FLYING HIGH IN THE DESERT PALMDALE AIRPORT ADDS FLIGHTS TO SAN FRANCISCO.

Byline: JIM SKEEN

Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- Amid pomp and ceremony, United Airlines launched twice-daily service Thursday between Palmdale Airport and San Francisco, the latest effort to establish an air-traffic hub in the Antelope Valley.

With dignitaries including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, and county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, supporters cheered the arrival of Flight 6456 at Palmdale Regional Airport, which carries the designator PMD.

"Today, the region came together to provide service out of our Antelope Valley," Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said. "How we perform will dictate how soon we get the second carrier and the third and the fourth."

What the new twice-daily service represents seemed to depend on whom was speaking. For Antelope Valley civic leaders, it represents a new chapter in the growth of the High Desert.

"This is Palmdale's oldest unfulfilled dream," said Larry Chimbole, a former Palmdale mayor who has been an airport advocate for more than 40 years. "I have high hopes for this."

Chimbole noted that the efforts to bring air service to Palmdale began in the late 1950s, before the city had even incorporated and before there was even a freeway to serve the Antelope Valley.

"We used to be considered a remote, out-of-the-way place," Chimbole said. "It's not anymore."

For Los Angeles officials, it represents the start of "regionalism," a move to spread out Southern California's air traffic rather than just focusing on Los Angeles International Airport.

"We are on our way to regionalism," Rosendahl said. "Palmdale will expand, expand and expand and become the regional airport for the basin."

Denny Schneider, a member of the group Regional Solution to Airport Congestion, said the level of commitment shown by politicians and the community is a lot higher for this latest effort to establish Palmdale service.

"It's so critical that we recognize this is a viable airport for a lot of people," Schneider said. "This is a good demonstration project. It has to work. United is an airline capable of making it work."

For passengers, the new service means convenience.

Kellie Ferguson of Lancaster had been planning to fly out of Burbank on a trip to visit relatives in Northern California when her husband, Travis, suggested they look at Palmdale fares.

"I got a fare that was $160 cheaper -- same route," Kellie Ferguson said. "Plus there's no traffic and the parking is free."

The Fergusons said they plan to look into whether they can fly out of Palmdale for a trip later this summer to Miami. They would even consider flying out of Palmdale if the fare was higher than other airports.

"Convenience doesn't have a price," Kellie Ferguson said.

Velur Enterprises, a land investment company, sent 16 of its employees on the first flight to show support for the airport. The company has many clients who live in the San Francisco Bay area, said Roger Docena, one of the passengers.

"We've been waiting for this airport to open," Docena said. "Traffic at LAX is so congested. I live in Carlsbad and I'm willing to come in to support this."

Richard McKenzie, a Palmdale resident on hand to watch the event even though his own flight is not until June 26, will fly to the East Coast to celebrate his mother's 96th birthday.

"I don't want to travel to L.A. The traffic is terrible," McKenzie said. "Going to Burbank is about the same. And you have to pay to park. Here, there's free parking."

The first flight was described as "great" by Barbara Vilardo, director of communications for the city of Palmdale. Vilardo was flying with her son and daughter to Chicago for a family gathering.

"They passed around a banner for all the passengers to sign. That will hang in the terminal. They passed around the proclamations (the politicians had brought) for everyone to see," Vilardo said.

There was some minor confusion resulting from the first flight ceremony. Some of the passengers who had mingled with the ceremony crowd had to be rescreened by security. Vilardo had to be re-screened after she leaned over a railing to embrace a colleague at the ceremony.

The passengers were also supposed to be greeted by the dignitaries before entering the plane, but they boarded virtually unnoticed by those at the podium -- with the exemption of Villaraigosa, who quickly went to the plane to shake some hands.

In his remarks, Villaraigosa also struck a regionalism chord.

"This is where the growth is. This is where we have to make the infrastructure investments that are critical to reducing congestion on L.A.'s freeways and improving the mobility of residents of Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys as well," Villaraigosa said. "Improvements and additions anywhere in the Southland tend to make life easier for everyone in the Southland."

james.skeen@dailynews

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, map

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in AV and SAC editions only) United Airlines flight 6456 to San Francisco makes its way down the runway at Los Angeles/Palmdale Regional Airport in Palmdale on Thursday.

(2 -- color -- ran in AV and SAC editions only) Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa greets the first group of passagers who landed at Los Angeles/Palmdale Regional Airport from San Francisco on Thursday. The United Airlines service got a warm welcome from the Antelope Valley area.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Map:

L.A./Palmdale Regional Airport

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist