Industry leaders lauded the decision of a U.S. District Court of Appeals

yesterday that precludes the January slot auction planned by the Department of

Transportation to auction slots at the New York area airports. The ruling came

after Air Transport Association, Continental Airlines and the Port Authority of

New York and New Jersey filed for the stay unless and until the court formally

considers and rules on the merits of the case.

"One thing we do understand that was made crystal clear at today's

Crystal City seminar - auctioning slots at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark will

certainly make it more expensive and less convenient - perhaps even impossible--

for passengers from the 75 percent of the nation that relies exclusively on

regional airlines to fly into New York," said Regional Airline Association

President Roger Cohen, after DOT's auction workshop. "RAA's member airlines

greatly appreciate today's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals temporarily

halting the Bush Administration's scheme to auction off access to New York's

Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Airports."

The Air Transport Association added its applause. "We are pleased that

the U.S. Court of Appeals recognized the irreparable harm that auctions would

have caused passengers," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "The Court's

ruling puts a firm halt to the Department of Transportation's ill-advised,

illogical auction scheme. This is a clear win for passengers, as the department

was stopped from proceeding with an ideological experiment that would have

resulted in higher fares, less service and a confiscation of airline property."

The ruling came on the heels of an FAA Washington meeting outlining the

slot auction. The FAA web site included an advisory that the list of all

available slots at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and

Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport will be posted online on Dec. 29.

The agency planned to conduct the three auctions over the Internet on Jan. 12

but the agency had also planned a mock auction for Jan. 8.