NEWS - November 2006
El Toro Info Site
report, November 29, 2006
Thanksgiving air
travel reports vary
Daily Breeze, November
28, 2006
"LAX runway plans
are likely to stir up new foes"
LA Times, November 27,
2006
"Plane strikes
Buena Park homes; 2 aboard injured"
LA Times, November 26, 2006
"LAX dispute could
increase airfares"
El Toro Info Site report,
November 23, 2006
Long Beach airport
traffic off
OC Register, November 22,
2006
"Fallen tower may
rise again"
Daily Breeze, November
21, 2006, posted November 22
"Group urges
airlines to land in Palmdale"
OC Register, November 21,
2006
"FAA seeking
guidance on El Toro navigation station"
LA Times,
November 20, 2006
"Fewer fly, but the
lines will be long"
El Toro Info Site report,
November 19, 2006
Palm Springs
Airport posts 12th record month
Voice of San Diego,
November 18, 2006 - updated
"Future of New
Airport Authority Becomes Clearer"
El Toro Info Site report,
November 17, 2006
Airport land
commission nixes high rise development near JWA
Press- Enterprise,
November 16, 2006
"March's property
executive resigns"
El Toro Info Site
report, November 16, 2006
Department of
Transportation releases August air travel stats
El Toro Info Site
report, November 16, 2006
San Diego looks to
the future
Press-Enterprise, November
15, 2006
"Airport noise
study gets unanimous OK"
El Toro Info Site
report, November 14, 2006
Will airport
planners revisit a North San Diego – Orange County site?
El Toro Info Site report,
November 13, 2006
JWA posts October
statistics
El Toro Info Site report,
November 13, 2006
Riverside to study
cargo flight noise at March
Voice of San Diego,
November 11, 2006
"The loudest
dissenter on the airport authority's board gives her assessment of what
went wrong with the [San Diego] airport search."
El Toro Info Site
report, November 9, 2006
“Miramar - What
went wrong?”
El Toro Info Site
report, November 8, 2006
Agran’s team, Pat
Bates in, Miramar out
The Press-Enterprise,
November 7, 2006
"Ontario Travel Has
Tapered Off"
Voice of San Diego,
November 6, 2006
"The Proposition
with No Answer"
North County Times,
November 3, 2006 updated November 5
"Big money drives
airport debate"
Associated Press, November
3, 2006
“Half of U.S.
commercial runways lack standard safety zone”
Associated Press, November 2,
2006
"Las Vegas airport
tally up 4 percent in September"
El Toro Info Site
report, November 1, 2006
SoCal air travel
off for first 9 months
Thanksgiving air travel reports vary
Area airports made their pre-holiday traffic predictions but have yet to publicize how well they fared. Most area airports have yet to post their October traffic statistics. Subjective reports from around the country show marked differences.
In Los Angeles, where 1.8 million travelers were expected at LAX, the Daily Bulletin reported at the start of the weekend “Holiday exodus crams LAX tight”.
“Throughout the morning, passengers spilled onto the curb from airport shuttles filled to capacity, only to brave mammoth lines: lines for tickets, lines to inspect bags, lines inching through security and lines to finally board their flights.”
In New York, Crain’s Business reported “Airports moved record number of travelers” and an official called it a “relatively smooth extended weekend.”
“Some 1.6 million travelers passed through the [NY] airports from Wednesday to Sunday, about 300,000 more than last year's holiday. The AirTrain system carried 64,000 passengers to JFK over the weekend and about 34,500 to Newark Liberty International Airport.”
In San Diego, the Voice of San Diego and local newspapers reported things going smoothly as the holiday began.
Daily Breeze, November 28, 2006
"LAX runway plans are likely to stir up new foes"
"Los Angeles International Airport today will unveil a series of ideas for reshaping its north airfield, including a few that would push an active runway closer to the dense neighborhoods of Westchester."
"The ideas . . . are meant to address long-standing concerns about the safety of aircraft on the airport's two northern runways. LAX officials say the layout of those runways could contribute to dangerous mistakes that would put one airplane in the path of another. '
"The Los Angeles agency that runs LAX will post diagrams of the possible changes on its Web site today, at www.laxmasterplan.org."
"The airport already is spending $333 million to shift one of [its two south] runways closer to El Segundo and build a new taxiway. That will give airplanes more room to slow down and maneuver before they blunder onto the inner runway. The ideas for reconfiguring the two runways on the Westchester side of LAX follow the same line of thought."
"The Federal Aviation Administration has made it clear that it wants some kind of improvement to the north runways to cut the risk of collisions. Last fall, administrator Marion Blakey told a Senate subcommittee that she expects the airport to begin reconfiguring those runways within six to eight years."
Click for more from the Daily Breeze and LA Times.
LA Times, November 27, 2006
"Plane strikes Buena Park homes; 2 aboard injured"
"A small Beechcraft plane on its way to Fullerton Airport late Sunday afternoon smashed into two houses in Buena Park, half a mile short of its destination, Orange County Fire Authority officials said."
"Both men aboard were badly hurt and taken by ambulance to UCI Medical Center in Orange." There were no injuries on the ground.
Click for reports in the Times and Register.
LA Times, November 26, 2006
"LAX dispute could increase airfares"
"An acrimonious dispute between the city's airport agency and low-cost carriers over terminal rents at Los Angeles International Airport could lead to increased fares and force officials to delay long-awaited plans to modernize the aging facility."
"The disagreement became public recently when airlines took the unusual step of airing concerns about what they consider to be a major rate increase."
"'This would catapult LAX to the most expensive airport in Southwest's system,' Bob Montgomery, the airline's vice president of properties, told airport commissioners Monday. 'This will damage our ability to offer low fares.'"
"The disagreement threatens to return the city to the testy relationship it had with airlines in the early 1990s, when officials raised landing fees at LAX, saying they needed the money to keep pace with growth."
"That battle led to years of court challenges, threatened to close the airport and challenged then-Mayor Richard Riordan's business-friendly reputation. The dispute also led officials to temporarily halt construction on improvements to terminals operated by American and United airlines."
"Officials with Los Angeles World Airports . . . say it has been subsidizing the airlines for years and must start charging fair market rent — as well as higher fees to clean and maintain terminals — to fund increased security costs and airport improvements. Those fees would not be enough, however, to pay for major projects — requiring officials to go to the carriers for more money later."
"Airlines say the . . . change would force them to raise ticket prices and reduce flights."
"Los Angeles citizens have it good now," [an airline attorney] added. 'Average transcontinental fares are in the $400 range rather than the $1,700 range. If this increase goes through, you can expect the $1,700 fares.'"
"The city's airport agency officials counter that the rate increases would raise airlines' costs only slightly. "LAWA is hopeful that the minor increase in fares … will not result in the loss of any passengers,[one] wrote. 'However, we are mindful of the need for regionalization and, to the extent that airlines choose to fly out of [Ontario] or [Palmdale], our regionalization goals will be advanced.'"
"Carriers and airport officials plan to meet this week, with both sides saying they hope they can find common ground." More . . .
El Toro Info Site report, November 23, 2006
Long Beach airport traffic off
Passenger traffic at Long Beach Airport was down 9.9 percent in October compared to the same month in 2005. For the year to date, passenger totals were down by 9.5 percent.
Most of the drop is attributable to American Airlines discontinuing service at Long Beach airport.
The travelers probably switched to another nearby airport but which one is unclear. The latest data from the John Wayne Airport shows no resulting increase in the number of American flights from Orange County where the airline was limited by the county to its previous allotment of seats. Information from LAX lacks detail that could shed light on whether they used that airport.
OC Register, November 22, 2006
"Fallen tower may rise again"
"In December 2004, the 760-foot-tall KFI-AM radio tower crashed to the ground when a rental plane descending toward Fullerton Municipal Airport slammed into it, killing the pilot and his wife."
"Now, less than two years later, plans are being circulated to rebuild the radio tower – approaching its original height. It would rise at the same La Mirada location, less than two miles northwest of the Fullerton runway."
"La Mirada planners recommended approval of the project to the Planning Commission but they pulled back to give Fullerton's concerns more consideration."
Website Editor: The Orange County Airport Land Use Commission has objected but has no authority over the tower location across the border in Los Angeles County.
"In a seven-page report, the FAA said the tower would not be a substantial risk. The report concludes: 'It is the view of the FAA that the cumulative effect of the reconstruction of the KFI broadcast tower … will have no greater substantial adverse effect upon airspace utilization by any parties than did the previous structure.'"
"Fullerton pilots and airport officials are baffled by that conclusion. 'I read that part that says no greater risk and I think, 'Yeah, and by the way, it killed people.' To me that is unacceptable, [Airport Manager Rod] Propst said.
More from the Register with a map of the area . . .
In another airport environs matter, the Costa Mesa City Council held off action on a group of proposed high rise developments near John Wayne Airport after the Airport Land Use Commission objected.
Daily Breeze, November 21, 2006, posted November 22
"Group urges airlines to land in Palmdale"
"On Monday, a coalition of business groups and governments launched a campaign to draw a regional airline to the little airstrip known as Palmdale Regional Airport. It offered cash, free advertising, rental waivers and other goodies to any carrier adventurous enough to take up the offer."
"The coalition, calling itself 'Wheels Up Palmdale,' envisions 50-seat regional jets flying at least twice a day from Palmdale to a West Coast hub such as Phoenix or Denver."
"[LAWA], The Los Angeles agency that operates both Palmdale's airport and LAX agreed Monday to begin searching for a carrier to fly there. The president of its board, Alan Rothenberg, called it 'one small step for Palmdale Airport, one giant leap for regionalization.'"
"A marketing video touts the airport as a 'regional aviation hero' and the 'hot new regional hub.' But the images it shows are of an empty parking lot and a vacant passenger terminal."
"Service at Palmdale 'will (help) alleviate air traffic congestion at LAX as well as (improve) surface transportation leading to LAX ... on critically impacted roadways,' a [federal] grant application promises."
"Palmdale hasn't had major air service since 1998 . . . Palmdale once served the likes of America West, Delta and United, but they all packed it up in the late-1980s. Scenic Airlines attempted to establish a weekly turbo-prop service to North Las Vegas in late 2004, but gave up after little more than a year."
Website Editor: The hoped for two regional jets a day will do little more to relieve LAX than Carlsbad's McClellan-Palomar does with its two flights to Phoenix. Palmdale may become just a feeder - like Carlsbad, and Oxnard in Ventura County - providing small numbers of locals with commuter flights to LAX.
Long Beach Airport has struggled unsuccessfully for years to fill its allowance of 25 regional daily departures.
Until a serious regional site search demonstrates whether Palmdale is suitably located to warrant a major investment, the current effort is seen here as a small political nod to advocates of regionalization. The Daily Breeze, serving readers in the LAX area, appears unimpressed in its report..
OC Register, November 21, 2006
"FAA seeking guidance on El Toro navigation station"
"Although plans for an airport at El Toro collapsed, thousands of commercial aircraft a day still home in on the old airbase."
"That's why Great Park visitors likely will have to get used to a bedroom-sized building with a 30-foot-tall cone on the roof in the middle of what is expected to be woodland."
"El Toro remains home to an air navigation station, maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration, that pilots use to navigate. The VOR (very high frequency omnidirectional range) station sends out a continuous radio signal that pilots use to determine their exact bearing to the station."
"Great Park Corp. executives and FAA officials are discussing alternatives for the station but the FAA seems reluctant to consider closure or a move."
"The VOR is near the confluence of the major runways at El Toro, in an area planned to become an urban forest. If the station stays, the FAA would require a 1,200-foot clear radius around the station."
Click for the article and photo in the Register.
This is one more in a series of bureaucratic vexations delaying the park development. Runway demolition, slated to resume in early November after a six month hiatus for Air Quality Mangement District and city clearance, has yet to get underway.
The Great Orange Balloon, that proponents hoped to launch before the city elections, awaits the Navy's environmental release of its site and will not go up until sometime next year.
LA Times, November 20, 2006
"Fewer fly, but the lines will be long"
"Local airport authorities expect this holiday to be a turkey."
"At Los Angeles, Long Beach, Burbank and Ontario, officials predict the number of passengers using the region's airports will be down slightly or the same as the 10-day Thanksgiving period last year." Website Editor: It's an about face from the rosey forecasts for summer travel that fell flat.
"But make no mistake about it: Security and ticket counter lines will still test passengers' patience, and there will be little elbow room on planes. Officials are also concerned that rules restricting liquids in carry-on bags will add to delays."
"Nationwide, 25 million people will travel on U.S. airlines this Thanksgiving, up 3% from a similar period last year, according to a forecast by the Air Transport Assn., an airline trade group."
"It's a different story in Southern California, where most airports have been hit particularly hard by higher fares and flight cutbacks."
"At Los Angeles International Airport, officials expect 1.8 million travelers between last Friday and next Sunday, matching traffic levels experienced over a similar period last year, according to a forecast to be released today. Passenger numbers will also be flat year-over-year at Ontario International Airport, which expects 200,000 people over the 10-day holiday period, the forecast shows."
"At Long Beach Airport, officials expect passenger totals to be down slightly from a similar period in 2005, but they caution that that doesn't mean holiday travel will be easy."
"Carriers at LAX say they want to add flights but can't find gates at which to park the planes." More . . .
Website Editor: Los Angeles has agreed with neighboring cities to reduce the number of passenger gates at LAX which will exacerbate this problem.
El Toro Info Site report, November 19, 2006
Palm Springs Airport posts 12th record month
Palm Springs International Airport posted its 12th consecutive record breaking month. Passenger traffic for October was 7.3 percent ahead of October 2005. Year-to-date traffic was 7.6 percent ahead of the same period last year.
The airport gets its international designation by offering flights to Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, enabling Canadian snowbirds to bypass LAX.
Voice of San Diego, November 18, 2006 - updated
"Future of New Airport Authority Becomes Clearer"
"At a four-hour legislative hearing . . . state Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, solicited a final round of suggestions of possible changes to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority."
"Kehoe intends to introduce legislation next month that could overhaul the authority."
"Whatever Kehoe's final decision is, a few things are clear: The authority would not be tasked with another site-selection program. Nor would it be required by law to make the most of Lindbergh Field. Kehoe said it is not her role to tell the authority what to do on either issue."
"Now that the $17 million site-selection process has concluded with an unsuccessful ballot measure, the future of the airport will belong to the authority [rather than being directed by the state legislature that mandated this month's inconclusive vote.]"
The Union-Tribune reports some at the hearings "suggested the airport agency forge ties with the multicounty Southern California Regional Airport Authority, which recently was reactivated as an entity to study ways to better coordinate air traffic. The authority should get involved in its regional approach to aviation planning, they said."
More . . .
El Toro Info Site report, November 17, 2006
Airport land commission nixes high rise development near JWA
Thursday, the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) for Orange County called a proposal for eight high-rise towers in Costa Mesa “inconsistent with the John Wayne Airport Environs Land Use Plan” (AELUP). The heights of the mixed use and residential towers, most exceeding 300 feet, were just too much for the commissioners to abide.
The ALUC has received several proposals for tall building projects near the airport and is concerned about airspace encroachment. In this case, the City of Costa Mesa made a pitch to allow eight such structures by five different developers, in the area just east of the Performing Arts Center and north of the 405 freeway.
The FAA made a formal Determination of No Hazard for the projects but commissioners noted that this did not mean that there was no danger associated with the buildings. General aviation air traffic cuts through and around the area at relatively low altitudes.
Airport Manager Alan Murphy wrote to the commission recommending for the project.
Under state law, the city council can override the ALUC by a supermajority vote, or the project proponents can scale back their building heights.
Press- Enterprise, November 16, 2006
"March's property executive resigns"
"Phil Rizzo, who helped March Air Reserve Base become the first military base in the nation to share its airfield with a private air-cargo carrier -- and who weathered much criticism along the way -- has resigned."
"Rizzo's departure comes amid new court challenges to development plans for former Air Force property west of Interstate 215 near Riverside, and renewed community protests over noise from the pre-dawn departure of DHL cargo-delivery planes at March."
"In October 2005, the [March Joint Powers] commission learned that March staffers had displayed an inaccurate flight-path map during the 2004 public hearings on the DHL project."
"The map inaccurately showed DHL planes flying away from Riverside neighborhoods, where hundreds opposed DHL night flights."
"The planes instead fly over those neighborhoods."
"Los Angeles attorney Leonard Gumport, who was hired by the commission to investigate use of the inaccurate map, concluded it was used to deliberately mislead the public."
"Gumport's investigation also shed light on a noise study that determined DHL planes could awaken thousands in the airport's flight path. The findings were not discussed with the commission, which governs the authority."
"Other missteps included the Joint Powers Authority's use of inaccurate airport revenue calculations."
Website Editor: Some of these allegations should resonate with Orange County residents who were unsure whether they were getting "Just the Facts" during the El Toro debate. Click for more of the report.
El Toro Info Site report, November 16, 2006
Department of Transportation releases August air travel stats
"Southwest Airlines carried 8.7 million total system passengers in August, more than any other U.S. carrier and the first time that Southwest has topped the list for combined domestic and international passengers," the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today.
"American Airlines still carried the most passengers on its system for the year-to-date January-to-August period."
"Passenger load factor, passenger miles as a proportion of available seat-miles, was up 2.0 load factor points to 80.4 percent in the first eight months. In August, load factor was up 0.4 load factor points to 81.2 percent."
LAX ranked fourth in the DOT’s list of the top 10 U.S. airports, ranked by January - August 2006 “system” (domestic and international travel on U.S. carriers only) scheduled enplanements.
Website Editor: Data from the airports’ websites – including foreign flag carriers – shows LAX serving 41,531,678 passengers YTD on all airlines versus DFW’s 41,015,020.
El Toro Info Site report, November 16, 2006
San Diego looks to the future
The San Diego Regional Airport Authority looks at Lindbergh Field’s future while members of the State Legislature look at the Authority’s future.
A debate is developing on the one hand over whether the Authority should build a $600 million makeover at Terminal 2 - which would add 10 gates and additional parking to accommodate passenger growth projected through 2015 - or whether the airport should undergo a more significant expansion that will extend its capacity beyond what that plan envisions.
At the same time, State Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego is considering introducing legislation in December to overhaul the authority. Senator Kehoe has been conducting hearings which have produced several recommendations. Of particular interest are conclusions:
Requiring the authority to comply with
existing state and federal laws (such as the one prohibiting the
civilian use of San Diego's military bases) when proposing future
airport sites.
Seeking adoption of a regional aviation plan for San Diego County that would coordinate aviation and ground transportation along with high-speed rail.
Seeking adoption of a regional aviation plan for San Diego County that would coordinate aviation and ground transportation along with high-speed rail.
Click here for several reports on the latest developments regarding San Diego airport plans.
Press-Enterprise, November 15, 2006
"Airport noise study gets unanimous OK"
"The Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to join the city of Riverside in conducting a noise study and flight-path analysis of the early morning departure of aircraft from March Air Reserve Base. "
"Riverside Councilman Frank Schiavone proposed the joint-effort in response to complaints from area residents about noise from the predawn departure of DHL airplanes."
"Findings are expected back to the board within 60 days."
For more information see the website's November 13 report below.
El Toro Info Site report, November 14, 2006
Will airport planners revisit a North San Diego – Orange County site?
Amongst the numerous reports of what went wrong with the Miramar airport proposal, and what San Diego should do next, is a reminder that a site to serve both San Diego and Orange County has some merit. Without more study, we will not know whether it has enough merit to fly.
The [SD] North County Times commented in a retrospective last week that “The [airport] authority’s own studies found that an airport on southern Camp Pendleton near Oceanside would capture more airline traffic than Miramar, because of its proximity to Orange County.”
Camp Pendleton, like Miramar, is not available. However, privately owned North San Diego County sites were considered by the San Diego Regional Airport Authority but rejected in favor of Miramar.
The pros and cons of a San Diego – O.C. airport deserve analysis. Road access will be an issue. Unfortunately, Orange County has backed off from long range aviation planning since the El Toro debacle.
In 2002-3, the Board of Supervisors, by certifying Environmental Impact Report 582, agreed with Newport Beach to put off John Wayne Airport Master Planning until 2016.
The Orange County Transportation Authority devotes its attention solely to ground transportation. The OCTA recently prepared a long range transportation plan that was faulted by the California Department of Transportation for ignoring air travel infrastructure.
In our view, the only governmental entity in Orange County that actively and purposefully thinks about future airport infrastructure is the city of Newport Beach. Newport Beach has an aviation policy, goals, and a real motivation to curtail John Wayne Airport by supporting accessible airport development elsewhere. Perhaps, with El Toro off the table, the city will encourage analysis of a two-county airport in North San Diego.
El Toro Info Site report, November 13, 2006
JWA posts October statistics
JWA passenger traffic was up for the month of October by 1.4% when compared to October 2005. The airport served 8,005,887 passengers for the first ten months of the year, a decrease of 0.9% from the same period last year.
Commercial Carrier flight operations increased 2.1%, while Commuter Carrier (air taxi) operations increased 0.2% for the month when compared to the same levels recorded in October 2005.
El Toro Info Site report, November 13, 2006
Riverside to study cargo flight noise at March
Riverside County leaders have shown wariness of regional plans for the former March air base. The March Air Reserve Base is on SCAG’s list of future commercial airports and was on the San Diego Regional Airport Authority’s initial study list for a Lindbergh Field replacement.
In later 2004, March beat out Ontario and San Bernardino in a competition to land a contract with package carrier DHL.
Some neighbors of the facility have been unhappy with the resultant nighttime DHL cargo flights that began operating last year. Some contend that the city erred in accepting the information presented by the cargo port developers and by not requiring a curfew.
On November 7, the Riverside City Council approved a proposal to work with the County and March Joint Powers Authority (MJPA) to conduct a noise study and flight path analysis of early morning DHL cargo flights from the base. County supervisors, at their November 14 meeting, will decide whether to participate in this study.
The study will identify those impacts and present alternatives for mitigation. It will be coordinated by the County Airports staff, City of Riverside Airport Director and the March Joint Powers Airport Director. Results will be forwarded to the March JPA for consideration and implementation.
Voice of San Diego, November 11, 2006
"The loudest dissenter on the airport authority's board gives her assessment of what went wrong with the [San Diego] airport search."
"Mary Teresa Sessom is in her final days as a board member on the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. She has been an outspoken critic of its site-selection process, dubbing it 'the march to Miramar.'"
"She sat down with voiceofsandiego.org to talk about the failed Miramar measure, her appraisal of it and just who drank what she calls 'the Miramar Kool-Aid.'"
"We never really got out there and touched the elected officials in a way that we could get meaningful feedback that would enable us to shape a ballot measure that could have succeeded. ... I think that was because we had preconceived goals the whole way."
"My position was that we don't need a site to build a new airport, we need a solution to a transportation problem. My philosophy clearly lost out, because we always focused on a site for a new airport. . . Getting a new airport built in an urban area is probably impossible to do. Denver is probably the last one. Focusing on a solution to a transportation problem is a very different process and probably would have been successful."
El Toro Info Site report, November 9, 2006
“Miramar - What went wrong?”
San Diego County voters rejected Proposition A for a commercial airport at Miramar by a resounding 62-37 vote. The decision echoed Orange County voters’ passage of Measures F and W that killed a commercial airport at El Toro.
While the S.D. opposition pitched their campaign as a patriotic effort to “Save Miramar” for the Marines, it is likely that taxpayers are simply intent on utilizing the airports that they already have before tolerating more airport infrastructure. They have reason to be suspicious of the projections of burgeoning future demand. The projections were wrong in the case of Palmdale and they were wrong on El Toro.
The Voice of San Diego, in its wrap up report, “What went wrong?” notes that “history is just against building an international airport anywhere within an existing urban area -- in San Diego or the United States."
Click here for a compilation of San Diego news reports and analyses of the situation and a post-election statement from the San Diego Regional Airport Authority, the state-created agency that oversaw the site selection study and put Miramar on the ballot.
Maximization of Lindbergh Field’s capacity will now move forward. The airport authority plans a $550 million expansion that will add 10 gates and more overnight parking for jets.
El Toro Info Site report, November 8, 2006
Agran’s team, Pat Bates in, Miramar out
“The Great Park Team”, led by Councilman Larry Agran, retained its 3-2 majority hold on the Irvine City Council with no changes. Beth Krom was reelected as Mayor. Christina Shea held onto her pulpit as leader of the opposition.
Former Assembly member Pat Bates beat out Cathy De Young (53.3 to 46.7) to replace 5th District Supervisor Tom Wilson on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Both candidates were staunch opponents of an El Toro Airport.
In San Diego, opponents of a commercial airport at the Marine Corp Air Station Miramar defeated Proposition A by a solid 62-38 percent spread. Prop A was the awkward product of a costly airport site search intended to replace Lindbergh Field. San Diego County is back where it started before the state legislature mandated that a ballot measure be put before the county voters.
The Press-Enterprise, November 7, 2006
"Ontario Travel Has Tapered Off"
"The passenger count at Ontario International Airport is down 2.3 percent for the first nine months of 2006, surprising airport planners who were expecting a modest increase this year." See our report of last week.
"'We are not overly concerned. We are looking forward to a big Thanksgiving,' said spokeswoman Maria Tesoro-Fermin."
"Rising ticket prices created by high fuel costs, and jittery nerves brought about by a thwarted terrorist plot against airlines in Britain last August, are partially to blame for the decline, said Mark Thorpe, director of air service marketing for the airport."
"Paula Berg, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines, which has the most flights out of Ontario International, said fuel prices have caused fares to increase this year."
"Southwest also took a hit in August after the news about the terror plot came out, and the government restricted on-board liquids and gels, she said."
"'The perceived inconvenience definitely slowed things down,' Berg said. 'People who could drive instead of fly would say, 'How much is it worth?'' "
Voice of San Diego, November 6, 2006
"The Proposition with No Answer"
"The Miramar ballot measure was supposed to end San Diego's airport searches once and for all. But regardless of what happens Tuesday, the airport issue isn't going away."
"This [San Diego] region has lived through 50 years of airport searches, of reports and questions about Lindbergh Field and what could or should replace it. Voters were supposed to go to the polls Tuesday and definitively answer this question: Should we stay at Lindbergh Field? Or should we move the airport Somewhere Else?"
"During the last three years, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority was charged with answering the Somewhere Else Question. . . Their answer: Marine Corps Air Station Miramar."
"One problem: The Marines don't want to leave their training base."
"Now, . . . a day away from Election Day, even some of the airport authority's most ardent supporters admit they expect their ballot measure to fail. . . It's clear that regardless of the outcome, San Diego's airport question won't be answered when we wake up Wednesday morning."
The state legislature that created the San Diego Regional Airport Authority and charged it with conducting a site search and putting a proposition on the ballot, is looking at changing horses. "If another agency such as the San Diego Association of Governments gets planning power . . . another airport study could likely occur soon after power switches hands.
Website Editor: Meanwhile, in the six county region to the north of San Diego - including Los Angeles and Orange County - the Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG, has put off producing a regional transportation plan until 2008. SCAG's airport plan, like the San Diego plan, will peer a long way into the uncertain future and will change every few years. For the time being, no one is sticking a shovel into the ground to expand airport capacity.
North County Times, November 3, 2006 updated November 5
"Big money drives airport debate"
"Big money is fueling both sides of the campaigns for and against a ballot measure to put a civilian airport at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station."
"Donor lists paint a picture of a highly contested measure pitting developers fighting for a piece of prime bayfront real estate against a community of Sorrento Valley businesses that don't want commercial jets flying over them ---- and restricting their future expansion options. In this fight, the Marines are on the sidelines."
"Through Oct. 21, proponents were winning the battle of the war chests. The pro-airport campaign had spent $226,942 and No on Prop. A had spent $140,857, reports show."
Click for the complete article with details including the ballot measure language. It is followed on the message board by a related San Diego Union-Tribune report on the campaign and an oped piece on why joint military and civilian use of Miramar won't work by retired U.S. Navy rear admiral Bruce R. Boland, leader of the "No" effort.
Website Editor: It doesn't seem like "big money" from our viewpoint. In Orange County, where the population is approximately the same as San Diego's, the spending during each El Toro initiative campaign was roughly ten times the above amounts. Individual South County homeowner associations, comprised of a few hundred residences, raised more than the entire SD countywide No on Prop. A campaign. Orange County cities spent heavily to influence the outcome while San Diego County cities seemed to play a minor role.
The passionate turnout of thousands of grass roots volunteers for the El Toro battles also dwarfed what we have seen in the Miramar campaign. One explanation is that El Toro airport seemed real; Miramar is iffy even if Proposition A passes.
Associated Press, November 3, 2006
“Half of U.S. commercial runways lack standard safety zone”
“More than half of U.S. commercial airports don't have a 1,000-foot (300-meter) margin at the end of a runway, an overrun area the federal government says is needed as a safety zone, a new [FAA] report says.”
“Some of the busiest airports in the U.S. - including Los Angeles International Airport -- have more than one runway that does not meet safety standards, according to statistics supplied by the Federal Aviation Administration.”
“Part of the problem is that airports were built in congested urban areas and have no room to lengthen their runways.”
John Wayne Airport meets the 1000 foot safety zone standard though the runway is too short to land some aircraft.
Last month, a private jet carrying Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez overran a runway at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.
Associated Press, November 2, 2006
"Las Vegas airport tally up 4 percent in September"
"About 3.8 million passengers traveled through Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport in September, a 4 percent increase from a year ago, officials said. The number of passengers who have gone through the airport this year climbed to 34.5 million, a 3.5 percent increase from this time last year."
"The record high for passenger count at McCarran was set in 2005, when 44.3 million arriving and departing passengers used the airport."
Website Editor: Las Vegas is the second most popular destination, after Oakland, for flyers using Southern California airports. High speed rail between the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas would significantly reduce the number of flights and the need for airport capacity.
El Toro Info Site report, November 1, 2006
SoCal air travel off for first 9 months
Air traffic for the six airports in the Southern California Associations of Governments (SCAG) region – Los Angeles International, Orange County, Burbank, Ontario, Long Beach and Palm Springs – totaled 66,234,878 passengers for the nine months ending September 30, 2006. This was a 1 percent decrease from the same months last year and still below the pre 911 record for the period set in 2000.
Travel at LAX dropped by approximately ½ million passengers from the first nine months of 2005 and over 4 -1/2 million passengers from 2000. Most switched to other area airports.
Long Beach Airport continues to show lower volume each month compared to last year, largely attributable to American Airlines’ pullout from the facility.
Burbank and Palm Springs are the only regional airports that are experiencing more traffic than in 2005, though Burbank’s growth has slowed due to the loss of some flights.
San Diego’s Lindbergh Field – which is not in the SCAG region - is running 0.4 percent ahead of last year.
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