Ontario Airport continues “downward spiral,” according to report

Without millions of dollars in investments,L.A./Ontario International Airport could face further desertion by airlines andpassengers, according to a report released today by Inland Empire officialspushing for local control of the facility.

The report concludes the Ontario airport will continue on a “downwardspiral” that could bring passenger levels under 2 million by between 2020 and2024, and result in the loss of $430 million in economic activity a year.

The study, conducted by aviation consulting firm Oliver Wyman ofWashington, D.C., was commissioned by the Ontario International AirportAuthority, a coalition of government officials who want control of the airport.

L.A./Ontario is operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a Los Angelescity agency that also runs Los Angeles International Airport and Van NuysAirport.

The report comes as negotiation talks with Los Angeles have stalled,with Inland Empire officials balking at Los Angeles’ asking price of $475million for giving up the airport. Ontario-area officials were only willing topay $246 million.

In a lawsuit filed in June against Los Angeles, inland officials accusedthe city and its airport authority of mismanaging the Ontario airport and ofnot doing enough to head off a 40 percent drop that brought passenger levelsdown from 7.2 million to 3.9 million since 2007.

The Inland Empire group’s report blames Ontario airport’s decline on aninsufficient marketing campaign and an unfavorable fee structure for airlines.

Additional funds, the study states, “will be needed to sharply reduceONT charges (to airlines) and to provide aggressive marketing support.”

“Without such intervention, ONT is likely to continue to struggle justto maintain its current uncompetitive airport charge structure and minimalairport marketing program,” according to the report.

The group rejected an invitation to restart negotiations by the previousLos Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, who asked that the lawsuit be dropped.

Ontario councilman and Ontario airport authority president Alan D.Wapner said the study is a “wake-up call” to the new Los Angelesadministration, led by Mayor Eric Garcetti.

“Time is running short to place the airport in the hands of theregional authority that has a vested interest in the airport making thegreatest contribution to the region,” Wapner said.

Ontario Mayor Pro Tem Jim Bowman said Los Angeles has a “conflict ofinterest” in running both the Ontario airport and LAX.

The existing ownership by LAWA, Bowman said, could result in “direconsequences” for the Inland Empire, he said.

“We hope to work with the new Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, hisBoard of Airport Commissioners and a new LAWA administration to expedite theairport’s transfer to the OIAA (Ontario International Airport Authority),” hesaid.

Garcetti is in the midst of reviewing applications for board positionsand department heads, including LAWA General Manager Gina Marie Lindsey.

Supporters of local control for Ontario say LAWA lowered the cost forairlines to fly into LAX while keeping the costs at Ontario high.

Lindsey has disputed the claim, saying in October that landing fees atOntario are half what they are at LAX and terminal rental fees are necessarilyhigh at Ontario in order to generate enough revenue to cover nearly $500million in terminal and runway upgrades at the airport since the mid-1990s.

Lindsey said she supports selling Ontario airport “if we can get to areasonable price. We have always been open to discussing and negotiating asales price. We have been opposed to giving a gift.”