A reminder of an O.C. fiscal disaster that almost happened
Posted by: Len Kranser | 10/07/2008 11:23 AM
Airports Suffer Terminal Illness
Today's WSJ reports that the loss of passengers is creating a vicious economic spiral that is griping airports across the country. Ontario Airport is discussed as a chief example.
The flight cuts will make the arport more expensive for airlines. Most airports set landing fees and terminal rents charged to airlines based on debt payments and operating costs.
Higher prices could lead to even bigger airline schedule cuts.
Asked if LAX would have to bail out Ontario, Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Marie Lindsey said "I sure hope not."
The El Toro Info Site reminds die hard El Toro Airport supporters - who still are heard from periodically - that if a second county airport had been built, it's multi-billion dollar cost and huge debt service requirements would be an economic disaster for Orange County.
Anonymous, you have an excellent point. Sometimes people become annoyed by a person or event, to the extent...
Len: Let sleeping dogs lie. What is the point of this post?
"What is the point?" you ask.
"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana
Len, I thought Ontario was the promised land of OC airport demand. Guess not. Don't panic, it recover, survive and flourish.
YEs Len thank god the airport never happened and we have a big 'ol park - Oops that has not happened in this 10+ years either.
While most of the anti-airport opposition came from locals concerned about the impact, and experts questioning the safety, there was also a group who adamantly questioned the lack of any realistic financial forecasts for the proposed boondoggle.
How would this new airport with much higher landing fees compete with established airports? Why were we relying on demand forecasts that had been consistently overly optimistic? Who would be on the hook for the cost of this massive project if it was a financial disaster?
In retrospect, the demand numbers never materialized, while construction costs have soared.
We should be applying what we learned from this to the debate over the new toll roads being proposed, again based on linear projections that will never materialize as peak oil causes a long term increase in energy prices, and an economy wrecked by eight years of Republican borrowing won't support the new houses that would create the demand.
Len,
Speaking of disasters, I am trying to gather information on what has happened with "recycling" the runways at El Toro. I believe that the company that was supposed to do this went bankrupt and that there are no current plans. Please contact me at
garbage11 at cox dot net.
thanks
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Here is one of several nuggets I found on the el toro website
El Toro Info Site report, February 23, 2006
More from GPC board meeting
It was reported that agreement had been reached for Lennar to contract for runway demolition and that “recycling will be well underway this summer.”
A ground breaking will take place in late summer.
( www.eltoroairport.org / news / news-0206.html )