Airport officials approve controversial media contract for LAX
A lucrative media services contract that became embroiled in conflict-of-interest allegations was approved Monday for Los Angeles International Airport.
The Board of Airport Commissioners awarded the contract to a joint venture involving JCDecaux Airport Inc., Airport Sponsorships and Time Warner.
The companies will manage indoor advertising, sponsorships and other media opportunities for the new Tom Bradley International Terminal as well as other facilities at LAX, the nation’s third-busiest airport.
The deal is expected to generate more than $180 million in revenue for Los Angeles World Airports, the operator of LAX, LA/Ontario International and Van Nuys, one of the largest general aviation facilities in the nation.
The terms of the contract will run until December 2020, when the JCDecaux venture will have an option to extend it by three years.
The Los Angeles City Council must still approve the agreement.
Voting on the contract was delayed in August when bids from the two finalists — JCDecaux and Clear Channel — were thrown out amid conflict allegations involving Alan Rothenberg, a former airport commission president.
Clear Channel, which was ranked second in the bidding by airport staff, leveled the allegations in a formal protest.
At the time, Rothenberg’s company, Premier Partnerships, had joined JCDecaux in the bidding. As an airport commissioner, Rothenberg had worked on plans related to the media contract before he resigned from the board in 2010.
Rothenberg’s company was later removed from the JCDecaux venture before the bids were resubmitted for a vote. Clear Channel did not file another protest.
Also on Monday, Emirates, an airline based in Dubai, announced the introduction of Airbus A380 service at LAX. The airline will offer one A380 flight from Los Angeles to Dubai a day.
Emirates officials said the addition of the giant A380s — the world’s largest passenger airliner — is a direct response to high demand. It is estimated that the airline has carried more than 1 million passengers between Dubai and Los Angeles since 2008.
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