Left Up in the Air : Braniff Action Places John Wayne Airport’s Flight Allocation Plan in Quandary

The surprise bankruptcy filing of Braniff on Thursday left officials of John Wayne Airport concerned that the airline will drop its plans to begin service to Orange County early next year.

Airport officials said they have received no word from the carrier, but if Braniff does withdraw, the action could destroy the carefully crafted airport access and flight allocation plan. The proposal is scheduled to be voted on next month, and that will govern commercial jet operations at the airport for the next 15 years.

Braniff was one of three airlines that were to be awarded landing rights at the tightly controlled county-owned airport under the proposed new access plan. The others are Southwest and Midway airlines. They would bring to an even dozen the number of passenger airlines serving the county.

If Braniff withdraws from the Orange County market--and early signals from the Orlando, Fla., carrier were mixed--the plan would have to be redrawn to redistribute the flights Braniff was to have received.

The flights also would be redistributed if Braniff or its assets were acquired by a carrier that already serves Orange County.

In either case, the airport staff and, ultimately, county supervisors, will face the unenviable task of dividing one, two or three flights--the number varies depending on which staff recommendation is adopted--among the 11 surviving carriers.

Lobbying Expected

The numbers don’t work well and the result is sure to be a tough lobbying battle among the remaining airlines, all of which want more flights than the county is able to award.

Braniff officials could not be reached for comment Thursday on its plans in Orange County. In a prepared statement, Braniff Chairman William C. McGee said the carrier intends to serve 11 airports and did not include Orange County in the list.

Meanwhile, Braniff still was planning to make several noise-test flights out of John Wayne today to try to qualify its newly acquired Airbus A320 jets for airport’s restricted flight slots, said Greg Schulte, a spokesman for Airbus Industrie of North America.

Airbus Industrie flew its own noise test flights with the A320 on Thursday. The test showed that the A320 was one of the two quietest jets ever flown at the airport, John Wayne officials said.

The total number of commercial jet flights to and from the airport is controlled by a 1985 settlement of a noise damage suit filed by the City of Newport Beach.

Currently, limits on the noise generated by various types of jets and on the total number of passengers allowed to use the airport each year has capped the number of commercial passenger jet flights at 96 takeoffs and landings per day.

Under the new access plan, drafted as part of a court-approved airport expansion--the number could climb to 159 daily takeoffs and landings.