P.A. Blames Repaving for Newark Airport Delays

P.A. Blames Repaving for Airport Delays
Continental trip from Virginia to Newark receives worst rating

Newark Star Ledger, NJ

Wednesday, November 12, 2003


Of all the nation's airline routes, the one reported most delayed in
September was Continental's Flight 1434 from Norfolk, Va., to Newark
Liberty International Airport -- late a whopping 90.48 percent of the
time.

Three other regular flights that month to Newark Airport -- from Des
Moines, Iowa; Greensboro, N.C., and Hartford, Conn. -- shared the dubious
distinction of being tied for second-most delayed flights, each touching
down late 88.46 percent of the time.

In fact, 23 of the nation's 25 worst delayed routes in September were ones
scheduled to land at Newark. Each was late at least 80 percent of the
time.

The monthly figures released by the U.S. Department of Transportation
confirmed what travelers who used Newark Airport during September already
knew: It was a dreadful month to fly into the metropolitan area's second
busiest hub. Airport and airline officials have blamed a massive runway
repaving project conducted by the Port Authority of New York combined with
weather woes for the significant delays.

"Dismal," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association,
a national consumers' group. "Not only did passengers suffer, but the
airlines that operated there suffered as well. That's just grim."

Nationally, however, September's on-time arrival performance for the 17
commercial U.S. carriers issuing data was the third-best since the DOT
began keeping such monthly reports in 1995.

Throughout September, officials of the Port Authority -- which operates
Newark -- attributed delays that often averaged nearly 30 minutes to the
repaving. The longest delays were about 90 minutes, according to the
agency.

Wear-and-tear requires a complete overhaul of each of Newark Airport's two
major landing strips once a decade. Runway 4 Left-22 Right, which is
11,000-feet long, was closed most of the month for the work, which
included laying down several inches of new asphalt, along with lighting,
drainage and electrical repairs.

The project cost $9.7 million. The airport's other main runway was
resurfaced about five years ago.

"It's probably the repaving project," said Alan Hicks, a Port Authority
spokesman, when asked yesterday about September's extensive delays. He
noted agency officials had not seen the DOT's report.

"We did the repaving project in September because the time after Labor Day
is considered the least traveled time of the year. We worked it out with
the airlines," said Hicks. "We should get better travel times in the
future."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, some of September's
delays exceeded two hours when the repaving problems were exacerbated by a
spate of bad weather and heavy volume. Planes are considered delayed by
FAA and DOT if they are at least 15 minutes behind the scheduled arrival
or departure time.

DOT figures show that only 56.4 percent of all flights at Newark arrived
on time in September, with 78 percent of departures leaving on time. At
John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, N.Y., 83.8 percent of
flights landed on time in September, with 90.3 percent of departures on
time.

Nearly all of the worst delayed routes at Newark Airport were flown by
Continental Airlines, the airport's largest carrier, and ExpressJet
Airlines.

"It's rare that we have any flights on the list of worst offenders," said
Rahsaan Johnson, a Continental spokesman. "The reason is simple. The
problem in September was, of course, the runway resurfacing project in
Newark. When we had anything less than optimal weather conditions, we took
a substantial number of delays and cancellations."

Johnson noted the DOT counts canceled flights as a delayed trip.

In September, ExpressJet, which is partly owned by Continental, had the
nation's lowest percentage of on-time flights at just 77.8 percent.
Continental was next- to-last with 78.1 percent of its flights on time.

Conversely, the best on-time performance in September belonged to SkyWest
Airlines with a 92.3 percent mark, with the national on-time average at
85.6 percent. SkyWest flies mostly in the West and South and does not stop
at Newark Airport.

Johnson said the company's own October preliminary numbers for Continental
at Newark Airport showed "marked improvement," with 82 percent of
Newark-bound flights arriving on time and 92.6 percent of departures on
time.

Meanwhile, Stempler, the Air Travelers group's official, predicted other
airports eventually will experience similar delays.

"As we try to improve the airport infrastructure in this country, this is
something people in other cities are going to have to get used to," said
Stempler. "Because sometimes it causes disruptions."


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