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November 2008

Kenner OKs land use plan 11/21/08
N.O. council wants airport lease idea to fly 11/21/08
Airport tries to land carrier leases 11/10/08
Airport panel names officers 11/4/08

July 2008

Fewer flights will leave airport 7/31/2008
Jet lands in 'sharp dive' at N.O. airport 7/23/2008
Soundproofing to begin again 7/19/2008
Jindal OKs airport panel, vetoes minority judgeship 7/16/2008
Fuel prices ground small airline 7/10/2008
Evacuation drill tests agencies' cooperation 7/10/2008

June 2008

Airport handoff bill handed to Jindal 6/24/2008
Lawmakers delay dock, airport bills 6/22/2008
Justice Ortique dies 6/22/2008
Questions surround proposed airport deal 6/9/2008
Energy crisis a threat to air service 6/10/2008
Senate panel OKs airport bill 6/13/2008
United grounds more planes, cuts jobs 6/5/2008
House approves airport proposal 6/5/2008
Council panel OKs airport idea 6/4/2008

May 2008

Airport proposal worries parish 5/24/2008
Armstrong International recognized by J.D. Powers 5/22/2008
Kenner perturbed by airport plan 5/16/2008
N.O. Council cautions on airport plan 5/15/2008

Kenner OKs land use plan
Decisions will be more predictable

Friday, November 21, 2008
Times Picayune
By Mary Sparacello

After eight years and numerous neighborhood meetings, the Kenner City Council unanimously approved a plan that will govern land use in the city for the next 20 years.

"It has withstood the test of time," said Kenner Planning and Zoning Director Jay Hebert, referring to the eight years since the University of New Orleans and Kenner's planning department began developing the plan.

A city news release announcing the plan's adoption hailed it as one of the most important pieces of legislation in recent memory. It is the first such plan in the city's history, the release said.

"It's going to provide a blueprint for where the city can go," said Wendel Dufour, the UNO director of planning and principal planner for the land-use proposal. He said the plan will make development decisions more predictable and could spur economic development.

"We as a city need this to know where we're going in the future," said Councilman Ben Zahn, who said he was on the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2000 when the study started. "It's good to finally see it come into place." 

Planners finished the document in 2004, but city officials didn't bring it before the council for ratification. When he took office in 2006, Mayor Ed Muniz authorized UNO to revise the plan post-Hurricane Katrina.

Planners developed the blueprint after numerous public meetings since 2000. "Obviously one of the important things was the citizen input," Councilwoman Michele Branigan said.

The law requires that the plan be revised every five years.

Council members amended the plan to authorize sub-studies on the following areas: Hansen City, a pedestrian study on Williams Boulevard from 27th to 32nd streets, and on Williams Boulevard, Airline Drive and Veterans Memorial Boulevard.

Councilwoman Jeannie Black asked Dufour what the plan calls for in the Laketown area. He said Laketown would be largely recreational, a use she said would be favorable to most residents.

Most of Kenner's vacant land is owned by Louis Armstrong International Airport. The land-use plan proposes most of that be "mixed-use nonresidential." It is a vague description that gives the city "flexibility" in the land's development and "could be one of the most critical decisions the city makes," Dufour said.

That vacant land represents loss of population and tax dollars to Kenner, Councilman Joe Stagni said. "We look forward to putting that back into commerce," he said.

The plan doesn't change existing zoning, Councilwoman Maria DeFrancesch said. "We want to make that clear to people," she said. "This is a vision about how the city of Kenner needs to grow."  From the Times Picayune, November 21, 2008

N.O. council wants airport lease idea to fly
Value of facility undetermined

Friday, November 21, 2008
Times Picayune
By Bruce Eggler

The idea of turning over management of Louis Armstrong International Airport to a private operator appears to be gaining steam, although the recent meltdown of the nation's credit markets has made the financial prospects for such a move, always uncertain, even harder to forecast.

The New Orleans Aviation Board voted this week to submit a preliminary application for privatization to the Federal Aviation Administration, and the New Orleans City Council endorsed that move Thursday.

Council members and airport officials emphasized that such an application does not commit them to anything and that a final decision about privatization could be two years away.

A decision to put Armstrong under private management would have to be approved by the Aviation Board, the council, the FAA and 65 percent of the carriers serving the airport.

Filing a preliminary application is intended to reserve one of the few remaining "slots" under a pilot privatization program that the FAA authorized for U.S. airports in 1997. Only one airport, Chicago's Midway, has so far taken advantage of the program, but the huge sum Chicago was offered for that facility this year has spurred increased interest in many cities.

--- Consultants to be hired ---

The Aviation Board also is seeking consultants to help it get some rough idea of the airport's value. The consultants' findings could be used in negotiating terms of either a move to private management or a state takeover of the airport, an idea being explored by a recently appointed state board.

That board, known as the Southeast Regional Airport Authority, was created by the Legislature this year to study whether the state should assume control of Armstrong. It will have its second meeting Saturday and hopes to complete its work by March 1.

Armstrong International is owned by New Orleans but sits mostly in Kenner, with its east-west runway extending into St. Charles Parish.

Airport officials first laid out the idea of privatizing Armstrong at a meeting last month of the City Council's Aviation Committee -- the same day the Chicago City Council voted 49-0 to approve a 99-year lease of Midway Airport to a private operator in return for $2.5 billion.

Airport officials have warned repeatedly against trying to extrapolate Armstrong's possible value from the Midway deal.

That deal, which still needs final federal approval, marks the first time that a major U.S. airport would be run by a private company. Overseas, more than 50 airports have been privatized since 1987.

Airport consultant Anthony Mumphrey noted Thursday that the bids for Midway were received just before the crash of the credit markets, and that the condition of those markets would have a significant effect on how much private operators might bid for the right to operate Armstrong.

However, he said, the turmoil in the markets could work to Armstrong's advantage in one way, since the airport offers tangible assets rather than intangible "financial products" of the type whose value has collapsed.

--- Airport's value sought ---

The consultants the Aviation Board intends to hire will be asked to use several approaches to determine Armstrong's value, such as its replacement value, its income-generating potential and the value of comparable facilities such as Midway.

The board will receive responses to its request for qualifications on Dec. 18 and expects to choose a consultant or team of consultants in January.

Aviation Director Sean Hunter, Mumphrey and Councilman Arnie Fielkow visited Chicago last week to learn more about the process used to lease Midway, which is Chicago's "second airport," trailing O'Hare International in usage.

Fielkow on Thursday called the idea of privatizing Armstrong "a very intriguing option that potentially could have great benefits for the city of New Orleans."

Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell said it is "probably one of the best options."

The Midway price tag of $2.5 billion includes $1.4 billion in airport debt to be assumed by the new operators, with the city of Chicago netting a little more than $1 billion that it will use primarily for infrastructure projects and shoring up its pension funds.

The Midway lease caps for seven years airline rates and charges at levels below this year's charges and then lets them rise in line with the consumer price index. However, the lease sets no limits on price increases for airport parking, rental cars, food and beverages or items sold at gift shops.

Midway had 19.1 million passengers pass through its doors in 2007. That is twice as many passengers as Armstrong had each year before Hurricane Katrina caused a sharp decline in flights and usage from which the airport has yet to fully recover.

In contrast with Midway's $1.4 billion debt, Armstrong owes about $213 million.

The council resolution endorsing the preliminary privatization application was approved 5-0, with Councilwomen Stacy Head and Cynthia Willard-Lewis absent. From the Times Picayune, November 21, 2008

Airport tries to land carrier leases
Absent since Katrina, deals will provide extra funding for upgrades, new facilities

By Jaime Guillet
Staff Writer
New Orleans City Business
November 10, 2008
 

LOUIS ARMSTRONG NEW ORLEANS International Airport officials plan to lock in relationships with its 10 airline partners via leases — a tool missing since Hurricane Katrina — in an attempt to secure financing for facility improvements.

Sean Hunter, aviation director for the airport, and the New Orleans Aviation Board plan on finalizing leases with airline partners such as Southwest Airlines no later than Jan. 1 as he gets his ducks in a row for renovating major sections of the airport.

“I feel our community needs and wants new facilities at the airport,” Hunter said. “One way to do that is have a good bond rating and get good financing, and we have good partners in the airlines to do that. We need a lease ... and the incentive for airlines to enter a lease is getting cheaper rates.”

The airlines pay $8.37 per passenger based on a “rates by resolution” model, which is generally considered by the industry to be more unfavorable than a lease because the airlines have less say about their facilities, Hunter said. That amount includes the airlines’ landing fee and rent.

The aviation board was forced to establish the rate by resolution after Katrina’s devastating destruction.

Armstrong had five-year leases in place since 1999 and was renegotiating them in 2005 when the storm hit and changed everything about the New Orleans airline market, he said. The board created an incentive of cheaper rates to coax the airlines back but Armstrong has been operating at a deficit for the past three years.

That’s going to stop in 2009, says Hunter.

“We’ve got to get a better bond rating so we can refinance and lower our interest costs and seek financing for capital improvements,” he said.

Bond owners like airports to have leases with the airlines because if, for example, an airline goes bankrupt, it is easier for the airport to collect the debt quickly, Hunter said. Without a lease, bankruptcy court considers an airport an unsecured creditor and the facility is the last to get paid.

“We know we have a few airlines that (haven’t) signed on right away,” Hunter said.

“We’re working with them. It has to be done by Jan. 1 anyway — the rating agencies are demanding it. If we can’t get bond insurance, we can’t sell them — or no one will want to buy them — and we’ll pay a lot of interest costs.”

If airlines refuse a lease arrangement, they will be forced to pay a higher per-passenger price.

Chris Czarnecki, Southwest’s property manager responsible for negotiating the lease with the airport, says concessions with the airport have been extremely positive and he expects a finalization soon.

“We’ve been actively involved in the agreement process since February,” Czarnecki said. “We’re anxious to get it in place. It’ll lower our cost of doing business at the airport and in this case it is known what our costs are in a given year.”

Although there is no “one size fits all” lease, at the end of the day airlines are looking for efficient airports with the cheapest costs, said Steve Lott, spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, an international trade association for airlines.

“It depends on the airline and its relationship to a certain market so it can make sense for one and not another,” Lott said.

He said airlines don’t have much say about details such as their facilities, concessionaires or renovations when they don’t have a lease.

Hunter’s planned improvements heading into 2009 and beyond include:

• expanding Concourse D;

• replacing Concourses A and B, which can’t service aircraft larger than 737s;

• building Concourse E;

• installing a new copper roof visible from Downtown; and

• consolidating rental car facilities into an onsite location. 

Hunter said the majority of airlines will likely sign the leases despite grappling with some significantly hard times.

“Airlines are apprehensive about capital improvements because of (consumer) demand, costs, et cetera,” said Hunter. “They want airports to put everything on hold but we can’t do that. It’s happened too many times. We’re five or six years behind where we should be, which is not anyone’s fault or discredit.  We had two major events happen. It’s my job to get the airport on track and I’m going to start with getting my partners — the airlines, concessionaires and rental car folk — on board. 

Flying high

Boyd Group International, a private aviation forecasting firm, predicts New Orleans will experience an increase in passengers compared with a downward trend throughout most of the country. Here are airports Boyd predicts will see growth.

Airport Growth
Great Falls, Mont. 22.6 percent
Shreveport 8.4 percent
Fort Walton Beach, Fla. 7.4 percent
New Orleans 7 percent
Lexington, Ky. 5.7 percent
Source: Boyd Group International

From New Orleans City Business, November 10, 2008

Airport panel names officers
Privatization is on new group's radar

Tuesday, November 04, 2008
By Richard Rainey
Times Picayune

Tasked with finding ways to transform Louis Armstrong International Airport into a regional economic powerhouse, the new Southeast Regional Airport Authority held its inaugural meeting Monday in the Jefferson Parish Council chambers in Elmwood.

The authority elected officers and began to organize around its central mission: weighing the pros and cons of ceding the New Orleans-owned airport to the state's control or even private management. Either decision could have a major effect on the economy from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.

"I think this is clearly the most important body that we have in our region right now," Ron Forman, the authority's liaison with local business councils, told the members on the dais.

The authority elected Tulane University President Scott Cowen as its chairman, Omni Bank President and CEO Jim Hudson vice chairman and civil engineer Debbie Settoon of Kenner secretary.

Louisiana House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, who sponsored the 2008 law creating the authority, welcomed the group by explaining the finer points of the legislation that created it this summer.

"At this point you are looking, from my perspective, at a blank canvas," he said. "We have an asset in the region that is underutilized, in my opinion. I hope this board will come to the realization that there are better ways to utilize that asset for economic development purposes."

Heeding a call to release the airport from New Orleans' control, the authority's members hope to work in unison with the airport's governing body, the New Orleans Aviation Board,

Cowen said. Cowen volunteered to draft the authority's mission statement for its next meeting.

"This is not us against the airport," Forman said.

In the nascent stages of organization, the authority's members agreed to assemble all previous economic studies of the airport and decide which outside consultants to hire as advisers.

Meanwhile, the authority will contemplate turning the airport's reins over to a private company, a possibility the Federal Aviation Administration made legal in 1997 but that was not tested until Chicago decided last month to privatize Midway Airport. The FAA forbids the outright sale of an airport, Forman said.

There is no official assessment of Armstrong's value yet, the officials said, although Forman said he heard $500 million offered as a thumbnail estimate.

The new airport authority also will weigh the consequences of letting the state take control of the airport's operations. Any change would require support from two-thirds of the New Orleans City Council and a majority of New Orleans voters.

The authority has until March to offer a recommendation.

While it has not scheduled its next meeting, the authority's members agreed to hold it in St. Charles Parish, the first in a series of revolving locations meant to emphasize the regional consequences of the group's decisions.

Its members hope to meet with Aviation Board Chairman Dan Packer, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret and possibly a lawyer specializing in federal aviation rules at its next session. From the Times Picayune, November 4, 2008

Fewer flights will leave airport
Airlines respond to higher fuel costs

By Jaquetta White
July 31, 2008
Times Picayune

There will be nine fewer flights and 382 fewer seats leaving Louis Armstrong International Airport in November, compared with the same month last year, as the capacity cuts announced by airlines earlier this summer go into effect.  

By the end of the year, 123 of the airport's 162 pre-Hurricane Katrina flights will have returned. Airlines will offer service to 33 destinations, or 78 percent of their pre-storm total. Those totals are a decline from the same time last year, when the airport had 132 flights to 37 destinations. The drop is the result of a nationwide consolidation in air capacity as airlines respond to higher fuel costs, said Sean Hunter, director of aviation for the airport.

According to a recent review of airlines' fall schedules, flights to five cities will be eliminated, the number of flights to Houston and Newark, N.J., will be reduced and several airlines will move smaller planes to the airport, thereby reducing their total number of seats.

The reduction in service is not limited to New Orleans. Airlines are cutting services nationwide in response to increased fuel costs. Airline capacity is predicted to be reduced by about 10 percent nationwide by the end of the year.

Most of the reduction in capacity locally is owed to the closure of ExpressJet, a start-up airline that in June announced plans to shutter operations. The airline, which began flying to New Orleans last year, operated 10 daily flights, with about 500 seats, to five cities: Austin, Texas; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Kan.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and San Antonio. When the airline shuts down in September, New Orleans will have no direct flights to those cities.

Delta Air Lines, the city's second largest carrier, will have three fewer flights in November than it did at the same time last year. The airline is cutting one flight each to Atlanta, Ga., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Orlando, Fla. The Orlando flight is New Orleans' only nonstop to that city. The airline also will offer fewer seats to New York's LaGuardia Airport but is increasing service to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Continental Airlines, which increased service to New Orleans after Katrina, also is pulling back its local capacity. The airline, which operates direct flights to Cleveland, Ohio, Houston and Newark, N.J., from New Orleans is cutting capacity to the latter two cities. The airline is grounding three flights, about 500 seats, to Houston and canceling one flight and about 50 seats to Newark, compared with November 2007.

Continental announced in June a plan to reduce its capacity by 11 percent by the end of the year. But a spokeswoman for Continental said the New Orleans reduction is unrelated to that plan.

"New Orleans was not on the list of cities in the adjustments we announced," Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark said. "There are typically, in every market, seasonal adjustments."

Instead of eliminating flights, other airlines are moving smaller aircraft to New Orleans and reducing the number of available seats. Combined, there will be about 380 fewer seats, a decline of 2.4 percent, to Charlotte, N.C., Minneapolis, Minn., New York and Washington, D.C.

The decline is not expected to be as great as in some other cities, because low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines still is adding capacity here as it continues its measured return since Hurricane Katrina.

The city's largest carrier still does not fly to six of the cities it flew to before the storm. But the airline is still slowly growing here, adding one flight each to Birmingham, Ala., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Nashville, Tenn., in the year. In September, the airline will return service to Denver, Colo.  From the Times Picayune, July 31, 2008

Jet lands in 'sharp dive' at N.O. airport
7 Texas congressmen among 188 unhurt

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
By Easha Anand
Times Picayune

A Continental Airlines flight carrying seven members of Texas' congressional delegation from Houston to Washington made an emergency landing Tuesday afternoon at Louis Armstrong International Airport.

None of the 188 passengers was injured, said Continental spokeswoman Julie King and Armstrong spokeswoman Michelle Wilcutt. Maintenance workers were inspecting the plane, King said, and Continental was working to get all the passengers on other flights.

Flight 458 departed George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 2:20 p.m. but landed in New Orleans at 3:15 p.m. after losing air pressure in the cabin, King said. The drop in pressure caused oxygen masks to drop from the cabin's ceiling panels, and the plane landed with a "sharp dive," Houston TV station KPRC reported.

The flight diverted to the nearest airport in accordance with standard procedure, King said. It had been scheduled to arrive at Ronald Reagan National Airport at 5:15 p.m.

TV station KHOU said the passengers included U.S. Reps. Ted Poe, John Carter and Ron Paul, all Republicans, and Nick Lampson, Ciro Rodriguez, Solomon Ortiz and Henry Cuellar, all Democrats.

"We didn't even know it was an emergency until we heard about it on CNN," said Josh Rosenblum, a spokesman in Rodriguez's Washington office. "The congressman is cool and calm under pressure."  From the Times Picayune, July 23, 2008

Soundproofing to begin again
Airport restarts effort to insulate homes

Saturday, July 19, 2008
By Easha Anand
Times Picyune

Louis Armstrong International Airport is poised to restart an effort to soundproof nearby homes, despite losing Federal Aviation Administration money for the work.

The program dates to 1995 but was put on hold after Hurricane Katrina because homeownership and building conditions were in flux, airport spokeswoman Maggie Woodruff said.

The FAA grant that was paying 80 percent of the program's cost expired in February.

Now the airport is adjusting its own budget, financed by a fee on airline tickets, to free up $1.1 million to insulate 30 to 40 houses by late 2009.

"We want to make good on our promises to homeowners," said Aviation Director Sean Hunter.

He said the program will continue even if the state takes over the airport from the city of New Orleans.

For eligible homeowners, the program can replace windows and doors, add insulation and replace window air conditioning units with central air conditioning.

FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said the airport lost its federal grant for two reasons: The most pressing work in the soundproofing effort is finished and the airport is overdue for a noise study, last conducted in 1988.

Newer aircraft generally are quieter, so a noise-level study likely would shrink the number of houses eligible for sound insulation.

The sound insulation program grew out of a lawsuit that Kenner homeowners filed in 1989. To settle the suit, the airport first bought hundreds of houses closest to Armstrong at the time. Then it began approaching other homeowners to participate in a voluntary sound insulation program.

Phase 1 of the soundproofing began in 1995. Phases 18, 19 and 20 are scheduled to be completed in the next year.

Barbara Planells' home is in Phase 18. The planes that fly over her house on Florida Avenue loom so large that her 9-year-old son, Adrian Fernandez, said he sometimes ducks when he is sitting outside. They sound like lawnmowers as they come in from over Lake Pontchartrain, like thunder as they pass overhead.

But after years of living in Kenner, Planells said, her family is used to the noise. When they evacuated to Tennessee for Katrina, they found their neighborhood too silent.

"At first, it would have been like, 'An end to the nightmare!" Planells said of the insulation program. "But after a while, you just get used to it."

Work on the 10 homes in Phase 18 is scheduled to begin in October and finish by July 2009.

The 13 or 14 houses in Phase 19 are scheduled for insulation by August 2009, the 10 to 14 in Phase 20 by the end of 2009, Woodruff said.   From the Times Picayune, July 16, 2008

Jindal OKs airport panel, vetoes minority judgeship
N.O. gets a cocktail without signature

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
By Ed Anderson
Times Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Bobby Jindal cleared his desk Tuesday of all legislation lawmakers sent him from the recent session, signing into law a bill to set up a state agency to look at transferring control of Louis Armstrong International Airport from New Orleans to the state, vetoing one that could have given Jefferson Parish another minority judgeship and not acting on one designating the Sazerac as the official cocktail of New Orleans.

In rejecting Senate Bill 429 by Sen. Derrick Shepherd, D-Marrero, Jindal closed the session with 29 vetoes and $31.2 million in cuts to three budget bills. Jindal signed or allowed to become law without signing another 937 bills.

Shepherd's measure would have allowed a third judge to be elected to the state district court from a majority-minority district in Jefferson Parish when a vacancy occurs after Jan. 1. Shepherd would not comment on the veto but said he will discuss it at a news conference scheduled for today at the courthouse in Gretna.

--- Veto requests cited ---

Jindal said he received "several veto requests from officials representing voters" in the area, including House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, and Reps. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse, and Ricky Templet, R-Gretna. Jindal said the three called the bill "patently unfair" and urged its veto pending the 2010 census to determine if a third minority judgeship is warranted.

"I agree with taking a cautious approach to a bill that parcels authority among voters," Jindal said. "The 2010 census will provide objective data to drive the ultimate outcome of this issue."

Jindal signed a bill by Tucker to authorize creation of the nine-member Southeast Regional Airport Authority, which would have the power to expropriate land for a larger airport by a two-thirds vote. The bill also requires the agency to determine the cost of taking over the airport and how the city of New Orleans would be compensated.

Tucker was not available for comment Tuesday but said during legislative debate that the New Orleans City Council also would get a two-thirds vote to cede the airport to the state agency.

--- N.O. vote may be needed ---

The transfer of the airport also may have to pass muster with New Orleans voters under the city's home rule charter. Some officials interpret the charter as requiring a vote and others say a referendum is not needed.

The authority would be comprised of appointees of local officials and the governor from Jefferson, Orleans and St. Charles parishes. The first meeting of the board would have to be held by Nov. 15.

The bill making the Sazerac the official cocktail of the city faced an uncertain fate in the Legislature and Jindal put off acting on the bill until Tuesday when it became effective without further action.

Sen. Edwin Murray's bill originally sought to make the Sazerac, believed to be one of the oldest mixed drinks in the nation, the official cocktail of the state, but the Senate balked at that twice, saying it did not send the right message to the nation.

--- A toast to N.O. ---

Murray, D-New Orleans, had to settle on making it the official cocktail of the city instead.

Jindal has allowed about 150 bills to become law without his signature, mainly bills dealing with fees or local taxes.

Two of the other bills he let lapse into law were House Bill 1312 by Rep. Erich Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, raising the mandatory liability auto insurance limits, and House Bill 734, by Rep. Don Trahan, R-Lafayette, authorizing the boards of the state colleges and universities to raise tuition 3 percent to 5 percent a year starting with the fall semester and ending June 30, 2012.

The 3 percent to 5 percent range is based on how far the state college is below what is charged at peer institutions.

Jindal said neither the Trahan nor the Ponti bills were part of his legislative agenda but both men said they worked with his office to make the increases palatable.

Ponti's bill, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2010, changes the existing limits of at least $10,000 for property damage and the death or injury of one person, and $20,000 for multiple deaths or injuries to $25,000 for property damage, $15,000 for the injury or death of one person and $30,000 for the death or injury of more than one person. From the Times Picayune, July 16, 2008

Fuel prices ground small airline
ExpressJet to stop flights on Sept. 2

Thursday, July 10, 2008
From staff reports
Times Picayune

Just a year after launching service through New Orleans, rising fuel prices have brought upstart airline ExpressJet Holdings Inc. to a halt.

The Houston carrier will stop operating flights on Sept. 2, but will continue running the Continental Express commuter airline. ExpressJet also will continue running charter flights with 30 aircraft in its corporate aviation unit.

"We are saddened by the news that ExpressJet will cease service but want to reiterate that this is not only an issue in New Orleans, but nationwide," said Sean Hunter, director of aviation at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

ExpressJet operates 10 daily round-trip flights through New Orleans with a total of 500 daily seats. The airline's flights from New Orleans serve Raleigh-Durham, Austin, San Antonio, Kansas City, and Jacksonville, Fla.

ExpressJet, which bills itself as an airline that flies to cities that are underserved by major air carriers, began service to New Orleans in 2007. It was the first airline to add service to the Crescent City after Hurricane Katrina, and as an incentive, the airport waived the airline's landing fees for planes flying to cities not currently served by the airport and offered a discount for passenger fees.

ExpressJet was spun off in 2002 from Continental Airlines Inc. In addition to Continental, ExpressJet provided commuter services to Delta Air Lines Inc. But last week, Delta said it would end its agreement to use ExpressJet for its Delta Connection commuter service on Sept. 1.   From the Times Picayune, July 10, 2008

Evacuation drill tests agencies' cooperation
Use of airport a bright spot in hurricane plan exercise

Thursday, July 10, 2008
By Richard Rainey
Times Picayune

Disasters always seem to be unpredictable.

That maxim held true Wednesday as emergency corps got a late start in Jefferson Parish to a daylong hurricane evacuation drill that some politicians dubbed the largest dry run of a mock catastrophe so far.

Emergency crews from four parishes -- Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Jefferson and Orleans -- milled about a tent city set up in the parking lot of the government complex in Elmwood. In vests sporting the colors of an unsolved Rubik's cube, the groups cast pre-coffee glances at the first tent's entrance.

After a half-hour delay, the "evacuees" arrived.

They were volunteers, and their maladies were random. Mixed into the group was a lost six-year-old boy who, in normal life, resembled a retired Saints lineman. A well-dressed woman of a certain age gave it her best in a supporting role as a suspect teenager with dilated pupils. And Josh Aiken of Metairie relished his role: The 18-year-old quickly had found himself 25, female, and seven months pregnant.

"I asked to be the most ridiculous thing possible," he said.

Despite the participants' giggles and sheepish grins, the emergency workers threw themselves into their jobs. Drills throughout the area united 10 parishes up the Mississippi River and across Lake Pontchartrain with 14 state and federal agencies to test how cooperative all could be should a Category 3 hurricane roil in the Gulf of Mexico, grow in strength and head for the Louisiana coast.

In St. Tammany Parish, officials from all parish and municipal agencies and the National Guard converged on the parish emergency operations center in Covington for the exercise.

"This one is unique and a lot different from other exercises," said Dexter Accardo, parish director of homeland security and emergency preparedness. "Most drills focus on actions to be taken by emergency response agencies in the middle of a hurricane or just after the storm," he said. "What we're doing today is pre-storm," Accardo said -- moving people to safety.

The simulation honed the readiness of local officials to get people with special needs, those in nursing homes and the general public out of harm's way, he said, as well as to move needed resources for response agencies to higher ground. Metro New Orleans could have more than 45,000 people who might need government help escaping a hurricane's path, officials estimated. Area leaders encourage residents to register for help with their local governments as soon as possible.

The drills inaugurated a new regional cooperative agreement that did not exist before Hurricane Katrina. In Jefferson, activities wrapped at 3 p.m. All went well, but not without a few obstacles, said Deano Bonano, an aide to Parish President Aaron Broussard.

"Every time we do this, we learn new things we have to get better at, which is expected," he said.

A major hurdle on Wednesday was the long lines that formed. Officials used a new computer system to process people, and a few hiccups caused unforeseen delays, Bonano said.

 One component of success, though, was the use of the airport, he said. The parishes plan to evacuate some people on airplanes paid for by FEMA, and that was part of Wednesday's simulation.  

Bonano echoed the sentiments of local elected officials.

"People should have a lot of confidence" that a functional evacuation plan is in place, he said. From the Times Picayune, July 10, 2008

Airport handoff bill handed to Jindal
Facility's value may be sticking point

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
By Ed Anderson
Times Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- A proposal to study the possible transfer of Louis Armstrong International Airport from the city of New Orleans to the state eased out of the Legislature Monday, its future now in the hands of Gov. Bobby Jindal.

House Bill 1272 by House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, cleared the Senate 38-0 and the House 93-2 after a compromise committee rewrote parts of the measure.

Supporters say the state is in a better financial position to bring needed improvements to the airport while the city would get some compensation to be used for development projects. The amount of compensation is expected to be a key point in the discussions.

The lone votes against the bill were cast by Reps. Tom Willmott, R-Kenner, and Tony Ligi, R-Metairie, who represents parts of Kenner. The two have opposed the bill because it would allow expropriation of land for airport growth that could affect St. Charles Parish or Kenner, where the New Orleans-run airport is located.

Tucker's bill authorizes land expropriation if a minimum of six of the nine members of the proposed Southeast Regional Airport Authority approve.

Speaker Pro Tem Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, who handled the bill for Tucker, told House members the compromise panel made relatively minor changes to the bill.

She said that the date when the governor must name the nine appointees was changed from Aug. 31 to Sept. 30, and he must call the first meeting for the new authority by Nov. 15.

Carter said that another change made by the panel would give voters of New Orleans the chance to vote on any takeover by the state "pursuant to" the city's home rule charter. Some officials read the charter as requiring a vote and others say a referendum is not needed. Before one is held, at least two-thirds of the New Orleans City Council must approve handing the city asset to the state.

Tucker said the airport is now a "second-tier" facility that needs money, and the state can possibly come up with more cash than the city can now.

Tucker has said throughout the debate that the biggest issue facing the new authority will be to determine the value of the airport. From the Times Picayune, June 24, 2008

Lawmakers delay dock, airport bills
Sponsors negotiate Senate amendments

Sunday, June 22, 2008
By Ed Anderson
Times Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- Two bills that could have a major economic impact on the New Orleans region were held up Saturday by their chief sponsor as he tried to iron out relatively minor problems with Senate-made changes.

House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, got House members to reject, on a 97-0, vote Senate amendments to his House Bill 1388 to allow the Port of New Orleans to expand operations into Plaquemines Parish. The port by law now can operate only in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes.

Acting on Tucker's behalf, Speaker Pro Tem Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, asked the House to reject Senate changes to House Bill 1272, which would establish a nine-member Southeast Regional Airport Authority, an agency that could negotiate a state takeover of Louis Armstrong International Airport. The airport, located in Kenner, is operated by the city of New Orleans.

The House complied in a 91-4 vote, with two local lawmakers voting against Carter's bill: Reps. Tom Willmott, R-Kenner, and Tony Ligi, R-Metairie, whose districts include parts of Kenner. The two have been concerned about authority the new state airport panel might have to expropriate land in Kenner and St. Charles Parish.

Both bills now go to separate House-Senate conference committees to resolve the differing versions. Whatever is worked out in those six-member committees must be ratified by both chambers before the session ends Monday at 6 p.m.

"I think we are in good shape on both bills" and that each will gain final passage, Tucker said.

Tucker said the rejection of the port bill was based on a Senate amendment giving the sheriff of Plaquemines Parish the authority to enforce "all laws" in the parish, including along wharves and other port facilities that may be built there.

The port has its own police force that enforces the laws along the waterfront in New Orleans now. Plaquemines officials, who operate their own port, have been wary of the role the Port of New Orleans may play in the parish, although language in the bill gives them the authority to veto any plans by the Dock Board, the state agency that runs the port.

Tucker said the amendment giving the sheriff the right to enforce all laws is vague. "Does that mean zoning laws too?" he asked.

Tucker said the port bill is "critical" to expansion for the port and to making it competitive.

On the airport bill, Tucker said the Senate amended the measure to require the new board to be named by Dec. 31 but requires the first meeting to be held by Sept. 30, before board officials are named. The bill calls for three members to be named from Orleans Parish, three from Jefferson Parish -- including two from Kenner -- two from St. Charles Parish and one from the state at large.

Tucker said he also wants to examine added language requiring not only a two-thirds vote of the New Orleans City Council to transfer the airport to the state authority but also a referendum on the issue in New Orleans.

Tucker's bill does not transfer the airport but allows the state agency to be set up and begin negotiations with the city, with a study to be conducted on how the city should be compensated.   From the Times Picayune, June 22, 2008

Justice Ortique dies

by John Pope, The Times-Picayune

Sunday June 22, 2008

Revius Ortique Jr., a civil-rights lawyer who became the first African-American justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court, died today of complications of a stroke. He was 84.

File photoJustice Revius Ortique (right) is helped into his robes by state Supreme Court Justice Pascal F. Calogero at his 1978 swearing in.

Justice Ortique had been a lifelong New Orleanian, until he and his wife, Miriam Marie Victorianne Ortique, moved to Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina ruined their home. They had planned to return when repairs were complete, said Ira Middleberg, a lawyer and longtime friend.

Justice Ortique, who suffered a stroke on June 14, his birthday, had a life in the legal profession that was a succession of firsts.

He was the first black member of the Louisiana State Bar Association's policymaking organization, the House of Delegates, and was not only the first African-American Civil District Court judge but also the first black chief judge of that court.

And in his crowning achievement, Justice Ortique was the first African American elected to the state Supreme Court. Elected in 1992, he had to step down in June 1994 when he turned 70, the mandatory judicial retirement age.

But his public career wasn't over. Sixteen days later, Mayor Marc Morial appointed him to the New Orleans Aviation Board. He became its chairman two months later and held that post for eight years.

In addition to his local activities, Justice Ortique was president of the National Bar Association, an organization of African-American lawyers, and five presidents appointed him to commissions and councils.

"I am humbled and forever appreciative of your sacrifice, hard work and high standards of integrity," Morial wrote to Justice Ortique when he left the Aviation Board in 2004.

In everything he did, Justice Ortique was "a hard-working man, very disciplined, very focused on the task at hand," said Ronald Burns, a protege and longtime friend.

Revius Oliver Ortique Jr. was born in New Orleans and served four years as an Army officer during World War II, when he was deployed to the Pacific theater.

A year after returning to New Orleans in 1946, he earned a bachelor's degree at Dillard University.

He then went to Indiana University to earn a master's degree in criminology by studying the criminal-justice system in the South. When Mr. Ortique returned to Louisiana, he earned a law degree in 1956 at Southern University.

Mr. Ortique, who set up a private practice as the civil-rights movement was gathering steam, was part of a generation that possessed "a desire to bring about change," said Sybil Morial, a friend for more than a half-century.

In his profession, Mr. Ortique channeled that desire into work on the legal teams in several suits that resulted in equal pay for black employees at companies such as the Celotex Corp. and Crown-Zellerbach Corp. and Kaiser Aluminum.

Although Mr. Ortique was squaring off against big companies while African Americans were frequently regarded as second-class citizens, "he didn't have a problem fighting big cases," said Burns, whose mother was Mr. Ortique's secretary.

"He was on the forefront of a lot of issues relating to civil rights," Burns said. "I think he was well prepared. He was fearless. Back in those days, when an African-American attorney represented a client, you'd have the deck stacked against you, but he worked pretty hard."

His preparation was meticulous, but his friends said that was no surprise. Burns, who cleaned Mr. Ortique's law office, recalled getting down on his hands and knees to clean grout by scrubbing with a toothbrush because, he said, Mr. Ortique wanted everything just so.

"It taught a good lesson," Burns said. "You do things the right way all the time, and make sure it's done to perfection."

Mr. Ortique's zeal for change wasn't limited to his work. In 1958, he was elected to the first of five terms he would serve as president of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans. A year later, he was elected president of the National Bar Association, and he served three terms as president of the Community Relations Council, a biracial group formed to promote harmony.

As a result of such activities, "he had integrity beyond reproach," Sybil Morial said. "He had a foot in both camps."

Therefore, she said, Mr. Ortique was the ideal choice to be the chief negotiator for the black community in discussions with white civic leaders on topics such as jobs in major stores and peaceful desegregation of lunch counters, bathrooms and other public facilities in the early 1960s, before access to such places was guaranteed by the landmark Civil Rights of Act of 1964.

The talks, which helped end an African-American boycott of major stores, were set up because nobody wanted people in either community to resort to violence, Morial said.

In these sessions, Mr. Ortique's natural low-key, courtly manner was a major asset, she said.

"He never raised his voice," Middleberg said. "You never heard a foul word out of his mouth. He was always a gentleman. He'd get upset over issues, but he never raised his voice. He never lost control of the situation."

In the mid-1960s, when Mr. Ortique led the National Bar Association, he lobbied President Johnson to appoint African Americans to the federal bench.

So a White House meeting was set up. Before it started, Johnson announced the appointment of eight African Americans to judgeships. And during that session, Johnson announced that he was going to nominate Thurgood Marshall, a major civil rights lawyer, to be the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1993, Justice Ortique represented Louisiana at Marshall's funeral.

Seeking a judgeship of his own, Mr. Ortique ran in 1972 for a seat on the state Supreme Court, but he placed third in a race that Pascal Calogero won.

In 1978, the state's highest court appointed him to a seat on the Civil District bench to complete the term of Adrian Duplantier, whom President Carter had appointed to a federal district judgeship.

That lasted six months. In 1979, he was elected to fill out the term of Oliver Carriere, who was retiring. He was re-elected, without opposition, in 1984, and he was elected chief judge two years later.

At this point in his career, Judge Ortique began to receive awards. Six colleges gave him honorary doctorates. The Louisiana State Bar Association, the National Bar Association and the American Bar Association saluted him, and the Black Law Students Association named him a "Civil Rights Pioneer."

In 1992, he was elected to the state Supreme Court, becoming its first African-American justice.

He stepped down two years later on his 70th birthday. But he wasn't inactive long because Marc Morial appointed him to the New Orleans Aviation Board. He left the board in 2004, when his term expired.

During his tenure, which included eight years as board chairman, five more airlines set up shop at New Orleans International Airport, and an $850 million rebuilding, renovation and expansion program was begun. Justice Ortique also was instrumental in getting the airport named for jazz immortal Louis Armstrong.

In keeping with his belief in fair play, Justice Ortique held a luncheon for the airport's labor force because, Middleberg said, "there were always luncheons for executives."

But his sense of decorum never wavered. When one man entered wearing a cap, Middleberg said Justice Ortique asked him to remove it because ladies were present. When he refused, Justice Ortique asked him to leave.

"He was always a gentleman," Middleberg said.

In addition to his wife, survivors include a daughter, Rhesa Marie McDonald; and three grandchildren.  From the Times Picayune, June 22, 2008

Questions surround proposed airport deal
House Bill creates governing authority, does not detail sale

By Jaime Guillet
New Orleans City Business

June 9, 2008

As legislators build a framework to transfer ownership of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport from the city to the state, questions linger about the actual benefits to the city or the region from the transaction.

For many New Orleans business leaders, selling the airport is a no-brainer. The deal will provide money to develop plans such as the downtown biomedical and theater districts and the Riverfront development, they say.

Armstrong, in the hands of a regional board, could be expanded to include a rapid transit system between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and incorporate more multi-modal trade activity, capitalizing on New Orleans’ spot on the Mississippi River, supporters say.

“It’s something we support conceptually and we see the proposed initiative as a major catapult at creating a robust dynamic regional economy,” said Barbara Johnson, chief operating officer of Greater New Orleans Inc., a regional economic development alliance.

But opponents say the city has seen broken promises from the state before of true-value compensation, specifically the Harrah’s casino legislation in the mid-1990s. Also, there is some skepticism about the “regional” moniker attached to the proposed plan. And most New Orleans citizens haven’t been asked how they feel.

Although in favor of the regional concept, New Orleans Aviation Board Chairman Dan Packer said he hasn’t yet seen any plans of “what money will go into the airport” and “no specifics that say this is what we’ll do to Armstrong.”

State lacks airport money

Packer also questions the state’s ability to fund the airport whether its leadership changes.

“For years we have tried to get money from the state to modernize it ... but we never could,” Packer said. “All Department of Transportation dollars go to roads and bridges. We’ve seen very little money from the state.”

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s Aviation Trust Fund divvies on average $8.3 million annually among the state’s 69 airports. Armstrong has not requested or received DOTD funds since receiving $75 million in 1989 through DOTD’s Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development Program, said Brendan Rush, a DOTD spokesman.

Rush said because the state’s pot is so small, Armstrong officials haven’t requested money because they can “raise money easier because they’re so large” through the Federal Aviation Administration and bond issues.

Although there is limited funding in the DOTD’s program, the airport can receive money from the state’s capital outlay program. Typically, the facility receives very little money from the state and none since Hurricane Katrina, said Maggie Woodruff, the airport’s deputy director of Community and Governmental Affairs .

Armstrong officials are requesting $47 million in the next three years from the state’s capital outlay budget for $159 million in projects. Louisiana airports do not receive state money for operations, only for infrastructure.

House Bill 1272 by House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, would establish the Southeast Regional Airport Authority, a nine-member governing board that would eventually run Armstrong following a transfer. The House approved the measure Wednesday and now heads to a Senate committee.

Conrad Appel, president of Construction South and one of the designers of the current proposal, said historically there’s been a “New Orleans against the rest of the state” attitude in the Legislature. Regional leadership at the airport, Appel said, could mean more money for Armstrong.

“If you have a board that has true regional membership and it’s a state board, there’s a better opportunity to sell ideas to the Legislature and governor for greater advancements of the facility,” Appel said. “The New Orleans Aviation Board, unfortunately, has no credibility at the Legislature.”

City charter change disputed

Outside of the benefits, there are myriad complications associated with transferring ownership. The FAA, which by all accounts has not been brought in to discussions about the sale, has strict requirements for transferring ownership. They include paying back any land grants and examining “tax consequences,” said FAA Airport Compliance administrator Dave Cushing, in an e-mailed statement.

Packer said he hasn’t been able to discuss anything with the FAA because the Aviation Board hasn’t been provided anything official to present to federal officials.

An even bigger issue is the debate about whether transferring Armstrong will require a change to the city charter, which would need approval from New Orleans voters. Audubon Nature Institute CEO Ron Forman, an advocate and architect of the proposal, and other business leaders dispute whether a charter revision is necessary.

These are details that should have been worked out before Tucker offered his bill in the Legislature, said Ron Nabonne, an attorney who spoke out against the swift pace of an airport transfer at Wednesday’s City Council Airport Committee meeting.

“Case law indicates if and when they try to sell, transfer or anything to do with the structure of the airport, it will need to be brought to a vote by the people,” Nabonne said.

Forman said business leaders have a sense of urgency because the election of a new mayor in 2010 could end discussion of a transfer. Mayor C. Ray Nagin backed the idea in his 2002 campaign, calling for the city to “sell that sucker,” and re-iterated his stance in his May 28 State of the City address.

But people deserve a chance to discuss the idea before it is already on the table, said Sherman Copelin, a former state representative and current president of the New Orleans East Business Association.

“When you have a matter that needs to have voters involved, it needs to be done on the front end and not the back end,” Copelin said.

Regional strength questioned

Forman said he thinks a regional airport has more resources for investment. The motivation behind this is “big opportunities from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.”

But will regional leadership turn Armstrong into a regional airport? No, said Dick Marchi, senior adviser for policy and regulatory affairs at the Airports Council International North America, a Washington, D.C., group representing 366 U.S. airports. He said a true regional airport authority is one that governs multiple airports in a single region.

“Just calling it regional doesn’t make it regional,” Marchi said. “You don’t pick up the advantages of a true regional system.”

Those advantages include eliminating competition from other airports in the region and using revenues to support general aviation airports.

Additionally, Marchi said he’s “not sure it’s fair to say” a state-owned airport “would be any better” than a city-owned airport. Of ACI-NA’s 366 airport members, 33 percent are city-operated, including Atlanta and Austin, Texas, and 30 percent are governed by an authority, such as Washington’s Reagan National and Dulles airports. 

From New Orleans City Business, June 10, 2008

Energy crisis a threat to air service
Summit to focus on long-term answers

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

By Jaquetta White
Times Picayune

Aviation industry leaders will hold a summit next month to brainstorm how best to respond to rising fuel costs, the head of the American Association of Airport Executives said Monday.

With the price of oil rising recently to more than $130 per barrel and predicted by at least one analyst to climb to $150 this summer, the availability of air service is threatened, said Chip Barclay, president of the airport executives association.

"We have an energy crisis in this country," Barclay said. "We are going to have an extreme crisis in air service."

Barclay made the comments during the association's annual conference, being held in New Orleans through Wednesday.

Since last year, air service has been cut in about 60 communities, Barclay said. That number could grow to 100 by the end of the year, as airlines, trying to find ways to cope with higher fuel costs, cut routes and put pressure on airports to reduce their costs.

"Imagine those numbers and what that's going to do to airlines and their business, but also to communities," Barclay said. "It has an enormous economic impact."

Barclay said the issue has yet to garner national attention because governmental and business interests are grappling with how rising gasoline prices and other economic worries are directly affecting consumers. They have yet to recognize the impact the increasing costs have on air service and by extension on airports, which have to cut back on operating expenses and capital improvement projects in response to the airlines' cutbacks.

"It's not on their minds, the air service and the political fallout it will have," Barclay said. "They're hearing about filling the SUVs, but haven't made the next step yet."

Airline industry leaders will begin searching for long-term answers at "The Energy Crisis and Its Impact on Air Service: An Aviation Industry Summit" on July 11 in Washington .

A task force will be assembled to follow up on the suggestions made at the summit. Barclay said he envisions the task force working to push for an energy policy that would include the suggestion that airlines use fuel additives to increase supply or that government intervene in cases where air service could be lost to an entire community.

"We're all doing late night cramming on energy issues," Barclay said. "The task force and the summit are about shining a light on the energy crisis' impact on air service."

Sean Hunter, director of aviation for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, said the local airport is certain to feel a "pinch" in air service. The airport has recovered about 83 percent of its pre-Katrina air service and had expected to be at 100 percent by early next year. That expectation has been pushed back to late 2009.

But Hunter said he's more optimistic than other airport executives, in part, because the airport has a balanced offering of low-cost and legacy carriers. That means that if a legacy carrier cuts service, Hunter said, it's likely a low-cost carrier would see it as an opportunity to fill the void. But, he said, keeping air service intact nationwide will come at a price.

"We'll see some reduction, but maybe not to the degree that others will," Hunter said. "Certainly the tolerance level for high pricing is going to have to raise, somewhat."  From the Times Picayune, June 10, 2008

Senate panel OKs airport bill
Takeover process would be created

Friday, June 13, 2008
By Ed Anderson
Times Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- A Senate committee Thursday advanced a bill to create a state board to take over Louis Armstrong International Airport and negotiate compensating New Orleans for it, but amended the proposal to make it harder for the agency to take land for expansion.

The Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works gave unanimous approval to House Bill 1272 by House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, and sent it along to the Senate floor for more debate. The bill would allow the proposed Southeast Regional Airport Authority to assess the value of the airport and find a way to pay New Orleans for it.

The airport is owned by the city of New Orleans, but is located in Kenner and St. Charles Parish.

Before sending Tucker's bill to the full Senate, the panel approved an amendment by Senate President Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan, to require that six of the nine members of the authority would have to approve the expropriation of any land.

The bill calls for three members to come from New Orleans, two from Kenner, one from Jefferson Parish, two from St. Charles Parish and one from the state at large. St. Charles Parish and Kenner for years have been wary of possible expansion into their residential or commercial areas or nearby wetlands.

"I don't know if it is ever going to happen," Chaisson said. If it does, he said he wants to protect St. Charles, which he represents, from having land taken without a super-majority vote of the board.

Tucker did not object to the change.

"This sets up a framework for the authority to go forward," Tucker said. "It will look at the idea of a state takeover. . . . There are way too many details to be resolved" in the late stages of this year's session, which must end by 6 p.m. June 23.

The value of the airport will be the "highest hurdle to come to," Tucker said. "If we can come to valuation, a deal will go forward; if we can't it won't. . . . This is going to be a very big deal if we can pull it off. . . . The airport is second-class compared to our peer cities, and we have to fix that. . . . I have not seen the city do that."

Tucker accepted another amendment that would require the Legislature's joint budget committee and joint transportation committees to sign off on any deal to compensate New Orleans. "The city is not going to just give its assets away."

He said if things are worked out, he will return next year with more specifics and a request for a financing mechanism.

The bill requires two-thirds vote of the New Orleans City Council to approve any deal. It calls for the board to be appointed by Aug. 31 and the first meeting must be called by the governor no later than Sept. 30.

Sen. Edwin Murray, D-New Orleans, said the value of the airport has varied from $200 million to $4 billion so an accurate assessment must be made. He also said that no thought has been given to transferring city employees to the state system, if the bill passes. "That has to be addressed," Murray said.   From the Times Picayune, June 13, 2008

United grounds more planes, cuts jobs
Airline is struggling with high fuel costs

Thursday, June 05, 2008
From staff and wire reports
Times Picayune

CHICAGO -- United Airlines said Wednesday that it's cutting as many as 1,100 more jobs, removing an additional 70 fuel-guzzling airplanes from its fleet and slashing domestic capacity as it tries to cope with spiraling fuel prices.

The nation's No. 2 carrier said it plans to cut an additional 900 to 1,100 salaried, contract and management employees by the end of the year, in addition to 500 previously announced job reductions. The combined reductions mean the airline is cutting nearly 3 percent of its 55,000 workers worldwide.

United uses 737s for six daily flights to two cities from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The airline flies three flights each to Chicago and Washington-Dulles using the soon-to-be grounded jets, airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcut said.

It is not yet clear what will happen to those flights or the 688 seats they comprise when United releases its fall schedule next month. But the change could affect both the number of United flights and seat capacity, Wilcut said.

Officials said the "aggressive" moves are designed to the help the subsidiary of UAL Corp. weather an "unprecedented fuel environment." Crude oil futures prices peaked at a record above $135 a barrel nearly two weeks ago, and airline fuel prices have been rocketing higher as well.

"This environment demands that we and the industry act decisively and responsibly," Glenn Tilton, United's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. "At United, we continue to do the right work to reduce costs and increase revenue to respond to record fuel costs and the challenging economic environment."    From the Times Picayune, June 5, 2008

House approves airport proposal
It sets up regional negotiating authority

Thursday, June 05, 2008
By Robert Travis Scott
Times Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would create a commission to pursue the eventual transfer of Louis Armstrong International Airport from New Orleans to the state.  

House Bill 1272 by Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, passed by a vote of 95-5 over the objections of two Kenner lawmakers and now goes to the Senate for further consideration. The measure sets up a nine-member Southeast Regional Airport Authority, including representatives from Orleans, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes and the city of Kenner, that would begin meeting by Sept. 30.

The measure signifies a step forward in addressing the long-debated possibility of moving the airport into a broader jurisdiction with deeper financial pockets than the city alone can offer, but even if the bill eventually passes, the initiative would still be a long way from resolving the issue.

"We want to move beyond talking about it," Tucker said. "I firmly believe we'll be back next year with a bill to deal with the particulars, if we decide to go forward with a transfer."

The new authority would have no power immediately over the New Orleans airport but would seek agreements with local governments and the state to determine how much the city should be paid for the transfer, the proposed source of the money and how it could be spent.

Tucker said he expects the Legislature and the New Orleans City Council would have a chance next year to vote on the outcome of the authority's negotiations.

The airport currently belongs to New Orleans. Supporters of the legislation say a regional or state authority would be able to leverage resources for an expansion of the facility more easily than the city. Also, the city alone may not have the political latitude to convince or coerce players in the region to go along with an expansion plan.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin for years has said he is open to the possibility and the New Orleans City Council Aviation Committee gave a guarded and qualified endorsement of the initiative Tuesday.

On the House floor Wednesday evening, Reps. Tom Willmott, R-Kenner, and Tony Ligi, R-Metairie, whose district includes part of Kenner, voted against the bill. All other lawmakers from the New Orleans area voted in favor of the bill except for two absent members, John Labruzzo, R-Metairie, and Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans.

Willmott said he is in favor of regional governance of the airport, but "it's got to be done right." Nearly all the airport lies within Kenner city limits and an expansion could take valuable property off the tax rolls and diminish Kenner's revenue base, he said.

New Orleans cannot expropriate Kenner property, but the new airport authority could exercise that power, Willmott said.

"Expropriation is by far the most serious issue here," Willmott said, reflecting city officials' view of the effect on Kenner.

"I tell you, (Kenner) could be gobbled up, and that's a real concern," Willmott said.

Willmott and Ligi tried to amend the bill in ways that would give Kenner some form of voting power to approve expropriations.

Tucker objected to their tactics and the amendments failed to pass.

"This is an opportunity for the southeast part of this state, and really the entire state, for us to have an airport we can be proud of," Tucker said.

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, passed an amendment requiring that any transfer or conveyance of the airport must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the New Orleans City Council.

Richmond also attached an amendment saying the authority would actively recruit minority- and female-owned vendors and ensure they are "aggressively solicited." Quarterly reports about meeting goals to contract with minority- and women-owned businesses would be required.

A Tucker amendment changed the method of board appointments, giving more discretion to the local governments. From the Times Picayune, June 5, 2008

Airport proposal worries parish

Saturday, May 24, 2008
By Matt Scallan
Times Picayune

St. Charles Parish officials have long opposed the expansion of Louis Armstrong International Airport and are warily watching a bill moving through the state Legislature that would turn the New Orleans-owned airport over to a new state authority.

The Parish Council on Monday passed a resolution urging its legislative delegation to block action on House Bill 1272 by Algiers Rep. Jim Tucker, which would create The Southeast Regional Airport Authority without consulting with the parish.

The plan, being pushed by the Louisiana Superdome Commission, gives New Orleans $500 million in bond money in exchange for control over the airport.

Unlike New Orleans, a state agency has the power to expropriate private property for airport expansion. New Orleans couldn't do it because the airport is outside its boundaries in Kenner and St. Charles.

"I'm worried that they are going to build a new runway in St. Charles Parish," said Parish Councilman Larry Cochran, whose St. Rose district would be among the most affected by the expansion. Cochran, along with Councilman Shelley Tastet, whose district includes Ama, sponsored the resolution.

"I just don't want the residents of St. Rose to have more planes flying over their heads," Cochran said.

Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. said he's worried about more than just noise.

"Suppose they expropriate the James Business Park to expand the airport. Then where are our tax dollars going to go?"

The power isn't all on the state's side. Years ago, the parish zoned the area most likely to be targeted for expansion for airport use. But any project in the zone requires Parish Council approval of a special-use permit.

Local zoning law prevailed in another St. Charles Parish case when state and local interests collided.

In 1995, the state Supreme Court ruled that the Crown Casino did not have the right to locate in the parish without its approval just because it had a state license to operate a riverboat.

He said parish officials will meet with Superdome Commission Chairman Ron Forman and former chairman Tim Coulon next week to discuss the issues. From the Times Picayune, May 24, 2008

ARMSTRONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT RECOGNIZED BY J.D. POWERS

May 22, 2008 – New Orleans, Louisiana -- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has tied for 3rd place in the J.D. Powers 2008 North American Airport Satisfaction Index Study – Small Airport Category. The study, now in its eighth year, measures overall airport satisfaction in three segments: large (30 million or more passengers per year), medium (10 million to 30 million passengers per year) and small (fewer than 10 million passengers per year). Six factors—assessed through 27 specific attributes—are examined to determine overall customer satisfaction: airport accessibility; baggage claim; check-in/baggage check process; terminal facilities; security check; and food and retail services.

Among small airports, Dallas Love Field (DAL) ranked highest, improving by one rank position since 2007. Houston Hobby International (HOU) and San Antonio International (SAT)/Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), respectively, followed in the rankings. “Overall, satisfaction scores have declined since 2007 for 48 of the 60 airports included in the 2008 study,” said Jim Gaz, senior Director of Travel and Entertainment at J.D. Power and Associates. “Those airports that have maintained consistent levels of satisfaction and service demonstrate the greatest gains in the rankings.” The 2008 North America Airport Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 21,165 passengers who took a round-trip flight between April 2007 and March 2008. Passengers evaluated up to three different airports—their departing and arriving airport, and if applicable, their connecting airport—for a total of more than 36,500 evaluations.

Among small airports, Dallas Love Field (DAL) ranked highest, improving by one rank position since 2007. Houston Hobby International (HOU) and San Antonio International (SAT)/Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), respectively, followed in the rankings. “Overall, satisfaction scores have declined since 2007 for 48 of the 60 airports included in the 2008 study,” said Jim Gaz, senior Director of Travel and Entertainment at J.D. Power and Associates. “Those airports that have maintained consistent levels of satisfaction and service demonstrate the greatest gains in the rankings.” The 2008 North America Airport Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 21,165 passengers who took a round-trip flight between April 2007 and March 2008. Passengers evaluated up to three different airports—their departing and arriving airport, and if applicable, their connecting airport—for a total of more than 36,500 evaluations.

Sean C. Hunter, Armstrong International Airport Director of Aviation said, “We are pleased to announce this study result by J.D. Powers. It recognizes the team commitment of our staff, vendors and government agencies to provide a positive traveling experience for passengers at our airport.” New Orleans Board Chairman Dan Packer said, “I believe this recognition is due in part to our on-going improvement campaign that was begun in December 2006. Over the next two years, extensive renovations should add to the positive trend in customer satisfaction.”

Established in 1968, J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information firm that conducts independent and unbiased surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality and buyer behavior. They represent the voice of the customer by translating survey responses from consumers and businesses into studies and reports that companies worldwide use to improve their business.

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Kenner perturbed by airport plan
Council OKs resolution voicing concerns

Friday, May 16, 2008
By Paul Rioux
Times Picayune

Saying Kenner is being "railroaded" by a fast-track proposal for the state to take control of Louis Armstrong International Airport, the Kenner City Council passed a resolution Thursday night ticking off a litany of concerns, including safeguarding $6 million the city receives in airport taxes and limiting the state's power to seize land for an expansion.

"This is a huge issue for Kenner," said Councilman Joe Stagni, who sponsored the resolution. "The airport takes up 26 percent of the city's land mass and has a tremendous impact on the lives of residents."

The unanimous resolution calls for Kenner to have two representatives on a nine-member regional board that would oversee the airport. The state takeover plan would reserve two seats for Jefferson Parish residents, but Kenner would not be guaranteed representation.

Council Chairman Kent Denapolis said that's unfair to Kenner residents who, he said, have the most to lose if the airport is poorly run. "The surrounding communities have had to put up with all the good that comes with a regional airport, but we've had to put up with both the good and the bad," he said, listing plane crashes, traffic and noise among the drawbacks.

Louisiana House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, is sponsoring a bill that would transfer control of the airport from New Orleans to the state in exchange for $500 million for redevelopment projects in New Orleans. The bold proposal has piqued the interest of many legislators, but some officials in New Orleans and Kenner want to slow things down, saying such a major transaction demands intense scrutiny.

Stagni said Kenner officials were not consulted in drafting the bill and didn't learn of the proposal until they read about it May 1 in The Times-Picayune.  

"It looks to me like this was an end run around the citizens of Kenner," he said. "All of us want a first-rate airport and better business practices, but it disturbs me when something like this moves forward in secrecy."

Denapolis, who said the proposal is being "railroaded through," added language to the resolution seeking a guarantee that the city will continue receiving $6 million a year from sales taxes, parking fees and rental-car surcharges from the airport.

"That's about 10 percent of Kenner's budget," Councilwoman Maria DeFrancesch said. "Imagine how it would affect our ability to provide services if that revenue wasn't there."

The $500 million earmarked for New Orleans in the airport swap would be controlled by a new board made up of mayoral and gubernatorial appointees.  From the Times Picayune, May 16, 2008

N.O. council cautious on airport plan
It would give control to state, money to city

Thursday, May 15, 2008
By Frank Donze
Times Picayune

New Orleans City Council members gave a favorable but guarded reception Wednesday to a bold proposal to hand over control of Louis Armstrong International Airport to the state in exchange for $500 million to reshape the city's downtown.

Getting their first detailed look at the nuts and bolts of an initiative that is already moving through the Legislature, council members spent three hours Wednesday telling business leaders who crafted the plan that while the concept is intriguing, they need more information before they embrace it.

Chief among the council's concerns are whether the $500 million expected to be raised through the sale of bonds is a fair value for the airport and how much influence City Hall would have over how the huge cash infusion is spent.

Council members were told they will have the power to veto transfer of the city property, allowing them to kill the deal if they so choose. But they expressed apprehension that unless the legislative process in Baton Rouge slows down, they will have little say over what they are ultimately asked to vote on.

"This thing is on a fast track," said Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, who heads the Airport Committee that called the hearing at City Hall. "But the fast track may not be in the best interest of the public."

A call for more public input and further review of the plan also came from several speakers, including former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy, businessman and ex-state Rep. Sherman Copelin and Janet Howard, president of the Bureau of Governmental Research.

The usually mild-mannered Barthelemy delivered a passionate speech on the dangers of rushing to judgment, taking dead aim on an aspect of the plan that would cede authority to use the $500 million to a new agency run by a board made up of mayoral and gubernatorial appointees.

"My major concern is who is accountable to spend this money," said Barthelemy, his voice rising. Pointing to the six council members on the dais, he said, "You are my elected officials, whether I agree with you or not." In effect, he said, the proposed legislation would create "a government outside of government."

Under the plan, bond dollars would be invested in five areas: a "sports and entertainment" district on the perimeter of the Superdome and New Orleans Arena, the government complex around City Hall, the medical district where a new Veterans Administration Hospital is planned, the theater district at the intersection of Canal Street and Loyola Avenue, and a six-mile stretch of downtown riverfront.

The state, in turn, would make major improvements at the airport designed to expand passenger and cargo traffic.

Jay Lapeyre, president of the New Orleans Business Council and a leader of the group backing the plan, told the council that his primary objective is to create "a more competitive business environment" in the city by investing in the airport and downtown.

Since Hurricane Katrina, Lapeyre said, about a dozen major New Orleans businesses have pulled up stakes, and in many cases corporate leaders cited a lack of flights in and out of the city as the primary reason for leaving.

Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson told Lapeyre that although she fully supports his goals, she and her council colleagues "want to be a part of how the money is spent."

Councilwoman Shelley Midura said she was concerned that there are no guarantees that the city's economic development director would have a seat on the so-called Global New Orleans Authority, which would oversee the investment of bond dollars.

"The city should be structurally involved," she said.

Ron Forman, the Audubon Nature Institute president who is acting as a point man for the airport, said Midura's recommendation would be welcomed, but he added that the local appointments to the authority will be up to the mayor.

Under terms of the proposed legislation, the New Orleans Aviation Board, which is controlled by mayoral appointees, would be replaced by the Southeast Regional Airport Authority, made up of appointees of the governor, mayor, Jefferson Parish president and St. Charles Parish president.

The proposed change in governance also prompted questions Thursday about whether the move would require a voter-approved change in the City Charter, which spells out the Aviation Board's management role, and whether federal rules would allow the state to allocate bond money to the city as part of the transaction.

Under federal rules, proceeds from an airport sale must be plowed back into the airport or into an airport-related project. For that reason, backers of the new plan say it does not call for a sale, but rather an ownership transfer accompanied by a compensation package.

Forman agreed to a request by Council President Arnie Fielkow, a key supporter of the proposal, to provide the council with legal opinions regarding the ownership transfer and the charter-change issue.  From the Times Picayune, May 15, 2008