NEWS - December 2006
El Toro Infos Site report
2006 - THE AIRPORT
YEAR IN REVIEW
LA Times,
December 31, 2006
"Straightening
up so LAX can fly right"
Ontario Daily
Bulletin, December 30, 2006
"Airlines question
LAWA's intent"
Irvine World News,
December 28, 2006
"2006 The Year in
Review" [in Irvine]
LA Observed Blog,
December 26, 2006
"What's up at LAWA?"
El Toro Info Site
report, December 26, 2006
2006 - The year
that didn’t do much for SoCal air travel
OC Register, Travel,
December 24, 2006
"And the loser is …"
El Toro Info Site
Report, December 24, 2006
O.C. sets
conditions for rejoining regional airport authority
El Toro Info Site report,
December 22, 2006
JWA passengers
short changed again.
OC Register, December
22, 2006
“Demolition crews
are busy taking apart the Marines' former home at El Toro to make way
for the Great Park.”
Daily Pilot, December
20, 2006, posted December 21
"Holiday
travelers eye three-day weekends"
Jackson Hole
(Wyoming) News, posted December 21, 2006
"Airport says short
runway causing problems"
LA Times, December 20, 2006
"Grandmother puts
infant through L.A. airport X-ray"
LA Times, December 19, 2006
"LAX terminal fee
hike approved"
Aero-News.net, December 15,
2006 website posted December 17
"FAA Agrees To
Support LAX Jobs Program; But Questions Remain About Precedent"
El Toro Info Site
report, December 16, 2006
Nationwide air
traffic up 0.3 percent
El Toro Info Site
report, December 14, 2006
John Wayne Airport
posts November statistics.
El Toro Info Site
report, December 10, 2006
What’s depressing
LA regional air travel?
Long Beach Press
Telegram, December 7, 2006 posted December 8
"Bid for 20 slots
at L.B. Airport"
Desert Sun, December 6, 2006
posted December 7
"Airport [name]
shift gives local lift"
Voice of San Diego,
December 5, 2006
"Lindbergh Gets
Another Look"
El Toro Info Site
report, December 5, 2006
Los Angeles area
passenger traffic trails last year
El Toro Info Site report,
December 4, 2006
Ontario and
Palmdale get new names
El Toro Info Site report,
December 4, 2006
San Diego air
traffic running ahead of last year
Las Vegas Sun,
December 2, 2006 web posted December 3
"Las Vegas airport
crunch could slow down tourism"
El Toro Info Site report,
December 2, 2006
Measure F reminder
El Toro Info Site
report, December 1, 2006
Costa Mesa plans to
proceed with John Wayne high rises
2006 - THE AIRPORT YEAR IN REVIEW
2006 was a year in which several Southern California commercial airport issues grabbed the headlines.
The Miramar fight is over. The El Toro fight is really over. The Long Beach fight over expanding the airport terminal is on a slow simmer. Former Mayor James Hahn’s grand plan for remodeling LAX is dead - just like his predecessor’s expansion plans - and modest changes at the region’s principal airport are being made gradually under a settlement agreement with its neighbors.
These are a few of the stories that made the El Toro Info Site headlines in 2006. Click for last year’s review and our predictions for 2006.
JANUARY – After a much publicized international search, the Great Park Corp board selects Ken Smith of New York to lead its park design project for the former El Toro base.
FEBRUARY – The anti-airport El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, ETRPA, throws a victory celebration and folds its tent.
APRIL – Orange County supervisors decide to tack a Passenger Service Fee on John Wayne tickets to cover most of the cost of expanding the airport terminal and parking.
MAY – Despite military objections, the San Diego Regional Airport Authority selects Miramar as its preferred site for a new commercial airport.
Runway demolition begins at El Toro with a media event (photo) - and then is put on hold for the remainder of the year.
JUNE – The Long Beach City Council selects the second largest EIR alternative for expansion of the city’s airport but has yet to decide whether to build the project.
JULY – LAX starts demolition and relocation of its southernmost runway in a safety enhancing project that had been blocked by El Segundo litigation.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reactivates the dormant Southern California Regional Airport Authority that his city had shunned, in a bid to promote regionalization of air traffic.
AUGUST – LAX experiences its fourth air traffic control system glitch in a month.
OCTOBER – OC supervisors yield veto power over any extension of the John Wayne airport runways to Newport Beach.
NOVEMBER – San Diego County voters reject the regional airport authority’s ballot measure for a commercial airport at Miramar by a 2-1 margin.
DECEMBER – Orange County supervisors reject a request from Southwest Airlines to add a million seats of additional service at John Wayne Airport.
Southern California air travel languishes below its 2000 level with LAX, Long Beach and Ontario experiencing down years. Burbank, Palm Springs and San Diego post gains.
PREDICTIONS FOR 2007:
The Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG will produce a Regional Transportation Plan forecasting a lot more air travel in 2035. 2035 is a long way off so officials are under little pressure to find a source of supply to meet their forecasted demand.
The Southern California Regional Airport Authority, SCRAA will relinquish its joint powers authority to create airport capacity. It will become another forum, like SCAG, for consultants, staffers and airport operators to talk about the need for doing something about the region's air travel future.
Orange County and Long Beach will move forward on plans to enlarge their airport terminals and add more boarding gates but will hold the line on increasing air service. Result: more seats on the ground but not in the air.
Bob Hope Airport will allow additional air service but is blocked by an agreement from enlarging its terminal or parking. Result: more seats in the air but not on the ground.
LAX and Ontario both will operate below their physical capacities, limited by issues of ground access to the planes and how the airlines react to the soft demand.
Happy New Year.
LA Times, December 31, 2006
"Straightening up so LAX can fly right"
"Coming attractions in 2007: Spiffed-up terminals and drive-through check-in."
"The world's fifth busiest airport, long derided as shabby, antiquated and crowded, is reforming itself."
"In the next year, the sprawling Los Angeles International Airport . . . will reopen a runway and offer wireless Internet access, new airline lounges, kiosks with tourist information and a uniquely Los Angeles perk: a drive-through station where you can get a boarding pass and check your bags."
"The changes are overdue at LAX, known for long lines, traffic jams and outdated facilities."
"The obstacles are formidable. LAX hasn't had a major makeover since it was spruced up for the 1984 Summer Olympics and the Tom Bradley International Terminal was built."
"For more than a decade it has delayed modernizing while city officials debated a multibillion-dollar construction plan. After the latest version was shelved in January, airport executives began pursuing some projects piecemeal."
"Not everything is being fixed at LAX, of course. Congestion continues. Mass transit to and through the airport is still cumbersome. And while talk abounds about replacing uninspired concessions, most contracts won't be let in time to take effect in 2007."
"But new traveler conveniences are at least achieving liftoff at LAX."
Click for the Times' full report on changes that are coming.
Ontario Daily Bulletin, December 30, 2006
"Airlines question LAWA's intent"
"Low-cost airlines say a recent rent increase at Los Angeles International Airport is an effort to drive their operations away from Los Angeles and toward Ontario and other smaller airports."
"The Board of Airport Commissioners decided this month to raise terminal rental fees at two of LAX's terminals, saying the increase is necessary to cover the millions spent on security upgrades since the 2001 terrorist attacks."
"Whether the higher costs might mean airlines would pull some flights from LAX in favor of other airports in the region - such as LA/Ontario International Airport - remains to be seen."
"But some airline officials say there's little doubt about Los Angeles World Airports' intentions. 'This decision demonstrates LAWA's determination to drive low-fare carriers away from LAX,' said a statement issued by Southwest Airlines."
"That would seem to be in line with the strategy for LAX touted by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAWA's executive director, Lydia Kennard. Both have said they want to see international traffic grow at LAX, with more short-haul domestic flights going to other airports in Southern California."
Click for more.
Irvine World News, December 28, 2006
"2006 The Year in Review" [in Irvine]
"Irvine’s top 10 stories of 2006 as selected by the newsroom staff of the Irvine World News:"
1 GREAT PARK
- New Yorker Ken Smith and his design team were picked in January to design the Great Park – by October they presented a draft master park plan.
- The Lennar Corp. asked to build about 6,000 more residences around the base in exchange for giving the city 402 more Great Park acres.
- Demolition began on the old base – with more than 250 structures torn down by year’s end.
- The cleanup of the base continued; in November the last major pollution remediation effort began.
- Retired Marine Lt. Col. Bill Kogerman, who once served at El Toro, returned to the base to serve as the ninth Great Park board member.
- The Lennar Corp. offered to pay for the big orange helium balloon to be built for the park and the city said yes and thank you.
- Southern California Edison announced it would donate 50,000 trees for the park.
- The Orange County Grand Jury wrote a report criticizing the park’s governance and stating that the county needs more influence on Great Park planning. The City Council responded by stating the report had “several incomplete and inaccurate provisions.”
LA Observed Blog, December 26, 2006
"What's up at LAWA?"
"A source with connections at Los Angeles World Airports says that executive director Lydia Kennard hopes to leave in January and has put a rush on the search for her replacement. Inside candidates and experienced airport executives from elsewhere were interviewed on short notice last week, the source says, reportedly by a subcommittee of airport commissioners."
"Kennard, the city's second-highest-paid department head, may be headed north to be Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency in Gov. Schwarzenegger's next term."
Website Editor - If the blog is correct, Los Angeles will be losing its top airport executive. Kennard was brought back to the airport management job a year ago to fix LAX which had stagnated for years while former Mayor James Hahn pursued costly and unpopular plans that eventually were abandoned.
El Toro Info Site report, December 26, 2006
2006 - The year that didn’t do much for SoCal air travel
For those who believe in predictions that air travel will boom and we will all be flying twice as much in the future, 2006 didn’t do much to move Southern California in that direction.
The Southern California Association of Governments, which consistently overestimates regional air travel demand every three years, opted to wait four years until 2008 to produce another forecast and will push its planning horizon out five years to 2035. The Southern California Regional Airport Authority, with encouragement from SCAG, may be reactivated if the membership agrees to give up the SCRAA charter's authority over airports.
San Diego voters rejected, by a 2:1 margin, their Regional Airport Authority’s selection of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar for a big new county airport.
Palmdale – touted by politicians as a solution to LAX congestion – lost air service again in January. $3.7 million of incentives were cobbled together to induce some airline to [please] fly a couple of planes a day from the idle facility.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors gifted the city of Newport Beach with a veto in perpetuity over an extension of John Wayne Airport’s short 5,700 foot runway.
The county will pour a half-billion dollars into expanding JW airport’s terminal, gates and parking – most of it from passenger fees. There will be a lot more seats on the ground but the county is not committing to provide more seats on planes beyond the previously agreed to cap of 10.8 MAP. A request by Southwest Airline to increase service to Orange County for 2007-8 was rejected.
The Airport Land Use Commission for Orange County is required, under California regulations, to protect land around airports from encroachment, based on use plans projected 20 years into the future. The county has no such long-range aviation plans and so the commission still uses John Wayne Airport planning data from 1985.
Long Beach certified an EIR for expanding its airport terminal but the city council will not decide until next year whether to actually build the project.
LAX served fewer passengers this year than last and is on track to handle about six million fewer in 2006 than it handled in 2000. Expansion plans are off the table while the airport catches up with some housekeeping and safety improvements that have been ignored for years.
Bob Hope Airport was the LA Basin’s only commercial aviation bright spot in 2006 but a 10-year moratorium on any expansion left the airport short on places for passengers to park.
Even the California High Speed Rail project – that supporters say could handle as many passengers someday as currently use LAX – did not get on the ballot for funding this year.
OC Register, Travel, December 24, 2006
"And the loser is …"
Gary Warner, Register Travel Editor lists "Dislikes, disappointments, irritations and bad ideas from my 2006 trips."
"Fall far short and you end up consigned to this small circle of heck: My least favorite travel experiences of 2006."
"Least favorite airport: LAX. Already a hellacious place to navigate, officials added to the pain this year by closing down the main freeway access during some off hours for a movie shoot. Now the expansion of the runways to make the outmoded parallel runway set-up safer is delayed. LAX is the castor oil of airports – something outdated and nasty tasting that you are forced to endure."
Click for Warner's list from around the world and a companion list of "Favorites from trips over the past year."
El Toro Info Site Report, December 24, 2006
O.C. sets conditions for rejoining regional airport authority
Orange County supervisors set conditions this week for rejoining the Southern California Regional Airport Authority, SCRAA. The county's position, contained in a letter from Board Chairman Bill Campbell to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LA County Supervisor Don Knabe closely match recommendations for restructuring the authority recommended by consultants to the Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG.
Orange County quit SCRAA in 2003 after the defeat of the El Toro airport proposal. El Toro proponents had hoped that the regional body might push for a second OC airport. Once El Toro was off the table, the county’s focus changed to avoiding regional pressure to expand John Wayne airport.
OC and several other government entities in the region are wary of the body until its joint powers agreement is amended to give up the power to site, construct and control airports.
El Toro Info Site report, December 22, 2006
JWA passengers short changed again.
On December 19, John Wayne airport management recommended, and the Board of Supervisors voted against allowing airlines to utilize the negotiated capacity of the airport. A request by Southwest Airlines, to add approximately 1 million passenger seats of additional service, was denied in its entirety.
This comes after last year's rejection of a request from Southwest to add a half-million passenger seats of service. In each case, the rejection was based on a premise that the airport’s negotiated cap of 10.3 Million Annual Passengers would be “jeopardized.”
In a recommendation to the board, Airport Manager Alan Murphy wrote in part:
A total of 14,235,334 seats were
requested by the Air Carriers for the 2007-08 Plan Year. The
Airport recommends allocation of 13,182,672 seats for the year.
If the County allocates the 13,182,672 seats as recommended, the
Airport projects that it would serve about the same number of
passengers (9.6 million) in the 2007-08 Plan Year as it expects to
serve in the current Plan Year.
The recommended Seat Capacity allocation would accommodate all of the seats requested for use in the 2007-08 Plan Year, with one exception: Southwest Airlines would not receive 1,052,662 of the seats it requested.
Based on the load factor analysis, JWA believes it is appropriate to accommodate most, but not all, the Supplemental Seat Capacity requests for the 2007-08 Plan Year and that, by doing so, the Airport can provide continued air travel opportunities to the public without jeopardizing the Airport’s 10.3 MAP limitation.
The recommended Seat Capacity allocation would accommodate all of the seats requested for use in the 2007-08 Plan Year, with one exception: Southwest Airlines would not receive 1,052,662 of the seats it requested.
Based on the load factor analysis, JWA believes it is appropriate to accommodate most, but not all, the Supplemental Seat Capacity requests for the 2007-08 Plan Year and that, by doing so, the Airport can provide continued air travel opportunities to the public without jeopardizing the Airport’s 10.3 MAP limitation.
As a result of withholding this unnecessary cushion, Orange County travelers will be short changed with fewer flight options and possibly higher air fares than if air traffic was allowed to reach the County - Newport Beach Settlement Agreement's 10.3 MAP cap.
Several million OC passengers trek to other airports, principally LAX, each year in search of direct flights to destinations not well served from John Wayne. Many are not going overseas but heading for popular domestic destinations like New York's JFK airport, Washington, Boston, Florida, New Orleans and Nashville. The Board's action denies 700,000 of them the opportunity to fly from closer to home - the difference between the Agreement's 10.3 MAP cap and the 9.6 MAP that airport management expects to accommodate with its airline seat allocations for 2007-2008.
OC Register, December 22, 2006
“Demolition crews are busy taking apart the Marines' former home at El Toro to make way for the Great Park.”
“Sounds of excavators ripping apart administrative buildings and the general's quarters this week echoed across the largely abandoned base now busy with construction workers, designers, engineers and lunch trucks.”
“The person in charge of the demolition is Gary Pierson, Lennar Corp.'s director of construction. He has been in the business for 26 years and started on the El Toro project in April. Pierson will guide the Lennar development from salvaging of materials to demolition to construction and opening.”
Click for more in the Register.
Daily Pilot, December 20, 2006, posted December 21
"Holiday travelers eye three-day weekends"
"Last-minute fliers may find that leaving from John Wayne Airport is more expensive."
"With Christmas and New Year's Day both falling on Mondays this holiday season, Southern Californians seem to be planning to take advantage of the long weekends by heading out of town."
"Although about 80% of the 5.5 million travelers will be getting behind the wheel, John Wayne Airport is expecting plenty of passengers and will employ a line-management plan starting Thursday to help people get through more easily."
"People buying last-minute tickets for Friday from John Wayne Airport to Las Vegas will pay almost three times as much as they would for weekend travel in mid-January, according to a search on www.orbitz.com. . . . The extreme high may be due to some airlines only having first-class seats available on flights, Costa Mesa Auto Club travel agent Mary Doyle said."
"She also said people who plan to fly should check the difference in ticket prices leaving from Los Angeles International Airport rather than John Wayne."
"But with a larger airport usually comes longer lines, so if the passenger opts for convenience over price, they're likely to see the heaviest traffic at John Wayne Airport on Thursday and Friday and Jan. 2 and 3." More . . .
Jackson Hole (Wyoming) News, posted December 21, 2006
"Airport says short runway causing problems"
"A short runway is hampering efficiency and costing passengers money because flights must leave Jackson Hole Airport with empty seats, officials say. Airport manager Ray Bishop said weight restrictions on departing flights mean most commercial carriers can fill only a portion of a plane's seats."
"Bishop estimates a longer runway might make the airport 15 percent more efficient, resulting in fewer flights and less noise in Grand Teton National Park."
"Several times in the past few decades, airport officials have considered extending the runway, only to meet fierce opposition from environmental groups who say the expansion is inappropriate for the nation's only airport inside a national park."
"Full flights departing the airport don't have enough room on the runway to slow down once they reach 'refusal speed,' the point where a pilot, after theoretically losing an engine, can make a decision to either slow down and abort the flight or still achieve takeoff, Bishop said."
Website Editor: The airport's 6,300 foot runway is longer than John Wayne's at 5,700 feet but takeoffs are hampered by the Wyoming facility's higher altitude. Jackson Hole accomodates 737 jet aircraft.
LA Times, December 20, 2006
"Grandmother puts infant through L.A. airport X-ray"
This is not the website's usual type of news story but "A woman going through security at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) put her month-old grandson into a plastic bin intended for carry-on items and slid it into an X-ray machine."
"A screener watching the machine's monitor immediately noticed the outline of a baby and pulled the bin backward on the conveyor belt. The infant was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined he did not receive a dangerous dose of radiation."
"Aviation officials, who declined to release the 56-year-old woman's name, said she spoke Spanish and apparently did not understand English." Click for the full story.
LA Times, December 19, 2006
"LAX terminal fee hike approved"
"Rents for low-cost carriers would be nearly quadrupled. Some experts fear airlines will pull flights. There may still be renegotiation."
"Over the strong objections of air carriers, the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners unanimously approved on Monday what airlines decried as the largest terminal fee increase in industry history."
"Although the potential effect on passenger ticket prices remained unclear, the rate hike, which is to go into effect Feb. 1, would nearly quadruple rents and other fees for low-cost carriers in Terminals 1 and 3."
"Airlines at those terminals flew about 31% of the domestic passengers at LAX last year, leading some experts to worry that the increases could prompt them to pull flights."
"Airport officials argue that rate hikes are necessary to cover the agency's costs and that the agency needs the money to make improvements to the aging airport."
"Airport officials said the increases would raise the cost per boarded passenger at LAX by about $4.19 for carriers in Terminal 1, to $9.89. For airlines in Terminal 3, costs would jump about $5.45, to $11.60."
More . . .
Aero-News.net, December 15, 2006 website posted December 17
"FAA Agrees To Support LAX Jobs Program; But Questions Remain About Precedent"
"The Federal Aviation Administration has dropped its opposition to a $3.3 million annual program linking residents around Los Angeles International Airport with jobs at the airport. The agency now says airport revenue may be used to support the program."
"That is a 180-degree turnaround from the FAA's original decision, which claimed those jobs were not aviation-related, so they couldn't be supported by federal funds for the airport."
"The jobs program was a vital part of a settlement resolving lawsuits filed by area residents over modernization efforts at LAX."
"The [FAA] agency is concerned the LAX program could become a model for other cities dealing with resident outcry surrounding airport expansion efforts. The FAA fears it could wind up funding other arrangements, similar to the LAX proposal."
El Toro Info Site report, December 16, 2006
Nationwide air traffic up 0.3 percent
U.S. airlines carried 561.9 million scheduled domestic and international passengers on their systems during the first nine months of 2006, 0.3 percent more than they did during the same period in 2005, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported in a release of preliminary data.
U.S. airlines carried 0.4 percent fewer domestic passengers and 5.6 percent more international passengers during the nine-month period in 2006 than during the same period in 2005.
LAX was the nation’s 4th busiest airport this year behind Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas-Ft. Worth according to the Department of Transportation ranking which excludes passengers on foreign air carriers.
El Toro Info Site report, December 14, 2006
John Wayne Airport posts November statistics.
Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in November 2006 as compared to November 2005. In November 2006, the Airport served 796,199 passengers, an increase of 1.9% when compared to the November 2005 passenger traffic count of 781,302.
Traffic for the 11 months year-to-date was 0.6% less than the total for the same period in 2005.
Commercial Carrier flight operations increased 4.3%, while Commuter Carrier (air taxi) operations decreased 27.3% when compared to the same levels recorded in November 2005.
El Toro Info Site report, December 10, 2006
What’s depressing LA regional air travel?
Total air travel for the LA region's six airports lags behind last year. As a group, they have yet to get back to pre-911 levels.
The slump has been blamed on fuel costs, but is that the correct explanation?
Throughout the country more airports are up this year than are down. The overall total is up despite fuel costs.
Here is a sampling of the most recently published year-to-date comparisons. (The data does not cover the same number of months for each airport because they publish their statistics on different schedules.)
|
Airport |
Change:
2006 vs. 2005 |
|
LA airports, combined |
|
|
|
+0.4 |
|
|
+3.5 |
|
|
+1.8 |
|
|
+2.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
+0.5 |
|
|
-0.8 |
|
|
+0.2 |
|
All |
+0.4 |
In the LA region, some airports (like Burbank and Palm Springs) are up sharply while others (most notably LAX, Ontario and Long Beach) are down significantly. John Wayne is slightly down as might be expected since the county has prevented JWA airlines from adding the flights they requested.
In our view, airports whose goal is to serve the flying public - and encourage more flights by more airlines to more destinations - take passengers away from those that do not. Airports that offer limited choices, are difficult to access, or have a reputation for long terminal delay, are more likely to lose passengers.
Long Beach Press Telegram, December 7, 2006 posted December 8
"Bid for 20 slots at L.B. Airport"
"A former JetBlue Airways executive has resubmitted an application to operate 20 commuter flight slots at Long Beach Airport."
"Alex Wilcox, president of BAG Aviation Holdings LLC of Henderson, Nev., applied for the spots . . . in a letter to airport manager Chris Kunze."
BAG Aviation will operate "with a fleet of at least three Bombardier Q100 and Q400 [turboprop] commuter aircraft for flights into and out of Long Beach, Wilcox said. [He] declined to say what destinations his operation would schedule."
"The 20 currently unused flight slots are part of 25 total commuter spots at the airport. There are also 41 daily commercial flight slots, but all of those are already in operation."
"Commuter slots are restricted to planes that weigh 75,000 pounds or less and are often used by airlines to complete flights to smaller cities or airports where their larger passenger jets can't land, or where it's not a good economic choice to fly."
"The city has set Dec. 14 as a deadline for other airlines to bid for the flight slots."
More . . .
Desert Sun, December 6, 2006 posted December 7
"Airport [name] shift gives local lift"
"Palm Springs International Airport aviation director Richard Walsh thinks the L.A. name addition to the [Ontario] airport 75 miles from the Coachella Valley will give the Palm Springs airport greater panache."
Walsh said "If anything, it'll help differentiate us between a close, reliable international airport and all those other guys. . . It distinguishes Palm Springs from the LAX airport system."
"'They're trying to get a better identity for themselves,' Walsh said. 'The real story is, we already have a great identity, and people know us for what we are: Close. Convenient. Reliable. And our numbers continue to rise month-over-month, year-over-year.'"
"Bob Elsner, who chairs the Palm Springs airport commission, agreed. He thinks the traveler unfamiliar with the terrain might place the Ontario airport closer to central Los Angeles. "'They might say, 'Oh god, L.A: I want to get closer to the desert.'"
"Palm Springs International has bested air travel records set every year since 2004, when 1.36 million passengers moved through its terminal. With two months left in the year, the airport's passenger count stood at 1.23 million."
Voice of San Diego, December 5, 2006
"Lindbergh Gets Another Look"
"Monday was a busy day for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Its members, many meeting for their final time . . . voted to include an analysis of several potential construction projects north of Lindbergh Field's existing runway in an ongoing study, signaling a willingness to re-examine the airport's long-term prospects."
"Bruce Boland . . . a leader of the fight against November's failed Miramar ballot initiative will fill" a seat on the authority.
"'With the recent failure of Proposition A,' [Boland supporters] wrote, 'it is imperative that leadership emerges with the intent to carry out the will of the voters who have overwhelmingly decided to maintain Lindbergh Field as San Diego's foremost airport.'"
"The new appointments bring a fresh face to the authority, which saw its major charge -- the three-year, $17.2-million site-selection process -- fail with voters' rejection of a commercial Miramar airport. Four of the seven airport board members who supported the Miramar initiative are now gone."
"Before departing Monday, they signaled a new interest in plans to develop airport facilities north of Lindbergh Field's existing runway. . . The facilities' inclusion signals a fresh look at Lindbergh's potential long-term options. The current master plan was designed to keep Lindbergh viable until 2015 -- about the time the airport authority once expected to be moving into a new Miramar commercial airport."
Click for more . . .
El Toro Info Site report, December 5, 2006
Los Angeles area passenger traffic trails last year
October data for the six airports in the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) planning area shows air passenger traffic lagging behind last year.
For the ten months year-to-date, combined traffic is 0.85 percent behind the same period in 2005.
The total still trails the record passenger level of 2000 and has yet to reach its pre-911 level.
Year-to-date traffic for each airport compared to last year:
|
Airport |
% change 2006 vs. 2005 |
|
LAX |
-2.35 |
|
|
-0.88 |
|
|
+3.91 |
|
|
-2.35 |
|
|
-9.32 |
|
|
+7.61 |
|
Total |
-0.85 |
El Toro Info Site report, December 4, 2006 - revised
Ontario and Palmdale get new names
Los Angeles will rename its two satellite airports LA/Ontario International Airport and LA/Palmdale Regional Airport in an effort to get more passengers to use them.
The move follows the practice used at London Gatwick and London Heathrow.
Apparently there was no interest in copying the model established with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team. Los Angeles International Airport of Ontario would be a mouthful.
Fortunately, Orange Countians will not have to live with the indignity of LA/El Toro Airport.
El Toro Info Site report, December 4, 2006
San Diego air traffic running ahead of last year
October data shows San Diego air passenger traffic in October was 1.5 percent ahead of the same month last year.
For the ten months year-to-date, San Diego is 0.4 percent head of the same period in 2005. Air carrier operations are up by 3.1 percent this year as a result of efforts to serve more destinations.
Las Vegas Sun, December 2, 2006 web posted December 3
"Las Vegas airport crunch could slow down tourism"
"Heavy congestion at southern Nevada's largest airport could lead to a slowdown in the number of visitors filling Las Vegas Strip hotels as early as 2010, a report has found.
"Researchers at the investment firm Deutsche Bank say McCarran International Airport won't be able to handle the flood of flying visitors anticipated by hotel operators planning massive new resorts."
"[The report] urged developers to be cautious when planning new rooms and suggested that tourism boosters do more to increase the number of people who come to Las Vegas by car."
"Airport officials said that the authors painted an overly pessimistic picture of the future. The addition of a new terminal in 2011, technology improvements in tracking planes, airspace expansions and airport streamlining will keep pace with growth until 2017."
"That's the earliest a proposed $7 billion airport could be operating in the nearby Ivanpah Valley."
"Currently more than 44 million people arrive and depart annually from McCarran, the fifth busiest airport in the United States. McCarran officials say the airport can handle 53 million arrivals and departures annually."
Website Editor: In the Los Angeles region that produces a substantial fraction of Las Vegas visitors, the only airport expansion construction approved is for six additional gates at John Wayne airport. A MAP cap precludes their full utilization.
El Toro Info Site report, December 2, 2006
Measure F reminder
Yesterday, the Register reported “Musick expansion unveiled; Adding 2,000 beds and modernizing the ‘mega-jail’ is expected to cost $250 million.” The project faced delay from the cities of Lake Forest where the jail is 700 feet from homes and Irvine where it borders on the Great Park.
This is a reminder of the provisions of anti-airport Measure F that required approval of the voters for airport, jail and toxic dump expansions.
Measure F gave the voters the final say on any addition of 1,000 or more beds to a jail within ½ mile of homes. Proponents of the measure, which voters supported by a 2:1 margin, said it “forces the County to build new jails where they belong, away from homes, schools and parks.”
Measure F eventually was overturned by the courts. While it was in effect, it accomplished its primary objective by delaying the El Toro airport until other events overtook and killed the project.
Had the initiative survived, the voters would be provided with an environmental impact report for the jail and then would decide on its fate.
Measure F also would have required voter approval of the planned 300,000 square foot expansion of John Wayne Airport.
El Toro Info Site report, December 1, 2006
Costa Mesa plans to proceed with John Wayne high rises
The Costa Mesa City Council has served notice that it plans to override the finding of the Airport Land Use Commission regarding eight proposed high rise towers near John Wayne Airport. The ALUC found the towers to be inconsistent with the established Airport Environs Land Use Plan because of low flying aircraft that cross the area.
The city has the authority, under state law, to override the ALUC by a process of notices, hearings and a supermajority vote of the council. The encroaching developments then can be built.
Recent ALUC concerns about other high rise buildings near JWA - in Santa Ana and Irvine - have been overridden by those city councils.
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