LAX SETS RECORDS FOR INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER TRAFFIC AND AIR FREIGHT SHIPMENTS IN FIRST HALF OF 2005; ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL SETS RECORD FOR TOTAL PASSENGERS

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 07/26/2005 -- International passenger traffic at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) increased 6.7 percent in the first half of 2005 to a record 8,476,355, compared with the same period last year. The previous record was 8,442,592 international passengers in the first six months of 2001, prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Air freight also set a record at LAX in the first six months of 2005 at 996,580 tons, surpassing the previous record of 979,395 tons in the first half of 2000.

Domestic passenger traffic at LAX was flat in the first half of 2005 as airlines trimmed flight schedules in the face of record fuel prices. Domestic volume rose only 0.01 percent from 21,426,147 in the first six months of 2004 to 21,428,025 during the same period this year.

Overall, passenger traffic at LAX was up 1.8 percent for the first half of 2005 to 29,904,380 passengers.

At Ontario International Airport (ONT), total passenger traffic for the six months of 2005 was up 2.4 percent compared with the same period last year. The 3,478,634 passengers using ONT in the first half of 2005 surpassed the previous record of 3,466,066 set in the same period of 2001. Freight tons at Ontario fell 8.2 percent to 271,327 in the first half of 2005.

Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD), which reopened to scheduled commercial air service last December, served 3,103 passengers in the first half of 2005. Scenic Airlines offers daily service between PMD and North Las Vegas Airport.