=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/07/26/s= tate1859EDT0137.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, July 26, 2002 (AP) California airports struggle, a few see silver lining LAURA WIDES, Associated Press Writer (07-26) 15:59 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) -- All of California's airports are working to put passengers back in the air. The most successful so far have been smaller airports offering easier access and cheaper fares. The rebound from Sept. 11 has been the slowest at San Francisco and Los Angeles international airports. From January to May, about 12 million passengers took flights in or out of San Francisco, compared with nearly 15 million in 2001. Flights to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America were down 34 percent in May compared with last year, San Francisco airport spokesman Ron Wilson said. Flights to Canada and Europe were down 18 percent. Domestic flights were down 16 percent. The one area that has rebounded slightly for San Francisco is Asia. Trav= el in May was up nearly 3 percent over 2001, Wilson said. Well before Sept. 11, the economy had started to take a toll on air travel, Wilson said. "The icing on the cake was Sept. 11," he said. About 27 million people traveled through Los Angeles International Airpo= rt between January and June, down from nearly 33 million in the same period last year. It was the lowest passenger volume in six years. Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn unveiled plans Friday to beef up security with a $15 million overhaul of the airport's perimeter fence. The city hopes this and other upgrades will increase safety and the public's confidence in flying. Despite the drop in passenger volume at the bigger airports, flying can = be more time-consuming because of security measures implemented for parking, baggage and passenger check-in. Passenger volume will increase, predicted LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles. Both Castles and Wilson said the one bright spot is air cargo. "Our air cargo is picking up and is actually better than June of last year," Castles said. "Our previous history is that when air cargo picks up it usually signals six to eight months in advance of an upswing. That would show the economy will be picking up." San Francisco and Los Angeles attribute much of their losses to cuts by United Airlines, the largest carrier at both airports. The airline eliminated nearly 40 percent of its flights at LAX last fall and about a quarter of its flights at San Francisco. Since then, United has increased flights slightly. The airline will put more planes on line only as demand increases, United spokesman Chris Brathwaite said. If the numbers continue to go up, and if flights remain 80 percent to 90 percent filled, "then you can massage the schedules," he said. "The biggest drops come from United Airlines and Southwest," said Ontario International Airport spokesman Dennis Watson. "In Southwest's case, it's not fewer flights, it's fewer passengers. In United, it's flights," he said. Ontario traffic dropped from about 3.1 million during the first half of 2001 to about 3 million during the first half of this year, he said. Officials at John Wayne International, Long Beach and Oakland International say numbers there are on the rise. Long Beach has steadily increased flights thanks to the low-cost carrier JetBlue, which has encouraged other airlines to fly out of the airport, about 25 miles south of Los Angeles. John Wayne attributes its upswing to regional business. "June is the thi= rd straight month to show an increase," spokeswoman Ann McCarley said. Passengers are up by about 65,000 since last year, bringing the year-to-date total to 3.785 million. Given recent terrorist attacks, McCarley said, "Some people may not be willing to travel up to Los Angeles." Oakland International volume is up 4.2 percent. "We're an easy, low-cost airport. And our weather is good, so you don't see a lot of delays," spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP