America West to Add More Phoenix Flights

America West Airlines said Tuesday that it will add four more round trip flights--for a total of eight--between Orange County’s John Wayne Airport and Phoenix, starting Feb. 15. The Phoenix-based airline’s expanded schedule at John Wayne stems from the Orange County Board of Supervisors’ allocation of currently unused flight allotments at the airport, where flights are restricted to control the impact of jet noise on nearby communities. America West, however, is assured of the extra flights only until March 31, after which the county will implement a new airport access plan. Mark Coleman, America West’s senior vice president of market planning, said that in adding flights to Phoenix, the airline will reduce the price of its one-way tickets out of John Wayne Airport by $10. The $49 fare will still be $10 higher than for the airline’s flights to Phoenix out of Burbank, Ontario or Los Angeles International. The higher fare at John Wayne, Coleman said, is a matter of demand outstripping supply.