"Airline Incentives May Be A Break For Ontario Passengers"

Friday, October 19, 2007

AIRLINE INCENTIVES MAY BE A BREAK FOR ONTARIO PASSENGERS 
By ART MARROQUIN
The Daily News of Los Angeles (CA)


Airlines flying to new destinations from L.A./Ontario International Airport
may soon receive a series of incentives that could lead to reduced ticket
rates for passengers.

The measures ordered up Monday by the Los Angeles Board of Airport
Commissioners could include landing at the Ontario airport for free,
decreased terminal rental rates and marketing partnerships for airlines
offering flights to new international and domestic cities, according to Mark
Thorpe, director of Air Service Development for Los Angeles World Airports.

Decreased rates charged to airlines usually translate into ticket savings
for passengers, Thorpe said.

The effort, he said, is part of LAWA's plan to divert passenger traffic from
Los Angeles International Airport to other Southern California airports.

``This is a very wonderful opportunity,'' airport Commissioner Sylvia
Reyes-Patsaouras said. ``Until it's cheaper for people and the airlines to
fly here, it will be difficult to continue to grow this airport.''

More than 7 million passengers fly out of LA/Ontario International Airport
each year, but airport officials hope to see that number grow to more than
30 million annually by 2030.

Attracting more flights has posed a challenge for Ontario, which has the
highest landing fees in Southern California, Thorpe said.

The airport is still paying for the construction of two new terminals that
opened in 1998. Those costs, in turn, are handed down to the airlines, he
said.

In a related action, the Airport Commission agreed to spend $3 million to
renovate the dilapidated, unused Terminal 1 at Ontario airport so that a new
carrier can move in by June.

San Diego-based developer Austin-Barnhart will shore up the building's roof
and complete other renovations to the old terminal, which now houses offices
for Ontario airport staff members.

The name of the airline carrier moving into the terminal was not immediately
released, as LAWA officials complete negotiations, according to Jess Romo,
manager of Ontario airport.

``This particular project has been on the books for some time, but it wasn't
funded because we did not have a user for the building,'' Romo said.

``As soon as we became aware that someone became interested in that
building, we accelerated the process -- so we can have service up and
running by next spring.''

The airport commission, however, delayed a decision on whether to begin
construction of an air cargo center that would be built on 94 acres of land
northwest of the passenger terminal at Ontario airport.

Airport commissioners asked staff for more time to review a lengthy report
on the project, which would be built in five phases over the next 13 years
by developer Aeroterm, based in Annapolis, Md. The airport commission is
expected to consider the proposal during its next meeting.

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