Burbank Plan Unacceptable to Airport Carriers

Representatives of airlines using Burbank Airport responded quickly and negatively Wednesday to the city’s proposal to end a bitter, long-running battle over airport growth.

The proposal, unveiled Tuesday by city officials, would provide for a new passenger terminal with only two more gates than the existing facility and would increase flights by just 10%.

“The plan is not acceptable to Southwest Airlines,” said John Chaussee, a senior manager for Southwest Airlines and chairman of an airport and airline affairs committee. “We see Burbank, like all Southern California markets, as a growing market. You need to plan a facility that’s large enough or expandable enough to meet future demand.”

Dennis E. Olson, director of properties for Alaska Airlines, was similarly unimpressed.

“It doesn’t sound like something the carriers would support,” Olson said. “You would almost be better off doing nothing if you’re going to have those limits.”

Together, Southwest and Alaska represent about 70% of all commercial airline flights to and from Burbank Airport. The six commercial airlines that use the airport are key players in the ongoing dispute over a proposed new passenger terminal because they would be expected to bear much of the cost of improvements through landing fees and rents.

The reaction of these two carriers indicates that the city’s plan faces rough going.

Burbank Mayor Bill Wiggins said he was not discouraged by the critical response. The new proposal could still work because, in addition to allowing the increase in flights, it calls for major terminal improvements that would increase the airport’s efficiency, he said.

“I think this takes the terminal from an antiquated, small terminal to a new, state-of-the-art terminal,” Wiggins said. “To me, what we’re offering is a tremendous benefit.”

At the center of the battle over expanding the passenger terminal are residents’ concerns over noise, traffic and pollution.

The city proposal, which Wiggins and Councilman Ted McConkey announced Tuesday as the Burbank Airport 21st Century Plan, agrees to increase the number of gates from 14 to 16--far fewer than the 19 to 27 gates in the airport’s plans--in return for a mandatory nighttime curfew and the 10% cap on additional flights.

Federal Aviation Administration approval would be needed if the airport restricts flights. City officials said they would support the airport’s efforts to obtain any needed federal approvals.

The city plan also supports construction of a new, $235-million terminal and tax-exempt financing for airport construction if airport officials agree to such items as joint development of portions of the site that are not required for airport use.

But airport officials say that a new terminal is needed for safety reasons and that more travelers already are using the facility as an alternative to bustling Los Angeles International Airport. About 5 million travelers use Burbank Airport each year. Demand is expected to double by 2010.

Airport officials were noncommittal about the city’s proposal but vowed to review it in hopes of resolving the dispute. The first opportunity for the full Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to review the proposal will be at its Tuesday meeting.

The airline officials said they too expect to review the proposal with airport officials and emphasized that they are willing to talk with city officials as well. The existing terminal, built in 1930, must be replaced soon, they said.

“We know the terminal needs to be upgraded,” Olson said.