Lawsuit Lodged Over Proposed Slot Auctions

The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) has carried through with

its threat to try and block the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT)

planned auction of valuable landing and takeoff slots at the New York area's

major airports.

ATA has brought suit against the FAA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the

District of Columbia Circuit to invalidate two slot auction rules, one rule for

LaGuardia Airport and another for both JFK International and Newark

International.

ATA's lawsuit challenges the FAA's claim that slots are agency property

that can be leased or otherwise disposed of under FAA's general property

management authority. ATA will seek a stay of the initial auction planned for

early January.

DOT Secretary Mary Peters recently announced final rules to auction a

limited number of landing and take-off slots at each of the region's three

airports.

ATA calls the slot auction scheme ill-conceived. "The DOT decision

patently defies the recommendation of the Government Accountability Office (GAO)

by attempting to move forward with an illegal auction of airport slots. Rather

than needlessly forcing a costly and protracted legal challenge over an

ideological experiment, DOT should follow the recommendations made by the New

York Aviation Rulemaking Committee and implement fair and practical solutions to

address delays and add needed new capacity," said ATA President and CEO James C.

May. "The Secretary of Transportation's own group of key stakeholders has

proposed a clear set of solutions, while rejecting the idea of auctions. It is

past time to act on those recommendations."

The Port Authority of New York/New Jersey also stands opposed to the

FAA's plan to move forward with auctioning off airline slots at the New York

metropolitan area airports and it will also seek an injunction from the federal

court to block the FAA move.

The Port Authority believes that airlines entering auctions for the

takeoff and landing slots they already own will lead only to higher costs that

will be passed through to passengers in the form of increased ticket prices. The

agency estimates those costs could rise by up to 12 percent.

In addition to higher ticket prices, the auction policy will mean fewer

flights to small communities at a time when these communities already are

struggling in this economy. Specifically, a Port Authority study estimates that

25 small and medium-sized aviation markets would lose service to and from the

New York metropolitan airports because auctions would force airlines to operate

between large markets in order to make the slot purchase viable economically.

The Port Authority has argued for a strategy that expands capacity by

overhauling air traffic control technology. Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said: "We

believe the right way to reduce delays is to replace a 1950s-era air traffic

control system with investments in 21st century technology, expanding capacity

and improving customer service. Our Flight Delay Task Force brought together all

the interested stakeholders to develop effective solutions instead of pressing

11th-hour plans that, far from relieving congestion, would only hurt airline

passengers and our local and national economies."

Executive Director Chris Ward said, "While we want to work cooperatively

with the U.S. Department of Transportation to address the problems of delays and

congestion, this untested policy will do just the opposite at a time when the

economy is struggling. To protect our passengers, airports, and airline

partners, we will take immediate action to stop this plan."

The Port Authority has opposed the Bush administration's plan from the

moment it was announced. It has filed a Notice of Proposed Action that would ban

auction-acquired flights from operating at the agency's airports.