Administration Calls On Airlines, Congress To Act In Consumers' Interests

ANN REALTIME UPDATE: 11.15.07 1700 EST: On Thursday, President Bush announced steps the Administration is taking to help relieve air traffic congestion and flight delays during the holiday season.

After directing them in September to develop a strategy to reduce aviation congestion, Bush met with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell to receive an update on their progress.

The Administration Is Taking The Following Short-Term Steps To Reduce Air-Travel Problems Over The Holidays

1. The US military is going to make some of its airspace available for use by civilian airliners this holiday season. Through an agreement between the FAA and the Defense Department, the military will open up new "Thanksgiving Express Lanes" in the sky during the heaviest travel days to help reduce delays and congestion. This newly available airspace will be available over water off the East Coast and will help the most congested regions -- from Maine to Florida -- for nearly five full days surrounding the holiday.
2. The FAA is implementing measures to head off delays.
3. 1. FAA Acting Administrator Sturgell will impose a holiday moratorium on maintenance projects that are not time-sensitive -- so all FAA equipment and personnel can focus on keeping flights on time.
   2. The FAA is partnering with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to reduce bottlenecks in the New York metro area, which is the source of most chronic delays. Nearly one-third of the Nation's air traffic passes through the New York region, and three-fourths of the chronic delays around the country can be traced to delays in the New York area. This is a long-term project, but several key items have been completed in time for the Thanksgiving rush. For example, at both Newark and John F. Kennedy Airports, planes can now use certain runways simultaneously without compromising safety.
4. The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the FAA are encouraging airlines to take their own measures to prevent delays. Airlines have already responded by agreeing to make more staff available to expedite check-in and boarding; set aside extra seats and even extra planes to help accommodate passengers affected by cancellations and delays; and bring in additional ticket kiosks, baggage handling gear, and rolling staircases.

New Proposed DOT Regulations Will Further Help Air Travelers Confronted By Delays And Cancellations

The President announced three new proposed DOT regulations to help ensure air travelers are treated fairly. The regulations will not be final for several months, but the plan is for measures to be in effect by the summer travel season in 2008. The proposals seek to:

1. Double the amount of compensation passengers receive when they are forced off overbooked flights. For example, a passenger forced to wait more than two hours for another flight would receive a minimum of $800, instead of the current $400.
2. Require airlines to collect and provide DOT with better data on the sources of flight delays.
3. Evaluate a number of other requirements for the airlines - including mandatory contingency plans to aid stranded passengers and penalties for chronically delayed flights.

The FAA is also going to better inform consumers by providing real-time updates on whether flights at a particular airport are on time or delayed, and by how much. This information will be available at the FAA website, at the FMI link below.

Original Report

On Thursday, President George W. Bush will order a series of changes aimed at heading off air traffic congestion for the upcoming US holiday travel season.

The Associated Press reports the plan includes opening unused military operations airspace (MOAs) for use by commercial flights; insuring air traffic control facilities are well-staffed to handle a glut of flights; and halting non-essential renovation and construction work at FAA facilities, to reduce the chances of an unforeseen electric failure or other construction-related issues.

The White House also mandates the FAA to provide real-time travel information, including up-to-the-minute reports on airport delays -- on the agency's website. Ways to reroute airspace to fill in "gaps" in the air and on the ground will also be considered.

Other measures are a bit broader. Under the Bush plan, the Department of Transportation will propose increasing the amount of money airlines must pay passengers who pay for a ticket, but wind up without a seat on the plane. This so-called "bump fee" may be increased threefold, to more than $600, according to the AP.

In another measure aimed at reducing "unfair and deceptive" practices by airlines, the DOT would also slap heavy fines on carriers operating flight deemed chronically late -- meaning it is over 15 minutes late in arriving at its destination, more than 70 percent of the time.

Bush is to make the announcement flanked by DOT Secretary Mary Peters, and Acting FAA Administrator Bobby Sturgell.

The proposal comes as the domestic airline industry's on-time performance is the worst it's ever been, or at least since the DOT began keeping track of delayed and cancelled flights in 1995. The upcoming busy holiday travel season is expected to compound those problems.

According to the Air Transport Association, domestic carriers will likely fly roughly 27 million passengers worldwide over a 12-day period beginning Friday. Planes are expected to be about 90 percent full.

FMI: www.fly.faa.gov