ATA Letter to DOT Secretary Peters on JFK Delay Reduction Meeting

October 23, 2007

The Honorable Mary E. Peters
Secretary of Transportation
Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20590

Dear Secretary Peters:

Although the Air Transport Association (ATA) and its member airlines agree that congestion and systemic delays in the busy New York airspace must be addressed, the premise of today’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “Schedule Reduction” meeting addressing operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is fundamentally flawed.

The cornerstone of this process is the FAA’s announced total operations target of 80 or 81 operations per hour. Slashing capacity at a leading international gateway is anti-marketplace and anti-consumer as the benchmarks will stifle growth and significantly limit the travel choices of passengers. An unprecedented twenty percent reduction in operations is premature and unnecessary, and sets a level of operations significantly less than historical throughput delivered by FAA at JFK. By all accounts, the low benchmarks fail to take advantage of existing capacity at JFK and, in fact, encourage continued inefficiencies. Elimination of flights and curtailed accessibility to JFK is not a workable solution.

Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that the low benchmarks signal willingness by the government to avoid the real problem: heavy congestion in the New York metropolitan area airspace. The benchmarks, coupled with the tone and speed of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Aviation Rulemaking Committee process, seem to indicate that the voluntary scheduling process is merely the precursor to government-mandated schedule reductions and, most likely, congestion pricing.

While artificially constraining demand at one airport may be an easy, temporary solution, it is not one that either this country or this administration should be willing to accept. Solutions to systemic flight delays must embrace growth and a vibrant international market in New York. No one should be satisfied with government mandates that result in higher fares/decreased accessibility for passengers and, unfortunately, most heavily impact operations of domestic airlines.

On behalf of our passengers, I urge the DOT to first consider ways to increase efficiency and better utilize existing capacity, and then enhance capacity in the region. All agree that acceleration of the New York Airspace Redesign will significantly reduce delays, particularly if near-term, workable procedural and operational programs are accelerated. As the picture becomes clearer to all of us, it is not a question of what to do, but whether the administration will choose to devote the necessary resources to addressing New York area congestion. Solutions are available if the government will focus on increasing the efficiency of operations rather than limiting operations and passenger choices.

The ATA and its member airlines remain committed to working with the DOT and the FAA to reduce congestion and delays in the New York area. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with you further.

Sincerely,

James C. May
President and CEO