Palmdale airport still looks to future

"Palmdale was purchased with the idea that it would serve Los Angeles sometime in the future, not today," said Jose Figueroa, chief financial officer of the Los Angeles City Department of Airports. "That remains the thinking today."

Departures and arrivals from January through November fell 45.7% compared to the same period in 1993, from 7,550 to 4,097. Los Angeles city officials blame the drop on the departure of SkyWest Airline, which discontinued service Feb. 28.

Domestic passengers from January through November dropped to 30,490, from 34,774 a year earlier, while air freight fell to 5,298 pounds from 9,518.

United Express is the only airline that uses the Palmdale airport, with daily flights to Los Angeles International Airport.

The airport is losing money, but losses are relatively small and offset by gains at other airports, Figueroa said. The city of Los Angeles operates the Los Angeles International, Ontario International, Van Nuys and Palmdale Regional airports.

Palmdale had $921,000 in revenues and $2.3 million in expenses during the fiscal year ending June 30, marking a $1.4 million loss, Figueroa said. But, counting the other airports, the department's $296 million budget ended $58 million in the black.

The city of Los Angeles bought the airport in 1968, though it has been closed since. It has served three commercial airlines since reopening in 1990, said Jim Bort, an agricultural land developer for the airports department.

Some of the 17,750-acre airport property is devoted to agriculture, including 58 acres of chestnuts, 40 acres of trees and 30 acres of pistachios, Bort said. The department is considering using 10,000 acres for grazing sheep.

The property also is leased to trucking and heavy equipment companies, Bort said. The runways and terminal are on Air Force Plant 42, which shares the airport with the city.

Bort suggested airlines fly to places other than Los Angeles International Airport, to Las Vegas, Sacramento or Stockton and perhaps later to Albuquerque or Salt Lake City. Other carriers unable to fill flights from Bakersfield or Santa Barbara may profit by adding a Palmdale stop, he said.

The airport eventually will appeal to people living south of the Antelope Valley, in Canyon Country and northern San Fernando Valley, and east, toward Interstate 15, Bort said.

City officials were not aware of any carriers considering establishing service at Palmdale.

SkyWest, a commuter service affiliated with Delta Air Lines, cited low traffic when it pulled out of Palmdale last year.

"You've got only one carrier out there - that's why the figures are down so dramatically," said airports department spokesman Tom Winfrey.