Hollywood Burbank Airport finishes 2017 strong

Hollywood Burbank Airport ended 2017 on a positive note as it saw its total number of passengers improve by 14.4% over the previous year.

Nerissa Sugars, the airport’s manager of air service development, told members of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday that 4,739,466 passengers went through the terminals last year, which was 596,523 more than in 2016.

Comparatively, Hollywood Burbank ended 2016 with 4,142,943 passengers, which was 199,314 more than in 2015.

The past year was rounded out by a strong performance in December, during which the airport had 427,499 passengers, a bump of 62,543 more than the previous year.

The airfield saw its peak number of passengers in November, during which officials reported 444,800 passengers.

Though Hollywood Burbank’s passenger statistics continue to grow, officials said the airport is still below its peak figures in 2007, when about 5.9 million passengers flew in and out of the airfield.

Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier operating at Hollywood Burbank, showed growth in December. Officials reported 319,093 passengers for the month, a jump of 33,340 more than in 2016.

Alaska Airlines also had an impressive December, reporting 51,855 passengers. The 18,723-passenger improvement over the previous year was attributed to its successful flights to San Jose and switching to aircraft with more capacity, Sugars said.

United Airlines tallied 28,345 passengers in December, 8,331 more compared to 2016.

Delta Airlines had modest growth for the month, reporting 9,106 passengers, 1,974 more than the previous year.

JetBlue Airways also showed improvement, with 8,009 passengers in December, an increase of 1,139 passengers.

Mokulele Airlines, the newest carrier at Hollywood Burbank, had a short run. Sugars said the airline ended its operations at Santa Maria Public Airport on Nov. 30, which halted flights between the Central Coast and Southern California airports. There were 333 passengers who used Mokulele during its two months of service.

American Airlines, which continues to focus on its operations at Los Angeles International Airport, saw its numbers drop again at Hollywood Burbank. The carrier reported 11,091 passengers in December, a dip of 964 compared to 2016.

Most airports in the region also reported strong numbers for December and for 2017. LAX had 7,097,933 passengers for the month, a jump of 225,672 more than in 2016. It ended 2017 with 84,557,968 passengers, an increase of 3,636,441.

Long Beach Airport continues to see its statistics climb as well, reporting 339,183 passengers in December, a rise of 111,915 more than the year before. It finished 2017 with 3,737,571 passengers, 890,830 more than in 2016, which Sugars said was due to Southwest starting operations at Long Beach in 2017.

Ontario International Airport also had solid growth, with 410,000 passengers in December, which was a boost of 18,004 compared to the previous year. The airport tallied 4,551,835 passengers in 2017, which was 299,932 more than in 2016.

John Wayne Airport reported 899,451 passengers in December, which was 28,495 more than in 2016. However, the airport ended 2017 with 10,423,578 passengers, a decline of 72,933 passengers compared to the year before. Sugars said the drop was due to a passenger cap set at John Wayne.

Though passenger numbers are up at Hollywood Burbank, parking revenue remains flat. Denis Carvill, deputy executive director of engineering, maintenance, operations and airline relations, said the total revenue generated by the airport’s lots, structure and valet was about $1.47 million in December, which was roughly $20,000 less than in 2016.

However, the airport collected $217,329 from ride-sharing companies in December, said Mike Duong, the airport’s senior manager of business and compliance. There were 39,525 drop-offs and 32,918 pick-ups during the month.

For the year, there were a total of 397,763 drop-offs and 350,101 pick-ups made by ride-sharing companies, such as Lyft and Uber, at Hollywood Burbank, according to airport data.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio