Andrew Watterson, Chief Commercial Officer of Southwest Airlines, joins the show to discuss the Southwest effect in Ontario, its growing number of departures and why the airline is always open to having routes leaving from several local airports. He chats about using government data, relying on passenger context and what the airline does if a destination simply isn’t working. He reveals which new service has gone through the roof. And he’ll address the elephant in the room: the 737 MAXs on hold and what’s happening with those planes now.

Henry Hardeveldt, Founder of Atmosphere Research Group, speaks about airport expansions as well as complicated times with construction at LAX. He chats about ONT and flying out of there instead, the 737 MAX optics and a recent study that has some troubling findings for Boeing. Henry also talks about potential flight simulator trainings and how branding won’t really work because people will still know it’s the 737 Max, even if the name is changed. Then, he’ll share why he thinks Boeing has brought the problem onto itself. He says its reputation is damaged and that it’s going to take a while before it’s restored.

Bill McGee, Aviation Expert for Consumer Reports, helps Peter open the show by conversing about an issue that has been made much more complicated than it should ever be – families sitting together – and the DOT’s involvement. We’re talking about kids from 1-3 years of age sitting away from their family members: Bill argues that this isn’t rocket science and why it’s necessary to take action. And he’ll talk about the three airlines that are complicit in this action. He says that families shouldn’t have to rely on the kindness of strangers to sit next to their minors.

Scott McCartney, Travel Editor for The Wall Street Journal, talks about ONT and its continued evolution. Once owned by LAX, it’s now an independent airport. The airport fought for this because it was often left out in the cold as a part of LAX. He says there wasn’t focus or dollars going to the smaller airport. Airlines fought against the growth of the secondary airport because they wanted to consolidate their crafts and routes, and it gave them more room for connections. But there was a demand in the Inland Empire, and when airlines see demand, they follow the dollars. Now Ontario is one of the fastest growing airports in the country.

Mike Boyd, Aviation Consultant & President of Boyd Group International, speaks about the airlines that failed in 2019 and what that means for other carriers moving forward. For instance, Southwest will have the 737 MAX back in the air by the end of this year and more people are flying with low fare carriers. He also talks about David Neeleman’s new airline, formerly titled Moxy, and his success with JetBlue in the U.S. and Azul in Brazil. One of the keys to Azul’s success was flying to places that didn’t even have bus service and creating new routes, and it worked.

Alan Wapner, Council Member at the Ontario City Council, talks with Peter about the relationship between LAX and Ontario International Airport. For 50 years, there was a good relationship between the airports but when LAX perceived ONT as a threat, funds diminished and passengers dropped substantially. ONT has since become the largest outgoing cargo airport in the country, and commercial airfares have dropped considerably. As a fast growing airport, it is one of the main economic generators in the region of Ontario.

Mark Thorpe, CEO of the Ontario International Airport Authority, gives insight into the Los Angeles airport systems. Any plane that can land at LAX can land at ONT. Right now, there are a lot of 747s on the ground here as UPS planes. In addition to UPS, this airport is also a hub for FedEx and Amazon, which he sees as one of the airport’s major contributions to Southern California. He also describes how it was a ghost airport just a few years ago. He explains how just because 80% of the traffic is going out of LAX, that doesn’t mean it’s where 80% of the demand is coming from. Now, the passenger count is increasing again with 5.5 million last year, and it’s now on track to see 6 million per year.

Suzanne Boda, American Airlines’ Senior Vice President for Los Angeles, speaks about American Airlines’ influence on the region and presence outside of Los Angeles International Airport. He says the presence at Ontario International Airport is growing. Passengers can now go through Ontario’s airport to connect to just about anywhere in the world.

Tim Conway Jr., Radio Host of “The Tim Conway Jr. Show” on KFI Radio in Los Angeles, describes a recent trip to ONT with his family over the holidays. Although he grew up in Los Angeles, he tries to avoid going to LAX at all costs. According to him, even though you might spend a little more money for a flight out of ONT, parking is typically cheaper and the customer service tends to be better. He says that you’ll save yourself a lot of time and hassle.