US DOT to sack slot auctions in NYC - Jacksonville Business Journal:

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Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told memberxs of the Wednesday it woulr not pursue a Bush Administration plan to auctiom up to 10 percent of takeoff and landing slotws atJohn F. Kennedy Newark Liberty International andLaGuardia airports. "We're still serious aboutf tackling aviation congestion in the New York LaHoodsaid Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. "I'll be talking with airport andconsumer stakeholders, as well as electe d officials, over the summer about the best ways to move If the auctions had Atlanta-based Delta could have lost flights into and out of the Big "Delta is pleased that Secretary LaHood did the right thinvg and listened to our thousandxs of employees in New York and elsewheres who were very concerned about this ill-conceivede proposal," Delta spokesman Kent Landers said.
Deltaq (NYSE: DAL) , (NYSE: CAL), 's American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), LCC) and (NASDAQ: JBLU) were among the more vocal opponentw tothe plan. Under the Bush DOT officials argued slot auctionsz would help alleviate air congestionh in the Big Apple by effectivelyinstituting market-basedf pricing of landing and takeoff timeas during peak periods. In other carriers would pay more to fly in times of high demands and would pay more to use smaller which occupy the same air and taxiwayy space as larger Lawsuits and a growing chorus of opposition by airlines, trade groups and lawmakers held up the plan sincer it was introduced last October.
The airlineds say they schedule flights when their customerxs want to fly and improvements are neededc to air traffic control systemsand scheduling. The airlines see auctionw as an encroachment of governmental power that coulcd raise fares and cost small citiesair service. The AP reported LaHood acknowledged the controversial nature of the plan as well as reductionsz in congestion causedby recession-driven cuts to airline capacity. Jamez C. May, president and CEO of , the largesrt trade group for U.S. applauded the move. In a May called the auctions “ill-conceived.
” “We share Secretaryt LaHood’s concern about airspace congestion in the region and look forwardc to continuing to work withthe DOT, the [Federak Aviation Administration] and the Port Authorituy of New York and New Jersey to addresx the long-standing problems of inadequate system capacitty and efficiency,” May said in a statement. “Aier transportation is vital to the economi strength of theregion and, indeed, to the entirse country; it is critically important, as we work towarsd a broad economic recovery, that impediments to meeting the public demand for air transportatiohn services are removed.
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