"Feds consider auctions, fees to ease airport delays"

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Feds consider auctions, fees to ease airport delays
By Alan Levin
USA TODAY


Federal transportation officials are considering controversial solutions for
overcrowding at airports, including auctioning landing spots to airlines for
the first time, to prevent the type of record flight delays seen this year
at Chicago's O'Hare International. 
 
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Federal Aviation Administration
Administrator Marion Blakey acknowledge that they are discussing ways to
reduce delays that have averaged almost an hour during peak periods at
O'Hare and that have triggered delays at other airports.

In addition to possibly auctioning landing spots, transportation officials
are discussing whether to let airports set higher fees on small planes to
make way on crowded runways for bigger jets that carry more passengers.
Airlines pay less money to land small commuter planes, although small planes
take up as much runway space as do large jets. 

The two strategies come after federal officials had emergency sessions with
the airline industry this month about the delays at O'Hare.

The sessions resulted in United and American airlines agreeing last week to
voluntarily cut flights, a move that is expected to cut the typical flight
delay from 57 minutes to 46. But the agreement is not considered to be a
long-term solution to O'Hare's overcrowding problem. Chicago has proposed
expanding the airport, but that wouldn't happen until at least 2014.

"That's why we've got to look at other steps to try to manage the air
traffic system at Chicago," Mineta says.

Although O'Hare's situation is the worst, it's not alone. The FAA in June
identified four other airports - Newark International, Hartsfield
International in Atlanta, Philadelphia International and New York's
LaGuardia - as having greater demand for landings and takeoffs than
capacity. By 2013, the number could reach 15 if new runways aren't built.

Mineta and Blakey stress that they have not reached any decisions on whether
to impose the strategies.

The airline industry says both ideas are unacceptable. 

Airlines now are generally free to land at any airport as long as they pay
landing fees based on the weight of their planes. They say that by
auctioning landing slots, the government would inhibit their ability to
compete. Higher costs and fees would have to be passed on to customers in
higher ticket prices, they say.


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