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Airline News / Airlines / Airport Congestion / LCCs / → All Tags

Alaska Air Tops List Of On-Time Flights, Airtran Not So Much

The Department of Transportation has released their July on-time figures and analysis, and—as much as it pains us to say this—good job, airlines:

Airline passengers got to their destination on time a little more often in July... 77.6 percent of airline flights arrived on time, up from 75.7 percent during the same month last year. July's showing was also an improvement over the 76.1 percent on-time rate in June. Airlines have generally been flying less because of the recession, and that seems to be helping them get their remaining flights to their destinations on time.

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Airport Congestion / Airports / → All Tags

So It's All Our Fault, Huh? Feds to Auction Off Takeoff and Landing Times at New York Airports

The U.S. government is going forward with a plan to auction off some takeoff and landing slots at JFK, La Guardia, and Newark airports, claiming that market forces will help streamline air traffic and reduce delays. The Port Authority, which runs the airports, and several New York politicians oppose the plan, which they say is a poorly thought out experiment the administration is trying to get through before leaving office without weighing the full impact on companies and consumers. But why would the Feds want to tinker with New York area airports anyway? Because, as the AP points out, "roughly two-thirds of flight delays around the country are caused by backups at those airports." Um, sorry about that. But who's the real enemy here? Apparently, it's small planes.

Federal transportation officials say much of the reason for nationwide flight delays is that airlines have crammed too many planes -- and small planes -- onto New York runways.

Well, at least we have a scapegoat. Under an auction system, it seems like the bigger players would have a better shot at the primo slots, but nobody yet knows how this will all play out since it's never been done before. We'll keep an eye on the on-time rates after January 12, when the auction winners are announced.

[Photo: World Airport Codes]

Related Stories:
· Feds Go Forward With NYC Airport Experiment [AP via Yahoo! News]
· Airport Congestion Coverage [Jaunted]

Virgin America / Airlines / Airport Congestion / → All Tags

Big Airlines: Virgin America Wants Your Slots

Scrappy start-up Virgin America is looking at the recent cutbacks by legacy carriers a bit differently than most of us. Now that the big guys are shrinking capacity, VA hopes to snag some landing spots to expand its service to cities like New York and Chicago. Thing is, those carriers have asked to retain their takeoff and landing slots--even if they aren't using them.

So Virgin sent the lawyers to DC to complain to the FAA that other airlines are trying to keep competition out of certain markets. VA spokeswoman Abby Lunardini told us:

We're definitely opposed to the majors hoarding slots that they have no intention of using. Ultimately, it is the traveling public that will pay the price--with higher fares and lower levels of service.

Whether or not those slots change hands is now up to the FAA--and how much money big carriers are willing to lose protecting their landing rights.

Related Stories:
· Virgin America Protests Bid [Bloomberg, via NYT]
· Virgin America coverage [Jaunted]