Bob Hope Airport

For families with autistic children, the stress and anxiety of air travel is a unique challenge - which is why JetBlue is partnering with Bob Hope Airport in Burbank to give those families a chance for an air-travel dress rehearsal. JetBlue's Wings For Autism program is coming to the West Coast for the first time and it hold a trial run from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the airport. PHOTOS: Wings for Autism comes to California for first time at Bob Hope Airport The program, which was started in Boston three years ago, allows families with autistic children to practice air travel, from checking in and security screenings to boarding a plane and meeting pilots and the flight crew.

Passenger numbers at Bob Hope Airport took another nose dive in October, dropping 4.7% compared to the same period last year, officials said this week. The airport handled 363,684 passengers in October, down from 381,656 in October 2010, according to the latest figures. Though the impact to parking revenues was not available this week, the drop in passengers is almost sure to be a drag on those revenues. The confluence of declining figures was cited by the credit rating agency Fitch earlier this year when it warned that the AA- rating for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority could be threatened in the future, especially as officials pursue a $90-million transit center.

There's really no surprise that revenues are down at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport. I am an infrequent flier, and have utilized the Burbank airport for nearly 45 years. I recall the days when you could fly to most every major city out of Burbank Airport, non-stop. Now you must pay the same short-term parking rate as at Los Angeles International Airport, $31 per day. No wonder parking revenues are down. And you can no longer fly to many U.S. cities non-stop from Burbank. In fact, there are very few places you can get to non-stop.

Travelers at Bob Hope Airport can expect to see a new batch of aviation artwork coming this fall, as the airfield announced on Monday the winners of its “2013 Tower Banner Student Art Contest.” For the sixth year, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority invited high school students from the three cities that over see the airfield to submit a piece of aviation-themed artwork - with the winners getting to see their piece enlarged to...

The number of passengers at Bob Hope Airport plummeted by 10% in September compared to last year -- catching officials off guard. Revenues generated by parking fees -- an important source of income for the airport -- also dropped sharply, according to the latest report released on Monday. The decline, which senior deputy executive director John Hatanaka said “shocked” airport staff, was by far the steepest drop among other airports in the region. Ontario Airport reported a 5.8% decrease, while Long Beach Airport saw a 6.4% drop, Hatanaka said.

Children from Robert Gross Park Camp once again visited the Burbank Bob Hope Airport fire station to learn about careers at the airport. Southwest Airlines, Atlantic Aviation, Million Air and the TSA participated in the Thursday event, which drew 65 campers. The children learned how to guide planes into gates, got splashed with water from a fire truck, and saw how public safety officials prepare for emergencies. The children also looked inside a luxury jet, got an up-close look at a police helicopter and watched aircraft take off from the tarmac.

A pedestrian was struck and killed Tuesday by a Metrolink train in Sun Valley, authorities said. The incident happened about 5:10 p.m. near Arvilla Avenue and San Fernando Road, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Peterson. PHOTOS: Male pedestrian killed at train tracks in Burbank A witness told police that a man threw himself onto the train tracks, he said. The victim's name was not immediately released and the investigation remained ongoing Tuesday, Peterson said.

Repair crews at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank on Friday restored runway lights on a runway after a power failure caused several incoming and outbound flights to be canceled. The north-south runway "edge lights" were switched back on at about 5:30 a.m., an operations manager at the airport told the L.A. Times . The cause of the Thursday night outage was not immediately known,  she said. Officials predicted Thursday night that normal flight operations would resume at daybreak whether or not the outage had been repaired.

Authorities staged a full-scale emergency response at Bob Hope Airport Tuesday, an exercise required every three years by the federal government to test readiness in case of a real incident. On Tuesday, emergency crews simulated a jet fire, complete with rescued passengers, a triage and full scale firefighting response. According to the scenario, the pilot experienced temporary flash blindness caused by laser lights originating from a person on the ground. The blindness caused a hard landing and the aircraft penetrated a fence, striking multiple vehicles, some of which burst into flames as part of the staged event.

A 14-year-old autistic boy who was reported missing after leaving a flight at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank was found unharmed Wednesday evening in West Hollywood, authorities said. Cameron James Smith was found by airport police about 6 p.m. in the 8900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, said Sgt. Brian Lutz of the West Hollywood Sheriff's station. Lutz said his deputies were notified by the officers and responded to the scene and confirmed that the boy was not harmed. "He was in good condition," Lutz told The Times.

Bob Hope Airport officials say they are grappling with higher than expected inspection costs tied to the construction of a new $112.6 million transportation center. In March, Dan Feger, the airport's executive director, had asked the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority for permission to tap roughly $1.4 million for change orders that included unforeseen field conditions and inspection services. Airport spokesman Victor Gill the money would come from a $5.4 million budget set aside for such changes.

There's really no surprise that revenues are down at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport. I am an infrequent flier, and have utilized the Burbank airport for nearly 45 years. I recall the days when you could fly to most every major city out of Burbank Airport, non-stop. Now you must pay the same short-term parking rate as at Los Angeles International Airport, $31 per day. No wonder parking revenues are down. And you can no longer fly to many U.S. cities non-stop from Burbank. In fact, there are very few places you can get to non-stop.

Record high temperatures were reached across Southern California on Monday as the region baked in summer-like weather. Bob Hope Airport in Burbank topped out at 103 degrees, breaking a 100-degree record for the day that had stood since 1976, the  National Weather Service  said. Lancaster recorded 98, topping by one degree the record set in 1996. In Ventura County, Camarillo recorded a high of 86. That broke an 83-degree record set in 1996, according to the Weather Service.

For the first time in more than three years, the number of passengers at Bob Hope Airport increased in March - even if it was by only a slight uptick. A total of 333,647 passengers passed through the airport in March, a 0.27% increase from 332,740 from the same time last year, according to statistics released Monday to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. The slight improvement comes as a sharp contrast to the first two months of the year, when airfield officials reported double-digit declines in passengers.

Bob Hope Airport is aiming for a financial touchdown with a new marketing agreement with UCLA Athletics and the Rose Bowl that will tap into the university's millions of sports fans. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday unanimously approved spending $327,000 over the next three years on a contract that will position Bob Hope as the official airport of the Rose Bowl. That designation includes signage at the stadium, a special logo, promotion on the video board during UCLA football games and inclusion in all print publications, such as the Rose Bowl Stadium Guide.

For families with autistic children, the stress and anxiety of air travel is a unique challenge - which is why JetBlue is partnering with Bob Hope Airport in Burbank to give those families a chance for an air-travel dress rehearsal. JetBlue's Wings For Autism program is coming to the West Coast for the first time and it hold a trial run from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the airport. PHOTOS: Wings for Autism comes to California for first time at Bob Hope Airport The program, which was started in Boston three years ago, allows families with autistic children to practice air travel, from checking in and security screenings to boarding a plane and meeting pilots and the flight crew.

Bob Hope Airport is welcoming a new commuter airline this month whose routes will connect the Imperial Valley to Los Angeles and beyond. On Wednesday, Portland, Ore.-based SeaPort Airlines launched its new slate of 12 non-stop, round-trip flights per week into Terminal A using nine-seat Cessna Caravan propeller planes. During May SeaPort is offering an introductory fare of $39 each way. SeaPort spokeswoman Claire James said that when SeaPort initiated plans to offer flights to San Diego out of Imperial County Airport, it became apparent there was local demand for flights to the Los Angeles area, too. The largest city in Imperial County is El Centro, with roughly 42,000 residents in the southeastern corner of the state, near the Mexican border.

It's been a rough two years for Bob Hope Airport, where a precipitous drop in the number of passengers using the regional airfield has meant a worrying drop in revenues. Fewer passengers mean fewer receipts at parking lots, concessions and other revenue-generating enterprises that fund operations and pay for badly needed infrastructure upgrades. Assuming what's good for the airport is good for the airlines, the solution seems simple. "If the airlines reduced their rates at Burbank and made it more competitive, there would be more passengers and we'd be in better shape; there's no mystery to this," said Terry Tornek, a member of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.

To comply with the city of Burbank's requirement for public art, Bob Hope Airport needs to come up with an additional quarter-million dollars for its new transportation center. Airfield officials are hoping to raise the money through an ambitious plan for a new pavilion celebrating the local airport's history. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday voted 7-1 to move forward with plans to spend the extra money on artwork in its transit center , which is currently under construction, and to raise those funds by selling naming rights in the new pavilion.

Security at Bob Hope Airport was ramped up on Monday until the nature of two explosions in Boston could be determined, a spokesman for the airfield said. Two explosions rocked the finish line area of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and causing dozens of injuries as of Monday afternoon, authorities reported. [Updated April 16, 2013 : This post was updated to reflect a higher number of casualities. ] Bob Hope Airport spokesman Victor Gill said security had been increased “and that's really all I can say about it until more is known.” “We are aware of [the Boston Marathon explosions]