #69.
The county staff report and Summary of item #69, on the county website, seems unusually uninformative about the negotiated runway veto. The airport deal is camouflaged by a mish-mash of park, trail, habitat and Newport Bay related matters. No mention of “runways” appears in the agenda report that the public sees on the Board’s site.
The text of the “cooperative agreement” is accessible on this website and on the Newport Beach city website but was not on the county site as of this posting.
The secretiveness with which this runway deal was negotiated between Supervisor Silva, county staff and Newport Beach is evident in the latest batch of documents received this week in response to our request under the California Public Records Act. We asked the County CEO for every document dealing with “negotiations between the County of Orange and the city of Newport Beach concerning ‘Spheres issues’ and control of John Wayne Airport.”
The 67 pages provided in response do not include a single mention of the airport. There are no meeting notes, no letters, no emails, and no drafts of the agreement. There are no written comments from airport management or the Airport Commission about the runway issue. There is no paper trace of the long negotiations leading to Newport gaining control over the future expansion of the county’s only airport.
The deal has been condemned in some quarters as “irresponsible” for failing to address future regional air travel needs and criticized by others for being negotiated behind “closed doors”. On both scores, the public will be ill served by approval of this premature action to foreclose the county’s potential long range ability to serve air travel demand.
LA Times, October 14, 2006
"First El Toro Insignia Was Too Correct"
"Anatomical details were removed from the O.C. base's emblem."
"This story came to light . . . with the unveiling of plans to revive a snippet of Marine Corps history at the Orange County Great Park."
"When military officials asked Walt Disney to design an insignia based on the name of the new El Toro Marine Corps Air Station [in 1943] they got more bull than they bargained for."
"Uncle Walt, who had created a number of military logos, drew a snarling bovine with wings, a nose ring and a Marine Corps tattoo. The bull was also extremely anatomically correct."
More from the Times. . .
U.S. Department of Transportation, October 13, 2006
"July 2006 Airline Traffic Data: Seven-Month System Traffic Up 0.5 Percent From 2005"
"U.S. airlines carried 439 million scheduled domestic and international passengers on their systems during the first seven months of 2006, 0.5 percent more than they did during the same period in 2005, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported in a release of preliminary data"
"BTS, a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the U.S. airlines carried 0.2 percent fewer domestic passengers and 6.0 percent more international passengers."
"U.S. carriers operated 6.1 million domestic and international flights during the first seven months of 2006, 4.4 percent fewer than were operated during the same period in 2005."
LAX was the fourth busiest U.S. airport based on the DOT data which does not include passengers on foreign air carriers.
El Toro Info Site report, October 12, 2006
Foreign travel reported
SCAG has provided a breakdown of foreign travel from the Los Angeles area for the 3rd quarters of 2005 and 2006. Mexico leads the list in popularity.
While Pacific Basin travel received much attention during the debate over whether an large international commercial airport was needed at El Toro, the data shows that most flyers are headed to and from areas easily reached from any of the existing Southern California airports.
Daily Passenger Departures - Scheduled for the 3rd Quarter 2006
| Mexico |
48 |
| Asia |
26 |
| Canada |
26 |
| Europe |
21 |
| Australia/Pacific Rim |
12 |
| Central America |
9 |
| Other - Western Hemisphere |
6 |
| Total Daily Departures |
148 |
El Toro Info Site report, October 11, 2006
JWA has fifth straight down month
John Wayne Airport reports that September traffic lagged that of September 2005. This is the fifth straight month in which the number of travelers was less than in the previous year.
Year to date traffic at John Wayne is down by 1.1 percent.
2006 volume is projected to fall 7 to 8 percent below the airport’s 10.3 million passenger cap. Despite this allowance for growth, the number of flights from JWA has increased by only 0.2 percent this year.
We believe that demand for flights in and out of Orange County – which has one of the most user-friendly airports in the region - is high if only the county would allow carriers to provide more service to more destinations.
LA Times, October 11, 2006
"Newport Beach, Airport Sign Deal to Block a 2nd Runway"
"That irks L.A. officials seeking ways to cushion soaring passenger demand."
"At a time when Southern California airports are struggling with a soaring passenger load, a deal between Orange County and Newport Beach officials could allow the city to block John Wayne Airport from building a second runway for commercial jets." See report below.
"The vote comes as Los Angeles officials are encouraging Southland airports to shoulder more of the region's travelers, whose numbers are expected to double by 2030."
"L.A. City Councilman Tony Cardenas condemned the Orange County action. 'For them to even consider this … it's unconscionable and it's irresponsible,'" he said."
"Orange County officials are shirking their responsibility to help absorb the region's growing air traffic, he said. While their constituents complain about jet noise, 'L.A. County, LAX and Ontario are going to be pushed and pushed and pushed to bear the burden' of Southern California's air travel needs."
"In two to three decades, John Wayne Airport is expected to go from handling half the local flight demand to [only] one-third, according to the Southern California Assn. of Governments."
"'It can't expand without stretching those runways out,' said Don Hughes, deputy chief of staff for Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva, whose district includes the airport. 'It's always been a community airport … and we can't do something that would increase flights without the community's input.'"
Website Editor: L.A. attempts to interfere with O.C. including the El Toro reuse debate are unwelcome here. Click for the full Times article.
However Councilman Cardenas raises questions as to whether the Orange County supervisors are being responsible and considering the regional aviation situation as they support this very NIMBY political measure. What provisions are being considered to serve more of O.C.'s air traffic elsewhere if the future demand grows faster than what a runway limited John Wayne can serve?
El Toro Info Site report, October 11, 2006
Newport Beach Council backs JWA limits in surprising meeting
Two sides of Newport Beach were on view Tuesday night at the city council meeting when City Manager Homer Bludau presented the “Spheres Issue” package for city approval. To Bludau, obtaining a city veto over any extension of John Wayne Airport’s main runway or the addition of a second commercial runway was the “key provision” of a package of loosely related items. “The airport “was where we started [negotiating with the county] three years ago.”
Then questions began regarding the park, trail and harbor elements of the agreement. In public comments, 10 of the 11 citizens who spoke were concerned with these issues and particularly about a provision in the agreement to eliminate a proposed horse trail on Mesa Drive in Santa Ana Heights.
More than one speaker blasted Supervisor Jim Silva for adding the provision against the trail “that stinks of special interests” into the draft agreement “at the last moment” to benefit a powerful supporter.
A clearly frustrated Bludau interrupted to try to remind the public participants that getting agreement from the supervisors on the airport runway veto was “a tremendous achievement for the city.” He presented it as a nearly done deal.
The horse trail continued to dominate discussion.
Ultimately each council member appealed to the public to support the spheres package when it gets to the Board of Supervisors in a week on October 17. They variously admitted being “stunned” and “flabbergasted” by the public’s limited appreciation of what they called a “huge victory”, a “red letter day” “a banner day after many meetings with the supervisors”, “a big, big deal” and “another level of control over the airport.”
The council voted unanimously to leave the horse trail provision alone and present the deal, as is, to a vote of the Board of Supervisors. If the supervisors go along as the council obviously expects, Newport Beach will be empowered forever to veto a longer runway at the county’s airport.
I hope that a fully capable airport has as many supporters as the smelly horse trail.
OC Register, October 10, 2006
"Dodging a bullet on El Toro"
"History has vindicated the decision against building a second O.C. airport."
"There's ample evidence that the politicians were wrong to push this multibillion dollar boondoggle, and the voters were right to stop them."
"Orange County voters saved the county from an economic disaster by passing Measure F in 2000 and Measure W in 2002 over opposition from their government. But for the passage of these two anti-airport initiatives, the county was poised to build an unneeded commercial airport at the closed Marine Corps Air Station El Toro."
"Pro-airport county supervisors intended to start cargo flights in 1999 and have new terminals built and reconstructed runways ready for passenger flights by 2005."
"They proposed to float a billion dollars in bonds . . . Had they not been stopped, OCX probably would be sitting nearly empty today, failing to generate the revenue to cover payments on its huge bond debt."
"To those who contend that the answer to not having enough demand to warrant two airports would be to close John Wayne, I'd point out that the JWA expansion will be done for one-tenth of the cost of building an El Toro airport."
Click for the entire op-ed piece by this website's Editor.
El Toro Info Site report, October 10, 2006
Southern California to New York’s Kennedy Airport
Air travelers from Southern California are more likely to be headed for New York’s JFK airport than to any other destination more than 400 miles away. See report below. JFK is an access point to the Big Apple, a connection to cities all along the northeast, and a primary gateway to Europe and the Middle East.
Southern Californians can fly nonstop to JFK on American, Delta, United and JetBlue from LAX, Ontario, Burbank, Long Beach and San Diego but not from Orange County’s John Wayne.
The best that John Wayne can offer is much more expensive seats on smaller 737-700 aircraft to Newark.
An analysis of the JWA runway indicated that it is too short for a fully loaded 757 to land on a wet day. A modest increase in runway length within the current land perimeter could fix the deficiency.
Any agreement whereby the Board of Supervisors grants Newport Beach a veto over acquiring property for the purpose of extending JWA’s commercial air carrier runway to the south should be conditioned on an agreement that Newport will not oppose lengthening of the runway on airport property subject to appropriate environmental analysis.
El Toro Info Site report, October 9, 2006
Where do all those planes fly?
A report to be presented to the Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG by BACK Aviation Solutions on Thursday shows that half of all flights from the LA area are for distances less than 600 miles. For all of these passengers, the time spent on the ground accessing the airport, clearing security and check in and waiting exceeds the flying time.
While the published data lacks details, it appears that nearly all of these flights are to destinations within 400 miles. Five of the six top origin/destination markets for L.A. passengers fall within this radius. The top destinations are:
2. Las Vegas
3. Phoenix
4. Sacramento
5. New York - JFK
6. San Jose
7. Seattle
8. Dallas-Ft. Worth
9. Chicago
10. Denver
The Sunday Daily Breeze carried an article, “Face it: joy of flying
is no more” by one of these short hop travelers looking forward
to California high speed rail.
OC Register, October
8, 2006
"Flyaway planned
for Great Park"
"Way down on the southern section of the planned Great Park, a 20-acre
site will symbolize the defeat of the proposed airport at the old base
and signal a new strategy in dealing with congested airports."
"As part of an expanded train station where Metrolink and Amtrak trains
now stop, a flyaway station will be built – a place where airline
passengers can check their bags and board a bus for the journey to area
airports."
"Great Park planners and developer Lennar Corp. have not yet set a date
on starting the Great Park flyaway but such stations can be set up
quickly."
"Coach America says it is discussing offering service from the Irvine
train station and wants to start a flyaway to Ontario International
Airport. For that, though, it is waiting on completion of the bus and
car-pool lane on the Artesia-Riverside (91) Freeway."
Website Editor:
The report does not indicate whether Los
Angeles World Airports - which has historically resisted allowing
Flyaway service from Orange County - is on board with the idea.
OC Register, October 7,
2006
"Deal lets city
veto JWA growth"
"An accord to give Newport Beach veto power over expansion at John
Wayne Airport has been hammered out after nearly three years of talks,
officials said Friday."
"In the deal between Newport and county officials, the city could
reject any effort to build a second commercial runway at the county-run
airport. Lengthening the existing commercial runway southward would
also have to pass muster with Newport, where residents have long chafed
at the din of jets overhead."
"The plan awaits approval by Newport's City Council on Tuesday and by
the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 17."
"In return for control of runway expansion, Newport agreed not to annex
land at John Wayne. It will also limit housing near the aviation hub."
"Airport Director Alan Murphy said there is no plan to add or enlarge
runways. He wouldn't speculate on future passenger caps, but said John
Wayne is 'about at the limit of what it can do.'"
The
potential exists for lengthening the main runway to better handle 767's but the county is
forgoing the opportunity at Newport's request.
"Rick Taylor, a member of the nonprofit Airport Working Group,
criticized the closed-door talks that led to the agreement. 'History
tells us when things like this are done behind closed doors, things
usually go wrong,' Taylor said."
Website
Editor: This is one of the few times that AWG's Taylor and I see eye to
eye. Despite
assurances from supervisors that "JWA would not be on the agenda" of
spheres issues discussed, the county appears poised to give away
the airport's future potential in return for getting next to nothing.
Newport achieves its #1 priority - a veto over the runways. But
Orange County and the flying public don't get any relaxation of the
stringent controls over the number of passengers and flights. We
continue to have high
air fares and limited choices of destinations.
Express
your opinion to the Board of Supervisors before it is too late.
El Toro Info Site
report, October 6, 2006 - updated
Newport Beach
continues effort to gain control of JWA’s future
The Newport Beach City Council will revisit
their campaign to gain control over the future development of John
Wayne airport. The so called “spheres issue” agreement with the county
is back on the city council agenda for
Tuesday, October 10.
The draft agreement
gives the city veto power over "acquiring property for the purpose of
extending the existing commercial air carrier runway to the south or
constructing an additional commercial air carrier runway." The 65 CNEL
noise footprint for the airport may not be expanded from its current
contour.
The city staff report and draft agreement are published
on the NPB city website.
The action is intended to come before the Board
of Supervisors on October 17. Now
is the time to tell them what you think of the "spheres" deal.
It is unclear as to what the county or the traveling public gets out of
giving Newport Beach what it wants. The future of John Wayne Airport –
which already is limited by
one agreement between Newport Beach and the county - may be burdened
with another set of constraints.
Voice of San Diego,
October 5, 2006
"Airport Mailer
Raises Questions"
San Diego proponents of a measure supporting commercial aviation at
Miramar say a "four-page color mailer designed to educate . . . about
problems at Lindbergh Field . . . isn't a campaign piece for the
airport vote that is five weeks away."
"Opponents say it is illegal, a misuse of public funds and nefariously
timed to influence absentee voters getting their ballots next week."
"Public agencies are prohibited from advocating for ballot initiatives.
The airport authority cannot spend its own revenues -- generated from
fees charged to passengers, shopkeepers and airlines -- to urge voters
to vote yes or no. But election law experts say California law leaves a
large gray area between education and advocacy."
Click
for more . . .
"Public agencies often send educational mailers out close to
Election Day, [Daniel Lowenstein, an election law professor at
University of California, Los Angeles] said. But the close timing does
not alone make the mailer a violation."
"Steve Erie, a political science professor at
University of California, San Diego, said the ballot chase was a
trademark of political consultant Tom Shepard, who has been retained by
the airport authority. . . 'Shepard is a master of local ballot
initiatives.'"
Website Editor: Tom Shepard was the
political consultant who ran the hugely successful Measure F campaign
in 2000 against El Toro Airport.
The San Diego education-advocacy flap
comes as the Irvine World News reminds readers of the
October 12 release of designs for the Great Park - a potential
publicity boost for the Irvine City Council members running for
election on November 4 as the "Great Park Team."
OC Register, October
4, 2006
"Getting around to
transit"
"The Great Park might add a touch of Disneyland. A monorail similar to
the theme park's is one of four transit options considered for the
park."
"City planners and consultants started talking to residents and nearby
business owners Tuesday about a possible 5 1/2 -mile Great Park
transportation system that would link to the Irvine Spectrum Center."
Website
Editor: A Spectrum transportation system to include a link to John
Wayne Airport has
been under study in Irvine for several years.
"Transportation will be studied for one year before a transit system,
route and funding plan are suggested to the Irvine City Council. The
system could open as early as 2012."
"To pay for the transit system, city leaders plan to use the unused
state funding once allotted to the CenterLine transit project, which
voters rejected in 2003."
Click
for the whole report.
On a somewhat related matter the LA Times reports "Light-Rail, Green Line
Link to Be Studied"
"The [Los Angeles] City Council on Tuesday sought a study of the
environmental consequences of connecting the proposed Exposition Line
light-rail system with a possible extension of the Metro Green Line to
Los Angeles International Airport."
LA Times, October 3,
2006
"Outages Highlight
Internal FAA Rift"
"When a string of air traffic control equipment malfunctions repeatedly
disrupted air service in Southern California this summer, congressional
leaders and airport executives questioned whether systemic problems
were to blame."
"The failures, which occurred in July at a Palmdale facility that
handles the region's high-altitude traffic and in July and August at
Los Angeles International Airport, cost airlines hundreds of thousands
of dollars and inconvenienced passengers around the world."
"The outages prompted a federal inquiry by the U.S. Department of
Transportation's inspector general. As the inquiry continues, Times
interviews with technicians who work on the systems, controllers who
use them and FAA management revealed a deepening internal quarrel about
how the complex equipment should be maintained."
Go
to the Times website for more.
El Toro Info Site
report, October 3, 2006 - updated
“Congress declares
Miramar a no-fly zone for commercial aircraft”
The San Diego North County Times reported on September 30 that “Less than six weeks before county residents go the polls to decide whether they want a new airport built at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, Congress was poised . . . to trump the local advisory vote by declaring the land off-limits.”
An amendment to the 2007 Defense Appropriations bill “prohibits the secretary of the Navy from entering into an agreement that would allow civilian aircraft at Miramar, Camp Pendleton or North Island Naval Air Station. . . The Navy also would be barred from ceding any land at the three county bases for construction of a commercial airport.”
The Secretary of the Navy “may not enter into any agreement concerning a military installation that would authorize civil aircraft to regularly use an airfield or any other property at the installation.”
Both houses of Congress approved the defense
authorization bill and it is on its way to the President’s desk for
expected signature.
The vote that San Diego residents will take on
November 4 is advisory. The San Diego Measure A expresses the wish for
an airport on a site that may not be available. If the military doesn’t
leave, the San Diego site selection process will have done little but
delay a solution to the county’s possible shortfall in airport
capacity.
Click for the Union-Tribune editorial "No matter the vote,
Prop. A result is a definite maybe "
El Toro Info Site
report, October 2, 2006 - updated
Future air travel
capacity
LAX served over 67 million passengers in 2000. The airport is headed to
handle only 61 million passengers this year.
How long will it take to reverse fortunes and recoup more than 6
million lost passengers?
History provides a small clue as to what once was possible. In the
seven years from 1993 to 2000, LAX grew by 40 percent, adding 20
million annual passengers in a steady string of record setting years.
More importantly, how long will it take to hit the 78 million annual
passengers that Los Angeles and SCAG set as a ceiling on what they want
to handle at LAX? The FAA has approved L.A.’s plan for shutting LAX
passenger gates to restrict service -
but only until 2015. However, SCAG’s regional transportation
plan assumes the caps
continue until at least 2030.
The problem with long range plans, like SCAG’s for 2030 and San Diego’s
for some distant future when the military might depart Miramar, is that
they don’t produce sufficient short term implementation to deal with
conditions that could arise much sooner.
In the extremely unlikely event that the political, religious and
economic situations that sent air travel into a tailspin were to
dissipate, what would happen? Any resumption of historical growth could
send LAX bumping up against its negotiated limit in less than 10 years.
In a dangerous world, air travel may never be the same again. However,
if we get unexpectedly very lucky, air travel demand could strain local
airports.
Little is being done to ready Ontario, Palmdale and the Inland Empire
airports - projected by SCAG to be players in the long run - for a
significant
role in the short run.
Ontario has to hit 10 MAP two years in a row
before expanding. ONT lags its pre-911 traffic through August. It will
top 7 MAP this year so major construction is on hold.
If demand booms again, artificial caps at LAX,
John Wayne and Long Beach may have to be reconsidered, with LAX having
the greatest ability to quickly pick up the shortfall.
El Toro Info Site
report, October
1, 2006
Year-to-date passengers were up 5%.
Year-to-date cargo carried was up 9.9%.
Year-to-date flight operations were up 5.7%.
|
|
Total passengers |
|
2001 |
60,150,189 |
|
2002 |
52,473,145 |
|
2003 |
53,127,288 |
|
2004 |
58,296,713 |
|
2005 |
59,816,720 |
|
2006 |
59,485,171 |
Airport by airport data behind these numbers shows that LAX lost over 4 million passengers year-to-date in 2006 compared to 2001. Most, but not all, were picked up by the other airports.
Click here for
previous news stories
