Bob Hope Airport

Bob Hope Airport

IATA: BUR – ICAO: KBUR – FAA LID: BUR
– WMO: 72288
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner/Operator Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority
Serves Los Angeles Area
Location Burbank, California
Elevation AMSL 778 ft / 237 m
Coordinates 34°12′02″N 118°21′31″W / 34.20056°N 118.35861°W / 34.20056; -118.35861Coordinates: 34°12′02″N 118°21′31″W / 34.20056°N 118.35861°W / 34.20056; -118.35861
Website www.BobHopeAirport.com
Map
BUR

Location in San Fernando Valley

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15/33 6,886 2,099 Asphalt
8/26 5,802 1,768 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 130,756
Based aircraft 91
Sources: FAA,[1] airport website[2]
Terminal building at Bob Hope Airport

Bob Hope Airport (IATA: BUR, ICAO: KBUR, FAA LID: BUR) is a public airport three miles (5 km) northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California.[1] The airport serves the northern Greater Los Angeles area, including Glendale, Pasadena, and the San Fernando Valley. It is closer to Griffith Park and Hollywood than Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and is the only airport in the area with a direct rail connection to downtown Los Angeles. Non-stop flights mostly serve cities in the western United States, while JetBlue Airways has a daily red-eye flight to New York City.

The airport was originally in the city limits, but the north end of Runway 15/33 has been extended into the city of Los Angeles.

The airport is owned by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, controlled by the governments of those cities. The Airport Authority contracts with TBI Airport Management, Inc. to operate the airport. The airport has its own police department, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Police. Boarding uses portable boarding steps or ramps rather than jet bridges.

Business for the airport has declined recently and airport officials believe a return to the pre-1978 name of Hollywood-Burbank Airport might boost traffic by reminding passengers unfamiliar with Los Angeles geography that Bob Hope Airport is actually closer to Hollywood than LAX.[3]

Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 2,647,287 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[4] 2,294,991 in 2009, and 2,239,804 in 2010.[5] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year).[6]

History

The airport has been United Airport (1930–1934), Union Air Terminal (1934–1940), Lockheed Air Terminal (1940–1967), Hollywood-Burbank Airport (1967–1978), Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978–2003) and most recently Bob Hope Airport (2003–present).

Boeing Aircraft and Transport (BA&T) was a holding company created in 1928 that included Boeing Aircraft and United Air Lines, itself a holding company for a collection of small airlines that continued to operate under their own names. One of these airlines was Pacific Air Transport (PAT), which Boeing had acquired because of PAT's west coast mail contract in January 1928.[7] BA&T sought a site for a new airport for PAT and found one in Burbank. BA&T had the benefit of surveys that the Aeronautics Department of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce had conducted starting in 1926 to identify potential airport sites.[8]

It took BA&T a year and the cooperation of the city to assemble the site.[9] The 234-acre (0.95 km2) site was rife with vines and trees and the ground had to be filled and leveled, but it had good drainage, a firm landing surface, steady winds, and good access to ground transport.[10] Construction was completed in just seven months. In an age when few aircraft had brakes and many had a tail skid instead of a wheel, runways were not usually paved; those at Burbank had a 5-inch-thick (130 mm) mixture of oil and sand. There were no taxi strips, but the designers left room for them. Two of the runways were over 3,600 feet (1,100 m) long; a third was 2,900 feet (880 m); all were 300 feet (91 m) wide. Generous dimensions, and the site had room for expansion.[11]

External images
Aerial view of the Union Air Terminal Building at Burbank Airport, August 1935 [looking SE]

United Airport was dedicated amid much festivity (including an air show) on Memorial Day weekend (May 30 – June 1), 1930. The airport and its handsome Spanish revival terminal was a showy competitor to nearby Grand Central Airport in Glendale, which was then Los Angeles' main airline terminal. The new Burbank facility was actually the largest commercial airport in the Los Angeles area until it was eclipsed in 1946 by the Los Angeles Airport in Westchester when that facility (formerly Mines Field, then Los Angeles Municipal Airport) commenced scheduled airline operations.

The Burbank facility remained United Airport until 1934 when it was renamed Union Air Terminal. The name change came the same year that Federal anti-trust actions caused United Aircraft and Transport Corp. to dissolve, which took effect September 26, 1934. The Union Air Terminal moniker stuck until Lockheed bought the airport in 1940 and renamed it Lockheed Air Terminal.

In March 1939 sixteen airline departures a day were scheduled out of Burbank: eight on United Airlines, five on Western Airlines and three on TWA (American Airlines' three departures were still at Glendale).[12] Commercial air traffic continued even while Lockheed's extensive factories supplied the war effort and developed numerous military and commercial aircraft into the mid-1960s. The April 1957 OAG shows nine weekday departures on Western, six on United, six on Pacific Air Lines (which subsequently merged with Bonanza Airlines and West Coast Airlines to form Air West), one on TWA and one on American Airlines (a nonstop to Chicago Midway). Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) had 48 Douglas DC-4 departures a week to SFO and SAN (PSA did not fly out of LAX until 1958).[13]

In the late 1960s Pacific Air Lines Boeing 727-100s flew nonstop to Las Vegas and San Francisco with direct one stop service to Eureka/Arcata. Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) flew from Burbank to the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego, and Hughes Airwest (previously Air West) flew Douglas DC-9-10s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s nonstop to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver with onestop DC-9 jet service to Houston Hobby Airport. Hughes Airwest even operated one-stop DC-9 flights to Grand Canyon National Park Airport near the south rim of the Grand Canyon. In 1986 United Airlines Boeing 767-200s flew nonstop to Chicago O'Hare Airport with the 767 being the largest passenger airliner ever to serve Burbank. AirCal McDonnell Douglas MD-80s flew nonstop to the Bay Area and direct to Lake Tahoe.

At 3:30 p.m. on February 13, 1966, a fire broke out in a greasy flue in the kitchen of the terminal building's second-floor restaurant, The Sky Room. Fanned by gusty winds, the fire spread through the terminal and control tower. Controllers in the tower were able to escape on an aerial ladder and air traffic was diverted to nearby Van Nuys Airport and Los Angeles International Airport for several hours. A controller communicated with aircraft using the radio in a light airplane belonging to Sky Roamers Air Travel, a flying club whose hangar was just east of the control tower. The fire, contained by about 6:30 p.m., caused an estimated $2 million in damages to the terminal, tower and equipment in the tower. No injuries were reported.

Lockheed officials declared that the airport would reopen the next day, and it did, using electronic equipment borrowed from LAX and set up in a nearby hangar. The hangar also served as the airport's temporary passenger terminal and baggage claim area. The gutted terminal and tower were rebuilt and reopened the following year.

In 1967 Lockheed renamed the facility Hollywood-Burbank Airport. In 1969 Continental Airlines began Boeing 720B flights to Portland and Seattle via San Jose and also flew the short hop to Ontario. Continental later switched to Boeing 727-200s with some flights continuing to Chicago via Ontario. Continental went on to serve Denver with nonstop Boeing 727-200s from BUR. Later Alaska Airlines Boeing 727-200s flew nonstop or direct to Seattle and Portland, which was Alaska Air's first service to southern California. Aloha Airlines pioneered flights to Hawaii, flying Boeing 737-700s nonstop to Honolulu before ceasing operations.

The facility remained Hollywood-Burbank Airport for more than a decade until 1978 when Lockheed sold it to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. The airport then got its fifth name: Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978–2003).

On November 11, 2003 the airport authority voted to change the name to Bob Hope Airport in honor of comedian Bob Hope, a longtime resident of nearby Toluca Lake, who had died earlier that year and who had kept his personal airplane at the airfield. The new name was unveiled on December 17, 2003, on the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903, the year that Bob Hope was born.

Numerous attempts to expand safety buffer zones and add runway length have drawn opposition from the airport's neighbors, citing increased noise. Open space around the airport is nonexistent, making land acquisition unlikely.

In 2005 the airport celebrated its 75th anniversary; in 2006 it served 5,689,291 travelers on seven major carriers, with more than 70 flights daily.

After much debate between the Airport Authority, the city of Burbank, the Transportation Security Administration, and Burbank residents, in November 2007 it was decided that a new $8-million to $10-million baggage screening facility for Terminal B is legal, considering the anti-growth limitations placed on the airport. The facility will house a $2.5-million explosive detection system, used for the automatic detection of explosives within checked luggage. However, the facility is still in the early planning phases.[14]

The land occupied by the old Lockheed buildings (demolished in the 1990s) at the corners of Empire Avenue and Hollywood Way and Thornton Avenue, is now the site of a growing power center commercial development with chain restaurants and businesses.

Facilities

Bob Hope Airport covers 610 acres (247 ha) at an elevation of 778 feet (237 m) above sea level. It has two asphalt runways: 15/33 is 6,886 by 150 feet (2,099 x 46 m) and 8/26 is 5,802 by 150 feet (1,768 x 46 m).[1] Airliners generally take off on Runway 15 due to wind from the south, and land crosswind on Runway 8 since that is the only runway with ILS and clear terrain for the approach. Flights from the northeast sometimes land visually on Runway 15 to save the extra distance circling to Runway 8. When wind is from the north airliners often make a visual left-base approach to Runway 33, with a left turn close to the airport.

In the year ending October 31, 2006, the airport had 130,849 operations, average 358 per day: 52% scheduled commercial, 31% general aviation, 16% air taxi and <1% military. 108 aircraft were based at this airport: 47% jet, 28% single-engine, 19% multi-engine and 6% helicopter.[1]

In the year ending November 30, 2011, the airport had 130,756 operations, average 358 per day: 45% scheduled commercial, 43% general aviation, 12% air taxi, and <1% military. 91 aircraft were then based at this airport: 55% jet, 25% single-engine, 17% multi-engine, and 3% helicopter.[1]

On June 27, 2014, a $112 Million Regional Transportation Center opened. The 520,000-square-foot center at Hollywood Way and Empire Avenue was also built to withstand a major earthquake while serving as an emergency “nerve center.” The industrial-looking hub with a red steel roof will be adorned by 16, three-story art panels. Solar panels generating 1.5 megawatts of energy will also be added to its roof. A nearby parking garage was built to handle more than 1,000 cars, while traffic lights have been reworked around the airport. .[15] [16]

Terminals

Bob Hope Airport has two terminals, "A" and "B", joined together as part of the same building. Terminal A has nine gates numbered A1 to A9 and Terminal B has five gates numbered B1 to B5.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinationsTerminal
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma B
Alaska Airlines
operated by SkyWest Airlines 		Portland (OR) B
American Eagle Phoenix A
Delta Connection Salt Lake City B
JetBlue Airways New York–JFK A
Southwest Airlines Dallas–Love (begins June 5, 2016),[17] Denver, Las Vegas, Oakland, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose (CA) A
United Express Denver, San Francisco B

Note: Alaska's check-in counters are located in Terminal A.

Airlines previously operating jet service

According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), the following airlines previously operated scheduled passenger jet service from the airport over the years:[18]

Statistics

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from BUR (Dec 2014 – Nov 2015) [19]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Oakland, California 400,000 Southwest
2 Las Vegas, Nevada 311,000 Southwest
3 Phoenix, Arizona 289,000 American Eagle, Southwest, US Airways Express
4 Sacramento, California 227,000 Southwest
5 San Jose, California 205,000 Southwest
6 Seattle/Tacoma, Washington 153,000 Alaska
7 Denver, Colorado 116,000 Southwest, United Express
8 San Francisco, California 78,000 United Express
9 Portland, Oregon 70,000 Alaska
10 New York–JFK, New York 47,000 JetBlue

Annual traffic

Annual passenger traffic (enplaned + deplaned) at BUR, 2000 through 2014 [20][21]
Year Passengers Year Passengers Year Passengers
20104,461,27120004,748,742
20094,588,433
20085,331,404
20075,921,336
20065,689,291
20055,512,619
20143,861,17920044,916,800
20133,844,09220034,729,936
20124,056,41620024,620,683
20114,301,56820014,487,335

Ground transportation

Car

Bob Hope Airport can be reached using the Hollywood Way exit (number 149) off Interstate 5, the Hollywood Way (west) or Pass Ave (east) exit (number 2) off State Route 134, or the Victory Boulevard exit (number 8B) off State Route 170. Car and pedestrian access to the terminal is provided at either Hollywood Way and Thornton Avenue or on Empire Avenue one block west of Hollywood Way. On-site parking consists of valet parking, short-term parking, and Parking Lots D and E. Remote Parking Lot A is located at Hollywood Way and Winona Avenue. Remote Parking Lot B is located on Hollywood Way north of Burton Avenue. Remote Parking Lot C is located on Thornton Avenue west of Ontario Street. Shuttle buses are provided from Parking Lots A, B, C, and D to the terminal buildings. A shuttle stop is also located at the corner of Hollywood Way and Thornton Avenue.[2]

Bus

There are two bus stop areas: Hollywood Way-Thornton Ave (a short walk east of Terminal A) and Empire Ave/Intermodal, a short walk south of Terminal B next to the train station. All Burbank-bound lines serve Downtown Burbank (Metrolink station).

Line Destination(s) Stop Location
94 Downtown LA / Sylmar Hollywood Way
165 Burbank / West Hills Empire Ave
169 Burbank / Warner Center Hollywood Way
222 Hollywood / Sunland Hollywood Way
794 Downtown LA / Sylmar Hollywood Way
Amtrak Thruway 1a Bakersfield / San Diego Empire Ave
Amtrak Thruway 1a Bakersfield / Torrance Empire Ave
BurbankBus North Hollywood Hollywood Way (S)

Empire Ave (W)

Rail

Amtrak/Metrolink Ventura County Line

Amtrak's Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink's Ventura County and Burbank-Bob Hope Airport Lines serve the Bob Hope Airport Train Station located south of the airport. The train station is a short quarter mile walk from the terminal area, and a free shuttle bus with luggage racks connects the terminals and the train station. From the station, the Metrolink Ventura County Line provides access to downtown Los Angeles and Ventura County; Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner provides access to San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, downtown Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Diego.

Metrolink Antelope Valley Line

Metrolink's Antelope Valley Line stops at the Downtown Burbank station located about 3.3 miles away from the airport. The airport offers complimentary shuttle van service to the station operated by SuperShuttle; reservations are recommended. Passengers can also reach the station using southbound trains from the Bob Hope Airport Train Station or Metro Local route 165.

Future Bob Hope Airport-Hollywood Way station

Metrolink is building a new Bob Hope Airport-Hollywood Way station on the Antelope Valley Line. The station will be located about 1 mile north of the terminal near the intersection of San Fernando Boulevard and Hollywood Way, and a free shuttle bus will take passengers to the terminal.[22]

Expansion

In 2002, Terminal A was renovated and expanded. Plans existed for years to expand the airport with a new passenger terminal north of the existing one, but these plans have been scrapped due to significant opposition from the Burbank City Council and local groups.

A 2004 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report cited the need for expansion at this airport, but for now this seems impossible due to agreed upon restrictions of the size and number of gates. Under a development agreement, no gate expansions to the terminal are permitted until after 2015. The passenger terminal is too close to the runways, according to current safety standards, but is grandfathered in because of its age.

As of 2013, the airport is again trying to replace the legacy terminal. The proposed new terminal would be built on the north side of the airfield, with the existing terminal on the south side demolished once the new terminal is constructed. The number of gates and ground-boarding would be retained, but the new terminal would be larger and would address the safety deficiencies noted above. Building the new terminal requires a vote of the citizens of Burbank. New Terminal Visioning Page

Accidents and incidents

Bob Hope Airport was initially built for smaller aircraft; as a consequence, the airport has one of the smallest commercially used runways in the United States. The result is a challenging landing for even the most experienced pilots.

In popular culture

The airport has been used as a filming location for projects including:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 FAA Airport Master Record for BUR (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Bob Hope Airport (official site)
  3. ↑ Martin, Hugo. "Bob Hope Airport could try old name to boost traffic". http://www.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 December 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  4. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  7. ↑ D. D. Hatfield, Los Angeles Aeronautics, 1920–1929 (Inglewood, CA:Northrop University Press, 1973, 1976), 111; William Garvey and David Fisher, The Age of Flight: A History of America's Pioneering Airline (Greensboro, NC: Pace Communications, 2002), 206–07.
  8. ↑ Dr. Ford A. Carpenter, A Preliminary Report on the Airports or Landing Fields of Los Angeles County, prepared for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, October 1, 1926, typescript in the LAX Archive. This report includes photographs and descriptions of existing airports, including meteorological data and a location map. Regional Planning Commission, County of Los Angeles, Master Plan (Los Angeles, CA: Hall of Records, 1929.) Some authors claim, without documentation, that a federal Department of Commerce survey identified the site. The fact that Dr. Carpenter had been the Los Angeles meteorologist for the U. S. Weather Bureau and the Chamber's "Department of Aeronautics" name may explain the confusion.
  9. ↑ Burbank City Council, Minutes, January 29, 1929; March 26, 1929; April 16, 1929.
  10. ↑ United Airport of Burbank," typescript information sheet in the Archives of the Burbank Historical Society; n.p., but 1–2.
  11. ↑ "United Airport of Burbank," 3; Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission, A Comprehensive Report on the Master Plan of Airports for the Los Angeles County Regional Planning District (1940), 122.
  12. ↑ Official Aviation Guide, Chicago IL: Official Aviation Guide Company, 1939
  13. ↑ Official Airline Guide, Washington DC: American Aviation Publications, 1957
  14. ↑ Oberstein, J. (November 7, 2007). "Firm approves new screening facility". Burbank Leader. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  15. ↑ Bartholomew , D:, “Daily News,” June 27, 2007.
  16. ↑ gkkworks Bob Hope Airport RITC
  17. ↑ http://www.dailynews.com/business/20151208/southwest-airlines-to-offer-nonstop-service-between-burbank-dallas-love-field
  18. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Official Airline Guide (OAG) editions, Burbank (BUR) flight schedules
  19. ↑ RITA | BTS | Transtats. Transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved on Feb 2016.
  20. ↑ http://www.burbankairport.com/home/about-airport/airport-facts.html. Bob Hope Airport Statistics. Retrieved on 2014-05-03.
  21. ↑ http://www.burbankairport.com/home/com-spupgrade-tables-submenu/about-airport.html. About the Airport. Retrieved on 2015-03-28.
  22. ↑ Metrolink (June 21, 2013). "Metrolink, Metro and the Bob Hope Airport hold groundbreaking event for the Bob Hope Airport-Hollywood Way Metrolink Station".
  23. ↑ Bowers, Peter M., "Captain of the Clouds", Airpower, Granada Hills, California, July 1972, Volume 2, Number 4, p. 33.
  24. ↑ Matthews, Birch, "Cobra!: Bell Aircraft Corporation 1934–1946", Schiffer Publishing Limited, Atglen, Pennsylvania, 1996, Library of Congress card number 95-72357, ISBN 0-88740-911-3, p. 87.
  25. ↑ Mueller, Robert, "Air Force Bases Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1989, ISBN 0-912799-53-6, p. 577.
  26. ↑ "N163E Accident report". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  27. ↑ "N113AR Accident report". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 16 Nov 2014.
  28. ↑ Welcome to Our August 2012 Online Newsletter. Burbankairport.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.

External links


 Sun Valley Sun Valley & Verdugo Mountains Verdugo Mountains & Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles
North Hollywood & I-170 Burbank & I-5
   Bob Hope Airport  
North Hollywood Toluca Lake, Los Angeles Burbank
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