"Airports in California's Inland Empire Prepare for Increased Traffic"

Monday, May 17, 2004

Airports in California's Inland Empire Prepare for Increased Traffic
The San Bernardino (CA) Business Press


Inland Empire airports continue to prepare for an expected explosion in
cargo and passenger traffic in the next few years by extending runways
and repairing and rebuilding hangars and buildings. San Bernardino
International Airport is extending its runway by 1,000 feet, for $25
million, to handle larger passenger and cargo jets, and fixing and
reconstructing its seven hangars to accommodate the expected influx of
cargo, San Bernardino International Airport spokeswoman Penny Chua said.


Construction on the runway began last year and will be completed by
2005. Tamang Electric in Chino and Associated Engineers Inc. in Ontario
are among several contractors handling the construction project at the
San Bernardino airport.

San Bernardino International Airport will need an additional 300,000
square feet of warehouse space to accommodate the 410,000 tons a year of
cargo the airport expects to handle by 2008, Chua said . Enplaned
passenger traffic is expected to increase to 198,000 a year by 2008. 

According to the Travel Industry Association of America, U.S. employees
will take nearly 145 million business trips in 2004, a gain of 4.6
percent from 2003. In 2005, business travel is expected to increase 3.5
percent to nearly 150 million trips. Overall travel spending by domestic
and international visitors will increase nearly 6 percent in 2004 to
$585 billion, up from $552 billion in 2003. Travel spending will
continue to improve in 2005, increasing nearly 5 percent to $613
billion, according to the report published by the association.

Leisure travel will grow 3.4 percent this year to 961 million trips and
increase again in 2005 by nearly 2 percent to 978 million trips
according to the association's report. 

The Travel Industry Association of America is a nonprofit organization
based in Washington, D.C.

Cargo traffic is increasing as well, Redlands economist John Husing said
in his "2004 Husing Report." 

Ontario International Airport's cargo traffic increased 5 percent to
571,892 tons in 2003. Inland Empire airports eventually will handle more
tonnage than Los Angeles International Airport. Los Angeles
International handled 2 million tons of cargo in 2003, up 2.2 percent
from 2002, officials said. 

TRADE ASSOCIATION

Travel Industry Association of America is a Washington, D.C.-based,
nonprofit association that represents and speaks for the common
interests and concerns of all components of the U.S. travel industry. It
is a source of research, analysis and forecasting for the entire
industry and its primary spokesperson to the domestic and international
media.


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