LAX Warns of Worker Furloughs, BUR Adds Premium Valet, JetBlue Considering Leaving Long Beach

Burbank Airport's Arrivals and Departures | Photo by {Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester} via Flickr

The difference between LAX and Burbank airports are obviously vast. At one you should arrive an hour or two early just to make sure you'll make it through all the lines. At the other, arriving 20 minutes before your flight is typical.

The latter, Burbank Airport, is now offering a new ultra type of valet service. "Our standard Gold Valet Service in front of the terminal at $20 per day has a devoted following, but some customers have told us they would like to have the option of choosing quicker service with a premium covered space, so we have put together a program to meet those needs,'' said Len Silvernail, director of Operations and Maintenance, to the Daily News. The new service will be $30 a day.

Over at LAX, the news is not so positive. The city is now facing a possible $1 billion budget shortfall due to the recession's effect on employee pension funds and now Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is warning all departments, including proprietary ones, that furloughs might be on the way. In a memo, an airport administrator wrote "in the days ahead I will be working to examine possible issues a furlough could create if implemented, and devising a plan to ensure that there is minimal impact on all of you and our obligations to our tenants and customers."

Over at Long Beach Airport, JetBlue CEO Dave Barger tells a blogger that the company is considering pulling out of the airport and expanding at LAX. Barger says their relationship with the city is on thin ice. The Press-Telegram takes note.