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LAX
With the runoff Elections for LA Mayor and the LAX modernization/space expansion one of the key topics, I wonder;
-What do you all think about it. -What ideas do you have to make LAX and the airport system better? EDITORIAL Sitting Ducks at LAX March 28, 2005 Since the Sept. 11 attacks, airline travelers have become more or less resigned to standing in lines. If waiting for checked luggage to undergo new scrutiny and for passengers and carry-on bags to get more than a cursory scan keeps bombs and hijackers off planes, who can really complain? OK, plenty of people. And perhaps unbeknown to them, it turns out that inconvenience is not the only problem. As air travel rebounds toward pre-9/11 levels, the growing queues make tempting ground-level targets. A Rand Corp. study on security at Los Angeles International Airport lacks only the phrase "sitting ducks." Arriving passengers were after all the targets of an attack planned for December 1999 by Al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Ressam. Customs agents luckily arrested the "millennium bomber" as he crossed the Washington state border from Canada. According to the Rand report, he had planned to use a luggage bomb in the skycap or check-in lines. Today, passenger lines are longer and just as vulnerable at airports nationwide, according to a separate report by the Government Accountability Office. The lines at LAX have become fodder for the L.A. mayoral race, though for now they are generating more rhetorical fire than reasonable fixes. The Rand report claims the problem at LAX can be fixed quickly and relatively cheaply by hiring more skycaps, ticketing agents and security screeners. Mayor James K. Hahn, who is pushing an $11-billion airport renovation, says he agrees with Rand on the urgency of shortening lines but defends the airport director's position that doing so would be neither quick nor easy. The LAX argument is this: Debt-ridden airlines are too broke to hire additional ticket-counter staff, and the number of airport screeners is capped by the federal government. Further, the cramped airport doesn't have room for new counters or scanning stations. City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, Hahn's challenger in the May 17 runoff, accuses the mayor of "summarily dismissing" Rand's recommendation as a way to bolster his more costly renovation. But Villaraigosa is vague about how he would find the money or the room to shorten lines. He opposes even a scaled-back compromise on LAX renovation that was adopted by the rest of the City Council, instead calling for the same regional airport system everyone supports and no one has figured out how to create. That isn't exactly a quick fix either. If Rand's calculations seem a bit off the cuff (a 1% increase in screening staff would "significantly" reduce lines), LAX's computer-modeled calculations and all-or-nothing goal of reducing waits to a mere minute appear excessively fussy. Surely the city, the federal government and the airlines, acting together, could find ways of shortening if not eliminating long waits in line. In the meantime, passengers can do their part. Use the check-in kiosks that airlines are installing to reduce ticket-counter congestion. Don't pack so much stuff. And by all means try uncrowded, city-owned Ontario International Airport, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Any additional driving time will be more than offset by shorter lines. |
This article brings up an interesting point, that may help LAX or aide the reasoning for the costs. Because LAX is a major hub airport for low-cost Southwest, Transpacific Gateway for the International Airlines (such as Qantas, Singapore and Korean Air-all of which may be recieving the A-380 jets), and Premium Transcontinental serivces such as American, Northwest and United (the only airlines that seem to stay afloat)
============================================= Shake-up imminent for US airlines Analysts expect high fuel prices, overcapacity and continuing losses to force consolidation among network carriers Flight International 29 Mar 2005 US legacy airlines are in desperate need of reform and due for a shake-up, with imminent and much overdue “clearing out” of excess capacity possible this year, warn industry analysts. Record fuel prices, leveraged balance sheets, overcapacity and low yields continue to cripple any chances of recovery for an “industry that is still depressed”, says Raymond Neidl, senior airline and transport analyst at Wall Street broker Calyon Securities. Speaking at the Speednews suppliers conference in Los Angeles, Neidl said: “Most legacy carriers are trading around bankruptcy level, and it is only the low-cost carriers that I can truly recommend to buy or hold.” Glenn Hickerson, GATX Air advisory board chairman, said: “Most of us remain in shell-shock from what seems to be a continuous US conundrum.” American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways had lost $27 billion between them since 2000, he said. This was in spite of record load factors because they have not been associated with an increase in yield. Neidl said the purging of weaker network carriers could come even earlier due to high fuel prices. “At $56-57 a barrel it will probably speed up the process. It will cause a clear-out of the excess capacity in the system, and we should know by June what will happen to the likes of US Airways and maybe Continental.” With the exception of Continental’s “package deal” ordering of Boeing 787s, taking over leases on former American Trans Air 757-300s, and accelerating delivery of six 737-800s, the US network carriers have either reduced or postponed deliveries. However, Continental says it will be forced to cancel its 787 order and other parts of the Boeing deal and may also have to defer all 40 remaining aircraft on order due for delivery beyond 2005 if union agreements are not ratified. Hickerson echoed Neidl’s view that a clear-out is overdue, but said the “survival of the fittest” did not seem to apply to US legacy carriers. “Most everyone agrees there are too many network carriers, most agree seven will reduce to four or five. But when?” He added that the low-cost carrier share of the domestic US market, measured in revenue passenger miles, could be “on its way to 50% within 36 to 48 months [from 30% last year]”. GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES |
Well first of all - let's get some misconceptions out of the way. American is still teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and they comprise the third largest share of traffic at LAX - fuel prices are really going to hurt them if they don't start shedding some capacity. United, the largest overall operator at LAX, is almost certainly not going to be able to survive and will leave a significant void if and when they go. Whether this allows low cost carriers to flood the market or not remains to be seen - LAX faces its most significant capacity shortage on the international side.
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No Quick Fix Seen for Long LAX Lines
Waits at counters and checkpoints can't be cut soon, airport officials tell City Council. By Jennifer Oldham Times Staff Writer March 31, 2005 City Council members sympathized with airport officials Wednesday who testified that in the next few years they cannot significantly shorten lines at Los Angeles International Airport that are vulnerable to a terrorist attack. The Rand Corp., in a report last fall on security at LAX, made cutting lines in ticket lobbies and at security checkpoints its top recommendation. Airport officials have said they can't comply because the cash-strapped airlines and the federal Transportation Security Administration, which manages screeners, are short-staffed. "What we have control over, we are doing," said Councilwoman Janice Hahn, after hearing testimony from airport officials at a meeting of the council's Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "What we don't have control over is additional airline and TSA staff. We can tell them, in the name of security, we believe we need more staffing at ticket counters and checkpoints, but we can't make them do that." Airline representatives told the committee that they are relying on new technologies, such as electronic ticketing machines, and on passengers who print their boarding passes at home to reduce queues. Lines at LAX will decrease by 50% by 2008 after installation of a new $400-million luggage system, airport officials testified. Rand recommended adding 5% more agents at ticket counters to speed passengers into the more secure boarding gate areas. A consultant hired by airport officials, however, found that airlines would have to hire 25% to 75% more personnel to reduce lines during peak periods. Mayor James K. Hahn called for the Rand study last spring after the council threatened to hire a firm to conduct a security analysis of his $11-billion modernization plan. Lines in ticket lobbies at LAX have grown since new baggage and passenger screening requirements were put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Rand stands by its study and insists that it remains urgent to reduce lines at LAX. At a second security-related airport meeting Wednesday, the city's Airport Commission questioned consultants about a report released last week that recommended that the LAX police force remain independent. Consultants from CTI Consulting in Bethesda, Md., told the commissioners that merging the LAX police with the LAPD would cause a disruption that could put travelers at risk while the "country is fighting a war on terror." "Now is not the time to go through an upheaval of a system that's working," said Ken Cox, lead researcher on the $900,000 study. Hahn, LAPD Chief William J. Bratton and other city leaders have called for the LAX police to be merged with the LAPD, arguing that it would eliminate confusion. The Airport Commission voted to accept the 104-page report's recommendations, which urged the airport police and the LAPD to work more closely together, and asked airport staff to come up with a plan to implement the findings in the next 30 days. |
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...nes-california
CALIFORNIA Airport Contracts Extended Panel acts on lucrative LAX concessions due to expire after the May 17 mayoral election. By Jeffrey L. Rabin and Jennifer Oldham Times Staff Writers April 5, 2005 Despite travelers' poor reviews of the shops and restaurants at Los Angeles International Airport, the city's Airport Commission on Monday unanimously approved the extension of lucrative concession contracts without discussion or debate. The extensions, which were approved as several powerhouse City Hall lobbyists looked on, allow operators of duty-free shops, newsstands, bookstores and McDonald's restaurants to continue serving millions of passengers at the world's fifth-largest airport for up to two years. The contracts would not have expired until the end of May, after the May 17 runoff mayoral election between incumbent James K. Hahn and Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa. But airport officials hurriedly placed the extensions on the commission agenda at the end of last week. Airport officials said they had not put the contracts out to bid because they recently embarked on a two-year process to overhaul LAX's underperforming concessions program. Travelers consistently give the shops and food choices poor marks. Yet the concessions are so lucrative that the airport earned as much as $45 million a year from the arrangements. The contracts are essentially monopolies and are so highly prized that the major concessionaires hire lobbyists and make campaign contributions to city officials, including Hahn. The mayor appoints the seven-member Airport Commission. John Ek, a prominent airport lobbyist whose clients include McDonald's, said after the vote that he had co-hosted a $1,000-per-person fundraiser for Hahn last Wednesday in San Pedro and that he helped raise money for the mayor last year. Ek confirmed that he had appeared a year ago before a grand jury investigating pay-to-play allegations that campaign contributions may have influenced decisions on city contracts. Julio Ramirez, another lobbyist and Hahn contributor, represents the Hudson Group, which operates bookstores and newsstands at LAX. Ramirez is the husband of Annette Castro, one of Hahn's chief fundraisers. The Hahn campaign paid Castro more than $200,000 for her fundraising and campaign consulting activities in recent years, according to Hahn's campaign finance statements. The New Jersey-based Hudson Group acquired the North American airport retail business of W.H. Smith in December 2003. Atlanta-area executives of W.H. Smith contributed $22,000 to Hahn's mayoral campaign in 2000. The company's LAX concession contract was extended without competitive bidding after Hahn was elected. W.H. Smith also gave $50,000 to Hahn's L.A. United campaign to defeat the secession of the San Fernando Valley. The Hudson Group contract was extended to May 31, 2006, with the option for another one-year extension. The contract with DFS Group to operate the airport's Duty Free Shops was extended until Nov. 30, 2007. DFS executive Joseph Lyons and two lobbyists, Richard Lichtenstein and attorney Ellen Berkowitz, were at the commission meeting. On the same 6-0 vote, the commission extended the concession contract of attorney Andy M. Camacho, who operates two Mexican restaurants at the airport. Camacho has contributed to both of Hahn's mayoral campaigns. He also gave $1,000 to the mayor's legal defense fund last month. Contracts for coffee concessionaire Java Java and food and beverage concessionaires Eurotal and Creative Croissants were extended to May 31, 2007. Travelers consistently give poor grades to the airport's concessions. Sales at restaurants and retail outlets also rank below the industry average. In 2003, LAX shops and restaurants earned $6.17 per passenger, 27 cents less than the industry average of $6.44. Other major U.S. airports, including John F. Kennedy International in New York, San Francisco International and Miami International Airport, earned above the industry average. The figures do not include sales at duty-free shops. Karen Tozer, the new concessions manager of the city's airport department, said a study would help guide decisions at LAX for the next 10 to 15 years. Tozer said some cities' airports have fabulous food and beverage outlets and stores. She said Los Angeles deserves the same. The Airport Commission last month awarded a $622,000 contract to conduct the concession study. The consultant will evaluate the existing stores and restaurants and devise a new approach, including themes and a tenant mix to maximize space-constrained facilities. The city's airport agency hasn't taken a broad look at its concessions program in more than a decade. The 133 sites at LAX are almost evenly divided between food and beverage locations and retail services. Many of the shops in the facility's nine terminals are outdated. Consumer tastes have changed, requiring a new look to generate higher sales, airport officials told the commission last month. The study's completion date coincides with the expiration date of 70% of the contracts governing those shops. The city's airport agency hopes to put each concession contract out to bid, hire new operators and build new storefronts by May 2007. The seven concessionaires whose contracts were approved Monday have more than 850 employees at LAX. |
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/va...ditions-valley
More World Travelers Using LAX Low fares, an early Easter and the weak dollar contribute to a record first quarter, and officials predict a busy summer. By Jennifer Oldham Times Staff Writer April 26, 2005 More international travelers flew in and out of Los Angeles International Airport in the first three months of this year than in any previous first quarter in its 76-year history. The record increase marks a milestone for LAX, the nation's main gateway to Asia and its No. 2 point of departure for Latin America. The airport has been slower to rebound from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks than most other major U.S. airports. Low airfares, an early Easter holiday and a weak U.S. dollar, which encouraged more Europeans and Asians to travel here, boosted international traffic in the first three months of the year, even as domestic flights continue to lag. Just two years ago, the outbreak of SARS in Asia and the war in Iraq compounded a stubborn international travel downturn brought on by the terrorist skyjackings. Today, flights are so full that several of the 56 carriers flying to foreign countries posted double-digit gains in the number of passengers in the first quarter over last year. And many are considering adding service or have already done so. "It's going to be a busy summer," said Frank Clark, executive director of the organization that represents carriers at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Despite increased travel, most domestic airlines are still struggling to break even, hurt by fare cuts and soaring fuel prices. U.S. carriers have been looking to cash in on more lucrative international flights by adding service overseas and cutting domestic routes. The increase in international travelers at LAX bodes well for the region's economy, which relies heavily on dollars spent by foreign tourists in shops, hotels and restaurants. International travelers comprised 17.5% of the 24.3 million visitors to Los Angeles last year, but spent about 28% of the $12 billion that visitors added to the economy, according to LA Inc., the city's convention and visitors bureau. "They tend to spend more, that's the bottom line," said Christopher Heywood, manager of corporate communications at LA Inc. "They are our prized market." Shopkeepers at LAX said a better exchange rate has given travelers from Europe and Asia more pocket money, which they're using to buy luxury items such as chocolates, cigars and liquor. "Sales are increasing, for sure, with us," said Joe Lyons, vice president of business development for Duty Free Shops, which operates 10 shops at LAX. "If Europeans come here, they find themselves with a lot of bargains." More international visitors are also expected to flock to Los Angeles in the second quarter to take advantage of several events and attractions. "The King Tut exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, combined with the weaker dollar, has everyone in the tourism business very excited," said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. About 4.1 million international travelers passed through LAX in the first quarter, up 8.3% from the same period last year. The previous first-quarter record — 4.05 million — was set in 2001. The strongest quarter for international traffic ever at LAX was in the third quarter of 2000, when the airport logged 4.9 million international passengers. Some international carriers posted enormous increases in the last quarter. TACA International Airlines and Aeroflot Russian International Airlines logged about 30% more travelers, El Al Israel Airlines and China Eastern Airlines reported a 29% increase, and Virgin Atlantic posted a 26% gain. Overall, passenger traffic at the world's fifth-busiest airport rose 5.1% from January through March to 14.3 million, up from 13.6 million last year. The rise led airport officials to predict that LAX would see 64 million travelers this year and would completely recover from the 9/11 attacks by 2006. Domestic passenger traffic at LAX was up 3.9% in the first quarter, with 10.2 million travelers, still short of the first-quarter record of 11.5 million travelers set in 2000. Passenger traffic levels in the first quarter at the region's smaller airports, which recovered more quickly than LAX after the skyjackings, also hit record levels. Ontario International Airport, which is operated by Los Angeles, saw historic gains, with 1.6 million passengers in the first quarter, up 3.8% from last year. In Burbank, Bob Hope Airport posted record highs thanks to new service from several airlines and a larger seating configuration introduced by Southwest. The airport logged 1.2 million travelers from January through March, up 7.6%. "In general, people seem to be feeling good about flying, and there are still competitive prices on the West Coast routes that dominate" at Bob Hope Airport, said Victor Gill, an airport spokesman. At LAX, airport officials are planning a $225-million renovation of the 22-year-old Tom Bradley International Terminal, including upgrading the baggage system, fixing ailing elevators and escalators, and removing peeling paint, to accommodate record passenger levels. Construction is expected to start early next year. Airlines are also modifying their facilities at LAX to better serve international travelers. Air New Zealand, which saw strong business in the first quarter during its busiest travel season, said it's doubling the size of its premier lounge in Terminal 2. "If we hadn't seen good growth, we wouldn't be investing in that kind of development," said Lucy Powell, communications manager for Air New Zealand. Powell said more Americans have become interested in traveling Down Under because of the popularity of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which was filmed largely in New Zealand. |
Not LAX but a similar situation
Airport Project Has Baggage
Foes of a proposed expansion of Long Beach's cozy terminal worry it will lead to pressure to lift the city's limit on flights. By Nancy Wride Times Staff Writer May 11, 2005 With its porthole windows and Art Deco lines, Long Beach Airport evokes a bygone era when white-gloved stewardesses wore hats and meals were served on china. Now that 9/11 has made air travel an ordeal, Long Beach passengers boast they can arrive an hour before takeoff. NBC's Katie Couric called it "really cool" during a "Today" show segment on how to dodge congested airports. Yet its virtues are vexing Long Beach Airport. And the once-overlooked airport is buckling under its success. Just four years ago, Long Beach Airport had only 15 commercial departures a day, with more planes filled with cargo than people. Since JetBlue Airways made Long Beach its West Coast hub in August 2001, the upstart carrier's cheap fares and the ease of getting in and out of a pipsqueak airport have proved a winning mix. Daily commercial flights increased to the 41 maximum allowed by the city's airport noise ordinance. The number of passengers soared from half a million in 2001 to 3 million last year. By contrast, John Wayne Airport in Orange County handles 130 commercial flights a day and Los Angeles International Airport handles about 900. And Long Beach Airport is struggling to keep up. To handle the increases in travelers and security demands since the terrorist attacks, the city says the airport terminal must expand. The proposal has divided the city. Business leaders, led by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and JetBlue, want a modernized airport terminal of up to 133,000 square feet that offers more amenities. They argue the airport has long failed to take advantage of business opportunities such as concessions that would crank up tax revenue for the city. (Fewer than 1% of the airport's 3 million passengers stayed overnight in the city last year, their studies show). But residents who live around the airport fear the terminal project will lead to challenges or outright breaking of the noise ordinance. "It's about time we decide to look out for people who live in this city," said Rae Gabelich, a new Long Beach councilwoman who opposes airport expansion. The existing terminal is a city historic landmark, which means even its color cannot be altered without the approval of several commissions, which almost nobody expects. The upgrades and additional space would go in stand-alone adjacent buildings. The soonest that the Long Beach City Council could decide on proposed improvements is March. Yet the ground war has begun. JetBlue and the Chamber of Commerce would prefer the largest of several upgrade alternatives, at roughly 133,000 square feet. Some residents favor a smaller expansion. And the City Council voted Feb. 8 to limit the scope of the environmental impact report to an expanded terminal of 103,000 square feet. The existing terminal is about 58,000 square feet, including 23,750 square feet of temporary facilities. Now, some airport backers are talking about letting voters decide the matter through a ballot measure. That would essentially be an end run around the City Council and would eliminate the environmental review process, which has stoked the airport growth debate. It is an echo of what transpired in Orange County several years ago, where voters went to the polls repeatedly over the county's plans to build a commercial airport at the closed El Toro marine base. That proposal also divided the community, with residents who live near the base finally winning out when voters approved a plan to use the base for homes, businesses and recreation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gleaming white outside and sky blue inside, the Long Beach terminal today is not much different from what it looked like when it was built in 1941. The exterior has the fluid horizontal lines and steel ship railings that are signatures of the streamline Moderne architectural style still seen in parts of Long Beach. Vivid blue mosaic floor tiles depict the city's aviation and waterfront history; they peek out from under carpeting at the terminal entrance but are in full view upstairs, where there are dated restrooms. They share the second floor with airport operations offices, a single worker at a JetBlue computer and the old air traffic control tower. Down a short hall are the Prop Room restaurant and bar. An outdoor patio allows passengers to smoke or dine al fresco overlooking the tarmac. Quarters are intimate, and the walk from terminal to plane is outdoors, just like baggage claim. "It makes you want to say, 'Here's lookin' at you, kid,' " passenger John Shmoldas of Thousand Oaks said, quoting a line from the movie "Casablanca" as he lingered over dinner at the neon-lighted bar. The airport's vintage appeal is the antithesis of most modern airports and has earned praise both from travelers and the national media. "I travel around the country a lot," said Tom McGovern, a national sales manager for a Seattle company that sells products through Sprint, "and this airport is very old-fashioned and unique. It is just so much easier than most other airports." Patricia Laurans, a dog show judge from Newtown, Conn. who travels extensively, said she would do almost anything to avoid flying out of LAX, "which I hate," she said. "I love Long Beach," Laurans said. "Now, would I like it if there were more room here [in the boarding area] and covered places to get on the plane? Sure, but would I trade how easy it is to get around here and JetBlue? No way." But with the influx of additional flights and passengers have come growing pains. Federal security screeners work in rows beneath tarps. The winding path from the main airport terminal to the boarding area, referred to by one airport official as the "dog run" before pleading it not be mentioned, is open to the elements from about the knee down. A portable building serves as the plane waiting area, where a staffer sells snack foods and beverages. The lone baggage claim carousel is outdoors under an awning. Passengers are fully exposed to the elements as they walk on the tarmac between the terminal and jetliners. The Prop Room bar has 11 stools and no other seating. There are few bathrooms, and those upstairs are unreachable by the disabled. There is a small snack bar and smaller gift shop, where nothing more electronic than batteries is sold. Amid the Spartan surroundings, the Chamber of Commerce and others see opportunity for business to bloom, from concessions to other sales tax generators for the city. In this picture, Gabelich and other foes see the opportunity for a crack in the door to get pried into an opening for more expansion than Long Beach residents need or want. Opponents fear that a larger terminal and room to grow on the airport site will invite either other airlines to challenge the city's noise ordinance or the Federal Aviation Administration to decide to direct planes from larger, overcrowded airports to Long Beach. For its part, the FAA says that is not about to happen. "We respect the 41-flight cap," said FAA spokesman Donn Walker. As the city debates the future of the terminal, some travelers said they would welcome improvements. "I feel like we've stepped out of a time machine," Bob Rigo of Chino said with a grin as he and his wife and daughter dashed through the terminal. It took them 45 seconds. "Where's Ricky and Lucy?" * (BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX) Taking off Long Beach airport facts * The first transcontinental flight landed in Long Beach in 1911. * The world's first flight school opened in Long Beach in 1919. * In 1923, the new Long Beach Airport became the first municipal airport in Southern California. * The airport is one of the world's busiest airports for private aircraft. Source: City of Long Beach ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Long Beach Airport: Status Quo or Upgrade? May 16, 2005 Re "Airport Project Has Baggage," May 11: Flying out of Long Beach has been one of my best experiences of air travel. Partly due to JetBlue's fares, but mostly due to the Long Beach Airport experience. Over the last few years I have had multiple conversations with different people about the ease of traveling out of Long Beach. Anybody who has issues with an outdoor baggage claim or portable ramp should fly out of LAX or John Wayne. Let JetBlue expand out of Ontario and Burbank. Why is it that when something is working so well, there is always someone trying to change it? Jeff Wight El Segundo * I have been a resident of Long Beach for 25 years and live under the final approach flight path at Long Beach Airport and can read you the numbers off the planes from my vegetable garden. I am also a former city councilman who fought hard for the limit of 41 flights a day and one of the many members of the Long Beach community who have come together to establish the Long Beach Alliance — a coalition of residents, businesses and city leaders who support the much-needed airport improvements. We are united by our disappointment in those in the community, including several City Council members, who oppose airport improvements and have been misleading the public with fear tactics. Upgrading the airport will not result in more flights, and we care deeply about the environment. The alliance's efforts are not an attempt to circumvent the environmental impact report. The majority of our community wants an upgraded airport — not more flights. There are clear benefits to the community and the economy by improving the airport. That is what our great city deserves and what the alliance is looking to achieve. H. Delano Roosevelt Long Beach |
I live in California Heights in Long Beach, right in the flight path. You really do get used to the noise, it usually isn't too bad.
Whenever there's a vote coming up about airport expansion, my front door gets plastered with NIMBY fliers, saying to turn out and protest expansion. I appreciate the fliers, because they let me know when to show up and support airport expansion!!! :) Property values - shmoperty values...I rent! :eat: |
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...=la-home-local
LAX Braces for Summer Travelers A record number of international passengers is expected starting Memorial Day. Other airports also prepare for a busy season. By Jennifer Oldham Times Staff Writer May 26, 2005 The Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport is infamous with travelers around the world. The 22-year-old building, home to 34 airlines, is the "worst terminal in the Western world," where "customs was a nightmare" and "lines a mile long," according to travelers who posted their experiences on an Internet bulletin board. It's about to get much worse. Low airfares, a weak U.S. dollar and an expanding array of flights to destinations around the globe are expected to contribute to record international traffic at LAX this summer. Airports throughout Southern California are bracing for record passenger traffic from Memorial Day through Labor Day. And airline officials nationwide expect the busiest summer season since the previous peak in 2001. Lines at customs, ticket counters and security checkpoints are already growing at LAX. The airport, the world's fifth-busiest, ranks low in how travelers rate its customs operations, but in a recent week, it had shorter lines than some other major airports. "I'm just tired. I spent more than 10 hours on the flight and then more than an hour in line here," Jin Lee said after waiting in the Bradley terminal's crowded customs hall following her return from a trip to South Korea. "Why are they so long?" As Lee and a friend stood in the lower level of the Bradley terminal, harried travelers speaking many languages and pushing carts loaded with luggage bustled around them. At LAX, the city's airport agency expects 18.5 million travelers this summer, up 6% from the same period a year ago. About 5.1 million of them will be international passengers, a gain of about 10% over June, July and August of 2004. The increase is welcome news at LAX, which suffered more than other major U.S. airports from the steep decline in travel that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Iraq war and the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Asia. "It's been four years since there's been demand like this for airline seats to and from Los Angeles," said Paul Haney, a spokesman for Los Angeles World Airports, the city's airport department. "Now airline station managers are telling us that their advanced bookings are up sharply for summer travel, and that means tickets will be scarce and planes will be full." Many carriers have added service at LAX this summer, with more flights to Asia, Canada, Europe and Latin America. Travelers can also choose from more options to Mexico, including flights on regional carriers. ExpressJet, a regional provider for Continental Airlines, added 26 weekly departures on planes that seat up to 50 passengers from LAX to destinations such as Morelia, Aguascalientes and Leon. "Because Los Angeles has a huge Mexican and Latin population, we wanted to provide them convenient travel options," said Martin DeLeon, Continental's manager of public relations. Other Southern California airports are expect a busy summer. Passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport, which is managed by the city of Los Angeles, is expected to be up 4% this summer from last year; 2 million travelers are expected. At Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, JetBlue kicked off three daily nonstop flights this week to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport — service that is expected to lure more passengers. "This will be a peak summer travel season for us by historical standards," said Victor Gill, an airport spokesman. Long Beach and John Wayne airports also are planning for a heavy summer, as is San Francisco International Airport. "We're definitely seeing a big bump in international traffic," said Mike McCarron, a spokesman for the San Francisco airport. Nationwide, international traffic is expected to rise 10% this summer for U.S. carriers, which hope to cash in on more profitable overseas routes, according to statistics from the Air Transport Assn., an airline trade group. Domestic travel is predicted to grow by 4%, with an estimated 199 million travelers on U.S. carriers between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend. Crowded airport lobbies and waiting areas promise to try passengers' patience, with customs and security managers girding for the busiest summer in four years. At LAX, officials are working to cross-train customs officers to do several immigration-related duties. "We want to have as many officers as possible to be able to handle this significant increase in workload," said Ana Hinojosa, the area port director for LAX for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. More efficient staffing and new technology helped keep chaos at a minimum last summer, she said, adding that her department works closely with airlines to ensure that passengers understand which documentation they need to pass through customs. Even so, passengers ranked LAX 18th out of 22 large airports for customer satisfaction at customs checkpoints, according to a 2004 study by J.D. Power and Associates. Only Kennedy in New York, Miami International Airport, Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport performed worse. When it comes to customs lines, however, perception isn't always reality. Despite the airport's poor reputation with travelers, customs posted shorter wait times at LAX in the last week than at other large airports. Wait times at LAX customs stations ranged on average from 28 to 35 minutes. The airport had shorter waits than many of the 12 airports with the highest volume of arriving international passengers in the U.S. between May 17 and May 23. Miami, Kennedy, Chicago's O'Hare and Washington Dulles International Airport consistently had longer wait times. "For an airport our size, we're No. 2 in the nation for international arrivals … we're by far the best in a comparison of passenger wait times," Hinojosa said. Airport officials hope to refurbish the Bradley terminal's lackluster image with a $251-million face-lift by upgrading the baggage system, fixing ailing elevators and escalators, and installing new concessions. Construction is expected to start early next year. The record-breaking travel season at LAX comes as Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa grapples with what to do with his predecessor's $11-billion modernization plan for the facility. The proposal, which faces litigation in state court this summer, probably is years away from being built, and its first phase wouldn't address some of the most glaring deficiencies at LAX, including crowded terminals. The summer also begins with the threat of a strike at United Air Lines by its ground workers over the firm's attempt to get more wage concessions to help it emerge from bankruptcy. United is the largest airline at LAX. The union is trying to negotiate a deal with the carrier by Tuesday, when a bankruptcy judge is expected to rule on a request by United to annul its contract with workers. A strike could compound problems with crowding. Flights on most airlines are expected to be full, making it difficult for United's competitors to find room for additional passengers. "Disruptions could create a severe ripple effect," said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va. "It's not like there is extra labor. They've cut all of the fat, and indeed some of the muscle, out of the system." |
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...ck=2&cset=true
FAA Approves LAX Modernization Plan The action pushes the $11-billion proposal to the top of the mayor-elect's agenda. By Jennifer Oldham and Jessica Garrison Times Staff Writers May 21, 2005 Federal officials signed off on the city's $11-billion modernization plan for Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, allowing construction to start and forcing Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa to make the issue a top priority. Villaraigosa said he had spoken with U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta after the decision was announced and told him that he opposed some of the plan's major components. Villaraigosa wants to eliminate a controversial passenger check-in center near the San Diego Freeway. "He indicated that the decision was well on its way, and that they could not delay it because it was all ready to be issued," Villaraigosa said of the conversation. The Federal Aviation Administration must complete an environmental impact report and sign off on the city's plan, but its decision Friday does not mean the city must follow the plan to the letter. "This doesn't require the city or the airport to take any action at all," said Donn Walker, an FAA spokesman. "It simply means if they want to they can go ahead and implement" their airport plan. The approval comes just three days after voters replaced the airport plan's two strongest proponents — Mayor James K. Hahn and Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski — with Villaraigosa and Bill Rosendahl, who oppose the proposal. The FAA's action will require Villaraigosa, who has not offered a comprehensive alternative blueprint, to make some tough decisions about LAX this summer. The city is currently spending about $2 million a month to design projects and to pay for legal costs. Some of the money is being spent on parts of the proposal that Villaraigosa opposes. "I believe that we need to develop a regional approach to expanding capacity," he said, adding that he thinks other airports should absorb some of the growth in passenger traffic. On Friday, the airport-area's congressional representatives also decried the FAA's 58-page ruling. "The only thing I can conclude is this may be an effort by someone to try to move the process forward faster and disregard the fact that we have a new councilman … and a new mayor," said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles). Waters and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), who both endorsed Villaraigosa, have repeatedly called on Los Angeles officials to revamp the plan, which was introduced by Hahn shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The plan is highly unpopular in airport-area communities. On Tuesday, Villaraigosa outpolled Hahn in most of these areas. Officials hope to break ground on the first construction project, moving the southernmost runway 55 feet closer to El Segundo, next spring. The city must first hire a contractor, and the Airport Commission and the City Council must sign off on the project and its environmental documents. Costs related to the plan are sure to mount as opponents file suit in the next 60 days to challenge the federal environmental impact report.When asked if her clients — Inglewood, Culver City and Los Angeles County — would sue in federal court, attorney Barbara Lichman said: "There's no question about it." The city is currently facing litigation brought in state court by these entities and airport-area residents. The lawsuit alleges that the complex environmental studies for the LAX plan understate the effects of noise, air pollution and traffic. A hearing is scheduled in August. How Villaraigosa chooses to fix LAX could have wide-ranging implications for his administration. Reworking the city's aging airport, which was used by about 60 million travelers last year, has proven to be problematic for both Hahn and his predecessor, Richard J. Riordan. The city has spent $147 million in the last 10 years trying to rework the world's fifth-busiest airport, which consistently ranks near the bottom in surveys of traveler satisfaction. Riordan left office before his expansion plan was approved. Hahn's plan faced certain defeat in the City Council last year before Miscikowski — who currently represents the airport area — suggested splitting the plan's projects into two phases. The first phase features the most popular elements, including a transit hub near the Century Freeway, a consolidated rental car center in parking lot C and a people mover. More controversial components, including a check-in center in a Westchester neighborhood, the demolition of terminals 1, 2 and 3 and the building of a terminal in the middle of the airport's horseshoe-shaped roadway, are part of a second phase. These so-called "yellow-light" projects require additional traffic, environmental and safety reviews before they could be built. Hahn lauded the FAA's decision Friday. "I am pleased," he said in a statement, "and look forward to working with labor, businesses, public safety officials and other stakeholders throughout the city as we continue to make LAX a model for safety, security and passenger convenience." But the mayor is unlikely to see any actual progress on his plan before he leaves office. Villaraigosa is likely to make a decision about LAX in conjunction with Rosendahl, a former local television host who won Miscikowski's seat. Rosendahl said Friday that he would "expect a reconsideration and another opportunity to weigh in on the issue." "The mayor-elect … and I will talk a little bit more about our common strategy," he said. Community leaders and legal experts questioned whether Rosendahl would be able to request another council vote on Hahn's LAX plan. "I think it's a hard thing to do to have council members go back on a vote so shortly after their original vote," said Brendan Huffman, director of public policy at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Legal experts said that Villaraigosa could order the Airport Commission to start the whole process over. But he has said that he wanted the first phase of Hahn's plan to move forward. Complicating the matter is Villaraigosa's assertion that he would kill the proposal's most controversial projects. Attorneys for the city and opponents argue that removing the second phase would invalidate the plan's environmental analysis. The new mayor also would have to grapple with how to hold capacity at LAX to 78 million passengers. The plan to do that, by removing 10 gates for airplanes, is part of the second phase. If he does away with that phase, Villaraigosa would also jeopardize part of a $500-million agreement tied to Hahn's plan that is designed to ease noise, air pollution and traffic and provide jobs to residents living near LAX. Architects of this deal said Friday that the community benefits were linked to individual projects and that schools near the airport would probably lose a large portion of funding if the controversial projects were cut. "If the yellow-light projects are scaled back, then the benefits tied to those projects would be scaled back or eliminated," said Danny Tabor, a former Inglewood city councilman. He said the coalition that negotiated with airport officials to reach a community-benefits agreement was hoping to meet with Villaraigosa soon. "We really need to show him how it all fits together so he has a clear understanding of the various aspects of the master plan." Other airport-area residents also hope to get the mayor-elect's ear, saying they will withdraw litigation if he agrees to a proposal they plan to release next week. The document will ask for a security study of the plan, a limit on passenger growth and an increase in landing fees as an incentive for airlines to fly the new 550-seat Airbus A380, the largest airliner ever built, to city-owned airports in Ontario and Palmdale. "They could have variable landing fees … that would make alternative airports much more attractive," said Jan Chatten-Brown, an attorney who represents airport-area residents. "There are other airports in the Greater Los Angeles area that have the capacity to take up the burden, and a lot of these communities want these flights." * (BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX) Approaching take-off The two-phase, $11-billion remodeling of Los Angeles International Airport could start next year and would take at least 10 years to complete. First phase International terminal: $683 million Add gates to west side of Tom Bradley terminal People mover: $557 million Construct elevated people mover to connect new transit center, rental car center and existing terminals Rental car center: $476 million Consolidate most rental car companies at one site Intermodal transit center: $293 million Connect bus routes and Green Line with people mover; add 9,100 parking spaces West employee parking: $268 million Build 12,400-space structure South airfield: $255 million Rebuild southernmost runway 55 feet farther south and construct center taxiway for added safety Roads and communications: $230 million Improve streets and add new communications network South terminals: $125 million Modernize southern terminals Southeast surface parking: $32 million Add 5,470 long-term parking spaces Total: $2.9 billion -- Second phase Central terminal area: $2.22 billion After demolishing parking structures,build a new terminal on the site Satellite terminal: $1.78 billion Add new concourse to handle larger aircraft, with connections to people mover and baggage system North airfield: $1.247 billion Rebuild parallel runways to handle larger aircraft and construct center taxiway for added safety Central check-in facility: $1.18 billion Build check-in center with people mover stations, 7,495 parking spaces and a baggage tunnel to terminals North concourse: $850 million Build new north concourse. People mover: $557 million Link the check-in center with the terminals Communications and roads: $143 million Complete communications network; improve roads Fuel farm: $56 million Reconfigure fuel farm to accommodate new taxiways Total: $8.0 billion Source: Los Angeles World Airports |
Wow, $11 billion. Imagine what could be done to LA's rail system for $11 billion! You could build 4 Red Lines to the beach with that kind of money.
Or Wilshire Red Line to Westwood, LRT subway downtown, plus a dozen light rail lines all over the place. |
All I care about is that LAX be Airbus 380 ready. In this entire fiasco, I doubt if it will be.....or is it?
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I hate nimbys period. I hope they lose and LAX gets to be fully modernized. I'm so glad the first phase includes to transit center. Rosenthal is 100% behind the Expo and green line and hopefully extending the Green Line up to Expo in the future. Personally, even if the Green Line were to go into the airport, it would be VERY uncomfortable to transfer from Blue Line to Green Line at night. That area is filled with ghetto people who look like hoodlums right out of a Hollywood murder film. I could never imagine stepping foot on that station after dark UNLESS it was manned with security and super bright lights!
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It sounds from the article like the Airbus is one of the things the NIMBY's are fighting.
As for transit, the MTA needs to do one or both of these things:
BTW, regarding the FAA-approved LAX plan and the Green Line. They *should* run the Green Line up to a station at Century/Aviation, where it would connect to the "People Mover". Instead, they're going to leave the Green Line where it is, and run the People Mover all the way to Imperial/Aviation. This is insane!!! Is anybody thinking more than five minutes into the future???? :brickwall: :hell: |
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What we really need is a train that runs directly from LAX to DTLA like the Harbor Subdivision. The time it takes from 7th/Metro to United Terminal at LAX is EXACTLY one hour (I don't know if you guys think that's bad or not but I found it faster than the car still). I left DTLA at 4PM and got to the terminal at 5PM using Blue Line, transferring to Green Line (which the station was filled with "hoodlums" and people that made me feel unsafe to be there) and then taking the free shuttle to LAX, which was not inconvenient at all surprisingly!
I bumped into a lady coming in from Honolulu at LAX riding the shuttle (she was GOING TO the Green Line station) and she told me that she thought LA's mass transit system was very advanced! I was like "Huh? REeeeaLLY? :-P" And she said "Yeah! Compared to Honolulu, LA is GREAT!" I guess the point I'm trying to make is we're always comparing ourselves to the "big ballers" like NYC and SF that have great mass transit, but we are actually "better" than most other cities in America that literally have little to none. Of course, I think we SHOULD set our standards MUCH MUCH higher because LA is a world-class city. I once bumped into an Argentinian tourist on Bunker Hill, and he told me that after visiting cities like Paris and NYC, he just AUTOMATICALLY assumed without much thought that LA would have a superior mass transit system because he said LA is considered world-class in Argentina. So it's analogous to what tourists feel about HOLLY-WOOD, which is usually disappointment. They have all these expectations about how great LA is going to be, and then when they get here, they're like "WTF?" And part of that is our lack of MASS TRANSIT that is used and promoted by the city. In other parts of the world, MASS TRANSIT is part of daily vernacular and expected that MIDDLE CLASS ride it. Here? LOL Well, let's just say I get "Oh you poor thing!" when I tell people I sold my car and I now take the bus and train. |
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...-pe-california
LAX Expansion Will Raise Cancer Risk, Study Finds By Jennifer Oldham Times Staff Writer August 1, 2005 Moving the southernmost runway at Los Angeles International Airport 55 feet for safety reasons will expose nearby residents to increased cancer risk and noise over an eight-month period during construction, according to an environmental impact report to be released today. Closing the runway during the work will force officials to redistribute flights among LAX's three other runways, requiring aircraft to taxi greater distances and idle longer — increasing harmful emissions, according to the 1,370-page study. Changing landing and takeoff patterns will also subject residents in Los Angeles, Inglewood and Westchester to more noise, classroom disturbances and sleep disruptions, concluded the report, completed by an architectural and engineering firm for the city's airport agency. Traffic generated by construction isn't expected to markedly affect communities, the study said, because trucks will operate during off-peak hours and be directed away from residential streets to freeways. The study, required under state law, provides an early look at problems to be faced by communities that surround LAX. Shifting the runway south — scheduled to start next year and take 26 months — is the first in a series of major projects planned to update the aging facility in the next decade. Repositioning the 11,096-foot runway and building a new taxiway is a massive undertaking that will require workers to remove the old runway and install 600,000 square yards of 19-inch thick concrete — enough to build more than 40 miles of two-lane road. It will also require contractors to haul 225 million tons of dirt from the site. Airport officials have argued for years that they must move the runway closer to tiny El Segundo and install a taxiway in between the two runways on the airport's south side to reduce the possibility of collisions between aircraft. About 80% of runway safety violations at LAX occur on those runways, because pilots who land on the southernmost one must traverse a series of taxiways and cross another runway before they reach the terminal. "This project is about increasing the margin of safety for everyone using the airport, as well as the airport's neighbors," Paul Haney, a spokesman for Los Angeles World Airports, the city's airport agency, said Sunday. "There is no way to gain the needed increase in the margin of safety without construction activity. We're committed to do everything feasible to compress the length of the construction project and to mitigate its impacts." The amount of increased noise and air pollution that will result from moving the runway could come as a surprise to many living in the area. "I don't think people have really considered this, and it's kind of tough to conceptualize from our point of view," Kelly McDowell, mayor of El Segundo, said Sunday. The city of El Segundo is one of several airport-area municipalities that have challenged Los Angeles' $11-billion LAX modernization plan in court, claiming environmental studies for the entire proposal understate the effects of noise, pollution and traffic. It's unclear if construction on the south runway could begin before the lawsuit is resolved. The next hearing is scheduled on Oct. 14 in Riverside County Superior Court. The entire modernization plan would dramatically rework LAX. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said he approves of the most popular projects in the plan, including moving the south runway, but wants to eliminate its most controversial elements, including a passenger check-in center near the 405 Freeway. Most residents and legislators interviewed about the environmental impact study, completed by Kansas City, Mo.-based architecture and engineering company HNTB, said they hadn't received the report and couldn't comment on its contents. But they did express concern about the short-term effects of construction on the south runway on their quality of life. "I know there will be some very upset people," said Denny Schneider, who sits on the board of the Westchester Neighbors Assn. "I, at least, have soundproofing. I put it in — I can afford it. I have neighbors that can't." Construction on LAX's south runway is likely to expose several thousand residents to more noise, the study found. Six schools will experience higher noise levels during the eight-month period, it concluded. Quantifying health risks is more complicated. If residents were exposed to air pollution that will result from construction for a period of 70 years, there could be a risk of 19 additional cancer cases per million people, according to the report. Airport officials said it's important to note that air pollution and noise effects shown in the study result not only from construction but also from recent increases in operations at LAX. The effects are greater because, to determine how the project would affect surrounding communities, consultants compared aircraft operations in 2005 with the number of operations the airport served in 2003. That year, air traffic was down markedly after carriers pulled flights following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Iraq war and an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome. This year, operations are rebounding and are expected to hit record levels in 2006. |
Monday, October 03, 2005
Mayor wants an end to LAX battle Hoping to settle pending lawsuits, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa holds meeting of city, county representatives. By David Zahniser Copley News Service After weeks of delays and distractions, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has restarted settlement talks in hopes of ending six lawsuits filed to stop the $11 billion plan for overhauling Los Angeles International Airport. Villaraigosa on Thursday quietly convened a group of roughly 40 city, county and community representatives -- including Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter -- to focus on an agreement that would end the yearlong court battle. Although no one would say with certainty how soon an agreement could be reached, the process is on such a fast track that lawyers in the various cases will meet again Sunday, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Los Angeles World Airports offices. "When you try to get that many attorneys (together) that have that many other cases, it's hard to set a timeline," said Galanter, who attended as a representative of the Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion. "Everyone seems anxious to get it done." Lawyers and elected officials say they still believe there is a chance that all parties could reach a settlement before a pivotal Oct. 14 court hearing on the case. "There's an outside force that's greater than any of us, and that is the judge in Riverside," said El Segundo Mayor Kelly McDowell, who attended Thursday's settlement session. "It's an absolute deadline that everybody is staring down the barrel of." LAWA has been reluctant to ask the judge in the case for a delay beyond Oct. 14, out of fears that such a move would keep it from moving ahead on the first major project in the LAX plan: realigning the airport's south runways, considered a major initiative to reduce the potential for runway collisions. "(Airport officials) don't want to postpone court decisions that would potentially implicate the south runway one way or the other," said Carlyle Hall, the outside attorney representing LAWA on the LAX plan. Settlement talks were started under former Mayor James Hahn but were placed on hold after Villaraigosa's election in May. With the negotiations newly restarted, the airport commission will be asked on Monday to give two outside law firms, including Hall's, an additional $690,000, part of which would go toward settlement negotiations. The two firms have already billed the city $4.95 million since 2004, mostly for work on the airport project. Thursday's settlement meeting was also attended by representatives of Supervisor Don Knabe and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, mayors from Inglewood and El Segundo, and airport commission President Alan Rothenberg, who participated by speakerphone. The Los Angeles City Council approved the airport overhaul last year on a 10-3 vote. Villaraigosa, one of the three opposing votes, wants to eliminate $8 billion worth of projects contained in the modernization plan, particularly a proposed remote passenger check-in facility east of the airport. The settlement talks are being watched closely by community activists who persuaded the council to approve a "community benefits agreement," a $500 million package of environmental initiatives that includes soundproofing and a major air quality survey. If the size of the airport plan is reduced, the package could decrease in size as well, said former Inglewood Councilman Danny Tabor. "We know that that's a possibility," Tabor said. "What we're hopeful for is that the administration and LAWA will talk to us before they agree on any final things." Other cities near LAX have laid out their own lists of demands. El Segundo, for example, has been pushing for roughly $36 million in road and traffic improvements to address airport traffic. Los Angeles provided a counteroffer of $31 million, which was rejected by El Segundo. "I think it's a fair statement that all the different plaintiff groups have generated ideas that would cost substantial money," said Hall, the airport's outside attorney. Pulling the LAX plan apart has been considered a tricky prospect since so many of the individual airport projects are interconnected. Later elements of the plan, such as the passenger check-in facility, are designed to address the environmental harm caused by components that would be built earlier. Still, Galanter was hopeful that all the parties will come up with a solution to end the litigation. "The basic word for it all is optimistic," said the former councilwoman, who represented LAX and Westchester for most of her 16-year tenure. "And when have you heard me sound optimistic?" Daily Breeze staff writer Doug Irving contributed to this article. |
What’s Next for LAX?
By AMANDA BRONSTAD - 10/10/2005 Los Angeles Business Journal Staff The L.A. City Attorney’s office is close to settling a lawsuit filed by neighborhood groups and cities surrounding Los Angeles International Airport over portions of an $11 billion overhaul. If the litigation gets resolved, it could give Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa the legal authority to significantly change former Mayor James Hahn’s Master Plan, which has been approved by the City Council and the Federal Aviation Administration. Villaraigosa envisions a scaled-down version of the project that would limit expansion at LAX while encouraging a regional air traffic network in Los Angeles. Such a plan would reduce the cost of improving LAX by about one-third and eliminate controversial projects such as building an off-site check-in facility. The mayor also has replaced several of the people who were involved in approving Hahn’s Master Plan, including the Board of Airport Commissioners. Last week, he replaced the executive director of the city’s airport department, Kim Day, with Lydia Kennard, a vocal opponent of the overhaul proposal who returned to the top post after resigning in 2003. “There is a level of optimism that the mayor is going to bring a different view toward the airport, and that we really see that as an opportunity,” said Tony Gonzales, vice president of HNTB Architecture Group, lead contractor on the first project of the Master Plan. “It’s been a general overview that we need to re-think the plan.” Yellow vs. green Villaraigosa would unravel much of the work of former Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who appeased opponents by separating projects that were “green-lighted,” or ready to be implemented, with those that were “yellow-lighted,” which could not be built without further discussions and approvals by the council. Green-lighted projects include moving the southern runways farther south, building a consolidated rental car facility, and constructing a tram-like people mover that would drop off passengers arriving on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Green Line. Yellow-lighted projects include the off-site check-in center and the demolition of Terminals 1, 2 and 3, which would close passenger access to the central terminal area. “The plan can change,” said Miscikowski recently. “The plan has flexibility.” Villaraigosa was one of three councilmembers to vote against the plan because he said it focuses too much on LAX instead of other airports in the region. “We shouldn’t put all our marbles in one basket,” he said at the time. The mayor’s office did not return calls for comment. Gonzales said he has not been told anything specific about the mayor’s views on the airport, but expects most of the changes to center on yellow-lighted projects. He speculated that the green-lighted projects, while likely to remain part of the plan, may face smaller changes centered on layout, location and function. Opponents of the so-called consensus plan drafted by Miscikowski say that the concept behind the green-lighted and yellow-lighted projects was never clear. Denny Schneider, vice president of the Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion, said he isn’t sure that “Cindy’s idea of a yellow-lighted project really changed anything. And I don’t think there ever really was a consensus.” In order to remove those projects from the plan, Villaraigosa must end a court battle that impedes his ability to change parts of the plan. In several lawsuits that were consolidated in Riverside Superior Court earlier this year, the cities of El Segundo and Inglewood, Los Angeles County, ARSAC and other neighborhood groups claim that the approved LAX Master Plan would exceed a cap on passenger capacity and increase noise, traffic and other environmental hazards in the area. The City Attorney’s Office has maintained that eliminating projects altogether would render the plan void and require starting from scratch. The conflicting legal opinions are taking over much of the discussion about the LAX improvements. Last week, the City Attorney’s Office was in settlement talks that could allow the mayor to begin making changes to the plan. A hearing on those talks is set for Nov. 18. Assistant City Attorney Raymond Ilgunas replaced Claudia Culling as the City Attorney’s representative in the settlement discussions. Culling was the city attorney in charge of helping craft the $11 billion plan. “I’m hopeful the settlement discussions will resolve a good number of the issues that are right now before the group,” said Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who succeeded Miscikowski in the 11th district. “The yellow lights should be red lights, should be stopped and off the drawing boards, but that remains to be seen as the settlement discussions go.” The return of Kennard as executive director suggests that changes to the original Hahn plan are in the works. In her tenure, Day took a leading role in pushing through the controversial Hahn plan. “Certainly, that’s the most significant development to have someone in place who is willing to carry out this mayor’s vision,” said Councilman Jack Weiss, who expressed concerns last year about the security aspects of Hahn’s plan. “Having Ms. Kennard in that position will be critical to this.” Meanwhile, a number of projects have already moved forward. At the forefront is the first of the green-lighted projects, to move the southern runways 55 feet to the south in order to prevent runway incursions, which are incidents of aircraft coming to close to each other, on the south airfield. A contract to reconstruct those runways could be awarded as early as November, said Paul Haney, spokesman for Los Angeles World Airports, the city’s airport department that operates LAX, Ontario International, Van Nuys and Palmdale Regional. Construction is expected to begin in January. No timelines have been set on any other green-lighted projects. Another $1.4 billion in projects unrelated to the LAX Master Plan have begun under a three-year capital improvement plan. Those projects include interior remodeling of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and new baggage screening systems that would be located behind ticket counters instead of the airport lobby. |
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
LAX works to make room for jumbo-jumbo jets L.A. jockeys for the title of "gateway to the East," but the super-sized planes will come at a hefty price tag for the airport. By Doug Irving Daily Breeze A new era of air travel will thunder into Southern California in the next few years, a mammoth jetliner with the power to rattle the regional economy. Los Angeles will spend millions of dollars preparing for the arrival of the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet. But airlines remain unconvinced that LAX will be ready to handle more than a few of the giant planes at the level of service they demand. They need only look a few hundred miles to the north to find an airport ready and eager to lure the new planes -- and with them, the lucrative routes across the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco has opened a gleaming international terminal built with the A380 in mind, complete with luxury lounges and hallways lined with fine art. The stakes in this competition are as oversized as the planes themselves. Every A380 that lands will spill hundreds of tourists and business travelers into the local economy. The planes could secure Los Angeles' position as the gateway to the East, but they could also give San Francisco a growing claim to that title. "We're out in front," said Jesse Blout, director of economic and work force development for the San Francisco Mayor's Office. "That certainly suggests that we would have a head start on new routes." The A380 is longer than the fabled Spruce Goose, with wings that stretch almost as far as a football field. Its double-decked cabin has room for 555 seats. Airlines have even talked about installing health clubs and bedrooms, lounges and game rooms. The planes will take over the longest routes at first, replacing existing aircraft on those day-and-night marathons that span oceans and continents. That makes them even more valuable as economic movers; their passengers will be carrying euros and yen to spend, or business contracts to sign. Even smaller domestic routes can create thousands of jobs and pour millions of dollars into the local economy, a recent study by the Bay Area Economic Forum found. An international A380 route would only multiply that windfall, Forum President Sean Randolph said. "These aircraft are coming," he said. "We'd better be able to accommodate them." That's not so easy. The new planes are bigger than anything now parked at the passenger terminals. And they will bear the colors of airlines that compete in luxury as much as convenience. In the next few weeks, workers at Los Angeles International Airport will begin refashioning a corner gate in the international terminal for the new planes. That project alone will cost $7 million. A second gate will follow, on the other side of the terminal. Both will have two loading bridges for the double decks of the A380. The airport also plans to renovate its remote terminals to accommodate the big planes. Those are more than a mile from the regular passenger terminals, a short bus ride across the airfield. The airlines investing big money in the big planes have made it clear they don't want their passengers riding a bus at the end of a 13-hour voyage. They have told the airport that the remote gates would not meet the level of service they expect. That means the airport will have only the two renovated gates available for the new jetliners and deemed adequate by the airlines. That shouldn't present any problems in the new few years, because only a few of the big planes are scheduled to touch down at LAX. But it could become a big problem as soon as the airport finds itself with three A380s on the ground and only two direct gates. That might happen as early as 2008 or 2009, according to the airport's projections. "If you're not prepared to handle it, then you lose your status as the international gateway," said Frank Clark, executive director of the LAX Terminal Equity Corp., an entity owned by the air carriers that use the international terminal. Los Angeles "is the place they want to be," Clark added. "But they're not locked into it." They have San Francisco beckoning. The Bay Area has long competed with Los Angeles to attract international business and tourists. It, too, considers itself an important gateway to the East. San Francisco International Airport already has five gates in its international terminal that could accommodate the new planes. It welcomes visitors with top-of-the-line baggage carousels, a large immigration area and a $10 million art collection. The San Francisco airport called a press conference more than a year ago to announce it was ready for the new aircraft. An Airbus official declared at the time that the early preparations would surely enhance the airport's status as a gateway for the planes. "We can have one land tomorrow and be ready for it" in the terminal, airport spokesman Mike McCarron boasted recently. LAX officials have talked about renovating more gates inside the international terminal to make them ready for the new planes. But those plans have not yet reached a level of detail or certainty to comfort the airlines, Clark said. The airport also finds itself locked in a legal and political battle over its future. The airlines are watching to make sure that doesn't delay other key projects, such as shifting a runway to give planes more room to maneuver. "The big concern is, will LAX be ready" for the big planes, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "This is a real challenge for us. This is very, very significant for Los Angeles." The first of the planes is scheduled to go into service late next year, on a Singapore-to-Sydney route. LAX officials expect an A380 with a Qantas flag to land in Los Angeles for the first time in April 2007. They believe that at least seven carriers will bring the big plane to LAX in the years that follow, making it the plane's top U.S. destination. Los Angeles makes sense as a major stop on the international route map for the A380, said James Boyd, a spokesman for Singapore Airlines. But so does San Francisco and, for that matter, New York. The airline has not yet announced exactly where in North America it plans to fly the big plane. Nor has Lufthansa. Airline spokesman Tom Tripp said LAX is on a short list of possible destinations, but added that the use of remote gates "is not attractive." "They're not quite there yet," Tripp said. "We're hoping to work with them. ... We'll have to wait and see which airports are ready." |
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