Passenger numbers keep dropping

Passenger traffic at Bob Hope Airport was down 2.4% in June compared with the previous year, dragging the year-to-date figure down by more than 3%, airport records show.

Last year, the number of passengers fell to 4.6 million, the lowest in eight years, and down 13% from 5.3 million in 2008. Passenger volume peaked at more than 5.9 million in 2007.

The latest figures indicate continued drops in passenger traffic, a trend that is in line with what airport officials say they have planned for.

Passenger traffic forecasting is mostly a financial planning tool, and the airport has expected lower numbers since the peak in 2007, spokesman Victor Gill said.

The number of passengers at Bob Hope Airport has remained higher than the number predicted in the budget, with nearly 25,000 more customers than expected in June.

The load factor — or how many seats are filled on flights — has increased 0.7% in June and remains in the 60% to 70% range set in the past three years, according to a report to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.

Parking revenue, a major budget factor for the airport authority, remains consistent with the returns set in 2009.

In the wake of a congressional appeal for nighttime curfew on flights at the Bob Hope Airport, officials are looking for a favorable outcome next week when the proposed Regional Intermodal Transportation Center goes to the Burbank City Council for a vote.

The council is looking for assurances that the transit center won’t morph into some other use for the airport other than what’s outlined in the airport authority’s proposal, said Councilman Dave Golonski.

Dan Feger, the airport authority’s executive director, released a statement last week expressing optimism that the transit hub would move forward on the second reading.