BOARD OF AIRPORT COMMISSIONERS AWARD CONTRACTS FOR $2.3-MILLION AIR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING OF ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL AND PALMDALE REGIONAL AIRPORTS
(Los Angeles, California -- August 28, 2001) The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners today awarded three-year contracts totaling $6.9 million ($2.3 million annually) to five companies for professional aviation, marketing, and advertising consulting services to develop and market Los Angeles World Airports' full system of commercial airports, with emphasis on Ontario International (ONT) and Palmdale Regional Airports (PMD).
Commission President Theodore Stein, Jr., said, "This action demonstrates this new commission's goal to implement Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn's campaign pledge to alleviate some of the air traffic burden at Los Angeles International Airport and to find a regional approach to addressing Southern California's air transportation demand." He added, "It is important that Los Angeles World Airports' other commercial airports at Ontario and Palmdale are fully utilized for passenger and cargo service."
Contracts were awarded to PA Consulting Group, Arlington, VA, for air service development and aviation consulting; to Lufthansa Consulting, Encino, and SH&E, Inc., Cambridge, MA, for air service development, aviation consulting and marketing/advertising services; and to Fleishman-Hillard and Rogers & Associates, both of Los Angeles, for marketing/advertising services.
According to LAWA Deputy Executive Director Philip Depoian, the air service development portion of the program will identify the best opportunities for establishing new passenger and cargo air service and to solicit air carriers best suited to serve those routes. The marketing elements of the program will include promoting new air service established at ONT and PMD, as well as elevating the profiles of these airports within their respective communities.
The new contracts also call for specific assistance in preparing background studies and reports needed for developing new air service, in implementing an already prepared strategic marketing plan for ONT, in preparing filings to the U.S. Department of Transportation to support air carriers' applications for new international air service, in preparing air cargo studies at ONT and PMD, and in developing and implementing promotional and advertising programs related to air service development.
The contracts are being established on an as-needed basis in order to respond to the marketing aspects of the program, which are subject to unpredictability as air carriers often change routes with little advance warning. This also will allow flexibility to promote new air service that may be established on short notice or to act quickly upon learning of air carriers' possible interest in establishing new routes and solicit air service at ONT and/or PMD.
Several air service development and marketing activities are already underway, Depoian said, noting that LAWA has been successful in attracting international air service to ONT. AeroMexico has operated flights three times a week to Guadalajara and Mexico City, and United Parcel Service has four-times-a-week air cargo service to China. Several of the airlines serving ONT also have added flights on existing routes, as well as added new destinations. Passenger traffic at ONT has increased nearly six percent over the same period last year -- contrary to a national trend among airports where air traffic has decreased due to a current slowdown in the U.S. economy.
At PMD, LAWA has already upgraded portions of the taxiways and the passenger terminal, which can accommodate up to 300,000 travelers annually. LAWA also has plans underway to construct a 322-foot-by-580-foot aircraft cargo parking ramp.
Los Angeles World Airports is a self-supporting department within the City of Los Angeles, which owns and operates a world-class system of four airports: Los Angeles International (LAX), Ontario International (ONT), Palmdale Regional (PMD), and Van Nuys (VNY). LAWA's combined airports move 74 million passengers and 2.7 million tons of cargo annually; employs, directly or indirectly, 478,000 people; and pumps nearly $70 billion into the Southern California economy. Additional information about LAWA may be obtained a www.lawa.org.
(NSC - 8/28/01)
