PBIA looks to re-establish nonstop to Los Angeles
Airport director says a carrier is interested in picking up the route.
Palm Beach International Airport managers are trying to re-establish a direct flight between West Palm Beach and Los Angeles, while also boosting revenues from non-airport sources in an effort to help drive down fees airlines pay to use the facility.
Two years after American Airlines dropped its nonstop flight bet ween PBIA and Los Angeles International Airport, Palm Beach County Airports Director Bruce Pelly said he was hopeful his staff will find a new airline to re-establish the route.
“We have a carrier interested,” Pelly said Tuesday during a lunchtime meeting of the Economic Forum of Palm Beach County.
But c h a n ge s a t t h e L A a i rport have hindered the effort, he added.
“The issue right now is what is going on in LA,” Pelly told the group gathered at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. “That airport (is) in a state of flux, and they are moving carriers all over the building and relocating. As soon as they get settled down, and if they have capacit y at a gate, we think we will probably get LA back.”
Roughly 1 8 months a f te r i t launched the nonstop service, American Airlines announced in 2015 that it planned to drop the flight. The direct route had been heralded as a major victory for PBIA as it competed with airports in Broward and MiamiDade counties.
At the time, American said efforts to keep up with customer demand and maximize profits led the company to cancel the flight.
Pelly said the nonstop flight was “very successful,” adding that the merger bet ween U.S. Airways and American Airlines contributed to its cancellation.
“Unfortunately, we had sold that flight to American Airlines, and in the process of selling that flight to American Airlines, U.S. Airways took over American Airlines,” Pelly said. “As soon as U.S. Airways took over, they dropped the LA flight because their philosophy was everything should go through Charlotte.”
Meanwhile, as airlines continue to look for ways to cut costs, Pelly said the airport is also focused on boosting revenue from non-aviation sources, including land leases outside of the terminal. The county’s department of airports owns a number of parcels around PBIA, and Pelly said airport officials have inked a series of deals to lease some of those sites to other businesses.