"Orange County among biggest losers as airlines cut back"

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Orange County among biggest losers as airlines cut back
John Wayne Airport ranks No. 4 among major airports in report on airline
service cuts. Local officials expect rebound in 2009.
By GARY A. WARNER
The Orange County (CA) Register


It's old news, but still bad news: Orange County has experienced some of the
steepest airline service cuts among major airports in the nation.

Total number of seats available on an average day from John Wayne Airport
will have dropped 12.6 percent to 16,747 seats, according to a report in USA
Today. The newspaper analyzed flight schedules for the fall submitted by
airlines to the Official Airline Guide. 

Only Honolulu (23.4 percent), Oakland (21.4 percent), and Kansas City (15.8
percent) had steeper cuts.

John Wayne officials said that there was a waiting list for spots at the
airport and that the drop-off would be temporary, with a rebound in
passenger levels in 2009.

"Even though there are ups and downs, Orange County has a strong market, and
demand for air service," said airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge. "So we tend
to do well in times of downturn."

Most of the cuts at John Wayne Airport have already taken place. Aloha
Airlines stopped flying March 31, ending daily flights to and from Honolulu
and three other airports in Hawaii. Alaska Airlines ended service between
Orange County and Oakland in April, a 36 percent cut in flights offered by
the airline. Up next: American Airlines has announced it will end non-stop
service between Orange County and Austin, Tex., at the end of the summer.

Several major airlines have announced major service cuts, including
American, United, Continental and US Airways. In addition to Aloha, several
other small airlines, notably low-cost carrier ATA, have gone out of
business. 

Hawaii has been particularly hard hit with the loss of Aloha and ATA. Summer
ticket prices from the West Coast to Hawaii top $900. State tourism
officials, major hotels and some airlines have offered package deals to try
to lure visitors back to the islands, which have seen about a 25 percent
drop in tourism. 

Among other area airports, USA Today said Ontario International Airport
(which it rated as a non-major airport) would have 16.5 percent fewer seats.
Los Angeles International Airport would see a 6.7 percent drop. 

Bucking the trend is Long Beach Airport, which the OAG projects to have a
12.8 percent increase. JetBlue, the airport's main operator, recently
announced that it had cancelled its previously announced expansion at Los
Angeles International and would instead concentrate on its hub in Long
Beach.

The cutbacks in Oakland have led officials to delay plans for a third
terminal. A new terminal at John Wayne Airport is scheduled to open early in
the next decade.

Wedge, the John Wayne spokeswoman, said plans for a new terminal and
additional parking are moving ahead.

"We need the facilities to accommodate the passengers we have today," Wedge
said. "The existing terminal was built for 8.4 million passengers and we
served nearly 10 million last year."

John Wayne Airport officials said last week that they have several airlines
on a waiting list for any slots that might come open, including Air Canada,
Hawaiian Airlines, Air Tran, WestJet and Virgin America. Southwest Airlines
had inquired about expanding service. Southwest already operates 25 percent
of all flights at John Wayne Airport. 

In the USA Today report, Hawaii was by far the biggest loser of flights,
largely due to the Aloha collapse. The state will have 26 percent fewer
seats than last October. All the major airport showed cutbacks of over 20
percent, with Hilo topping the chart with a 36.4 percent drop.

In interviews last week with the Register, Hawaiian Airlines officials said
they would fly out of Orange County if their position on the waiting list
came to the top. US Airways, which has Boeing 757 aircraft that could
operate to Hawaii and meet John Wayne Airport's strict noise standards, said
they would not consider Orange County to Hawaii service at this time.

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