Campaign for Ontario, Calif., Airport Aims to Lure LAX Travelers

Posted on Mon, Mar. 22, 2004 

Campaign for Ontario, Calif., Airport Aims to Lure LAX
Travelers

By Conor Friedersdorf, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin,
Calif. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News


Mar. 22 - Robert Armstrong might as well star in
commercials for Ontario International Airport.

The Massachusetts resident, an occasional air
traveler, says it's his destination of choice when he
visits Southern California, mostly due to its small
crowds.

"This trip I went all the way to Rhode Island for my
outgoing flight so I wouldn't have to fly into LAX,"
he said. "Not only is that airport crazy, but the
traffic around it can be even worse."

As Los Angeles World Airports, which owns and operates
LAX and Ontario, continues an advertising campaign
designed to send more air traffic through the latter
airport, they hope to convince air travelers that
Armstrong is dead on in his assessment.

In a new radio commercial touting the Inland Valley
airport -- it's been dubbed Ontario-Los Angeles
International Airport for the duration of the ad
campaign -- an air traveler matter-of-factly states
that he must arrive at LAX a couple days before
departure time to catch his flight.

The hyperbole is designed to highlight how
comparatively easy it is to travel out of Ontario,
according to Ilene Prince, who works for the Santa
Monica-based advertising agency that produced the
spot.

"People are unaware of the stress-free ease,
availability of flights and central location of
Ontario-Los Angeles International Airport," Prince
said, staying on message. "The campaign has begun by
targeting business travelers in the Inland Empire,
North Orange County and Pasadena, and eventually we'll
start to target leisure travelers."

The campaign, which airs on several popular radio
stations and in numerous local magazines, comes as
regional transportation officials push plans to
connect Southern California airports via rail, and Los
Angeles Mayor James Hahn continues pursuing plans to
prepare LAX for projected air traffic increases that
will exacerbate overcrowding.

The success of any effort that sends more passengers
through Ontario could be beneficial to the local
economy, according to regional economist John Husing.

"The critical thing isn't the direct effect of more
travelers, as much as the expansion of flights to
national destinations from Ontario that will follow,"
Husing said. "That in turn would attract companies who
need those types of flights before they could feel
comfortable locating in the Inland Empire."

About 6.5 million air travelers passed through Ontario
last year, according to Los Angeles World Airports
spokeswoman Maria Fermin.

Thirteen airlines offer flights from two terminals.
But the airport master plan calls for another terminal
when 10 million passengers pass through the airport
for two consecutive years.

"We hope this campaign will bring us more local
travelers who didn't realize this is an alternate
choice for L.A.-area air travel," Fermin said. "And
when the campaign goes national, hopefully people from
other places will choose to fly here."

Marketing outside the region may start in Las Vegas,
according to Prince, but could conceivably reach as
far away as Massachusetts.

Not that it will matter much to Robinson.

"I'll definitely plan to fly through there in the
future whenever possible," he said. "It's so easy."

 

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