Chronic delays into and out of New York's three airports -- LaGuardia (LGA), Newark (EWR) and John F. Kennedy (JFK) -- tax airlines' operations and give travelers collective apoplexy. New York's coastal weather is one of the problems. It can be rainy, foggy, snowy, etc. Take-off and landing capacity is another. JFK has four runways, EWR has three and LGA only two. By contrast, Denver International Airport has six runways.
Another problem is that meaningful infrastructure expansion (terminals, parking, runways, etc.) is virtually impossible at any of these airports without demolishing homes, businesses and highways. Another problem specific to JFK is that airlines currently are permitted schedule as many flights as they want whenever they wish -- and they all seem to want to schedule them at the same peak times. Conga lines for departing aircraft are epic. and landing delays are not unusual. Beyond that, when aircraft are stacked up at New York's airports, they aren't flying the rest of their routes. In fact, it has been reported that two-thirds of the nation's air delays are caused by New York's chronic air traffic mess.
The government is now hoping to limit flights to New York airports in order to unclog the rest of the system. US Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced that airlines have agreed to cap the number of hourly departures and arrivals, reducing them from up to 100 per hour to more than 83. The government also wants to to prevent airlines from moving flights from JFK to the other two airports, which would shift the overall problem but not solve it.
"Airlines will be able to shift their flights to times of the day when airlines have unused capacity," Peters said. "Stopping the overload in peak hours will make for a significant, significant reduction in delays in the New York region."
Currently, the forthcoming new limits are voluntary, but the FAA could impose limits if airlines
do not voluntarily cut back. They're slated to go into effect in March and last for two trial years.
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Here's the statement my former employer sent out
ReplyDeleteCHICAGO (TVLW) - UAL Corporation issued the following statement from Chairman, President and Chief Executive Glenn Tilton regarding the announced proposals by the Department of Transportation to reduce air travel delays in the New York region.
“We support the schedule reduction as a short-term fix to reduce delays, and applaud the Secretary for the collaborative process she led addressing the issue in an equitable way that will benefit customers; we continue to believe the long-term solution lies in providing adequate funding and commitment for a modernized ATC system and the consistent application of the proven worldwide scheduling guidelines to accommodate current and future demands.”
Air traffic control is handicapped by antiquated systems. I hope some listens.
I wish the goverment would relieve
ReplyDeleteall airort congestion. Has anybody ever figured out how much fuel is wasted with so many planes waiting to taking off and circling around to land?
First I read about the battery rule. Then I read this. Now I wonder if there's any hope that there will ever be fun in airline travel again except for people who fly first class.
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