Airlines Oppose DOT’s Slot Auction Proposal

The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed to seize takeoff and landing slots at New York’s three major airports – LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark – and auction them off to the highest bidder.

The Regional Airline Association (RAA), whose member airlines operate 50 percent of the nation’s scheduled flights, fly 40 percent of the commercial passenger fleet and carry more than one of every five domestic passengers, predicts the DOT’s auction will make flying to New York even more difficult and expensive, especially for travelers from the 450 U.S. communities who rely exclusively on regional airlines.

“Airline service to 70 percent of the nation’s airports that relies exclusively on regional aircraft is already under siege from stratospheric fuel costs, recession and an outdated air traffic control system. Now DOT has decided to “pile on” by unlawfully confiscating slots held by carriers and pushing an untested auction scheme at all three New York airports,” said RAA President Roger Cohen.

“Auctions will add a whole new layer of complexity, perhaps worsening delays, in what has always been nation’s most challenging airspace,” said Cohen. “Passengers from dozens of small and mid-size communities in New England, upstate New York and across the East Coast could be shut out totally from LGA, EWR and JFK”, he added, pointing out that even major league cities like St. Louis, Nashville, Columbus, Indianapolis, Raleigh-Durham rely on regional aircraft exclusively for flights into one or more of these New York airports.

Founded in 1975, the Regional Airline Association (RAA) represents regional airlines before lawmakers and regulatory agencies. RAA also provides a wide array of technical, educational, and promotional support to regional airlines and their supply company partners. RAA’s 42 member airlines operate one half of U.S. scheduled commercial flights and carry more than one in five domestic passengers. More than 70 percent of our nation’s commercial airports depend on regional airlines, exclusively, for their only source of scheduled air service.