=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2005/01/02/s= tate0910EST0012.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, January 2, 2005 (AP) Commercial flights resume at Palmdale Regional Airport (01-02) 06:10 PST PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) -- Commercial flights have resumed at Palmdale Regional Airport, part of a broader effort to ease mounting traffic at Los Angeles International Airport. Scenic Airlines began offering flights between Palmdale and North Las Vegas on Wednesday. It marked the first commercial service since the facility, located 70 miles north of Los Angeles, was shuttered in 1998. Carriers had trouble generating enough business at Palmdale after more than three decades of trying. Officials have long wanted to expand service at Palmdale and other outlying airports to cope with growing congestion at LAX. Air travel in Southern California is expected to double to more than 140 million passengers a year by 2030, according the Southern California Association of Governments. Airlines have been reluctant, however, because of high costs. In September, the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners approved subsidies and fee waivers to Scenic and others willing to use Palmdale. "We have the land and the runways. It's a question of matching that with the types of trips people would like to take," said Cheryl Petersen, the board's president. Scenic is now the lone occupant of the 9,000-square-foot terminal, offering 10 flights a week on its 19-seat DeHavilland Twin Otters. Round-trip fares run $98. As part of its agreement, the company will get free terminal space for a year and discounted rent for two more years. Los Angeles will pay airport maintenance, security and other costs usually shared by carriers, estimated at about $2.4 million this year. "I think we're going to be an excellent test case to see what the demand is," said Chad Dixon, Scenic's president. Information from: Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP