New Orange County Flights : Amid Pomp and Protest, Airport Expansion Begins

John Wayne Airport launched its first major expansion in 13 years Monday with the inauguration of three additional airlines and up to 14 additional flights, culminating a long and bitter struggle to expand Orange County air service in the face of heavy opposition from airport neighbors.

The interim expansion--the first step in a $150-million master plan that will eventually bring 73-flight-per-day jet service to Orange County--marks a major victory for airlines long seeking to tap the lucrative Orange County market and business groups seeking improved air transportation. County officials estimate the 14 new flights, serving an additional 800 passengers a day, will bring 4,000 full-time jobs and nearly a third of a billion dollars in annual income to Orange County.

But the expansion also represents a substantial setback for the community of Newport Beach, which won a court order three years ago establishing a limit of 41 flights and which has launched a last-minute attempt to have Monday’s expansion ruled in contempt of the earlier court order.

While county officials in recent years have been stymied in efforts to expand air service because of limited parking and a terminal already handling seven times the passengers it was built for, the reality Monday was that the additional flights were accommodated without incident.

Despite a two-hour delay on Continental Airlines’ inaugural flight to Houston and a vocal demonstration by striking Continental employees shouting warnings at boarding passengers, the mood was a celebratory one, a day of popping champagne corks, three-piece bands and ceremonial ribbon-cuttings.

“Congestion? What congestion? We’ve got room for more!” airport manager Murry Cable exclaimed as he gazed out at the mammoth Boeings and MD-80s, swarming with passengers, looming placidly on the airport ramp.

‘Need This Desperately’

Robert Waller of U.S.D. Corp., representing the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, called it “a red letter day” for the county. “We need this thing desperately,” he said. “I’m a businessman, and we’ve always been hampered having to run up to L.A. to make our flights, and we think this is the beginning of allowing our business community to progress.”

Said Tom Talbot, board chairman of Jet America, which launched two new flights to Chicago: “We have been looking forward to this day since we started our airline three years ago. This is a culmination of one of our major corporate goals.”

America West is offering three daily flights to Phoenix, and Continental has scheduled two flights to Houston which go on to Washington, D.C., in the morning and New York’s La Guardia Airport in the afternoon--the first one-plane service to those cities available from Orange County.

Continental was the focus of attention during the early morning rush hour, when dozens of striking Continental employees picketed the terminal building and then climbed up to a terminal balcony to continue their demonstration as the airline’s morning departures began.

Tom Russell, a striking pilot and spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Assn., said the striking pilots, flight attendants and mechanics--supported Monday by the Orange County Central Labor Council--hoped to alert passengers to Continental’s “April Fool on Orange County.”

Leaflets Distributed

Union officials distributed leaflets proclaiming, “A lemon should be squeezed, not flown,” detailing the carrier’s financial problems (the strike began after Continental filed for reorganization under federal bankruptcy laws and suspended negotiations with employees) and alleged safety violations.

Handing out news accounts of incidents involving Continental in recent months, including a hard landing that damaged an aircraft but went unreported for several days and an accidental landing on a Denver taxiway by a plane carrying the airline’s board chairman, Russell said: “We want to make sure that the people down at John Wayne are aware of, one, the way the airline does business, and to show also what we think is a record showing a definite deterioration in the level of safety in their operation.”

Continental Capt. Don Duffer, who struck for six weeks but then decided to return to work, called the union’s allegations “amazing.” “The FAA looks over our shoulder in everything we do. Because we’re under a microscope today, we know we have to hire very capable and qualified people,” said Duffer, noting that many of the striking pilots had less experience when they joined the airline than many pilots hired after the strike.

Weather Causes Delay

The airline’s premiere flight to Houston, scheduled for 7:55 a.m., was delayed after

its crew encountered bad weather the previous day and didn’t arrive at Los Angeles until much later than expected. Federal regulations specify a minimum rest time for crew members, which eventually led to a two-hour delay in the Orange County flight, airline spokesmen said.

Striking pilots, in full-dress captains’ uniforms, engaged passengers in conversations about safety problems in the waiting area during the delay. One AirCal pilot joined the fray as he maneuvered his jet next to Continental’s waiting MD-80 and held out a tiny bumper sticker that read, “Don’t Fly Continental.”

Later, union members climbed up to a balcony overlooking the boarding area and began shouting at passengers: “Hope you got your insurance paid up!” “Sit along the main spar, that’s the safest spot!” “This airline will break its tail for you!” and finally, “Goodby.”

Passengers in the terminal appeared unruffled, though irritated over the delay. “This is the inaugural flight of Continental to Houston, and they’re already an hour and 20 minutes late. That’s a great way to run a railroad,” said Marvin Allender of Tustin, who had already missed his first connecting flight to New Orleans for a business convention.

Allender said he hadn’t known of the union concerns over Continental when he booked his flight or he might have chosen another airline. “I’m not anti-union,” he explained.

‘Don’t Have a Choice’

Helen Limstrom of La Palma, traveling with her sister because of the death of their father, admitted the talk concerned her a little. “We just really don’t have a choice,” she said. “We just took an airline we could get on. It isn’t exactly easy to get a flight out on Monday, you know.”

But many passengers were simply glad of the opportunity to fly to new destinations from Orange County.

J.D. Ronlquille, manager of the oil recovery process division of Chevron Oil in La Habra, said he was surprised when the company’s travel agent asked him if he would like to fly to Houston from Orange County. “I said, why didn’t you ask me that before?”

Ron Saetermoe, marketing administrator at Mitsubishi Motors, said he was saving a lot of driving time by flying Continental to Tampa, through Houston, from Orange County rather than Los Angeles. “L.A. is a pain, and I live about a mile and a half from this airport,” he said.

Because of Continental’s delay, passengers bound for three airlines were clustered in the cramped waiting area near Gate 4 during the early morning hours, and several also complained about having to use AirCal’s ticket counter for America West and Continental--a contracting arrangement worked out because of terminal space limitations--particularly when all three airlines have similar early morning boarding times.

Signs Changed

When the time came for boarding an America West flight, ticket employees simply slapped an America West sign over the AirCal sign and proceeded, undaunted.

Officials credit the relative lack of congestion to a limit on the number of hourly departures which is no greater than the level in recent years. No new flights were permitted during the peak, 7 a.m. hour, airport manager Cable said.

Surprisingly, the airport’s noise-abatement office received no extra complaints with the phase-in of the additional flights Monday, but because a north wind diverted all traffic northward over Tustin between 7:48 a.m. and 12:19 p.m., most of the airport’s heaviest traffic skirted Newport Beach entirely.

“Maybe it was an act of God,” Cable joked.

Barbara Lichman, executive director of the Airport Working Group, said Monday afternoon, “There’s a Santa Ana wind blowing, and I haven’t heard a flight all day.” But she added, “I should have sat outside today because it’ll probably be the last day it’s bearable.”

No Demonstrations

Lichman said anti-airport groups decided against any demonstrations Monday in the hope of channeling their energy more effectively. “We’re in federal court, we’re in state court, and there’s no point in wasting our time sitting around an airport,” she said. “It has truly never been our orientation to do meaningless, silly public relations gestures that don’t accomplish anything.”

With an estimated passenger demand of nearly 7 million a year, airline officials recently estimated that a single Orange County departure slot could be worth anywhere from $2 million to $6.5 million. Even with the admission Monday of three new airlines, several other carriers are on a waiting list to serve the airport and have threatened to go to court for admission.

But airport officials say it may be several months before passenger loads on the new flights--expected at about 60% for now--will climb to the roughly 75% load factor averaged by carriers now serving the airport.

Jet America had 64 passengers out of a possible 125 booked on its morning flight to Chicago and 50 for the afternoon flight. “It’s not bad for a first day. We didn’t have any promotional fare,” said station manager Kit Cooper.

‘Doing Very Well’

Continental’s Monday morning flight was running about 80% full, and its afternoon flight at 75%. America West was running at 78% capacity for the entire first day. “We are doing very well,” said customer service supervisor Darryl LaChance. “It looks like an excellent opportunity.”

Meanwhile, airport officials say that Wednesday, typically the airport’s busiest day, will be the proving ground for whether the airport’s parking facilities are adequate. If it proves a problem, officials will simply issue public service announcements urging travelers to seek alternative transportation to the airport, as they routinely do on busy holidays, Cable said.

A new, 1,800-space parking lot north of the San Diego Freeway is expected to be completed May 1, he said.

Staff writer Leslie Berkman contributed to this story.