=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/c/a/2008/08/08/BAEA126K0G= .DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, August 8, 2008 (SF Chronicle) LOS ANGELES/LAX expansion to go ahead despite downturn, council told Dan Weikel, Los Angeles Times (08-08) 04:00 PDT Los Angeles -- Despite a severe economic downturn in t= he airline industry, airport officials assured Los Angeles City Council members Wednesday that a multibillion-dollar plan to modernize Los Angeles International Airport will proceed, at least for the short term. "We will be able to go forward. This won't slow us down for five years or so," Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, told members of a council panel that oversees LAX, Ontario International Airport, Van Nuys Airport and Palmdale Regional Airport. But Lindsey warned that there was a practical limit to what the airlines will pay for improvements in the current economic climate and that proposed projects should be vetted to make sure costs were reasonable and would not raise operating expenses. The Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee invited Lindsey and other airport officials to their meeting to address the sharp declines in flights projected for LAX and Ontario this fall and their potential impacts on planned improvements at LAX. "We are concerned about our moment for modernization," said Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who chairs the committee. "This is a time when we are trying to lift everything up, both facilities and airport workers." Airline statistics show that LAX will experience an 11.2 percent drop in available seats this fall compared with the same time last year. Ontario faces a projected decline of up to 28.4 percent. The seat reductions involve major domestic airlines. To compensate for potential losses in airport revenue, the city's airport commission raised landing fees last month at LAX and Ontario. Among other things, Los Angeles World Airports raises money for projects from airline fees, terminal leases, parking and concessions. Lindsey also told the committee that Los Angeles World Airports is trying to cut operating costs by reducing staff and eliminating services that don't pay for themselves to bolster the airport finances. The downturn has hit LAX at a time when billions of dollars in modernization projects have been planned for the aging airport, which has not been significantly improved since the mid-1980s. In addition, the airport just sold almost $900 million in bonds to pay for improvements. The projects include overhauling terminals, a new concourse, rebuilding the north runway, an automated tram, a consolidated rental car facility and replacing the airport's power, water and sewage systems. Lindsey said that within the next five years the airport should be able = to finish improvements to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, including a widened taxiway and new gates on the west side that can accommodate the next generation of large aircraft, such as the Airbus A380. The work is critical because international airlines have threatened to leave LAX if the Tom Bradley terminal is not improved. Airport officials say the project - estimated to cost at least $1.4 billion - should be done by January 2012. "We are confident that the Tom Bradley terminal projects will proceed," said Frank Clark, executive director of the trade organization that represents foreign carriers. "We continue to endorse the project, but that is not a blank check. We must work with the city and the airport to design and develop a facility that takes into account the airlines' financial condition and can meet customer expectations." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".