Limits on Jet Noise, Airport Growth Win Supervisors’ Assent

Orange County supervisors gave conceptual approval Tuesday to a proposed settlement with Newport Beach that reportedly will allow expansion of John Wayne Airport to 73 daily jet flights after 1990 by phasing in new quiet-technology jets to replace the noisier McDonnell Douglas MD-80.

The settlement, which would end years of acrimony between the county and airport neighbors in Newport Beach, drew immediate criticism from McDonnell Douglas and its employees, who said the agreement commits the airport to serving only short-haul passengers and threatens future orders for the MD-80, once considered the quietest commercial jet available.

Details Not Disclosed

Supervisors considered the proposed agreement in closed session, issuing a brief statement afterward that indicated they would not disclose terms of the settlement until an official document is prepared for consideration by the county Airport Commission on Aug. 6.

“There appears to be a consensus of staff and counsel for the county, the city and SPON (Stop Polluting Our Newport) and the Airport Working Group on a settlement of the John Wayne litigation,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley in the prepared statement. “We have instructed our counsel to prepare the necessary documentation and present it to the Airport Commission.”

‘Exciting Action’

But after the meeting, Riley added: “It’s such an exciting action in my life that I’m still trying to pinch myself to see that it’s true.”

Sources close to the negotiations said the settlement includes these provisions:

- An increase in regular jet departures from the current 55 flights per day to 73 after 1990. However, only 39 of those flights could be made by aircraft as noisy as the MD-80, essentially limiting that aircraft to its present service levels. The remaining 18 slots would be allocated to slightly quieter jets like the Boeing 737/300.

- Jets like the new British Aerospace BAe-146 that can take off at less than 86 decibels would remain unregulated, theoretically allowing them an unlimited number of departures. However, the airport would be limited to 8.4 million passengers a year over the next 20 years, effectively limiting the total number of flights.

- The 390,000-square-foot terminal envisioned in the airport’s original master plan would be scaled back by 23,000 square feet, leaving about 294,000 square feet of rental space for carriers.

- The proposed new parking structure would be scaled down one level, from 10,400 to 8,400 parking spaces.

- The search for an alternate airport site would be continued, but it would not be headed by the county, as provided in the original airport master plan. Instead, the search would be conducted by some third party, conceivably a private citizens’ group or a countywide airport authority.

Final Approval to Come

The board is scheduled to take final action Aug. 13 on the agreement, which has also won conceptual approval from Newport Beach and two homeowners’ groups there. City officials also declined to comment on the settlement Tuesday.

But while the settlement appears likely to end years of litigation between the county and Newport Beach over airport expansion, McDonnell Douglas officials promised Tuesday that they will carry on the court fight if the county agrees to a plan that does not allocate a share of the new flights to aircraft like the MD-80.

Company officials, in a letter to county supervisors, said they are concerned that the proposed agreement could cost McDonnell Douglas as many as 200 aircraft orders currently being negotiated with seven airlines.

“In each case, a decision will be made for the (Boeing) 737/300 or the MD-80. . . . The airlines are keenly aware of Orange County’s actions and their likely effect on other parts of the country. Those airlines have made it clear that this is a major issue in their overall decision process,” corporate vice president R. L. Johnson said in the letter.

“Should any plan substantially harm McDonnell Douglas, the company fully intends to vigorously pursue all legal recourse against the county . . . in spite of any separate settlement between the county and Newport Beach,” Johnson said.

Fewer Passengers

Henry Kruid, director of public affairs for the Long Beach-based aircraft manufacturer, said the traveling public is a loser in the proposed settlement because it encourages flights with the Boeing 737/300, which can only meet the quieter noise requirements by running with less than full fuel or passengers. The MD-80 carries about 50 more passengers than a Boeing jet at the capacity needed to qualify, Kruid said.

“All they’re adding is short-haul flights, and (with) the Boeing 737, even on short-haul flights, they have to fly a reduced number of passengers,” he said. “People want to fly. I don’t think people are going to be too happy when they’re at the airport and they say, sorry, the airplane isn’t full yet, but you can’t get on, or you can’t fly as far as you’d like to.”

In a telegram delivered to supervisors Tuesday morning, United Auto Workers Local 148 said the board’s action could affect 12,000 employees of McDonnell Douglas working in Orange County and an additional 40,000 jobs in Orange County tied to the aircraft manufacturer.

“As you can well understand, UAW Local 148 cannot afford to sit idly by while the Orange County Board of Supervisors exports thousands of Orange County jobs out of state,” the telegram said.

Robert Berghoff, president of the union chapter and a member of the Long Beach Airport Commission, said union officials had not decided what action they would take against the settlement agreement, should it win final approval.

‘Jobs on the Line’

But he said: “We think this is an unconscionable thing to be considering, when thousands of jobs are on the line. And when our members’ jobs are jeopardized, those responsible, as far as I’m concerned, are going to be jeopardized as well. . . . The City of Newport Beach is just using too much influence on our Board of Supervisors, as far as I’m concerned.”

Riley said board members “take no joy” in limiting flights for the MD-80.

“The MD-80 is something that we embraced here with a great deal of enthusiasm when it came out. We almost wrote the script around that airplane. But I don’t think any of us had any idea that the next family of aircraft would be coming along in less than a decade,” Riley said.

In the county’s original master plan--the one challenged by Newport Beach in court--MD-80 flights would have been limited to 55 a day once the expansion to a full 73 flights per day took place. Even at the present limit on total flights of 55 daily, airlines with jets quieter than the MD-80 are allocated bonus flights for using the quieter aircraft, a policy that McDonnell Douglas has complained is discriminatory.

Presently, MD-80s make up 39 of the airport’s 55 daily departures, and the proposed agreement would freeze the aircraft at that level.