09/09/10, 21:34:50 EDT

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Ahead of the Bell: Airline Summit

businessweek.com

Federal aviation regulators on Tuesday begin a two-day meeting with airlines to discuss scheduling changes designed to alleviate record delays at New York's three major airports.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters called for the summit, which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT. Her department on Friday suggested an hourly limit of 80 flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport as a starting point for the discussions.

JFK, which had the worst on-time record of any major U.S. airport through August, now has some hours when airlines plan for as many as 100 flights.

The Air Transport Association of America, the commercial airlines trade group, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs JFK, both criticized the government's hourly flight target.

Carriers prefer flight-path changes and technological improvements they say could increase the airport's capacity.

Airlines and aviation groups already have met to discuss other measures aimed at reducing air congestion, but U.S. antitrust law that normally prohibits airlines from coordinating flight schedules required the separate scheduling summit.

Peters has asked the airlines to discuss "market-based incentives" to trim the number of flights at peak travel times and warned of possible mandatory restrictions if no solution is found.

Through August, JFK was third-worst in the nation for on-time arrivals, behind Newark Liberty in New Jersey and New York's LaGuardia, according to government data.

 Printable Version  | published Oct 23, 2007