UNITED OR DELTA TO WIN LAWA OFFICIALS TO MAKE RECOMMENDATION TODAY.

Byline: JIM SKEEN Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- Los Angeles World Airports officials are expected to announce today which airline, Delta or United, they will work with to bring service to Palmdale.

One of the two airlines will be selected to enter into a revenue-guarantee agreement with LAWA to underwrite operational losses from providing service to L.A./Palmdale Regional Airport.

The two airlines had responded to a request for proposals from LAWA on providing service to the Antelope Valley.

LAWA's board of airport commissioners is expected to vote on the recommended airline at a meeting on Monday.

Palmdale officials said they believe that the airline will be United and the service to be offered will be two flights daily to San Francisco.

``I think it can work,'' Mayor Jim Ledford said about service to San Francisco. ``It could save you time if you are traveling east. You wouldn't have to spend two hours driving to LAX.''

A United spokesman said he could not confirm that the airline had been selected or that it was looking to provide service to San Francisco.

``We feel we put together a competitive proposal that will provide future service for our customers in the Antelope Valley by enabling them to access United's global network,'' said airline spokesman Jeff Kovick.

To attract an airline, a coalition of airport supporters has put together an incentive package valued at $4.6 million, with $2 million slated to underwrite losses incurred from providing the service. That incentive package includes a $900,000 grant from the federal government.

The incentive package was put on the table at the same time Los Angeles World Airports solicited proposals for starting up operations at Palmdale, drawing in the submissions by Delta and United. The goal is get an airline that will offer flights by 50- to 90-passenger jets to other western cities, such as Phoenix, San Francisco and Dallas-Forth Worth, officials said.

The incentives were packaged by a coalition called Wheels Up Palmdale that includes Palmdale and Los Angeles city agencies, county government, the Antelope Valley Board of Trade, the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. and the Air Force.

In addition to the money to underwrite losses, the incentives include terminal rental waivers and marketing efforts.

In a marketing move, LAWA changed the name of the airport from Palmdale Regional to L.A./Palmdale Regional. The move is intended to make the airport more marketable to inbound business and leisure travelers as a destination in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

The L.A./Palmdale Regional Airport is composed of a terminal building and a parking lot located at Air Force Plant 42. Under an agreement with the Air Force, Plant 42 can be used by civilian airliners for as many as 50 flights a day, and there are provisions to expand to 400 flights a day.

The airport has had a number of false starts over the past several years as airlines came in but leave after just a few months because of high operating losses. All of those airlines operated small turboprop aircraft, not jetliners of the type now sought by LAWA.

The most recent airline to operate out of Palmdale, Nevada-based Scenic, pulled out after just a year of operations, citing low passenger loads and operating losses. Scenic, although in the sightseeing flight business for decades, had little experience operating passenger service. Passenbers said service to the North Las Vegas Airport was fine for those staying in Las Vegas, but problematic for those wanting to travel on to other destinations.

james.skeen(at)dailynews

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