Sun, Jan 07, 2007
Minimum Seat-Count Rule Finding Few Friends
The FAA is making no
friends with its plans to reorganize what can politely be called
"congested" LaGuardia Airport.
The most recent objection to the FAA's proposal to reallocate
flights based on past gate usage came from the Air Transport
Association in a formal objection filed Wednesday. The trade group
includes American, Continental, Delta, United, and other
established carriers.
The agency is seeking to ensure that LaGuardia's limited gate
space is used to its full potential; airlines flying smaller jets
risk losing flight slots to airlines willing to fly wider-bodied
jets carrying more passengers, said NewYorkBusiness.com. The agency
is seeking to require an average plane size of 105 - 122 seats for
all LaGuardia gates; many of the major airlines' flights use small
jets.
"The proposed rule represents governmental micromanagement and
interference... not seen since the airline industry was deregulated
in 1978," said the Air Transport Association.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has also chimed in
on the plan, objecting strongly to what it perceives as FAA
interference in airport ground operations. The Port Authority has
proposed its own airport reforms that include requiring airlines to
use their gates at 80 percent capacity for the year.
Not everyone is unhappy with the FAA proposal, however. Low cost
carriers, such as Southwest and JetBlue, would gain from
implementation of the FAA proposal; JetBlue Chief Executive David
Neeleman has openly expressed his support of most aspects of the
FAA plan.
The FAA proposal to establish new flight rules came following
last summer's recovery in air travel that brought LaGuardia's
traffic closer to peak levels not seen since the summer of 2000. At
that time, the airport accounted for 25 percent of all flight
delays nationwide. The FAA released its initial plan in August and
interested parties had until year-end to file public comments.
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