6:00am | According to a report released by Los Angeles Worlds Airports — the owner of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Ontario International Airport (ONT), and Van Nuys Airport (VNY) — the Long Beach Airport (LGB) has seen a traffic increase of 11.1%, one of the highest in the state.
Meanwhile, ONT saw a drop of 5.8% while LAX saw a rise of 8.2%. Several reasons explain the fluctuations, with one of the top reasons being airline mergers, where more airlines are shifting their business to larger hubs like LAX and avoiding medium hubs like ONT.
Many claim that LGB’s success lies in its devout partnership with Jet Blue Airlines, which accounts for a large portion of the airport’s traffic. Meanwhile, ONT faces an uphill battle where low-cost flights account for more than half of its base traffic. The airliners that provide these flights — specifically Southwest Airlines — have begun to cancel flights in ONT and move into larger markets.