LaGuardia, JFK and Newark, joined by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and airline executives in making 100 recommendations to decongest air traffic in the New York metropolitan airspace and seemingly allow airlines to have their cake and eat it, too, since they do not do not call for upgauging or a reduction in the number of flights. Nor do they include peak/congestion pricing or auctions. If that is so, then regionals can heave a sigh of relief since their RJs have been the target of steady attacks since the Federal Aviation Administration began trying decongestion at O’Hare in August 2006. Related Story
That would only be fair since the Regional Airline Association showed that increases in narrow bodies outweigh those of regional airlines which are naturally upgauging from market demand. Related Story Part of the solution would be airline rescheduling to avoid congestion. quicker action to get aircraft off runways sooner and more efficient routing in the heavy corridors. The task force also wants accelerated deployment of NextGen technology already in use at other airports. That means increased funding which is also required for lengthening and reconfiguring taxiways to offload aircraft from runways more quickly.
The recommendations resulted from a PA&NYNJ Flight Delay Task Force, which included a top FAA official, and are designed to reduce delays and congestion by next summer if 27 are become effective shortly. The task force said that adopting all 100 would pave the way for 3.5 million additional passengers at Kennedy, without increasing delays. The task force specifically wants to avoid federally mandated limits at Kennedy where restrictions were lifted earlier this year, which would naturally limit the number of passengers and revenue.
The task force hopes DOT Secretary Mary Peters will make the recommendations part of her soon-to-be-published report to President Bush on eliminating congestion and delays at the three NY airports. The FAA is already trying to adopt some of the provisions, making that more likely. Demand is expected to increase by 50 percent by 2025 over the 104 million passengers using the three airports. For access to the complete report click here.