"Passenger Volume up Sharply at Ontario, Calif., Airport"

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Passenger Volume up Sharply at Ontario, Calif., Airport
The Inland Valley (CA) Daily Bulletin


ONTARIO, Calif.--Passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport jumped
significantly in July, and air cargo numbers also climbed in a solid month
for the airport.

A total of 617,637 passengers used ONT last month, bringing the total for
the first seven months of 2003 to more than 3.8 million.

That's a 6.27 percent jump over last July and up 1.44 percent for the year.

Air cargo volume was strong too, with 44,764 tons in July (a 3.08 percent
increase over July 2002) and 318,783 tons for the year to date (up 9.54
percent). That's despite a huge dropoff in the amount of mail moving through
ONT.

"We are doing great in this summer's travel season," said airport
spokeswoman Maria Fermin. "The increase in July traffic is about twice what
we were expecting -- we had been running up about 1.5 percent the past few
months -- so 6 percent is very significant.

"This is the peak travel season in July, and we have a new carrier in Azteca
and a few more flights, but overall I think people are just getting their
confidence back and traveling."

Brian Streeval, an analyst with Denver-based Mike Boyd Group, says that's
true, but there is still another problem for airlines that isn't being
solved.

"Passenger traffic is coming back, but the real core of business travel is
not back at all," Streeval said. "With the kids out of school, families are
traveling. But at least for the next several years, I don't think we'll see
anywhere near the same level of business travel as we did in the late '90s,
with the dot-com boom and the like.

"You're really seeing a lot of business travelers seeking out low fares such
as Southwest Airlines, or aggressively seeking other pricing options. On the
average, business fares are lower now than they were a few years ago."

Streeval said it was obvious that most of the increase in cargo traffic came
from United Parcel Service's continuing expansion of its operations at ONT.

With ONT as the company's West Coast Hub and its gateway to the Pacific Rim,
air freight numbers alone were up 5.15 percent in July and 13.48 percent for
the year, more than offsetting the mail dropoff.

"The trade deficit has narrowed some," he said. "And with UPS's new
facility, that really helps ONT."

Fermin agreed. "We're very pleased with our cargo figures," she said. "And
since UPS handles more than 70 percent of the cargo that passes through the
airport, it's obvious that they are responsible for the increase."

Streeval says ONT has plenty of potential for more growth. "With the growth
out there in Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga, with real-estate prices soaring,
that will really drive increases in passenger traffic out there," he said.
"I think ONT has a big future."


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