Travel & Tourism

Ontario International Airport: Optimism for 2021 after a challenging 2020

Published

3 years ago

December 31, 2020

Ontario International Airport is optimistic as it looks ahead to 2021 and a post-pandemic recovery for the aviation industry.

As the year of the unimaginable came to close, Ontario International Airport (ONT) took stock of the challenges of 2020 and expressed a sense of optimism for the possibilities of the New Year.

In the closing days of the year – what many consider the worst in the history of commercial aviation – officials noted ONT’s emerging recovery, among the quickest of U.S. airports, and the recently announced addition or resumption of service to key destinations.

“When 2020 began, Ontario was Southern California’s newest international aviation gateway and the fastest growing airport in the U.S., in just its fourth year under local control,” said Alan D. Wapner, Mayor pro Tem of the City of Ontario and President of the OIAA Board of Commissioners. “An attractive low-cost airport for commercial airlines, major e-commerce hub for air cargo shippers and a driver for the region’s economy, Ontario was the airport we’d hoped it would be just a few years ago. With the vision of our commission and the dedicated service of our staff, I can say unquestionably that Ontario holds as much, if not more, promise today than it did before the pandemic. And as coronavirus vaccines become available to more Americans, I am optimistic we will see a return to more normal travel routines in 2021.”

Despite the immediate challenges in the early stages of the pandemic, there were many encouraging signs:

ONT recorded six straight months of traffic growth between April and October, regaining almost 50% of passenger volume compared to 2019, making its recovery first among airports in California and third nationally.
The airport enhanced cleaning practices and instituted new sanitization measures throughout passenger terminals designed to protect air travelers, greeters, employees and other visitors. More information on the airport’s sanitization measures is available here.
ONT launched an airport-wide initiative, ONTo What Matters Most, bringing life to the Airport’s mission of providing a clean & safe journey that connects people, places and experiences.
Airlines resumed or initiated new service from ONT to five destinations in 2020 including Atlanta, Chicago (Midway), Houston (Intercontinental), Seattle and Mexico City;
Airlines announced flights to another nine markets by Spring 2021 including Chicago (O’Hare) Honolulu, Las Vegas, Miami, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento and San Francisco;
ONT hosted a sold-out summer drive-in movie series and added app-based ride hail operator Wingz to its ground transportation program to increase access to the airport; and
In the Fall ONT established a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site which provides results in as few as 20 minutes.

While the coronavirus pandemic impacted air travel in ways not seen before, ONT’s role as an air cargo destination – a bright spot before the pandemic – took off in 2020, growing 20% year over year

In November, FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., completed a $100 million, two-year transformation of its ONT operations, the centerpiece of which is a 251,000 square-foot complex which includes a state-of-the-art sorting facility capable of handling 12,000 packages per hour, nine wide-body aircraft gates, 14 feeder aircraft gates and 18 truck docks.

The redeveloped parcel of more than 50 acres and its modern facilities, along with a 30-year lease extension, cemented ONT’s role as a major cargo hub in North America.

“We can never forget the pandemic’s toll on human life,” said Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the OIAA. “Likewise, we will always remember how we adjusted at Ontario airport, challenged ourselves to adapt and collaborated with so many partners to ensure that travel through our international gateway is safe. We faced an unprecedented threat in 2020, and what we learned about our ability to persevere under the most difficult circumstances will serve our airport, our customers and the Inland Empire well as we move into 2021.”

Travel & Tourism

June was Another Record Month at Ontario International Airport

Published

3 months ago

July 13, 2023

Inland Empire Business Journal

Southern California gateway broke marks for both total passengers and international travelers

Southern California’s Ontario International Airport (ONT) set a record in June for passenger volume, welcoming more than 559,000 travelers and breaking a record set just a month earlier, officials announced.

The aviation gateway also recorded more than 37,000 international travelers, which was the most in a single month ever at ONT.

The total passenger count for June was 8.7% higher than June last year. The number of domestic passengers grew by 5% to 522,000, while international air travel more than doubled to 37,000.

The previous high for total passengers in one month since the airport’s return to local ownership in 2016 was recorded in May 2023, when 557,000 traveled through ONT.

Over the year’s first six months, total passenger volume was nearly 3 million, 12.4% greater than the first half of 2022. The passenger count included 2.8 million domestic travelers and 176,000 international passengers, increases of 9.5% and 94.4%, respectively.

“Since taking ownership of the airport our goal has been to create an international gateway for Southern California with the amenities, facilities and services befitting the region,” said Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer, of Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). “We couldn’t be more pleased that demand for air travel through Ontario remains strong, outpacing other California airports, driven by large increases in population and jobs across our region.”

Ten million Southern Californians live or work closer to ONT than any other airport, and eight of the 10 fastest-growing California cities with over 100,000 population are in ONT’s primary service area.

Passenger Totals	Jun 2023	Jun 2022	Change	YTD 2023	YTD 2022	Change
Domestic	522,088	496,950	5.06%	2,813,917	2,570,272	9.5%
International	37,359	17,534	113.07%	176,238	90,677	94.4%
Total	559,447	514,484	8.74%	2,990,155	2,660,949	12.4%

Volumes of commercial freight and mail declined by 14% in June and 10% on a year-to-date basis, consistent with lower cargo volume globally which has been anticipated by industry analysts.

Air cargo (tonnage)	Jun 2023	Jun 2022	Change	YTD 2023	YTD 2022	Change
Freight	57,410	67,525	-14.98%	338,431	380,612	-11.1%
Mail	4,260	4,479	-4.89%	27,725	28,107	-1.4%
Total	61,670	72,004	-14.35%	366,156	408,720	-10.4%

“Despite the slow-down in freight movement worldwide, Ontario International is a vital cog in the U.S. supply chain,” Elkadi said. “Our modernized and expanded cargo facilities remain key components for shippers serving Sothern California.”

Travel & Tourism

China Airlines restores daily service between Ontario, California, and Taipei

Published

7 months ago

March 12, 2023

Inland Empire Business Journal

Airline resumes flights at pre-pandemic frequency with larger aircraft

China Airlines will fully restore daily round-trip service between Southern California’s Ontario International Airport (ONT) and Taipei beginning March 26, 2023, ONT officials announced.

The return of daily service connecting ONT and Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) marks a major milestone in Ontario’s recovery of international air service, all of which was suspended at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly three years ago.

“We have eagerly awaited the resumption of daily service between Ontario and Taiwan,” said Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). “This exciting development is a testament to the demand for long-haul international travel from the Inland Empire and the exceptional service provided by our global gateway.”

After suspending service in March 2020, China Airlines resumed ONT-TPE flights in June 2021, gradually increasing service levels as demand returned. The resumption of daily service occurs at the same time that China Airlines marks its five-year anniversary at ONT.

The first carrier to offer nonstop, transoceanic passenger service to ONT after its transition to local ownership, China Airlines will upgrade the aircraft operating the route from an Airbus A350-900 to a larger Boeing 777-300ER, increasing seat capacity from 306 to 358 across premium business, premium economy and economy classes. The service is also scheduled to provide customers with seamless one-stop connections to additional destinations throughout Asia.

TPE is the primary international gateway to northern Taiwan’s more than 9 million residents, while ONT is the closest and most convenient international gateway airport for more than 10 million Southern California residents in San Bernardino, Riverside, northern Orange and eastern Los Angeles counties.

Domestic air travel through ONT surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2022, a milestone achieved by few other airports in California.

Transportation

Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce Event to Spotlight Brightline West

Published

9 months ago

January 6, 2023

Inland Empire Business Journal

Program will highlight what’s next for high-speed rail in the Inland Empire

High-Impact Event Alert

Brightline West will be featured during the Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce’s “High-Speed Rail is Headed to the Inland Empire” event on Wednesday, January 11, from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at Jessie Turner Community Center in Fontana, CA, which the County of San Bernardino is a title sponsor. The program will feature an update on Brightline West, including the project’s role in regional and statewide connectivity, its benefits to the community, what to expect in 2023, and how the public can stay engaged.

Featured panelists for the program are:

Fiona Ma, Treasurer, State of California
Ray Wolfe, Executive Director, San Bernardino County Transportation Authority
Sarah Watterson, President, Brightline West
Edward Ornelas, Jr., President/CEO, Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce
Matt Burris, Deputy City Manager of Community Development, City of Rancho Cucamonga

Brightline is the only private provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity passenger rail service in America. The company currently serves Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach in Florida, with its Orlando station beginning service in 2023. Recognized by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies in travel, Brightline offers a guest-first experience designed to reinvent train travel and take cars off the road by connecting city pairs and congested corridors that are too close to fly and too long to drive. Brightline West will build on this award-winning service by connecting Las Vegas and Southern California, with stations in Las Vegas, Victor Valley, Hesperia, and Rancho Cucamonga, and connectivity to Metrolink’s regional rail network.

“This will transform transportation in Southern California and Las Vegas for generations by providing a fast and efficient connection that gets people out of their cars, reduces traffic congestion and decreases air pollution.” -Fiona Ma, California State Treasurer

KEY FACTS:

Expected travel time is approx. 2 ¼ hours
Our route is 2x faster than driving
Zero-emission, electric train sets
Expected top speed is 180 mph
400,000 tons of CO2 removed annually by reducing 3 million vehicles
Connections to Metrolink and planned future connection to California High-Speed Rail in Palmdale
Convenient station location on the Vegas strip (I-15)

For more information and to register for the event, click here.