LAX master plan favors Palmdale Airport

Riordan and the airport commission announced a proposal to reduce the number of runways from six to four, under the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Master Plan.

Under the new option, LAX would accommodate 6 million fewer passengers annually compared to other plans being considered, and significantly reduce the number of short-distance, commuter flights into and out of the airport.

The master plan at LAX is being coordinated with a similar master plan for Ontario International Airport - which completed a major terminal expansion in September last year - and a study about to be released on how to maximize the potential use of Palmdale Regional Airport.

Riordan's advocacy for limiting air travel from LAX in lieu of its expansion is a complete reversal of his position on the issue.

Prior to Tuesday, Riordan had said publicly on several occasions he would like to see LAX expanded.

That switch was good news to Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford.

"There seems to be momentum out of the Department of World Airports and the LAX expansion proponents to bring Palmdale on line."

Now, Ledford said, opponents and proponents of LAX expansion are pushing to develop Palmdale's airport.

"They both see Palmdale as a viable regional facility," Ledford added.

The last airline providing commuter services out of Palmdale, Sky West, left last year, after expanding flight capacities from 19 to 30 passenger planes. The increase boosted overhead, drove ticket prices up and cost them customers, according to world airport officials.

Now Trans States Airlines, which provides commuter services out of Los Angeles International Airport for U.S. Air, Northwest and Alaska Airlines - among others - will examine Palmdale Regional Airport as an expansion option.

Trans States uses 19 passenger planes.

High-speed rail

Another factor in making Palmdale a viable regional airport, Ledford said, rests in the hands of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

That state agency is charged with deciding the alignment of the state's planned bullet train system, which could conceivably go into operation by the year 2020.

If the train goes through the Antelope Valley, it could whisk passengers from Palmdale to Los Angeles in 30 minutes or less.

A reduced travel time to L.A., Ledford said, would allow air passengers to fly into Palmdale then travel to downtown.

The authority is set to make it's decision on July 20 in San Francisco.

Having a viable airport with an estimated 6 to 7 million passengers per year - estimates given by the airport commission - would be a substantial boost to the high desert economy, Ledford said.

Better access

If the Palmdale Airport - which at 6,000 acres is nearly twice LAX's 3,500 acres - lives up to the airport commission's expectations, nearly 20,000 passengers would be coming into Palmdale daily.

"I think it would be good for business," Ledford said, adding, now that everyone is on the same page, the next step is to make infrastructure improvements.

Without better roads, accommodating 20,000 passengers per day would be difficult, Ledford said.

The airport commission has requested more than $2.5 billion in new state funds for ground-access improvement projects near the three airports it operates - Palmdale, LAX and Ontario.

If approved, the funds would be spent over the next eight years for 28 different ground-access improvement projects.

The proposed Palmdale freeway project would carry motorists east from the 14 Freeway on an extension built at approximately Avenue P-8. The state Department of Transportation, Caltrans, began purchasing property for the project six years ago.

To build the extension, which eventually could connect the 14 Freeway with Interstate 15 near Victorville, Caltrans must obtain property owned by LAWA, south of Palmdale Regional Airport.

The extension would connect the airport to a planned multimodal transportation center meant to serve as a regional hub for plane, train, bus, van-pool and taxi passengers.

That money is part of a $16 billion proposal, which has passed the Senate and is pending in the Assembly.

If the Assembly passes the proposal, it must be approved by the voters in Year 2000.

Both high desert legislators, William J. Pete "Knight" and Assemblyman George Runner, oppose the proposal because it calls for issuing a bond to make the improvements.

On June 15, an editorial co-written by Knight and Runner opposing the bond appeared in the Valley Press.

Instead, the two favor a Republican plan to appropriate $765 million per year for 20 years on a pay as you go basis, instead of having the state borrow the money and pay an $11 billion interest on the bond.

In addition to accommodating 6 million fewer passengers, the master plan is expected to result in a reduction of about 60% in the number of commuter flights at LAX, some of which will likely relocate to other outlying regional airports, such as a planned future airport in Palmdale, the commission said.

Currently commuter flights represent 33% of all landings and takeoffs, but only 5% of all passengers. LAX currently handles about 60 million passengers, or 75% of the 80 million passengers that use airports in the region.

If regional demand grows to the 146.5 million annual passengers projected by the year 2015, under the new option, LAX's share of the market demand would drop to just over 60%. Only about one-half of the projected growth of 66.5 million passengers would be handled by LAX and the remainder by other airports in the region.