Industry leaders lauded the decision of a U.S. District Court of Appeals yesterday precluding the January slot auction planned by the Department of Transportation to auction slots at the New York area airports. The ruling came after Air Transport Association, Continental Airlines and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey filed for the stay unless and until the court formally considers and rules on the merits of the case.
“RAA’s member airlines – and perhaps more importantly, the 75 percent of U.S. communities that rely on regional airlines exclusively for their scheduled airline service – greatly appreciate today’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals temporarily halting the Bush Administration’s scheme to auction off access to New York’s Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Airports,” said Regional Airline Association President Roger Cohen. “Last week we called the DOT auction ‘eBay on psychedelics’, and stretching that metaphor, the court’s sound judgment saved the traveling public from a ‘real bad trip’.”
The Air Transport Association added its applause. "We are pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals recognized the irreparable harm that auctions would have caused passengers,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “The Court's ruling puts a firm halt to the Department of Transportation's ill-advised, illogical auction scheme. This is a clear win for passengers, as the Department was stopped from proceeding with an ideological experiment that would have resulted in higher fares, less service and a confiscation of airline property."