"San Bernardino airport's new focus now has its director"

S.B. airport's new focus now has its director

By JOSH BROWN
The Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise

Officials at San Bernardino International Airport announced Wednesday they have created a position to manage all aviation development activities.

Airport officials named Bill Ingraham the new aviation director.

Ingraham, who has spent the past seven years as San Bernardino County's airports director, began his new role earlier this month but has been a consultant with the San Bernardino International Airport for months.

The creation of the position comes as the airport is amid two major projects to bring passenger aviation to its runway: a $38 million passenger-terminal renovation and construction of a $7 million executive-charter terminal.

"What you're seeing is a very considerable ramp-up of the effort required to get this thing going," Ingraham said. "A year ago we were just talking about things, but now we're actually stepping in to complete some of these things."

Ingraham said he will manage airport security, development of aviation facilities, and completion of the airport layout plan.

He also will be one of the airport's main negotiators with airlines, he said.

"Mr. Ingraham's extensive knowledge and experience in the aviation industry will be very helpful in moving these critical projects forward," Don Rogers, the airport's interim director, said in a statement.

For the past 10 months, airport officials have said they are in serious negotiations with airlines and an announcement is imminent. But they have declined to disclose names of potential carriers or to discuss details of the negotiations.

They maintain that a deal could be reached as early as the beginning of 2008.