"Long Beach, Calif., Airport Renovations Open"

Wednesday, April 3, 2002

Long Beach, Calif., Airport Renovations Open
Press-Telegram, Long Beach, CA


LONG BEACH, Calif.--The first phase of renovations at Long Beach
Airport, including a new passenger terminal and the relocation of car
rental booths, is scheduled to open today.

The upgrades, part of an overall $7.2 million airport expansion, are to
accommodate anticipated passenger growth over the next decade and to
handle up to 27 daily flights planned by JetBlue Airways.

A new, temporary 8,400-square-foot North Terminal will be used as a
holding area and baggage claim for passengers waiting to board flights
on American Airlines and America West.

A second security checkpoint connects the airport's main terminal with
the new boarding lounge. Like the airport's old passenger hold building,
which now will be exclusively used by JetBlue, only ticketed passengers
are allowed into the waiting area.

The Long Beach main terminal building is designated a Long Beach
Historical Landmark.

Construction on a new, 12,000-square-foot permanent South Terminal will
begin in several weeks and is scheduled for completion by summer 2003.

The South Terminal will include a new security check point and food
court and concession area. It is still to be determined who will occupy
that terminal.

Also opening today is a new rental car facility for picking up and
returning rental cars, located directly across Donald Douglas Drive from
the main terminal.

Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National car rental agencies will be
in the modular facility, on a parking lot closed by the Federal Aviation
Administration after Sept. 11, moving from near the ticketing booths in
the main terminal.

Airport officials suggest those driving from off-airport locations to
pick up cars park in Parking Lot B or C just east of the new building.

"Basically it's a duplicate of our original terminal," said airport
spokeswoman Sharon Diggs-Jackson of the new facility.

"This should really cut down on the lines. Especially during the
morning," she said.

Other permanent renovations include a new security checkpoint, expanded
baggage claims and a main concessions stand.

The renovations were hammered together after several weeks of
negotiations with JetBlue, American and America West.

JetBlue, in particular, pressured the city to move quickly on the
expansion because of its plan to expand the number of daily flights to
Washington, D.C., and New York City in the next few weeks.

In all, JetBlue said it will add 10 daily flights by the end of the
year, and have all of its planned 27 daily flights out of Long Beach
Airport running by next spring.

The airport itself projects passengers using the facility could grow to
3.8 million a year -- up from 700,000 passengers a year.

In recent weeks American Airlines and Alaska Airlines have asked for
flight slots to start new service, and regional airports like Long Beach
are expected to see increased loads because of the rejection by voters
last month of the proposed El Toro Marine Base commercial airport in
Orange County.


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