Cap'N Crunch: FAA and ATA Again Admit There's No Need For Redesign

Aviation Daily: FAA Proposes One-Year Extension Of Flight Caps At JFK And Newark

The FAA has tentatively decided to extend its cap on peak-hour flights at New York Kennedy and Newark airports through October 2010 while it continues to look for the “appropriate long-term solution” to congestion at the airports.
The hourly CAPacity at the airports “has not increased significantly” since the FAA issued its original order last May, the FAA said, and without the operational limitations the congestion-related delays that precipitated the order would return.
In March - the most recent month for which U.S. Transportation Dept. figures are available - 80.7% of flights departed on time and 76.4% of flights arrived on time at Kennedy. At Newark, 69.8% departed on time and 57.4% arrived on time, according to FAA liars.

In separate Federal Register notices published June 5, the FAA invited comment on its proposed extension, which extends peak-hour caps that otherwise would expire on Oct. 24, 2009.

That prior expiration date was selected to give the FAA time to come up with another way to control congestion at the airports. But the FAA’s proposed solution, which included slot auctions, never got off the ground.

That plan would have removed takeoff and landing slots from incumbent carriers at Newark Liberty, LaGuardia and Kennedy airports and auctioned them off to new-entrant carriers. But the plan was vehemently opposed by most airlines - other than new-entrant carriers - and the airports’ operators.
A lawsuit by airlines led to a court order preventing implementation of the plan in December. New U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in May that the FAA would consider rescinding the slot auction rule created by the previous administration (DAILY, May 14); the FAA currently is soliciting comments on the proposed rescission.

http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-06-05-E9-13190

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Federal Register: June 5, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 107)
DOCID: fr05jn09-89 FR Doc E9-13190
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Docket ID: [Docket No. FAA-2008-0221]

NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr05jn09-89
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of order to show cause and request for information.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Operating Limitations at Newark Liberty International Airport

DATES: Any written information that responds to the FAA’s order to show cause must be submitted by June 19, 2009.

DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
The FAA is issuing an order to show cause, which solicits the views of interested persons on the FAA’s tentative determination to extend through October 30, 2010, the May 15, 2008 order limiting the number of scheduled aircraft arrivals at Newark Liberty International Airport during peak operating hours. The text of the order to show cause is set forth in this notice.

SUMMARY:
Operating Limitations at Newark Liberty International Airport

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Order To Show Cause

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has tentatively determined that it will extend through October 30, 2010, the FAA’s May 15, 2008 order limiting scheduled operations at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) (May 2008 order).\1\ This order to show cause invites air carriers and other interested persons to submit comments in Docket FAA20080221 on this proposal to extend the duration of the May 2008 order.\2\

\1\ Order Limiting Scheduled Operations at Newark Liberty International Airport, 73 FR 29,550 (May 21, 2008).

\2\ The FAA is separately accepting comments on a proposal to extend the January 15, 2008 order limiting scheduled operations at John F. Kennedy Liberty International Airport (JFK). The public may file or review documents related to the JFK order in Docket FAA 200729320.

The May 2008 order followed a period of elevated, congestion related delays at the New York area’s three commercial airports, culminating in the FAA’s issuance of an order limiting scheduled operations at JFK in January 2008. To prevent new flights from moving to EWR, which was already prone to delays and scheduled near or above its average hourly runway capacity during many peak hours, the FAA engaged the U.S. and foreign air carriers serving EWR to reduce the number of scheduled operations during peak hours and to move operations to less congested hours. The May 2008 order captured the agreed upon schedules and limited the number of scheduled operations conducted by U.S. and foreign air
[[Page 27061]]
carriers at EWR during peak operating hours. The order took effect June 20, 2008, and in the absence of an extension, it will expire on October 24, 2009.

The FAA established the order’s October 2009 expiration date to permit time to promulgate a final rule that would control congestion at EWR, and the FAA adopted a final rule to manage congestion at EWR that would have continued operational limits at the airport beyond October 2009. 73 FR 60544 (Oct. 10, 2008). However, the rule was stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit prior to the rule’s December 9, 2008 effective date. The FAA is currently soliciting comments on a proposal to rescind the final rule. 74 FR 22714 (May 14, 2009). As a result of the FAA’s reconsideration of the rule, the court is holding in abeyance the briefing schedule in the rule’s associated litigation.
In light of the events that have transpired since the May 2008 order took effect, it is now unlikely that the FAA will have an effective final rule on the May 2008 order’s original expiration date. In the absence of the FAA’s extension of the order, the FAA anticipates a return of the congestion-related delays that precipitated the voluntary schedule reductions and adjustments reflected in the May 2008 order. The hourly capacity at EWR has not increased significantly since the order took effect late last spring. Because the demand for operations at New Yorkarea airports remains high, the FAA has determined that an extension of the May 2008 order appears to be appropriate while the FAA identifies the appropriate longterm solution to congestion at EWR.

Order To Show Cause:

To prevent a recurrence of overscheduling at EWR during the interim between the expiration of the May 2008 order on October 24, 2009, and the effective date of a rule, the FAA tentatively intends to extend the May 2008 order. The limit on scheduled operations that is embodied in the order reflects the FAA’s agreements with U.S. and foreign air carriers. As a result, maintaining the order for an additional, finite period constitutes a reasonable approach to preventing unacceptable congestion and delays at EWR until a longer term measure is implemented. The May 2008 order, as extended, would expire on October 30, 2010.

Accordingly, the FAA directs all interested persons to show cause why the FAA should not make final its tentative findings and tentative decision to extend the May 2008 order through October 30, 2010, by filing their written views in Docket FAA20080221. The FAA does not intend this request for the views of interested persons to address any issues related to the existing final rule or any future congestion management rule. Therefore, any submission to the current docket should be limited to the proposed extension of the May 2008 order.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2009.
Rebecca MacPherson,
Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations.
[FR Doc. E913190 Filed 6409; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 491013P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
James W. Tegtmeier, Associate Chief Counsel for the Air Traffic Organization; telephone(202) 2678323;
e mail:
james.tegtmeier@faa.gov

Dallas Morning News: AIRLINE BIZ Blog: Airline Group Predicts 14 Million Fewer Passengers This Summer
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/05/airline-group-predicts-14-mill.html

The Air Transport Association predicted Friday that the number of passengers on U.S. airlines will decrease by 7 percent, or 14 million, between June 1 and Aug. 31.
That amounts to about 150,000 fewer passengers a day, the ATA mathematicians added.
From James C. May, "president" and "chief executive officer" of the trade group:
“The main driver behind the anticipated drop in passengers traveling this summer is the ongoing global recession, which continues to crimp demand.

“The weak economy has forced additional aircraft out of the marketplace, so despite fewer travelers, planes will remain near full.
“Even with fewer flights and the airlines’ heightened level of preparedness for summer travel, we remain concerned that delays may be inevitable due to the combination of an aging air traffic control system and convective weather period”. U.S. airlines have reduced capacity more than 7 percent on domestic routes, so a 7 percent drop in passengers would mean airplanes with fewer empty seats.

May also used the occasion to lobby for modernizing the nation’s air traffic control system:
“The current air traffic control system can be transformed in just a few years by accelerating key components of NextGen procedures and technologies that can begin to deliver immediate benefits.

“A widely cited congressional study estimated that delays cost the economy $40 billion annually. A modernized, satellite-based system could bring that needless expense down significantly. Congress, working with the Obama administration, should seize this great opportunity by establishing a strong, forward-looking national aviation policy now”.