"Foes of O'Hare expansion say it could hurt economy"

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 

Foes of O'Hare expansion say it could hurt economy 
By Ames Boykin
The Chicago (IL) Daily Herald

 
Expanding O'Hare International Airport could hurt the Chicago area because
passengers would be driven away by higher fees, anti-expansion consultants
said Monday.

Accusing the city's O'Hare Modernization Program of fuzzy math, a new
analysis by a consultant hired by two suburbs against expansion found the
city's plan to add 195,000 new jobs and bring $18 billion more to the region
by expanding O'Hare is inflated by 150 percent. 

And that means that in the end, with airlines struggling economically, they
will have to charge passengers more money, because expanding O'Hare will
result in fewer than expected flights, said Jon Ash, a former TWA executive
who now runs Washington-based Global Aviation Associates Ltd.

Ash says expanding O'Hare would add 69,000 jobs and $7.3 billion. 

City officials immediately fired back Monday, saying they stand by their
estimates.

Ash, who is paid by Elk Grove Village and Bensenville, also said projections
that reconfiguring and building new runways will nearly double the number of
flights at O'Hare to 1.6 million a year assume an infinite amount of
airspace, and the lack of bad weather.

Speaking Monday before the City Club of Chicago, Ash instead said he
projects a 26 percent increase in air traffic by 2012. 

As a result, the airlines' costs per passenger would have to be increased
from today's $9.24 to $26.33 by 2012, Ash said. 

Paying for the expansion project would force airlines to raise their prices,
driving passengers to low-cost carriers at other airports, he said. 

Ash figured that not even Atlanta's airport, the world's busiest, would
sustain as many jobs as Chicago is promising. Under Ash's calculation,
Atlanta's airport would provide 33 percent fewer jobs than O'Hare. 

What's the difference between O'Hare's economic projections and Atlanta's?

"They don't stretch the envelope," Ash said. 

But Rosemarie Andolino, executive director of O'Hare Modernization Program,
said Monday that flights at O'Hare are back to levels not seen since before
Sept. 11, 2001, and the airlines have committed to the expansion project. 

Expanding O'Hare will reduce delays and keep the airport competitive,
Andolino said.

"The cost of doing nothing at O'Hare is incredible," she said.

Expanding O'Hare will cost $14.8 billion for all facets of the project,
including roadway improvements, according to the city of Chicago.

A decision from the Federal Aviation Administration on the plan is expected
in fall 2005. Construction would start soon after that, city officials said.


Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig B. Johnson also spoke at the City Club of
Chicago luncheon, which was attended by Chicago business representatives.

During the question-and-answer portion, Bensenville resident Tim Taylor
asked Johnson how much money Elk Grove Village and Bensenville have spent
fighting expansion. Elk Grove Village alone has poured $3.5 million into the
battle, Johnson said.


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