From its perch by the runways, the Proud Bird Restaurant offers a commanding view of Los Angeles International Airport. But these days, the jets aren't screaming by as often as they did a few years ago.
The streets surrounding the airport are quieter too, as freight companies idle their cargo trucks and lay off their warehouse workers. Shuttle and parking service companies, meanwhile, are fighting for customers as never before.
"It's just sad," said Elizabeth Lazcano, catering director at the Proud Bird, whose banquet halls depend on steady trade from airline worker retirement parties and group luncheons. "In my 27 years, this is the first time I've seen it this bad."
It's here, in the community of businesses that surround and rely on one of the nation's largest airports -- and Asia's gateway to America -- that the effects of the global economic crisis are being felt as hard as anywhere.
Passenger traffic has declined about 15% in the 12 months ended in February, while cargo has dropped 24%.
The dramatic declines are made tougher for the surrounding businesses because they come at a time when LAX has seen its market share challenged by competing airports in San Francisco, Houston, Miami and other cities.
The airport was the world's third-busiest for freight in 2000 but has since fallen to 13th, according to the Airport Council International. In the same time period, it went from being No. 3 worldwide in passenger traffic to No. 6.
The toll is especially heavy because LAX is one of the region's chief economic engines -- a city within a city that generates thousands of jobs and billions of dollars.
As one gauge of the airport's financial power, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. looked at how much revenue was generated by a typical flight traveling round trip every day between LAX and an overseas city. The estimates included a variety of factors, including hotel and restaurant bills racked up by flight crews and the money made by truckers who pick up goods from aircraft cargo holds.
The annual total: $623 million in business revenue, 3,120 jobs and $156 million in wages to Southern California.
"It is such an important piece of our economy," said Nancy Sidhu, chief economist for the economic development office. "Two of our key industries are tourism and international trade, and LAX is a core element in both of those."
