Bob Hope Airport

Income from parking fees took a nose dive at Bob Hope Airport in January, dropping about 6.2% compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures released this week. Parking fees - an important revenue source - generated $1.5 million for the airport in January, down from almost $2 million during the same month last year, according to a report to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday. At the same time, the number of passenger using the airfield continued to slide, decreasing by 2.2%.

The credit rating agency Fitch this week warned that a planned $90-million transit center could significantly increase Bob Hope Airport's debt burden. In maintaining its AA- rating for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, the agency warned that "absent a material change in the [transit center's] scope or borrowing elements, an affirmation of the 'AA-' rating is unlikely," according to a report in Business Wire. Earlier this year, Bob Hope Airport officials were forced to go back to the drawing board after construction bids for the center came in between $47 million and $69 million above the projected $112-million price tag. Officials blamed high steel costs and fears among contractors that the project could not be built as planned.

Authorities are searching for a 14-year-old autistic boy who wandered out of the Bob Hope Airport earlier today. Cameron James Smith was scheduled to depart on a 10:30 a.m. flight, but the plane had to return to the gate and the passengers exited the aircraft, officials said. The boy was seen boarding an airport parking shuttle in front of the terminal and he exited the shuttle at the airport's main entrance at Hollywood Way and Thornton Avenue, according to a statement from the airport.

A nationwide price survey among the 101 most searched airports on Cheapflights.com found that in June, Bob Hope Airport had the second-lowest average airfare at $248. Long Beach came in first at $223. The airport affordability list was compiled by computing the average fare users found while using the site, according to the report. General Mitchell International in Milwaukee came in third with an average airfare of $274. John F. Kennedy International in New York, at $568, Anchorage International, at $639, and  Honolulu International at $667 rounded out the top three most expensive airports.

Organizers of an all-day blood drive at Bob Hope Airport on Wednesday hope to collect 100 pints from donors in honor of the city's yearlong centennial celebration. The annual blood drive is organized each year in conjunction with some of the biggest companies in the vicinity of the airport, including the Burbank Airport Marriott, Yahoo! and media studios to benefit Providence hospitals in Burbank and other San Fernando Valley locations. Donors will be entered to win round trip airfare from JetBlue, hotel stays through Marriott and other prizes.

Travelers departing Bob Hope Airport Tuesday expressed little concern about heightened Transportation Security Administration measures as they departed just before the busiest travel day of the year. “Nope. They are keeping me safe,” Ellen Cowie of Tujunga said as she walked toward TSA officials at Terminal A. “I’ve been scanned before, and it did not bother me one bit.” Some passengers were asked to step aside for a manual pat down, the most controversial of the measures that TSA instituted Nov. 1. But the airport does not have a full-body scanner, airport spokesman Victor Gill said.

By a roughly 2 to 1 margin, residents in the tri-city region favor a new terminal at Bob Hope Airport that is further from the runway, according to a recent poll that also revealed a major knowledge gap about just how old the existing facility is. The survey, conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research mid-February, found that among those polled in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena and portions of Los Angeles near the airfield, 67% favored a...

Bob Hope Airport launched an online questionnaire on Monday asking for input on various issues - including the possible construction of a new terminal - in order to expand on the information collected from a round of telephone surveys earlier this year. Residents in the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area can log onto www.bobhopeairportsurvey.com and complete the questionnaire, which contains fewer questions than the telephone survey, and which have room for more open-ended answers . The site also contains results from the telephone surveys.

The 58-year-old man who was struck and killed by a car near Bob Hope Airport on Saturday was homeless, authorities said. Burbank police on Monday continued their investigation into the death of the man, who Los Angeles County coroner's officials said died of several traumatic injuries. Authorities did not release his identity pending notification of next of kin. [Feb. 21, 1:45 p.m.: This post has been amended, please see below for details.] He was struck about 3:50 p.m. on Empire Avenue, near Clybourn Avenue, where he was pronounced dead at the scene by firefighters and paramedics about 4 p.m., Burbank Police Sgt. Scott Meadows said.

Thanks to the loss of an airline, declining parking revenues and fewer passengers using the airfield, Bob Hope Airport is facing one of its roughest budget years ever, officials reported this week. Airport officials also are staring at a multimillion-dollar bond debt that will be needed to construct a transit center - a move that will be watched closely by credit rating agencies that have taken notice of the falling passenger and revenue numbers. “These are difficult times for us,” Dan Feger, the airport's executive director, said at meeting on Monday of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.

Credit agency Fitch this week downgraded its rating on Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority bonds, but noted the airport is in healthy financial shape overall. The agency dropped its rating to A+ from AA- on $53.5 million worth of outstanding 2005 bonds and assigned that same rating to $82.7 million of new bonds the airport plans to float to build a transit center. In a release Tuesday Fitch gave the airport a “stable” outlook, up from “rating watch negative.” Fitch listed several reasons for the rating downgrade, including “the volatile nature of operating revenues, which are influenced by recently weakened traffic performance.” Bob Hope Airport has been battling declining passenger numbers and revenues the past four years and suffered another blow when American Airlines pulled out of Burbank in February.

Bob Hope Airport officials this week authorized more than $82 million in bonds to pay for ancillary structures associated with a new regional transportation center. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority signed off on the two, 30-year bonds for $82.7 million at a special meeting Monday - shoring up the last major piece of funding for center that will bring public transit and rental car facilities together for what officials hope will make for a better customer experience.

Bob Hope Airport will soon be known as Burbank Bob Hope Airport as part of a new summer ad campaign to drive more passengers to the regional airfield during its peak travel time of the year. The temporary name change comes as officials respond to airline concerns about the lack of a city identifier in the name of the airport , said John Hatanaka, the airport's senior deputy executive director. Dan Feger, the airport's executive director, said that, for now, the name change was only for the summer advertising campaign.

Bob Hope Airport launched an online questionnaire on Monday asking for input on various issues - including the possible construction of a new terminal - in order to expand on the information collected from a round of telephone surveys earlier this year. Residents in the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area can log onto www.bobhopeairportsurvey.com and complete the questionnaire, which contains fewer questions than the telephone survey, and which have room for more open-ended answers . The site also contains results from the telephone surveys.

Bob Hope Airport was among eight airfields across the nation that ranked in the top eight best alternative airports in the latest edition of Inc. magazine . Here's what the magazine had to say about Burbank's airport: With an on time departure rate comparable to that at LAX, Burbank is another excellent alternative airport that offers travelers an easy airport experience with lots of cheap parking, short lines at check in and security,...

Nominees for president of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority may soon no longer have to leave the room when fellow members deliberate and vote to fill the position. The California Fair Political Practices Commission recently approved an amendment to its conflict-of-interest regulations allowing public officials to participate in their agency's decision to appoint them to certain paid positions. Members of the authority, which owns and oversees the Bob Hope Airport, were informed of the change during their meeting on Monday.

BURBANK - The captain of a US Airways Airbus jet ordered his craft evacuated Sunday morning, stopping the plane during takeoff due to an engine malfunction, airline officials said. The Phoenix-bound craft had 67 passengers and five crew members aboard, said US Airways spokesman Bill McGlashen. The emergency call came in about 7 a.m., as the plane began taxing down the runway. “During the early part of the takeoff, the captain had an engine indicator light,” said McGlashen.

Here we go again. A less-than-transparent airport paid for a “secret survey” about replacing the existing terminal (“ Poll findings boost terminal proponents ,” March 18). They seemed to have left out “expansion” in the questioning of residents. For decades we've heard the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority drum beat for a new “safe” terminal, yet during this period, the Federal Aviation Administration has allowed millions of passengers to fly in and out of Bob Hope Airport in spite of a so-called “unsafe” terminal location.

Apparently, no one is willing to plunk down $14,600 a year for a private valet parking spot at Bob Hope Airport. After only about 40 days as the parking contractor at Bob Hope Airport, Standard Parking this week recommended that officials put the brakes on the top two levels of valet service, contending the pricey amenities had failed to catch on with customers. The recommendation covers the Black Diamond and Platinum levels of valet parking, the former of which includes a reserved, extra wide, covered space available at any time - for $14,600 a year.

Construction bids for a new transit center and parking structure at Bob Hope Airport came in under budget this week, a reversal in fortune for a project that was put on a diet last year after the first round of building proposals came in at far more than anticipated. In June, the so-called intermodal transit center - which will include facilities for rental cars and rail and bus lines to better connect passengers to the terminal - was scaled down after bids for the project came in $47 million to $75 million above the originally projected cost of $112 million.