In an initial allocation process, Long Beach Airport (LGB) last week offered nine new flight slots to three airlines.
On Feb. 9, LGB, working with the Long Beach City Attorney’s Office and outside counsel, conducted the initial allocation of nine slots available for air-carrier operations, Bryant Francis, airport director, told the Signal Tribune. Southwest has been allotted four slots, JetBlue will get three, and Delta will receive two, Francis said.
The airport director explained that a total of three letters of interest had been submitted by the Feb. 8 deadline. In those letters, Southwest and JetBlue each requested nine slots and Delta asked for two. He added that it is his understanding that Southwest had announced its interest in serving LGB at a large employee gathering and that there was a subsequent news release to restate that interest.
“The allocation process is not yet complete, however, Southwest is aware that it would receive four slots in this allocation,” Francis said. “The company will need to determine whether that level of capacity makes initiating LGB service financially viable.”
Francis said the airport is in the process of drafting an allocation award letter to each of the three airlines, and he anticipates those being distributed soon.
“That letter will provide detailed instructions to the carriers of the requirements to accept and begin operation of slots,” Francis said. “Carriers have up to 180 days from the point of notification to begin operations and 90 days to make flights available for sale.”
In the Feb. 12 edition of his weekly newsletter, 4th District Long Beach Councilmember Daryl Supernaw explained that Francis had determined the slots had to be added based on lower measured cumulative aircraft noise and that the process of awarding of the slots follows a “somewhat complicated formula.”
“Under the City’s flight-slot allocation resolution and protocol, Southwest Airlines was first awarded two slots because it is considered to be a ‘new entrant’ at the airport,” Supernaw wrote. “After that, slots were allocated sequentially— one at a time— to each of the carriers until all nine slots were allocated.”
Supernaw, whose district is located just south of the airport, said some of his constituents have raised questions as to why JetBlue Airlines was permitted to request additional slots, considering reports that the airline is actually not flying all of its allocated slots on a full-time basis.
Eighth District Long Beach Councilmember Al Austin expressed regret over JetBlue’s request for additional flight slots.
“I am disappointed that JetBlue decided to request more slots since they actually eliminated flights from LGB in 2015,” Austin said. “I think it sends mixed signals. If JetBlue is truly interested in respecting our noise ordinance, then why are they playing a game of monopoly with slots at LGB?”
However, Supernaw said that airport staff and the City Attorney’s Office have determined that JetBlue is currently flying all of its slots in accordance with the regulations that have been in place since 1995.
“Therefore, JetBlue was able to participate in the supplemental slot-allocation process on an equal basis with any other air carrier applying for an allocation of slots,” Supernaw explained.
A Jan. 7 LGB press release announced that, based on an analysis and review of noise data for Oct. 1, 2014 through Sept. 30, 2015, the airport director had determined that the airport is currently operating below the noise budgets for air carriers and that nine flights beyond the 41 flight limit must be made available for allocation in order to maintain compliance with the City’s noise ordinance.
The Airport Noise Compatibility Ordinance for the City of Long Beach establishes a community noise equivalent level (CNEL) noise budget for air carrier flights at LGB set in the baseline year of 1989-1990.
The noise ordinance allows air carriers to operate a minimum of 41 flights per day. Under the ordinance, however, the number of flights must be increased above the 41-flight limit if all flights in that category operate at or below the 1989-1990 baseline CNEL noise budget. Therefore, LGB must determine on an annual basis whether additional flights must be allocated based upon the cumulative noise generated by air carrier operations during the prior 12-month period.
Additional flights above the 41-flight limit must be allocated to the extent the airport director determines that initiation of service utilizing those flights will not lead the air carriers, as a group, to exceed the noise levels established in the baseline noise budget.
