O.C. Airport Commission votes to keep current concessionaire

The Orange County Airport Commission has voted 4 to 0 to recommend keeping the current concessionaire at John Wayne Airport but with some new locally owned restaurants.

The panel also approved a new discount airline with service to Canada and signed off on the airport’s capacity plan for the coming year.

The same concessionaire has been operating at the airport since the Thomas F. Riley Terminal opened in 1990. With its contract expiring and a new terminal under construction, the airport sought proposals to fill restaurants, cocktail lounges and snack bars.

If last week’s Airport Commission vote is approved by the county Board of Supervisors, HMSHost Corp. of Maryland would win the 10-year contract and the county-owned airport could take in $39.4 million. That’s $15 million more than projected by its competitor, Delaware North Cos. of New York.

“Fifteen million dollars is a lot of money not to pursue,” said Commissioner Chris Welsh. “The rent difference was very significant, and hard to overlook in a public environment. You’re not playing with your own money.”

The company’s selection of local and national restaurants, how it plans to renovate aging facilities in the existing terminals and its concepts for the under-construction Terminal C also were factors in the vote.

HMSHost proposed locally owned restaurants such as Zov’s Bistro and Ruby’s Diner, as well as a Hobie Hut, a surf-themed bar and grill run by Hobie Alter, the local water sports pioneer.

“We’re really pleased with the vote,” said HMSHost spokeswoman Susan Goyette. “We believe our offer of authentic Orange County restaurants and superior rent and investment in the airport is really the best proposal.”

Delaware North had recruited a John Wayne-themed restaurant run by Wayne’s son Ethan. Wahoo’s Fish Taco, the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and a different surf bar, run by local surfing legend Corky Carroll, had signed on with Delaware.

Ethan Wayne said he had agreed to build the first John Wayne-branded restaurant, True Grit Grill and Rooster Cogburn Ft. Smith Saloon, because the current concession concepts were lacking.

“We all know the service that HMSHost has provided for the last 20 years,” he said. “We would like to see the Board of Supervisors rethink this decision and bring the John Wayne name and brand to the airport.”

Comparing the restaurants with local ties, Welsh said there wasn’t much difference. “The reality is that a Hobie-themed bar and a Corky Carroll-themed bar is pretty similar,” he said.

An airport staff committee had recommended Delaware North because of its proposed renovations to the commercial spaces and its array of restaurants, even though the HMSHost proposal would bring in more revenue.

“We’re disappointed that the Airport Commission disagreed with its own independent, thorough evaluation process,” Nick Schaefer, director of business development for Delaware North, said in a statement. “We gave the airport everything they asked for and more.”

The Delaware North proposal was projected to generate $23.9 million for the county over the 10-year contract period, according to a staff report; HMSHost would generate $39.4 million.

The Airport Commission also approved a new airline, WestJet, a Canada-based discount carrier. It plans to resume service abandoned when Air Canada pulled out of the airport in October.

WestJet applied for two daily departures. They were approved along with the airport’s annual capacity plan; the airport is limited to 10.8 million passengers a year. As of November, fewer than 8 million passengers had passed through its gates in 2010.

The Board of Supervisors will also review the capacity plan Jan. 11.

Airport officials released November passenger statistics last week. The airport served 690,859 passengers, a decrease of 1.3% compared with November 2009. So far this year, it has had 0.3% fewer passengers compared with the same time in 2009.

mike.reicher@latimes.com