Aloha Airlines going to Maui

Laura Sturza

Aloha Airlines’ expanded services are another indication that

business at the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport is returning to

normal, officials there said.

“It appears that travel activity is starting to approach the level

it had attained prior to [the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks],”

Airport Authority spokesman Victor Gill said.

The airport’s $2-million drop in operating revenue from $33

million in fiscal year 2000-01 to $31 million the following year was

mainly due to lost parking income and a 5% decrease in passengers,

Gill said.

In 2000, the airport registered 4.7 million passengers, but in

2001, the level dropped to 4.5 million. Last year, the number of

travelers rose to 4.6 million.

Airport officials believe the launch of direct flights to Maui

will help with the facility’s recovery. Aloha Airlines will start the

flights Feb. 14.

The carrier launched service from Burbank to Honolulu in June, and

is expanding its market due to the “very enthusiastic response from

Burbank,” Aloha Airlines spokesman Stu Glauberman said.

While Aloha Airlines played a part in the airport’s increase --

averaging about 5,000 passengers each month from Burbank since June

-- other carriers added significantly more to the change, Gill said.

Southwest Airlines, the airport’s largest carrier, went from a

December 2000 passenger count of 270,000, to December 2001 with

245,000. In December 2002, it returned to 270,000.

Alaska Airlines carried 32,000 passengers in December 2000, 25,000

during December 2001, and 41,000 last year.

The noise impact of the planes is comparable to other commercial

flights from Burbank, all of which are stage 3 aircraft, among the

quietest in the industry, Gill said.