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December 22 - December 28, 2014

Hawaiian Airlines adding flights for Southland travelers
- LA Times

Beginning June 11, Hawaiian Airlines, will add a second daily nonstop between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Kahului (OGG), the main airport on Maui.

The added nonstop will operate for 14 weeks using an Airbus A330-200. Prices in June start at $400 each way.

Hawaiian will also begin seasonal nonstop service to Kona (KOA), on the Big Island of Hawaii, and Lihue (LIH), on Kauai in late May.

Website Editor:
Nonstop Hawaii service would be welcome news for JWA travelers who lost their last nonstop flights to the islands in April 2008 when Aloha Airlines abruptly closed after filing for bankruptcy.



JWA passenger traffic up without more flights in November


Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in November 2014 as compared to November 2013. In November 2014, the Airport served 767,315 passengers, an increase of 3.8% when compared to the November 2013 passenger traffic count of 739,031.

Commercial aircraft operations decreased 1.6%.

For the eleven months year-to-date, passenger volume was up by 1.6% while the number of commercial operations dropped by 5.5%.

International passenger volume year-to-date was off by 25.4%.




December 15 - December 21, 2014

Bob Hope Airport reports higher passenger numbers
- Burbank Leader

The number of passengers at Bob Hope Airport increased by more than 5% each in September and October compared to the same period last year, the most significant increase since 2008.

Earlier this year, passenger traffic was up 1.8% in August and 1.2% in July, compared with numbers from the same months last year.

“This commission has been waiting to see these kinds of results here now for, what, seven years,” said Dan Feger, the airport's executive director.

Feger said he hoped that the increased passenger traffic was a sign of an improving economy.

In past months, Feger had suggested that part of the decline in United passengers may have been due to federally mandated safety work that had closed two of four runways at San Francisco International Airport from May through August, reducing the number of flights on the Burbank-to-San Francisco route.

Other airports in the region also reported increases in passenger tallies for October. The number of travelers at Ontario International Airport rose by 7.69%, while there was a 6.79% hike at Los Angeles International Airport. Long Beach Airport also saw a slight rise of 0.6%.



December 8 - December 14, 2014

City Council Supports Plan To Eliminate Two Runways At LGB
- Long Beach Gazette

Following an Airfield Geometric Study designed to evaluate the efficiency and safety of the airstrips and taxiways at Long Beach Airport, the City Council last week voted in support of eliminating two of the airport’s five runways.
 
Removing the two north-south runways won’t in any way change commercial or general aviation traffic patterns, and won't impact the city’s noise ordinance, said Reggie Harrison, interim director of LGB.
 
“The two runways that are recommended for elimination have not been in operation for a number of years, in great part due to them not being needed,” Harrison said.



December 1 - December 7, 2014

LAX increases market share as that of Ontario airport, others shrink
- LA Times

Most airports in the area are growing again, but figures released Monday underscore just how much Los Angeles International Airport dominates the market and continues to frustrate the goals of a lawsuit settlement to spread airline traffic across the region..

A new study presented to the Ontario International Airport Authority board shows that LAX will handle a record 71.4 million airline passengers this year and has increased its market share as of September to 76.4%, the highest in 25 years.

“The fact is that the attempt by Los Angeles to regionalize aviation in Southern California has failed miserably. We need to bring local control back to the airport.”
- Ontario Mayor Pro Tem Alan Wapner
 
According to airport figures, the number of passengers at LA/Ontario has increased about 4.1% during the first 10 months of this year from about 3.29 million to 3.42 million. It has been predicted that the volume will be about 4.1 million by the end of the year.

Though the number of passengers is up, the report indicates that airlines will continue to pull available seats out of the LA/Ontario market and reduce flight schedules into 2015, the eighth consecutive year that carriers have reduced capacity.

In addition to LA/Ontario, the data shows that Palm Springs International Airport and John Wayne Airport in Orange County have experienced some passenger growth since the recession, whereas Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and Long Beach Airport have had recent declines in travelers.


City taking airport feud to L.A. mayor - Press Enterprise

Ontario officials went public Monday with a request to meet with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to discuss local control of Ontario International Airport because negotiations with L.A. World Airports broke down in September.
 
After a meeting of the Ontario International Airport Authority on Monday, board President Alan Wapner said Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey broke off the negotiations Sept. 18 after raising the price for the airport by $200 million.
 
The two sides had agreed on a price, which Wapner declined to disclose. Ontario’s lead negotiator, Al Boling, got the Ontario City Council to approve the price. But when he next met with Lindsey, she added $200 million to the cost, Wapner said.
 
When asked if she would accept a counter-offer if Boling could get one approved, Lindsey said no, effectively ending the negotiations, Wapner said.


 
LB Council to study airport noise ordinance mid-January in light of talks about international flights - Signal Tribune

Residents who fought to keep airlines from expanding at Long Beach Airport in order to protect homes underneath flight paths are preparing for what may become a new battle.

The Long Beach City Council at its meeting on Nov. 11 voted unanimously (8-0) to conduct a study session on the airport’s noise ordinance mid-January after recent discussions about the potential for bringing international flights to the airport.

Earlier this year, it was revealed in a city memo that airport management had been studying the possibility of building a federal inspection services (FIS) facility for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to enable international travel. Airport staff, however, have indicated that the potential development is only in “preliminary” stages and would require a three-year-plus process.

Executives with the airport’s primary commercial airline, JetBlue Airways, have expressed interest in having international flights from Long Beach Airport, possibly to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The airport noise ordinance, which was officially passed in 1995 after years of litigation between the City and airlines involving input from affected homeowners, allows airlines and regional commuter jets to fly only during specific time slots that are allocated in a lottery. The ordinance permits airlines to fly between the hours of 7am and 10pm or face fines that range from $100 to $300 per violation, according to the airport’s website.

Airport spokesperson Kerry Gerot sent an email to the Signal Tribune this week stating that the City is not proposing any changes to the noise ordinance regardless of the potential for a U.S. Customs facility.



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