A leading aviation consulting firm delivered a sobering message Thursday to Los Angeles airport officials: the well-publicized continuing decline in international travelers may be a harbinger of things to come.

In a study commissioned by the airport’s governing board, analysts with SH & E; Inc. found that Los Angeles International Airport is losing its share of international traffic to and from several major world markets, including Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Trans-Atlantic. With international departures down 11.9 percent from 2000 levels, LAX’s profile is slipping on the international stage.

“This may be tough to swallow, but LAX can no longer sell itself just because it is L.A.,” said SH & E; Director Sonjia Murray at a presentation to the Los Angeles Business Council Thursday. “Other airports, and we looked at a lot of them, are in a superior position relative to LAX.”

The report found that the major competing airports around the country, like San Francisco International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, have built expensive new facilities to accommodate international passengers and are marketing themselves aggressively.

Murray said LAX needs to lure new large aircraft Airbus’ A380, and Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner and 747-8 in order to have a shot at stemming passenger losses.

Airport Commissioner President Alan Rothenberg said most of the airport’s wounds are self-inflicted through decades of inaction.

“Since we opened Tom Bradley International Terminal in 1984, we haven’t done a thing at LAX,” Rothenberg said. “It’s pathetic that we are such a great city with such a horrible airport.”