LAWA to Launch New Marketing Campaigns for ONT

Aug. 29, 2013
LA/Ontario International Airport's general manager admitted the agency has not done enough to promote local use of the struggling facility

Aug. 28--In a rare disclosure, LA/Ontario International Airport's general manager admitted the agency has not done enough to promote local use of the struggling facility.

Jess Romo promised things will soon be changing starting with $150,000 in print advertising -- set to launch the next week -- followed by a nearly $1 million billboard campaign later this fall.

The airport manager made the announcement Tuesday afternoon while giving the Riverside City Council an overview of ONT's service.

The campaign, which will focus on attracting local travelers to use ONT and will promote the 14 non-stop destinations available at the airport. It will also compare the average price for those routes to other Southern California airports.

"All we can do is educate people that the service is there," he said.

This is the latest of what seems to be a renewed interest by Los Angeles World Airports --the agency which operates ONT --to market the struggling airport.

Since 2007, annual passenger traffic at ONT has dropped by more than 40 percent, from 7.2 million passengers in 2007 to 4.3 million in 2012.

Officials in Ontario, which have been involved in a multi-year battle to regain control of the airport, contend LAWA is ignoring ONT for the benefit of Los Angeles International Airport.

About two months ago, LAWA set aside $1 million, over a two-year period, for promoting new or existing service. As part of the program, the airport agency will match up to $150,000 per route.

To date, none of the carriers have enlisted in the program, Romo said.

"It's still early," he said. "I think we have to be patient."

Romo said he believes the airlines might wait for the holidays to promote service or until next spring when the new schedule of flights are released.

Despite the investments, a turnaround at the airport will also hinge on traveler support, even if that means taking a flight with multiple connections or higher costs, Romo said.

"Don't complain about the lack of service if you are not using it yourself," he said.

Riverside Councilmember Chris Mac Arthur said residents in his city are choosing John Wayne and Palm Springs International airports because of the convenience of flights and the costs. He added travelers do not want to fly out of Burbank or even LAX.

"I hope we continue to work and let (LAWA) know we are very passionate and, going forward, to continue to find solutions to build capacity at ONT," he said.

Just an hour before the Riverside meeting, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors conducted a study session on the declining passenger activity at ONT.

The discussion, which was led by a delegation from Ontario, included the latest on attempts to regain local control of the struggling airport, developing a specialized airport work force, the best uses for the airport and marketing strategies.

Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner told the board that LAWA's inability to redistribute air traffic throughout the region does raise environmental issues. Wapner said the agency is ignoring the Southern California Association of Governments' Regional Transportation Plan. LAWA's failure to implement its portion of the plan -- to reduce environmental effects -- could threaten the federal funding for every transportation project in Southern California.

In recent years, according to Ontario, the decline at ONT has resulted in 1.5 million annual trips on the road.

After hearing the report, Supervisor Josie Gonzalez raised her concerns about the impact of air quality as a result of travelers going to airport elsewhere in the region.

The supervisor, a member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District board, urged her colleagues to pressure others to raise the concern of the air pollution emissions. Gonzales said the air quality district should be monitoring the situation and championing efforts to find a solution.

"There is no mitigation being done for the additional pollution that is being caused by travelers in the Inland Empire choosing to use Los Angeles International Airport or any of the other," she told the board. "I for one will not go to LAX, I will wait in the transfer airports and I don't care. I will sit there and I will wait because at least I will not be sitting in traffic."

Irrespective of the fight for local control, Romo also hinted at the Riverside City Council meeting that there could be changes in the next five years at ONT.

Aside from a new Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti, there are also some changes in the airport agency. This week the Los Angeles City Council confirmed six new members to the Board of Airport Commissioners, the agency's governing body. And the fate of LAWA's executive director, Gina Marie Lindsay, at the agency is still to be determined.

"We could see an entire different direction. It's probably going to be different than what we've seen so far," Romo said. "Our new mayor is committed to looking at it as regional problem and coming up with a regional solution."