As use dwindles, calls grow for local control of Ontario airport - LA Times
After three decades of steady growth, L.A./Ontario International Airport — a pillar of pride for the Inland Empire — lost a third of its 7.2 million annual passengers between 2007 and 2010. It's on track to lose an additional 200,000 this year.
After three decades of steady growth and earning a Forbes magazine nod as one of the nation's top "alternative airports," Ontario International is now among the fastest-declining midsize airports in the country.
Inland Empire leaders increasingly are convinced that Los Angeles World Airports, which operates both LAX and Ontario, has become an absentee landlord bent on a multibillion-dollar modernization of LAX at the expense of its weaker stepchild and potential competitor 56 miles to the east.
Los Angeles officials counter that Ontario is a victim of economic forces largely beyond their control and might not recover until travel demand returns to pre-recession levels.
Disenchantment has fostered an effort to regain local ownership of the airport, which Los Angeles acquired at no cost in 1985 after operating it since 1967. The idea has the backing of 20 other cities and the Southern California Assn. of Governments, an influential regional planning agency.
If they can regain control of the airport through a simple transfer of ownership, Ontario city officials say they would aggressively market it and create incentives to lure new airlines, including slashing carrier costs to below $4 per passenger — less than a third of current fees.
Website Editor: If the Inland Empire gains control and cuts costs to attract more flights to ONT, they must come from some other airport's volume. Will this create shrinkage at Palm Springs Airport and Orange County's newly expanded John Wayne Airport?
What did $543 million buy JWA? - OC Register
New terminal: John Wayne Airport will open its new Terminal C on Nov. 14, the first major overhaul of the airport in 20 years. What did taxpayers and travelers get for their money?
John Wayne Airport is wrapping up a major expansion without huge delays, without blowing its budget, without becoming embroiled in lawsuits and without firing its lead contractor.
The nine-figure tab was mostly covered by bonds, revenue from airlines and concessions, a $4.50 fee levied on departing travelers and federal grants.
Headlining the expansion are a new terminal and a new parking structure, but numerous other elements are expected to make JWA more efficient, more attractive and more convenient.
"It's not really necessary to have that big building," longtime airport activist Charles Griffin said of the new terminal. "It could handle 10.8 [million annual passengers] as it was."
The likelihood of JWA witnessing another major expansion appears low, both because of legal constraints on flights and practical limits on the 500-acre property. "I don't see any more improvements of this nature happening in the next 50 years," Supervisor John Moorlach said.
[Airport Director Alan] Murphy was more circumspect, but suggested JWA is close to being fully grown up. "It's hard to say, because who knows what the aviation business is going to look like 20 years from now, but ... we are running out of space," Murphy said. "We've basically developed everything we can develop."
LB's Airport Director Appointed to Powerful Board - Press-Telegram
Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez has been appointed to a powerful organization representing more than 95 percent of the globe's air travelers.
The Airports Council International represents 1,650 airports in 179 countries and territories, and Rodriguez will sit on the council's North American board of directors.
He'll also remain in his current role overseeing Long Beach Airport.
LAX up 6%, ONT down 5%
LAX served 4,980,288 passengers in September, 6.1 percent more than in September 2010.
Ontario saw 360,307 passengers in September, 5.2 percent fewer than last year.
For the calendar year to date, LAX was up by 5.6 percent and ONT down by 4.7 percent.
More passengers but fewer flights at JWA in September
Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in September 2011 as compared to September 2010. In September 2011, the Airport served 701,135 passengers, an increase of 2.5% when compared to the September 2010 passenger traffic count of 683,999.
Commercial aircraft operations decreased 2.7%, while Commuter aircraft operations decreased 17.0% when compared to the levels recorded in September 2010.
October 17 - October 23, 2011
Upgrade! The New John Wayne: Who Needs LAX - Orange Coast magazine
The glitzy ad magazine devotes its cover to a 12 page puff piece about the airport saying Check it Out. New terminal, smart parking, quick boarding, hot bars, cool art and Zov's! The two-year $540 million upgrade to John Wayne Airport gives travelers more great reasons to avoid the mess at LAX.
There is a short bio on Airport Director Alan L. Murphy who first worked for the county's auditor-controller. He came to the airport in 1986.
Also a run down on the eateries at JWA. One column lists the ways to fly direct from SNA to 21 cities. The airport's three top destinations are Phoenix, Denver and Dallas.
SCAG Regional Plan allocates passengers between airports
Forecasts for the Southern California Association of Governments 2012 Regional Transportation Plan are in the works. The plan is updated every four years.
In the table below, planners assume that passenger and flight limitations in place at LAX, John Wayne and Long Beach Airports will remain in effect beyond their current expiration dates. Consequently, planners have tentatively allocated the forecasted passenger volume in 2035 to be accommodated at remote airports including Palmdale, San Bernardino, and other former military bases that have no current service.
Ontario is forecasted to grow roughly six fold. Burbank is assumed to be physically limited by its 14 gates.
The planners acknowledge that any changes in the legal limits and agreements imposed at the urban airports will alter the actual allocations in the future.
New JWA terminal will open without Mexico flights - OC Register Travel
Terminal C at John Wayne will open Nov. 14 without flights that need to use the new Customs and Border Patrol facilities. The airport is asking county officials to approve incentives for airlines to start service to Mexico.
When John Wayne Airport holds its press preview and VIP tour of the new Terminal C next month, visitors will inspect the international arrivals area, the first of its kind in Orange County. Here passengers flying in from foreign countries could present their passports to Customs and Border Patrol officers as they enter the United States.
After the tours, the area will close, even as the rest of the airport opens to the public Nov. 14 . . . because there are no foreign flights.
Looking at the location of the airport, the mix of airlines, the range of the aircraft and the local demographics, it's pretty easy to see the facility was built with one destination in mind: Mexico.
The airport agrees and has carried on talks over the past year with a number of airlines. But so far, no takers. To goose the process along, John Wayne officials are asking the county to approve an incentive program that will give airlines several hundred thousand dollars in airport rent discounts for every new Mexico destination they serve nonstop from John Wayne. The plan goes to the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 9.
JetBlue Airways, Delta Airlines, US Airways get slots at Long Beach Airport - Press-Telegram
Two weeks after Allegiant Airlines announced it was ending service at Long Beach Airport, the carrier's three daily slots have been filled through a lottery.
JetBlue Airways, Delta Airlines and US Airways received the positions and are expected to announce destinations in coming days.
Airport authorities said demand for the slots was overwhelming, with more than twice as many seeking positions than were available.
Under city ordinances, the airport allows a maximum 41 daily passenger flights.
Full-body scanners coming to JWA - OC Register
Eleven full-body scanners will be installed at John Wayne Airport security checkpoints, officials said Monday.
High-tech imagers generated widespread controversy when they were rolled out in select airports in recent years, with many travelers denouncing the highly revealing body images as invasions of privacy.
Millimeter wave scanners at John Wayne Airport will be equipped with software that produces no image unless a possible threat is detected, in which case only a generic body is shown.
October 3 - October 9, 2011
Bob Hope traffic continues to slide - Burbank Leader
Airline passenger traffic at the Bob Hope Airport dropped again in August, but at a much lower rate than earlier this year, according to the latest figures released this week.
The number of passengers using the airfield in August dropped 1.6% compared to the same period last year, beating budget projections for the month, officials said.
The improved figures were a relative bright spot in what has otherwise been a dreary year. Passenger figures dropped 3.3% in July, preceded by declines of more than 5% the four months prior.
The airfield handled 392,826 passengers in August, down from 399,180 passengers in August 2010, according to statistics released on Monday to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.
Newport moves closer on affordable housing - Daily Pilot
Area for development is near John Wayne Airport, where a total of 2,200 homes are allowed.
Agreeing to lift constraints on affordable housing development, Newport Beach officials have received tentative approval of the city's housing blueprint.
Regulators from the state Department of Housing and Community Development said last month that the city's moves would bring it into compliance with state law.
If the City Council adopts the plan next month, affordable housing developments near John Wayne Airport would be automatically approved if they meet certain requirements.
Jet noise levels at LAX have declined since 1992 - Mercury News
Roaring jetliners are generating less noise while taking off and landing at Los Angeles International Airport, primarily driven by efficiencies within the airline industry over the past two decades, officials told the Board of Airport Commissioners on Monday.
Noise levels declined up to 6 decibels in communities surrounding LAX due to fewer flights and quieter engines installed in passenger planes since 1992.
"This is pretty significant," said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of LAX, the nation's third-busiest airport.
Federal laws enacted over past 20 years have required air carriers to significantly reduce noise generated by plane engines.
That mandate has resulted in larger, fuel-efficient jetliners that operate at full capacity, leading to an 18 percent decline in departures and landings at LAX. Even though operations have dropped, passenger traffic at LAX increased from 45.7 million travelers in 1992 to more than 59 million travelers last year.
September 26 - October 2, 2011
Allegiant Air leaving Long Beach Airport - Contra Costa Times
Allegiant Air is leaving Long Beach, the second carrier to scuttle service to the city since Spring.
The carrier, which began service out of Long Beach Airport in July 2010, announced Friday it is giving up three daily slots by Nov. 28, though other airlines are expected to pick up those slots shortly.
Airport officials said they will put the spaces into a lottery for interested airlines within days, and the spaces will then be assigned randomly before the end of October.
When Frontier Air ended service in April, JetBlue and Allegiant won the airline's two slots and began flights a few weeks later, maintaining the airport's legally mandated maximum of 41 daily commuter flights.
Southwest wants to add two JWA flights - Daily Pilot
Other carriers serving Orange County plan to cut back six flights a day.
Southwest Airlines will add two daily flights at John Wayne Airport if the Orange County Board of Supervisors approves the airport's 2012 capacity plan Tuesday.
With the added flights, Southwest will further dominate JWA, including at the new Terminal C, which is set to open Nov. 14.
This year's distribution of flights comes as officials ramp up for negotiations about the airport's passenger cap and other limits, which expire in 2015.
While Southwest is adding flights, other carriers are dropping them. U.S. Airways, United Airlines, WestJet and Mesa Air are all scaling back their departures. Those four airlines would relinquish their rights to about six flights per day.
Also in the JWA capacity plan is a new carrier, Compass Airlines, which plans to operate Delta Connection's commuter flights.
Airlines ask for fewer seats at JWA
John Wayne Airport management has asked the Board of Supervisors to approve the allocation of 11,735,392 passenger seats to the airlines serving the airport next year. That is the number requested by the airlines. It is the smallest request since the airport's allowed capacity was increased in the 2003-4 Plan Year.
A decrease in the number of seats that the airlines seek to fill generally translates into fewer actual passengers.
The airport manager has recommended that two average daily flights requested by Southwest and Alaska Airlines be denied.
In 2012, the airport will list one new carrier, Compass Airlines. Compass is part of the Delta group and currently flies regional aircraft in the midwest.
LAX - The airport that devoured the region
August 2011 data shows total LAX passenger volume this year ahead of 2010's 8 month volume by 5.6 percent.
For domestic travel, the airport was up, year-to-date, by 5.9 percent. That amounts to 1.7 million more passengers served this year.
The increase occurred as several other regional airports posted decreased usage. Ontario was down by 150,000 passengers. John Wayne was down by about 60,000. Burbank, through July, saw a drop of about 114,000. Where did they go? Well, to Los Angeles it appears, where airlines have been concentrating service.
After years of local groups promoting "regionalization," to put the noise and pollution in someone else's back yard, centralization has taken over.
