Slot auction proposed to cut LGA congestion

The trade group representing United States airlines thinks the Department of Transportation's plan to cut congestion at close-in New York LaGuardia is “mystifying” and “ridiculous” – especially in light of the current financial condition of the industry.

DOT wants to require that a limited number of flights operated by carriers each day (slots) be put up for auction. The Transportation Department is looking at a couple of options:

- All carriers would get 20 slots per day for the ten-year life of the proposed rule. Meanwhile, over the next five years, 8 percent of the additional slots currently used by an airline would be made available to any carrier via auction. The money derived from the auction would be invested in new congesting-cutting and traffic capacity initiatives in the New York area;

- Airlines get permanent access to as many as 20 slots per day for ten years. Beyond that, 20 percent of the slots currently used by airlines become available to all carriers also via auction. Under this second option, airlines keep the net proceeds from the slot auction.

“Our plan strikes a sound balance between protecting investments by incumbent carriers and ensuring that all airlines have the ability to fly to New York LaGuardia,” contends Mary Peters, Transportation Secretary. She maintains that the status quo at LGA means stagnant service, delays and unnecessarily high airfares. “Open access and competition will help give flyers more choices, fewer delays and lower fares,” she asserts.

The Air Transport Association begs to differ. “The solution to delays in New York is not figuring out how to charge airlines and their passengers more,” says James C. May, ATA President and CEO. The cure for LaGuardia’s persistent gridlock, he contends, is to “get on with modernizing the air traffic control system…What the DOT has proposed will do nothing to reduce delays”.

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler