Airport marketing plan soars

County to hire consultant in move to attract airlines

The Board of Supervisors passed Antonovich's motion that would lead to the hiring of a business consultant to plan and develop Palmdale's airport.

The motion, which passed unanimously as a consent item, represents another necessary bureaucratic step in realizing the 31-year goal of developing and realizing regional air service in Palmdale.

Under the provisions of the motion, the county's chief administrative officer, its county counsel and director of the Public Works will recruit a consultant, whose primary job will be to draft a business and economic incentive plan that would attract airlines to Palmdale.

Kendall Pelling, an Antonovich aide, said the challenge isn't merely to talk airlines into investing in a Palmdale airport. The business consultant will also need to market the airport to air travelers.

"The marketing effort has to enlighten both the airlines and the people of Southern California in terms of how good Palmdale can be," Pelling said. "Part of that is time-motion studies that can show the reality of how fast it is to go to Palmdale."

The results of one such study were released at a Friday meeting of the Los Angeles International Airport Expansion Task Force. According to that study, an air traveler leaving from San Fernando Road near Santa Clarita - halfway between LAX and the proposed Palmdale airport - would save an average of 35 minutes by flying out of Palmdale.

Pelling said there will be more studies in the future accounting for such variables as delays caused by traffic jams and accidents on Los Angeles freeways, as well as for time lost in LAX parking lots and baggage check lines.

The hope, for everyone concerned about air traffic congestion, is that those to the near areas of Los Angeles learn that they may be as close to Palmdale in travel time as they are to LAX.

"A big factor is easing the access concerns, because the misconception is that it's too far away, that nobody goes up there, and that's the sort of stuff the studies will clear up," Pelling said.

By convincing air travelers to use the Palmdale airport, LAX will offset some of the growth in passenger numbers that would otherwise lead to more gridlock in its terminals.

Los Angeles World Airports, the city of Los Angeles' airport authority, owns both LAX and the roughly 17,000 acres on Palmdale's east side that is zoned for airport and industrial development.

LAWA has stated that it will do its part to promote the Palmdale airport, since that is a partial solution to overcrowding at LAX.

A county governmental body, the Southern California Regional Airport Authority, also may join in the marketing effort for Palmdale's airport.

But since SCRAA hasn't met in a few years, it is a wild card. Antonovich's Tuesday motion asked the county's chief administrative officer to explore what contribution, if any, the SCRAA board can make to the development of Palmdale's facilities.

"They aren't fulfilling their job right now for promoting a regional airport solution, and it needs to be part of the dialogue in terms of what we need to do to get this airport to go," Pelling said. "If it's not going to be effective in doing that, then Supervisor Antonovich would recommend it either be reorganized or dissolved and replaced."