BUSY SUMMER AIR TRAVEL SEASON ENDS WITH LABOR DAY WEEKEND

08/30/2007 12:00 AM

BUSY SUMMER AIR TRAVEL SEASON ENDS WITH LABOR DAY WEEKEND

 

(Los Angeles, California – August 30, 2007) Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) busy summer travel season concludes with the four-day Labor Day weekend. An estimated 825,000 travelers are expected to depart and arrive on flights at LAX from Friday, August 31 through Monday, Sept. 3, an increase of two percent over the same Labor Day weekend last year.

LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT) is expecting to serve approximately 83,000 travelers over the four-day holiday weekend, four percent more than last year.

At LAX, the year-over-year increase is largely due to record load factors and airlines adding LAX flights to their late summer schedules. Additionally, new airlines such as Virgin America have started domestic service to New York and San Francisco and MAXjet began its service to London’s StanstedAirport.

In the first seven months of calendar year 2007, LAX passenger traffic totaled 36,314,251, an increase of 1.5 percent over last year. Traffic is up 1.1 percent at ONT for the first seven months of the year, rising from 4,103,929 in 2006 to 4,150,327 in 2007.

Antelope Valley and Northern Los Angeles County travelers now have a choice of airports with the inauguration of service at LA/Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) in June. United Express flies twice daily from PMD to United Airlines’ San Francisco hub, permitting onward connections to many cities.

With airlines forecasting passenger load factors above 90 percent, travelers should allow enough time before their flights for parking, airline check-in, and passenger and checked-luggage security screening. The current guidance for LAX and ONT is to arrive two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights.

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) officials suggest passengers observe several other travel tips during the last holiday of the summer:

 

  • Reduce traffic congestion and enjoy the ride by taking alternative transportation to LAX. The LAX FlyAway’s service locations from Van Nuys, Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and Westwood are convenient for many travelers. The fare is $4 each way, and passengers can obtain airline boarding passes and baggage check-in for an extra $5 fee.
  • Avoid airport traffic congestion in the Central Terminal Area by using the valet parking at LAX at Terminals 4 and 6. These lots are close for passengers using Tom Bradley International Terminal and Terminals 4 through 7. The rate is $38 per day or $10 per hour up to the maximum daily rate.
  • Wait for incoming travelers at the free LAX Cell Phone Waiting Lot located at 9011 Airport Blvd. Parking is free to drivers waiting in their cars, who then can go right to the terminal curbside to pickup a passengers who has called them by cell phone.
  • Safety and security are paramount at LAX, LA/Ontario and LA/Palmdale. Passengers should always watch their baggage and belongings anywhere in the airport, especially in airline gate boarding areas and during passenger screening.
  • With weather having the possibility of causing flight delays in other cities, passengers should contact their airline if there is the potential for storms to cancel their airline flights. Passengers also can check the airport in their destination cities by visiting the Federal Aviation Administration website www.faa.gov for real-time airport status information.
  • Additional information about LAX, LA/Ontario and LA/Palmdale is available at LAWA’s website www.lawa.org

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