Ontario Airport Sees a Significant Rise in Passenger Traffic

The number of passengers passing through Ontario International Airport (ONT) in Southern California has been growing significantly since it was transferred to the City of Ontario in 2015. With the new local ownership, Ontario has brought new airlines, increased the number of flights and destinations, and added new eateries and remodeled facilities to entice travelers to use the airport located approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

The new ownership and investment by the City of Ontario have proved to be worthy as this past summer travel season has been the busiest travel season Ontario has ever seen in its history.

This August alone, passenger volume grew by more than 18 percent. The number of arriving and departing passengers totaled 458,029 – an increase of over 18 percent from August 2017 when ONT welcomed 387,351 travelers. Domestic travel went up 16.2 percent from a year ago and international travel more than 82.5 percent (an increase of 22,339 passengers) mostly because of China Airlines’ new daily Airbus A350 service to Taiwan which began in March 2018.

Ontario Airport has welcomed Frontier Airlines’ low-cost service this year and this August saw the start of Frontier Airlines’ daily, non-stop service to Orlando. Earlier this month, JetBlue also re-launched nonstop service to New York’s JFK Airport.

Furthermore, China Airlines’ new service to Taipei has proven to be popular amongst Asia-bound travelers wanting to avoid the traffic and lines at LAX. According to the airport, China Airlines’ load capacity is at 80 percent each way.

Ontario also recently completed multi-million upgrades of the airport’s dining and retail concessions. This investment has brought in popular dining brands to a once bland terminal such as Einstein Bros. Bagels, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, Rock & Brews, and WPizza by Wolfgang Puck. Like LAX with Westfield Group, Ontario Airport is also rebranding and refurbishing its concessions to provide a better and more enticing experience for travelers.

“The consistent increases in passenger volume affirm what we are doing to develop Ontario into a world-class gateway and create a first-rate airport experience,” said Alan Wapner, President of Ontario’s Airport Authority. “Our customers demand a smooth, hassle-free experience along with popular services and amenities, and we are dedicated to meeting their expectations.”

This is only the beginning for Ontario as the airport expects these strong double-digit numbers to get even better in the months ahead with the newly-added flights and investment in upgraded traveler amenities.

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Albert Kuan

Most people hate long flights or overnight layovers, but Albert loves them. The airport and flying parts of traveling are the biggest highlights of any trip for him – as this avgeek always gets a thrill from sampling different airline cabin products and checking out regional developments happening at local U.S. airports. He’s flown on almost every major carrier in the U.S. and Asia Pacific, and he hopes to try out the new A350s soon.

Albert recently completed his undergraduate studies in Business Accounting at USC in Los Angeles and he is currently recruiting for a corporate analyst position at one of the U.S. legacy carriers. During his college years, he interned at LAX for Los Angeles World Airports working behind-the-scenes (and on the ramp) in public relations and accounting. Outside of writing for AirlineGeeks, he enjoys trekking the Hollywood hills, visiting new hotspots throughout SoCal, and doing the occasional weekender on Spirit Airlines.

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