Rothenberg on LAX: 'It's pathetic'

That's how L.A.'s airport commissioner described the airport's failure to upgrade its facilities since the the Bradley terminal opened in 1984 (that's 23 years ago, friends). Rothenberg was at a meeting today of the Los Angeles Business Council where consulting firm SH&E presented a not-so-cheerful report on what's going on. "This may be tough to swallow, but LAX can no longer sell itself just because it is L.A.," said SH&E Director Sonjia Murray. "Other airports, and we looked at a lot of them, are in a superior position." Basically, it's the same old problem: airlines are shifting to other airports that have more up-to-date facilities. Most other cities have seen substantial increases in passenger traffic since 2000 (see chart below), but LAX has had a 2.8 percent decline. No wonder the Airbus and Lufthansa folks wanted to land the giant A380 at JFK instead of LAX. Actually, SH&E says that the airport's big priority should be getting the big new planes – the A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 747-8. But that can only happen if the terminals are expanded to accommodate the heavy passenger loads. Business Journal LABC

International On-Board Passengers at Major U.S. Gateways (% change)

Charlotte +113.1%
Las Vegas +97.4%
Phoenix +74.9%
Denver +48.1%
Philadelphia +39%
Atlanta +32.6%
Houston +29.7%
Washington Dulles +29.1%
Chicago O'Hare +10.7%
Newark +9.7%
Dallas/Ft. Worth +7.7%
JFK 2.1%
San Francisco 2.0%
LAX -2.8%