Officials Seeking to Increase Service Out of Oxnard Airport

Ventura County residents may be able to catch direct or one-stop flights to Las Vegas and San Diego by year’s end under an aggressive plan being pursued by local officials to increase air service out of Oxnard Airport.

County Supervisor Frank Schillo said airport officials have been negotiating with several airlines about providing either direct or connecting flights to San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego and Las Vegas.

“What we’re trying to do is make travel a lot more easy for people and less costly,” Schillo said, noting that some United Express flights originating out of Oxnard are cheaper than direct flights from Los Angeles International Airport.

United Express, the airport’s only commuter airline, operates 12 daily flights.

Schillo said he recently formed an airport marketing committee--made up of local business leaders, travel agents and government officials--to develop a program to increase use of the airport.

“We have met twice and all have agreed that aggressive efforts are necessary to encourage more people to travel from Oxnard Airport,” said Schillo, who also chairs the county’s Economic Development Collaborative.

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Rod Murphy, county airports administrator and a member of the committee, said that of the six airlines contacted by his office, two have expressed strong interest in providing service to Oxnard.

Representatives of Las Vegas-based Eagle Canyon Airlines are looking at starting direct service from Oxnard to the desert city, while Fresno-based Trans States Airlines is considering a daily flight to San Diego with a short layover at Los Angeles International Airport, Murphy said.

If the Trans States service does well, the company would consider changing to direct service, he said.

If all goes well, both airlines could be operating their new service by the end of the year, Murphy said.

The county Department of Airports is preparing a report to present to the Board of Supervisors within the next month, outlining its efforts to attract additional airlines as well as its long-term marketing plans for the airport.

Past efforts to expand air service at the airport, however, have had trouble getting off the ground.

American Eagle, another commuter airline, stopped flying out of Oxnard Airport last year because of low ridership. And California Air Shuttle, a small start-up company, halted its four daily direct flights to Las Vegas in 1990 after only a few months of operation.

But in the case of California Air Shuttle, Murphy said, the airline was forced to stop its service because of financial problems and not because of a lack of passengers.

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Moreover, Murphy and Schillo point out that the Department of Airports is taking a more active marketing role, recently launching a first-of-its-kind radio advertising campaign to promote the airport to travelers in the county.

One of the light-hearted ads tells listeners that they can fly to Paris from Oxnard--of course, that includes catching a connecting flight from Los Angeles International Airport.

“But the flight starts in Oxnard,” Schillo said.

To further promote the airport, Schillo said the airport marketing committee will also provide regular, up-to-date information on fares and service offered at the airport to travel agents and tourism officials.

Both Murphy and Schillo said they do not anticipate community opposition to increased air service at the airport. Both noted that the mayors of Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ventura all sit on the airport marketing committee and have expressed support for more air service.

“These are not going to be bigger planes than what we have now,” Schillo said. “There are just going to be more planes.”