Gridlock over how to end flight gridlock

The airlines balk after the FAA proposes congestion pricing and flight caps for airports in the New York area.

from the October 29, 2007 edition

Page 2 of 2

Page 1 | 2

The FAA's steps thus far

The FAA has redesigned the airspace so that more planes can land and take off at the same time and is implementing that plan. But there's opposition from some communities that would hear more planes roaring overhead. They've brought lawsuits, and some congressmen are threatening to block the plan.

The FAA is also negotiating with the military to open up some restricted airspace over the Atlantic Ocean to create new departure routes. And the agency has announced plans to introduce satellite-based technology that will allow some planes to take off closer together. But it will take as long as three years to implement those changes – and 10 years before the entire air-traffic control system is shifted to a satellite-based technology that will ease congestion everywhere.

So the second key issue, from the FAA's point of view, is what to do in the short term. It wants the airlines to self-police their schedules – meaning that not every traveler who wants to leave at 6 p.m. on a Friday would be able to do so. Some may have to depart at 4 p.m. or 8 p.m., but at least they won't be sitting on the tarmac for an hour or more waiting for all the other scheduled 6 p.m. flights to leave. The FAA has told the airlines that if they don't resolve the problem themselves, it will put caps on the number of departing flights and may implement congestion pricing.

Airlines seek better air-traffic control

From the view of the airlines and the airport authority, the FAA still isn't moving aggressively enough to improve air-traffic control. Talk of imposing caps, they say, will turn back the clock and undermine New York's economy.

"We are opposed to artificial restraints on travel and taxes on travel," says James May, president and CEO of the Air Transport Association, which represents the major carriers. "The constraints they're attempting to put on JFK are reminiscent of traffic levels that were accomplished in 1969. We don't need to look back; we need to look forward."

The FAA's Turmail says operational improvements are "a must and already under way." But he's just as adamant that the airlines must make some changes. "We have to figure out what changes the airlines can make and what the Port Authority can do to avoid these delays in the future," he says.

Advocates for passengers say both sides can do better. "There's some definite denial ... among airlines about how bad the problem is," says Kevin Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition, an advocacy group for business travelers. "On the other hand, the FAA just seems like it wants to experiment in New York with this congestion pricing and they're not hearing the objections."

Still, there are some hopeful signs for the weary, oft-delayed traveler, says Mr. Mitchell. At least every body's talking about a finding a solution and, in the end, they just might, he says.

1 | Page 2